English T’s and D’s

Keep saying your English T’s and D’s – really – just keep on, keeping on…..  I was listening to one of the Olympic Bid Team youngsters talking on my beloved Radio 4 and he was recounting the advice the advice his friend and mentor, Olympic gold medalist, had given him.

“If you you keep on running and you keep your head down and you keep on running, you’ll do it.”

Keep on saying your English T’s and D’s… You can pretty much substitute the name of any skill for the word running, can’t you? Sounds obvious, but when I heard it I loved being reminded..

When I wanted to be a professional singer and when I was working as a professional singer, I sang a minimum of 2 and  sometimes 5 hours a day.

But everyday.

Everyday.

Right now I want to learn to draw; I want to learn to do something I am not yet proficient at and this will only change if I ‘keep on drawing’. .. And I have been so scared of not succeeding I haven’t picked up a pencil since my dear ex-student Kim nagged me three weeks ago. She came to visit and wouldn’t leave til  I had picked up my pencil and drawn a picture of her!

Sometimes we need our friends to help and encourage us!

So I am encouraging you – look into that mirror and practice your English T’s and D’s.

Sometimes however scared we are – that we are going to fail – it’s not worth starting cos we’re never going to accomplish it – we just have to begin.

Practice talking to strangers with your new sounds – they won’t judge you – they don’t know you are!

Use your new vowel sounds and clearly pronounced English T’s and D’s!

They’ll think you normally sound like that!

Every day you could ask a stranger the time, or directions, or where are the toilets please?

And I’ll go and draw something… 🙂

I’ll just begin..

English T’s and D’s! Go on! 🙂

Have a great day.

Rachel