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Ondřej
Czech
Jul 9, 2025
Skvělá a plynulá konverzace. Ben má vášeň pro jazyky a umí reagovat velmi dobře a přirozeně 👍. Velmi milé setkání.
Eliška
Czech
Sep 12, 2024
Ben is an excellent student. He is very hard working and always excited to learn new things. His Czech is very good, he’s progressing quickly 😊
Zuzana Vránová
Czech
Aug 1, 2024
Skvělá lekce. Ben má výborný přístup ke studiu jazyka a jeho čeština je velmi dobrá.
Ariel Ortega
Spanish
Apr 14, 2022
Ben tiene un español excelente es bastante inteligente, me gustó mucho estar en clase con él y estoy seguro que le irá muy bien en sus planes. Gracias Ben👌🏻👌🏻
Activities
  • Commented
    Hi Alberto!

    I'm definitely a bit of a cheapskate too! I always try to avoid paying for things in pretty much every area of my life. That has taught me some very valuable lessons though too.

    If you really want to improve in a language, I honestly believe that having a tutor is the best thing you can possibly spend your money on. Thankfully iTalki is a wonderful resource that has many inexpensive options. Tutors help you structure your learning and help you know what to practice.

    In terms of everything else, I only spend money on things that can also be useful outside of my language learning. Some examples are cookbooks and movies in the target language. Those are things that I might have normally purchased in English and only add to my interest in learning that target language.

    I hope this is useful,

    -Ben
    0 voted
    February 24, 2020
    0
  • Commented
    Hi! I'm always glad to see someone who wants to practice!

    I just wrote a very detailed blog post about practicing if you want to check it out: <a href="https://www.bensaccentreduction.com/blog/practicing-english" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.bensaccentreduction.com/blog/practicing-english</a>

    The main point if that you need to practice consistently. Find a routine that fits for you and stick to it.

    Getting a tutor on iTalki is also an amazing resource that can help you improve much quicker than if you just learn on your own.

    Hope that answered you question,

    -Ben
    0 voted
    February 24, 2020
    0
  • Commented
    You're definitely correct Isaac. I updated the post to sound a little more generalized. Funnily enough, I personally don't use any of your given 'excellents'! I tend to say /ˈɛksəlɪnt/. I also brought it up to my friend from the Southern US and he doesn't say the different either!
    0 voted
    February 23, 2020
    0
  • Posted
    Do you say “writer” and “rider” differently?
    During a class today, I noticed that I said the words “writer” and “rider” differently! I’ve never noticed that distinction before and decided to do some research. As a note, I have a fairly standard General American Accent. Here’s what I found out.

    There is something called Canadian Rising which can be found replacing the diphthong /aɪ̆/ with /ʌɪ̆/. The closest thing there is to a rule about replacement is when the sound appears before a voiceless consonant in the “proper” pronunciation. In things like “<em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">writer</em>”<em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </em>Americans turn the voiceless consonant into a tapped, voiced ‘D’ sound, but keep the new diphthong. As with every rule in English though, there are probably more exceptions that “obedient cases”.

    Some examples are: <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">cider</em>, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">fighter</em>, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">cyber</em>, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">high</em> school, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">ice</em>, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">spider</em>

    These have also created several minimal pairs that are very difficult to distinguish between for non native speakers, such as: <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">writer</em> and <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">rider</em>, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">ice</em> <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">cream</em> and <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I scream</em>, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">sighted</em> and <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">sided</em>, <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">whiter</em> and <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">wider</em>.

    There is also a distinction between “<em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I was in high school when that happened”</em> and <em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">“The school at the top of the tower is called a high school”</em> (a school that is high up). That is because “<em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">high school</em>” is a compound noun and sort of functions as a single word.

    I’m not Canadian, but a similar effect can be seen with /ʌʊ̆/ replacing /aʊ̆/ or /oʊ̆/. This would be the reason Canadians tend to say “out” and “house” differently than speakers from the United States.

    Do you say these words differently as a native speaker? Where is your accent from?
    Do you say these differently as a English Language Learner? If you do, why?
    February 23, 2020
    11
    4
  • Commented
    For me, it's very dependent on what, where and why I'm reading.

    If I'm practicing Spanish, for example, and am focused on understanding, I will read in my head so that I don't get distracted by my pronunciation. It allows me to focus on the meaning and how the sentences work.

    But if I want to work on my speaking, I will read aloud so that I can "tune" my ears and mouth to the sounds. I usually don't understand as much though, so I tend to do this less often.

    If I'm reading in English, my native language, I will almost always read silently because I can go so much faster. I don't have to wait for my slow mouth to catch up. Unless I'm reading to someone, in which case, reading silently would be rather counterproductive.
    0 voted
    February 21, 2020
    0
  • Commented
    I live in New York City, and there was recently a new law passed that will ban the use of single use plastic bags in the whole city! I'm very proud of that because I've also always been bothered by the sheer number of plastic bags used in the US.

    For example, if I go to the store to pick up just one thing and happen to forget my reusable bags, the cashier will often put it into two bags before I can say "Oh no thanks, I don't need a bag".

    I do also use the single use bags for trash bags, so I'm slightly sad that I'm going to have to start buying actual garbage bags by then end of this year.
    0 voted
    February 21, 2020
    0