SPEAKING TOEFL® - Name a place in your country you would recommend to foreign...

[Wendeus]

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Name a place in your country you would recommend to foreign visitors. Describe this place and explain why you would recommend it. Include details and examples in your response.

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Preparation time: 15 secs.
Answering time: 45 secs.
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[Jamie (K)]

Wendeus, there are a couple of big pronunciation problems:

1. You don't pronounce the T's in the word "statement", so you said "stamen", which is a part of a flower. You also don't pronounce the T at the end of "that", so it sounds like you are saying "the".
2. You pronounce the word "most" like "must". It should sound like [moust].

A smaller problem is that you don't make the distinction between the vowels [i] and [ɪ], so for "pretty" you say [priti] instead of [prɪti]. For "visitors" you say [vizitərz] instead of [vɪzɪtərz]. This means that when you try to call someone a winner [wɪnər], you will call him a "wiener" [winər], which means a hotdog or is a children's word for penis. That's just one small example of the trouble that vowel problem can cause you.

My guess is that your native language is Portuguese, right? You are probably from Brazil, or maybe even Angola.

[Lastsky]

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Speaking of a place that I recommend to a foreign visitor,I want to talk about the most beautiful place of China --- the West Lake.
The lake consists of five parts.The main part is a vast expanse of water.
When it is a breezy ,shiny day in spring, the water is shimmering and rippling gracefully.
The willows is well-trimmed and the grass is neatly-mowed.
Furthermore you can also see some gentle rolling hills within walking distance and feel the refreshing breeze on your face.
What a breathtaking view.

[Wendeus]

Hi, Jamie K.....First of all, Thanks for your help and I'll take into account your advices. On the other hand you were pretty close guessing my native language. Actually, my native language is spanish!

[Wendeus]

Oh....Jamie!
I forgot asking something!.....besides, the problems that you had mentioned before.....what do you think in general is my pronunciation and vocabulary?
Thanks again for your help!

[Jamie (K)]

[Jamie (K)]