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This website was created to help people improve their American English pronunciation. At the core is a series of videos explaining in detail how each sound is created, as well as a blog.
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Though I highly recommend learning via video :), sometimes a book is a nice resource to have. I especially like this one:
Idiom: 'Out like a Light'
American English Pronunciation :: Idiom - Out like a Light
The audio is now available for download thanks to user Slava from Cherkessk, Russia: Download mp3
Video Text:
Today I'm going to go over the idiom 'out like a light'. I can mean two different things. It can mean in a very deep sleep, or it can mean unconscious. I actually found myself using this the other day describing how well I was sleeping. I didn't hear the sirens last night, I was out like a light. However, I've also used it before for having been unconscious. I was chopping vegetables one day not too long ago and I cut off the very end of my thumb. And I ended up at the ER. And when they took the bandage off of my thumb, I immediately passed out. I was out like a light.
This phrase begins with the 'ow' as in 'now' diphthong, ow, ow, and it then has the T. It's a final T, so you might hear it as a stop T, out, out, or you might hear it lightly released, out, out. Like, the L consonant sound and the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong. Out li-, out li-, kk. The K consonant sound -- out like, out like, a. The schwa. Out like a. Out like a. And finally, light, the L consonant sound, the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong, and again a final T. So, it might be stopped, or it might be released. Light or light. You'll notice the words 'out' and 'light' are the stressed words here. Out like a light. Out like a light. I was out like a light.
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... I think it is a GREAT resource for studying pronunciation. You can slow down videos without the pitch changing, you can loop sections, you can look up words. It's an amazing resource, and I've enjoyed playing around with it.
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