Academic English Skills with Dr. Byrnes

  Introduction Learning English pronunciation can be confusing—especially with the differences between American English and British English . Starting in 2026, the TOEFL Speaking section will include a listen-and-repeat task, and speakers may use either accent. Don’t worry—you don’t need to imitate an accent like an actor. TOEFL only cares about intelligibility. To guide us, we’ll explore the differences with the help of Dr. Nanhee Byrnes , a pronunciation expert. General American vs. Received Pronunciation General American (GA) : Neutral Midwestern accent, used widely in U.S. media. Received Pronunciation (RP) : Traditional “BBC accent,” linked to educated speakers in southern England. These serve as the standard reference accents for American and British English. Vowel Charts GA : 10 monophthongs + 5 diphthongs RP : 12 monophthongs (short/long), 8 diphthongs, and 5 triphthongs 10 Key Pronunciation Differences 1. Vowel Length vs. Tense/Lax RP : Distinc...