a few recent recordings

[allen_zhang]

welcome any comments!

http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=297
http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=296
http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=295

[allen_zhang]

a few more.

http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=300
http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=299
http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=298

[allen_zhang]

a few more.

http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=302
http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/download/file.php?id=301

[allen_zhang]

Sorry, posted on wrong sub forum. Can anyone help to move it to the speaking forum?

[saqibali]

Please lower your speed.This will help understand your words better.

[lmoore]

Hello, Allen_Zhang,
I hope you are able to locate your friend and get back in touch! It is sad to lose contact with a good friend.
You were quite easy to understand during your speech. One pronunciation area you might work on is saying the “r” at the end of words like “bar.” Try saying “bar” with other words that have “r” at the end, like, “car,” “star,” and “far.” In the word “hilarious,” however, make sure you say it like “hilAIRious” instead of “hilAHRious.”
There were lots of pauses between words when you spoke. This affected your fluency somewhat to the point where you sounded kind of “choppy.” Carry the ending sounds of words to the next words you say to sound more fluid.
Your vocabulary indicated that you have a solid command of words and expressions in English, like “lost contact,” “to be perfectly honest with you,” and “gradually.”
Here are a few grammar notes:
-got busy on our families – WITH our families
-we lost contact since then – We lost contact after that.
-we could go for a lunch or dinner – We could go out for lunch or dinner.
Best wishes as you keep practicing!

[lmoore]

Hi, Allen_Zhang,
This movie sounds like the ones I have to watch with my daughter. . .Fun, aren’t they? 
First, your vocabulary was good, although you used the same words a bit too often. For example, you said you had to accompany your son twice. You could have said you had to go with him. Although this phrase uses more words, and it is good to be concise, variation is more important.
You answered the question directly, and you stayed on topic. At the end, you gave a short conclusion, but I am not sure that it was necessary for this question as your answer was so short. You sounded more like you were repeating yourself.
A couple notes on pronunciation:
1.) Work on the short /i/ sound, as in film. The word is not FEELM. Don’t pull your lips back so far when you make the sound. You shouldn’t be smiling when you say this word. Try to say other words like HIT, MISS, TIP, etc., and then say FILM.
2.) The word BASICALLY is pronounced with only three syllables, not four. It is BA-SICK-LY, not BA-SICK-A-LY.
Some grammar notes:
1.) You seemed to forget the “s” on the end of verbs in the third person. For example, you said, “maybe he think,” but it should be “thinks” in the present tense. This verb should actually have been in the past tense, though, so it should have been “thought.” Another example is when you said, “somehow my son like it,” which should have been, “FOR SOME REASON, my son LIKED it.”
2.) asked me to accompany – Accompany who? This should be “asked me to accompany HIM.”
3.) during Chinese New Year holiday-THE Chinese New Year holiday
4.) I felt very sorry to my son – I felt bad for my son because. . .

Best wishes as you continue practicing.

[lmoore]

Hi, Allen_Zhang,
After listening to this, I want to go out to eat for dinner. . .
Some thoughts:
You used good transitions, like “as for the reasons why,” “another,” and “firstly.” That helped to move your speech along. You answered the question directly. Your conclusion was short and to the point.
Your pronunciation was good most of the time, and you were easy to understand. There were a couple of times I was confused. For example, PROVIDED sounded like PROWIDED to me. CUISINE sounded like KOOsine. ULTIMATE sounded like OPTIMATE. Your inflection was good, so I was able to get a feeling for your emotions about this restaurant.
You use good vocabulary, but I would encourage you to start focusing on stringing your words together more. Your sentences sound choppy.
Other notes:
-is worth to mention – is worth mentioning
-The services are very good –The service IS very good.
-relaxtion music – relaxing music
Keep up the good work!

[lmoore]

Hi, Allen_Zhang,
You reminded me. . .I only exercised once last week.
Your organization, as usual, was good. You often begin your talks with, “I am going to talk about. . .” Perhaps you could try a new introduction, like, just simply stating your topic and outlining what you will say about it. For example, “A positive change I have made in my life is that I have started to jog with my son every day. This has benefited our personal and professional lives in a number of ways. For example,. . .”
Pronunciation of the ending /s/ sound at the end of months was somewhat of a challenge. I didn’t hear it when you said, “a few month,” or “for more than 4 month.” The word “achievement” also sounded a bit off, more like “achoovement.” Be sure the /ie/ sound is like /ee/. “Change” sounds like “chenge” when you say it, so make sure you say the long /a/ sound.
Here are a couple of grammar notes:
I will go excising – This is also a pronunciation issue – I will go EXERCISING.
Lose weight a lot – lose a lot of weight
He feel much more comfortable – He FEELS
Best wishes as you continue to practice!

[lmoore]

Hi, Allen_Zhang,
As usual, you have some really interesting stories, and you were quite clear in your speech. You answered the question directly, used good vocabulary, and even through in some colloquialisms like, “You know.”
I don’t think that grammar is an area of difficulty for you for the most part. There are some phrases that are a bit awkward from time to time, but that is mostly a matter of not knowing how to use them properly. For example, you said, “came to the first or second place on the exam,” which should be, instead, “came IN first or second place on the exam.”
As far as pronunciation goes, your are quite clear in your speech, but I would encourage you to keep working in your /r/ sounds. Also, just so you are aware, an alternate pronunciation for “sophomore” is to drop the “o” sound in the middle and just make it sound like “sofmore.” Work on linking your words together so that your speech does not sound so disconnected.
A couple of other notes:
-between ___ and his study – You could say, “between ___ and his STUDIES,” or “between ___ and STUDYING.”
-that is the exact place he should go – I would have put “go” in the past tense here because you are talking about where your friend should have found a job. You could say, “That is the exact place he should have ended up,” “That is the exact place he should have found a job,” for example. You could keep the sentence in the present tense by using the present progressive and saying, “That is the exact place where he should be working.”
Best regards as you continue to practice!

[lmoore]

Hi, Allen_Zhang,
What a celebration this had to be for everyone, and especially for your grandfather! What a blessing it must have been for all of you to have this event.
You spoke faster this time, which increased your fluency somewhat, but you really struggled with verb tenses in this speech.
Pronunciation was clear, but I noticed you said “E-vent,” instead of “e-VENT.” The emphasis is on the second syllable.
Here are some grammar notes:
-every members – This is singular: every member.
- I remember in my extended family come to celebrate – I remember THAT my extended family CAME to celebrate. . .
Two of my cousins was living overseas – Two of my cousins WERE living overseas.
On that event – AT THIS event
WE all come together and toast to / for my grandpa’s health. – We all CAME together and TOASTED my grandpa’s health.
We take a family photo. – We TOOK a family photo.
We was did that before. – We did that before. – No WAS.
Best wishes as you continue to practice!

[lmoore]

You save 1 hour and 40 minutes driving time to and from work by having the car? Wow! Good for you!
Here are some notes:
1.) It is French car. – It is A French car.
2.) mortgage – say the R Good job that you didn’t say the “t.”
3.) I still try to manage to do it. – I still try to do it. OR I still manage to do it. “I still try to do it” emphasizes that you try to do it, but you may not always be successful. “I still manage to do it” means that you are successful.
4.) two hours on commute – two hours COMMUTING
5.) car – say R at the end
Your opening was the same as it has been in the past. I would encourage you to say something other than, “I’d like to talk about,” or “I’m going to talk about.” Although the examiner won’t really care whether you open with this or not, I encourage you to expand your vocabulary and try something different. For example, you might say, “I will discuss. . .”
Pronunciation difficulties seemed to center on the letter “r.”
Best wishes as you continue to practice!