American Accent

American English Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Rating Form

United States of America

The American accent is the most commonly spoken accent of the United States.

Refer to the following website for a detailed guide on the varieties of American accents.

- North American English Dialects, Based on Pronunciation Patterns http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#LargeMap

Refer to the following website for sound clips of American dialects categorised according to State or area.

- International Dialects of English Archive: United States of America http://www.dialectsarchive.com/united-states-of-america

Task 1)

Hugh Laurie guesting on The Ellen Show discussing American and British Slang

(Skills: Listening Comprehension, slang)

Watch the video clip and select the most suitable answer.

What is the literal meaning of flossing according to Hugh Laurie?
1. American’s opinion of British dental practice
2. American’s opinion of American dental practice
3. British opinion of British dental practice
4. British opinion of American dental practice
(Correct answers are bolded.)
“That was to really show you how wrong you were… It’s kind of rubbing it in” The underlined words can be replaced by
1. erasing a mistake
2. making me more embarrassed
3. hiding something bad
4. making it clearer
(Correct answers are bolded.)

Task 2

Drag the slang to its definition

Task 3

David Letterman Show – Emma Watson needs a Band-Aid

(Skill: Listening Comprehension)

Watch the video clip and select the most suitable answer.

The main topic discussed in the video is…
1. life in university
2. American kids
3. language pronunciation
4. cultural differences
(Correct answers are bolded.)
How does Emma Watson describe her encounter with students at college?
1. wonderful
2. strange
3. simple
4. difficult
(Correct answers are bolded.)
What is David Letterman’s impression of American kids?
1. attentive
2. crazy
3. unobservant
4. unintelligent
(Correct answers are bolded.)
Emma Watson did not expect the culture gap to be so…
1. normal
2. minor
3. significant
4. diverse
(Correct answers are bolded.)
What culture gap ‘problem’ did Emma Watson initially think she would encounter?
1. fluency and minor language problems
2. pronunciation and minor language problems
3. fluency and major language problems
4. pronunciation and major language problems
(Correct answers are bolded.)
How long did it take the students to figure out Emma needed a Band-Aid?
1. 4-5min
2. 5-6min
3. 6-7min
4. less than 5min
(Correct answers are bolded.)

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