Stress Rules for English Words

These are rules for Word stress from EnglishClub.com
1.Two Syllable Words
Most 2-syllable Nouns, stress on the first part
--PREsent EXport CHIna TAble
Most 2- syllable Adjectives, stress on the second syllable
--SLENder,CLEVer HAppy
Stress on the last syllable
Most 2 syllable Verbs, stress on second syllable
-- to preSENT, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN
2. Words ending in - ic, stress on the second syllable from the end.
--Graphic, geographic, geologic
3.Words ending in -sion and -tion, stress on the second syllable from the end.
--televison, revelation
4.--Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy, and -gy, Stress on the third syllable from the end.
---Democracy, dependability, photography
5. Words ending in -al, stress on Third syllable from the end.
--Critical, geological
6. Compound Words
compound nouns, stress on the first part -- esl lab, classroom
compound adjectives, stress on the second part --
compound verbs, stress on the second part.

English Pronunciation

Self Study Pronunciation lessons for Asian Speakers.
Resources:
English Secret - This Internet site offers pronunciation lessons with Video. Each lesson has 7 parts. http://www/englishsecret.com/index.jsp

Based on statistical data: the group of Asian immigrants with the best pronunciation (such as people from India) earn almost twice as much income than other groups of Asian immigrants, and have a more active social life in the United States. We do everything through our social networks. Pronunciation is the key to the social network, communication, and mingling with others (which is the best way to learn English). Investing in your pronunciation lesson is the best investment you will ever make.
Each sound lesson consists of the following 5 sub-lessons:
1. Sound-forming instruction lesson: follow the sound-forming instruction to learn how to pronounce American English.
2. Contrasting sound: listen to similar contrasting sounds to recognize the difference between sounds; identify the unique characters of each sound.
3. Words: learn to pronounce the sound in a word.
4. Sentence: learn to pronounce the sound in a sentence.
5. Daily practice story exercise: the most effective way to practice pronunciation is reading a story as if you are speaking in front of people. Eventually you will be confident enough to speak in front of an audience. The ideal story size to practice pronunciation is 4~5 paragraphs long.
Each story exercise comes with video lessons and three different speeds of speech:
1. Normal speed: the average speed of a regular American English speaker.
2. ESL speed: our recommendation speed for an ESL student. Correct pronunciation is more important than fast speech to convey the message. Slowing down speech is the most effective way to make the correct pronunciation for an ESL student. However, if the speech is too slow, it would make a dull, boring conversation. The ESL speed is the ideal slow speed for correct pronunciation, but it is not too slow in order to keep interesting conversation.
3. Super-slow speed: the slowest speed to listen to the sound of an individual word.
Read each story exercise twice: the first time, practice with the super-slow speed focus on the correct pronunciation of the individual target sound. The second time you read the story, try to speak in the ESL speed.