Lessons Unit 5, lesson 3

Linking: go on, turn it off

Native speech doesn't pause between words — a word ending in a consonant hands it to the next word's vowel. The ‿ mark on your sheets shows every join: go‿on sounds like go-won, turn‿it‿off like tur-ni-toff.

What do the marks mean?
ˈriːdread Stressed part — say it louder & longer.
to Weak word — say it quickly & softly.
e Silent letter — don’t pronounce it.
θth Underline — these letters spell one sound.
wa·ter Dot · — a syllable break.
goon Linked — blend the words together.
?↗︎↘︎ Arrows — voice rises ↗︎ or falls ↘︎.
ˈsɛvən7 Number — how to say it aloud.
read² ² mark — has a second pronunciation.
guess? ? mark — a best guess; double-check it.

Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.

Hear it in real sentences

Press play, listen to the whole sentence, then read it from the sheet yourself — match the rhythm, not just the sounds.

ˈɡ G o ɑː o n n . ↘︎ w-glide
Go on.
ˈt T ɝ ur n n ɪ i t t ˈɔː o f ff . ↘︎ linked ɾ flap
Turn it off.
ə A n n ˈæ a p pp əl l e ə a ˈd d ay . ↘︎ linked linked
An apple a day.
n N ɑː o t t ə a t t ɔː a l ll . ↘︎ ɾ flap ɾ flap
Not at all.

Why English never pauses between words

Go on, turn it off — native speech treats these as one continuous stream, not separate words with gaps between them. When a word ends in a consonant and the next one starts with a vowel, the consonant slides over and opens the next word: go‿on becomes go-won, turn‿it‿off becomes tur-ni-toff. Even not at all joins into one smooth run of sound this way.

How to hear it

Read An apple a day slowly first, word by word, then again following only the ‿ ties on the sheet, ignoring the spaces on the page entirely. Notice how the n in an slides straight onto the a of apple, closing the gap completely. The moment words start flowing into each other like this, you've crossed the real line in this course — from reading separate words to speaking connected sentences the way native speakers actually produce them.

Read the marks, not the spaces. When words start flowing into each other, you've crossed from reading words to speaking sentences.

An unhandled error has occurred. Reload 🗙

Rejoining the server...

Rejoin failed... trying again in seconds.

Failed to rejoin.
Please retry or reload the page.

The session has been paused by the server.

Failed to resume the session.
Please reload the page.