Hello! I’m John Russell. Let’s continue our exploration of common words, phrases, and questions. Today we consider a useful question: Do you speak English? In today's lesson, we will focus on linking. Linking means to connect an ending consonant sound with the first vowel sound in the next word. If you want to sound more like an American, then you need to practice linking your speech. Let’s take our question: Do you speak English? We have four words. But the last two are of special importance. Notice that the verb “speak” ends in this consonant sound: -k -k And notice that the noun “English” starts with a vowel sound: E E Americans generally link the last sound in “speak” with the first vowel sound in “English.” We can compare two statements. If we say the phrase without linking, it sounds like this: “speak English” But when we say the phrase with linking, it sounds like this: “speak English” This detail about linking might seem minor. But mastering linking can really go far in improving your pronunciation. And when we use common, everyday phrases, we need to sound as natural as possible. That’s all for today! Keep up the good work! --------- Learning English is Voice of America’s multimedia source of news and information for millions of English learners worldwide. We help you build vocabulary, strengthen your speaking skills and improve your ability to communicate for work, school and everyday life. EXPLORE OUR PLAYLISTS: » Learning English Podcast:    • Learning English Podcast   » Let's Learn English with Anna! (For children 8-120    • Let's Learn English with Anna   » Let's Learn English Level 1    • Let's Learn English   » Let's Learn English Level 2    • Let's Learn English Level 2   » VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/ » LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/voalearningenglish » FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/voalearningenglish/ » FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/voalearnenglish » SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST ON ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/voa-special-english-tv/id419005656 Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 326 million people.