Trying to master the phonology of a particular dialect is daunting!

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

    One of the toughest Jingles to "qualify" (that is to master to a certain degree) is "Day 92":

        Day 92: Ms. Wang stayed in America

        for three “months” and in Britain for three "months."

Slow, Careful Speed

DAY 92: MS. WANG STAYED IN AMERICA

FOR THREE “MONTHS” AND IN BRETAIN FOR “MONTHS”.

Normal Speed

        Day 92: Ms. Wang stayed in America

        for three “months” and in Britain for three "months."

   What at first glance appears to be an innocuous statement about a woman named "Ms. Wang" 's 6 months -- 3 of them spent in the United States, 3 of them in England – turns out to be a rigorous undergoing for each client who runs into Worksheet 182-2...

   The Jingles worksheets begin with Worksheet 1, the first tiny element that has been designed to lead to a client's goal of developing nativelike expertise in pronouncing and catching English utterances, After Worksheet 10, worksheet numeration changes to 11-1, goes to 11-2, 12-1, and so on eventually reaching the final worksheet, which is 504-2. Therefore, the total number of Worksheets comes to 1,010....

   To describe briefly the progression of Jingles clients along "The Jingles Road":

                     1. 1 ~ 49-2 are the beginning level Jingles;

                     2. 50-1 ~ 74-2 are the intermediate Jingles;

                     3. 75-1 ~ 90-2 are the advanced Jingles;

                     4. 91-1 ~ 193-2 are the native-level Jingles;

                     5. 194-1 ~ 504-2 are the super-advanced Jingles.

   Only 5 Jingles clients have reached Worksheet 400-1 -- and none of them is currently pursuing the holy grail of 504-2. It appears to be much too elusive to attain!

   “Just today I taught a client who wishes to speak “the most beautiful England English possible.” For many reasons, however her target language allophonome is a mixture of US English, "British" English, and traces of "other Englishers". To produce flawless, nativelike English has been her quest for the past 4 years -- and today she encountered "Worksheet 182-2 -- which is simply designed -- but with a "sealed form" reminiscent of the "seamless construction of the late Steven Jobs' later iPhones.

   She thought our 45-minute long session would be a lark -- then she ran into the wonderful reality of The Jingles. During the entire session she and I slipped and slid into the sociolinguistic notion of making the "happy choice' that places the outsider amazingly close to speakers of kerm target dialect. Moreover, she learnt that more than ever, the bulk of her homework for her next session is to (You guessed it!) PRACTICE JINGLE A.

   Next month I will be following up on this very important moment in the client's pursuit of 

her dream.

Steve Walker 

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2025 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises