What's new on IELTS with Fiona

Yesterday this live video of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern went viral because she had to tell her daughter to go to bed in the middle of it.

But how does she pronounce 'bed'?

Australian and New Zealand vowel sounds have certain characteristics e.g. the /e/ sound in /bed/ is pronounced like the 'i' in 'bid' (notice also how 'meant' sounds like 'mint' and 'sec' in 'second' sounds like 'sick').

The IELTS Listening Test uses a lot of Australian and New Zealand accents, so it's important to familiarise yourself with these sounds e.g. by watching Australian/NZ soap operas ('Neighbours' and 'Home and Away') or films (my favourite is Muriel's Wedding).