Pronunciation may be one of the most important skills one can practice when learning a new language. There are many ways to increase your speaking and pronunciation skills. While studying don’t forget to get feedback. Your friends and family may not offer the most honest feedback, so I recommend you hire a tutor or join a class.
Please contact me and I will be happy to offer feedback on tour speaking and pronunciation.
Here are some ways to improve your English pronunciation:
Before I get to the list, which I hope you will find practical AND fun, I will suggest that you become better acqauninted with the international phonetic alphabet.
About the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): This alphabet is a guide to sounds represented by symbols. The best students often are very thorough about aspects like vocabulary and make notes about correct pronunciation when they encounter new words. the IPA is always available in one form another via dictionaries and other English study sources. IPA on Wikipedia.
Right then here is the list you’been waiting for!
- Practice tongue twisters: Tongue twisters can help you improve your pronunciation by challenging your tongue, lips, and vocal cords.
- Record yourself: Recording yourself speaking can help you identify areas for improvement and track your progress.
- Use pronunciation guides: Pronunciation apps can provide interactive exercises, audio recordings, and visual guides to help you practice.
- Identify pronunciation issues: Before you can work on improving your pronunciation, it’s important to identify your specific problem areas.
- Read aloud: Reading aloud can strengthen your vocal tract muscles, which can help build your pronunciation skills.
- Use online dictionaries: You can check online dictionaries for pronunciation when discovering a new word.
- Correct stress: Word stress is where you place emphasis within a word, and it can affect the way the word is pronounced and its meaning.
- Assume an English Persona: a really compelling idea is to assume a persona of adopt the personality and speech characteristics of someone you admire. For example for a British male you could study High Grant. For a US male you could look at Brad Pitt. As a woman you could look at figures like Oprah and Beyonce. Accent plays a role, so pick a regional dialect that suits your needs and have fun with your studies!
- Practise listening via TV, movies, radio and podcasts on platforms like Netflix, Youtube, and Spotify
- Watch lips and mouth: Noticing how your mouth and lips move can assist when trying to form the various vowel and consonant sounds we produce with different lip shapes and mouth positions.
- Pay attention to your tongue: the tongue, like the entire mouth, teeth, and jaw plays a central role in producing speech sounds. Watch native speakers and monitor your tongue position closely as you make English sounds.
- Break words into sounds: We can study English by breaking words down into sounds. these chunks or sound units can be called phonemes. For example take the word Toronto. It is three sounds, with stress in the middle syllable, like this: tə-RON-toh.
- Exaggerate certain sounds – You may want to emphasize certain sounds or syllables to make yourself clearer. This is especially true in loud public places or when somebody may be taking your order in a coffee shop or when chatting with a customer service agent on the phone.
- Write down what you hear (dictation): A classic activity for students is to listen to a spoken piece by a teacher, or perhaps a piece of poetry or monologue from a play or show, and try to write every word you hear. Pause the recording or listen two or three times if you need to pay close attention.
Most of this list is self-evident. But let me stress that many aspects of English study will have an impact on other, less visible related areas. Studying vocabulary, as I mentioned earlier, may improve pronunciation if you look at the IPA symbols. And on that topic, studying via listening to movies or TV will also have an impact on your skills. Listening is the sibling, so to speak, of speaking. Improving one will have a positive impact on the other.
Have fun with your speaking and do try to focus on pronunciation. It is a rewarding thing to find your speaking becoming clearer and clearer and pronunciation plays a big role.
Looking forward to working wit you on your speaking, listening and other English and communication skills. Reach and let me know what you are looking for in a tutor. I invite you to contact me and get the ball started.
Thank you for reading. Talk to you soon
