Tips on Pronunciation
Autor: Eduardo Nedel | Publicado: 2012-11-30T17:03:00-08:00


How to Improve Your English Pronunciation

by Melanie on July 12, 2012



(Photo by Leo Reynolds)

One of the most common questions I am asked is, “How can I improve my
 pronunciation?” I wrote this post to answer that question, and 
hopefully help you improve your English pronunciation! I believe that 
good pronunciation is essential for speaking AND understanding spoken 
English well. Below is a&nbsp;list of my best tips for improving your English
 pronunciation:







1) Practice for at least 30 minutes every day
There is no way around it: the only way your pronunciation will 
improve is if you practice, practice, practice! Your pronunciation will 
not magically improve just because you’re speaking English. The sounds 
of English may be very different from the sounds in your language. It 
may be difficult and even uncomfortable for your mouth to make some of 
the sounds in English.

You need to practice with a purpose. Practice the sounds of English 
until they feel as natural and comfortable as the sounds of your 
language. It won’t happen overnight, but gradually your pronunciation 
will improve.




2) Decide what kind of accent you would like to speak with
There are many different kinds of English accents. The two most 
common are British and American. There are many different accents even 
within British or American pronunciation, but most learning materials 
will help you learn either a standard British accent or a standard 
American accent.

American pronunciation and British pronunciation are completely 
different. The consonant sounds are the same (except for the letter ‘t’ 
and an ‘r’ after a vowel), but the vowel sounds are very different. The 
British accent has more vowel sounds, and some vowel letters are 
pronounced differently.




3) Learn the IPA and the individual sounds of English
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)&nbsp;is a collection of symbols 
that represent the different sounds of a language. When you know the all
 the sounds of English and the symbols that represent those sounds, you 
will be able to pronounce any word in English.

American Pronunciation:
The Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary Pronunciation Guide
Antimoon IPA chart
Rachel’s English

British Pronunciation:
BBC Learning English
Interactive IPA Chart




4) When you learn a new word, learn how to pronounce it correctly
The longer you say a word incorrectly, the harder it becomes to learn
 to say it correctly. You’ve developed a bad habit, and it takes a long 
time to break a bad habit! This is why it is so important to learn the 
IPA and use dictionaries specifically for English learners.

For example, let’s say you see a new word when you’re reading a book: permeate. How do you pronounce this word? Let’s check two of the online dictionaries specifically for English learners:
MW Learner’s Dictionary
Cambridge
Both of these dictionaries show you the IPA/phonetic transcription of 
the word (including which syllable you must stress): /ˈpɚmiˌeɪt/
You can also click on the red or blue speaker icon to hear someone say the word.




5) Watch YouTube pronunciation videos
American accent:
Teacher Melanie
JenniferESL
Lisa Mojsin @ Accurage English
Rachel’s English
Pronuncian/Seattle Learning Academy
Eva Easton

British accent:
The Phone Voice
VirtuAule




6) Try to imitate spoken English
To ‘imitate’ means to copy someone/something, to do something the 
same way, or to do the same things as someone else. Do you really like 
the way someone speaks English? Try to copy the way they speak.

This is a great activity to try: Close your eyes while you’re 
listening to something in English (podcasts, songs, TV shows, movies, 
etc.). Listen carefully to what the speaker is saying and try to make 
the same sounds. Choose a word or sentence, and listen to it many times.

Here are some resources that are useful for this:
English Teacher Melanie podcast&nbsp;
ESLPod podcast
Coach Shane’s Daily Dictation

Try to imitate the sounds that native speakers make.




7) Practice HEARING the sounds of English
Before you listen to an English podcast, song, etc. read the words 
first. Highlight, circle, or underline the sound you want to work on. 
For example, if you have trouble with the /I/ sound, highlight all the 
words that you think have the /I/ sound. Read the passage out loud to 
yourself, focusing on the words with /I/. Listen to the podcast (or 
song, etc.). Can you hear the /I/ sound? Practice the sound by trying to
 imitate what the speaker is saying.




8) Record yourself
It’s important to hear what you sound like speaking English so you 
know what you need to improve! You can compare what you sound like to 
what you want to sound like. For example, you record yourself 
reading a sentence from one of my podcasts. Then, listen to me say the 
same sentence and compare your pronunciation.

If you don’t have any recording software on your computer (like 
Windows Sound Recorder or GarageBand on Macs), you can use a web-based 
audio recorder:
audioboo
Vocaroo
SoundCloud

You may also be able to find a cheap digital voice recorder at your local electronics store.




9) Pronunciation Books
Here are the two books that I use to understand and teach American 
pronunciation. Check your local library for these books. If you attend a
 private language school, ask if it has these books. If you live in a 
large city, look for these books at an English bookstore. Buy these 
books online.

Mastering the American Accent – Lisa Mojsin





This is quite possibly the greatest book on American pronunciation 
for both teachers and advanced learners! It does not go through each and
 every sound (like the book below does). It focuses on the things that 
will help a non-native speaker speak with a standard American accent 
(like the kind you hear on CNN!): difficult consonant sounds, linking, 
syllable and word stress, intonation, and the difference between casual 
and formal speech. At the back of the book there is a ‘native language 
guide’ that explains what different nationalities (Chinese, Spanish, 
Russian, etc.) need to focus on. The book also includes 4 CDs so that 
the learner can listen to someone speaking almost every exercise.





English Pronunciation Made Simple – Paulette Dale and Lillian Poms





This book explains each individual sound in standard American 
English, as well as all the other elements of spoken English: rhythm, 
stress, intonation, consonant clusters, plurals, contractions, past 
tense verbs, etc. This is a great book for teachers to use as a 
classroom textbook as there are a lot of exercises teachers will find 
useful in the classroom. It is better for teachers than for students, as
 the 2 included CDs don’t say all the words and exercises. This book 
also helps to learn the IPA as it uses the IPA symbols to help explain 
American English pronunciation.




10) Have your pronunciation professionally evaluated
When your pronunciation is evaluated by a teacher, he/she can tell 
you exactly what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. 
He/She can tell you exactly what sounds you need to work on to sound 
more like a native speaker.

Use the search terms “English pronunciation assessment” or “English pronunciation evaluation” to find teachers online.

Source: http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-how-to-improve-your-english-pronunciation/