“If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!” (William Strunk) … Why compound ignorance with inaudibility?”

― E.B. White, The Elements of Style

Learning to pronounce English words correctly can be one of the hardest parts of learning English.

Ah! Yeah, I know it can make you crazy.

I remember when I was young my parents hardly spoke in English. What my older brother and I did was just read the school books we had, the encyclopedias my parents bought us. So at the age of 6, I have keenly memorized a lot of geological timescales, from Precambrian era to the Cenozoic era. And let me tell you, there were too many difficult words there! However, it didn’t stop me from learning English. I always wanted to learn about animals, so I was always tuned in to the National Geographic channel. It was so fun imitating how the narrator would say certain words.

You should do the same thing too.

Here are the other tips that I surely would love to recommend to you.

 

1. Open your ears. Learn to listen.

You can listen to mostly about anything. From you favorite English movie or TV series, you can use it to your advantage.

T

ry listening to podcasts in English, exposing yourself regularly to native speaking speakers will naturally condition your brain to understand and produce the sounds of the language in a more clear and smooth way.

Let there be variations when you listen to something. I often tell my students that it is better for them to learn and listen in a British or English accent so they can get accustomed easily.

The better you get at hearing words, the better you will become at pronouncing them.

2. Use a mirror.

Seeing yourself speak is the best way for you to practice your pronunciation.

When you speak, you move your mouth. How you move your mouth affects how you pronounce a word.

Watch other people and notice the shape their mouth and lips make when they talk. Try to follow the actors you see on TV or in a movie. Imitate how they react and sound like.

3. Find that melody.

In order to be better understood in the workplace, on the telephone or giving presentations, the melody of speech is a critical piece in order for the listener to understand the speaker’s message. It is even considered to be more important than pronunciation of sounds. Being able to modify a few characteristics of melody of speech will improve your intelligibility and will improve understanding in the conversations you have with others.

The best way to improve your intonation is simply to become more aware of it. By listening carefully to a recorded conversation (YouTube is a good place to start), you will begin noticing how other speakers use intonation to express themselves.

 

4. Mind your tongue.

To improve your English pronunciation, it’s a good idea to check what your tongue is doing.

Some difficult sounds for non-native speakers to make are the letters “L” and “R,” and the sound “TH.” Pronouncing them correctly is all in the tongue!

Pronunciation is a physical skill. You’re teaching your mouth a new way to move and using different muscles. Focus on difficult sounds each day. Having trouble with ‘th’? Put your tongue between your teeth (don’t bite down) and blow air out of your mouth. Feel the air move over the top of your tongue.

5. Record yourself.

You will be amazed as to how good or  how bad you are when you hear yourself. Hey!Don’t be discouraged. The more you are aware of your mistakes, the better you will be.

Use a camera and not just a sound recorder because it’s important to see how you speak, not only hear it.

Are you moving your mouth the right way? Is your tongue in the right place? Are you stressing the right part of the word?

6. Practice reading aloud.

Reading out loud makes you better in your pronunciation. You have to be sure that the words you are reading are correctly pronounced. Use your dictionary.

Choose some nursery rhymes to practice. They will help you with pronunciation through rhythm.

Choose a paragraph and mark each sentence with a sound script (helpful pronunciation markup). This will help you read more naturally, and thus pronounce correctly.

Don’t rush.

If you speak too fast, the danger is that you could skip over some words, fail to pronounce them completely, or mix them up. If you speak too slowly, you might end up sounding unnatural. But it’s better to speak slowly and clearly than too quickly.

Remember, pronunciation can be improved quite quickly with small, concentrated doses even only a few times per week.