When it comes to perfecting your English pronunciation there is no magic formula. English accent differs from region to region, and individual to individual. Some people have a heavy accent, while others have mother tongue influence and few others would just mispronounce the English words. Whatever maybe your problem, you can be rest assured that speaking English with correct pronunciation is not an impossible task. Like any other skills, English pronunciation has to be enhanced through hard work and dedication.
If you want to speak like a native-English speaker, here are few simple and effective English pronunciation tips for you:
First, Listen
Listening plays a major role in learning English pronunciation. The more you listen, the better your pronunciation would become. There are many English words that looks and sounds almost same but with different meanings.
Examples:
Ad (an advertisement)
Add (addition)
Sleep (be in a state of rest)
Slip (lose one’s footing)
Even if Ad and Add, Sleep and Slip sounds almost same, they are actually different words with entirely different meanings.
A new English learner should have sharp listening skills to be able to differentiate one word from another, keeping in mind the context.
Watch Mouth & Lips Movement
Did you ever notice how babies learn to speak? Often, babies watch their parents and people around them speak and that’s how they start speaking. The same rule is applicable, when you are learning the English language. Watching mouth and lips movement will help you in identifying how to move your mouth and lips in order to make the right sounds.
You can start by watching movies, songs, & news channels, and follow the mouth and lips movements of the actors, and anchors. By watching them talk, you will understand how a particular word makes your lips move in a certain way. However, this needs regular practice and the sooner you capture correct jawline movements, better would be your English pronunciation. If you are looking to practice British, American, Australian or any type of English accent, it is advisable that you watch programs, videos or movies, of that particular accent.
Learn Word Stress Rules
While learning to pronounce English words perfectly, it is important that you learn word stress correctly. The English language has its own unique rhythm, which is produced by stressing only a part of a word. Unlike, many other languages, English language doesn’t give equal stress to all syllables in a word. One word can have only one stress, you cannot have two stresses in a single English word.
Examples:
Photograph - PHO-to-graph
Present - PRE-sent
Orderly - OR-der-ly
A non-native speaker often fails to recognize the Word Stress Rules in English, producing wrong or inappropriate sounds. Mispronouncing any words will make people misunderstand you or unable to follow your thoughts.
Understand your Tongue Placements
Tongue placement plays a major role while pronouncing English words. The difference between one word from another word, is the difference of sounds which is produced by placing the tongue in different position.
Examples:
S - To pronounce words that starts with ‘S’, the tongue touches the back of the front teeth and the middle portion of the tongue is arched a little up.
Sh - While you try to pronounce the ‘Sh’ sound, your tongue arched up to the middle of the mouth and stay forward, without touching any part of the mouth.
Position of the tongue will change the sound of a word entirely, so non-native speakers must place the tongue in right position.
Practice Every Day
Practice makes a man perfect! The same thought holds true for non-native English speakers. There are certain English sounds that non-native speakers find hard to pronounce and those sounds need regular practice. A speaker has to listen intently many a times, by hearing the sound clearly in mind. Once, it is clear mentally, voicing the sound won’t be tad difficult.
If you find practicing alone difficult, try connect with other similar learners on language forums such as TalkEnglish.com and MyLanguageExchange, to speed up and keep speaking English progressive and exciting.
Hear and Watch Yourself
It is very important to record your voice and watch your mouth and lips movements, to check how your practice is progressing. Recording your mouth and lips movements along with voice helps you to compare how your jawline moves, as compared to native English speakers. Evaluating yourself will go a long way in making your practice successful.
If you have more tips, feel share to share with us in the comment box. To connect with our Expert Spoken English Trainers, post your requirement here.
