When it comes to learning English, sometimes what you see is not what you hear. For example, the words “tough” and “though,” which are differentiated just by one letter in spelling, sound completely different when pronounced.
It may seem complicated, but proper English pronunciation is critical. People’s early impressions of you can be greatly influenced by how you speak and how they perceive you. You can hear many accents in English-speaking countries, including American and British accents.
It is possible to have the correct pronunciation while having a different accent. The problem with pronunciation is that it is not simply a matter of learning knowledge; it is also an essential skill that you must develop through continuous practice.
So, what can you do to improve your pronunciation so that people worldwide can understand you more easily? To help you practice and skill your pronunciation, we’ve put together some crucial pointers.
Top 6 tips to Improve Your English Pronunciation
Listen to your speech.
It can be tough to detect your own pronunciation mistakes because you’re focusing on what you’re saying instead of the sound you’re creating. Correcting your pronunciation mistakes is difficult if you cannot hear your mistakes at all.
If you have a smartphone or a computer, record a portion of your speech and write down what you’d like to improve on.
Picture it
Make a sound by closing your eyes and thinking about how you will make it. Visualize the posture of your lips and face concerning the rest of your body.
If you have examined the phonemic chart, consider the sound you produce and its relationship to other English or British text to speech outputs.
If you use mouth and tongue illustrations, consider the shape you need to create inside your mouth to produce the sound appropriately.
Slow your pace of speech.
Fast-paced speech makes it more challenging to comprehend what is being said. Whenever we are under pressure or excitement, our speech becomes hurried. So, take a deep breath before speaking anything.
This prevents your mouth and voice cords from becoming tense. Maintain an average conversational pace. Make the most important words in your sentences stand out by saying them loudly and for a more extended time. The overall message you are conveying will be more readily understood.
Focus on difficult words and break them down.
When you encounter a strange word and are unsure of how to pronounce it, stop and take a break and pay special attention to the characteristics of the word, such as its pronunciation, syllable count, and meaning.
The first thing you’ll need to do is take that big and complex word and break it down into parts. After that, slowly reassemble it again.
An excellent example of a word that is regularly mispronounced in the English language is “February”.
People continue to pronounce it as Feb-yu-airy. If you look carefully, you’ll see an r in the middle of the letter. Breaking it down further indicates that it’s actually pronounced Feb-ru-airy.
Make use of a mirror to perfect your technique.
This is the most straightforward method of determining what your mouth is doing when you are talking.
It can be challenging to learn English, but you can enhance your pronunciation by practising in front of a mirror. Even a few minutes of practice might make a big difference.
Decide on a single accent and stick with it.
Another way to improve your English pronunciation is to pick a specific accent and stick with it.
You can hear different accents in different parts of the world. You most likely speak with a regional accent from your own country. However, you are now attempting to talk with an English accent. Between British accents and North American accents, there are a lot of significant differences between the two of them.
Even within North America and the UK, several regions have their own distinctive ways of pronouncing words. Whatever accent and dialect you settle on, be sure you’re prepared to commit to it for the long term before you begin.
When you’ve been speaking with one accent for years, suddenly switching to another can feel like you’re learning the language again.
Conclusion
It might be challenging for many people to master the art of English pronunciation. Listening to native speakers can be a helpful tool in learning how to pronounce words.
It is possible to learn how to pronounce the English language using various tools available online. Overall, it is necessary to practice to be able to communicate effectively in English.
