What To Do To Improve Your English

There are so many ways to improve your English, however this is only one of those helpful blogs that will help you.

********

This is the post about getting rid of you accent, please review this info as we'll be working your English speaking skill based on it.

Please read the following article loud, so you can hear yourself.

Click the Title so you can go to the article.

********

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 (Is more common in speanish speakers to speak a Amerian English than a Bristish one, it's easier and more common to find people to talk with but everything is possible if you commit with yourself). 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.

Learn the IPA and the individual sounds of English.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a collection of symbols that represent the different sounds of a language. When you know 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

When you learn a new word, learn how to pronounce it correctly and practice pronouncing 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: outrageous. How do you pronounce this word? Let’s check two of the online dictionaries specifically for English learners:
MW Learner’s Dictionary
MacMillan Online Dictionary

Both of these dictionaries show you the IPA/phonetic transcription of the word (including which syllable you must stress): /aʊtˈreɪʤəs/

You can also click on the red speaker icon to hear someone say the word.

Watch YouTube pronunciation videos

Here I left you some examples, you can feel free and look for some videos by your own with the tachers that you feel more confortable, that's how I did it. American accent:
Teacher Melanie (me!)
JenniferESL
Lisa Mojsin @ Accurage English
Rachel’s English
Pronuncian/Seattle Learning Academy
Eva Easton

British accent:
The Phone Voice
VirtuAule

Try to imitate spoken English

To "imitate" means to copy someone/something, to do something the same way, or to do the same thing as someone else do. Do you really like the way someone speaks English? Try to copy the way he/she speaks.

Do you ever try to make fun of someone from another part of your country by imitating his accent? That’s what you need to do in English!

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. Hear the sounds, don’t try to see the words. Choose a word or sentence, and listen to it many times.

Here are some resources that are useful for this:
English Teacher Melanie podcast (My Favortie)
ESLPod podcast
Coach Shane’s Daily Dictation

Try to imitate the sounds that native speakers make.

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.

Record yourself

It’s important to hear what you sound like, speaking in 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 online article or a AudioBook. Then, listen to it 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.

Practice for at least 25 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.

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 by 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.

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.

Feel free of submit any video to this blog and your comments about any doubt that you may have, I'm available 24/7 or you can reach me at this email address

Best Regards

Irandis

This information was originally taken from: http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-how-to-improve-your-english-pronunciation/