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Smart Accent Pronunciation Tips
Observe the mouth movements of native speakers and try to imitate them.
If you want to improve your accent, you need to work very hard to change the way you move your tongue. This is very critical for those who are just starting out especially for those who came from countries like China, Korea, and Germany. Some of the sounds of English do not exist in their language! A good way to practice is by watching American movies. When you watch American movies, try to listen to the sounds, rhythm and the way they stretch out their words. That’s is, “looooonnngggggg” instead of just a short “long”
Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow down your speech.
When you are watching T.V. look at the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech. If you speak too quickly with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you. Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech – it is more important that everything you say be understood.
Listen to the “music” of English.
That is, just listen to the way native American speak if you want to improve the way you sound. Notice the way they add music to their speech. Whenever you hear a native speak their language, try to imitate not the words or the sentence, just the sounds. Remember, we are talking about accent.
Use your dictionary.
Don’t use the music of your native language when you are speaking English. Each language has its own way of “singing”. Become familiar with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary and look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.
Make a list of frequently used words that are difficult for you to pronounce and ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you.
Buy books on tape.
Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time. Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the speaker from the book on tape.You can check out our recommended books for additional information.
Pronounce the ending of each word.
Pay special attention to “s” and “ed” endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English. Research has shown that it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.
Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.
Be patient.
Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid having to listen to themselves speaking. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes that you are making. You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.
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