5 ways to Improve your English Pronunciation
Hi everyone! In today’s blog, we’re going to look at several ways to improve and have fun with
English pronunciation.
1) Listen to something – anything – in English:
This can include your favourite TV shows, podcasts, TED Talks, as well as the audio tracks your
teacher uses in class. You don’t need to understand every word. Just the act of listening to
English will help you get familiar with the sounds. A good way of doing this is listening to or
watching something that you’re already familiar with in your native language.
This way, you won’t have to focus on the story and all of your attention can go into the language being used! If you’re staying in Cork you could try listening to a podcast hosted by Corkonians to get familiar with the accent. One of our favourites is called “I’m Grand Mam” and it’s hosted by two Cork men living in London.
2) Make use of the phonemic chart:
It might take you a little while to learn but once you do, it makes pronunciation much easier.
English spelling can be difficult; often, we don’t say words the way we spell them. Phonemic
script focuses on sounds instead of spellings, so when you look up a new word in the dictionary,
as well as learning the meaning, you can immediately check the phonemic script and practise
saying the word correctly.
3) Familiarise yourself with minimal pairs:
Minimal pairs are words which differ by only one sound. One of the most common examples to
look out for: sheep and ship. This is where you can really make use of your phonemic chart.
Sheep has an /iː/ sound, while ship is /ɪ/.
A good way of practising minimal pairs outside of the
classroom is to make the sounds while looking in the mirror. Recognise how your face and
mouth look. Your facial expressions will seem strange at first, but with practice, you’ll become
used to producing the sounds and you won’t need to use those expressions anymore
4) Record yourself speaking and listen back to it:
None of us like hearing our recorded voices but, I promise, it helps! Pay attention to the sounds
you have problems with. Do you have to pause and check before you say the word? Maybe you
can’t finish the word at all? Noticing these things will help focus your attention on the areas of
your pronunciation that need work.
You could even ask a friend or family member to listen to it
for you and see if they can find anything you missed. Remember to speak slowly. Your fluency
will improve with time but, first, you need to get the sounds correct, then you can focus on a
faster pace.
5) Recognise and practise stress and intonation:
English is a stress-timed language, which means that some syllables are longer (stressed), and
some are shorter (unstressed). Marking word and sentence stress and then practising saying
them will greatly improve your English pronunciation and also give meaning to your
communication.
Intonation and stress are how we communicate emotion in English and some
great ways of getting better at this are to read poetry aloud or sing songs! These have a natural
rhythm and will get you used to emphasising content words. As in point number 1, you don’t
need to know the meaning of every single word, just practise the sounds.
Don’t be afraid to make pronunciation “mistakes” when you’re learning English. Even native
speakers struggle sometimes! The most important thing is that you use the language as often
as you can and in as many different situations as possible.
That’s it from us this week, if you use any of these tips let us know on our socials by tagging us @CorkEnglishCollege or by using the Hashtag #CorkEnglishCollege