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Improve English pronunciation

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Improving English pronunciation

Learning English when it's not your native language can be tricky, especially when it comes to the pronunciation factor. That's why, if you're having trouble sounding like a native speaker and avoiding having a thick accent, you should try our tips for improving your English pronunciation.

Key tips to improve your English pronunciation

The more you practise the language, the better you will get, not only at pronouncing it, but also at writing and listening to it. However, each of these aspects is practised individually as we communicate orally and in writing.

english pronunciation

But, if your main problem with the study of this language has to do with pronunciation, then you are in luck. In today's article we will give you a list of tips that will allow you to improve your English pronunciation gradually. So pay close attention and start putting them into practice on a daily basis.

Notice your mistakes and start correcting them

Identifying your mistakes in pronunciation is the first step to improving this aspect of the language. For many people, this can be a little difficult, as not being surrounded by native speakers can make it hard to identify the mistakes we make.

However, you can find videos on the internet about the most common mistakes in English pronunciation. So, by watching them, you can identify if you are making them too and start to change that.

Pronounce vowels correctly

Each of the letters in the alphabet is pronounced differently depending on the language spoken. In the case of English, as in any other language, depending on the location of the letter within the word, it can sound different.

This is most often the case with vowels. This is why you should listen carefully to the correct way of pronouncing words with an emphasis on identifying the vowel sound.

Practice the pronunciation of "Minimal pairs".

Minimal pairs" are words which, despite being similar in spelling, change in a single feature and this completely transforms their pronunciation. It is therefore necessary to be very attentive to this and to pronounce them carefully so that others can understand what we mean.

For example, "Heart" and "Hurt" are pronounced very similarly, but there is a feature in the vowel sound that you must learn to change. The same is also true for the terms "Pool" and "Pull".

Familiarise yourself with the phonetics of the language

Phonetics is the science of studying the pronunciation and speech of a language. A series of signs known as phonemes are used to study the pronunciation and speech of a language. These represent specific sounds of each letter and can vary according to their position within the word.

Although phonemes are most often used by expert linguists, it is true that using them can be of great help to you. Even if it takes time to get to know them, to become familiar with them and to recognise each of the sounds they represent.

tips to improve your english pronunciation

The idea is that, once you know all the English phonemes, you should always write them next to the words so that you have a better idea of how to pronounce them.

Read English texts aloud

Whenever you are looking to study or practise a language, you should start reading texts in that language. And by reading them aloud, you can gradually improve your pronunciation.

You may have to read slowly at first in order to accurately pronounce all the sounds in the word. But as you keep practising, you will begin to read more fluently and quickly. Also, if you practise with texts, novels or stories that you enjoy, studying will be much more enjoyable.

Constantly listen to the language

On the other hand, constant listening to English will give you a better idea of how to pronounce the language. You can do this by listening to songs, films or series that are in English.

Of course, learning to understand spoken English also takes time. But as you listen to more and more of the language, you will be able to understand everything that native speakers say.

Learn English with a private teacher

If you want to go even further to improve your English pronunciation, then it's time to consider hiring a private teacher. Thanks to their classes you will be able to have a much broader and more accurate knowledge of the language. So you can improve your English language skills in a very short time and from an expert in the field.

So, if you wish to do so, we invite you to check our website, where we have a large number of private teachers offering their services. From WeSmartly you can contact the teacher of your choice to start planning your private lessons and improve your English language skills.

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