PRONUNCIATION

Do you have a hard time pronouncing certain sounds in English? Do you believe that it’s nearly impossible to improve your accent? Well, I´m here to tell you that you can drastically improve your pronunciation in a short amount of time.

It´s going to take an open mind, consistent effort, and experimentation with new strategies, but it´s not as hard as you’ve been led to believe. With pronunciation, a little effort goes a long way. You just have to want it bad enough.

- Open Your Ears to Youtube Pronunciation Channels

There are a lot of very helpful, well-done youtube channels that focus on pronunciation. “How to Reduce Your Accent in English” focused on “Rachel’s English,” which is a series of free pronunciation videos that teach phonetics and correct English pronunciation. Other recommended youtube pronunciation channels are listed below..

Here’s a program that enables you to download and convert youtube videos into MP3 audio format so you can listen in your car or on the bus. It’s recommended to listen to the same sounds every day until you feel like

Three Useful Pronunciation Videos For English Learners

- “TH” Sound (Dave Sconda)

- “H” Sound

- “ED” Verb endings (Rachel’s English)

- SH vs CH

- Five Youtube Channels That Teach Pronunciation

- Rachel’s English

- Dave Sconda (English Meeting)

- English with Jennifer

- Amy Walker

- Speech School

- English For Life: Listen to Podcasts Every Day

Podcasts Teaching Pronunciation: Similar to Youtube pronunciation channels, there are some really good podcasts dealing with pronunciation. Podcasts are free, downloadable audio programs that you can put on your mp3 player. Learn more about podcasts here. They are an excellent option because you can listen in your car or on the bus while you’re stuck in traffic, or whenever is most convenient for you. Here are two recommended websites for pronunciation podcasts:

- American English Pronunciation (Seattle Learning Academy) has over 150 free downloadable podcast episodes teaching American English pronunciation.

- English Pronunciation Podcast

- Two Free Pronunciation Podcasts Specifically Made FOR BRAZILIANS

- Pronunciation For Portuguese Speakers: Vowel Sounds

- Pronunciation For Portuguese Speakers: Consonant Sounds

- Native Speaking Podcasts: Whether its ESL podcasts (English as a Second Language) or podcasts that are made for Native English speakers, exposing yourself regularly to native speaking speakers will naturally condition your brain to understand and produce the sounds of the language in a more clear and smooth way. Here are 3 very extensive podcast directories that can help you find good native speaking podcasts in English. To learn more about podcasts, read “What is a Podcast, and Why You Should Care”

- NPR Podcast Directory (National Public Radio: American)

- BBC Podcast Directory (British Broadcasting Channel: British)

- The Best Free Podcasts

- Listen to the World Famous Real Life English Podcast

- Intonation: Focus on the Music Behind the Words

Whether you pay attention to it or not, the musical element of a language is essential to good pronunciation. You don’t need to become a musician or listen to more music in English (although both of these could help), but you should pay attention to the intonation of native speakers. Intonation is the melodic pattern of the language.

If you had to hum the language, what would it sound like? Making this awareness a part of your learning process is important. Check out this youtube video of people singing in American English (the funny part is that it totally sounds like English but they aren’t using words). If you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t notice the difference.

The application is more of an attitude rather than a strategy, as it involves constant awareness rather than routine, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind. We also Recommend  How Music Can Make You Fluent and Intonation: The Secret Ingredient to Great Pronunciation (with Audio).

- Practice: Read Out Loud Every Day

I would reserve this one more specifically for people who have already learned some degree of correct pronunciation, because reading without correct pronunciation, or a teacher helping you, you’re just reinforcing poor pronunciation. The reader should have some clear sense of what it feels and sounds like to pronounce things correctly.

If your pronunciation level has not been stabilized, I don’t recommend reading for more than 10 or 15 minutes, because people tend to lose their concentration, and go back to their vices (which is to reinforce them). Remember, pronunciation can be improved quite quickly with small, concentrated doses even only a few times per week. Here’s a helpful article on reading out loud.

One way around this, however, is to listen to the audio book while you read the text and imitate the speaker. For greater effectiveness, record yourself speaking and compare it to the audio book.