You have spent ample time learning English from online videos and lectures, but when you have to speak out, you may struggle with some words. You may have spent hours on your English lessons, but still struggle to improve your English pronunciation of words because you have only listened to those words. When this happens, it breaks your confidence and also hinders your performance in English language exams. To build up your confidence and improve your pronunciation skills, we have listed 7 tips in this article to help you improve your English pronunciation.
1. Accent
The first most important step in the process to improve your pronunciation is to select an accent. Accent plays a major role in English speaking. It affects your pronunciation of words and also leaves an impression on the examiner. One mistake candidates often commit is switching between accents. You should pick an accent that best suits your personality and stick to it. English sounds completely different in different accents. When you speak in one particular accent, it will be easy for you to learn the pronunciation of words in that accent.
2. Record yourself
If you have no one else to check your mistakes or if you are too shy to open up to someone then this is for you. All you have to do is turn on your camera, hit the record button, and start to speak while the phone is recording. Once done you can replay the recorded video and evaluate yourself and find your pronunciation weaknesses. This strategy has been proven effective for many students because you make the mistake, analyze where you went wrong, and correct yourself.
3. Breaking of Words
Many fumble up while speaking big and twisty words. The best way to tackle big words is by breaking them down into syllables. Most words that you use in your day-to-day life are made up of just 2 or 3 syllables. The problem arises when the words have 6 to 7 syllables in them. If you ever come across any such word, don’t panic, just break it down into syllables, this way you can pronounce it efficiently.
For example, take the word “incomprehensible”. When we break it down, we get 6 syllables that are “in-com-pre-hen-si-ble”. Put them all together, and you’ll have the excat pronunciation.
4. Listen to audiobooks
Listen to audio books every day to improve your vocabulary and pronunciation. Instead of watching a video of something you need, try and find its audiobook and listen to it. For example, quit watching recipe videos instead, listen to an audiobook that narrates the recipe to you. While listening, if you find any words that you don’t know, quickly look them up on the web and write down how they’re pronounced.
5. Learn the stress and sounds of words
There are some unique words that, regardless of your pronunciation, sound right only when they are said with the right stress and sound. The process of using high and low tones of voice while you speak is called Intonation. In some cases, stress is applied to the whole words, and in others, it is applied only on 1 or 2 syllables.For example int the word ‘photographic’ only GRA syllable is stressed – pho-to-GRA-phic.
6. Read out loud
This is a practice that you must religiously follow to improve your pronunciation skills. Candidates during their IELTS preparation often complain that their jaw turns sore when they speak English for prolonged times. The reason for this is that your mouth is trained to speak in your original language longer when you switch to English, and especially when you try to correct your pronunciation, your mouth or jaw could become sore. This can be easily overcome by reading out loud and building the strength of your jaw muscle.
7. Use online tools
For improving your pronunciation skills and helping you with your IELTS preparation, you should take the help of online tools. There are many free-to-use tools available online that will help you by providing challenging tasks and correcting you once you are done with them. You will also find chatbots running on artificial intelligence that talk with you in proper phrases, just like a human being.
These are the best 7 tips that will definitely improve your English pronunciation easily. The way you pronounce words will determine your score in the IELTS English exam. The wrong or improper pronunciation will leave a bad impression on the examiner, which will affect your score. Focus and work daily on these easy-to-do tips and experience the change in your English pronunciation.