Goals like identifying sounds and distinguishing words by discriminating sounds are, to me, more achievable than say learning to produce the right intonation and pitch. Here I present some ideas if you want to tackle this issue on your own (although it works best with somebody's help and support). Research says that changing your phonological system after a certain age is a pretty impossible task. So, if English intonation can be tricky for speakers of Latin languages, let's forget about learning the Chinese tonal system in our 30s and 40s :-)
Obejctive:
to become aware of sounds and what makes English hard to understand
to learn to identify connected speech
to end up speak more clearly to native speakers and non- as well.
You'll need:
lots of discipline, ear-training, patience and lots of repetition
internet connection and a pc/tablet
and ideally someone to help you.
You can also try apps with sound recognition?
Pronunciation is not only a matter of you being understood when producing words. It is also a question of you understanding when spoken to (cuando te hablan / lors que quelcun vous parle). It’s a two way thing. If you are aware of sounds and how English works phonetically speaking, it makes it easier for you to understand. It’s not only a matter of pronouncing intelligibly though, it’s important to know lots of vocabulary coupled with an understanding of how grammar works that you’ll lead you to a greater comprehension.
What is communicating, in very simple terms?
One explains something so the other understands and acts accordingly. But you have to understand as well. If you catch certain sounds you’ll be more accurate and if you are accurate your message will be clearer to understand or at least you’ll reduce the chances of misunderstandings because of pronunciation, at least. If you catch the sounds you’ll find it easier to produce them too, and consequently, if you produce them, and you are more easily understood, your confidence will grow. For example, the pronunciation of the regular past, in many cases is just a matter of a t sound. Only the t sound (if there’s no time reference) indicates the past tense! So it’s important to train the ear to identify it and produce it.
Another important thing is to speak slowly. Speaking fast does not hide mistakes or proves that your command of the language is good. Speaking fast you may end up getting the person confused, which is not the aim of communication! And vowels are very important... after all, different accents are basically different ways of pronouncing vowels.
Then again, it’s also important to note that if you are going to interact with mainly non-native speakers there are items below which may become a little less important to tackle in-depth. Yet, should you speak to native speakers, it’s worth mentioning that those native speakers who are not used to speaking to non-natives speakers will hardly ever express their lack of understanding and they simply nod. So, you are never sure if they got your message in full or not. Whereas native speakers who are used to working/speaking with people with your accent will certainly find it a touch easier.
If you are able to match sounds with potential spellings you will be likely to be able to work out what word they are saying even if you have never seen it before.
then, check up the meaning and / or see if it makes sense in the message given. Not easy, i know but that's how the brain works.
- Sound awareness 42 sounds: Look at the pdf doc with a comparison of the letters (of the alphabet) and actual sounds that English, French, Italian, Spanish and Catalan have. Objective: become aware that English pronunciation and therefore understanding and producing it can be hard for languages of Latin origin. Click on the attached pdf doc:
- Watch the Introduction videos from bbc learning English, pronunciation tips. Listen to them at least twice.
Sounds: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/
All the videos can be found on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bbc+learning+english+pronunciation&sm=1
You don’t have to learn the symbols but it’s useful and not hard. As the lady says, many of the symbols are the same as the letters. Learn to associate a sound to a symbol to become aware of little differences between very similar sounds. In Spanish for example: cajón, cojón. Note that if you change the sound, you change the meaning!
- Symbols look scary but try the Quizzes tab for fun and you’ll discover that they are intuitive and you can draw patterns of use. Do the quizzes twice or more. It’s fun and easy to use.
- Sounds: learn, cup cap, etc. Carefully read and listen to the sounds and videos from the ppt doc provided.
- –es, -ure word document. Use www.howjsay.com and www.wordreference.com
- Schwa and weak forms
- Past ed
- Ea spelling and sounds
- Minimal pairs
- Connected speech
- Learn to identify –erat the end of word as most times –er means :
- Ea in spelling can be tricky (see sheet attached ... when it is)
- ddd
Ex. Teach – teacher, recruit-recruiter, cook-cooker
- Adjective + er =Adjective. More , comparative adjective
Ex. Simple- simpler, big- bigger, easy- easier, common- commoner (+than)
- Other with no suffix: sister, brother, etc.
Learning to identify and produce the final neutral vowel sound is important if you want to be accurate. It’s just a "little" schwa sound. 1 little sounds together with other grammatical information to help you figure out the words category. Become aware of the grammar to help the brain make you understand the word.
8. Ea in spelling can be tricky (see sheet attached ... when it is)
9. Oo. There are 4 different pronunciation for oo
- hope and hop
- ough augh can be frustratingly difficult. Learn it as part of a phrase or a collocation
To improve pronunciation and get feedback on how well you're doing, it's always better with a teacher or a sympathetic native/near-native speaker friend to help you but it does not mean you can work a bit on your own.
Read and listen at the same time
Concentrate on a sound and identify all the sounds in a given audio file.
Dictations: englishclub.com
Read and predict pronunciation of words and afterwards, listen to them to check if you were right
Learn to transcribe
Ask colleagues to give you honest and thorough feedback on how clear you are when speaking
Learn standard opening phrases and answers by heart and what you expect to hear / say afterwards (ie when on the phone).
http://www.soundsenglish.com/
Topics: check comprehension and pronunciation for videos
http://www.engvid.com/topic/
www.howjsay.com
www.forvo.com
Books you can use: english pronuciation in use, sheep or ship, etc
