Strategies to enhance the correct pronunciation of English words
American or English pronunciation
In the first step, choose between American and English pronunciations, because the pronunciation of words in the American and English dialects are different. Keep in mind that your goal is to pronounce correctly, not to have an American or English accent.
Speak calmly
Many learners think that the faster they speak, the more fluent they are in expressing words; but this is a very wrong idea because talking fast will make you not notice your pronunciation problems and it will become a habit for you. Speaking slowly will allow you to think about the pronunciation of words and you will have less ambiguity.
Practice your tongue and mouth
The ability to pronounce different sounds correctly is a physical ability. To do this, you need to train your mouth, lips and tongue muscles to be able to produce new sounds. You can focus on a specific sound every day and practice and repeat that sound in front of the mirror, first alone, then in different phrases, and finally in sentences and paragraphs. To produce new sounds, first move and position the tongue and mouth. Check out. For example, to make the [th] sound, place the tip of the tongue between the front teeth so that the tip of the tongue passes through the teeth and then blow. Practice this in front of a mirror and pay attention to the movement of your mouth. Also, film when you speak from your mouth, and then check the footage.
Read the book aloud
When you are reading a text, you are subconsciously moving at a steady pace. At this time, if you encounter a problem, such as a hard word or long sentences, you will not continue at the same speed and will change. So, if you read aloud, you can well feel these changes and notice your change of speed. This technique not only helps you to speak in an integrated and understandable speed, but also allows you to pronounce the pauses and stresses of the words accurately and correctly.
Pay attention to the stress of words
The melody and timing of words in English words and sentences are determined by stress. In multi-syllable words, there is a stress section and in another way they are expressed more firmly and stretched. Paying attention to the stress of words is very important because it can change the meaning of words or change the focus of a sentence. For example, check the meaning of the word content with two different stresses in the dictionary.
Watch movies and series and listen to podcasts
Another problem with learning English in a non-English speaking country is the lack of communication with native speakers, which makes it difficult for learners to hear the natural English tone in their everyday conversations and their ears become familiar with these words. To compensate, the learner needs to expose his or her ear to the native accent. Therefore, watching movies, series, podcasts and other audio and video programs that use native and real English language are necessary to compensate for this shortcoming.
Use the appropriate dictionary
One of the most important principles for learning English is to have a good and reliable dictionary. Using your dictionary, first learn and practice phonetics and then go to the pronunciation of words in the dictionary and check. Also, the use of illustrated dictionaries can be very effective in modeling the pronunciation of difficult words.
Listen to English music
Find and match popular English songs and lyrics. You can also go to your favorite songs. Singing, while relaxing, helps you learn rhythm, stress and intonation.
