Pronunciation Exercises

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PRONUNCIATION EXERCISES

The word pronunciation defines the way in which a word is pronounced. Pronunciation doesn’t depend the spelling. It depends on factors like native language influence and the tongue position while pronouncing.

 

Tips to improve pronouncing skills

 

  1. Learn to listen

Before you learn how to speak, you’ll need to learn how to listen. Some sounds can be hard to tell apart when you’re listening. Did the speaker sleep or slip? Did he hurt his chin or his shin? If you can hear the difference, it will be easier to speak the difference.

 

  1. How your mouth and lips move

When you speak, you move your mouth. How you move your mouth affects how you pronounce a word.

 

  1. Pay attention to your tongue

The main difference between rice and lice is in your tongue. When you speak, you move your tongue to make sounds. You probably didn’t even notice that, since you do it without thinking. To improve your English pronunciation, it’s a good idea to check what your tongue is doing.

 

  1. Break words down to sounds:
  • Words are made up of syllables, or parts. The word “syllable,” for example, has three syllables: syl-la-ble. Turning words into parts can make them easier to pronounce.
  • To check how many syllables a word has, place your hand flat just under your chin. Say the word slowly. Each time your chin touches your hand, that’s a syllable.

 

  1. Add stress to sound and words

English is a stressed language. That means some words and sounds are more important than others. You can hear this when you say a word out loud. For example, the word “introduce” is pronounced with a stress at the end, so it sounds like this: “in-tro-DUCE.”

 

  1. Use pronunciation videos to guide you in your leisure

There are some excellent video and audio guides on English pronunciations that you can use to improve.

 

  1. Record yourself

One way to tell if all your practice is working is to record yourself with a camera. Use a camera and not just a sound recorder because it’s important to see how you speak, not only hear it.