Pronuncation: How can I improve my pronunciation?

How can I improve my pronunciation in a foreign language?

How do you improve your pronunciation in the language you are learning?

You will probably have come across the situation where you meet somebody who has been in your home country for decades, but still speak with a distinct foreign accent.  Is it possible to improve?  Can you ever be mistaken for a local?  Of course!  But it does require some insights and some work.  Fortunately, when you learn a language online or remotely, it’s just as possible to improve your accent as with in person lessons.

Beginner: improve your pronunciation with first insights

When you first start learning a new language, it’s really necessary to understand the sounds of the language.  There are two absolutely essential ideas.  Firstly, you need to understand that any language is made up of a distinct number of phonemes – or sounds which can distinguish words in the language.  More about this later.  Secondly, you need to understand how the sounds match up with the spelling of the language.  This will enable you to benefit much better from reading the language you’re learning.  Furthermore, when you are listening to the language, you are much better able to visualise how it’s supposed to be spelt.  Another tip is to say the word, even just under your breath, as you work independently in or out of the lesson.  This helps hard-wire your learning.

Listen first

When you learn to speak your native language, you listen to it for a good eighteen months before you properly speak in it.  A toddler will need to hear most words dozens of times before they say them and use them.  Don’t be discouraged, therefore, if your pronunciation is not perfect immediately.  Listen carefully to your teacher; use listening exercises, especially with the transcript, to work out pronunciation.

Sounds and spellings

Your teacher will be able to explain and help you practise the sounds of the language.  They will be able to point out specific things, e.g. the silent H in French or Spanish.  They will be able to point out how phonemes (word-distinguishing sounds) are distinguished in different languages.  To give a couple of example, few European languages have the “th” sounds of English to make a different word, in the way that “thin” and “sin” are different words.  Most learners of English will be aware of this, but many will hear “th” and “s” as two versions of the same sound (allophones, to use the technical term).  This is not a weakness; it’s a product of how their brains have been conditioned up to that point by the language they have been speaking.  Lots of listening, repeating, and practice exercises may be necessary.  For English people learning French, they similarly often fail to distinguish between “long” and “lent”, although the “on” and “en” sounds are as different as A and B to a French native speaker.  Many people have not had such differences systematically pointed out to them in a way they understand; at Lingua Learn UK, we can of couse help you!

Advanced progress in pronunciation

Keep making a conscious effort to practise.  If you can bear to, record yourself speaking a foreign language so you can hear yourself.  Practise listening and speaking, making sure you adopt the sounds as closely as you can.  Use the foreign intonation as that will help your speech sound a lot more natural; for instance, if you are learning French, you will sound a lot more Gallic if you get the hang of pronouncing every sentence as one long word.  Listen to songs in the language you are learning; catchy songs and their lyrics stick effortlessly in your brain (Ohrwurm, anyone?) to give you a template of good pronunciation.  Listening to the radio or watching movies in the language you are learning is a great help as you get used to the music of the language.  If you are in the country where the language you’re learning is spoken, practise and imitate.  Depending on the language, you may end up picking up a regional accent and therefore sounding even more authentic.

Lingua Learn UK

At Lingua Learn UK, we have the native speaker teachers working live with you who can get you to listen, to practise and to speak.  Have a look at our courses on offer: www.lingua-learn.co.uk/virtual-language-training-uk/ .