5 Amazing Tips to Improve Your Pronunciation Now!

Hello ESL learners who are presently working on accent reduction or as we say at Accent Master; learning an American accent.  I have put together a list of tips that have helped many of my clients improve their spoken English.

 Are you looking for ideas of what you can do right now, even if you can't make the time to take one of our private or group classes in English pronunciation?  Well let me give you the link in case you didn't know that beyond our excellent software program we do indeed have private classes  Accent Master Private Classes Oh and while I am at it I will mention that our software program price has been reduced to just $99.00, or a download for $89.00.  Here is the link for that great deal:   Accent Master Software .  Okay so lets get to what you can do on your own.  Below I am giving you 5 tips that will really help you be understood.

 Five Tips to Improve Your English Pronunciation Now!

1. English flows.  It has been said that the rhythm of English is like that of jazz.  Often new speakers of English are told to slow down; this can actually cause more difficulty.  English words are often connected as in “how-are you” The first two words sound like one.  If you separate each word you will end up sounding robotic.
2. The /th/ sound, this one is not found in many languages, with the exception of Greek and Cotillion Spanish.  The good news is that it is easy to see in the mirror.  Take a look in the mirror.  Whisper this sentence.  He thought a bath would be a good thing.  You should see your tongue sticking out just a bit between your teeth 3 times.  The most common mistake is to replace /th/ with a /d/ or /t/.  Just move that tongue out a bit and you will have it.
3. Listen to a book on tape.  This will be an excellent example of English spoken well.  Listening to well produced English is one of the best things you can do for yourself.  Training the ear to “stop hearing with an accent” is crucial to accent modification success.
4. How about that /r/? The American /r/ is different than most.  There is no contact from the tongue to any other part of the mouth when producing the /r/ sounds.  Just curl the tongue tip back and let the air flow out around it. 
5. Here is a simple tip about /s/ and /z/.  Often in American English we like to write s and then produce a /z/.  As in the final position of words.  If an s follows a vowel or a silent sound at the end of a word it is produced as a /z/.  Here are some examples.  

s that is produced as a /z/                          s that sounds like an /s/

Cries                                                          hits

Beds                                                          tacks

Rays                                                          bells

The most important thing you can do now is practice these 5 tips.  Then go our and use them in conversation.  Put on your American accent in low pressure situations, like ordering your coffee or talking to a sales person on the phone.  Then try it out on acquaintances until you feel confident to start using these new  patterns in conversations that are more  intense for example with a boss, a colleague or a client.

Lynn founder of ;
Accent Master

Intonation

How important is intonation, well fairly. At Accent Master I find many of my ESL learners find the up and down, sing song typical of American English challenging to imitate in conversational speech.

Intonation carries the implied meaning in a sentence.  The general pattern of your speech can imply that you are down, or very excited or that you are asking a question.
for example if you say the

"I can write the report" it is a simple statement.

If you say

"I can write the REPORT" with a rising inflection, you may sound incredulous or questioning.  So if you want to come off as sure and capable, but you use a rising intonation you may actually sound unsure and incapable.

So we can safely say that intonation is as important as any other aspect of advanced spoken American English.  You don't want to be implying the wrong message. 

Practice stressing the highlighted words in each sentence:  Stress the words by making them slightly louder, longer and higher pitch.

You told him not to speak to the press.

1.    You told him not to speak to the press.  -  Implying that it was all there idea

2.    You told him not to speak to the press.    - More natural stress pattern

3.    You told him not to speak to the press.-  Contrastive you told him, but not someone else

4.    You told him not to speak to the press. - Clarification

5.    You told him not to speak to the press.    -Contrastive you told him not to speak to the press, but you didn’t say anything about writing a letter.

6.    You told him not to speak to the press.   - Contrastive he’s not to speak to the press but maybe he could speak to another person

Write down some common sentences from your daily life and practice changing the stress pattern.  Practice is key! 

Lynn Founder of
Accent Master

Spoken English's Real Impact on Your Life

How Does Your Accent Really Affect Your Work, Relationships, and Confidence? 

So here we are in the heat of the summer, and I think it is a good time really think about our speech and how it truly is impacting the impression we make on the world.  How are we representing ourselves?  Do we put our best foot forward or do we just muddle through.  I am guessing that if you read a blog on spoken American English that you must be some one striving for more, to always put your best foot forward, as I find most of our clients at Accent Master to be, they work on accent reduction or put a clearer way learning an American accent to improve their chances at promotions, being project managers, getting hired, making a clearer sales pitch.  Successful people that don't give up on taking it one step further.

Lets  really evaluate how our speech affects our progress, our lives. Be honest with your self

• I am asked to repeat myself how many time in a day? 
• I avoid using certain words      
• I may have experienced because of my accent:

lost job opportunities
looked over for promotion
networking connections

• I avoid networking or job socialization because I was nervous about my communication skills 
• I feel out of place socializing because I am misunderstood  
• In casual conversation I am
• When explaining complex ideas my accent interferes
• Talking on the phone in English 
• I try to speak with an American accent when speaking English 

  Speaking with an American accent would improve

• confidence
• work/job performance
• social life
• public speaking
• desire to share ideas
• leadership skills
• client relationships
• others perception of my abilities

Because of my accent people see me as:

• More naive
• less capable
• nicer
•  more knowledgeable
• less knowledgeable
• not precise
• less educated
• more educated
• a leader
• a mediator
• less friendly

If I meet someone with a different accent then myself it effects my perception of them 

• More naive
• less capable
• nicer
•  more knowledgeable
• less knowledgeable
• not precise
• less educated
• more educated
• a leader
• a mediator
• less friendly

So what did you find? More positive associations with speaking nonstandard or accent American English?  Or more negative?  For more videos and tips for speaking standard American English please go to:  Accent Master.com

Successful communication is within your reach!

Lynn Founder of
Accent Master

Vowels

Oh those American vowels. My clients at Accent Master  tell me how challenging they are in our accent reduction classes.  They are trouble. In fact is it takes 15 phonetic symbols to represent all of the vowels in American English. The trouble really begins when you realize that there are only 5 alphabetical symbols for those same vowels!

In fact the most common vowel sound known as schwa and produced as "uh" is not represented by any of the alphabet letters. But it can be represented by almost any vowel letter.

Knowing these facts alone can help you listen more carefully and imitate what you hear.

Here are some tips:

/a/ or 'ah' can be written with a or o.
Hot
pot
mom
log
calm

A is produced as "aah"
hat
Pat
fat
rat

A is changed to "ay" when the silent E is added to the end of the word as in:
hate
fate
rate

e is produced as 'eh"
pet
let
set
met

the letter E can sound like "i" when there is a silent letter E at the end
Pete

/I/ said as "ih" can be written as i,y
six
if
milk
gym
myth

/U/ said as 'oo' can be written as 'oo' or 'u'
took
foot
full
push

And remember when two vowels go walking the first vowel does the talking
meat
treat
boat
moat

Writing and pronouncing do not match up in English.  Listen to the TV or to a conversation with your eyes closed.  Best is to read along while listening to a book, the newest Kindles have this feature which can be very helpful to English language learners. 

Good luck and post any questions you may have!

Lynn founder of
Accent Master

Word Stress Video

Enjoy this complete video  from Accent Master on how to stress the correct syllable of multi-syllabic words.  An important feature of accent reduction for ESL learners.

Lynn Founder of
Accent Master

Intonation!

Here I am once again tackling intonation!   This is because it is one of the best ways to be a clear communicator. My clients at Accent Master find practice is the key to mastering this feature of accent reduction.  I think that many people are fearful of using this skill. Perhaps they are lacking confidence. But there is an expression that you must "fake it, until you make it!"

Simply put just go out and do it until you feel more comfortable and natural. The full story and lesson is under podcast on the left-hand column. Simple click the white bar and you can listen to a great podcast on intonation and how to use it well!

Lynn Founder of
Accent Master

Can can't

The way I determine my topics is by what is happening when I am working with clients at Accent Master. So what is happening now with our accent reduction clients? Can and can't.

These two little words can add up to confusion in conversational English. . Often ESL speakers can't hear the difference and misunderstand American English speakers, and of course when using these words themselves can and can't end up sounding exactly alike.

One issue is that when you say "can" or "can't in isolation, and not in connected speech they do indeed sound very much alike. However things change for a number of reasons when these words are used in connected speech.

We are so positive! This means that we as listeners are expecting the affirmative. We are waiting to hear "can". This being so, can in a sentence is not stressed, in fact it is de-stressed. Meaning that we say it quickly and with a slight reduction of the vowel. This makes can sound more like "Ken" in connected speech.

On the other hand any negative in a sentence (no, not, don't and can't) need to be stressed so your listener will pick up on the fact that their expected yes, is really a no.

So in the sentence I can go with you. You would really say I ken go with you.

Now change it a bit to I CAN'T go with you." Now the stress is falling on 'can't'.

The trick in understanding and using can and can't is in the vowel. A short reduced "a" means that you "can" and longer bolder "a" means you "can't".

It is not obvious, because if you look at the two words you assume it will be the "t" that holds the key to the difference in the word, but it is really the vowel!

Practice saying sentences with 'can' and 'cant" using these rules.  Try to incorporate these words into your speech today.

Lynn founder of
Accent Master