10 Steps Closer to a Better English Accent

10 Steps Closer to a Better English Accent:

Well, you must be familiar with the perks of having a good English accent in a country like America and you should have already known that a better accent has a huge impact on your personal, educational, and professional life.

Yes, knowing the grammar and being familiar with some useful vocabulary is important, but pronunciation and the ability to talk clearly are something you should also work on. Why?

Cause you’re going to need it everywhere, I mean everywhere, in university, while shopping or communicating with others, while going to a job interview and …

Are you now convinced of its importance?

If yes, then let’s talk about 10 points that can help you along this way:

 

1. Listen more:

Learn how to listen. If your ear is familiar with the words and their pronunciation, then your brain and your tongue can actually use them; one good way is by watching more movies and TV shows in English.

 

2. Break the words:

Break them into syllables, then you can pronounce them better. Keep an eye on their stress.

 

3. Sit in front of a mirror:

To do what? To ask who the FAIREST of them all is! Well, of course, you are!

But now we are talking about something else. Sit in front of a mirror and pronounce the words, and watch your mouth’s movements while you’re doing this.

 

4. It’s recording time:

Now, as you are still in front of the mirror, pronounce the word louder and use your phone to record your voice; listen to your voice afterward, how did you do? Did you have any mistakes?

 

5. Your flight has been booked from word to sentence:

Use the words you were practicing before in a phrase and then in a sentence and once again sit in front of the mirror and record your voice.

 

6. Intonation is a game changer:

It is, one little change in your tone can change every single meaning.

You don’t believe me?

Read these:

• I beg your pardon? (with rising intonation)

I beg your pardon! (with falling intonation)

Or

• You like me!

You like me?

You see?!

 

7. Tongue twisters are helpful:

Find some of those hard tongue twisters and try to read them fast, it will be like a good sport for your tongue. Besides, it will be fun.

You can use these:

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers!
• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
• She sells seashells by the seashore
• Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines.

 

8. Now one sentence will become too many:

Choose a text and start reading it loud and clear! Go to another text only if you are sure you did brilliantly on the last one.

 

9. Conversation is the key:

It’s mirror time! Think you are in an interview, ask yourself a question and then answer it, do not prepare the answers before, just say whatever comes to your mind; start with easy personal questions first.

Warning:

Be careful, the door must be closed, otherwise, your family might think you are …!

 

10. Now the butterfly must come out of the cocoon:

Now it’s time; go and talk to others, challenge yourself, and don’t be afraid or shy; these two will stop your improvement.

What do you think? How can we improve our accents?