There is always someone around you trying to find a magical formula to improve their pronunciation. Some people have a pretty heavy accent, some others don’t sound so bad, and there’s always a group that sound like they are trying to destroy the language by mispronouncing every other word. We are all human, you know? Learning a new language is not always easy, and even though there are some people who have a special talent for learning new sounds, vocabulary, and structures, for most students, only the pronunciation area can make them feel like swimming up the river.
Unfortunately, there’s no magical potion to transform faulty pronunciation into a perfect one. The only solution here is hard work. “Be brave!”, is the motto here. Most people give you a special look in reply like saying “Yeah, yeah, bla,bla” with no words.
Whether you like it or not, it has to do with HARD WORK. Everything can be improved with a little practice. Even the worst ear can be trained, and with the correct instructions and practice, the most terrible pronunciation can sound at least “decent”. Your ESL teacher can give you some hints to practice at home, so as to solve whatever pronunciation problems you may have. If he doesn’t, or if you don’t have a teacher or you prefer to have some extra work on your own, there are lots of websites that can give you a hand with this…Here’s a list of the best 5 on the web:
1. http://www.eslgold.com: Nice, clear website, lots of interesting material with audio. Diagnostic exercises to test how good or bad your pronunciation is. Textbook recommendations depending on your level. Learning strategies and pronunciation links to continue your practice. Downloadable material included.
2. http://www.englishmedialab.com : Lots of pronunciation and intonation exercises, separated by type of sound (consonants, vowels, diphthongs) Mp3 audio, PDF explanations, even pronunciation software. Also quizzes to check your progress on the go.
3. http://international.ouc.bc.ca/Pronunciation/: Exercises separated by sound (including phonetic notation). Videos to see how each sound is produced. Minimal pairs exercises, dictation, Mp3 audio. Record your voice to have a conversation with a real native speaker. Really interesting!
4. http://www.angelfire.com/wi3/englishcorner: Very orderly. They provide you with the basic pronunciation rules (downloadable in ZIP files), graded exercises, and pronunciation links. All material is downloadable (and free!)
5. http://club.telepolis.com/phonetics: An absolute favorite. Bilingual, so understanding the instructions is pretty easy. Exercises are separated by level of difficulty, including phonetic notation. Theory, exercises and games. Very practical.
You can use the websites separately or have a mix of your own. They all provide you with good pronunciation models, and many tools to help you compare how well or badly you are producing each sound. Phonetic notation can be difficult at first, but it is a good way to deal with difficult sounds (especially the ones not present in your mother tongue) and understand (at last!) all those strange symbols in the dictionary after each definition.
And remember, no matter how bad you think your pronunciation is, there’s always the possibility to make dramatic improvements…the main ingredients here are: patience and hard work. The combination of both will lead you to success. So, what are you waiting for?
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