Choose which aspects of your pronunciation you will focus on first. One way to start prioritizing is to choose areas that cause misunderstanding when you try to talk to people. If you're not sure what causes the misunderstanding, you may need a native speaker to help you.
Practice one aspect of pronunciation at a time. As you practice, "target" just one aspect of pronunciation. You may want to focus on one pronunciation feature for a week whenever you practice and then change to a different focus the following week. As you begin to feel more confident and comfortable, you may want to try focusing on several aspects together.
We can say there are at least three aspects to developing good pronunciation:
- The ability to recognize the sound or pronunciation feature when native speakers produce it.
- The ability to recognize by yourself whether you are pronouncing something clearly ("self-monitoring").
- The ability to produce the sound or desired pronunciation feature in your speech.
It will be helpful for you in working on your pronunciation to focus on all three of these areas.
Practice target areas of pronunciation in a variety of contexts:
- practice specific words
- practice with sentences which include the target aspect of pronunciation
- practice with paragraphs
- practice in free conversation
Ideas for practice are listed under Activities.
Keep a small notebook with you. When you notice that a native speaker has particular trouble understanding a word or expression you have used, write down the word or expression. Keep a list of such words and expressions and practice pronouncing them Ask a native speaker to help you practice the words on the list. You might even ask a native-speaking friend, instructor or colleague to record a list of these words for you from time to time.
Practice listening for your target sound or aspect of pronunciation.
- Use any of the tapes for listening practice in the Language Learning Center in Denny Hall (The pronunciation book Phrase by Phrase also has a lot of listening practice) or tapes you may have at home.
- Listen for your target area as you listen to native speakers, radio or television.
Practice production and self-monitoring of your target sound or aspect of pronunciation by using audiotapes and taking part in conversations:
Use audiotapes for practice with drills and reading-aloud exercises with words, sentences or paragraphs:
Use ready-made taped materials in the Language Learning Center in the basement of Denny Hall or at home.. In some cases, it is possible to make copies of tapes in the Language Learning Center. You can also make your own material by compiling a list of words (perhaps words you especially need in your field) which include your target sound or aspect of pronunciation. Or you may choose a paragraph on a topic of particular interest to you. Then give the list or paragraph to a native-speaking friend, an instructor, or a colleague to record for you.
Ways to use tapes
Practice following the pronunciation of the native speaker on the tape you are working with while focusing on your target sound or pronunciation feature.
Record yourself in the Language Learning Center or at home as you practice and compare your recording with the native speaker recordings, focusing on your target sound or feature. (If you are not sure how to do this in the Language Learning Center after reading the directions, ask for help). As you train yourself to listen to yourself and identify problem areas , you can practice by recording yourself and listening even without a native speaker model.
If you are still not sure you are pronouncing your target sounds or pronunciation features appropriately, give your recording to an American friend, instructor or tutor to listen to and assess.
Practice pronunciation in free conversations
Practice reading aloud a paragraph until you are pronouncing the target sounds or features in the paragraph clearly. Then try to summarize the ideas in the paragraph without reading it and record your summary on tape. Then listen to the recording of your summary and check to see if you are pronouncing the target sounds clearly. If you're not sure, you can ask a native speaker. Practice summarizing the paragraph in your own words until you are satisfied with your pronunciation of the target sound or feature.
Record a short talk as you focus on the target sound or feature and listen to it. Identify places where you mispronounced. Then record a second short talk on the same topic using approximately the same vocabulary and listen again.. Continue to record and listen until you are satisfied with your recording.
Find a native speaker friend or conversation partner who is willing to do some focused conversation with you once a week or more. Tell this person the sound(s) or feature(s) you are focusing on and ask him/her to stop you and help you whenever you make this sound incorrectly.
Have a sound-of-the-week focus. Whenever you speak OR hear English during the week, focus on one particular sound or aspect of pronunciation for that week. Rotate focuses week by week.
When your focus of the week is on an aspect of pronunciation that requires a lot of concentration (rhythm or vowel length for example), it may be difficult to concentrate on the focus all the time when you speak English. Try to designate special times during the week for focusing on English (maybe when you're having lunch with friends or maybe during a certain hour in your day). This should be a time when you're actually communicating with native speakers and not just a time to practice by yourself.
