Planning to take an MBA? Moving to a new country or just getting ready to do some tourism, while you improve your English and get a grasp of the idiosyncrasy of the country? But, before packing your bags, here are some tips that are going to help you sound like a true American as soon as you get off the plane.
1.
Get to know the sounds of English, and get familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet.
The IPA was developed by A.
C.
Gimson, and they are basically the symbols used in most dictionaries for foreign students.
It consists of twenty vowel sounds -including glides- and twenty-four consonants.
Though they do not exhaust all the actual English sounds a native might use, they constitute a clear frame from which begin to notice the difference between crucial pair of sounds, those which are typically mispronounced by non American speakers, regardless of their mother tongue.
For instance: "day" and "they", or "bark" and "back".
Once you get familiar with the sounds, it will prove an invaluable tool to recognize weak points and strengthen them.
Remember that in English there is no identical relationship between letters and sounds, as in other Romance languages.
That is to say that the letter "p" for instance does not perfectly corresponds to the /p/ phoneme.
The sound may vary depending on the syllable it is located, on the accent, and on the preceding and following sounds.
2.
Practice makes perfection.
Once you get familiar with the English phonemes -this is how sounds are called, phonemes-, you need to practice, not only your pronunciation, but your ear.
Learn how to listen.
Try to expose yourself to the English language as often as possible.
A good idea is to take the subtitles out, if your cable company has that possibility, and start exposing yourself to the English sounds as often as possible.
Learn how to distinguish sounds, train your ear in recognizing those critical pairs we mentioned above.
3.
Nothing like live performance.
Surely in your town some English studies group or Institute have theater plays going on.
They prove to be golden opportunities to expose yourself to English speakers.
Also, if you have the chance to talk to tourists, due to your line of work, or because you just happen to come across them and conversation arises, seize the opportunity and practice your English pronunciation.
Ask for feedback.
4.
Love to sing? This is your chance.
Download the lyrics of your favorite songs and, wake the neighbors up.
Remember to always be self aware of your pronunciation and the sounds you emit.
5.
Find a solid English-as-a-Second-Language Institute and join now.
This is the ideal environment to listen to other students, and learn as they are corrected, spotting their weak sounds, which most likely are yours as well.
Drilling, unavoidable while learning a foreign language, is more bearable, and so is learning grammar.
If you put points 1 to 4 into action regularly, your trainer will help you wrap up that American accent that will open up all your doors If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to post it to your site or blog and forward this link to your friends.
Have a great day!" Don't forget to visit my ESL blog.
1.
Get to know the sounds of English, and get familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet.
The IPA was developed by A.
C.
Gimson, and they are basically the symbols used in most dictionaries for foreign students.
It consists of twenty vowel sounds -including glides- and twenty-four consonants.
Though they do not exhaust all the actual English sounds a native might use, they constitute a clear frame from which begin to notice the difference between crucial pair of sounds, those which are typically mispronounced by non American speakers, regardless of their mother tongue.
For instance: "day" and "they", or "bark" and "back".
Once you get familiar with the sounds, it will prove an invaluable tool to recognize weak points and strengthen them.
Remember that in English there is no identical relationship between letters and sounds, as in other Romance languages.
That is to say that the letter "p" for instance does not perfectly corresponds to the /p/ phoneme.
The sound may vary depending on the syllable it is located, on the accent, and on the preceding and following sounds.
2.
Practice makes perfection.
Once you get familiar with the English phonemes -this is how sounds are called, phonemes-, you need to practice, not only your pronunciation, but your ear.
Learn how to listen.
Try to expose yourself to the English language as often as possible.
A good idea is to take the subtitles out, if your cable company has that possibility, and start exposing yourself to the English sounds as often as possible.
Learn how to distinguish sounds, train your ear in recognizing those critical pairs we mentioned above.
3.
Nothing like live performance.
Surely in your town some English studies group or Institute have theater plays going on.
They prove to be golden opportunities to expose yourself to English speakers.
Also, if you have the chance to talk to tourists, due to your line of work, or because you just happen to come across them and conversation arises, seize the opportunity and practice your English pronunciation.
Ask for feedback.
4.
Love to sing? This is your chance.
Download the lyrics of your favorite songs and, wake the neighbors up.
Remember to always be self aware of your pronunciation and the sounds you emit.
5.
Find a solid English-as-a-Second-Language Institute and join now.
This is the ideal environment to listen to other students, and learn as they are corrected, spotting their weak sounds, which most likely are yours as well.
Drilling, unavoidable while learning a foreign language, is more bearable, and so is learning grammar.
If you put points 1 to 4 into action regularly, your trainer will help you wrap up that American accent that will open up all your doors If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to post it to your site or blog and forward this link to your friends.
Have a great day!" Don't forget to visit my ESL blog.
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