Improve Your English Pronunciation

IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

It doesn't matter what English accent you have, but a clear pronunciation is very important for effective communication.

Basic sounds. The BBC has a page with pronunciation tips videos explaining
the so-called phonetic system and modelling the 44 different sounds that make up the English language in videos. You can also practice the correct pronunciation of the different letters with these EngVid pronunciation videos.

Minimal pairs. Perfect your English pronunciation with shiporsheep audios online. Select one of the 29 minimal pairs (similar sounds, like "ship" and "sheep") and start practising. You can also compare pairs with this series of EngVid pronunciation videos.

Stress and tone. Other pairs, contractions (should've), stress and tones are provided with fonetiks.org audios online in British, American, Australian and 6 other English dialects. A selection of videos to help you practice your pronunciation and word stress is also available on podcastsinenglish' YouTube channel. They have more online pronunciation videos on their site.

Improve Your English Listening with Songs

IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH LISTENING WITH SONGS

Using English songs is a fun way to expand your English vocabulary and improve your listening. Here are the steps :  

1.      Get a song first. Most of you probably already have a favourite song in English, but if you don't have one, start listening to for example Live365 or SHOUTcast online radio. These radio stations show the artist and title while a song is playing. Once you've selected your song, buy your own copy or find it on YouTube and download it with the free RealPlayer Download.

2.      Use the lyrics. Play the song a few times and try to write down the text. To check whether you heard it right you need the lyrics (song text). There are many web sites to download the lyrics, but A-Z Lyrics and Lyrics007 usually provide good quality.

3.      Find the meaning. Looking up the song meaning can help you understand the song better. Try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context ("context clue"). If you still have no idea, use a learner's or slang dictionary to find the meaning.

4.      Sing along. Now play the song again and sing along, so that you also practice the pronunciation of your song. A karaoke version of the video may be available online.

8 Reasons to Improve Your English through Song

8 REASONS TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH THROUGH SONG

Most people perceive learning a foreign language as a difficult task but according to BPS Research Digest Search , research has shown that listening to songs can make it much easier. Here are the reasons :

1. Listening to your favorite music is a pleasant activity, so it creates a positive emotional tone, making learning pleasant and easy.
2. You concentrate on the music and lyrics, without paying attention to the language structure.
3. Watching videos with lyrics help you understand every single word that is said.
4. You turn strings of endless words into meaningful informational segments, recognizing even individual words.
5. You learn how to segment information, separating groups of words that create meaningful messages.
6. You're exposed to colloquial expressions and so learn natural language.
7. As you listen to your songs repeatedly, you store the foreign language in your long-term memory. 
8. Listening to music, singing or playing an instrument involves the whole brain , improving memory and attention in general.

Listening to songs in a foreign language helps you to understand the language better, and remember the vocabulary, improving your memory and attention as well.

How to Improve English

HOW TO IMPROVE ENGLISH

The importance of the English language cannot be overemphasized. Comfort with English is almost a prerequisite for success in the world today. Regardless of the industry, proficiency in English is an important factor in both hiring and promotion decisions.

A lot of us have studied English in school and are fairly comfortable with reading and writing. However, we hesitate while speaking because we feel that we lack the fluency and may make grammatical mistakes. We are afraid of speaking English in formal situations and we are quick to switch to our native language once we are in the company of our family and friends.

There is no quick fix when it comes to improving your command over a particular language. It always requires a lot of time and effort.

Here are English’s top 10 tips for success in achieving proficiency and fluency in English:

1. Do not hesitate. Talk to whoever you can. Decide among your circle of friends that you will only talk in English with each other. This way you can get rid of hesitation and also have your friends correct you when you are wrong. 
2. Start a conversation with strangers in English. Since you do not know them personally, you will feel less conscious about what they would feel about you. 
3. Maintaining a diary to record the events of your day is a great way to practice your writing skills. Take your time to use new words and phrases when you write in your diary. 
4. Read the newspaper. Read it aloud when you can. Concentrate on each word. Note down the words you don’t understand and learn their meanings. Try to use these words in your own sentences. 
5. Watch English movies and English shows on television. Initially, you can read the sub-titles to follow the conversation. As you practice more, you will realize that you are able to follow the conversation without needing to read the sub-titles. 
6. Set aside an hour every day to watch English news channels. This is one of the most effective ways of improving your comprehension.
7. Podcasts are available on the internet. These are audio and video files and many of these can be downloaded for free. These are a great way to practice listening skills and develop an understanding of different accents.
8. It is usually quite difficult for a beginner to understand the words of an English song as there is background music and the accent of the artist may be unfamiliar to the listener. Read the lyrics while you listen to the song and you will comprehend better. Once you start following the voice of a particular singer, you will find it much easier to understand the singer’s other songs too.

9. Another effective way is to record your own voice and listen to it. You will notice hesitations and pauses. You may also notice that you make some grammatical mistakes while speaking that you do not make while writing. You must aim to improve and rectify these mistakes in subsequent recordings.
10. Ask people who speak better for advice. There is no shame in seeking help especially if you are trying to improve yourself. Talk to them in English and ask them to correct you whenever you are wrong.

Why English Pronunciation Is So Tricky

WHY ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION IS SO TRICKY

If you’re an English language learner or teacher, you’re probably familiar with this general scenario:

Student: “I don’t understand. Why is [insert deceptively difficult word] pronounced [insert correct pronunciation] and not [insert incorrect pronunciation]?”

Teacher: “The English language has many rules and exceptions to these rules.”

Now hopefully, if you’re the teacher, you’ve perfected a much more thoughtful response to such inquiries. If you’re the student, however, you might find yourself with a new question for every answer you receive. The wonders – and horrors – of English pronunciation have a way of creeping up on language learners.

Why does “through” sound like “threw” but “thorough” like “burrow”? Instead of offering a clumsy response to this question, we’ve decided to celebrate the quirkiness of English pronunciation with the following list.

Do you have an example to add to the mix? Let us know in the comments section below!

• (wound) The doctor wound the bandage around the wound.
• (bow) The viking took a bow after shooting his bow from the bow of his longship.
• (dessert, desert) The soldier ate his dessert in the desert after he was forced to desert.
• (Polish, polish) The Polish furniture could use a good polish.
• (produce) They produce the finest produce at this farm.
• (sow) The sow likes to watch the farmer sow his land.
• (refuse) If the dump is full, it will refuse your refuse.
• (present) Since there’s no time like the present, this is the perfect time to present the present.
• (base, bass) At the Coast Guard base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
• (dove) Startled, the dove dove into the bushes.
• (invalid) The poor invalid has invalid insurance.
• (close) They couldn’t close the door because they weren’t close enough.
• (does) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
• (sewer) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into the sewer.
• (wind) The strong wind made it difficult to wind up the sail.
• (number) After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
• (subject) The scientist had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
• (intimate) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
• (evening) I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
• (tear) Upon seeing the tear in my favorite shirt, I shed a tear.

Grand finale: A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.