experiment with how to adjust your pronunciation to make it
sound better. Play the recording for someone else and ask for
their opinion and suggestions. Practice again, concentrating
on those challenging sounds.
Practice in front of a mirror. Watch the movement of
your mouth, lips, and tongue and notice how far you’re
opening your mouth and how much you’re rounding your
lips. If you’re imitating a video, compare your mouth
movements with those of the characters in the video. Try
whispering or saying words without making any sound at all.
This helps you really concentrate on the movements of your
mouth.
Get help from a friend whose pronunciation you
trust, but be careful who you ask for advice. Not everybody
knows what they’re talking about, even if they’re a native
speaker. Unless your friend is an experienced English teacher
or phonologist, he or she probably won’t be aware of how
pronunciation really works and might not know what to do
to help you. You can provide some guidance by asking
speci!c questions. For example, you might make a list of
words that you have trouble with or need to use often and
ask your friend to model them for you. Then check your
pronunciation as you say them.
You can also ask a friend to help you by correcting your
mistakes when you talk, but this doesn’t always work well.
Your friend may be paying attention to the meaning of what
you’re saying and not notice how you say it. Or they may be
reluctant to hurt your feelings by making corrections, even if
that’s what you really want. It’s not realistic to expect anyone
to catch every detail of your pronunciation.Let go of old habits. To be really good at pronunciation in
a new language, you have to be willing to let go of old
pronunciation habits, and this can be di#cult. Aside from the
physical challenge of changing the way your mouth, tongue,
and lips move, there’s also a mental challenge. You have to
be willing to sound di"erent and sometimes even act in a
di"erent way than you’re used to, and this can be a little bit
scary. Your voice and pronunciation are such a deeply rooted
part of you that many people feel uncomfortable or
threatened when they start to change their pronunciation. It
can almost seem like you’re losing a part of yourself or
becoming a new, strange person. It helps to remember that
this new voice you’re creating doesn’t have to be permanent.
You can go back to your old way of speaking if you want, or
if it might be advantageous in a particular situation.You don’t have to use all, or in fact, any of these suggestions.
Choose the ones that seem right for you. If you try a new
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