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Getting the pronunciation right can be one of the most difficult tasks in learning English. This is due to the fact that our speech apparatus is not adapted to the characteristic sounds and intonations of foreign speech. You have to readjust, and this requires effort, constant practice and correction of results. The correct pronunciation of words in English can be learned by knowing the basic terms, working on phonetics and by imitating the pronunciation of native speakers during speech. Separate sounds, intonation and accent setting are the three main stages of practice. Correct pronunciation will no longer be an unattainable task when the puzzle “folds” in your head on how to achieve the desired result.
Components of work on the skill of pronunciation
Starting to learn English, from the very first lessons you should pay attention to the correct pronunciation of characteristic sounds. At the same time, you should not be afraid of mistakes. They will certainly be, so it is better to concentrate on the desire to speak and remove the psychological barrier. Often it is connected with the fact that from the outside you hear yourself “in a new way”, not the way you usually do. This is what prevents them from freely pronouncing sounds and words that are unusual for Russians, and preserves the intonation of their native speech.
Starting to learn a new language, people are faced with the need to learn to read. For this, letters and sounds are studied. The first pronunciation lessons begin with them. Then comes the stage of words, reading syllables, placing stresses. While working on reading sentences, it is very important to work out intonation by imitating the speech of native speakers. Without this, the meaning of some statements may be misunderstood by the interlocutor. The correct pronunciation of English words, especially unfamiliar ones, must be checked in an audio dictionary or by checking the transcription. This will avoid mislearning and additional correction work in the future.
Transcription
One of the main and most common ways to learn the correct pronunciation of a word in a foreign language is to read the transcription. This is an internationally accepted alphanumeric code. It will allow you to learn how the word is read and pronounced, without being able to hear it from the outside. Transcription rulesit is worth learning from the very first lessons in order to intensify the process of expanding the vocabulary, remove the fear of unfamiliar vocabulary, and also be able to work on pronunciation. You can figure it out both on your own and with the help of a Russian-speaking teacher. The correct pronunciation of words in English should be one of the priorities in the learning process, since it is this that guarantees comfortable and effective communication in the future, as well as understanding what you said by native speakers. Transcription will make any unfamiliar word available for study and recognizable in speech.
Effective pronunciation techniques
There are several simple and effective methods that you can use both on your own and in class with a teacher to get the correct pronunciation. They come down to reading aloud, listening with pronunciation, phonetic exercises for setting specific sounds and types of intonation, as well as working with tongue twisters.
Work on bugs
It is important to receive feedback at the first stages of working out the pronunciation skill in order to correct possible errors. To do this, you can resort to the help of a teacher, make a friend in a language social resource and ask him for help with difficult words, record yourself while reading and listen, comparing with the speech of native speakers. The correct pronunciation of English words is a realistically achievable task with the right approach to the process of study and systematic practice. Pay attention to which sounds are the most difficult for you, and find additional reading and phonetics exercises that will enable you to achieve good results. Constantly monitor your progress with audio recordings. Correct pronunciation should be worked out, starting with slow speech, only then approaching the pace of real everyday communication.
Useful Resources
While working on the pronunciation skill, it is important to constantly receive feedback, check yourself with the original. Even if there is no way to ask for advice, you can turn to online audio dictionaries for help, listen to the necessary word in Google Translate, visit a special resource where you can check your pronunciation. A word or sentence is read, and then its reproduction in the original is turned on to compare the two options and identify errors.
Useful resources will also be videos, films, podcasts, where the audio track goes along with the text, you can immediately note the features of the pronunciation of certain words, comparing with the printed one. This technique is especially good for visuals. The correct pronunciation of words is remembered automatically, especially if the topic is close to your interests and emotionally.
Practice, practice and more practice together with theoretical knowledge will give inspiring results in just a week of classes. Tongue twisters, phonetic exercises, reading aloud, correcting errors by checking audio recordings of your speech will provide the opportunity to put the correct pronunciation and instill confidence in your skills while communicating with native speakers. Do not be afraid of mistakes, they are just steps on the way to perfect results.
