One of our major concerns when speaking in English is showing our Spanish accent. In class, I always mention the importance of exaggerating, as if you were performing in a play. But the truth is that due to our phonological system there are several challenges that we need to face.
Pronunciation studio has an article which explains in detail the difficulties Spanish speakers have to deal with when it comes to English pronunciation. It also contains a very interesting blog that I strongly recommend checking and taking some time to explore since there are plenty of audios with examples and exercises to practise.
Generally speaking, there are several tips that you can follow so that your pronunciation gets better. Also, check this phonemic chart to familiarize with the different symbols.
In case you are interested in taking some «online lessons», you can follow Rachel’s English youtubee channel or Tim’s pronunciation workshop where you’ll find a handful of videos with theoretical explanations together with some exercises.
Finally, there is an interesting tool called Text to speech where you can write a whole text and listen to it. Very appropriate for learning how words are pronounced in connected speech.
I hope these tools come in handy!
First of all, I want to thank EOI for the new website and blog. I think both are useful and much clearer than the previous ones. I must say that it is the first time I have taken a look, but it will not be the last. I have already read some other interesting articles in English and French.
As a French teacher, pronunciation has always played a crucial role in my classes. That is why I consider this part to be so vital when someone decides to study any language.
When I read the Study Pronunciation article mentioned in the post, I recognize myself in some of these errors. Being aware of our own mistakes can surely be the first step to overcome them, but we also need some positive feedbacks and, most of all, practice, practice and practice.
I really liked the Tips article. I must admit that my first impression of opening the link was overwhelming; there was so much to read. Nevertheless, it is worth it. There are 14 interesting tips with a long explanation on each of them. It also provides an extensive list of resources, such as videos and links, in order to help us with our pronunciation.
I would like share one phrase I liked. It said, «Remember that most native English speaker don’t know the rules either they just say what sound right».
On balance, you can’t learn English without working on your pronunciation.