10 best tips to learn English pronunciation like a native speaker

1. Choose "standard"

There are as many English-speaking regions in the world as there are pronunciation styles. But there are only two English accents that are considered standard: American English and British English. If you learn English pronunciation, the first thing you should do is decide whether you want to speak American English or British English.

2. Identify and pronounce all English sounds

Why is this important? Because English has many sounds that Vietnamese does not have. Therefore, learning English pronunciation involves learning “new” sounds that you may have never said before. From there, your pronunciation is more similar to that of a native speaker.

Note that the sounds in American English and British English have many differences. So if you study, you should only study according to one standard to avoid confusion.

Sound recognition means you can listen to a word and detect what sound it is in English (for example, if you hear the word wall, you can say the vowel is /o/).

Correct pronunciation means that after listening, you can say the word like a native speaker.

To do this, you need to know about the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

3. Learn to speak with an accent

One of the basic differences between English and Vietnamese is word stress. An English word can consist of many syllables, but only one syllable is stressed. Learning English accent includes 2 main contents:

+ Know where the stress of words is.

+ Know how to stress words to pronounce correctly.

One interesting point is that the stress of a word can be different in American English and British English. For example, in American English, the word masSAGE has the stress on the second syllable; in British English, MASsage has the stress on the first syllable.

4. Learn to speak with the right tune

Each language has its own "music". Melody is that music. When speaking English, native speakers use a very unique tone. Learning English pronunciation includes learning this melody; it includes holding the breath, stressing the right words, clarifying important words... When learning English melodies, learners sometimes feel like they are learning to sing.

5. Learn to speak with the correct intonation

Intonation shows the speaker's emotions or meaning. Each language has its own way of expressing intonation. Surprise, resentment, sadness, anger... all of the above emotional states can be expressed in spoken language through intonation.

6. Practice the habit of checking your English pronunciation

When you speak English, if you are not sure about the pronunciation of a word, do not guess. 60% of English words are pronounced differently than they are written, if you do not check the dictionary, you will pronounce it wrong.

When reading in English, always ask yourself: “How is this word pronounced? What sounds does it include? If you're not sure, check the dictionary. If you have little experience communicating or pronouncing English, you should do this on a regular basis.

7. Practice listening and recognition

Regular listening practice is the best way to learn English pronunciation. Turn on TV, radio, podcasts, shows, movies... When listening, focus on how each sound or word is pronounced. Try to guess what sound that sound is.

When you listen to non-native speakers of English, it is important to hear their pronunciation mistakes.

8. Practice speaking English word by word and in phrases

When practicing speaking, you can practice pronouncing each word individually or in clusters. There are many ways to learn, you can practice by saying each sound, practice saying each word correctly or practice speaking in clusters.

How to practice speaking in clusters?

You can start by practicing saying the important words in the previous sentence, for example, when you want to say the sentence: “I want my brother to win.” First, you practice pronouncing content words correctly: WANT, WANT, WANT; BROther, BROther, BROther; WIN, WIN, WIN.

Then, combine these important words: WANT… BROther…WIN…; WANT… BROther…WIN…; WANT… BROther…WIN…

Finally, read the whole phrase, remember that unimportant words should be read smaller, lower and shorter than important words: i WANT my BROther to WIN.

Don't worry if you can't pronounce English words or phrases correctly at first. First of all, you need to focus on imagining how you should pronounce this word. In other words, you need to know the pronunciation of the word in your head, even though your mouth is not completely listening to you yet.

9. Remember to record your voice

When you read or speak, you can record your voice and listen to it. If you can't understand what you just said, don't expect others to understand you. Recording and listening to it regularly will help you improve your pronunciation significantly.

10. Learn English words that you often mispronounce

You need to systematically learn the commonly mispronounced English words. You can make a list of words you often use and check your pronunciation of these words.