7 Steps to help you breakthrough your pronunciation

7 Steps to help you breakthrough your pronunciation

English pronunciation is always a "pain point" for Vietnamese people. Some people think that regional accents are a barrier, but this is only partly true.

No matter what country or region you belong to, you can still pronounce naturally like a native speaker if you persistently apply the 7 steps below.

1. Learn to listen

7 Steps to help you breakthrough your pronunciation

Before learning to speak, you must learn to listen. Some words are difficult to distinguish when listening, for example: sleep and slip, chin and shin... If you can distinguish them, you will be able to pronounce them correctly.

2. Pay attention to how your mouth and lips move

The movements of the mouth and lips will directly affect the sounds produced.

The first step is to correct the movement of the mouth, paying more attention to it. The most accurate way to check and help you correct the movements of your lips and mouth is to use a mirror. You also need to observe native speakers in real life, in movies or TV shows and pay attention to the shape of their mouths and lips when they speak.

3. Pay attention to the tongue

The tongue is an important part that directly affects your pronunciation.

Some sounds that Vietnamese people often make mistakes when reading are /dʒ/, /ʒ/ and /j/.

How to pronounce /dʒ/:

7 Steps to help you breakthrough your pronunciation

  • Tighten and round lips: move your lips forward and stretch to make a sound
  • Close two teeth

  • Raise the tip of your tongue to touch the back of your upper teeth

  • Make a gentle sound like the Vietnamese "ch" sound.

When we breathe, our neck vibrates to create sound. At that time, if you put your hand in front of your mouth, there will be no air entering your hand.

- Some words have the sound /dʒ/:

  • gymnastic /dʒɪmˈnæstɪk/

  • jug /dʒʌg/ – joke /dʒəʊk/

How to pronounce /ʒ/:

  • Move your tongue toward your teeth, not touching them

  • Blow air between your tongue and your teeth

  • Throat VIBRATING

- Some words have the /ʒ/ sound:

  • Asia /ˈeɪʒə/, rouge /ruːʒ/

How to pronounce /j/:

The tongue is pointed up and forward, the distance between the upper and lower lips is narrow, and the mouth is wide open to the sides like you are smiling.

- Some words have the /j/ sound:

  • Young /jʌŋ/, usual /ˈjuːʒuəl/

4. Divide a word into many sounds

A word is made up of many syllables. For example, the word “syllable” has 3 syllables: syl-la-ble. Breaking words into parts helps you remember how to write and pronounce words more easily.

You can use spaces or draw lines to delineate syllables. Then, read the word out loud slowly, pausing on each syllable to make sure you are pronouncing each syllable of the word correctly.

5. Note the stress (stress mark) of the word

English is an accented language, meaning that in a word, one syllable will be emphasized more than the other syllables. You can realize this if you choose to use an online dictionary that has a built-in pronunciation function.

Taking note of word stress is also important because the placement of the stress can change the meaning of the word.

For example:

From “Present”

– Stress the first syllable: “PREsent” means “right now”.

– Stress the final syllable: “PreSENT” means “to give a gift” or “to perform”.

6. Record or film while you practice pronunciation

One way to check your pronunciation is to record or videotape yourself while you practice speaking. Ideally, you should use an additional camera to monitor whether the mouthpiece and tongue movement are correct.

You can also find some of your favorite sayings in movies, record them and compare them with the pronunciation of the actors in the movie. Practice until you realize you read exactly like them.

7. Practice pronunciation with friends

7 Steps to help you breakthrough your pronunciation

Daily practice is essential if you want to improve your pronunciation quickly. It is best to practice your pronunciation with a friend, either in person or online.

You can join English learning groups on social networks, modern features such as Video Call have helped a lot with this. If you have the opportunity, you should get acquainted with native speakers and talk and discuss with them, then ask them for corrections and suggestions to improve your pronunciation skills.