As language learners, we often strive for perfect pronunciation
because how we sound is the first thing that people hear when we speak.
Now we're afraid that if we make a mistake,
especially when it comes to pronunciation, our value will diminish
and others will realize that maybe we're not as good as we say we are.
But let's be honest.
In many cases, English pronunciation makes no sense.
Now, unlike some other phonetic languages that I've learned, like Spanish,
for example, where words that are spelled in a particular way
usually have a predictable sound, in English words that are spelt
the same way might sound different like read and read, and words
that are spelt different might sound the same, like vain and vain.
Now if this drives you crazy. You are not alone.
Many English learners feel frustrated, wondering how they should
learn pronunciation and what they can do to effectively improve.
Well, in today's lesson our Beyond Borders
Guests will share some of the best method that you can use
to improve your pronunciation, so get ready to be inspired.
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So Idahosa, in your opinion,
where is the best place to start when it comes to practicing pronunciation?
Yeah, well I start with listening.
So the highest, most effective
technique in that, in our set, in our universe
is something called syllable, syllable shadowing.
There's a way you can train your listening.
I'll take that last sentence. There's a way you can train your listening,
there's a way you can train your listening, there's a way you can train your listening.
You might be trained to listen for the words I'm saying.
There is a way. Right?
But that's how I'm saying,
there's a way you can train your listening
there's a way you can train your listening.
You can hear it as syllables.
So what you would do is you'd practice may be clapping along with it.
There's a way you can train your listening. There's a way you can train your listening.
I'm getting people to sync with the rhythm of the speech
with their bodies. So you can do it with your hands.
There's a way you can train your listening. You can move your lips with it.
Alright, so it sounds weird, weird stuff. But man, does it work!
What you do is you just get English phrases, you get whatever you're watching
and then you practice being in sync with it, with your own body.
And paying attention and making the adjustments.
You do that very specific, deliberate training for like 30 minutes a day,
it has massive effects on listening comprehension.
And here's why it works. Because
you understand me for this reason,
this is what babies are doing when we were, when we were kids.
The most fundamental layer of speech is the rhythm duh, duh-duh-duh, duh, duh-duh-duh.
So that's, that's a technique for listening comprehension.
And I'll leave it at that. Because all the pronunciation things come out of that.
I totally agree.
Practicing listening is fundamental to good pronunciation,
just as we memorize and understand
songs and music by listening closely to the lyrics and other features.
We can also master difficult words by listening carefully to the rhythm
and the way that certain syllables sound.
The key here is to listen carefully to how words are used.
Break them down when practicing them
until you're comfortable enough to start using them in conversation.
And do you find experts’, like Idahosa’s, advice valuable
for improving your English?
Well, if you want to learn more with some of the best teachers in the world,
then download the free RealLife App.
Now there you can listen to the full interviews with each of them
with an interactive transcript and vocabulary definitions.
And so many of you have told me that you are frustrated
because you have no way to practice speaking English.
Well, we decided to go ahead and solve that. On the RealLife App.
Just press a button
and you can speak English instantly with someone in another part of the world.
Again, it's all free and you really have nothing to lose.
So just search for RealLife English in the Apple app or Google Play Store,
or you can click up here or in the description down below.
So Mark Hancock has written 26 books on the subject
of English pronunciation, so you could say that he's a bit of an expert.
Mark, what can learners do to help them to remember the sound patterns
of the words that they're learning? - (Mark) The rhymes and raps are great for,
like drilling type work, you know, practicing getting your mouth around it.
And they also stick in the memory
like an earworm, something which sticks in your memory.
I mentioned before the shits and sheet different straight in the eye.
So I'm just going to
do a rap for you, which I often do to focus on
this difference in words like fit and feet,
bit/beat and so on.
He's got plenty of examples of these minimal pairs.
So it goes like this.
So you do things like that, you do it.
And then you get students to repeat line after line with you, and then you get
students started doing it where one half of the class say one line
and the next day the next line, different kinds of formats like that.
But by the end, when they're walking home,
hopefully this will be going round and round in their heads. Like a earworm.
And so it's the pronunciation points
that helps the student to fix them in their memory.
So raps are really good for that. Raps,
songs, poems, wordplay generally, those kind of things.
That’s super interesting!
So practicing with minimal pairs can help you to isolate
and focus on those sounds that might be most difficult for you.
So figure out what sounds
are most difficult for you to pronounce and then make a list of minimal pairs.
And you can even find many of these lists online with a simple search.
Print it out and put it somewhere that you'll see it all the time and commit
to practicing with minimal pairs for at least a few minutes every day.
Now, as Mark said, songs, poetry and wraps are also great for this.
Now, when I was in High School, I was lucky to have the opportunity
to study abroad in a small village in Germany for six months.
I had taken German classes at my school for three years,
so I was feeling pretty confident that I would have a good base
and would pick it up naturally as soon I was in the country
surrounded by the language.
But to my surprise, when I arrived, no one could understand me.
Despite studying vocabulary and grammar for three years,
my teacher never thought to focus on correct pronunciation,
so I filtered my pronunciation naturally through English.
And as an English teacher, I've seen that many learners make the same mistake.
Why is it that this happens?
Sometimes the listener hears what they expect to hear.
So your teacher is saying "ir" but you you think that the teachers sad "ihc",
you somehow filter the message
that was coming in your ears, you filter it through your own language.
What fixes in your memory is actually
a side version in this case of the other language.
This happens a lot.
And part of what pronunciation teaching is about
is about helping students to hear objectively.
You know, that makes sense.
So when learning a new language,
especially when it comes to pronunciation, it's important that you set aside
the rules and structures of your native language,
as this can not only confuse you, but also delay your progress.
Of course, as adults,
it's not as easy to learn a new language without the interference
of our native tongue, but it is important to be aware of this
and consistently try to avoid the first language interference.
So once you are familiar with the sounds, you need to work on a great way
for you to train your mouth to pronounce the correct sounds is with tongue
twisters. Hadar, are you ready to practice?
Very good!
I love this one.
And I love this one.
This is. This is, this one is really good for practicing theaspirated P. Peter in the high E sound too.
That was really fun.
Tongue twisters help the brain to control the tongue better, improving
pronunciation and clarity.
Anna, do you find it is effective for learners to be super strict on themselves when it comes to pronunciation?
You know, I'm not very eloquent in my native language
and I make mistakes and I stumble over my words
and I mispronounce words even in my native Ukrainian language.
So it's not something supernatural for me, and I do this in English,
and I have come to terms with this because I was really like,
I was beating myself up over this like you.
You need to speak perfectly in English.
You need to master the skill.
But that was my mistake, I was too
too strict and too harsh on myself and I wa yous know too hard, too hard on myself.
And because of that, I had moments of disappointment and burning out.
So I remember that
I literally was so afraid to skip even a day of my learning routine
because I was so afraid that I was going to lose
any progress that I gained, or I was going to lose my skills.
And that was so ridiculous.
I didn't give myself time to even rest.
Yeah, it's so important to keep the balance between working hard
and being kind to yourself, because when you experience
that much pressure, learning a language stops being enjoyable and you run the risk
of losing your motivation to keep learning.
And finally, when it comes
to pronunciation, is it important which accent learners choose to adopt?
If you enjoy learning English and if you enjoy working on your pronunciation
and speaking with an American or British or whatever accent, just go for it.
Just do it! You do you!
There you have it.
Expert tips from our exceptional guests
for improving your pronunciation fast on your own. Just a recap.
They are:
Remember that if any of their tips really stuck out to you,
then you can check out the full interview with them on the RealLife
app linked down in the description below.
Next, you might want to check out our lesson about imposter syndrome,
which will help you to identify ways to overcome the fears and pressures
of perfectionism. Let's watch a clip from that.
OK, so according to a study published by the Journal of Behavioral Sciences,
approximately 70% of people suffer from imposter syndrome.
People of all ages from a variety of careers and jobs
struggle with it every single day of their lives.
You've probably experienced it on some level yourself,
like not believing in your ability to do something and fearing that people
will find out judging your capability to the point of calling yourself a fraud
and believing that everyone else is better than you are.