4 Motivating TED Talks in Portuguese For Polishing Your Language Skills
Have you ever watched TED talks? If you have, did you find them useful and amusing?
7 minute read
It is all well and good knowing English, but in order to speak it, you need to get the correct pronunciation. This is what will help people to understand you. So, how can you improve your English pronunciation? That is what we want to give you tips for here!
Before we dive into a few tips on how to improve your English pronunciation, we do want to point out these tips are not going to eliminate your native accent. That is going to be impossible to do. Our tips are to help you to become better understand despite your native accent. We want to help you to speak a little bit clearer.
Speak the language
Try to speak the language as much as you possibly can. The more you speak the language, the better your pronunciation will get. We suggest that you spend most of your time either talking to your tutor or with a native English speaker. By doing this, you can listen to how they pronounce the words when they speak back to you. Your brain will try to mimic this way of speaking. You won't get it perfect, but you will come close.
Sing along to songs
Often, when non-native English speakers sing along to songs, they drop their accent. You could try the same. Pick a couple of your favorite songs in English and sing along to them. Really focus on the pronunciation of your words as you do. You may even want to try singing while looking into a mirror to see the way that your lips move.
Listen to English
There will be no speaking involved here. Instead, try to listen to as much English-speaking content as you possibly can. The more you listen to English-speaking content, the more you will get familiar with the way that the language is supposed to sound. It is no secret that those with the best English pronunciation will be those that have spent most of their time listening to podcasts, watching TV, and playing games in English. It doesn't even need to be active listening. Having English in the background most of the time should be fine.
Speak Slowly
If you are having trouble pronouncing certain words, then break them down into syllables. Focus on pronouncing each part of the word incredibly well, then bring it all together when you feel comfortable with your speaking.
Some people will find that simply writing the word out in a phonetic way (i.e. you write how you pronounce it, not the actual word) really helps them out.
Tongue Twisters
These can be a little bit scary for new English learners, but we promise you that there is no greater way to really work on your pronunciation than tongue twisters. They will force your lips and tongue to move perfectly in order to deal with the tongue twister. Try to incorporate a couple into your daily English practice. You may even want to try warming up with them!
These are just a few tips for improving your English pronunciation. There is so much more than you can do on top of this, but we feel that these tips are a good start. If you are having issues pronouncing certain words, then don't be afraid to work with your tutor. They will have exercises that you can do.
