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11 ACCENT REDUCTION TIPS Accent reduction tip 1. When watching TV or listening tothe radio in English, repeat the speech you hear. Observe and imitate themovements of native speakers, stay focus on imitating the tone and rhythm oftheir speech Accent reduction tip 2. Listen to the “music” of English.Don’t use the music of your native language when you are speaking English. EachLanguage has its own way of “singing” Accent reduction tip 3. Make a list of frequently usedwords that are difficult for you to pronounce. Ask a native speaker topronounce them for you. Record these these words, listen to them and practicesaying them. Accent reduction tip 4. Pronounce the ending of eachword. Pay special attention to “s” and “ed” endings. Accent reduction tip 5. List high frequency vocabulary.Make a list of work terminology that you use frequently and make sure you knowhow to pronounce those words. Include the pronunciation of the names of yoursuperiors and colleagues. Accent reduction tip 6. Record your own voice and listenfor pronunciation mistakes. Many people hate to hear the sound of their voiceand avoid having to listen to themselves speaking. However, this is animportant exercise because it will help you become conscious of your mistakes. Accent reduction tip 7. Until you learn the correctintonation and rhythm of English, slow down you r speech. If you speak tooquickly with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hardtime understanding you. Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient aboutyour slow speech – it’s more important that everything you say be understood.If you slow down, the intonation matters lees because people hear each word inisolation. Think about famous people and how slowly they talk. Martin LutherKing, for instance, paused after beginning with “I have a dream” Accent reduction tip 8. Use your dictionary. Becomefamiliar with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary and look up the correctlypunctuation of words that are hard for you to say. Accent reduction tip 9. Buy a book on tape. Buy the samebook in printed form. Listen to the tape and read at the same time, payingclose attention to the pronunciation of words, the rhythm, and the pausing ofthe speaker. Then, record yourself reading some sections of the book. Comparethe sound of your English with that of the speaker from the recording. Accent reduction tip 10. Read aloud in English for 15 to20 minutes each day. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles you usewhen speaking English. Research has shown that it takes about 3 months of dailypractice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language. Accent reduction tip 11. Be Patient. You can change theway you speak but it won’t happen overnight. People often expect instantresults and give up too soon. You can chance the way you sound if you arewilling to put some effort into it. |
