Learning Pronunciation With Online Resources: 4 Tips To Improve Your Accent
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Achieving good pronunciation is one of the most challenging aspects of second language learning. For starters, learning spelling-to-sound rules can take a long time. Although there are a few languages that have a fairly transparent relationship between what is written and what is said, most languages (English among them) have lots of different sounds for the same symbols, which can make it very difficult to know how a word should be pronounced. Besides, speaking is the area that students are usually most anxious about, which can harm their performance.
Luckily, current teaching approaches do not aim at forcing students to sound like native speakers, but rather to help them achieve intelligibility. Languages, after all, are means of communication, a tool that people use to understand each other. Rather than sounding like a native speaker, a more attainable goal for language learners is aspiring to take their pronunciation of words to a level at which it can be understood by any person who speaks the language.
That is why, today, we are bringing you a list of online resources to improve your pronunciation.
Forvo
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Forvo is an online pronunciation dictionary that has millions of words in dozens of languages. The website is completely free. All you have to do is enter the word that you want to hear, and you will get to hear audio tracks submitted by other users who are native speakers of your target language. Let’s suppose, for example, that you came across the word Weihnachten, which means Christmas in German, but you don’t know how to say it. Instead of consulting a traditional pronunciation dictionary, you can look up the word in Forvo, play the sample as many times as you like, and repeat the word after the speaker to make sure you got it right.
But it doesn’t end there. Now let’s imagine that you want to look for the same word in Spanish. You enter the word Navidad and you find that there are two different pronunciations, Castillian Spanish and Latin American Spanish. As a result, you can learn how words are said in different countries. This is great, for example, for advanced students of English who want to check how the pronunciation of words varies from British to American English. All you have to do is play the tracks and repeat until your pronunciation matches that of the speaker!
Speechace
Speechace is the first Speech Application Programming Interface (API) specifically designed for evaluating and giving feedback on audio samples. The developers have created innovative technology that allows learners to record themselves, send their audio note on the spot, and receive detailed feedback on their oral performance. This feedback includes comments not only on specific mistakes but also on fluency and overall performance. After reading the comments, students listen to their own clip, assess their own performance, and then try again.
Speechace is an especially great resource for shy students who don’t feel ready to receive feedback from a teacher just yet. Knowing that they are not being evaluated by a tutor, these learners can relax and use the language freely without worrying about other people’s opinions.
The only drawback to this website is that it works solely in English. You can adjust the setting to American or British English, but students learning other foreign languages will have to look for other options.
Streaming Platforms
Listening and repeating is probably the oldest pronunciation exercise in the world. The good thing is that, nowadays, you don’t need to practise with boring drills or childish tongue-twisters. In the Netflix era, you can practise pronunciation with your favourite shows. All you have to do is adjust the audio and subtitles settings to the target language, go back 10 seconds to replay the line you want to practise, listen, and repeat.
To make this activity more effective as a learning language exercise, you should choose shows or films that you know well. This way, you won’t worry about missing important plot points or not understanding every word. You can just sit back, enjoy a familiar story, and practise how to say the funniest or most interesting quotes. For example, at Language Trainers we are huge fans of Friends, and one of our favourite quotes from the show is “Hi, I’m Chandler, I make jokes when I’m uncomfortable”.
Online Courses
Although all the resources above might be great learning companions, if you really want to improve your pronunciation of words and overall fluency you will need to take a course with a qualified tutor. To ensure every lesson is productive, you should look for a company that provides personalized courses taught by native teachers.
At Language Trainers, we believe that learning a language is a huge commitment that many people struggle to find time for. As a consequence, we make sure that every class counts. When it comes to pronunciation, our teachers are fully trained to offer detailed feedback and provide both theoretical input and practice techniques. Whether you want to focus on the pronunciation of words and phrases or you need to improve your rhythm and intonation, we’ll make sure that your needs and learning style are taken into account.
For a completely personalized experience, you can take our one-to-one, real-time courses. This is the perfect choice for busy learners who want to make the most of their learning time. On the other hand, if you want to take part in a multicultural learning experience, you can join our group lessons and connect with fellow learners from around the world. No matter which modality you choose, we’ll make sure to pair you up with the best tutor according to your needs and preferences.
To find out how we can start teaching you the language you’ve been dreaming to learn, contact us on our website right now!