My Pronunciation Hendrik SUK3 Part1

Improving my Pronunciation

Pronunciation is as important as grammar, in my opinion, especially for those who have chosen languages as their future profession. You can use the most sophisticated grammatical constructions and fancy words to express yourself, but one thing that matters is how you present them, that is the way the words come out of your mouth and the way other people hear them. If your pronunciation is bad, it spoils almost everything. Moreover, it can often lead to misunderstanding, for example, if you pronounce the words 'ship' and 'sheep' with no difference.

When you've decided to work on your pronunciation, it is better to choose a specific accent and stick to it. In my case, it is British accent. To begin with, it is better to learn thoroughly the articulation of every single sound of the language.  Here you can practice the pairs of similar, but different sounds which make great difference.

Then, you could read about some peculiarities of how to speak in a British accent.

It is efficient to listen to native speakers talking and try to imitate them. I really like this woman and I am doing my best to sound like she.

One more tricky thing about pronunciation is intonation, it is, by far, the hardest thing to acquire.

P.S. If you never give up, you'll be successful ;-) 

Dan O'Brien