Pronununciation Tips For ESL Speakers

Pronunciation Makes an Impression!

How well do people to understand you when you speak English? Do they often have to ask you to repeat things? 

Speaking clearly enough to be understood MUST be one of your most important priorities if you live in an English country. 

Real communication involves two parties: a speaker and a listener. If the listener can't understand you, you are NOT communicating. 

 It doesn't matter how interesting you are if people have to struggle to get the point.  In fact,  if they have to keep working hard to understand you, they eventually simply stop trying.   

If you are an adult, you will probably never sound like a native speaker. NO ONE expects you to, so don't worry about it. What IS important is that you speak clearly enough for people understand you. This does NOT require getting rid of your accent. It does involve making a real effort. 

You CAN take steps to speak more clearly. I have previously written about some of the steps you can take to improve your pronunciation,  but the following article by Suzanne Bennett offers some excellent advice. Make sure you read the tips section. 

Article: 

Pronunciation  is always a big challenge when speaking a language that is not your own. No matter how hard you try, there are always some sounds in a foreign language that your tongue and lips simply will not want to make! What can you do to sound as native and natural as possible.continue reading

New Pronunciation Links, Videos and Activities

I have also added some new links to the Pronunciation Links on the right hand side of the page, as well as new videos and practice activities on the PRONUNCIATION PAGE.


Of course, as you know, singing English is also a terrific way to practice, so why don't you try out a few songs on the MUSIC PAGE. 

Five Ways Audio Books Can Help You Improve Your English

English audio books are a great resource for ESL students. Now that your language and reading skills are improving, it's important to learn how to pronounce new words and to understand the way people actually speak the language. One of the best ways to do that is to use audio books. When you do this, you listen to a someone read the text while you follow along.
Many ESL learners still read English word by word. Unfortunately reading in this
way actually prevents you from understanding what you are reading because you are focusing on on individual words rather than whole ideas. A word by itself has no meaning, but when put into a phrase or a sentence, it communicates an idea.

When you listen to a book at the same time as you are reading it, you can hear an English speaker reading the whole sentence and paragraph. Your eye moves along the paragraph along with the speaker's words. This can help you to improve your understanding of what you are reading.

Audio books can also help you to understand the pronunciation of words you are unfamiliar with. When you listen to an audio book, you also learn new vocabulary in the way it is meant to be spoken, as well as how to use specific grammar skills when speaking, reading and writing.

You can also “shadow read” after the speaker on the recording Shadow reading involves repeating the sentence, or paragraph after the reader has finished.This way you can practice the new words as well as the natural English phrasing the reader will use.

Another benefit to English audio books is listening to the language spoken at different speeds. Since many people do not speak slowly with many pauses in between words you will need to increase the speed that you understand the English language.

The easiest way to do this is to find English audio books that offer one to three different speeds that you can listen to. As you gain confidence in your reading skills—you will be able to move up to a normal speed and still be able to understand the stories being read.

Finally, English audio books also provide an easy way for you to listen to a variety of action packed stories and then practice your reading comprehension skills. Once you have listened to the English audio book—you should be able to answer questions about the story that will reflect your understanding of the material. Once you are able to do this accurately—you should be able to move up to the next level.

Overall, an English audio book is an excellent method to help you improve your English. Not only can practice and improve your comprehension, but you can also learn how to correctly pronounce many everyday words, as well as how to hear the way English people naturally speak – in phrases.

Audio Books are easy to find. You can locate them online, or at your local public library.The important thing is to look for topics that personally interest you. This could be a non fiction book on how to build a boat, or about new computer. It could also be a romance, mystery or science fiction novel. Even children’s books can be entertaining. You would be surprised at the mumber of new words you can learn. The main point is to have an enjoyable experience.

Here is a list of websites that offer free English audio books .

The Librivox Free Audiobook Collection

Audio Books

Open Culture Free Audio Books

Lit to Go

Books Should Be Free

Ways to Listen

First, download the audio book. You can then, transfer the MP3 file to your IPod so that you can listen on the bus, during your break at work, or simply when you are out for a walk. Another way is to burn the file onto a CD that you can play in your car. Listening to an interesting story is a great way to use your time if you get stuck in traffic. You can also simply download the file onto your computer and follow the text as you listen.

To get a free copy of the text of the novel, go to Internet Open Library and search for the book you want.