11 ACCENT REDUCTION TIPS

Accent reduction tip 1. When watching TV or listening to the radio in English, repeat the speech you hear. Observe and imitate the movements of native speakers, stay focus on imitating the tone and rhythm of their 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. Each Language has its own way of “singing”

Accent reduction tip 3. Make a list of frequently used words that are difficult for you to pronounce. Ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you. Record these these words, listen to them and practice saying them.

Accent reduction tip 4. Pronounce the ending of each word. 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 know how to pronounce those words. Include the pronunciation of the names of your superiors and colleagues.

Accent reduction tip 6. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes. Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid having to listen to themselves speaking. However, this is an important exercise because it will help you become conscious of your mistakes.

Accent reduction tip 7. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow down you r speech. If you speak too quickly with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you. Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient about your 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 in isolation. Think about famous people and how slowly they talk. Martin Luther King, for instance, paused after beginning with “I have a dream”

Accent reduction tip 8. Use your dictionary. Become familiar with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary and look up the correctly punctuation of words that are hard for you to say.

Accent reduction tip 9. Buy a book on tape. Buy the same book in printed form. Listen to the tape and read at the same time, paying close attention to the pronunciation of words, the rhythm, and the pausing of the speaker. Then, record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the speaker from the recording.

Accent reduction tip 10. Read aloud in English for 15 to 20 minutes each day. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles you use when speaking English. Research has shown that it takes about 3 months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

Accent reduction tip 11. Be Patient. You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can chance the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

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