Study Tips for Accent Reduction Students
1. At your lesson, pick 5-10 difficult words or phrases and write each on a sticky note. Post the notes near your computer at work. Then you'll look at them several times a day. Look at them before you take a walk down the hall to the restroom. Then practice saying them on your break. After a week, check with your teacher or a native speaker how you're doing with each word/phrase on your sticky note. Once you're doing it right, toss the sticky note.
2. When you say a word or phrase that was misunderstood (you were asked to repeat yourself), write the word/phrase on a sticky note. Then go ask a native speaker how to say the word/phrase. Ask if you can record them using your smartphone. Now you have the recording and your sticky note to remind you to practice!
3. Check out some children's read aloud books from the library. Practice reading them aloud. Children's books are written in a way that sounds great when read aloud. Some children's books come with audio recordings. Read along, listen and imitate!
4. Don't try to incorporate all the pronunciation rules you're learning into your everyday speech all at once. Alot 5 minutes at a time to practice. Agree with yourself that for this 5 minutes, while I'm talking to a colleage, I will just work on my linking. Or for this 5 minutes, while I'm talking to a friend, I will just work on making all my -th- sounds clear.
5. When you're listening to native speakers in person or on the radio or TV, of course you need to pay attention to the content of what they're saying, but make a play to spend a couple minutes at a time listening for one fo the rules you're studying. For example, for the next 2 minutes, I will listen for their disappearing H, or H elision. Did he say, "She has her own house" or "She has er own house"?
1. At your lesson, pick 5-10 difficult words or phrases and write each on a sticky note. Post the notes near your computer at work. Then you'll look at them several times a day. Look at them before you take a walk down the hall to the restroom. Then practice saying them on your break. After a week, check with your teacher or a native speaker how you're doing with each word/phrase on your sticky note. Once you're doing it right, toss the sticky note.
2. When you say a word or phrase that was misunderstood (you were asked to repeat yourself), write the word/phrase on a sticky note. Then go ask a native speaker how to say the word/phrase. Ask if you can record them using your smartphone. Now you have the recording and your sticky note to remind you to practice!
3. Check out some children's read aloud books from the library. Practice reading them aloud. Children's books are written in a way that sounds great when read aloud. Some children's books come with audio recordings. Read along, listen and imitate!
4. Don't try to incorporate all the pronunciation rules you're learning into your everyday speech all at once. Alot 5 minutes at a time to practice. Agree with yourself that for this 5 minutes, while I'm talking to a colleage, I will just work on my linking. Or for this 5 minutes, while I'm talking to a friend, I will just work on making all my -th- sounds clear.
5. When you're listening to native speakers in person or on the radio or TV, of course you need to pay attention to the content of what they're saying, but make a play to spend a couple minutes at a time listening for one fo the rules you're studying. For example, for the next 2 minutes, I will listen for their disappearing H, or H elision. Did he say, "She has her own house" or "She has er own house"?
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