Improve Your English Speaking and English Pronunciation Skills

My first piece of advice is not to get too hung up on trying to sound like a native speaker.
Would you start learning the piano in an attempt to sound like Mozart? The first rule of
speaking English is to learn to speak clearly and concisely and remember you won't just be
speaking to native speakers: There are roughly 380 million native speakers out there, but as
many as a billion people speak English as a second language, you do the math.

Try to avoid using idioms and slang (I always say learn it, but don't use it). It might sound
clever to say "You're barking up the wrong tree," but if you use it in the wrong situation, or if
the other person simply doesn't understand you, you'll only look silly when you try to explain
what you meant to say, or what it actually means.

There's also a saying in English "Have you swallowed a dictionary?" It is applicable to

anyone who uses long, complicated words when a shorter word will do. Short sentences are
just as good (if not better) than long rambling explanations. The value in what you have to
say is what you say, not how clever you look or sound when you say it. So it's a good idea to
try to use simple, clear vocabulary, KISS - keep it short and simple, Here's a fun video that
illustrates what I mean.

English speaking tips

Get over any fear you might have of making mistakes. You will make mistakes.

Be patient with yourself. Learning any language can be frustrating, but frustration won't help
you, so let it go.

Grasp every opportunity you have to speak with people in English.

Talk to friends who are also learning English. Go out together for coffee and only
speak English to each other!

Read short stories out loud and try to see, say and hear the words to reinforce your memory.
Record yourself and play it back later, how does it sound?

Find English speaking friends:-

 You might not be able to find any friendly native speakers where you live, butYou
can find English speaking people on the Internet! If you can't find anyone who'll
actually help you, don't worry, you'll still be able to figure out if they can understand
you.
 Get onto Second Life. It's the one place I've found where you're guaranteed a
conversation - it's an adult environment, and you won't always want to talk to the
people you meet, but for every blood sucking vampire who asks if they can bite you,
there are at least ten, nice people who just want to socialise. If you want a list of nice
places to go, just contact me on the forum.
 There are several internet based voice chat programmes out there: iVisit | Pal Talk |
MSN Web Messenger | Yahoo! Messenger | Google Talk | Skype and I'm sure there
are lots more.
  Look for people with the same interests as you. It's no good asking everyone you meet
to help you with your English, rather develop natural friendships based on your
hobbies etc. Eventually you will make friends and they will be much more likely to
give you correction / guidance.
 Join an English club or conversation group. Around the world there are many
English speaking clubs, these clubs aren't just for expats but for people
interested in the English way of life. They can be friendly and fun. For a list of
English clubs click here. Check magazines as well as your phone book, your
local newspaper and your local university. Or if there isn't one in your area -
start one! Place an advertisement in your newspaper for people interested in
starting a group or go to Meetup.
 Visit an Irish/English/Australian theme pub or British food shop, you can
usually find one in the larger cities. Often, the waiters and waitresses come
from English-speaking countries, the menu is often in English too!
 Once your English is good enough, go shopping in some tourist areas. You'll
find lots of shop assistants speak very good English.
 If you can travel to an English speaking country, do it.

Singing

Try singing along to English songs. With friends or in the privacy of your own bathroom.
Lots of the major games consoles have karaoke games nowadays, like Sing Star on the
Playstation.

!On the internet :- You can speak to me on Skype (see the forum calendar for
times and dates) - you can also listen to or chat with other learners and native
speakers there. There are no more excuses.

!On the network:- Use the pronunciation pages to improve your understanding.
!On this site:- You can find some karaoke resources and ideas on the learn English
through songs page.

!On the Network: You can find the words to some popular songs on the English
magazine.

Pronunciation skills

Accents really don't matter any more. You can spend a fortune and waste a lot of time trying
to "get rid of" your accent, time and money that you could spend learning more English. So,
unless you are up for a role in a film, don't worry about your accent too much. That said,
people need to be able to understand you, so pronunciation and enunciation are important.

Be playful. Mimic famous people, play with the different accents in films etc. I do a mean
John Wayne.
Learn the phonetic alphabet.

List words that have the same sound add to the lists as you learn more words.

For example words that rhyme with me:-

Work on one problem sound at a time. Read slowly concentrating on the

pronunciation of particular words. Record yourself, keep the tape and record yourself
later, have you improved? Don't be shy - ask a friend to listen to the tape too.

Don't worry about sounding like a native, it is more important to speak clearly and
pleasantly than it is to sound like the Queen of England - Even the Queen of England
doesn't sound like she used to.

The most important thing to think about is can people understand you? If you have a
problem being understood then find someone who speaks English clearly and try to
copy the way they speak. Pay particular attention to speed and enunciation.

Learn your alphabet (requires Real Player Basic )

The alphabet

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh

Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp

Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx

Yy Zz

Listen to the Alphabet Song ( British style)

Vowels

A E I O U

Consonants
B C D F G H J K

L M N P Q R S T

V W X Y Z

The Rhyming Alphabet

The following letters rhyme with each other

ä sound ë sound e sound ï sound   yü sound    

A B F I O Q R Z

H C L Y   U    

J D M     W    

K E N          

  G S          

  P X          

  T            

  V            

               

The Phonetic Alphabet

When spelling (especiallyover the phone) use the phonetic alphabet to avoid confusion.

A Alpha B Bravo

C Charlie D Delta

E Echo F Foxtrot

G Golf H Hotel

I India J Juliet

K Kilo L Lima

M Mike N November

O Oscar P Papa

Q Quebec R Romeo
 S Sierra T Tango

U Uniform V Victor

W Whisky X X-Ray

Y Yankee Z Zulu

Names

First Name/Christian Middle (Middle Last

or
Name Name Initial) Name/Surname

Elizabeth Mary M Windsor

John Wesley W Sinclair

Naturally speaking

When two letters appear next to each other we say "double __"

Follow the dialogue.

 My first name is Sonja and my last name

o What's your full name please.
Pascalli

o Sorry , what was your last name again?  Pascalli.

o I'm sorry I don't understand. Could you

 Pasc-all-i.
repeat that more slowly please.

o How do you write that? Could you spell

 P-a-s-c-a-double l-i
it please?

o And your first name please?  Sonja

o Pardon?  Sonja - S-o-n-j-a.

o And what is your telephone number

 2-3-8-7-1-8
please?
 o Thank you.  You're welcome.

Checking understanding - What to say

"My name is Mr. Bean."

"............................"
"?" "My name
is ????."
"My name is
Mr. Bean."

"I'm sorry I didn't hear that. "Could you Could you

"I'm sorry, I don't
Could you speak a little louder repeat your spell that
understand."
please?" name please?" please?

"My name is Mr. Bean,

"I said, my name is Mr. "My name is
your name is --------- and "B-e-a-n."
Bean!" Mr. Bean."
mine is Mr. Bean."

Capitalisation

When spelling a word for someone it is sometimes necessary to let the person know when letters
need to be written in CAPITALS and when they need to be written small.

"How do you spell UNESCO please?" "Capital U-N-E-S-C-O."

"How do you spell T-Online please?" "Capital T dash capital O small n-l-i-n-e."

"How do you spell 1&1 Profi please?" "1 ampersand 1 capital P small r-o-f-i."

Please and thank you

The average English person will say please and thank you at least 200 times a day.
 Thanks and ta are very informal.

"You're welcome" is a common response to "Thank you".