This tip may sound a bit strange but if you try it, you will see the difference. There are many languages that are spoken at a faster rate than the English language, e. Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Hindi. If you try to speak English with the same speed that these languages are spoken, native speakers may not understand you and you will need to repeat yourself. So you should slow down a little bit when speaking English and make pauses between words a little longer.
In this way, your speech will sound clearer. When speaking, Americans divide long sentences into phrases which are called thought groups. Try to adapt your speaking pace — speak in shortphrases and make brief pauses after each phrase to help other people process what you said.
You should emphasize the most important wordsin your message. Use pitch emphasis on the focus word in each phrase — raise your voice and make a longer sound for the specific word thatrequires the most attention. When stressing different words in the sentence, you can change its meaning:. You should also learn the common intonation patterns of spoken American English because we use intonation to display our emotions.
You need to articulate vowels in the stressed syllables with extra length and a slight rise in pitch:. Every language has a specific set of sounds. Some languages may share common sounds but still, there are subtle differences in their pronunciation which will be very noticeable to native speakers. So you should learn how to pronounce all the sounds in American English.
There are 5 letters for vowel sounds in the English alphabet a, e, i, o, and u and these 5 letters make 15 different vowel sounds. You need to learn to pronounce all vowel sounds correctly to speak clear American English. Get familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet. It will help you identify new sounds and give you some markers to navigate the language. Schwa also occurs in many grammar words, for example, in articles, and prepositions.
Getting proficient with schwa will help you make your pronunciation more accurate and natural. You have to distinguish between L and R sounds that are interchangeable in some languages. American R sound is rather unusual and seems to exist in only a few languages, for example, in Mandarin Chinese.
When pronouncing the American R, you must put your tongue in the middle of your mouth and keep your lips a bit rounded. You might be surprised but native American speakers do not articulate every T. Instead, they use at least three different T sounds — tapped T, silent T, and held T. You must learn to differentiate and to pronounce all these variations. You should use them in your speech to make it sound smoother and more natural. Native American speakers almost always use contractions.
Contractions are not slang but grammatically correct combinations of separate words that are shortened to speak faster. In writing, Americans use an apostrophe to replace the missing letters.
Here are some examples of contractions:. You should practice contractions and incorporate them in your spoken English as well. You will sound more fluent and native-level.
Focus on mastering these features of the American accent and soon you will notice that you sound more engaging and natural. Now that you know what features of American accent you need to work on, here are some practical recommendations on how to organize accent training lessons on your own.
Use them to improve your American accent. The more you practice and the more feedback you get, the better your American accent will become. The structure of the book has been reorganized, offering students a much more clear and direct sequence of lessons and a path to better understanding The downloadable audio component features professional male and female voices that have been carefully selected to represent authentic American pronunciation and intonation Pronunciation exercises encompass all vowel sounds, consonants, blends, and diphthongs Emphasis on linking, or phonetically transcribed sound liaisons, help students "see" the correct sounds Designed for foreign-born students and business people working, traveling, or studying in the United States and Canada Supplementary materials include detailed nationality guides for 11 languages Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Korean, Arabic, the U.
Southern accent, and African languages. More valuable features include access to a comprehensive website, and referral to a qualified telephone analyst for an individual diagnostic speech analysis. Learn how with this detailed book. Illustrations, videos and detailed explanations of accent error patterns and American pronunciation give you everything you need to understand and implement the SMART American Accent Training method.
You'll change much more than just one word and get the tools you need to improve your American accent. Popular Books. End of Days by Brad Taylor. Languages English. Price Free. Family Sharing With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.
More By This Developer. VOA English Learning. Standard English Learning. You Might Also Like. English Speaking for Beginners. Special English Listening. Everyday English Conversation. Accent Training - American. LearnEnglish Podcast.
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