Top 10 Pronunciation Tips for IELTS Success

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson,

I'm going to give you some pronunciation tips

so that you can get a higher score on your

IELTS, TOEFL, or any other English exam. Okay?

Now, this is for you if you're appearing for

your exam for the first time, or if you didn't

get the score you needed before and you're not even sure why did you get a low score

and you want to be able to get a higher score

on the speaking test, I'll show you some points

which you might not be aware of, that once you correct them, you will definitely get

a higher score. Okay? Lots of times, students

come to me, and I've worked with thousands

of students over the years in person, on Skype,

okay, in classes, and these small changes

which they can make and you can make, all

right, make that difference to raising their

score. Okay? So let's look at what these small changes are. Let's begin.

Okay, so the first mistake that's often made

is when pronouncing a negative word, you need

to say it correctly, and it's often not pronounced

correctly. For example, in the TOEFL exam,

you listen to something and then you have to describe what did you hear, right? So,

you need to say something like, "The man can't decide", but sometimes, when people

say "can't", we don't hear the ending and

we need to hear the ending because otherwise

the meaning changes, right? So, you want to

say, "He can't decide", you could always say

"He cannot decide", but the first time, it doesn't sound very natural to say that. So,

you could say, "He can't decide", right? Or,

"She doesn't know", all right? So, make sure

that you're really pronouncing that negative

word very clearly, so it doesn't sound like

"He can decide" instead of "He can't decide". Stress that word, okay?

All right. Next, when you're saying the endings

of words, they need to be very clear. For

example, we already talked about one part, the

negative, but now, let's look at even the verb.

If I do not say this sentence correctly, then it

will sound like this, "I don't like". "I don't

like", no, but that's what I sometimes hear when

students are speaking, even though they're really

trying to say the right thing and they know the

right thing, right? So, you want to make sure

that this one sounds like "I don't like", "I

don't like". You want to make sure that that "t"

is very clear, and this word, "I don't like",

finish the word. Say the endings of the words,

okay? So, for example, on the IELTS, if they

ask you, "What do you do in your spare time?"

Say, "Well, I like to stay busy. I don't like to

waste time." Okay? Pronounce the "t"s, say the word

fully to the end, okay? So that "like" doesn't

sound like "lie". "Like", "I don't like", okay?

You can pause the video if you need to, okay?

Repeat after me, go back, listen to it again,

just so that you are really saying... Making

these changes as we go along, or when you go back,

listen again and practice, okay? Next, there's often an issue with articles,

okay? So, what are articles? Like "a" and "the",

right? So, sometimes what's happening is that

the article is actually missing. So, this is a

grammatical error, or it could be a pronunciation

error if you're saying it, but I can't hear it.

Your examiner needs to hear the article, okay?

So, make sure that you pronounce the articles

very carefully. If you don't pronounce them,

then, of course, it becomes a major grammar mistake. And unfortunately, articles are so

common and so important in English that when

we don't hear them, that's a very basic error

that can really bring down your score, okay?

So, you don't want to make this error at all,

so let's see how to say the articles. "I'm a

student." In the aisles, they often start by

asking you, "What do you do?" So, let's say you

say, "I'm a student. I'm a student." Not "I'm

student." And then don't eat up that word, okay?

Make sure you're saying the article very clearly.

"I'm a student. I'm an engineer." Okay? Whatever

it is. Or on the aisles, they also ask you

sometimes, "Where do you live?" So, "I live in an apartment. I live in an apartment. In

an apartment." Now, here, even though you had

this little awkward combination of words, right?

"In an apartment. I live in an apartment." So, make sure that those articles are heard

very clearly. Now, another mistake, and this

mistake is not so much like a grammar mistake,

okay? It will just make you sound much more fluent if you make this small correction,

alright? Here, the mistake actually became a grammar mistake, which was more serious.

But here, it's more a matter of fluency. And of

course, they're also checking for your fluency.

So, what is it? It's how to pronounce the word

"the". Sometimes this word is pronounced like "the",

and sometimes we pronounce it like "the". So, how

do you know? It's easy. If the word after that

starts with a vowel, then you should say "the". And if it starts with a consonant,

then you can just say "the". Okay? And you will

probably need to use this word very often, right?

You know that this word comes up very often in

conversation, but also on the IELTS or TOEFL,

you're often describing advantages and disadvantages, right? So, you would say,

"The advantages of doing this are", but or

however, "the disadvantages", see the difference?

"The advantages", "the disadvantages", "the advantages", "the disadvantages". Okay? So,

because it starts with a vowel, we're saying

"the". What a nice, easy way to improve your

and upgrade your English and get a higher score. Most important, right? Okay.

Now, let's move to another area. This has to do

with short vowels. Now, this sometimes takes a

little bit longer to fix, so you really have to

work on it a little bit because it's possible

that in your languages, the short vowels are

pronounced differently or you just don't have

those kind of short vowels, so you need to work

on this one a little bit more. But first, my job

is to make you aware of it, and that's what I'm

going to do. So, short vowels are "a", "e", "i",

"o", "u". Usually, I hear mistakes with these

three; the short "i", the short "a", and the

short "u". So, the short "i" should sound like

"i", "i". Very short, very fast, very quick.

Not like "i", okay? The short "i" should sound

like "i", not "i", because what happens if you

say it incorrectly? If you pronounce this

"I live" long, it will sound like "I leave",

and on the IELTS, if they ask you, "Where do you live?" and you say, "I leave",

"I leave in England." Okay? Now, will the examiner understand that you leave in

London? Yes, but does it sound right? No. Your

score is going to go down because that word now

sounds like another word, and for any listener,

it's not a good point at all. Right? It changes

the meaning. So, again, it can be an easy fix.

Shorten it. Say it really fast. "I live in London."

"I live in Paris." "I live in Mexico." Okay?

Shorten it. "Live", not "leave". "Live". Good.

Now, let's look at the short "a". The short

"a" sounds like "a". I know, it's embarrassing.

You have to open your mouth a little bit, and

that's how it is. Okay? "A". If you don't open

your mouth, "a", you will not be saying this word

properly... This sound properly. Okay? Because

then it can sound like "eh". "A", "eh". "A", "eh".

See the difference? I need to open my mouth to

say this sound properly. For example, "We had",

not "we head". "Had", "head". "Had", "head". Okay?

The short "a" is wide open. Okay? Open your mouth.

Don't try to be shy. This is not the place to be

shy because, again, it will change the meaning,

and whatever good sentence you are trying to say

won't sound like a good, strong sentence

anymore. It will sound like incorrect grammar,

incorrect vocabulary. Okay? So, pay attention to that.

Another mistake is with the short "u" sound.

What's the correct short "u" sound? "A". Say it

after me. "A". It's like if sometimes you hear

native speakers, when they're not sure, they say

"a", "a". It's a little bit like that. Okay? "A",

not "u" for sure. Okay? "A". So, let's look at

this sample word. "Our culture", not "our culture".

There's also a little word that you can use to

check if you're pronouncing that short "a"

properly, and that is "Batman". You know that

famous guy that we all like so much? What's his

name? "Batman". "Batman", not "Bitman". Okay?

"Batman". It's a good way to practice your short

"a". All right? And now I'm going to show you,

after this, a few more areas where you can definitely improve your score.

All right, you can do this. Okay? Our goal is to

get the highest marks possible for you. All right?

We can do it together. All right, so let's look

at the next issue. So, this is something called

L1 interference. What's L1? L1 is language one,

or your first language, or your native language.

Okay? The first language that you learned to speak,

your mother tongue, and so on. So, sometimes,

obviously, your language can interfere whenever

you're trying to speak a different language,

like English. And you could say, to some extent,

that all of the mistakes here are related to this

issue, but some more specifically than others.

All right? For example, in some languages,

you just don't have certain sounds, and then it

becomes extremely difficult when you're trying

to say it in English. But first, you have to

become aware of what that issue is, and then

you can work on it and retrain not only your

tongue, but also your ear before that to hear it,

and then to pronounce those words correctly.

Okay? And I know that you can do that. All right.

So, some examples of this is, for example, some

Spanish speakers, initially, when they're starting

to learn the language, they have a little bit of

an issue with the "y" sound. Okay? So, instead of

"yes", it might... They might be saying "jes",

instead of "yellow" might be "jello". Now,

obviously, that's a major mistake because it's going to create a completely different

word altogether. It's not just it doesn't sound good or there's a different accent.

Having an accent is not a problem. You can

have your accent-all right?-and it's wonderful,

and it's part of who you are, and it makes

life interesting, it's part of your heritage,

and we want you to have an accent. We just don't want your accent to create

misunderstanding. Okay? Or confusion for the

listener, and in this case, especially for your

examiner. Okay? All right. Or, for some Japanese

speakers, saying the "r" sound is also very

difficult, so "rice" might sound like "lice". Okay?

So, those are some specific areas that you should

check. You need to look at what are the common

pronunciation errors for people from my language

group, and work on those because that will give

you a quick way to accelerate your English fluency.

Okay? Always look at that. All right. Another common error for everyone,

almost everyone, is this consonant blend

with "th". Okay? This needs to be pronounced

with our tongue coming out of... Between the

teeth a little bit. "Th", "th". Okay? Now,

it appears in words like this and like this, so

when it's not said... When it's not pronounced

correctly, the mistakes are usually of two kinds.

Sometimes this "th" sound can sound like a "d"

instead; that's a mistake. And sometimes it can

sound like a "t" by itself. So, for example,

when it's not pronounced properly and sounds

like a "d", then instead of saying "father",

"father", okay? It might sound like "father".

No. "Father", it's much softer. Okay? And also,

the tongue is going to different places in your

mouth, so focus on that. "Father", not "father".

"Mother", not "mudder". Okay? "Brother", not

"brudder". Okay? See the difference? Can you

hear the difference? You need to hear the

difference. Okay? First, and "weather". Okay?

Now, let's say it all correctly. "Father", "mother", "brother", "weather". Okay? So,

say it, repeat it, record yourself, listen

carefully, get someone else to listen to it,

and see whether they're hearing the "th" sound or

whether they're hearing a "d" sound there. Okay?

There should be no "d" sound in those words. And

sometimes the mistake is that the "th" sounds like

a "t". So, this very common word, "that" could

sound like "tat", or "faith" could sound like

"fate". Completely different word. Or "everything",

"everything" could sound like "everyting". Okay?

"Thing", "ting". Quite a difference in sounds.

Right? So, you need to practice those, and if

you do, and if you really focus on it, you can

overcome them. Because I've just written a few

examples here, but there are actually lots of

words that would be affected if, for example,

you didn't pronounce your "th" properly. Okay?

Now I'm going to give you four more. All right?

Let's go. Now, we will look at contractions,

possessives, tenses, and plurals. Okay?

Now, in case you're already a subscriber, which

I really appreciate, you will have already seen,

perhaps, my earlier video on pronunciation hacks

with the missing "s". All right? And a lot of what

we cover here is to do with that, but this is a very good review for you in any case,

in the context especially of the IELTS or TOEFL

or any other exam. And if you haven't subscribed,

then you know what to do. And if you haven't seen

it before, I'm going to explain it right now.

Okay? So, contractions. So, what happens is that

sometimes students think that they are saying the

proper grammatical sentence, but we're not hearing

the ending of the contraction. A contraction,

of course, is when we shorten a word. Sorry,

shorten, let's say, two words into one word.

For example, instead of saying "I am", we say

"I'm", but we need to hear that last part. Right?

"I'm from Madrid." So, when they ask you on your

IELTS exam, "Where are you from?" You want to

make sure that you get full marks for that answer.

Right? "I'm from Madrid." Not "I from Madrid."

Okay? Don't want it to sound like that. That

would be incorrect. And then all of these little

pronunciation errors can bring down your score,

but little pronunciation fixes can increase your

score, which is what we're after. All right?

Also, often on the IELTS, you're asked about the

weather and the place where you live, so you want

to make sure, again, that you're saying "It's

rainy." Not "It rainy." "It's rainy." Don't be in

such a hurry to answer that you feel you have to

go super fast, or don't let your nervousness

make you... Make you go fast. What's important is

clarity. Okay? And enunciation. All right? "It's rainy." All right? Good.

Now, you'll see that a lot of these errors

have to do with that missing "s". All right?

So, where does that missing "s" show up? In possessives. All right? "My wife's family."

Suppose you're asked on the IELTS, "What do you

do on the weekends?" "Oh, we go to visit my wife's

family." Let's say. So, you want to make sure

that it sounds like "my wife's family", not "my

wife family". Because if you say... If it sounds

like... Not if you say, but if it sounds like "my

wife family", then that's a grammatical mistake,

and then your score will go down. But if you say

"my wife's family", now it sounds perfectly

correct. Not only in terms of pronunciation,

but also in terms of grammar. Next, in the TOEFL,

you're often asked to listen to a lecture and

then describe what you've heard, so you might

need to, again, use these kind of possessives

to say things like "the professor's purpose",

"the professor's purpose", okay? Or "the man's

problem is that", okay? Or "the woman's suggestion",

all right? So, pay attention to those possessives.

"Wife's family", "professor's purpose", "man's

problem", "woman's suggestion". Okay? I need to

hear your "s", all right? That's the most important

thing we have to hear. "Wife's", "professor's",

"man's", "woman's", okay? Make sure that

you're saying it in a way that can be heard.

Next, when we talk about certain tenses, we need

to add an "s", right? Very often in present simple.

"She works in a bank." Make sure we can hear that

"s". "The professor explains", okay, in the TOEFL.

"Explains", "discusses", all right? So, make sure

that you say the "s" even in different kinds of

English tenses. Now, let's look at plurals. So,

let's say you're asked to describe your house,

okay, on IELTS exam. So, you might say, "I live in

an apartment. It has three bedrooms." All right?

So, very important to say that "s" at the end for

plural words, right? And we might have several

plural words in your speaking test. For example,

suppose you're asked to describe your hobbies,

so you want to make sure if you're describing

one of them that you say, "One of my favourite

hobbies", all right? This is a very common error.

"One of my hobbies", always "one" of many. "One

of my friends", "one of the reasons", "one of the

solutions", all right? Make sure you're putting an

"s" at the end of those plural words or what

should be plural words, all right? By doing all

of these things step by step, you will increase

your score. These small mistakes can make a big

difference in your score. Now, if you have not

watched that lesson on the missing "s", I do

recommend put a link to it in the lesson description

so you can go and watch that. It's a very important

lesson not only for your exams, but for speaking

in general, for being understood to be speaking

correctly, all right? And of course, for any exam,

all right? Also, I want to make sure that you go to

another lesson of mine if you make that mistake

with the "the" and "the", right? So, I have a

lesson on "and" and "the", so if you want to know

when to say "the" and when to say "the" and to

practice it a little bit more, you can watch that

lesson, that'll help you. And the other thing you

can do is subscribe to my YouTube channel because

I have many other lessons about how to improve

your English and how to do well specifically

on exams like IELTS or TOEFL. And of course,

go to www.engvid.com because there we have

thousands of lessons, including many that have

to do with doing well on the exams and also all

other aspects of English, okay? Thanks very much

for watching. I wish you all the best. Be strong,

be confident. You can do it. I know you can. I've

seen thousands of students make these improvements,

and I know that you're going to do it, too. Okay?

All the best. Thanks for watching. Bye for now.