7 ENGLISH TECHNIQUES THAT WILL HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR ACCENT AND PRONUNCIATION

Seven techniques that will improve your pronunciation starting right now.

Technique number one, listen and repeat.

Once again, listen and repeat.

In other words, you need to practice mimicking native speakers pronunciation.

Let me break this down for you.

You see, this technique involves carefully listening to native English speakers

and attempting to replicate their pronunciation as closely as possible.

Now, I personally used this technique to improve my pronunciation

when I was studying Korean.

Korean is a very difficult language.

And I knew that I had to put the time in to improve my pronunciation.

And it got so good that people, when they were on the phone,

would answer and they thought.

I was Korean.

Why?

Because I listened and repeated what I was hearing whenever I watched a

television program, whenever I listened to a podcast, whenever I was around

my Korean friends, I would listen and repeat what they were saying.

You can use this technique to improve your English pronunciation.

I have spoken to thousands upon thousands of English learners.

And one of the common challenges is pronunciation.

They say, Tiff, my accent is too strong.

People don't understand me.

Pronunciation is so hard.

Listen, if you focus on repeating exactly trying to replicate what you hear, I

guarantee your pronunciation will improve, but you have to be patient with yourself.

So even right now, as I am giving you this technique, you could pause the video

and repeat the last sentence you heard.

Then rewind the video and listen again.

And then repeat again, your goal is to sound exactly like me or

exactly like the individual you are watching or listening to.

So again, technique number one is to listen and repeat.

Now, let me give you three reasons why this is such a powerful technique.

Reason number one, using this technique will help you train your ear to

recognize Subtle differences in sounds.

I love this as a native English speaker, right?

I speak in English all the time.

I'm teaching you English right now, but when you listen to me,

you'll notice subtle differences.

Why?

Because English is not your first language.

So your ear is going to kind of focus just a bit more.

This will help you notice the subtle, the nuances, the differences in sound.

The second reason why this technique is so powerful is you'll develop

muscle memory in your mouth and tongue for producing new sounds.

Now I have mentioned this many times before, and I've also told a story.

Stay till the end for story time.

So I told a story about one of my students who was trying to

improve Her pronunciation, she was struggling to make the T H sound.

She didn't know how to put her tongue between her teeth

and make it feel natural.

So I told her to practice over and over again.

When she was working, the, the, she had to get this muscle memory down.

Her tongue needed to figure out, ah, This is a new sound, and this is the position

I need to be in to make this sound.

So for technique number one, when you listen and repeat, it also

helps you with muscle memory.

And finally, the third reason why this technique is so powerful is it allows

you to practice in a low pressure environment, building your confidence.

When you're practicing alone or when you're listening to something

and repeating it, maybe even at a lower tone, or you're just kind

of talking to yourself, you're not worried about anyone judging you.

And this will inevitably build your confidence technique.

Number one.

Listen and repeat.

Now, before we go to technique number two, my name is teacher Tiffani, and

I am passionate about helping you and other English learners around the world.

Finally speak English with confidence.

I think this lesson is going to take your English pronunciation to the next level.

Now, if you want to continue practicing, even after this lesson, don't forget

about the English with Tiffani app.

The link is in the description.

If you're watching the video, or you can go to the Google play store or

the Apple store and download English with Tiffani to continue practicing.

Now technique number two technique.

Number two is.

Record yourself speaking.

Now I said this one slower because sometimes students

don't like to record themselves.

It feels awkward having your phone in front of you or your

camera, and you're talking to the camera and you can see yourself.

It feels uncomfortable, but when you're trying to improve your pronunciation,

you must try various techniques.

So record yourself speaking.

You need to compare your pronunciation with native speakers.

So when you record yourself, you can watch the video again, or listen to the audio

recording and realize, ah, Teacher Tiffani sounds like that, but I sound like this.

What can I tweak to make it sound more natural again, by recording your

own speech and comparing it to native speakers, you can identify areas for

improvement in your pronunciation.

It's so powerful for you to be able to self correct as

you're on your English journey.

Now, here are three reasons why this technique is so powerful.

Reason number one, you'll become more aware of your own

speech patterns and habits.

This is important.

If your goal is to improve your English skills, if your goal is to speak English

more fluently, if your goal is to improve your pronunciation specifically, you

need to record yourself, it will help you recognize your patterns and your habits.

The second reason why this technique is so powerful is it provides a concrete

way to track your progress over time.

I recorded a video last week.

I recorded a video today.

I can compare how I did today to how I did last week.

You can track your progress and reason number three.

You can focus on specific sounds or words that you find challenging.

Remember a few moments ago, I mentioned that one of my students, when I

worked in South Korea, struggled with the T H sound, she was able to

pronounce the F sound properly, the S sound, the Z sound, the T sound.

It was just.

That T H sound that she struggled with.

So when you take the time to record yourself, whether a video

recording or an audio recording, you'll be able to recognize the

sounds you need to focus more on.

So again, technique number two, record yourself speaking technique.

Number three, watch English media.

With subtitles, I'll say it again, watch English media with subtitles.

In other words, you have to observe how words are pronounced in context.

This method allows you to see and hear English being used naturally,

helping you understand pronunciation in real world situations.

As a native English speaker, I know how to speed up and slow down, and

I can understand when others speak fast or speak slow, but for you as

an English learner, there are going to be times when you're watching a

program and a native English speaker just starts speaking really quickly.

And you don't know what they're saying.

The moment you turn on the subtitles in English.

Your brain will start connecting.

Ah, these three words together said quickly sound like this, and that

will help enhance your pronunciation.

So here are three other reasons why this technique is so important.

Reason number one.

You'll learn how words change in the connected speech.

That's what I just mentioned.

Words together, what they sound like connected.

Reason number two, it exposes you to different accents and speaking styles.

And finally, reason number three, you can improve your listening skills.

While reinforcing pronunciation, this technique is very powerful and I

encourage you to do it no matter, or to use it, no matter what level you are.

Intermediate or advanced, but the subtitles must be in English.

You got me.

Excellent.

All right.

So let's move on now to technique number four.

Technique number four is.

Exaggerate mouth movements.

Again, exaggerate mouth movements.

Now you have probably been with me for a while.

And so, you know that I make an effort to speak very clearly to help you

understand the lessons that I'm teaching.

I also exaggerate my mouth movements many times in order for you to

understand me more and for you to see how I am making certain sounds.

Here's the thing you need to practice over articulating to improve muscle memory.

I've been speaking English my entire life, so I can speak quickly.

I can say things because I have muscle memory, right?

Therefore, thus this, my mouth knows if the TH sounds comes up, I need

to put the tongue through my teeth.

By exaggerating your mouth movements, when speaking English, you can

develop better control over the muscles used in pronunciation.

We're trying to help you starting right now, improve your pronunciation.

Here are the three reasons why this is so powerful and why

it is such a useful technique.

Reason number one, it helps you feel the difference between

similar sounds more clearly.

It helps you feel the difference reason.

Number two, you'll become more aware of the physical aspects.

Of pronunciation.

Sometimes when you watch television, when you watch a YouTube video, or even

when you're listening to a podcast, it just seems like people are speaking

with no effort, but it just goes back to muscle memory and the more you exaggerate

your mouth movements, the easier it will be for you in a real conversation

to make those sounds properly.

And reason number three, it can lead to clearer, more

More precise speech over time.

Remember I told you earlier that when I would be on the phone in

Korea, I would sound like a Korean.

They thought I was Korean.

Why?

Because I practiced using this technique, exaggerating my mouth

movements, making sure I was actually properly forming the sound inside and

on the exterior portion of my mouth.

Technique number four, exaggerate mouth movements.

Technique number five.

Shadow native speakers, again, shadow native speakers.

You're going to speak along with audio in real time.

Shadowing involves speaking along with the native speaker in real time,

matching their pace, intonation, and pronunciation as closely as possible.

So let's practice this really quickly.

And then we'll go to the reasons.

If you're watching this video, you can see on your screen right now a

sentence, the description, right?

I want you to try to shadow me, try to follow my pace and my intonation.

Here we go.

Shadowing involves speaking along with the native speaker in real time,

matching their pace, intonation and pronunciation as closely as possible.

Now you can pause this video and try to say what I just said.

Or maybe you were actually reading in real time, trying to keep up with me.

This technique will help you improve your pronunciation.

Here are the three reasons why this is such a powerful technique.

Reason number one, it improves your ability to keep up with

natural speech patterns.

I teach my students in my Academy to speak English with Tiffani Academy,

that there's a rhythm to speech, right?

And if you have rhythm, you can kind of follow the rhythm as you're speaking.

Again, it improves your ability to keep up with natural speech

patterns or natural speech rhythms.

Reason number two, you'll internalize the rhythm and flow of English.

I just said, rhythm is so important when you're speaking English.

And reason number three, it helps you develop a more natural sounding accent.

When you're shadowing a native English speaker, you're telling your brain, Hey,

this is what I'd like to sound like.

Let's work hard to sound like that.

All right.

Okay.

So again, technique number five, shadow native speakers.

Now let's go to technique number six.

Technique number six is also very important.

It refers to learning intonation patterns.

Again, learning intonation patterns, practice the rise.

And fall of pitch in sentences, you see understanding and practicing

intonation patterns helps you convey meaning more effectively and sound

more natural when speaking English.

Let me break it down like this.

When I'm speaking to you, when I'm explaining the lesson to you, I normally

take my time and speak very clearly.

I also make it a point to allow my voice to rise and fall.

I want you to see that intonation matters because if I, all of a sudden

started speaking like this with the monotone, you would probably get bored

very quickly, but because sometimes I'm like this, and sometimes I'm like this.

There's something about changing your intonation that draws people in.

So you need to learn intonation patterns.

For example, when you're happy, normally, if someone is happy and speaking English,

their voice goes up, there's kind of this lightness to their voice and a high pitch.

But if someone is very serious, maybe sad, upset, or just in a very solemn

mood, Our voice naturally drops down.

You see the difference, right?

I feel really good.

And then I just want to tell you about something that happened yesterday.

This intonation practice is going to help your pronunciation so much.

Here are three reasons why this is so important.

It allows you to express emotions and attitudes more accurately.

If I all of a sudden said, man, I'm having the worst day of my life.

Something would be a little off, right?

Tiff, you sound happy, but the words you're using don't match what I'm feeling.

When you practice the intonation patterns, it's going to inevitably

help your pronunciation as well.

And people will understand you more.

Reason number two, you'll be better understood as intonation can

change the meaning of a sentence.

And finally, reason number three, it helps you sound more native,

like in your speech, practicing these intonation patterns and

the flow and rhythm of English.

So again, technique number six, learn intonation patterns

technique number seven.

Slow down your speech.

I'll say it again.

Slow down your speech.

You see, focusing on clarity is important to do before increasing speed.

Sometimes as you're learning English and trying to improve your pronunciation,

you might think, Hey, as long as I speak faster, it'll be good.

But that's not the case.

You see by speaking more slowly at first, you can concentrate on pronouncing

each sound correctly before working on increasing your speaking speed.

Why is this so important?

Reason number one, it gives you time to think about the correct

pronunciation of each word.

Now we're not saying that you should speak this way.

Slowly, instead, we're saying you should speak this slowly.

It's okay to pause for a moment.

And in the pauses, when you're taking your time, you're giving

yourself an opportunity to think.

You caught that, right?

I slowed down on purpose, but you were still engaged.

Reason number two, you'll develop better control over your speech organs,

slow it down before you speed it up.

And reason number three, it helps reduce anxiety and increases

your confidence in speaking.

You got it.

Yes.

Technique number seven, slow down your speech.

I really hope you enjoyed this lesson.

My goal is to help you speak English with confidence.

I will talk to you in the next lesson.

You still there.

You know what time it is.

It's story time.

Hey, I said, it's story time one more time.

I said, it's story time.

Hey, I said, it's story time.

All right.

This is one of my favorite stories, literally.

And it's one of my favorite stories because of the

student and his personality.

He was one of my favorite students.

He had so much confidence.

He was just a very fun guy to be around.

So.

When I was in South Korea, every once in a while, throughout the term, I

would have a game day for my students.

It was a time just for them to relax.

To not be stressed and usually fell on the day after an exam, just to

kind of let them have some fun.

So on this specific evening, it was an evening class.

I decided to play a game where the students would have to guess the word.

So I put the students in two teams and each team had to select

a spokesperson to come up front.

Right.

So that spokesperson would come up front and their job was to describe the word.

Now they had to describe the word either using words or by drawing a picture.

Now this team got a word and they were responsible for.

Guessing the word by looking at the representatives drawing on the whiteboard.

Now I knew the word because I gave the word to the students,

but for this round, the students actually had not told me the word.

So anyways, the student is drawing the picture on the board

and his team is guessing, right?

They're trying to guess what the word is and they're throwing

out all types of words, right?

And I had a timer and the timer was about to run out and

this one guy yells out Tiff.

I got it.

And I'm like, all right, man, let me know what was the answer.

Right.

And the representative at the board stopped and was like, Hey, what is it?

And he said, Waperm.

And I paused.

And I was always very careful if a student made a mistake or said

something I didn't understand.

I would try to make sure I didn't look shocked or confused because I didn't want

them to be uncomfortable or embarrassed.

I said, Hey, say that one more time for me.

And with the utmost confidence, shoulders back, he said, what?

And I looked at the picture and I looked at the student, I looked at the picture

and then I looked at the student again.

I said, say that word.

One more time.

Now, remember, this is one of my favorite students.

We were close.

He was a funny guy.

He said, Tiff, now, if you're not watching the video, you can't see how I'm

exaggerating my mouth movements, but this is how he was actually speaking to me.

And in that moment, I realized what he was trying to say.

He was trying to say law firm.

I looked at him and I said, you gotta be kidding me.

Are you trying to say law firm?

He said, that's what I said, Tiff.

That's what I said.

And we all just burst out laughing.

Why?

Again, cool guy, so much confidence.

So he wasn't even embarrassed.

I said.

It's not wall, it's a law and it's not perm it's firm.

And he even started laughing.

He was like, Oh, I got to work on my pronunciation.

He was a funny guy.

Now I never forgot that situation of course, because of his jovial

personality and his happy demeanor, right?

But I realized, man.

Because of pronunciation, I wasn't able to understand what this student was saying.

And I had been a teacher at the time for years.

I had already taught tons of students.

But because he was not able to pronounce the L sound and the F sound, I wasn't

able to understand what he was saying.

Now I was his teacher.

He was comfortable with me, but imagine if he had been in another

situation, trying to say that word, he might've been embarrassed.

He might've been overwhelmed or frustrated.

This is why I continue to teach English.

And I hope this lesson on pronunciation helped you.

I really care.

Just like I cared about him.

I still, I still like that guy.

Hopefully I'll meet him once again in the future.

Hope you enjoyed this story and I'll talk to you next time.