How to Practice and Continue Practicing

Learning new pronunciations can feel overwhelming at first, but with the right approach and a consistent repetition, it is entirely possible to achieve your accent goals! Frequent and intentional practice is the key to success. Here are some of my recommendations for practicing new pronunciations and building your speaking confidence.

Why Practice Matters

Pronunciation is more than just making sounds—it’s about training your brain and mouth muscles to work together in a new way. This involves developing muscle memory and retraining your ear to distinguish sounds you might not have noticed before. Think of it like learning a new instrument: the more you practice, the more easy and natural it becomes.

Research suggests that regular, focused practice that incorporates both listening and speaking leads to the best outcomes.

The Ultimate Pronunciation Practice Routine

This practice routine is broken down into three phases: listening, imitation, and production. Spending just 20–30 minutes a day on these steps can make a big difference over time.

1. Listening: Train Your Ears

The first step in improving your pronunciation is learning to hear the differences between sounds. Many non-native speakers struggle with this because certain sounds don’t exist in their native language. Here’s how to start:

• Minimal Pairs Practice: Use websites like ESL Lab to practice distinguishing between similar sounds. For example, practice hearing the difference between "ship" and "sheep."

• Watch and Listen: Watch videos, the news, or listen to podcasts spoken by native speakers of North American English. Pay close attention to how they pronounce the sounds you struggle with.

• Shadowing Technique: Listen to a sentence or phrase, pause, and immediately try to repeat it. Focus on mimicking the rhythm, intonation, and pronunciation as closely as possible. YouGlish is a fantastic tool for finding real-life examples of words and phrases in context.

2. Imitation: Mirror the Sounds

Once you’ve trained your ears, it’s time to focus on imitating the sounds.

• Record Yourself: Use your phone or a recording app to record yourself saying new sounds or words. Then, compare your pronunciation to that of a native speaker. Websites like Forvo let you hear native speaker pronunciations of almost any word.

• Use a Mirror: Watch yourself as you practice. Notice how your mouth, lips, and tongue move for specific sounds. For example, to practice the "TH" sounds, watch your mouth to make sure that you see your tongue stick out between your teeth.

• Mouth Shape Practice: In conjunction with this blog, websites like soundsamerican.net provide pronunciation instructions and diagrams for every sound.

3. Production: Build Muscle Memory

Finally, focus on producing sounds consistently and accurately. This phase is about turning knowledge into habit.

• Drill Minimal Pairs: Practice minimal word pairs, as are included throughout the posts on this blog. These pairs really help to ensure that you're producing two sounds differently from each other. Say them slowly at first, then gradually speed up.

• Sentences and Stories: Incorporate the sounds you’re practicing into sentences or short stories. For example, if you’re working on "TH" (as in "think"), create a sentence like, "I think Thursday is the best day to go to the theater." Ask ChatGPT to create sentences or stories containing lots of a particular sound for you to practice. I do this all the time!

• Practice Daily Conversations: Pick a few sentences or phrases use daily, and focus on saying them clearly. For example, if you’re working on /v/ and /w/, practice saying, "I love visiting my friend Vivian."

Tips and Tricks for Better Pronunciation Practice

1. Focus on One Sound at a Time: Avoid overwhelming yourself. Start with one or two tricky sounds and work on them until you feel confident and are beginning to use them when you're in conversation with others.

2. Slow Down: Precision is more important than speed when you’re practicing. Speak slowly and clearly until you’ve mastered the sounds.

3. Set Realistic Goals: Aim to practice for 20–30 minutes a day. Consistency is more important than practicing for hours at a time. Break down this time into small chunks, as this helps to generalize the sound. When speaking to others, try to focus on using accurate pronunciation of a specific sound you're practicing for a couple minutes at a time only. This helps to integrate the sound into your speech without it feeling so overwhelming. Use post-it notes, phone alarms, or whatever will help remind you to practice your sound(s) throughout the day.

4. Use Apps: Apps like Elsa Speak and Speechling use AI to give you feedback on your pronunciation. They’re like having a personal speech coach in your pocket. I've had very mixed reviews on AI pronunciation apps from my clients, so they can be helpful, but are not a replacement for personalized coaching.

5. Record Your Progress: Keep audio recordings of your practice sessions so you can track your improvement over time. Hearing how far you’ve come is incredibly motivating!

6. Make It Fun: Turn practice into a game. Challenge yourself to imitate characters in TV shows or sing along to your favorite songs in English.

Free Websites and Tools for Pronunciation Practice

Here are some fantastic (and free!) resources to help you practice:

• Forvo: Hear native speakers pronounce words in various accents.

• YouGlish: Search for words and hear how they’re pronounced in context by real speakers.

• Sounds of Speech: Animations and diagrams of mouth and tongue positions for each sound.

• ESL Lab: Minimal pair listening exercises.

• ManyThings.org: A collection of pronunciation exercises, including tongue twisters and minimal pairs.

Stay Consistent and Celebrate Your Progress

Improving your pronunciation is a journey, and every step you take brings you closer to your goal. Remember to celebrate small wins, like mastering a tricky sound or noticing that people understand you more easily. With regular practice and the right tools, you’ll be speaking with confidence in no time. Keep practicing, stay curious, and have fun refining your North American English accent!