I have lovely coworkers who would never comment on my French accent. And I have children. Children who make fun of me when I’m looking for 10th avenue: “Tense avenue? There’s no Tense avenue around here!” As a technical communicator, that’s not cutting it for me. My audience wants to use their brainpower to solve complex problems, not decrypt what I’m saying.
That’s why I look for ways to improve my pronunciation within the time constraints of a full-time working mom.
Over the years, various tools have helped me improve my pronunciation in complementary ways. Today, I’m sharing my findings with you. If I missed something, I want to hear about it!
1. Turn on English subtitles when you watch television
Benefits: associate written words with their pronunciation
Even though I fully understand English and don’t need subtitles to follow programs, I turn on closed captions whenever available: this helps me associate written words with their pronunciation.
I don’t watch the Bachelorette, for the record: I practice my English.
2. Join a Toastmasters club
Benefits: increased self-confidence improves speech flow
Toastmasters aims at developing its members’ public speaking and leadership skills. They operate in clubs that run weekly meetings. The benefits of participating in Toastmasters go beyond accent reduction and fluency: giving and receiving feedback and networking. Members give prepared speeches and two-minute improvisations (table topics).
I participated in Toastmasters meetings for a couple of years. Toastmasters allowed me to practice speaking in a controlled and supportive environment. The benefits were increased self-confidence and fluidity.
If you have never tried Toastmasters before, contact a club in your area and ask them if they’ll invite you to their next meeting: https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club.
3. Take a one-on-one English accent reduction course
Benefits: an instructor pinpoints your problem sounds and helps you discriminate sounds to pronounce them better
Ten years ago, I invested in one-on-one English accent reduction classes with Lori Edwards at https://englishwithoutaccent.com/. We met weekly through video conferences. I remember Lori being flexible with her schedule; that helped since I was working.
Lori follows the Compton P-ESL program, which focuses on the individual sounds of the English language. Her training started with evaluating my pronunciation skills to identify and prioritize my problem sounds. She helped me hear and reproduce sounds accurately.
I realized that there were sounds I had never heard correctly. My mind-blowing discoveries included:
- The short o sounds like the French a.
- You don’t pronounce the final g in words that end with ng, such as thing.
4. Play English pronunciation podcasts in your car
Benefits: free option to work on sound discrimination skills, practice sounds and linking words to sound more fluent
When I was driving to work, I would play the American English Pronunciation Podcast by the Seattle Learning Academy. The advantage of listening in my car is that I could repeat after the host, Amanda.
I found her use of minimal pairs handy. As a native French speaker, vowels are tricky for me, and her podcast offers plenty of practice! Amanda additionally provides training on linking words together, not just pronouncing individual words. Her theory is that linking words makes you sound more fluent.
I have purchased her books and audio files as well: https://pronuncian.com/books-products/.
I had a peek at her website when preparing this blog post, and I have to admit that I am disappointed to see that it is now ridden with ads. However, it has proven to be a valuable resource that I encourage you to use.
The epiphany I had listening to the pronuncian podcast is that the l in salmon and folk is silent.
5. Act like you’re a native English speaker
Benefits: sound like a native English speaker, maybe
In her podcast # 186: Fake it ‘til you make it! Amanda from pronuncian.com talks about a new kind of imposter syndrome. Speaking with your natural intonation will only get you so far when speaking a foreign language. You need to act like a native English speaker to sound fluent. It feels insincere, but you’ll just have to get over it.
I’m trying to get to the next level by imitating native English speakers, not just repeating with my intonation. Listening to recordings of my voice is quite an eye-opener, too.
Do you work on your pronunciation? What have you tried so far?
Laure Mouillet 