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Tips on Reducing Accent

(http://www.gbmc.org/voice/foreign.cfm)

Tips on Reducing Accent

* Watch the mouth movements of native speakers! Observe the mouth movements of native American speakers. Repeat what they are saying, imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.
* Slow down! Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow down your speech. If you speak too quickly with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you.
* Use your dictionary! Become familiar with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary and look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.
* Ask someone! Make a list of frequently used words that are difficult for you to pronounce and ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you. Record these words, listen to them, and practice saying them.
* Listen to books on tape! Listen and read at the same time. Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the speaker.
* Pay attention to word endings! Pronounce the ending of each word. Pay special attention to “s” and “ed” endings.
* Read aloud! Read aloud in English, such as a novel or the newspaper, for fifteen to twenty minutes each day. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English. Research has shown that it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.
* Listen to yourself! Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes. This is an excellent exercise because it will help you become conscious of the mistakes that you are making.
* Be patient! You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

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