Speaking Fluent English Tip #4 – Improve your English pronunciation

I have an important question for you: How good is your English pronunciation?

Clear pronunciation is essential for speaking fluent English. Your pronunciation doesn’t have to be “perfect” or exactly like a native speaker – but it does need to be good enough for other people (and not just your English teacher!) to understand you without any difficulty.

Even if you are a beginner and have a small vocabulary, pronouncing English words correctly will enable you to communicate simply but successfully. On the other hand, you could have a large vocabulary and an advanced level of English, but if your pronunciation is bad, people won’t understand a single word you say!

The 3 Levels of English Pronunciation

1) English speakers don’t understand you.

At this level, your pronunciation of English words is so different that native English speakers find it very difficult to understand you. You need to repeat what you say frequently.

2) English speakers understand you with concentration.

At this level, native English speakers can understand you, but they need to pay attention carefully because of your accent. You only need to repeat things sometimes.

3) English speakers understand you easily.

At this level, you may still have an accent, but you can speak English clearly enough to be understood all the time. You almost never need to repeat what you say in English.

How to improve your pronunciation

I call this method “intensive pronunciation practice”:

1. Get a 5-10 minute podcast or video with a transcript. This should not be “special English,” in which is every word and sentence is pronounced very slowly. It should be normal, natural spoken English at regular speed.
2. Listen once to the whole audio. Check any words you don’t know in the dictionary.
3. Now, listen sentence by sentence and repeat each one. Listen to the first sentence, pause the audio, and repeat the sentence aloud. Try to imitate the native speaker’s pronunciation, rhythm, and speed. Say it several times if necessary. Then press play, listen to the second sentence, pause, and repeat the sentence aloud. Continue sentence by sentence until you have repeated the entire audio.

Improving your pronunciation is like doing physical exercise – the secret is lots of repetition. By closely imitating the pronunciation of a native speaker at normal speed, you are training the muscles of your mouth, lips, and tongue to say the words correctly. By repeating full sentences (not just individual words), you are practicing the “rhythm” of English and the links between words. This makes your spoken English sound more natural.