The appoaches to Better our English

Many non-native English learners encounter quite a few obstacles in tackling and mastering good English skills.  What learners of any level must realize is that clear pronunciation is vital to effective communication.  In the interest of vocabulary building and rote methods of instilling grammar rules, pronunciation typically gets left out of the language learning equation.

The first step in making progress with pronunciation is realizing that you probably have pronunciation problems.  All too often I hear students blabbling away without considering the essential fact that they may not even be understood by their audience.  One way to identify your problems is to record yourself on a reading text and compare it to a recorded text made by a native speaker.  You'll be surprised at the difference.  Once you have carefully analyzed your recording, make note of any problems areas (e.g. certain vowels, syllable structure, consonant sounds that do not appear in your native language, etc.)

The next step involves a high degree of competency with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).  Yes, you may have learned it in primary school, but my years of experience tells me that many students have failed to give absolute values to the different sounds causing different IPA symbols to be said in near-identical fashion.  For example, it is rare that I can find even advanced learners distinguish [i] and [I] in words like "sit" and "seat". When using the IPA one must remember that each sound carries and absolute value (distinct sound) that logically cannot be duplicated by other sounds.  The previous example cited has been explained by vowel shortening and lengthening which does not adequately explain the distinction.  Granted some languages work according to that phonological process but English does not.  Sit and seat should be distinct regardless of how long or short the sound is pronounced.

A final consideration is paying attention to English sounds like the "th-" sound for Chinese speakers that do not appear in one's native language.  Words like "face" and "faith", "mouse" and "mouth", and "wine" and "vine" are often indistinguishable when spoken.  Needless to say, one's message could be confused if they hear a sentence like "My classmate took the cookie from my mouse and ate it."

Good pronunciation is a process and takes time to master.  It should not be overlooked at the expense of other areas of language.  If you do not have a phobia of recording yourself, record yourself from time to time and see if you are making progress.  Your efforts should pay off in the long run.  Another good indication of your pronunciation level is whether or not others constantly ask you to repeat yourself.  In all likelihood, especially if you are talking to a foreigner, you may have some major pronunciation problems.  Natural language progression involves simultaneous progress in areas of listening, vocabulary, grammar, culture, and pronunciation.