Pronunciation is a key skill for ESL students who want to communicate clearly and confidently in English. However, many learners struggle with mastering the sounds, rhythms, and intonations of a new language. If you are an ESL teacher or a self-study student, here are some effective ways to improve your pronunciation and boost your speaking skills.
One of the best ways to improve your pronunciation is to listen to native speakers and try to imitate their speech patterns. You can use a variety of sources, such as podcasts, videos, songs, audiobooks, or online courses, to expose yourself to different accents and contexts. Pay attention to how the speakers pronounce individual sounds, words, and sentences, and how they use stress, pitch, and pauses. Then, repeat what you hear and record yourself to compare and correct your mistakes.
On thing I find helpful is to Shadowing: Ask students to shadow native speakers by repeating sentences immediately after hearing them. This can help improve both pronunciation and fluency. Use videos with subtitles to facilitate shadowing exercises. Students can mimic the speakers while reading the subtitles.
Use assistive technology to help student listen to the correct pronunciation Have them listen repeatedly and then repeat. Makes them more independent as learners.
Technology can be very helpful, especially for ESL students who want to improve their pronunciation. AI-powered programs can work with avatars that have different accents, which can enhance the students' learning experience. They can create digital films with these avatars and present them in class, which will allow them to practice the language they are learning. After the presentations, they can mimic the tone, pitch, and phonetics of the avatars they worked with. This can lead to a better understanding of the language and improved pronunciation.
Listen and imitate is what I do with my students. I have them look at the way they form words with mirrors and look at the way I form my words. I have them practice until the correct sound comes out.
When students listen to the pronunciation of others and repeat the sounds, it allows them to be aware of the movements to vocalize and they can associate it with sounds or words similar to their native language, using cognates allows them to contribute to the learning of a second language.
The phonetic alphabet is a system of symbols that represent the sounds of a language. It can help you learn how to pronounce words correctly and avoid confusion caused by spelling. You can find the phonetic alphabet in dictionaries, online tools, or apps, and use it to practice the sounds of English. For example, you can look up the word "thought" and see that it is pronounced /θ??t/, not /t?t/ or /to?t/. You can also use the phonetic alphabet to transcribe words and sentences and read them aloud.
When I was majoring in Modern Languages, I had a phonetics class in which we were taught the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Thanks to the IPA, I realized that there were several sounds I was not able to produce because I had not noticed that they were different. 'Discovering' new sounds in a foreign language that we do not have in our mother tongue is fun and can take our pronunciation to another level. As a teacher, I seldom teach the whole IPA unless I am training teachers or advanced classes. However, during speaking tasks, I take notes using IPA symbols to identify problematic sounds and with that information I can later provide learners with exercises and feedback that address the specific errors they are making.
Develop their awareness of English phonetics by introducing them to the sounds, stress patterns, and intonation of the language. Use phonetic charts and exercises to help them recognize and produce different sounds accurately.
I agree with the perspectives mentioned here. In my experience, the native language influence is a major deterrent for the ESL students’ pronunciation. One has to be mindful of the unique sounds made by their native/regional language and how it is different from the ones made in the English language. Concentrated emphasis on neutralising accents could greatly help. In a diverse country where many languages and dialects are spoken, one notices how easy it is to discover which part of the country the speaker is from based on pronunciations. Listening and watching how authentic English is spoken and imitating can be a great way to improve the quality of spoken English. Digital resources can also be of help to refine the pronunciation.
Many ESL students come from backgrounds where the language they speak at home is very different from English. By teaching phonics to ESL students, teachers can help bridge the gap between the students' home language and English, making it easier for them to learn English. In my experience this can aided by minimal pairs, songs, tongue twisters and regular reference to phonemic chart.
In addition I think adults and older teens should refresh their English phonics. Often they learn them when they're first learning English but sometimes revert to native language pronunciation. Reviewing consonant and vowel sounds can remind them of their early studies.
Minimal pairs are words that differ by only one sound, such as "ship" and "sheep", or "bat" and "pat". They can help you identify and practice the sounds that are difficult or unfamiliar for you, and improve your listening and speaking accuracy. You can find lists of minimal pairs online or in books, and use them to create exercises and games. For example, you can listen to a recording of minimal pairs and write down what you hear, or say a minimal pair and ask someone to guess which word you said.
To facilitate pronunciation learning, break difficult words and phrases into tiny, bite-sized chunks for the students. This is the easiest way to teach them pronunciation. Non-English speaking students may find some sounds challenging, so be patient and practice a lot!
One of my favourite game to do with my students, young and adults is the dictation wall, where students run to the wall where the dictation ( minimal pairs such as sheep ship for example) is and they have to say it (no spelling allowed) it to their group. Great fun and great way to make them realise the importance of pronunciation :)
As a learner of languages and having dyslexia, looking for words that sound the same and are written the same, I used to put them in rows. This made it easy to visualise them. But also learning words in context and in real life situations are very meaningful. It regular verbs works like learning the time tables.
I my experience focus on vowel and consonant Sounds: Break down pronunciation into specific vowel and consonant sounds. Focus on the sounds that are particularly challenging for the students. Use minimal pairs—words that differ by only one sound—to highlight distinctions.
In my experience , being able to learn where each individual is in their learning of the English Language and create a plan that meets them where they are at. Presenting information in the cognates that make sense to them allows them to make the connections to the English language. Finding word families will allow for each person you feel comfortable with a minimal change in words so they can build confidence in moving towards furthering the relationship with the language .
Tongue twisters are sentences or phrases that are hard to say because they contain similar or repeated sounds, such as "She sells seashells by the seashore". They can help you improve your pronunciation by challenging your tongue, lips, and mouth muscles, and by making you aware of your common errors. You can find tongue twisters online or in books, and use them to practice your speed, fluency, and clarity. For example, you can start by saying a tongue twister slowly and clearly, and then gradually increase your speed and repeat it several times.
One thing I found helpfull is to practice Tongue Twisters: Incorporate tongue twisters into lessons to improve articulation and pronunciation. Gradually increase the difficulty as students become more comfortable. Repeating tongue twisters can enhance muscle memory and make pronunciation more automatic.
I do advise and give them some tongue twisters. Since my elementary days, we have been doing this. Since it is effective, I also practice it with students who have difficulty saying some letters like L, R, M, N and S.
I've designed some tongue twisters for EFL students towards the end of their courses ( to help them to focus on their pronunciation weaknesses in the future). During the course, there's plenty of opportunities to listen to a student's speaking skills during reading activities and speaking activities. Understanding some poetry techniques are important when designing personalised ' tongue twisters' to support pronunciation practise improvement. The tutor (or mentor) needs to understand the individual student in order to design these for a speedy impact.
Practice tongue twisters regularly, focus on specific sounds challenging for ESL learners, use audio resources for correct pronunciation, encourage repetition, and provide constructive feedback.
This is a fun way to improve your pronunciation. Everyone laughs and has a good time because no one does it right the first time.
Feedback is essential for improving your pronunciation, as it can help you identify and correct your mistakes, and learn from your strengths. You can get feedback from different sources, such as teachers, classmates, friends, or online platforms. You can ask them to listen to your speech and give you comments, suggestions, or corrections. You can also use self-feedback by recording yourself and listening to your own pronunciation. You can then compare it to a native speaker's model and note down the areas that need improvement.
If possible, involve a language tutor or instructor who can provide personalized guidance and correct pronunciation errors. Online platforms or language exchange programs can connect ESL learners with native speakers for additional practice.
Feedback is essential in learning correct pronunciations in English. There are some online platforms and tools where English learners can benefit from. It is also important to note that pronunciation can be improved at any age.
Quality feedback is great in all areas of learning. However, it needs to be authentic and truthful feedback. Sugar coating feedback does not help but instead gives the learner a unrealistic view of what is happening in their learning. It blurs how much growth is made and how close they are getting toward their goals.
I give feedback either in real-time or after the lesson. It depends on the student's sensitivity. And when the time comes that the student is self-correcting then I motivate the student more by praising.
Once I've completed an initial assessment with my EFL students (I'm an EFL Tutor and Mentor), I then establish with the student how they prefer my feedback to be given. This for instance, can be during a task, at the end of the lesson or the following day. Feedback can be formal or informally provided. Some EFL students develop their own self-correcting skills during the course and are able to monitor their own progress and future areas of development. They also gain knowledge of resources and ideas for their future English language development skills.
Actually i disagree with the way English is usually taught to second language learners. As a computer scientist i will give a different perspective which is learning from first principles. Students need to be taught the syntax and semantics of the language before being asked how to read and write. Their understanding of the basics significantly boosts their confidence to read write and speak. I learned English this way, I have taught it this way and have seen how significantly the students have improved. Lets go back to First Principles thinking as we educate.
Another strategy is to provide opportunities for social interactions with native speaker peers. It’s easy to focus on academic tasks and lose sight of the value of authentic interactions to teach and learn language. When language has purpose and occurs in natural environments meaningful learning occurs.
I found music and singing helped a lot. Many people become less self-conscious when singing as a group for fun. I used kids French karaoke songs for my students to help with pronunciation. We had fun, laughed and learned together.
I will say EDtech tools like fliki, mote and D-ID that use AI to create video and audio content in multiple languages and dialects is something we could/should be looking at in 2024 for a more inclusive/accessible classroom
Learn morphology of the words, not only help with the pronunciation, but also the meaning. Ex. Prefix+root+sufix. This is useful.