Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Improve Pronunciation

Most ESL students want to improve their pronunciation.

There are many good videos on Youtube to help you.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1.  Rebecca Linquist. 

You can find her Youtube Channel here.  Her Youtube channel has many, many videos.

I like Rebecca Linquist because she gives very helpful, very specific instructions, and has a very sensitive approach.  She is always learning new things and then blending what she learns into new videos to help students.

Here is a video with mouth exercises to help you sound more American.



She also has many videos with advice for speakers of different languages.  For example, here is a video for speakers of Spanish and Tagalog:



2.  The Pronunciation Doctor - Marsha Chan.  You can find her Youtube channel here.
 
Marsha Chan is a professor at Mission College in Santa Clara.  I love her because she gives wonderful tips and advice - and she is funny.  Humor is a great way to relax - and being relaxed is a big help in learning a new language and improving pronunciation.

If you like her teaching style, you can ask your teacher to look at her blog with advice for ESL teachers.

Here is a sample of the Pronunciation Doctor:




 
3.  Amy Walker.  Here is her Youtube channel

Amy Walker is an actress and vocal coach.  She gives advice to develop many different accents - not only American.  She also gives advice for many different American accents (Southern, New York, West Coast, etc.).   And she gives advice for specific things like vowel sounds.

Here is a sample of her tips for American Accent - Vowel Sounds:



4.  Type, "American accent for (your language)" into Youtube and see what you find.

For example, when I type, "American accent for Chinese speaker," I find:



How about if I type, "American accent for Arabic speaker"?  I find our old friend Rebecca Linquist.  She has a lot of these videos.




Try it yourself.   See what you find on Youtube.   Try different videos.  Find what you like.

If you find something good, share it here on a comment.

Have fun and improve your English speaking power!