Ways to improve your pronunciation.( from http://chake.chinatefl.com/99/pronunciation.html)
2710...@qq.com
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Listening Improves Speaking
It is universally acknowledged that most Chinese people are learning
"deaf and dumb" English. We can read and write well but are not adept
at listening and speaking.
I had the same problem when I was a freshman. Eager to improve my oral
English, I made great effort. Every morning I got up early and read
English articles over and over again. However, I found that only my
reading speed had increased but my accent still sounded Chinglish.
Nevertheless, the situation seemed to turn optimistic all of a sudden.
One day I put on my earphones to listen to VOA. After two hours I felt
exhausted so I took them off for a while. Surprisingly I found my brain
was flooded with an American accent.
"This is VOA news now!" I tried my pronunciation. Wow! It was American
accent, too! I was so excited.
>From that day on, I stuck to listening to records and watching English
films to impress my brain with American English. Day by day, besides
listening my accent has also improved a lot. This is indeed an
efficient and suitable method for me. I highly recommend it to you all
and wish you good luck. :)
- Judy (Jin Yan) - (Judy at 9 years of age)
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My Change of Accent
I had been learning British English until I entered university. All the
textbooks were written in British English and all the tapes were
recorded in British English. I had no idea what American English is
till the first time I listened to VOA. I found the pronunciation in VOA
was so different from what I used to know.
I began to pay attention to my pronunciation then. It's quite natural
that I gradually began to speak in the American way as all the
textbooks and tapes used in my university were American English. Later,
I found that's not a bad thing. The American way of pronunciation is
easy to learn and sounds more casual and natural than British English.
What's more, we communicate with people who speak American English more
than people who speak any other kind of English.
Frankly, I think British English is more beautiful and elegant than
American English. But anyway, I'm used to the latter one now.
- Henry -
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Expose Your Weak Points!
Three years ago, when I came to the university with a sense of
confidence in my spoken English - at least my pronunciation - I met the
top guy in my class. Due to overestimating myself, he frustrated me by
his excellent oral ability, especially his pronunciation. He eliminated
my remaining passion for upgrading my English.
I still mangled the sounds "th" & "s" and "r" & "l" before last summer
when I got acquainted with a Chinese Australian. We were both hired as
teachers in an summer English village and assigned to live in the same
room. Sharing the same interests like sports, music and culture, we had
a lot to talk about each day.
He noticed my pronunciation errors in talking and figured it out for
me. He told me to pronounce the words “thick” and “sick”
alternately as quickly and exactly as I could. It’s amazing that I
made it. What I felt was no less than getting through a big exam.
Thanks to his correction, ever since, I have rebuilt my confidence in
my spoken English, not least of all pronunciation.
Trust me! Exposing your weak point as an English learner to any English
specialist kind enough to you and they are ready to put it right for
you.
- Jack -
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Nuts to English!
The biggest problem to improve my spoken English is how to overcome my
Chinese accent.
Before I went to college, I had been speaking Beijing dialect for many
years. It made me speak English with a strong Beijing accent. Usually
before I opened my mouth to speak English, my Chinese classmates would
open their mouth to laugh at me, just because of my non-standard
English.
>From then on, I tried many times to overcome it, but in the end, it
became useless. Occasionally, I put one nut into my mouth and began to
read English loudly, and I found my Beijing accent disappeared
unconsciously. After that, I always practice English in that way.
Now , my spoken English has changed greatly, it just contains a little
Beijing accent. If I am free, I will use that method to better my
English constantly.