January Week Four

Pronunciation

Extra Activity
Don't forget that this week is Janary's Extra Activity!  We are going to visit and discuss the photograph exhibit at Sala Amos Salvador.  Meet us there on Friday January 31st at 18:00.  You are welcome to bring English speaking friends or family, but let them know that the event is all in English!

This week we celebrated our annual pronunciation workshop to help you improve your pronunciation and accent.  Don't forget to practice listen and repeat exercises at home.  There are many great websites to explore, like Phonetic Focus and Ship or Sheep, English Online Pronunciation Course.  I recommend you bookmark some of these sites to revisit them throughout the year.

Listening
It goes without saying that the more English input you have the better your pronunciation will be.  So make an effort to listen to more English in general (while you're cooking, driving, exercising).  But if you are also interested in some resources specifically about pronunciation, I recommend English Pronunciation Podcast, the Sounds of English or any of the activities at Many Things.  Listen and Repeat: Spoken English, B/V.  Advanced students should try this quiz, which is a bit more theoretical.

Reading
There are plenty of blog posts out there that outline some good tips and techniques to reduce your accent: 7 Tips to Dramatically Reduce Your Accent and Accent Reduction.  Do you think incorporate any of these ideas in your study routine.

Writing
Improving your pronunciation and accent requires a concerted effort.  For writing this week, I recommend writing out a plan of what you are going to do to try to improve.  For example, "I'm going to practice in front of a mirror once a week and I'm going to try to imitate the real sounds of English, despite my embarrassment!"  Extra credit goes to those who record themselves reading their text.

Best,
Kelly

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"The accent of one's birthplace remains in the mind and in the heart as in one's speech." --Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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