English Pronunciation

Pronunciation matters - believe me!

Why?

1. Rightly or wrongly, the way that you speak is one of the first things that people notice about you. People will judge your background, education and social standing just by the way you speak.
2. Even if you can already communicate in English if you don't speak clearly, people won't understand you and they won't want to talk to you, because it's just too tiring.
3. Listening and understanding are also important. If you don't know how different words are pronounced you will not improve your understanding.

Don't confuse pronunciation with accent. It doesn't mean that we all have to talk like the Queen of England. As long as your pronunciation is understandable and pleasant that's fine, if people struggle to understand you then you may need to try and reduce your accent, but unless you are an actor, and you need to play different roles, please don't try to get rid of your accent.

But successful speaking is more than just knowing how to pronounce words correctly.

Enunciation is is the act of speaking clearly and concisely, making each word sound as clear as possible.

Elocution is about putting the right emphasis and nuance into what you are saying.

Here you can:-

• Learn the English alphabet.
• Learn the phonetic alphabet.
• Learn what those funny little phonetic symbols mean.
• Learn to pronounce L and R.
• Listen to every word from the Learn English vocabulary section.
• Have fun with the pronunciation poem.
• Have more fun with another pronunciation poem.
• Even more fun with another crazy pronunciation poem.
• Learn the pronunciation of some pesky little homophones.
• You can also improve your listening and understanding by carrying out dictation practice online.