In this guide, we’ll dive into the different methods of listening and how to improve your English accent. English is currently the most studied language in the world, with an estimated 1 billion people learning it.
Because English is the international language of business, that number is only expected to grow.
If you’re working to perfect your English skills, then you know how hard it is to learn the American English accent. You might use proper grammar and sentence structure, but still have a hard time being understood due to your accent.
This is not to say that having a foreign accent is “bad.” Amy Chua once said: “Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery.”
The difficulty comes however, in the pronunciation of certain English words. For example, “tomb,” “bomb,” and “comb” are all pronounced differently.
If you’re looking for practical suggestions to improve your English pronunciation, check out the video below for starters, then keep scrolling for additional tips!
While using the proper accent is not an easy task, there is a secret for how to improve your English accent faster: listening.
How Do I Fix My Accent?
Want to know how to improve your English accent? Here are some simple tips:
- Focus on reducing the accent, not eliminating it entirely- it’s not a bad thing to have an accent as long as others can understand what you’re trying to say!
- Slow down
- Enunciate clearly
- Listen to audiobooks while reading so you can remember the pronunciation of words correctly
- Work on the rhythm of the words as you speak – watching movies in English can help
- Read out loud to yourself
- Record yourself speaking
- Specifically give those around you permission to correct your pronunciation
Of course, one of the best ways to improve your accent is to take English lessons with an experienced teacher. You’ll learn how to reduce your accent naturally in no time.
Another tip? Watch videos of native speakers as much as you can! Tutorials like these can be incredibly helpful as you work to minimize your speaking accent:
How to Improve Your English Accent: Free Tips!
If you’re looking for tips on how to improve your English accent and vocabulary, these tips should help you get started. No expensive textbooks necessary!
1. Listen to Native Speakers
When you’re trying to find tips on how to improve your pronunciation and accent in English, one of the best ways to do so is to go right to the source. Listen to some native speakers!
Regardless of whether you are trying to find out how to improve your accent in American English or how to improve your accent in British English, native speakers are your greatest resource.
Find someone who speaks the language with the type of accent you’d most like to have when speaking another language – and glue yourself to them!
Metaphorically, of course, but by listening to native speakers you will learn the vernacular, or the common language and slang that people use on a daily basis.
2. Utilize Technology
Fortunately, technology has made speaking languages incredibly easy. easy. There are countless podcasts, movies, songs, and videos available for you to use.
One of the hardest parts of learning a new language is learning a new language. Listening to music is an excellent solution because it’s so accessible – you can easily play music as you go about your day.
Music is also written for native speakers, so it’s full of common words and phrases. Songs easily get stuck in your head, so the phrases will play over and over, helping you learn them.
Similar to music, podcasts are very helpful to learn the American English accent. You can listen to podcasts while driving, working, cleaning, etc. There are podcasts that deal specifically with English pronunciation, but there are also many others on a range of interesting topics.
Find one you’re interested in and play it throughout the day. This naturally conditions your brain to pick up the pronunciations of various words and tones.
YouTube is a great help since there are many educational videos aimed specifically at English pronunciation. For some extra practice as you watch, pay attention to how the speaker moves their mouth when they speak. Mimic what you see to learn to better pronounce certain words.
Movies are another fun way to work on your accent. Not only are they entertaining, but the characters are put in a variety of situations, allowing you to take note of inflections, speaking at various speeds, and conversations.
Bonus tip: turning on the subtitles will reinforce what you’re hearing and help facilitate your learning!
2. Listen to Yourself
Surprisingly, one of the best pieces of advice to offer to you if you are looking for tips on how to improve your English speaking accent is to spend some time listening to yourself, too.
We know that listening is the key for how to improve your English accent, but this goes beyond just listening to others. Once you’ve become more comfortable with English, you should also listen to yourself. It sounds intimidating – we know!
Most people are not fond of their own voice, but listening to yourself and making note of where you can refine your accent will really speed up your learning progress.
One of the best ways to do this is to record yourself using a computer or cellphone. Try recording yourself as you read a paragraph out loud. Poetry is great for this exercise because of the natural rhythm that comes when reading it.
If you don’t know how to read in English yet, record yourself having a practice conversation with a friend or family member. As you play back the recording, make note of the individual words and phrases that need additional practice.
To take it a step further, if you chose to read a passage from a book, look for an audio recording of that book. Then, listen to the native speaker read that same passage. This will help you really hear the difference and specifically show you which words need more attention.
Bonus tip: stay motivated by recording yourself each week, reading the same paragraph, to notice your improvement over time.
3. Listen to Feedback
Practicing on your own is a great way to polish your accent. However, if you really want to know how to improve your English accent, getting feedback from a tutor is crucial. An English tutor can listen to the way you speak and comment on areas that need more attention.
An English instructor can show you how to retrain the muscles of your lips, tongue, and mouth. It can be difficult to move your muscles in a way that is different from your native language, but an instructor will show you how to physically modify your movements.
Additionally, you can mimic and impersonate the way they speak. TakeLessons has many English instructors who are native speakers that can help you quickly learn the American English accent.
4. Get Familiar With Phonemes
Many language learners focus most heavily on grammar and vocabulary when they’re trying to learn a new language, but if you want to ditch the accent, you also need to get familiar with the phonemes in the language.
English, in particular, is a challenging language because the spelling doesn’t always match the pronunciation. It can make learning English as a second language challenging and also make it difficult for English speakers to learn new languages in return.
Other languages present similar challenges. Understanding phonemes can help demystify the process for you. Get familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet for a visual representation of different sounds!
The same goes for minimal pairs. These are words with similar pronunciation but one sound that’s different – for example, ship and sheep. The vowel length is the only difference between the two words’ pronunciation, but as a new language learner, it can be challenging when you’re trying to pronounce things correctly.
Here’s a resource that can help with that if you’re learning English – there are similar resources available for other languages as well. Just do a quick Google search for the language you’re looking for and you’re sure to find them!
5. Do Mouth Exercises
You spend time in the gym working out the rest of your body to improve your physical fitness – why not spend some time working out your mouth and tongue if you’re trying to become a better speaker?
If you want to know how to improve your English accent, it’s probably going to start in front of a mirror. Practice speaking while looking at yourself so you can get used to saying different sounds and see how they look when you speak them.
Can You Change Your English Accent?
Learning a new language is a great endeavor. It opens up a world of opportunities from travel, to careers, to new friendships. It can be challenging, but remember to relax and take your time with it.
Ask friends and family – particularly those who are native speakers of your language of choice – for feedback on how your accent sounds. This is one of the best tricks to fall back on if you’re looking for tips on how to improve your English accent!
Learning a new language is a great endeavor. It opens up a world of opportunities from travel, to careers, to new friendships. It can be challenging, but remember to relax and take your time with it.
Daily practice is necessary to truly see improvement, and with consistency you will be amazed at how far you’ve come. Language learning is supposed to be enjoyable and hopefully, these tips have shown you how to improve your English accent in a fun way!
Natalie Hagen