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Do you know what happens when a student doesn't trust their English pronunciation?
Who they are in their native language disappears in English.
Have you found yourself doing any of these things?
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- Rehearsing sentences in your head before you say them
- Lowering your voice on the words you're less sure about
- Speeding up through tricky words, hoping nobody notices
- Choosing a simpler word because you know you can pronounce it
- Replaying what you just said in your head, wondering if it came out right
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And none of that has anything to do with your level of English. The vocabulary and grammar are there. You've got ideas to express and stories to share, but when you don't feel confident in how you sound, all of that stays trapped behind a wall you didn't even know you were building. |
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This is the real cost of neglecting pronunciation. |
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And often, the mistakes that are holding you back are extremely easy to fix once you know what they are. Here are 4 places they tend to hide: |
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- Weak forms. Words like "of", "for", "and" and "to" can sound almost completely different in natural speech. Pronounce them the way they look on paper and you might sound robotic.
- Stress patterns. We hit certain syllables hard and skip past others. Get the stress wrong on a word and it can sound like a completely different word.
- Vowel sounds. English has around 20 vowel sounds, but many languages have only five or six. If your language has fewer, you're probably merging sounds together without realising it. That's why "ship" and "sheep" can sound identical to so many learners.
- Extra sounds. You might add a little "uh" to the end of words, or slip an "e" in front of words starting with "s" + a consonant (think "eschool"). Tiny additions you stopped noticing years ago that listeners pick up immediately.
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These are the habits I was talking about yesterday. The ones that build quietly for years and almost never get pointed out. |
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The good news is that once you know what to look for, fixing these habits can happen surprisingly quickly. |
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Tomorrow, I want to help you figure out which of these habits might be showing up in your own speech. I've put something together that will make it really clear, and it'll only take you a few minutes. |
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P.S. Want to practise speaking English without pressure and get instant feedback? Try Langua, the world's most advanced AI for language learning. Save 20% on the Unlimited Annual Plan with the code ENGLISH20. |
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