Irregardless of the language that you are trying to learn, connecting the way words sound with how they look on paper is a difficult task. Because the pronunciation rules for English are not consistent, you may often come to points where you will have a difficult time determining how to say things correctly.

It is also important to realize that the English has accents and dialects like any other language. As a result, you may feel confused when you are told to pronounce a word in a certain way, only to hear it spoken in a different way by someone else. Nevertheless, there are still a number of methods that you can use to develop your English speaking skills.

Using a Tape Recorder

In many cases, when you are concentrating on how to form sounds, you may not be aware of how they actually turn out. A tape recorder is very useful for helping you learn the results of your efforts. As you listen, you will be able to hear the difference in what you intended to sound out, and what actually occurred. You can also compare these results to tapes of native English speakers and work on specific sound groups that are difficult to manage. A tape recorder will also help you learn how to control the pace of your speech, as well as your breathing pattern.

Listen and Repeat Numerous Dialects and Accents

Once you have mastered the basic sounds, it may be helpful to listen to these words spoken by people with different accents. As an example, you might want to try and imitate everything from Texan accents to Irish ones. In the process, you may find that some letter pronunciations fit better with your own natural speech patterns. As you listen and repeat from tapes, it is very important to experiment and find out what will make you speech clear and understandable. You can also find numerous samples of spoken English on the internet. If you visit sites like You Tube, it is possible to download videos on just about any subject. Some video producers may even have content available that shows you the proper lip and tongue positions to form specific sounds. You can also select materials that match a hobby or other personal interest, and gain the benefit of hearing a native English speaker at the same time.

Voice Chat

At some point, you will want to gain steady practice in conversational English. If your computer is equipped with a sound card and microphone, you may be able to find internet chat rooms that also support voice chat. That said, you may not find this of much help if your internet connection is too slow. Unfortunately, learning to verbalize in English will be very difficult if you do not actually speak out loud. If you cannot find someone to practice with, you can still use a tape recorder, or practice with videos. On the other hand, if your computer has the necessary hardware, you may find that you have unlimited opportunities to carry on conversations with native English speakers from all over the world.

Twitter