Recommended Reading
Reducing an accent requires patience and a great deal of commitment, but it is definitely achievable. There are lots of things you can do, but here are just a few:
- English speakers always use contractions when speaking- we say ‘I haven’t’ rather than ‘I have not’ and ‘I don’t’ as opposed to ‘I do not’.
- Our vowels tend to be long and our consonants relatively soft. However, please bear in mind that we always pronounce ‘t’ and ‘d’ when present at the end of words.
- We only pronounce the letter ‘r’ when it is preceded by a vowel i.e. in remember, we pronounce the first ‘r’ but not the last.
- Emphasise important words; such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
- Make the unimportant words weaker i.e. of, a, the, in…
- Purchase a good text book on pronunciation; such as Ship or Sheep by Ann Baker.
- A good voice trainer is also useful, as they can help to identify your problems and then provide you with assistance and guidance.
- Try to send vowel sounds down your throat- most EFL learners struggle with this as they don’t use their throats when speaking their native language.
Further Information
Muscle relaxation techniques can be very helpful when trying to develop the depth and tone of your voice. When speaking English it is important to relax the muscles in your neck and shoulders, so that the sound can resonate in all the cavities in your head and chest- many EFL learners only use the cavities in their head when speaking, which explains the difference in their tone.
When we speak our actions tend to follow our thoughts. To this end, you should concentrate on pushing the sound down towards your centre (below your rib cage) in order to achieve a strong rich tone.
Conversely: Muscle Strengthening Exercises are also important. I use exercises derived from speech therapy, which make you more aware of the muscles that you need to use when speaking English. If you practice these exercises correctly every day, the results will astound you.
