Tips to pronounce well in English

Listen a lot

Before you learn to speak, you have to learn to listen. The key listening is to improve pronunciation, since at the end of the day what we want is to imitate a way of speaking.

Language is acquired through exposure to sounds. Children learn words that they "hear" in their environment and that their brain processes and learns to interpret. Later language development is not the only thing that depends on the child's ability to hear. Listening skills also influence the ability to read and write and the development of our social skills. Language is a skill and is trained by hearing.


At first, it may be difficult to distinguish some sounds). Can you tell the difference between sleep ( sleep ) or slip ( slip )? If you can tell the difference by listening, you can show it by speaking. You will do it with practice.

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Watch movies or series in English

Desk, chalk, and blackboard? Nothing of that! We recommend a sofa, a bowl of popcorn and remote control. You are worth both the big screen and the small one. A plurality of accents, vocabulary, and everyday expressions ... Did you know that the voice of an actor determines more than 70% of the credibility of a scene? When listening to its English in its original version, you will appreciate nuances of an unsuspected quality that you have never appreciated.

The habit of watching series or movies in English, thus listening to a lot of English, will improve your pronunciation, as it gets you used to the speed and intonation of English-speaking speech. One of the tricks to improve your pronunciation in English is to imitate the diction of your favorite actors; their gestures and sounds.

Like many things in life, learning English through movies or series can be a good idea if you do it well and a disaster if you do it poorly. Here you have a complete guide with 10 points to keep in mind if you want to learn English with movies or series.

Concept of series for learning English

As at first, we do not understand the natives well, we have the feeling that they speak very fast and that is why when we try to speak like them we do it faster than normal. When we speak faster than we should, we have less time to think about what we are going to say or how we are going to say it, the pronunciation. And the face they put on us doesn't help at all. This vicious cycle must be stopped.

As Spanish is spoken very fast if we chat with someone who speaks slowly we think that it is difficult for them to speak or something. But in English it is the opposite, think of Downton Abbey, educated, cultured and upper-class people speak slowly. Without pause but without haste.


Therefore, a valuable reminder for you, being fluent in a language is not having the ability to speak it quickly, but to be able to articulate words and phrases correctly and naturally.

The Accent Reduction method

Accent Reduction is a method that seeks to help us neutralize our accent "natural" to approach closer to that of native English pronunciation.

Specifically, this technique is based on modifying 2 fundamental aspects:

The way we use our facial muscles and the position of the tongue (especially when pronouncing certain phonemes that do not exist in Spanish or are pronounced in a different way).

The intonation (the British or Americans have a totally different intonation than ours and differences between them too).

Among the most frequent difficulties when it comes to pronunciation in English for a Spanish speaker, is the difference in the sound of the vowels.


Specifically, in Spanish, there are 5 vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u) that each correspond to a grapheme and are always the same. In English, on the other hand, there are more than 20 in standard pronunciation and it varies depending on the region.

English Difficulty Related Adjectives

In this tip, you will learn some adjectives related to difficulties. In other words, you will learn some words so that you don't just stay in “difficult” ( difficult ) or “complicated” ( complicated ).

So if these two words are the only ones you know to refer to something difficult, it's time to improve your English vocabulary. And, of course, to get even more with your English in Ponta da Lingua.

Adjectives Related to Difficulties

Below are some adjectives related to difficulties in English. But, in order not to be too boring a list – just the adjective and its equivalents in Portuguese – I will also include some collocations and examples. So let's improve our English vocabulary.

ABSTRACT

In Portuguese, we have the word “abstruse”; but, I believe that almost no one knows her. So, know that abstruse is used with the meaning of “ incomprehensible ”, “ crooked ”, “ complicated ”, “ hard to understand ”, “ confused ”, “ obscure ”.

This word is often used with "theory", "argument", "philosophy", "philosopher".

I studied philosophy for a while but found it too abstruse. ( I studied philosophy for a while but found it too complicated. )

The theory is so abstruse. I just can't get it. ( Her theory is so confusing. I just can't understand it. )

Maths is a mix of abstruse theory and detailed calculations. ( Mathematics is a mixture of obscure theory and detailed calculations. )

ARDUOUS

English Difficulty Related AdjectivesWe can speak of “arduous task”, “arduous work”, which are “arduous task” and “hard work”, respectively. It also has an “arduous journey” and “arduous voyage” which are equivalent to “difficult journey” or “tiring journey”. Anyway, any activity that is difficult, tiring, and requires a lot of effort, we can define as “arduous”.

In Portuguese, as you have seen, it can be translated as “ arduous ”, “ arduous ”.

CONVOLUTED

When we say that an explanation is “convoluted”, we are saying that it is a long, complicated, overly convoluted, and, of course, difficult to understand explanation. "Convoluted" often matches "explanation", "sentences", "theory", "argument". You may also be interested to learn about English irregular verbs

He writes long paragraphs and convoluted sentences. ( He writes long paragraphs and very complicated sentences. )

The loan approval process is very convoluted. ( The loan approval process is very complex. )

The convoluted language in the trial has confusion. ( The garish language at the trial has caused confusion. )

GREETING

This adjective is used more to talk about activities that are tiring and difficult. We can translate as " strenuous ", " stressful ", " tiring ", " grueling ", " painful ", " experience ", " grueling ."

grueling journey ( grueling journey, tiring journey )

grueling work ( hard work, hard work )

grueling match ( difficult match starting painful )

grueling expedition ( strenuous expedition, grueling expedition )

UNSUFFERABLE

Anything that is difficult to bear and at the same time is irritating and uncomfortable can be defined as insufferable. In Portuguese, “ unbearable ”. A clear example of something insufferable is a high heat that many people can't stand and therefore feel uncomfortable. So we say, “ the heat was insufferable ”, that is, “ the heat was insufferable ”.

His insufferable behavior was the reason for us losing our temple. ( His unbearable behavior was the reason we lost our temper. )

I don't know what to do to avoid the insufferable boredom ( I don't know what to do to avoid this unbearable boredom. )

I need something to end this insufferable pain. ( I need something to end this unbearable pain )

OBSTRUCTIVE

Anything or person that causes difficulties for something to happen is defined as “obstructive”. In Portuguese, we say, “ obstructive ”, “ restrictive ”.

It's an obstructive measure I can't accept. ( It is a restrictive measure that I cannot accept. )

The socialists were litigation of being obstructive and delaying the decision-making process. ( Socialists were accused of being obstructive and delaying the decision-making process. )

STIFF

A team ( team ) hard to be defeated is a stiff team. The same goes for a political opponent or a strong competitor for a job opening. Anyway, whenever you want to say that someone is strong in the sense of being difficult to defeat, use the word stiff.

Furthermore, stiff is also used in the sense of “ rigid ”, “ strict ”, “ painful ”. This is when I was referring to laws, sanctions, penalties, or requirements that must be fulfilled.

The champion faced a stiff competitor in the final. ( The champion faced a strong competitor in the final. )

Graduates face stiff competition in getting jobs. ( New graduates face fierce competition for jobs. )

Under the country's stiff anti-corruption laws they could face twenty years in jail. ( Under the country's strict anti-corruption laws, they face up to 20 years in jail. )

Newcomers, however, are now likely to have to meet stiff demands. ( Newcomers, however, will now likely have to meet strict requirements. )

TOUGH

Tough refers to something that is difficult to do or to deal with. We can translate it simply as “difficult”; but also “hard”, “hard”, “pulled”, “hard”.

That's really a tough job. ( This is without a doubt a very demanding service. )

They've had an exceptionally tough life. ( She had an extremely hard life. )

We've had to make some very tough decisions. ( We had to make some very difficult decisions. )

My boss has given me a tough assignment. ( My boss gave me an arduous task. )

Ready! Here are some adjectives related to difficulties in English. Now just use them when you have the opportunity. Pay attention to the contexts and collocations with which they are used. As I always say, have a good dictionary to learn more about them.