Pronuniciation of English Sounds

Here is a great application from the BBC Learning English website. It is a pronunciation chart that says the sounds when you click on them. You can download a PC or a Mac version.

But there is something strange about the chart. What are these weird symbols? You may have noticed them in a dictionary. e.g. Cat=

You should learn how these symbols represent a sound in English. Here is a good description from antimoon.com

A good dictionary must give phonetic transcription for every word. Phonetic transcription tells you how to pronounce a word. Ideally, the transcription should be based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which is the standard phonetic alphabet used by linguists all over the world. Here is what IPA-based phonetic transcription looks like:

Here, the phonetic transcription is marked in yellow. It tells you that image is pronounced like this. (sound recording requires Flash)

Australian Vowel Sounds

Final Sounds in Words

/f/ and /v/ Pronunciation

Th Pronunciation

Th pronunciation

Souuunnnndz, STRESS!!! and INTONation...

This is the BEST website of seen on speaking. It might look like a kid's game but it is great! Click on the section you want to practice. Then use the controls to practice. You MUST repeat after the website speaks (otherwise you aren't practising your speaking!).

Possible Practice for Perfect Pronunciation

Here is a great little website to help you practice your pronunciation. This practices the differences between words that have only one sound different from each other (e.g. said and sad). Follow the instructions on the title page of the website.

There are many other pages that have practice for different sounds.

Aussie Vowels

Here is a great website that lets you listen to some examples of Australian vowel sounds. This can a troublesome area for many studets.

How can this website help me?

You can practice your listening by running your mouse cursor over the pink letters in "quotation marks." Try to listen careful and hear what word they are saying.

You could also practice your pronunciation by listening to the words and then copying the pronunciation. Try to make your vowel sounds as close to the website's as possible.

Good Luck.

Howjsay: Making you speak clearer

This website is a really good resource for any student studying English. It is called howjsay. It works the same way as a dictionary. You enter a word you want to find. Instead of giving the meaning of your word, it will show your word in a pink font. If you put your mouse cursor on the pink word the website will say that word.

How can this website help you improve your English?

You should look up words that are difficult to pronounce. Listen to the pronounciation a few times. Then start trying to pronounce the word as close to the website as you can. This might take you a few tries.

You will need some speakers or headphones to use howjysay.

What's wrong with my po-now-see-ay-shion?

Pronunciation can be a difficult thing to practice from home. Forvo lets you listen to a clear model of natural pronunciation. Just choose a word and play the pronunciation. Then try to say the word as closely to the model as possible. Repeat this as many times as you need to.

Say it like an Aussie

The fonetiks.org website has a great page where you can hear Australian pronunciation. Put your mouse cursor over the words in pink to hear how Australians say their vowels. You will need some speakers or headphones to hear them. Copy the pronunciation until you sound the same.

Pronunciation Tips

The BBC Learning English website has a great section on Pronunciation Tips. Click here. It's an interactive website which means that you can click on sounds and hear how to pronounce them correctly. You will need some headphones or  speakers to hear the sounds. 

Here's how to use the website:

1. Choose a unit which focuses on sounds that you have trouble with (e.g. Unit 5 Sock and Coat).
2. Follow the instructions on the website. 
3. Don't forget to say the sound aloud if the website tells you to. 

There are also some interesting sections on features of English. If you feel really motivated try one of the quizzes too.

Good Luck