10 tips to improve the way you speak English

10 tips to improve the way you speak English
Want to 'neutralise' your accent?Many deserving candidates lose out on jobopportunities because of their vernacular accent.Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself tospeak English as comfortably and perfectly as youspeak your mother tongue.How do you train yourself?
By inculcating certainpractices in your daily lifestyle. These will get youcloser to sounding like a native English speaker andequip you with a global accent -- and you will speaknot American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, beit American or British or Australian.Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of theAccurate English Training Company in Los Angeles,offers these tips to help 'neutralise' your accent orrather do away with the local twang, as you speak

.i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speakEnglish well and try to imitate them.When you are watching television, observe the mouthmovements of the speakers. Repeat what they aresaying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm oftheir speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythmof English, slow your speech down.If you speak too quickly, and with the wrongintonation and rhythm, native speakers will have ahard time understanding you.Don't worry about your listener getting impatient withyour slow speech -- it is more important thateverything you say be understood

.iii. Listen to the 'music' of English.Do not use the 'music' of your native language whenyou speak English. Each language has its own way of'singing'.

iv. Use the dictionary.Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbolsof your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciationof words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you finddifficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks thelanguage well to pronounce them for you.Record these words, listen to them and practice sayingthem. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.Record yourself reading some sections of the book.Compare the sound of your English with that of theperson reading the book on the tape.vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. Thiswill help you strengthen the mouth muscles that youuse when you speak English.viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes everyday.Research has shown it takes about three months ofdaily practice to develop strong mouth muscles forspeaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciationmistakes.Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice andavoid listening to themselves speak. However, this isa very important exercise because doing it will helpyou become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.You can change the way you speak but it won't happenovernight. People often expect instant results andgive up too soon. You can change the way you sound ifyou are willing to put some effort into it.Quick tipsVarious versions of the English language exist. Beginby identifying the category you fall into and start byimproving the clarity of your speech.~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence andthe 'Indianisms' that creep into your Englishconversations.~

Watch the English news on television channels likeStar World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Moviesand HBO.~ Listen to and sing English songs. I recommendWestlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis andConnie Francis among others.