I posses good pronunciation, however, sometimes I stumble my words. Any exercises?

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Speedybear

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Joined
Jul 29, 2015
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Interested in Language
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Norwegian
Home Country
Norway
Current Location
Norway
Hello,
I view myself as having good English pronunciation. The problem is that I don't speak English as much, so I'm not very used to it. Therefore I sometimes stumble my words in long sentences, even though I know how to pronounce the words.
Does anyone of you know any good exercises that I can repeat to myself aloud.

Also, for some reason, I have no problems if I speak with a really british accent. It's really bothersome when I speak, because I can't move to the next word before I've pronounced the word I first pronounced incorrectly correct.

Hoping for some good tips :)
 

Eckaslike

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Joined
Jul 3, 2015
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Teacher (Other)
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Wales
Good evening Speedybear,

Firstly, welcome to the forum. :)

Here are some things I think might help.

1. Record yourself reading something you like. Then play it back to yourself and focus on the words, combinations of words, or sounds which seem to consistently trip you up.

2. You could post such a recording to this website and ask people to comment on the areas where natives speakers feel you are stumbling. They may then be able to provide you with specific tips on how to improve those areas.

3. Focus on speed first as you think you already have good pronunciation. If you can naturally get up a good speed, your pronunciation should gradually improve because you will be getting lots of practice in a short space of time. We always used tongue twisters when we were younger, where you start slowly with a sentence which is difficult to pronounce, and then continue reading it increasing the speed until you make all sorts of funny noises as you can't maintain the pronunciation. However, in the meantime you will have managed to get in about ten times the practice you would have got had you just read a sentence slowly out loud.

If you Google "Tongue Twisters" you will probably find loads to choose from. Most focus on certain sound combinations so find and use ones which contain the sound combinations you are having difficulty with at speed.

You will find that over time, because of all this practice, you will naturally make the sounds more easily when speaking quickly.

4. You may be more comfortable with a "really British accent", because the standard British accent (known as "received pronunciation") discourages natural slurs and other dialect noises. This is why it is used for reading the news and making speeches. You are therefore probably more at home with it because you are trying to pronounce things in a very clear manner. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation

Also, it will probably align most closely with what you were taught, or are being taught, in school. Therefore it will be clearest to you.

5. I found when I learned Welsh, that one of the best ways was by finding songs I liked, which didn't use slang (or not too much anyway). You can play them at home and sing along and your speech should naturally flow with the songs as they carry you along. You will essentially be getting more practice with less effort.

Anyway, have a go with those ideas, and any other suggestions which members here might come up with. You can then let us know if there are any specific areas which we can help you with as you go along.

Hopefully that will be of some use.
 
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