How to Improve Pronunciation for the IELTS Speaking Questions? Tips to Boost Your Preparation

How many times have you heard ‘bedseeet’ instead of ‘bedsheet’ or ‘braid’ instead of bread? You may, in fact, be unaware that you are doing the same as we live in a country where commonly mispronounced words in the English language are often overlooked.

In fact, each native language speaker has a version of pronouncing a word, lending each English word a unique twang depending on which native language they speak at home. All of this may be fun to hear and help you guess which place the person belongs to but it, unfortunately, doesn’t help you score well in the IELTS speaking topics in 2020.

To be able to score well in the IELTS speaking questions 2020 where you have to answer in an interview-like scenario with the examiner, your pronunciation will be under the microscope.

The good thing about pronunciation is it can be learned rather quickly if you follow these 9 simple speaking tips for IELTS:

1. Don’t be afraid, Speak!

The first step towards improving your pronunciation and gaining better marks at the IELTS speaking topics is to hear yourself speak either alone or with a personal trainer. If you feel that you want to hear the word first and just imitate the sound you probably won’t register it as strongly as correcting your own mistake.

See how you read an English language word; see how you read a certain combination of letters. This will tell you whether you need to correct the way you read the word because that will directly impact your pronunciation. Communicating is one of the best ways to score well in IELTS speaking questions.

2. Listen to Native English Language Speakers

Listening to an expert or a native English language speaker can help you immensely as they have a generally relaxed pace of speaking and they stress and intonate on pronouncing words. This can help you not just learn new words but also teach you to correct your intonations and eventually will help you in the IELTS speaking topics.

You may also use a combination of YouTube, podcasts and radio to help you listen to more and more English that will be beneficial for you to score well in the IELTS speaking questions in 2020.

3. Learn Each Word Slowly

Many people think that speaking fast makes them better English language speakers but that is not true, speaking clearly and slowly shows thought and confidence in your speech. Slow down when you need to think clearly, sometimes giving yourself a moment can help you rephrase your sentences according to the lessons you have learnt.

Pronunciations can also be googled from time to time as online dictionaries like oxforddictionary.com or dictionary.com break down the word as per the pronunciation of the word. Consider it as one of the best speaking tips for IELTS and use these sources wisely whenever confused.

4. Lips, Tongue, Teeth – Everything Matters

When trying to pronounce new English language words check yourself in the mirror to see how your mouth moves. This can help you get the often-elusive intonation in place. Not stressing on your r’s and stressing just enough on your ‘th’s is crucial and this can only improve when you see and hear a native speaker and try to imitate the same facial muscle movements. To enhance your skills in the English language, you can either record an audio file or a video on your phone or computer to help you.

5. Break the Words Down

Breaking them and knowing which parts require to be dragged longer and which ones to keep short can show the examiner that you really know what you’re saying. Words like “particular” and “introduce” have a certain sound which only comes after you learn which part is to be stressed upon.

6. Group Words That Sound Similar or Different

Knowing the difference in pronouncing way – weigh, wait – weight, address – address, read and read makes all the difference when you are speaking to another person. Try and group words to be able to know the difference between where to stress and not stress for it to make sense to the listener.

Also, words like acquire, require, squire can be read in a similar way telling you how to pronounce the ‘quire’ group of words. This grouping will help you generalise sounds overall for a certain group of words making it easier for you to pronounce anything with a similar spelling.

7. Be funny, Exaggerate

When practising alone especially, exaggerate the sounds till they get imprinted on your mind. Look in the mirror as well when you exaggerate, do it in slow motion and then speed it up, then put it in a sentence and keep track of how it changes over time as you get more and more comfortable with the word. Remembering the feeling or the shape your face makes when pronouncing certain words is key to nailing pronouncing the word every time.

8. Know What Influences Your Current Pronunciation

When you are sitting with your friends or family, notice why they pronounce the words the way they do. Everyone develops a language according to the influences around them; pronunciation is a part of how you develop each language.

Noticing where people around you go wrong with pronunciation can help you better yours. Correct them whenever you feel confident with your lessons, make sure you tell them the wrong and the right way of pronouncing the word and where the influence of the wrong pronunciation comes from.

Put The Words in a Sentence

One of the IELTS speaking test tips for 2020 is that each sentence construction should focus on imparting important information every time. This means that pronunciation also includes focusing on the right word in a sentence for example – ‘I particularly like listening to music by the Beatles.’ See how the focus is on stressing on the right words in this particular sentence. Even when you are putting the words into a sentence, be conscious of the syllables it has because each word is made up of syllables.

Conclusion

Lastly, try this hack that can help you speed up your learning process and enhance your skills in the IELTS speaking topics. Teach pronunciation to a buddy.

Yes, teaching sounds is like a far-fetched idea right now but once you start you will realise that teaching can help you get ahead and make you focus even more on the art of pronouncing. Assuming a teaching role makes you feel responsible and sometimes your buddy may have questions that you may not have thought of and you might even get ideas for IELTS speaking topics for 2020.

Enjoy the journey, relax and have fun with the English language.