Pronuncation as a means to Effective Communication

Are you interested in improving your pronunciation?

For Spanish people in general, improving their pronunciation is a common goal. 

There are particular difficulties between the two languages; English speakers equally have as many difficulties with Spanish pronunciation and accent as Spanish speakers do with English. However, due to the phonetic way of reading and pronouncing Spanish words, Spanish tends to be easier than English with its groups of strangely pronounced sounds – take the horrible combination of ‘ough’ which is pronounced umpteen different ways depending on the word!

For Spanish speakers in Spain there is a strong sense of importance and emphasis on the correct pronunciation and accent in Spanish, which is carried over into their desire to speak English equally correctly. For English speakers, however, this is less important; knowing and accepting that there are many correct accents and ways of pronouncing words; I was told recently that in London alone there are five distinct accents, let alone in the rest of the UK, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and even India where English is the national language. All are accept as correct.

Many non-native speakers, not just Spanish speakers, look for accent modification/accent reduction training as a way to learn strategies that will help them to improve their pronunciation. The ideal way, obviously, would be with a specialised trainer but there are also many self-help training programs available. Nevertheless, unfortunately this does not provide you with feedback on how they are doing is an essential way of learning what your mistakes are and what to do to improve them so doing this alone is really not the best way to go about improving. There are many software programs out there, but you have to be careful that they have the ability to identify subtle stress and intonation patterns which are essential features to address in accent modification. I have had my own personal problems with software programs. Taking a course on teaching English via an online program, we were expected to understand the program both from the teachers’ side and as well as the students’ so as to understand any potential problems they might be facing whilst using the program. This entailed doing the pronunciation exercises online; I failed all of them and I have to say that my British accent is pretty good! It’s not just English language programs. While I was trying to learn French recently, the software stated that I was incapable of pronouncing anything correctly which was very disheartened. When my French teacher also had an equally bad score, I realised that it was not necessarily my bad accent but rather the software program. Though, that does not excuse my French accent, it still is pretty bad!

Here are some ways to either get started, supplement the training you might currently be taking, or brush up on your skills:


1.   Find a speech role model
Find someone who speaks in a way you like, that you can identify with and is pleasant to your ear. It does not matter who this is, it could be a radio or TV personality, a family member, friend or colleague. Do you like the tone, rate of speech, resonant quality or way of phrasing? Try to imitate those features you consider to be desirable in your own communication.

2.   Get a professional’s opinion
It is difficult to change aspects of your speech if you don’t know what problems are affecting the effectiveness of your communication. It could be a good idea to find a specialist who can help you identify areas that may need improvement, if you really consider that you have problems.

3.   Video or audio-record yourself
Despite the fact that many people are intimidated by this, it is actually very helpful to hear and see how you may present yourself to others. It really does not matter how low or high-tech it is. Consider how you look - fidgeting, playing with your hair (my particular tendency), wringing your hands, moving about nervously), how you sound (monotone, too fast, nasal, too quiet), and how you speak (using professional language or too much slang, rambling, long-winded or concise)?

4.   Ask for feedback from those you trust
If you feel as though your communication may be holding you back at work, ask your manager, colleagues, and others for honest feedback. People who interact with you frequently and in a variety of settings such as on the phone, in meetings, during formal presentations, and so on are best.

5.   Project your voice
Take deep abdominal breaths and speak as you exhale; do not waste any air.  Keep your mouth open and relaxed. Look in the direction you want your voice to go and imagine your breath stream floating along the air towards your target (this would be a person or an object far away from you). Take replenishing breaths as needed so the end of your sentence sounds as loud and strong as the beginning. It is best to stand up when speaking.
 
6.   Pronounce your sounds clearly
It is always a good idea to make sure that your word sounds are accurate and clear, especially at the ends of words. Always finish the words properly so that you say “thinking” instead of “thinkin',” and “biggest,” not “bigges-.” One of my personal annoyances is when people learn contracted expressions such as ‘gonna’, ‘wanna’ or ‘dunna’ when they are young at school as a way of learning authentic speech. I personally feel that authentic speech will come naturally when people are familiar and comfortable about speaking in another language, but it is essential for clear, easily understood speech if you know what the correct ‘un’contracted version is so that you can use it correctly in appropriate situations.

7.   Speak at a slightly slower rate
When people are nervous, they tend to speak too fast. Some people think that speaking fast is a sign that they can speak the language well. However, slightly reducing your speaking rate by stretching out the vowels and pausing where a comma or full-stop would occur infinitely increases your ability to communicate clearly an well. Chunk information into manageable groupings, and then take a breath before continuing. Try to speak at the same rate as the person with whom you are speaking (assuming they are not racing themselves!) This is a way of inducing rapport, empathy and a sense of connection which enables people to listen and understand better.

8.   Use appropriate intonation
Try to speak with a natural, varied inflection pattern. Stress the last important word in a thought group. This will make it stand out and be remembered.
Stress the word by slightly raising your pitch, speaking slightly louder, and lengthening your vowels.
If you just use a louder voice, you may sound angry. 
Smile to infuse a little more energy and/or personality in your voice.

9.  Practice idiosyncratic stress rules when reading
Everywhere you look, you will see proper nouns (business cards); compound nouns (grocery store circulars); numbers (appointment books), and other written references to pronunciation rules. Use every opportunity to read aloud practicing your newly learned techniques for proper stress and intonation. 

10.  Practice whenever, wherever, and with whomever you can
Use every speaking situation as an opportunity to practice your best speech techniques. Practise makes perfect! Listen and observe the reactions/responses to your speech from all you encounter. 

And most importantly, enjoy it in the best way you can and do not worry about how long it takes, all effort is good effort and it will eventually come.

At One Stop Language we can help you with improving your pronunciation as well as developing effective communication techniques.www.onestop-language.comwww.onestop-language.com

Spanish

In my last few blogs I've talked about language learning and the importance of studying English. Well, today I'd like to talk about the importance of language learning in general and of Spanish in particular and why learning Spanish in Madrid is such a great opportunity.
There are more native speakers of Spanish than of English. Of course, there are more speakers of Mandarin and Hindi than of either Spanish and English, and although you can find both Chinese and Indians in most places of the globe, both languages are fairly mono-cultural and generally limited to their own countries. If you want to choose a language with a massive and varied cultural audience Spanish is the one to go for; with speakers in Spain; the whole of Latin and South America, apart from Brazil; in many parts of the United States; and it has influence also in Asia, in The Philipines.
Spain is a popular holiday destination for the British, amongst many nationalities: Germans, Dutch and Scandinavian in particular. In the resort areas, Spain is very accommodating language-wise, for example most people employed in the tourism industry speak, at least some, English. In places such as Mallorca which is very popular with German tourists, German is primarily spoken. Of course this is done as a means to make guests more comfortable and to make their trip smoother and easier, thereby encouraging guests to come back again in the future. Simply, it's good for business. The problem for the guests is the lack of incentive to learn the language, however there are so many places off the beaten track within Spain that are wonderful to visit, but where English is less-frequently spoken. Villages that are hidden gems, full of culture, architecture, wonderful gastronomy with delicious local specialities and also beautiful countryside. Many people are getting increasingly tired of going to the same old places and so the interest to explore less well-known places is deepening. The whole experience would be infinitely more rewarding with a knowledge of the language. That's only talking about Spain, South America is a fascinating, varying and enormous continent to visit with delightful people, assorted cultures, diverse customs, incredible architecture and monuments.
However it is not just for tourism reasons that it is a good idea to learn Spanish. For business reasons too, it makes a lot of sense to have another language under your belt. As I said before, a large part of the world speak Spanish, so it makes good business sense to have a linguistic and cultural idea of how to do business in those places. Even though English is the language of business and the actual business transactions are most probably done in English it still helps for the lunches or other social events if some attempt, at least, is made to speak the language. Mr Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister in the UK is incredibly popular and well-looked upon in Spain after he did an interview with Spanish TV in Spanish. He received a lot of respect and admiration. Sadly, in my opinion, it was mainly due to the surprise that a British person was prepared to be interviewed in another language and but also because he defended himself and his position representing the UK very well. Monolingual English speakers are always at a disadvantage, not only culturally and linguistically, but also for lacking the respect by not having an idea of the language.
Madrid is the beautiful bustling capital city of Spain, full of history, museums, art galleries with a great, lively night-life, where there is always something going on to see and do. There is an almost continuous array of exhibitions, theatre shows, dance recitals and concerts happening throughout the year. Madrid has the highest number of bars and cafeterias per capita so the choice of food, particularly of tasty tapas, is out of this world, there are even a number of annual tapas festivals taking place in different areas of the city for you to come and try out different specialities from throughout Spain. Anytime of the year in Madrid is a wonderful time to come and enjoy the life of this great city, my personal favourite is summer, with the long days and relaxed tempo with everyone enjoying the long evenings out in the streets: it is a great atmosphere to meet people and to practise the language.
One Stop Language provides a fantastic Weekend Immersion Course in which you can spend the weekend in Madrid sightseeing, having lunch, visiting museums, enjoying the night-life with a Madrileño, practising your Spanish with a native whilst enjoying their beautiful city and learning first-hand about the culture, people and life there. It is a great opportunity.