CAN YOU SPEAK ENGLISH WELL? PRONUNCIATION MATTERS
http://www.aacglobal.com/blog/can-you-speak-english-well-pronunciation-matters/
Pronunciation is definitely the biggest thing that people notice when you are speaking English. Let me tell you a personal anecdote about this:
I once went to a conversation class taught by an American native English speaker. Before the class started, the teacher asked the group: “Do you speak good English?” A student raised his hand and replied “I think so,” and the teacher said “It sounds like you do.” The student had only said three words! How could the teacher tell if his English was good or bad? Because of the difficult words he used? No. Was it because he used advanced grammar structure? No. It was because of his clear pronunciation!
When you meet a person, and you just say a sentence or two, do you think they will notice your poor vocabulary or bad grammar? Probably not – but they will notice if your pronunciation is good or bad. If your pronunciation is poor, they will immediately think about you as the person who speaks English poorly. Your pronunciation creates a first – and often lasting – impression.
Even if you use great vocabulary and grammar, people may simply not understand what you want to say.
Good pronunciation should be one of the first things that you learn in English. You can live without advanced vocabulary – you can use simple words to say what you want to say. You can live without advanced grammar – you can use simple grammar structures instead. But there is no such thing as “simple pronunciation.” If you don't have good pronunciation, you have… bad pronunciation.
Bad pronunciation is often distracting and reduces the effectiveness of your communication efforts. Even if you use great vocabulary and grammar, people may simply not understand what you want to say.
For example, if you pronounce the word problem like “broblem” or if you pronounce guest like “gwest,” listeners, native speakers and non-native speakers alike, will have serious problems understanding you! You should know how to say English sounds like the p in problem or the gu in guest, before you use them in a conversation, presentation or negotiation.
Almost all English learners say “I don't need to study pronunciation. I just want to communicate in English.” Many of them think that they can communicate in English because they can communicate with their language trainer and local colleagues.
Do not make this mistake! You must remember that:
Do not make this mistake! You must remember that:
• Your trainer has been listening to bad English for years. They can understand it much more easily than the average person.
• Most often your colleagues are from the same country as you. Therefore, they speak English like you do and they make the same mistakes. It is easy for them to understand you.
How do we improve pronunciation? The same way professional public native speakers of any language do… practice and exercise the target language alphabet… DAILY! It’s a quick, sure cure to being misheard and misunderstood.