Do you often find yourself wondering how to pronounce those long words in Spanish? Sometimes they are not even that long, but that does not reduce the pain of not knowing how to pronounce them.
Don’t worry. That is completely normal when learning a new language because we are used to the pronunciation in our own native language, so a new one can represent a real challenge, but it does not have to be a struggle.
First of all, don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t worry if you don’t sound like a native. It’s completely valid to have a foreign accent, as they say it is actually a sign of bravery: you took on a new language. So it is absolutely valid.
Secondly, this is just a phase. Remember that practice is key for everything, especially when it comes to learning languages. Your pronunciation in spanish will improve with practice and time as you continue to use the language and immerse yourself in the culture.
However, there are ways to improve faster in your pronunciation, so here are five of them to start with:
Listening to music is an activity that has many benefits for our soul, and music also works as an effective extra tool for language learning.
Whenever a good song comes up, we dance and sing to it without realizing that words are coming out of our mouth. And if you think about it, it is the most natural way to learn a language, by inputs and repetition. When we sing, we are repeating not only melodies, but words.
And we are also expressing ourselves, and if we do it in a different language, we expand our vocabulary and improve our pronunciation through imitation, which is the most effective way to pronounce correctly, just as it happens when we learn our native language.
In recent decades, Hispanic music has become very popular for its catchy rhythms and melodies; this has created an infinite repertoire of songs to learn and practice Spanish regardless of your level. You can check some recommendations in this article on our blog.
You can just open Spotify and sing while you read; or you can just listen and transcribe what you hear; then compare it with the lyrics on the screen later, correct it and, finally, sing it once more with better pronunciation in spanish.
Books make you smarter, no matter their format. But did you know that audiobooks can improve word recognition and the proper pronunciation of words? If you think about it, it makes all the sense of the world that this can be a great pronunciation tool.
You can listening to a clean audio (no background noises that may interfere), with a proper tone of voice and articulation of a narrator and a story that you can follow while you are performing another activity: cooking, walking, driving, you name it.
And on top of that, you can also have the text and read it aloud while you listen so you can get all the possible benefits out of audiobooks. Remember that it is important to stop and pronounce aloud all the words that you find most challenging. The more you repeat them, the better.
Podcasts are getting more and more popularity each day. You can find them about any topic you want, there are many options available one touch away.
This format is perfect for not only learning new vocabulary but for improving your pronunciation in spanish.
Just as it happens to audiobooks, they are done in sets without background noises and with hosts that have mics and equipment intended to have the best quality sound for their interventions and stories can be transmitted seamless.
Additionally,you can pause or go back to the content as many times as you want, and listen while you drive, exercise or work. The simple fact of listening to the language repeatedly, even in the background, will help you learn its sounds, accents, and intonations.
Nowadays we have an enormous catalog of series and videos we can choose from and watch whenever we want. Additionally, we can pause, choose language audio, subtitles, you name it.
You can choose by topic and time, so for many of us who have a very tight schedule, but still are determined to learn a language and also have a break, watching a serie or a video on YouTube for 10 minutes, stop, go back and repeat the words and pronunciation will be an excellent choice.
Moreover, series and videos generally entail real life situations, so they use common vocabulary and expressions for you to familiarize with; and also you can get in touch with the cultural aspect of the language and the different accents.
Even though it can be embarrassing, the only way that you can know how you sound like is by recording yourself speaking and listening afterwards.
Compare your recording to the original sources and pay attention to your flow, speed and your intonation. Work on the aspects where you need improvement with a tutor or native speaker. Remember, you can record yourself as many times moving forward and notice how you improve.
And this is a perfect chance for you to know that at WorldsAcross you can practice and enhance your Spanish pronunciation skills with our native Spanish teachers who will help you immerse in the language. ¡Vamos! ¡Únete!