The Fear Of Phonetics

Pronunciation is not often taught when learning a language. This might be due to the fact that phonetics is deemed a dull and difficult subject to study and teach. But what`s the point of learning a language when no-one can understand what you are saying?

When the right teaching methods are employed, learning how to pronounce the sounds of a language can be engaging and enjoyable. Phonetics assists this process by providing a system by which pronunciation is easily explained. Unlike the spelling conventions of English, the phonetic alphabet has one sound represented by one letter only. This means that the learner can quickly find the pronunciation of a word by looking at the adjacent phonetic transcri ption in the dictionary.

The rewards of mastering the English accent are numerous. Natives will be impressed and will never need to ask for you to repeat what you have said. You speak the language more fluently and thus appear more educated to the listener.