How to Use Singing to Improve your Accent and Fluency in English
I am super excited to share with you all a brand new English lesson, in a brand new style: using a song to teach English pronunciation and fluency! Using music to learn another language is such a great way to add some fun into your study routine.
Let’s talk about WHY I think singing is such a great exercise for practicing English, EVEN IF you aren’t really a singer.
The Benefits of Singing in English
Songs often have repeating phrases. And repetition, after all, is how we learn!
The resonance used when singing is very similar to the resonance already used in the general American accent.
When singing, you often pay closer attention to how words and letters sound and feel.
It’s easy to slow down or speed up songs without getting bored.
Singing is fun!
For my first lesson using songs to teach American English pronunciation, I’ve chosen a classic by Irving Berlin, “What’ll I Do?” This song is great practice for the “dl” sound in “what’ll” similar to the sound in the word “puddle.”
What this lesson and sing along. See if you can get the pronunciation right!
In this video I focus on the pronunciation of these sounds:
/uː/ long ‘oo’ as in “moon” (long ‘u’ without the ‘y’)
do, you, blue, to
/dl̟/ d+l
what’ll
/ aɪ/ long ‘i’
I
/θ/ unvoiced ’th’ vs. /ð/ voiced ‘th’ when using the word “with”
with only /wɪð oʊnli/ (voiced)
with just /wɪθ ʤʌst/ (unvoiced)
I hope you found this lesson helpful!
Let me know what kinds of songs you like to practice English with. Which songs do you find the simplest? Which are the most challenging?
To learn more about all of the vowel and consonant sounds in American English and their IPA symbols, check out this lesson and be sure to sign up for my mailing list so you can get a free printable PDA of the sounds and IPA symbols in American English.
