Things you should do to improve your English pronunciation

The need to improve one’s English is one faced by many international students today. The widespread increase in the use of English as the world’s common language has increased focus on the importance of learning English. With English being used in everything from Television to Newspapers to the Internet, the language has become almost critical in today’s culture. Many students feel pressure to learn English be it from peers or necessity. A shop owner may feel he needs to learn English to understand better and communicate with his customers. A student may feel pressure to learn English either for his studies or only because he might want to improve his English pronunciation to fit in with his peers and feel socially accepted.

Whatever reasons one may have to want to improve English, what follows is a series of quick tips to help you focus and fine tune your English learning experience. The first thing any student looking to improve their English should do should be to determine what aspect of the language one needs to focus on first. One should determine one’s capabilities in areas such as Grammar, Pronunciation, Listening skills, Vocabulary, Speaking, and Reading & Writing. Once identified once should identify the source of learning that addresses these aspects. One should then determine the mode of learning i.e. self-learning or classroom learning. Each has its benefits, and students should decide which best suits their mentality and capabilities.

For those who chose self-learning, the internet is a valuable resource that provides access to numerous sources of self-learning material. One such valuable online asset is English Club TV. Found at www.tv-english.club ECTV is an online English learning resource that gives students the opportunity to learn English by watching various programs that address all aspects of English. Designed by a panel of expert native speakers, each of these programmes is created in a serial TV show format where each aspect of the English language is covered from vocabulary to grammar to English pronunciation.

Visitors to the site are asked to take an online self-assessment test where they are categorised into five distinct levels based on their current knowledge of English i.e. Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate and Advanced.

The site is a proficient tool for English learning online. The Elementary level also known as A1, covers four base modules; Listening Skills, Speaking Skills (English pronunciation), Vocabulary Expansion and Grammar. Each level imparts its knowledge by way of English video lessons specially designed as “shows” and “Episodes” focused on current affairs and day to day interactions.

Students can improve their Listening skills & Vocabulary expansion by watching programs such as “ECTV Simple News,” “Step By Step” and “The Week in Review.” Each show offers tasks after the episode and glossaries to ensure students understand each programme. Students who need to address issues in Speaking Skills and Grammar are offered a range of shows including the “E-lab” series, “Say It Right” and “Perfect English.”   Each episode here is designed to teach English pronunciation, terminology, lexicology, phraseology and vocabulary.

The presentation of the shows, in news or documentary format, is hosted by a native speaking narrator / host who speaks in clear, precise English enabling viewers to grasp the technicalities of English pronunciation.