Speaking theory

Make the words recognisable

Pronunciation includes individual sounds, word stress and larger patterns of speech. You do not need to adopt a particular national accent. Focus on intelligibility and on making important distinctions clear. British Council pronunciation guidance.

Practise the sounds that affect your message

Record a short answer and ask a listener which words they missed. If “ship” is heard as “sheep,” practise that contrast in short phrases and sentences, using dictionary audio as a model. If final consonants disappear, practise pairs such as “plan/planned” or “work/worked” in meaningful sentences. Some ending pronunciations also communicate grammar, so check whether your past tense remains audible.

Do not assume that a spelling letter always represents the same sound. Listen, imitate, record and compare. A learner’s dictionary normally gives audio and a stress marker, which is more reliable than inventing a pronunciation from spelling. British Council guidance on pronunciation dictionaries.

Hear and produce word stress

In the noun “record,” the first syllable is normally stressed; in the verb “record,” the second is normally stressed. Practise: “I keep a RECORD of my progress” and “I reCORD an answer each week.” Capitals show emphasis for this exercise, not a complete phonetic transcription.

Learn stress when you learn a word. Longer vocabulary is not helpful if the listener cannot recognise it. Practise the word inside a phrase so that you can retrieve and pronounce it during speech.

A focused sound drill

1. Choose one word that listeners missed.
2. Check its pronunciation and stress in a reliable dictionary.
3. Say it slowly, then in a short phrase, then in a complete answer.
4. Record the new answer and ask whether the word is easier to recognise.

Captions cannot tell you whether these sounds were clear. Pronunciation review needs the audio and, ideally, listener feedback. Change one feature at a time rather than trying to replace your entire accent.