In October we asked some experienced ESL teachers who are part of SOCEM to share the resources they have been using or would recommend that will help students improve their pronunciation. Several teachers responded. We want to share our compilation because it will probably be of use to many others.
Here is what the teachers shared:
I used to refer my students to the University of Iowa Research Foundation’s “Sounds of Speech” material, when this could still be accessed through their website. It is now only available as a mobile app, but I assume it’s the same helpful resource.
Some other pronunciation websites/YouTube channels that I often refer students to include:
Elemental English —https://www.youtube.com/user/eLeMentalEnglish/featured
Rachel’s English — https://rachelsenglish.com/video-categories/
Sounds American — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-MSYk9R94F3TMuKAnQ7dDg
Also, I’ve used resources by American Accent Trainer Lisa Mojsin:
YouTube channel — “Accurate English” — https://www.youtube.com/c/AccurateEnglish
*YouTube video — English pronunciation lesson for Chinese speakers — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvFWX2I7Nz8
Website — https://www.accurateenglish.com/
Textbook — Mastering the American Accent — Available on amazon.ca
Other good textbooks:
- American Accent Training by Ann Cook — Available on amazon.ca
- Well Said [3rd Ed.] by Linda Grant — Available on amazon.ca
Online Learner’s Dictionaries:
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary — https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary — https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/
This is a good “open education resource” for pronunciation, and on its “Resources” tab there are a host of other useful links: https://www.americanenglishsounds.net/
The book I like best is Pronunciation Pairs by Baker and Goldstein.
Other comments:
I’ve tried out a few websites that allow students to record their speech and get feedback about any pronunciation errors, but I still haven’t found one that gives accurate feedback, especially for vowel sounds.
I have recently met some students with superb pronunciation. I asked them if they studied in the States but none had. They told me that they learned pronunciation by watching American movies online or on DVD’s. They would stop and replay again and again common expressions until they had mastered them.