How can I help patients understand me better if I have a strong non-English accent?

Question

Quick methods for improving others' understanding of my English.

Answer 1

As an experienced ESL teacher specializing in accent reduction, I work with a lot of non-native speakers who wish to sound like a native speaker. But that should not be the goal. Instead, I recommend to increase your comprehensibility instead of trying to completely lose your accent or trying to sound like a native speaker. Besides, native speaker of what kind of English? British English, Irish English, Scottish English, American English, Australian English, South African English, .... On top of that, there are so many regional differences. Therefore, the goal should be to approximate a standard version of your local type of English and reduce the accent as much as needed to increase your intelligibility. Your patients will not mind a slight accent as long as they can understand you. I highly recommend the book "Master the American Accent" by Lisa Mojsin (2nd edition). And if you are interested in one-on-one online lessons, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on WyzAnt.

Answer 2

I've tutored non-English speakers in English. The most-effective tool for educated people to learn pronunciation is to work with the International Phonetic Alphabet. Although this sounds scary, several sites let you click (or right-click) to hear a symbol pronounced.

Here are some resources:

-You can look up specific words in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and click the sound symbol to hear the correct pronunciation. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/.

-UCI Open has a terrific PDF describing the 14 to 15 vowel sounds in American English and the tongue position, tongue tension, and lip position to produce those sounds: http://ocw.uci.edu/upload/files/vowels.pdf. In addition, it discusses sound length, diphthongs, and syllable stresses for proper pronunciation.

-The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) site tells you where in the mouth a particular sound occurs. Click the sound to hear it pronounced. Click https://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/.

-Go to https://easypronunciation.com/en/ to learn IPA symbols, practice your pronunciation, and find more learning resources.

Answer 3

Foreign speaking people often employ or request the help of a translation to assist them with communication. In addition, there are several websites and businesses that will provide instant translation services. Check your Apps Playstores and the World Web.

Answer 4

1. Get help from someone who has experience in helping others improve their accent.

2. Practice speaking with your tongue in the same position as native English speakers. Figure out how their mouth and tongue move to form each unique sound.

3. Focus on vowel pronunciation first. Native English speakers are far more likely to understand what you say if you mispronounce a consonant than a vowel, and typically, vowel sounds can be learn fairly quickly and create a sudden intense improvement in other people's ability to understand your speaking.

4. Try to remember to speak more slowly when you feel nervous or anxious about speaking. Accents typically are stronger when you are emotionally stressed or feel rushed or hurried.

5. Pick a professional sounding English accent to practice for your area, not just any available English pronunciation. English pronunciation varies widely, but there is usually a standard pronunciation for most words in any given region. Pronouncing words the way a trained professional in your area would, will go a long way toward helping you present a very educated and professional impression to others.