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Free accent reduction methods?

  Tags: Accent
 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies Post Reply
43 messages over 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6  Next >>
shinkarom
Diglot
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Ukraine
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Speaks: Ukrainian, Russian*

 
 Message 1 of 43
08 March 2014 at 7:29pm | IP Logged 
What free accent reduction methods do you know?
I know these so far:
Idahosa Ness' Mimic Method
Laurence Hilton's Reverse Accent Mimicry

Are there any others?
The method should be target language specific.
I'm asking because it's uncomfortable to have in Polish typical Russian accent.

Edited by shinkarom on 08 March 2014 at 7:30pm

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Volte
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 Message 2 of 43
09 March 2014 at 5:35am | IP Logged 
There's Olle Kjellin's "Accent Addition" too (short description: get 20-40 sentences in Polish. Then, one at a time, listen to that sentence perhaps 30 times, then alternative listening and chorusing with it, then just repeat it on your own, maybe 300 times in total, or more. The forum listened to a clip of a Russian woman who learned to pronounce Swedish almost perfectly with this method and his books, in about a year).

You need to learn Polish prosody. That, plus making sure you don't reduce your vowels, will go a long way. (That is - pronounce each vowel clearly, instead of having less distinct vowel sounds in unstressed syllables - the process in Russian is described here.)

You can also make sure you can hear and produce all the sounds of Polish with wikipedia's Polish phonology page - feel free to ignore all the linguistics and scroll down to the sound clips. There are also plenty of clips of the sounds on youtube. And if you haven't been listening to Polish enough in general, listen more! - here are some free, high quality audiobooks.

Good luck.
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shinkarom
Diglot
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 Message 3 of 43
09 March 2014 at 12:19pm | IP Logged 
Thank you, Volte.
That's where the problem lies - how to learn prosody?

Edited by shinkarom on 09 March 2014 at 12:20pm

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Volte
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 Message 4 of 43
09 March 2014 at 1:07pm | IP Logged 
Listen, repeat, listen more. Try Olle Kjellin's method to start with, then post about how it's going for you.
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shinkarom
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 Message 5 of 43
09 March 2014 at 1:53pm | IP Logged 
This paper will assert that it is surprisingly simple for adults to achieve native-
like pronunciation in a second language within only a few minutes of practice, using a
method inspired by perception physiology and first language acquisition.

Looks very promising. If I wasn't ill today, I'd start right now.
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shinkarom
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allthetongues.hRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4068 days ago

40 posts - 59 votes 
Speaks: Ukrainian, Russian*

 
 Message 6 of 43
11 March 2014 at 3:16pm | IP Logged 
Are there any other methods?
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Arekkusu
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 Message 7 of 43
11 March 2014 at 4:15pm | IP Logged 
shinkarom wrote:
This paper will assert that it is surprisingly simple for adults to achieve native-like pronunciation in a second language within only a few minutes of practice, using a method inspired by perception physiology and first language acquisition.

The research I've been reading (focusing specifically on Japanese learners of English) generally indicates that methods based on repeating input fail to yield results. One study showed that when students recorded a list of 23 words, only 40% of the words were understood by English native speakers. You can't fix that in "minutes of practice".

In the studies, students have little understanding of sound-symbol correspondences (they can't figure out pronunciation clues from the spelling), so that their representation of the words they know often contain the wrong sounds. Even when they do know the sounds involved, they can't tell whether known words should be pronounced the same (eg. meat and meet) or differently (eg. first or hard are usually pronounced the same). The general impression I get is that students first need to learn how the spelling relates to pronunciation, then they need some awareness of how they pronounce their own language, followed by insight about how the L2 differs, not just phonetically, but phonologically. Only then can you start dealing with specific problematic words through targeted repetitions, when the students are aware of what exactly they are aiming for.

In simpler terms, if students view r and l as the same sound and you ask them to repeat words that contain those sounds, they will do so using their own phonological model, not yours. Sometimes, what we consider an error is a perfect realisation of a faulty underlying model. (The same would apply in other languages, ie. devoicing in word-final position, intervocalic consonants becoming fricatives, nasalisation of vowels, neutralization of vowels to schwa in unstressed syllables, etc.) And you can't fix the underlying model without a fair amount of knowledge about the issues I mentioned above. Personally, I don't believe that repetitions should be the basis of any pronunciation course. Similarly, shadowing is of little use (except to induce a better flow) unless the students have the required knowledge to infer the phonological model of the L2 on their own.

Sorry for the rant.
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shinkarom
Diglot
Groupie
Ukraine
allthetongues.hRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4068 days ago

40 posts - 59 votes 
Speaks: Ukrainian, Russian*

 
 Message 8 of 43
11 March 2014 at 4:18pm | IP Logged 
But I HAVE the phonological model. It's only the prosody I lack.
And I repeat my question: Are there any other methods?
I'm Sorry for beign so stubborn.

Edited by shinkarom on 11 March 2014 at 4:20pm



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