HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR ACCENT

Accurate pronunciation is an important part of learning any language. The way your speech sounds can have a big impact on whether or not people understand what you are saying and their initial impression of you. The tricky thing about pronunciation is that it not just a question of acquiring knowledge, it is a physical skill that you need to practice regularly.

There are no shortcuts to perfect pronunciation; however, there are some ways you can practice more effectively and improve your skills faster. Follow our ten top tips, start improving your pronunciation today and take a step closer towards your goal a perfect pronunciation.

1   .    Listen to yourself

2   .    Slow down!

3   .    Picture it…

4   .    Get physical!

5   .    Watch yourself

6   .    Copy the experts

7   .    Practice alone

8   .    Find a language buddy

9   .    Pay attention to intonation and stress

10. Sing a song!

1.   Listen to yourself

It’s often difficult to hear pronunciation errors in your own speech because you are concentrating actually communicating rather than the sound you are making. If you can’t hear your pronunciation problems, it’s tough to correct them. Try recording your speech with your smartphone or PC and making a note of specific areas you need to improve on.

2.   Slow down!

Many learners think that speaking fluently means they need to speak fast. This is wrong. Speaking too fast reinforces bad habits and makes the speaker sound nervous and indecisive. Speaking slowly will give you time to breathe properly and think about what you want to say next. Because it gives you time to think while you are speaking, you’ll feel more relaxed and be able to concentrate on making your sound fantastic.

3.   Picture it…

Close your eyes and think about how to make a sound before saying it. Visualize the positioning of your mouth and face. If you have studied with the phonemic chart, think about the sound you are making and how it relates to other phonemes. If you have used diagrams of the mouth and tongue, think about the shape you need to make inside your mouth if you want to make the sound correctly.

4.   Get physical!

Pronunciation is a physical skill. You’re teaching your mouth a new way to move and using different muscles. Focus on difficult sounds each day. Having trouble with ‘th’? Put your tongue between your teeth (don’t bite down) and blow air out of your mouth. Feel the air move over the top of your tongue.

5.   Watch yourself

Stand in front of a mirror to see the placement of your tongue, lips, and shape of your mouth when you make certain sounds. Compare what you see with a video of a native-speaker saying the same thing.

6.   Copy the experts

There’s no replacement for learning pronunciation from the experts – native-speakers. So listen! Listen to radio programs and watch television and movies. Imitate what you’re hearing – even if you’re not sure what they’re saying yet.

7.   Practice alone

Pronunciation problems persist because we’re afraid to make mistakes. Create scenarios – meeting someone for the first time, ordering at a restaurant, asking for directions – then act out the dialogue by yourself. Don’t be shy.

8.   Find a language buddy

Getting feedback from an outside observer is crucial. Find a friend who’s also interested in improving. Try exchanging recorded messages so you can listen closely to each other’s pronunciation.

9.   Pay attention to intonation and stress

Good pronunciation is more than just mastering individual sounds. It’s also understanding intonation (the rise and fall of the voice) and stress (some sounds in words and some words in sentences are louder or clearer than others). Read poems, speeches and songs aloud, concentrating on the word stress and intonation.

10.     Sing a song!

Learn the words to popular songs and sing along. Singing helps you relax and just get those words out, as well as helping your rhythm and intonation. Because you don’t need to concentrate on constructing sentences for yourself, you can concentrate on making your pronunciation sound great!

Give each of these tips a try next time you have a chance and find out which of them works best for you. Remember, none of them is an instant fix but they will all help you reach your goals as part of regular practice.

TIPS FOR AVOIDING VACATIONS POSE SYNDROME

For some years, the so-called post-vacations syndrome has become a well-known issue in the world of work. The adaptation of the individual to the routine when he returns from vacations supposes a very drastic change that he has to face. Irritability, daytime drowsiness, lack of concentration and anxiety are some of the characteristic symptoms that usually present the people with a post-vacations stress.

To avoid this type of situation, both worker and company should adopt a series of preventive measures. In order to avoid post-vacations stress, it is not necessary to follow each one of the following tips, since this depends on the level of pressure or demand that "resists" each individual. In addition, it is complicated that today some measure is taken against this syndrome by the company, since some of these companies, or the majority, have a personnel adjusted to satisfy the labor demand.

Tips for the worker for post-vacations syndrome

To avoid suffering stress on the return of vacations, the individual can follow the following tips:

·         Have a few days between the end of the vacation period and return to work. In this way, the schedules (hours of rest, meals and leisure) are adapted and there is no such abrupt change.

·         Leaving home early to avoid traffic jams.

·         Take advantage of free time outside working hours.

·         Try to look for the positive side of returning to work. To return with the charged batteries can favor the development of the work activity and is that, the individual is not saturated and is able to solve questions more effectively.

·         Make short breaks during work hours. With this will be achieved an adaptation of the body, as well as mental, to the task in hand

·         Adopt a correct position in the workplace

Measures to be adopted by the company to avoid post-vacations syndrome

On the other hand, the company can also adopt a series of measures to prevent its workers from suffering stress at the end of the holiday period. These measures include:

·         The department to which the worker who returns on vacation must transmit all the events occurred during the absence of the same. This avoids excess demand on the individual who tries to catch up after his arrival.

·         Another important point is the definition of goals after the arrival of the worker. In this sense, the worker will be motivated to carry out the work assigned to him (on a consensual basis), as long as his professional development within the organization benefits.

·         The company should consider the possibility of organizing sports activities, so as to promote interpersonal relationships at work. Currently, some companies organize marathons, paintball games and even sporting championships.

THE CHRISTMAS SYNDROME

December finally arrived. In the environment you breathe a different air. There is brightness and glow in the streets. In the houses they show the adornments and ribbons green and red that awaken in the families the Christmas spirit. The crib, the tree loaded with little dolls and colored bombs, boots for gifts in the fireplace, and good-looking images of Santa Claus in the display cases all help to complete the message that it's time to prepare for Christmas.

Everything looks perfect. But the truth is that for a large percentage of people, joy never comes with December. On the contrary, all those Christmas symbols provoke in these people a deep sadness and nostalgia. The symptoms are very clear. People are apathetic, sad and with great susceptibility. They think that Christmas is a children's thing and they want those days to pass in the blink of an eye. Indeed, they prefer to be alone, locked up in their house as if it were any other day of any other month.

In the countries of the northern hemisphere this situation is known as "christmas blues" but in Colombia it has been called Christmas syndrome. It may be mild and in this category would classify all those people who are very bitter to live the season but once it ends they are the same as before. But Christmas blues can also lead to severe cases of depression. According to doctor Jorge Téllez, director of the Colombian Society against Depression and Panic, this syndrome explains why every December increases suicide rates and therapists' consultations.

Although it is a very obvious situation, affecting 20 percent of the population, its causes still baffle the specialists. For the psychologist Martha de Gómez this syndrome has to do with the vacuum generated by the completion of a cycle. He explains that it is very similar to the temporary depression that gives the young people on Fridays when they do not have a rumba program for the weekend. "It works at an unconscious level," says the expert. In these cases it would be healthier to be aware and accept the depression for the year that will end. "

Although Christmas is par excellence a family holiday, precisely in that nucleus lies another factor that can cause the syndrome. To go no further, just look at the drama that occurs in couples when they have to share the night of December 24 between the family of one and the other. Others are forced to meet the cousins and uncles with whom they almost never have contact just to comply with a formality, although in reality they would prefer to be with their friends of the soul. Among the members of the families, according to Gomez, there are always frictions and conflicts that appear in these days to the heat of the drinks and when the controls of the mind are loosened. "Many times meeting with relatives is not so pleasant. The rivalries are exposed, feelings are expressed that can hurt another, in short, can be a total mess. "

When a loved one dies or there is a loss of family bond due to a divorce or the departure of a loved one it is likely that the most susceptible people will be trapped by the nostalgia of past holidays.

Although many more enjoy that those who detest Christmas experts say that Colombia's social conditions make it a country at greater risk of having this Christmas syndrome. The displaced, kidnapped, unemployment, bankruptcies that have affected many families and economic recession are factors that will contribute to the discomfort of many people in these festivities.

However, not everything is lost. The important thing, according to the experts, is to be aware of the feelings that come out at this time and instead of hiding them try to interpret them to better understand the situation. Only then Christmas will not be that annoying and distressing date but the occasion to enjoy a kind moment with the closest beings. And remember .......... Celebrate Christmas with love and hope. A cycle closes a new cycle begins. 

Merry Christmas!