Learn American English Online – Tips to Speak American English
Pronunciation and being understood are important in English. If you have a high grammar level or know many words, that doesn’t always translate into fluid conversations and native speakers understanding you.
If you want to learn American English, you must try and perfect your accent and sound like a native American English speaker. In this guide, we will show you how to do that.
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The best way to learn American English
The key to developing a superb accent is through practicing. A good accent doesn’t improve in isolation. Your speaking skills rely entirely on communication with other people.
Talking to a native English speaker is a sure-fire way of mastering your pronunciation. It’s even better when this speaker is a professional tutor who can guide you and point out your mistakes. On Preply, you can find a teacher to help you speak English like an American via private lessons customized to your needs.
4 tips to speak American English like a local
On top of 1-on-1 tutoring, there are plenty of other things you can do to improve your accent. We’ve broken them down into simple steps below.
1. Learn how to use connected speech
When we speak, words often connect. For example, the end sound of one word can affect the beginning of the next one. Connected speech is all about adding, omitting, or changing the sounds in different ways. Sounding American is not just about tweaking your voice to sound slightly more nasal or adjusting for a “twang”.
There are certain types of connected speech people tend to use with an American accent. One of them is Elision, which means the omission of one or more sounds. Generally, one sound is changed by a similar or stronger sound next to it. For example:
- interview — innerview
- center — cenner
- wanted — wann-ed
- butter — budder or bul-er
- next door — nexdoor
- most common — moscommon
Another type of connected speech specific to the US accent is Assimilation. It’s when two sounds combine, creating a new one. For example:
- don’t you — doncha
- won’t you — woncha
- meet you — meetcha
- did you — didju
2. Pronounce the “r” sound correctly
The hard /r/ sound is one of the most challenging sounds in American English. But if you want to have a North American accent, you have to start pronouncing it correctly.
While most dialects pronounce “r” as “ah”, American English accents make it sound like “arruh” pronounced almost silently like exhaling. Follow the link to find a detailed explanation of how to make a correct “r” sound.
Check out our English Pronunciation Guide on the Learn English Hub to improve your pronunciation and sound more like a local!
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3. Just slow down
Many non-native speakers try to sound like Americans when speaking English by using a fast pace that makes it difficult for native speakers to understand them. This is natural, especially if your mother tongue is pronounced quickly, without reductions or pauses. But if you want to speak English like an American and improve your pronunciation, try to separate phrases, emphasize the main words, and add pauses after each sentence.
4. Immerse yourself in American culture
This is an excellent approach to make the language learning process much more effective. But cultural immersion is especially useful when it comes to learning a North American accent.
Listen to US English podcasts, watch movies and TV shows such as The Simpsons or Friends and start repeating the sounds that you hear. Watching Youtube videos on how to speak in an American accent is also a good idea.
Did you know that most of the pop songs in America tend to be sung in a General American accent? Listen to US music, sing along, and you’ll start understanding the specifics of American English sounds.
A significant part of cultural immersion is speaking with natives, so check the tutor page on Preply and choose from American English tutors to start practicing with.
The next steps to learn American English
To speak a foreign language with a specific accent, such as American English, you need to immerse yourself in it as much as possible. Listen to as much American media as possible and practice what you hear. Many of the world’s biggest TV shows and films feature American accents, so finding opportunities will be easy.
