Do you know the difference between letters in Italian and how they are pronounced in Italian?
Pronunciation may be hard, but there are various ways how to improve your Italian pronunciation.
Italian pronunciation
Mastering pronunciation in a foreign language is arguably the most challenging aspect of learning a foreign language, in this case, Italian.
This is because you’re used to pronouncing sounds in a certain way that might be very different from the way sounds are pronounced in Italian.
Also, Italian might have sounds that don’t exist in your native language.
Thus, you shouldn’t feel frustrated if you can’t pronounce sounds perfectly.
We all have the same ”problem” when learning a foreign language. We weren’t born with the ability to pronounce every possible sound.
How to improve your Italian pronunciation?
There are two skills you need to work on if you want to improve your pronunciation: listening and speaking.
Listening is a receptive skill. This means that, by listening, you’re assimilating the pronunciation of words.
You don’t necessarily need to pay attention to every single word you hear.
In fact, listening is very useful even if your level of Italian is still basic. This way, you’re exercising your brain. More specifically, your subconscious.
Speaking is a productive skill, which means that when you speak, you produce, reproduce, or imitate sounds.
This is the most practical way of improving your pronunciation.
You need to combine these two skills to improve your pronunciation.
Tips to improve your Italian pronunciation
Here are some tips for you to improve your Italian pronunciation:
- Read our pronunciation guide
Check out our detailed article with videos and practical tips.
- Listen to Italian
Listen to as many Italian songs, podcasts, TV shows, and friends, and watch as many Italian movies as you can.
- Listen to our audio course
Listen to our audio lessons which will help you improve your listening skills and will make you forget about your native language for a while.
- Spot the sounds that you find difficult.
Make sure you spot those sounds that you find difficult. Take notes and record those sounds.
This will motivate you to improve your pronunciation.
- Exaggerate the sounds that you find difficult.
When you hear a word or sound you find difficult, don’t just imitate it. Exaggerate it!
This way, you’ll push yourself to go further, and next time, it’ll be easier to pronounce it in a more natural way.
- Record yourself
Record yourself saying words you find easy and then do it with words and sounds you find difficult.
Listen to yourself, and spot and improve the mistakes.
- Practice
Practice regularly and be perseverant (and patient!).
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