語言學習者往往忽視培養好的發音，把注意力集中在語法和詞匯上 — 但是練習你的口音也很重要。這里有一些實用的小妙招來幫助你擺脫你那“老一套的”口音。
1. Learn the phonetic alphabet
1.學習音標
Getting familiar with the phonetic alphabet will help you identify new sounds and provide you with some markers to navigate the language you want to learn. Familiarity with a language’s phonemes helps you recognize sounds that your ear isn’t "tuned" to natively. Once you can recognize these sounds, you’ll start noticing them way more often when speaking and listening in your new language.
熟悉音標將會幫你辨認一些新的發音并且給你提供一些標記來駕馭你所學的語言。 熟悉一門語言的音素能夠幫助你辨認耳朵本身不能辨認的聲音。一旦辯認出這些聲音，當你聽別人說新語言或者用一門新語言交談的時候，你就會注意他們的發音方式。
By becoming aware of the range of sounds that exist in the language you are learning, you’ll learn how to differentiate sounds that seem similar to the untrained ear, and it will make spelling easier. This can be especially helpful if you are learning mostly by reading.
通過注意你所學語言的聲音范圍，你將學會怎樣區分那些對于并未接受專業訓練的耳朵來說很相似的聲音，這樣會使拼寫更加容易。如果你大多數時間都通過閱讀來學習，那么這種方法將會尤其有益。
2. Get familiar with the spoken language
2.熟悉口語
Switch from theory to practice: try to expose yourself as much as possible to the language you are learning. Talk as much as possible with native speakers if you have the chance. When you have trouble pronouncing a particular word, ask people to repeat it and record it on your phone. You can then replay it and train your pronunciation as often as you wish. You can also listen to the correct pronunciation on some online dictionaries so that your ear gets familiar with all the sounds that initially strike you as unusual. Listen to podcasts or stream TV shows in the language. Even if you can’t understand everything, put it on in the background when you’re doing your chores so you get used to the particular melodies and unfamiliar sounds.
從理論轉換到實踐：使你自己盡可能多地接觸你所學的語言。如果你有機會，盡可能多和母語使用者交流。當你某一個發音有問題的時候，讓別人重復它，并且用你的手機錄制下來。你可以用手機重復播放，盡可能多地練習發音。你也可以用在線的網絡詞典聽正確的發音，這樣你的耳朵就會對那些一開始并不熟悉的發音熟悉起來。還可以聽播客或者看電視節目來學習語言。即使你不能理解所有的東西，在你做家務的時候播放它作為背景樂會讓你習慣這些特殊的音調和不熟悉的聲音。
3.Identify what’s "weird" about the pronunciation
3.弄清楚“怪異”的發音
With this exposure, you’ll quickly notice that your new language has many sounds in common with your native tongue (even if those sounds are written differently). With the similarities identified, you can focus in earnest on the sounds that don’t exist in your native tongue. Resist the temptation to systematically compare these unfamiliar sounds with similar ones from your native language. This might seem like a useful shortcut, but it’s a bad habit that will make bad pronunciation even harder to correct in the long run.
使用這種方法，你很快就會發現你新學的語言和你的母語有很多共同的發音(即使這些音的寫法不同)。 弄清楚發音的相似之處，你就可以把注意力集中在那些母語里沒有的音上面。不要試圖把這些不熟悉的音和你母語中熟悉的音進行系統的比較。這似乎是一個有效的捷徑，但是這是一個壞習慣，它會使你的發音在長期內更難得到改正。
Ignoring the peculiar sounds of your new language will, at best, make you sound silly and, at worst, result in you actually saying the wrong words! The difference between the Spanish pero and perro is a rolled r, but they don’t mean the same thing. And if you’re learning French, people will have trouble understanding you if you don’t learn to pronounce the subtle differences between cent, sang, sens and sans, or au, aux and eau.
忽略一門新語言中特別的發音，最好的情況下會使你的聲音聽上去發傻不地道，最糟糕的是它會導致你直接說了錯誤的詞語。在西班牙語中pero和perro的區別就是一個卷舌的r音，但是它們的意義卻不同。如果你學法語時，學不會cent, sang, sens 或者sans, or au, aux 和eau的發音的細微差別，人們理解你說的話就會很困難。
If you really have trouble with one phoneme in particular, use cards. Write it down along with other similar-but-different phonemes. Repeat them aloud several times. This will help you to recognize nuances and master those small differences.
如果你對某一個特定的發音有問題，使用卡片。把它和其它相似但是卻不同的音一起寫下來。重復大聲朗讀幾次。這會幫助你辨別它們之間細微的差別，掌握它們之間微小的不同之處。
4.Listen, listen, listen!
4.聽，聽，再聽!
As mentioned in point two, the internet gives you access to plenty of audio material that can help you improve your pronunciation. Listen as much and as regularly as possible, but instead of always focusing on grammar and vocabulary, dedicate some time to the phonetic aspects of the language. Listen to short audio tracks and focus on rhythm, breaks and intonation. Try to understand what gives the sentence its fluidity and try to imitate it. If you watch a movie in your learning language, avoid reading the subtitles and keep your eyes on the actors’ mouths.
像在第二點中提到的一樣，互聯網能夠讓你接觸到許多幫助你改善發音的音頻資料，盡可能多和規律地去聽，而不是一直把注意力集中在語法和詞匯上。花一些時間去學習語言的發音知識，聽一些短的音頻，注意韻律、停頓和音調。努力去弄清楚是什么使句子變得流暢并且努力去模仿。如果你用看電影來學習一門新的語言，不要去看字幕，要看演員的口型。
If you find it too hard, slow down the speed of the video or audio that you are watching (most digital media players allow you to do this; you can even slow down YouTube videos). This can help you identify and separate each syllable.
如果你發現這樣很難，放慢你正在看的視頻或者音頻的速度(大多數的數字媒體播放器都允許你這樣做;你也可以放慢視頻播放網站的錄像)。這樣會幫助你辨別并且區分每一個音節。
If, on the other hand, your comprehension level is already quite good, you can challenge yourself by accelerating the speed.
另一方面，如果你的理解能力很不錯，你可以通過加快速度挑戰你自己。
5.Practice, practice, practice
5.練習，練習，再練習
Training your accent requires some skill and patience, so don’t get demotivated if it doesn’t come immediately. For maximum efficiency, your training sessions should be frequent — no longer than two days between sessions. Collect newspaper articles, movie scripts and lyrics, and record yourself while reading them aloud. Then listen and analyze: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Which of your native speaking habits are you carrying over to your new language? You can also ask native speakers for input. For example, you could upload your recordings to online communities like Judge my accent.
訓練發音需要一些技巧和耐心，因此，如果效果不是立竿見影，請不要失去動力。為了效率最大化，你的訓練課程應該頻繁一點 — 課程的間隔不超過兩天。搜集報紙文章，電影劇本和歌詞，在大聲朗讀它們的時候記錄下來。然后回放并且分析：你的優缺點是什么?你把母語的哪些習慣帶到新的語言中?你也可以向一些母語使用者尋求發音的幫助。例如，你可以把你的錄音上傳到網上社區，如Judge my accent評判我的口音。
Accents can be tricky, but never lose hope! The more you speak and the more feedback you can get (either from yourself or native speakers), the better your accent will become.
改善語音面貌可能是困難的，但是絕不要失去信心!你說的越多收到的反饋越多(從你自身或者說本族語的人那里)，你的語音面貌就會變得更好。
