How to improve English pronunciation
- No card required
- 6 concrete steps
- Links to real practice
The 6 things that matter most
- 01
Find out which sounds are actually wrong
Guessing wastes time on sounds you already say fine. Read a short passage aloud and get a per-word verdict, or check the accent guide for your first language — both point straight at what to fix.
Take the free pronunciation test - 02
Learn the exact articulation, not just the letter
"th" isn't one sound and it isn't a spelling rule — it's two different sounds, each with a specific tongue and lip position. The 44-sound guide shows exactly where your tongue and lips go for every English sound.
Browse the 44 sounds - 03
Drill it against its closest confusable sound
A sound in isolation is easy; the same sound next to the one your brain keeps substituting for it is where the real work happens. Minimal pairs isolate exactly two sounds against each other, like ship vs sheep.
Practise minimal pairs - 04
Fix it across many words, not just one
Getting one word right in isolation doesn't mean the sound is fixed — it means you memorized one word. Practise the same sound across a range of words at different positions (start, middle, end).
Search the pronunciation dictionary - 05
Record yourself — don't trust your own ear alone
Most people can't hear their own pronunciation errors reliably in the moment; the error and the intention sound identical from inside your own head. A recording, and a second, independent check, closes that gap.
How AI pronunciation scoring works - 06
Revisit after a week, not just once
A sound that's correct in a careful, slow practice session often slips back under normal speaking speed a few days later. Come back to the same check after a week — that's the honest measure of whether it actually stuck.
Track it in Progress
Want the fuller picture?
This page is the short, ordered version. For the longer explanation of why each of these works, read the full guide on the blog. If your first language is behind most of what's hard, the accent guides name the specific sounds worth starting with.
Straight answers
How long does it take to actually improve pronunciation?
Most learners notice a real, repeatable change in a flagged sound within two to three weeks of short, regular, scored practice — not one long session, and not overnight.
Do I need to work through all 6 steps for every sound?
Not every time — once you've done step 1 and know your sounds, steps 2 through 4 are the ones worth repeating for each new sound. Steps 5 and 6 apply across all of them.
Is watching pronunciation videos enough on its own?
Videos are useful for step 2 (learning the articulation), but they can't tell you whether you're actually producing the sound correctly. That's what steps 3 and 5 are for.
Put it into practice, right now
Record one line and see exactly which of the six steps above you actually need — free, no card.