If you are a non-native English speaker, you might feel uncomfortable indulging in long conversations with native speakers. Communicating in your second language can be a challenging task. To overcome that communication hurdle, you should improve your American English pronunciation.

You can become fluent in English if you work on your pronunciation and accent. This article discusses the importance of an American accent and how it can facilitate you professionally. It also explains multiple ways to improve your accent to help you become a pro without wasting money.

Benefits of the American accent

As a non-native, you must remember the grammar rules, enrich your vocabulary, pay attention to correct pronunciation, and keep a proper accent while speaking English. The correct pronunciation will help you move smoothly through many situations like office meetings, presentations, sales pitches, customer service, movie dates, etc. Here are the main benefits you can reap from learning American English pronunciation.

American English  is globally understood

Do you know that English is the official language of 75 different countries across the globe? It means 39% of the world's governments consider English their country's official language. Therefore, businesses, organizations, and ordinary people adopt English as a language for international communication.

If you are an employee in a global company, you must interact with native English-speaking professionals, regardless of your country or language. For that purpose, learning English with correct pronunciation will help you in professional communication.

English is the most widely used language globally, but the fun fact is that there are more non-native speakers than native speakers. There are 743 Million non-native English speakers (who speak English as their second language) and 378 Million Native speakers (who speak English as their First language) in the world. So, a total population of 1,211 Million speaks the English language worldwide.

These figures show the popularity and demand for the English language. Learning American English pronunciation will also help you with professional communication and clear speech.

Global media favors American English

America produces many songs, movies, Netflix series, and podcasts yearly. You will be hearing American accents in your favorite songs and TV shows. A trusted source "Statista" states that Hollywood released 403 movies in 2021 after Covid-19; and 792 movies before the pandemic. The statistics show the number of American digital content that people consume.

It is often hard to recognize words in a speech before one can use them themselves. For this reason, some people cannot enjoy a movie without subtitles. It is disappointing to be unable to concentrate on the movie scenes and eye the subtitles just because it is hard to understand the American accent. Many people would prefer to focus on the movie rather than subtitles. 

You will hear American English pronunciation in all sorts of Entertainment media. Being familiar with the accent will allow you to enjoy the content. You won't be asking your friend sitting next to you, "what did they say in this scene?" You will get the pun yourself. 

American English broads social network

Fluent English can boost your confidence. With proper pronunciation, you can talk fluently without the fear of sounding like an outsider—no need to hesitate speaking up when you are confident to exchange some quirky jokes. You can have strong relationships with your friends and colleagues with confident speech.

Confident and clear speech helps you appear perfectly poised and leads to better social skills, improving your personal and professional life. You can confidently meet new people at work and outside of work. A confident person can deliver presentations better at work or college. One thing that distinguishes you from a group of people is your confidence. For that, you need a strong hold on the American accent.

Excellent verbal communication brings more clients

Having a native accent helps bring new clients to your firm or business. Clear speech is vital in reeling in new clients or retaining old ones. If you cannot convey your ideas clearly, it can backfire professionally.

You should know how to pronounce words correctly so clients with all linguistic backgrounds are comfortable with your English. Professional communication that is easy to understand is a norm that is expected by small businesses and enterprises.

Professional English is a prerequisite for a work promotion

Many factors contribute to career growth; one is your communication skills. Professional communication can impress your bosses. Nobody would want to miss a career advancement due to concerns in verbal communication.

Get the opportunity to influence your colleagues and supervisors with your clear speech, accurate pronunciation, and confidence. All these qualities will smooth your way to a work promotion, hopefully. But you have to work hard!

Correct, clear, and concise speech saves time

Has it ever happened to you that natives don't get what you are saying and ask you again and again? Isn't it a little frustrating? You speak the same language, but they don't get it, maybe because of your accent,  pronunciation, or grammar.

Learning English pronunciation can save a lot of your time and the time of your counterparts. You don't have to keep repeating the same sentence. Clear speech can prove to be a lifesaver. Take alone long-lasting consequences of a misunderstanding. 

Ways to improve English pronunciation

English is the most studied language in the world. The United Arab Emirates is keenest to improve its English, with most searches of "learn English." When you speak English as a second language, you have to consider grammar and sentence structure, but people sometimes misunderstand you due to your pronunciation.

It is not wrong to have a foreign accent; a little foreign accent sounds exotic, and the stress is on "a little." Words like 'put' and 'but' are hard to pronounce in English. They have almost the exact spelling but are pronounced differently.

If you care to learn how to pronounce words and work on your accent reduction, there are many ways to do that. Some of them are listed below:

Listen to American news channels

Listening more to the American accent is best to improve your pronunciation. Any American news channel is a fantastic resource. The anchors and spokespersons usually have a good accent so that you can benefit from them. Carefully listen to their pronunciation, those words with unexpected stress or sounds are the ones you probably mispronounce. Try to repeat the word in a sentence.

Some good American news channels are: Fox News, MSNBC, CNN.

Subscribe to YouTube tutorials

Many YouTube channels help you with accent reduction, accent training, English speaking skills, and correct pronunciation. Their audience is mainly those who speak English as their second language, but natives can also benefit from it.

YouTube is a free source that gives you content on every topic. You can search for any query at hand and get an instant video tutorial. It is not hard to learn the native accent in this modern age.

You can take speaking classes in a fun and easy way. They also teach grammar, sentence structure, intonation, etc.

Some of the popular YouTube channels for accent training and correct pronunciation are:

• Learn English with Let's Talk - Free English Lessons
• ‍Speak English With Vanessa
• Rachel's English
• ‍Go Natural English

Hire a coach

You can hire an American speech coach to learn the language. So, you can speak as fluently as the natives. But you don't have to eliminate your accent completely; rather, work on accent reduction. Like I said before, a little accent sounds good.

American accent coach also offers accent training to improve your accent. It is fine if you take time to learn a language; take all the help you want. If hiring is the best way to improve your American accent, then be it!‍

Enroll in speaking or an accent reduction class

There are classes for every language, be it French, Spanish, Latin, or Arabic. Each language is unique and attractive. You can join the speaking classes to improve your speech. It will not only add to your practice because you will be speaking in front of other people. Speaking classes will also provide instant feedback for improvement.

Do you want to have perfect American English pronunciation?

Who doesn't love perfection in life? You can achieve perfection in English speaking by using the website getpronounce.com. Pronounce is a speech checker that can help you solve your accent, pronunciation, and vocabulary problems.

In addition to a website account, install Pronounce Chrome browser extension that gives suggestions on your pronunciation and will help you speak confidently and correctly. You will feel like this app has held your hand and is helping you learn a language that benefits your profession and career.

Pronounce features

Pronounce is an AI speech assistant that helps you speak confidently and communicate effectively. You can use it from the luxury of your home and improve the quality of your speech. It will give you personalized solutions to your specific problems. It has the following features:

• Audio recording. You can record your voice; by reading anything aloud, and Pronounce will give you instant feedback on your recording. Whatever you say, Pronounce will process your speech and show a transcript to you. So you can see which words you used and maybe mispronounced. You can record on the pronounce website and in the Pronounce chrome browser extension.

• Pronunciation Feedback. When you record your audio, Pronounce gives you cues. Cues mean suggestions that can help in improving your mistakes. For all the words that need improvement, you will get cues explaining how to pronounce a word correcly.

• Read aloud. You highlight the text, and Pronounce will read it aloud so you can hear it clearly and improve by listening. Listening is one of the best ways of learning. You can also select the accent and gender in which voice you want to hear.

• Progress tracking. Pronounce has a progress tracking feature, so you know how much progress you have made in each recording. This feature will motivate you to improve each mispronounced word. Also, this way, you can avoid making the same mistakes.
  

Pros of Pronounce

There are multiple benefits of using Pronounce for improving your American accent and correcting pronunciation. Some of them are:

• You can learn anytime and save precious time.
• You can learn anywhere; home, office, school.
• You can learn at your own pace.
• You can learn what you want to know.
• Pronounce offers a personalized experience.
• Pronounce makes learning a fun activity.
• Pronounce has very interactive features.
• Pronounce has a free version.
• Pronounce also has reasonably priced packages.

Cons of Pronounce

• It requires self-discipline to learn.
• You might find it pricy.
• It is not equivalent to a coach.
  

How to use Pronounce app

1. When you start with the app, first, you need to sign up on the pronounce website.
2. Optionally download the chrome browser extension. Get Pronounce Chrome browser extension here.
3. Pronounce will ask questions about your native language and proficiency level to provide better suggestions.
   

Conclusion

Learning a new language can be challenging and overwhelming, especially with the English language, with complex rules and various accents involved. But learning new things opens up opportunities for travel, career, and relationships.

Pronounce is a fantastic app that can help you in this journey and make it worthwhile. With its interactive features and reasonable pricing plans, you can learn at your own pace. It will help you improve your American English speech in a fun and personalized manner.

FAQS

Q1: Is it necessary to have an American accent?

Yes, having an American accent is necessary for effective communication. Excellent verbal communication is required in professional life and can tremendously benefit your personal life. It is a life skill worth investing in.

Q2: Which English accent is best, American or British?

Well, the answer depends on your personal choices and requirements. American accent is more widely accepted than the British accent. You should learn American pronunciation if you live and work where the American accent prevails. Otherwise, you might learn British pronunciation if you reside in a place or work at a company where it is more popular. It's a matter of personal choice.

Q3: Are pronunciation and accent the same thing?

Despite a common misunderstanding, pronunciation and accent are not the same things. Pronunciation is the way we pronounce words. In comparison, an accent is a pronunciation variation, a dialect. An accent can show the origin of a person. For example, there are southern and northern accents.

‍