How to further improve my accent?

Question

Hello,

I know that this question has been asked time and time again. I did do a search, but I thought maybe I'd get some fresh eyes looking at this post. I've been practicing for a bit, but my accent still sounds off. I'm speaking with natives and trying to mimic their accent. Any advice?

Practica las vocales, es la cosa más importante. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VccrbuDMWI0&feature=channel&list=UL - ruiseñor, Jul 11, 2012

Answer 1

Great question, i believe native English speakers may find their accent is notable, in the begining however with time anything can be improved. i have been told that i have no accent by my friends. however i had no trouble with the rolling rr's in the begining because it is used in Arabic and Hindi..

this may sound like a stupid idea but listening to songs actually helps

Answer 2

It never hurts to study a little Spanish phonetics. Luckily for the Spanish learner the language is pretty simple phonetically. This will not only help you greatly improve your speech, it will also give you the ability to see a written word and know exactly how to pronounce it. Studying dialectal variations will help you better understand the speech patterns of people from different countries and help you fit in when speaking with them.

Answer 3

As atiqraza suggested, listening to Spanish songs is actually a brilliant idea, not a stupid one.

Here's what I would do.

1. Find a song sung in clear Spanish, where you can hear each word distinctly. I suggest Juanes - Todos los Días, La Camisa Negra, Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor, etc.

2. Look up the lyrics for the song you want to listen to. To find the lyrics in Spanish, and not in a translated form, try searching "-name of song- por -singer- letra".

3. Print out the lyrics.

4. Listen to the song while reading along with the printed-out lyrics.

Repeat step 4 as long as necessary until you have the song either mostly or completely memorized.

I followed these steps for Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor by Juanes, and now, I find myself singing along to that song whenever it plays on my iPod. I even looked up the chords and melody for that song and tried to play along on the piano. It was really fun, and it helped with my pronunciation!