According to Instituto Cervantes, 559 million people speak Spanish in the world. For this reason learning Spanish is in very high demand. The dream of many language students is to speak like a native without any type of accent or pronunciation differences, but it’s true that the most important thing is to speak and understand the language in a fluid way and with clear and natural intonation.
Very few Spanish students practice the pronunciation as carefully and painstakingly as they practice the grammar and vocabulary, but those that do achieve good results. Specifically, when learning Spanish, the students realize that it is a language with great linguistic richness but at the same time it is easy to understand regardless of where one comes from.
A very clear example about the difference of Spanish in Spain and Latin America is the pronunciation of the “z” and the “c”, as, depending on the place of origin, it can be pronounced like an “s”. To learn Spanish focusing on the pronunciation we are going to see a series of tips. As we do not all learn in the same way, we are going to try several so that there is a wider choice for the student:
Tips to learn how to improve your Spanish pronunciation
1. Read out loud
A good way to see what your Spanish pronunciation is is to read out loud, in this way you will hear your mistakes and successes. It is an easy and fun way of learning Spanish by listening to yourself. You don’t have to read large texts, but if you read a few lines out loud everyday your pronunciation in Spanish will improve.
2. Passive listening
Listening to the radio, the television or a series in Spanish, even passively, is fundamental for learning good Spanish pronunciation. They must be original, unadapted materials. The best way to learn Spanish in this way is to make a habit of playing the radio every morning.
3. Listen and repeat
The original audio books are perfect for learning Spanish and pronouncing it natively. Buying a book with its corresponding audio helps a lot with Spanish pronunciation practice. After the audio books we will move onto the films with subtitles, which are more complex but effective.
4. Listen to songs and sing
Songs are perfect when practicing Spanish pronunciation and learning Spanish. Find your style and sing along. Singing not only helps you to lose your self-consciousness but also to become fluent. Singing in a group can also help, so you can see the mistakes of others and others can advise you on your own.
5. Speaking is always the best
Speaking is always the best way to learn Spanish and any other language. Only by making mistakes can you advance in your learning. You must take advantage of any situation and opportunity to put into practice what you know, leaving behind the embarrassments and enjoying the language, because Spanish is a great language.
