I recently went to Europe and got by just fine with a few phrases. However, my pronunciation was horrible. I knew what it was supposed to sound like, but I couldn’t make it sound that way.
Are there language programs which focus on teaching how to make the sounds of the language instead of learning the grammar? That is, I want a program that will will allow me to say things without an accent. I don’t care if I have a limited vocabulary. I would be very happy just to say things like please, thank you, you’re welcome, etc without mangling the language.
I’m looking for some sort of vocal training that will teach me how to make the phonemes of the language. It’s not enough for someone to say Gracias in Spanish and ask me to repeat. I need some sort of exercise that trains my voice to make the correct sounds.
Berlitz does more or less what you’re asking for. They teach only in the target language and students are expected to deduce the underlying grammar rules from context and use. There are no schools that focus solely on pronunciation because that’s really only the smallest part of language learning.
Vocabulary acquisition is probably the biggest hurdle, given that if you want to speak or read anything without having to constantly look things up in a dictionary you need a vocabulary of around 4,000–5,000 words. That would be like learning about 15–20 words a day every single day for a year, and never forgetting a single word after you learn it. Even a more modest goal of 1,000–2,000, which would allow you to have basic conversations about most subjects in everyday life is a big undertaking. If you want to be fully fluent, you’ll never stop learning new words and yet you’ll still probably never get close to the number a native speaker knows.
Grammar, on the other hand, while sometimes difficult to master completely, is a finite set of rules. Older learners, especially adults, often benefit from having the rules explained. One criticism of Berlitz is that they don’t teach grammar.
There are two parts to my post altho’ neither is an “answer” as such - first an almost rant then a suggestion for practice :
Accent : which accent is the “right” accent ? Learning Spanish pronunciation with teachers from Latin America will not help you sound like someone from Spain. A friend of mine from the north- east of Italy went into raptures over the local accent in Sienna, Tuscany…
I teach English as a foreign language, have done for years - our aim is not to produce people who sound like native speakers but people who can communicate clearly, that is whose pronunciation will be understood by the majority of people in the majority of situations. Some nationalities seem more precious about “correct” pronunciation but that’s life.
Training : while I’d disagree that pronunciation is “only the smallest part of language learning” I do agree that it is difficult to teach in an isolated way. Pronunciation is more than just how a single word sounds, you need to feel how the words link, where the main stress goes, the intonation etc. and this is difficult to do without thinking about the meaning/function of a phrase.
You can however train yourself, your mouth, face and noise making muscles to be ready to make strange “foreign” sounds. First don’t worry about over-exaggerating sounds and worry people will think you’re making fun of them, you may feel uncomfortable at first but you’ll get used to it. Now one way you can get yourself ready to speak another language is this -
Start by speaking your own language with a “French” accent (for example), speak a few phrases out loud - making the same sounds a French person would then switch into speaking French and you should find that your “face” is in the right position for making the necessary sounds for French.
PS Just remembered I saw an old interview with Peter Ustinov recently in which he said on chat shows in France, Germany etc. he had an English accent because he wanted to keep his face relaxed and open but when acting in other languages he was able to eliminate his accent because he was able to integrate the necessary facial “shape” into the character. He said it in a much more erudite and humourous way of course.
Yes, Peter Ustinov had an amazing ability to speak without accents, or with different accents (depending on how you look at it) in various languages. Including English. Isaac Asimov told the story of watching a TV interview of Ustinov in which Ustinov switched for a few sentences to a perfect American accent. Asimov said to his wife, “If he can talk normally like that, why does he bother with the British accent?”
The nearest thing I can think of to pronunciation-alone training is musical (voice) training.
In voice training I was taught to sing in 5 languages. The emphasis was almost entirely on the sound being correct rather than understanding the meaning.