Practice One Step At a Time: Simple Things You can Do to make progress
Start small.
Start little.
Just start.
Be awkward trying something different. Make mistakes. Be okay with making mistakes.
Sometimes the idea or feeling about starting is more overbearing and anxiety-inducing than the actual act.
It can be stressful to start, to feel the need to do something so basic, but I challenge you to try because you’re reading this blog.
Because you decided you wanted to learn something about English pronunciation and because you decided you wanted some tips
and tricks or something to improve your pronunciation.
Pick 1 word or sound this week and try to learn how to pronounce it. Figure out what part of the word you don’t understand and try to do it.
Practice it for 30 minutes a day.
See how far you get.
The main thing is trying. The main thing is putting yourself out there. Learning to be comfortable with being bad or not so good at something.
Being bad at something isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. It’s part of the journey.
So, here’s what we will do.
I have never been able to roll or trill my R sounds.
I’ll break down how I plan to practice my R-sounds. You can do the same for your target sound or word.
Kris’ Plan For Trilling His R-Sound
Features - Figure out How the Sound Is Made.
Features of the voiced alveolar trill (brought to you by Wikipedia - in case you feel like I’m funnelling you to resources on my site)
Its manner of articulation is trill, which means it is produced by directing air over an articulator so that it vibrates.
Its place of articulation may be dental (behind the upper front teeth),alveolar (at the alveolar ridge), or post-alveolar (behind the alveolar ridge).
It is most often apical, which means it is pronounced with the tip of the tongue.
Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.
So knowing the above, the key features I’m going to learn and focus on are:
Relaxing the tongue: Make sure the tongue is relaxed in my mouth. Tension in the tongue can make it more difficult to roll "R"s. The English R has more tension in the tongue because it is held in place in the middle of the mouth. The trilled R-sound has a more loose tongue position which allows it to vibrate freely.
Tongue position: Place the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, just behind the upper front teeth. The sides of the tongue should touch the upper molars. The main focus is the tongue tip placement because it’s an apical sound. The sides of the tongue are a good general reference but aren’t as important.
Create a gap: Leave a small gap between the tip of your tongue and the roof of your mouth. The air passing through this gap will cause the rolling sound. This is an important component because too big a gap and you don’t get the sound. Too small a gap and you don’t get the sound. So experimentation regarding the size of the gap will be needed.
Push air through the gap: Try exhaling or blowing air gently through the gap between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. Experiment with different amounts of air pressure to find the sweet spot for creating the rolling sound. This will be the main process for learning. Because a trilled R sound is not in the English sound inventory, it’s a completely new feeling and way of producing sound.
Practice: Practice is crucial. Finding words to practice is important. For the trilled-R because there are no English words to practice, I’ve turned towards Spanish and Italian. Getting a good variety of words with the trilled-R at the beginning of the word and middle of the word are important. I won’t look for trilled-R sounds at the end of the word because those are much less common. Using Forvo.com, I can even listen to other people’s samples for pronouncing the trilled-R.
Spanish Words
Perro (dog)
Carro (car)
Arroz (rice)
Correr (to run)
Arrancar (to start, to pull)
Hierro (iron)
Rosa (rose)
Rápido (fast)
Rojo (red)
Ratón (mouse)
Italian
Ferro (iron)
Ferrovia (railway)
Fratello (brother)
Corso (course)
Strada (street)
Arrivare (to arrive)
Terra (earth/land)
Sorriso (smile)
Ricotta (ricotta cheese)
Risotto (risotto)
Finally, I have to remember:
Be patient: Rolling your "R"s can be challenging for people, and it will take time to master. It likely won’t happen in a week. But I have the formula, the tools, and the time to practice.
I’ll keep you posted too on how I practice and how far I get.
If I can show you how badly I suck at trilling my R’s maybe that’ll give you the confidence to try your target words and sounds too!
