English for FunLearning English as an adult: what really worked
I studied English most seriously as an adult, past 30 and living in the US. With no pronunciation teacher, I taught myself on YouTube and set myself a habit. Here is that habit, with practice from this site so you can follow along.
A 30-minute daily habit
Every day I spent about 30 minutes on pronunciation, in three steps from small to large.
Step 1: one sound at a time
- Pick one sound and practise until you are confident: tongue position, lips, voiced or not.
- Start with the sounds your first language does not have, or that you tend to get wrong. For Vietnamese speakers these include TH, SH, final sounds, and long and short vowels.
Step 2: blending sounds in a word
- Once each sound is solid, blend them in a word, paying attention to the final sound and the stress.
- Train your ear with pairs of words that differ in one sound: Sounds that are easy to mix up and Ending sounds.
Step 3: words in phrases and sentences
- Finally, put words into phrases and short sentences. This is where you learn linking, sentence rhythm, and the small words that are said lightly.
- Read model sentences aloud, record yourself and compare.
- Practise -s and -ed endings in sentences with How to say -s and -ed.
Try one session now
Tap to hear, then repeat: one sound, one word, one sentence.
What I learned
- Regularity matters more than hours. 30 minutes a day beats three hours at the weekend.
- Go from small to large: sounds, then words, then sentences. Skip the small steps and the errors follow you into sentences.
- You can teach yourself. I had no pronunciation teacher; I had YouTube and a daily habit.
- Age is no reason to give up. I started after 30. Read more: why self-discipline matters more than talent.