Today I am going to be looking at a very important part of the TOEFL test.

Pronunciation

For the test your pronunciation dosn't have to be perfect, but they key thing is to be as clear as you can.

The speaking section does mark you on your pronunciation quite heavily and it is important to spend some time working on your pronunciation.

A good tip is to listen to yourself on a recording. You can identify areas that need to be worked on. It is also a very good idea to try shadowing. This is the process of listening to native speakers and trying to copy their pronunciation.

I recommend recording a news presenter, or downloading some news from a popular podcast. News anchors (presenters) have very good pronunciation and they are a good source for you to try to copy.

It takes practice! But this can be very rewarding if you put in the time to get better.

The other good thing about recording yourself is that you will get used to speaking to a computer or recorder. This is great, as this is what happens in the test!

A lot of people do not like the sound of their own voice and feel nervous to record their own voices. So this process will also help with this.

Some nationalities have common problems with pronunciation. For example a lot of Asian speakers have difficulty with the "L" and "R" sound.

It is possible with practice and drills to reduce this pattern. It does take time and work and you have to put in a concentrated effort if you want to see results.

Some of my students have worked very hard on this and it really pays off with time.

Try to take the time to slow down and don't get annoyed with yourself if progress seems slow at the beginning.

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I am an experienced TOEFL teacher, and if you would like lessons, please get in touch!