Learning the correct pronunciation is a vital part of learning a language. While I can say that I'm happy with my fluency in English there are a few pronunciation-related things I still have to work on.
When I was in the US last year, nobody actually doubted that I was an English native speaker, but they weren't so sure about where I might come from. Most people guessed either England or Canada.
In San Francisco my then-boyfriend and I went into a small shop and talked to a salesclerk. When asked where we came from, my boyfriend replied "Austria." The clerk then turned to me and said "You're not. But where are you from? England?"
A few days later an Australian, whom I met in LA, told me that I make the letter "v" sound more like a "w", which I know is something I really have to work on. I strive for an American accent, and my ultimate goal is that the next time I come to the US nobody will address me with "Canada, eh?"
In order to achieve my goal I have been taking closer looks at some English pronunciation websites. One of the videos there I found very helpful was about the difference in pronouncing "v" and "w", which helped me a great deal. I also looked at videos made by Rachel Smith, but I have to say that I didn't find her methods to be particularly helpful to me. I prefer Amy Walker's videos, because she shows you where the sound are made in your mouth and I think she explains that pretty well.
Pronunciation – V & W · engVid
Here's the link to the V&W video I mentioned above, it's from another pronunciation site I found pretty good. Enjoy!
