Need help with speech skills...

[grawrt]

Last week during chinese class we were all told to read out loud after the professor. Almost nobody spoke and I was one of the only two who tried speaking (and the loudest) and I suddenly became aware of how TERRIBLE I sound. Maybe it was the echos of the desert classroom that did it but the moment I got home I resolved to fix that to the best of my abilities.

After some practicing, I noticed that I tend to hesitate/stop at strange places and my rhythm is all off. And when i dont stop I have a rambley about to pass out voice. Ugh. Do you guys have any advice how to help with this problem sans tutor?

thanks,

P.S I downloaded audacity because I saw it recommended here to compare speech but I'm not entirely sure how to use it like that, if you can help with that I'd be eternally grateful

[renzhe]

P.S I downloaded audacity because I saw it recommended here to compare speech but I'm not entirely sure how to use it like that, if you can help with that I'd be eternally grateful

1) Find a text with a transcript and a native speaker recording. Something like Slow Chinese.

2) Listen to the native recording several times to learn the rhythm and pronunciation

3) Record yourself

4) Compare the two

5) Repeat a gazabilliazillion times.

It's best to start sentence-by-sentence and keep repeating until you're happy with how you sound.

Posting your recording here can also be helpful, as people can pick up on things you haven't noticed.

[OneEye]

I've found the method outlined here to be very helpful.

Another useful (and similar) technique in my experience is chorusing. Put a single sentence on repeat (in Audacity, highlight the sentence, then shift+space). Say the sentence along with the recording, at the exact same time. At first you'll probably sound very different from the recording, but over the course of a few minutes of repeating, you should work to make your pronunciation as similar as possible to the recording. Saying the sentence in unison with a recording allows you to hear where your pronunciation differs (much like in the article above, but in real time) and make adjustments on the fly until you've got it right. Once you've got it right, keep doing it for a while longer (you want to practice it the right way more times than you practiced it the wrong way, right?), and review over the next few days. Do this with just a few sentences every day and your accent can improve tremendously in a short period of time.

[abcdefg]

Agree with the two above posts. Want to stress to the OP that you are right to think about rhythm and phrasing; such things as where to place the emphasis in a sentence and where to pause for breath. All too often people think that if they get the tones right, that's all there is to it. Correct tones are necessary but not sufficient. It takes more than proper tones to be understood.

[drencrom]

A pity that Slow Chinese went out of business. I always get people repeating back to me what I said to confirm - which means my pronunciation sucks.

[ouyangjun]

Practice, practice, practice.... I don't know your situation, but for me I live in China and am lucky enough to have the opportunity to converse regularly with natives on a daily basis. Over the past 5 years of living in Shanghai and self-study I did nothing but practice by speaking in real life. I recently gave a presentation/speech to over 150 people and did the whole thing in Chinese. I felt really confident and good about how it went... looking back, I would've never been able to do this a few years ago. I don't think there is any "secret" to getting to the point of being able to deliver a solid speech/presentation other than accumulating hours of practice (both listening and speaking). As long as you're accumulating the hours you will improve.

[Angelina]

Recording yourself sounds like a good idea. I should look for an audio with a transcript to try it.

[jennycollins]

There is an excellent exercise for improving your rhythm and pronunciation. I know this works for English but I guess it'd work well for any language.

I believe it is called BBC exercise because it is often used by reporters and other public speakers to improve their intonation. It is best if you have someone to work with but perhaps you could do it by yourself. Basically the other person asks you a question and you are required to talk about it for a minute and record yourself. Then the other person tells you what mistakes have you made and you can listen to your recording. After a couple of questions you are expected to reduce the pauses you make and also 'um' sound we all tend to use when not sure what to say next.

I believe all exercises like these are helpful if you do them regularly. Also, any form of reading out loud or shadowing can be very helpful. Practically, the idea is to talk as much as you can

Good luck and let me know if this helped

[grawrt]

Thanks everyone for your input! I'm listening to the dialogues on slow-chinese right now and will try and start recording myself this weekend.

Just a teensey albeit silly question but I notice the way chinese speakers pronounce 很their 'he' is kind of back of the throatish and different from pronouncing it than in the word 'her'. Do you guys know any tips how to produce this sound?

or is just used when theyre enunciating.... it just occured to me after I posted this >__<

[skylee]

Have you heard some northerners pronounce "hei" (as for the colour black)? Sometimes it reminds me of the french "r".

[Reno]

1) Find a text with a transcript and a native speaker recording. Something like Slow Chinese.

2) Listen to the native recording several times to learn the rhythm and pronunciation

3) Record yourself

4) Compare the two

5) Repeat a gazabilliazillion times.

It's best to start sentence-by-sentence and keep repeating until you're happy with how you sound.

I agree with this method fully. I've been looking for a simple way to do this process. Many are using Audacity. I've been searching for something a little more automated. The only thing I have come across is http://www.speak2easy.com/ . This is s/w that seems to do all this plus can be customized. I've been playing with the trial version. Has anyone else tried this out.