How to Improve Your English Accent – The Ultimate Guide (2025)

Did you just search for "How to improve English accent?" Do you realize there’s a missing word in your search — a tiny but crucial grammar element called a "possessive determiner?" By searching on a grammatically incorrect phrase, you’ve left behind a kind of linguistic fingerprint that reveals quite a bit about you…

If you’ve come across this article, you already know that proper pronunciation in English will improve your career, relationships, and confidence.

In this article, not only will we explore what your search tells us about you, but we’ll guide you to the best resources available in the world for improving your English pronunciation.

So don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. The loving hand of fate has brought us together, and we will help you improve your English pronunciation more quickly and less expensively than anyone else can!

Let’s explain and fix the grammar error in “How to Improve English Accent!”

Do you know what a “possessive determiner” is? Most people don’t. They describe your relationship with someone or something and are required in Germanic, Romance, and Semitic languages, like English, French, and Arabic. For example, in English, you’d say “my car” or “your house,” and those extra little words (my, your) are called “possessive determiners.” They determine possession and answer the question “whose?”

In Slavic, Sino-Tibetan, and Turkic languages like Russian, Polish, Mandarin, and Turkish, possessive determiners are often optional, because possession and relationships can be shown through context, body language, or grammar.

In Turkish, for example, possession is built directly into the noun. Instead of saying "my house", a Turkish speaker says "evim" (house + first-person suffix), eliminating the need for a separate word like "my."

English requires clarity in relationships, ownership, and personal connection.

When describing family relationships (my/your/her mother), personal belongings (my/his/her/your car), or personal characteristics (my accent), in English, we must add the “genitive pronouns” also called “possessive determiners.”

Can you see now that searching for “How to Improve English Accent” implies that you’re a native speaker of a Slavic, Sino-Tibetan, or Turkic family language, like Russian, Mandarin, or Turkish? Might you be a native speaker of Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, or Turkish?

Isn’t it interesting how languages create their own worlds of understanding?

I’m reminded of the famous novel by Ádám Bodor called Sinistra körzet (The Sinistra Zone), written in Hungarian, where the identity of the “traitor/informant” in the novel is concealed, because the language itself makes no distinction between “he” and “she.” The suspense is unimaginable, because we are reading about an informant causing severe damage (like sudden disappearances), but we simply don’t even know if the informant is male or female!

Similarly, when you searched "How to Improve English Accent?" native speakers instinctively ask: "Whose English accent?" Are you referring to your own? A family member’s? Or English pronunciation in general?

In English, leaving out possessive determiners leaves listeners confused!

Why Improving Your English Accent Matters

Improving your English accent isn’t about sounding like a native speaker, it’s about reaching the point where mispronunciations don’t lead to misunderstandings. Phrased differently, it’s about being confident that you’re being understood correctly, and that listening to you is as stress-free as possible.

Especially in high-stress environments like video conference calls, if you can speak clearly and be easily understood, it allows your audience to relax and concentrate on the content of what you’re saying – instead of struggling to understand you.

When you can speak clearly and be easily understood, the language barrier to your career advancement disappears. You become more integrated into your community of English speakers, and it’s easier to talk to you J.

Understanding English Pronunciation Basics

Improving your English accent involves mastering several essential concepts. In our English Pronunciation Challenge, available through our app, we focus on two fundamental aspects:

1. Accurate pronunciation of critical sound pairs
2. Being able to produce English-specific sounds

This approach is designed to guide you through key pronunciation exercises. If you’re looking for a comprehensive list of exercises and structured lessons, you can explore them in full here: English Pronunciation Challenge.

Critical English Sound Pairs

Long vs. Short Vowels

Long vs. Short Vowel Session References

• [ɪ] vs. [iː]:

  • [ɪ] – Sit, skip, spin (RPBE & SAE Session 3)
  • [iː] – He, seat, we (RPBE Session 7 | SAE Session 8)

• [ʊ] vs. [uː]:

  • [ʊ] – Book, put, cook (RPBE & SAE Session 6)
  • [uː] – Moon, soon, tune, bloom, afternoon, cartoon, typhoon, mushroom, opportunity (RPBE & SAE Session 11)

English vowels vary by tongue height and lip rounding. For instance, [æ] (cat) is a low-front vowel, while [ɑ] (hot) is low-back.

Voiced vs. Unvoiced consonants

• [p/pʰ] vs. [b] (Bilabial Plosives)

  • [p/pʰ] – Power, apparent, tap (RPBE & SAE Session 21)
  • [b] – Boom, trouble, numb, carob (RPBE & SAE Session 22)

• [t/tʰ] vs. [d] (Alveolar Plosives)

  • [t/tʰ] – Tap, attack, cat (RPBE & SAE Session 23)
  • [d] – Dog, adorable, blinded (RPBE & SAE Session 24)

• [k/kʰ] vs. [g] (Velar Plosives)

  • [kʰ] – Cap, accredited, crank (RPBE & SAE Session 25)
  • [g] – Good, jogging, bag (RPBE & SAE Session 26)

• [f] vs. [v] (Labiodental Fricatives)

  • [f] – Fan, afraid, laugh (RPBE & SAE Session 33)
  • [v] – Van, very, beaver (RPBE & SAE Session 34)

• [θ] vs. [ð] (Dental Fricatives)

  • [θ] – Three, Athens, froth (RPBE & SAE Session 35)
  • [ð] – “The feather,” scathe (RPBE & SAE Session 36)

Use this IPA consonant chart to see where sounds are formed.

Essential English-Specific Sounds

• [æ] – Master the short [æ] vowel sound
  Cat, bat, mat (RPBE & SAE Session 1)

• [ə] – Master the unstressed [ə] vowel sound
  About, banana, sofa (RPBE & SAE Session 20)

• [ŋ] – Master the voiced velar nasal [ŋ] consonant sound
  Greeting, driving, meeting (RPBE & SAE Session 32)

Differences Between English and Native Languages

Slavic Language Speakers:

Slavic language native speakers, like speakers of Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian:

• Often struggle with the [æ], [ə], and [w] vs. [v] sounds
• Tend to add vowels between consonant clusters
• Often devoice final consonants

Therefore, if you are a Slavic language native speaker, focus on these sessions:

• For [æ]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 1: [æ] – Cat, bat, mat
  • SAE Session 4: [ɑ] – Hot, top, clock
  • RPBE Session 4: [ʌ] – Rub, bluff, truck

• For [ə]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 20.1: [ə] – Introduction to the Schwa
  • RPBE & SAE Session 20.2: [ə] – Replacing Unstressed Vowels
  • RPBE & SAE Session 20.3: [ə] – Exploring the Schwa
  • RPBE Session 20.4: [ə] – Schwa in Connected Speech
  • RPBE Session 20.5: [ə] – Schwa Reduction and Elision

• For [w] vs. [v]:

  • SAE Session 34: [v] – Van, very, beaver
  • SAE Session 45: [w] – Wet, liquid, cow
  • RPBE Session 28: [v] – Van, very, beaver
  • RPBE Session 43.1: [w] – Wet, pillow fight, cow

• For Final Consonant Devoicing:

  • RPBE Sessions 21-26 & SAE Sessions 27-29: Voiced/Voiceless Consonant Pairs
  • RPBE Session 45 (subsections 1-3): Essential Consonant Contrasts

• For Consonant Clusters:

  • SAE Session 51 [ks] & RPBE Session 47.1: [ks] and [sk] Consonant Clusters
  • SAE 52 & RPBE Session 47.2: [kw] Consonant Clusters

Mandarin Speakers:

Mandarin language native speakers typically face the following challenges:

• Challenge with: [θ], [ð], [r] vs. [l]
• Final consonant omission
• Tonal interference with stress patterns

Therefore, if you are a Mandarin Language Native Speaker, focus on these sessions:

• For [θ] and [ð]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 35: [θ] – Three, Athens, froth
  • RPBE & SAE Session 36: [ð] – “The feather,” scathe

• For [r] vs. [l]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 47: [r/ɹ̠] – Rock, orange, care
  • RPBE & SAE Session 50: [l] – Love, balloon, owl

• For Final Consonants:

  • RPBE Sessions 21-26 & SAE Sessions 21-26: Stop Consonants Series
  • Practice with: [p], [t], [k], [b], [d], [g]

• For Stress Patterns:

  • RPBE Session 50.1: Word Stress Patterns
  • RPBE Session 50.2: Essential Rhythm and Intonation
  • RPBE Session 50.3: Stress-Timed Rhythm

Arabic Speakers:

Arabic language native speakers may face the following challenges:

• Difficulty with: [p] vs. [b], [ŋ]
• Vowel insertion between consonants
• Stress pattern adjustments

Therefore, if you are an Arabic Language Native Speaker, focus on these sessions:

• For [p] vs. [b]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 21: [p/pʰ] – Power, apparent, tap
  • RPBE & SAE Session 22: [b] – Boom, trouble, numb
  • RPBE Session 45.1: [pʰ/b] – Minimal Pairs Practice

• For [ŋ]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 32: [ŋ] – Greeting, driving, meeting
  • RPBE & SAE Session 38.1: [ŋk] – Bank, link, thinking

• For Consonant Clusters:

  • RPBE Session 47.1: [ks] and [sk] Consonant Clusters
  • RPBE Session 47.2: [kw] Consonant Clusters

• For Stress Patterns:

  • RPBE Session 50.1: Word Stress Patterns
  • RPBE Session 50.2: Essential Rhythm and Intonation
  • RPBE Session 50.3: Stress-Timed Rhythm

Japanese Speakers:

Japanese language native speakers may struggle with:

• Issues with: [l] vs. [r], [v] vs. [b]
• Consonant cluster simplification
• Syllable-timed vs. stress-timed rhythm

Key Principle: English is a stress-timed language, meaning the time between stressed syllables is roughly equal, unlike syllable-timed languages (French, Spanish) or mora-timed languages (Japanese).

Therefore, if you are a Japanese Language Native Speaker, focus on these sessions:

• For [l] vs. [r]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 50: [l] – Love, balloon, owl
  • RPBE & SAE Session 47: [r/ɹ̠] – Rock, orange, care

• For [v] vs. [b]:

  • RPBE & SAE Session 34: [v] – Van, very, beaver
  • RPBE & SAE Session 22: [b] – Boom, trouble, numb

• For Consonant Clusters:

  • RPBE Session 47.1: [ks] and [sk] Consonant Clusters
  • RPBE Session 47.2: [kw] Consonant Clusters

• For Stress-Timed Rhythm:

  • RPBE Session 50.1: Word Stress Patterns
  • RPBE Session 50.2: Essential Rhythm and Intonation
  • RPBE Session 50.3: Stress-Timed Rhythm

Remember: English is a stress-timed language, meaning the time between stressed syllables is roughly equal, unlike your native Japanese, which is mora-timed. Focus on mastering the natural rhythm of English speech.

Practical Techniques to Improve Your English Accent

Here are 3 expert tips for improving your English accent quickly:

1. Choose between Standard American English, Received Pronunciation British English, or another regional accent (like Australian English), as your target accent
2. Listen to and imitate native speakers
3. Learn how to use the phonetic transcriptions of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
4. Practice with tongue twisters

Choosing between Standard American English and Received Pronunciation British English

If you’re faced with the challenge of choosing which accent to learn, British English or American English, here’s a tip for you: choose the accent that makes you feel happiest. You can also learn the basics of both.

If you’re in a region where a different accent is spoken (like India or Australia), don’t be afraid to let your accent adjust. It’s ok. Regional accents are fun, but not always understood everywhere around the world. However, if you’re in a specific region, it may be more respectful and communicative, if you adjust your pronunciation to match that of the region you’re in. It may, however, be perceived as inauthentic, if you “overdo it,” and take on a heavy southern drawl, for example. Just pay attention to how you’re being perceived and adjust accordingly.

Listening and imitating native speakers

Listen to music & media and find people you like. If you like specific singers, actors, or news announcers, then listen to them and imitate them. Record snippets and do your best to imitate the sounds your favorite personalities are making while speaking and singing in English. Do research into: “what accent is that?” so that you can proceed intelligently and efficiently.

Using phonetic transcriptions (IPA)

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) was developed by Paul Passy and the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century. It is a universal system designed to represent the sounds of all spoken languages with consistent symbols.

Since English uses historical spelling and is not a phonetically spelled language, learning IPA can significantly improve your pronunciation skills.

If you want to be able to accurately pronounce words without needing to guess, then perfecting your ability to read IPA out loud is the right step for you.

The IPA symbols may seem unfamiliar at first. For example, here’s how the words “three,” “Athens,” and “froth” are transcribed:

• [θriː]
• [ˈæθɪnz]
• [frɒθ],

while the words “the feather,” “the Earth,” and “therefore” are transcribed into IPA like this:

• [ðə ˈfɛðər]
• [ði ˈɜːrθ], and
• [(SAE)ˈðɛrˌfɔːr | (RP) ˈðɛə.fɔː].

Can you see the difference?

Reference:

• RPBE Session 29: [θ] – Three, Athens, froth
• RPBE Session 30: [ð] – “The feather,” scathe
• SAE Session 35: [θ] – Three, Athens, froth
• SAE Session 36: [ð] – “The feather,” scathe

Practicing with tongue twisters

Fun Tongue Twister 1:

"Peter's happy puppy Pepi barked at Betty's shaggy doggie Barnie."

[ˈpʰiːtəz ˈhæpi ˈpʰʌpi ˈpʰɛpi bɑːkt æt ˈbɛtiz ˈʃæɡi ˈdɒɡi ˈbɑːni]

From RPBE Session 45.1

Tongue Twister 2:
"This time, don't pay a dime," said the truck driver to the motorcycle rider. "We ride at dawn," said the clown to the cow in the dress.

[ðɪs tʰaɪm dəʊnt pʰeɪ ə daɪm sɛd ðə tʰrʌk ˈdraɪvə tə ðə ˈməʊtəˈsaɪkəl ˈraɪdə | wi raɪd æt dɔːn sɛd ðə klaʊn tə ðə kaʊ ɪn ðə drɛs]

From RPBE Session 45.2

Fun Tongue Twister 3:
"Katie's curious cat wore a cap to go meet the goat in the coat picking apples at the neighbor's orchard."

[ˈkʰeɪtiz ˈkʰjʊəriəs kʰæt wɔːr ə kʰæp tə ɡəʊ miːt ðə ɡəʊt ɪn ðə kʰəʊt ˈpʰɪkɪŋ ˈæpəlz æt ðə ˈneɪbəz ˈɔːʧəd]

From RPBE Session 45.3

Fun Tongue Twister 4:
"Jane and Jess played chess, Charlie joked about cheese, but Jack, Jack chased the rain in his jeep."

[dʒeɪn ænd dʒɛs pleɪd ʧɛs ˈʧɑːli dʒəʊkt əˈbaʊt ʧiːz bʌt dʒæk dʒæk ʧeɪst ðə reɪn ɪn hɪz dʒiːp]

From RPBE Session 45.4

The Famous British English Tongue Twister:
"She Sells Seashells..."

(RPBE Session 48 [s] and [ʃ])

Key contrast: Alveolar [s] vs. Post-alveolar [ʃ]

Historical Context: This famous tongue twister immortalizes Mary Anning (1799-1847), a pioneering paleontologist from Lyme Regis, Dorset (a coastal town in South West England). As a young woman, she discovered important Jurassic fossils while selling seashells and fossils to tourists. Her discoveries, including the first complete ichthyosaur skeleton, helped shape our understanding of prehistoric life.

The Complete Tongue Twister:
"She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure. So if she sells seashells on the seashore, then I'm sure she sells seashore shells."

[ʃi sɛlz ˈsiːʃɛlz baɪ ðə ˈsiːʃɔː ðə ʃɛlz ʃi sɛlz ə ˈsiːʃɛlz aɪm ʃɔː səʊ ɪf ʃi sɛlz ˈsiːʃɛlz ɒn ðə ˈsiːʃɔː ðɛn aɪm ʃɔː ʃi sɛlz ˈsiːʃɔː ʃɛlz]

FAQ

Q: How do I know which English sounds are hardest for me?
A: Your native language influences this. For example:

• Slavic speakers often struggle with [æ] (“cat”) and consonant clusters.
• Mandarin speakers may find [θ] (“three”) and stress patterns tricky.
• Arabic speakers might work on [p] vs. [b] and vowel insertion.
  The article provides targeted exercises for each language group.

Q: British or American English - which accent should I learn?
A: Choose what resonates with you or aligns with your environment. Regional accents (e.g., Australian) are valid, but prioritize clarity in global settings. Mimic respected public figures or media personalities to build a natural foundation.

Q: Are tongue twisters actually useful, or just a gimmick?
A: They’re a time-tested tool. Phrases like “She sells seashells” (honoring paleontologist Mary Anning) target specific sounds, such as [s] vs. [ʃ]. Regular practice builds muscle memory and agility, making challenging combinations second nature.

Q: What free resources do you recommend?
A: Start with our Free AI Accent Test to identify strengths and gaps. For targeted practice, watch our video The TH Sound. How to Speak English with American Accent?, which breaks down one of English’s most challenging sounds.

Q: How long until I see improvement?
A: Progress varies, but dedicated learners often notice changes in 3–6 months. Focus on high-impact sounds first (e.g., [θ] for Mandarin speakers) and practice daily, even for 10 minutes.

Q: How can I avoid burnout while practicing?
A: Balance consistency with joy. Record yourself mimicking a favorite actor or singer. Celebrate progress, not perfection - even small improvements boost confidence and comprehension.

Final Tip

Language is alive - embrace its quirks. As Hungarian novelist Ádám Bodor showed, even pronouns can shape narratives. Your accent journey isn’t just about sounds, it’s about connection.

Explore our Vocal Image App for personalized coaching, or dive into the Mastering American Accent e-Book to begin.