What should children pay attention to when learning English phonetics?

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This post was last edited by Thank goodness you're here on 2016-2-3 at 10:10. Pronunciation may seem simple, but we cannot neglect learning it. This article provides a brief discussion on the points we need to keep in mind when learning English phonetic symbols. Of course, this article represents only the author’s own views. When learning *phonetic notation, we need to pay attention to the following points: the pronunciations in dictionaries are not very accurate. Pinyin tells you that a word is pronounced in this way, but it doesn’t tell you how to pronounce it. One must compensate for this shortcoming through their own pronunciation practice. There is also the issue of which dictionary to use. Domestic dictionaries are not recommended here. There’s nothing to explain here; those who are learning American English should use Webster’s dictionary or Random House’s. 　　The International Phonetic Alphabet is not accurate. This is true, especially for American English. The relatively accurate phonetic notation is Webster’s, that is, the Webster phonetic alphabet, or the KK phonetic alphabet. Personally, I prefer Webster’s phonetic notation, as it reflects the actual pronunciation of Americans more accurately. When first learning phonetic symbols, it’s not necessary to be absolutely precise. Just remember it; you will gradually correct your pronunciation over time. Many people give up when learning phonetics, so it’s better to put that aside for now and focus on learning other things that can excite you. When I first started learning Japanese, it took me only one day to stop worrying about the pronunciation of the Japanese kana. Although Japanese pronunciation is much simpler than English’s. 　　Other things: In the word \"hot pot\", the sound is more like that in the short vowels in \"hard\" and \"laugh\". \"Going to\" becomes \"gonna\", while \"want to\" becomes \"wanna\". The \"h\" before words like \"him\" is usually not pronounced; \"meet him\" is pronounced as \"meedim\). When the \"t\" at the end of words like \"congratulate\" is pronounced together with the preceding sound, it often sounds like \"d\", as in \"meedim\". \"What are you doing?\" might actually be pronounced as \"Wha tu doing?\" The letter \"u\" in \"you\" is usually pronounced softly, and the same goes for \"your\"; generally, pronouns can be pronounced softly. \"And\" can be pronounced as a soft \"en\", or it can simply be omitted, leaving just a soft \"a\}. In words like \"military\" and \"secretary\", the \"ary\" sound is pronounced like that in \"marry\"; accordingly, the \"ory\" sound is often pronounced with an accent. In American English, the sounds in words like “half” and so on may become sounds like those in “hat”, “mat” and similar words. 　　Linguistics* consists of five aspects: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and vocabulary. Each of these aspects requires consistent effort over time – it’s a task that demands careful attention. Instead of trying to cover too much in one session, such as spending a whole day once or twice a month, it’s better to practice for half an hour every day; this approach yields better and more noticeable results. So now, let’s briefly recommend some training methods for each aspect to everyone: Vocabulary: Vocabulary is the foundation of all languages. Learning American English* – no matter what your current level is, from beginner to advanced, building a vocabulary is always essential. People have different methods for memorizing words; some are used to going through a word book from beginning to end, while others prefer to gradually build their vocabulary by reading. My suggestion is that if you have exam goals in the near future, you can buy a vocabulary book tailored for those exams, such as CET-4 vocabulary or TOEFL vocabulary, and so on. Accumulate vocabulary and prepare for exams in accordance with the requirements of the exam syllabus; if you don’t have an exam coming up for now, you can build your vocabulary by reading and listening to materials in your daily life. When encountering new words, look them up in a dictionary; not only should you remember their meanings, but also the corresponding example sentences. It’s best to write down the sentence in which you saw this word, as that will leave the strongest impression. Over time, you will create your own \"word book\". Words learned in this way can not only be understood but also used effectively, which truly represents the highest level of vocabulary learning! Reading: First, let’s talk about the reading materials. Although English reading materials are available everywhere these days, the author still strongly recommends that you prioritize reading articles written by native English speakers, that is, original English novels, essays, and articles from foreign newspapers and magazines. As for the so-called Daily produced by domestic journalists, it can be set aside for now. This is because only native speakers are able to write in the most precise and authentic manner. Especially for those of us who are still learning, if we do not have prolonged exposure to such writing, there is a high risk that we may be influenced negatively. 　　As for reading methods, they can generally be divided into extensive reading and intensive reading. For long-term learning*, it is sufficient to read carefully one short article of around 1,000 words per day. The level of thoroughness in close reading requires understanding all the new words, phrases, and grammar points in this short passage. And read aloud, preferably from memory; as for extensive reading, 5 passages per day is sufficient depending on individual circumstances. When reading extensively, the focus is on speed; it’s sufficient to understand the general idea. Unless you encounter a word that you must look up, there’s no need to look up each one individually. 　　Writing: Writing can be considered the culmination of all skills, and it is difficult to make significant progress in a short period of time. But there’s no need for worry, as language is a whole; as other skills improve, writing ability will naturally improve as well. Vocabulary and language sense both have a significant impact on writing. To master vocabulary, it’s not enough to memorize as many words as possible; one must also understand the ways in which verbs, prepositions, and nouns combine with each other, and learn to use idiomatic expressions. As for reading and listening to American English, as I mentioned earlier, it’s essential to read aloud when dealing with short texts! This helps to improve one’s sense of the language both in terms of memory and listening skills. 　　The key to practicing* is perseverance; spend ten minutes each day, depending on your level, writing articles of 300 words, 500 words, or 1000 words, gradually building up over time. The content of writing can be an ordinary diary, or you can set some topics for yourself just like in oral practice*. If there are exam goals, of course it’s also possible to use existing exam questions for practice*. 　　Whether to enroll in a course is a very personal decision; we know that many top performers are able to pass the exam and achieve high scores even by taking it without any preparation at all. But such experiences are clearly not suitable for us ordinary people. Based on the author’s numerous experience with exams throughout their childhood and adolescence, if you have a solid foundation in English and enough time, you might consider studying on your own without enrolling in any courses. Because ultimately, any exam tests basic language skills; however, if you feel that you don’t have enough time to study on your own, or if you’re not very confident in your English skills, then you can take a shortcut by enrolling in a tutoring course. After all, the teachers in tutoring classes specialize in exam preparation; the experience they gain from working on this every day, as well as the skills for listening to American English, can still be useful for us to learn from. This gives some tactical advantages over taking the exam purely on one’s own skills.