Accent Reduction 101: 5 Common Pronunciation Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

When it comes to improving your English pronunciation, more practice doesn’t always mean better results.

If you’ve been repeating words, shadowing videos, or doing daily drills — but still don’t sound the way you want — you might be making one (or more) of these five common mistakes.

Let’s fix them 👇

1️⃣ Practicing Without Knowing What to Focus On

A lot of English learners “practice” by repeating words or mimicking native speakers — but without a clear goal.

If you don’t know what sounds off in your accent, you’re just reinforcing the same habits.

🎯 Solution:

Get feedback. Compare your accent to the one you want to have (for example, American or Canadian) and identify specific sounds or patterns to target — one at a time.

2️⃣ Practicing Sounds in Isolation

Maybe you’ve mastered “th” in words like this or that, but when you speak naturally, your old pronunciation comes back.

That’s because you’re only training the sound — not the muscle memory of using it in real sentences.

🎯 Solution:

Practice the sound in words, phrases, and full sentences — especially ones you actually use in your daily life.

If you’re a dentist, for example, practice sentences with “teeth.” Make it relevant to you.

3️⃣ Relying on Spelling to Guide Pronunciation

English spelling is… well, a liar 😅

Words rarely sound like they look. If you rely on spelling, you’ll mispronounce tons of words without realizing it.

🎯 Solution:

Stop depending on how a word looks. Focus on how it sounds.

You can learn the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) if you enjoy structure, or simply listen carefully and imitate the real pronunciation you hear from reliable native sources.

4️⃣ Jumping into Shadowing & Connected Speech Too Early

Connected speech is powerful — but if your pronunciation foundation isn’t solid yet, it can actually make you less clear.

Trying to “sound fluent” before mastering the basics can make your speech harder to understand.

🎯 Solution:

Build a strong base of pronunciation first.

Once you can pronounce individual sounds and words clearly, then start experimenting with connected speech (like “Did you eat?” → “Didja eat?”).

5️⃣ Trying to Speak Fast to Sound Fluent

Many learners think speaking quickly = sounding fluent.

But speeding up before you’ve mastered pronunciation only creates more mistakes — and less clarity.

🎯 Solution:

Focus on clarity before speed.

As your pronunciation and confidence improve, your natural speed will increase automatically.

Often, native speakers sound fast because of connected speech, not because they’re actually speaking quickly.

💬 Final Tip

Improving your accent isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing it right.

Work on one target at a time, focus on quality over quantity, and get feedback to make sure you’re moving in the right direction.

And if you want support, feedback, and structure — my 5-Week Accent Bootcamp is designed to help you identify what’s holding you back, fix it step-by-step, and start sounding clear, confident, and more American or Canadian.

 Let's get focused & reach your accent goals.

I’m rooting for you — let’s gooo! 💪
– Jess | North American Accent Coach

Note: This blog post is an AI summary of this YouTube Video.