Há muitas formas para melhorar a pronúncia em inglês. Estas são algumas:

1. Leia textos em voz alta, grave, ouça e, depois, envie o vídeo ou áudio ao seu professor.
2. Cante músicas. Pode usar o https://www.letras.com/ , https://lyricstraining.com/ ou no app do Spotify para celular, clicando na música, no rodapé aparece a barra LETRA. Aí é possível ouvir, ler e cantar junto.
3. Estude a transcrição fonética e a pronúncia nos dicionários eletrônicos, como https://forvo.com/ ou https://www.thefreedictionary.com/ .
4. Use trava-línguas (tongue-twisters) em voz alta. 

Quero explorar o último item da lista: o trava-línguas, que é um conjunto de palavras com sons iguais ou parecidos que carregam um grau de dificuldade para serem faladas em voz alta. Porém, despertam um olhar para as diferenças sonoras entre português e inglês e entre letras que podem ter pronúncias distintas. 

Os trava-línguas também são usados por atores, políticos e palestrantes. O objetivo é aquecer a boca, os lábios e a garganta. Assim, eles se sentem mais seguros para articular os sons adequadamente, sem trocar palavras ou engasgar com algum som específico.

Abaixo, fiz uma seleção de trava-línguas e separei as frases de acordo com os sons trabalhados. Quando for praticar, procure exagerar os sons, fazer movimentos expressivos com a boca, lábios e língua, ler devagar nas primeiras vezes e, depois, ler mais rápido. Procure exercitar aqueles sons com os quais você tem mais dificuldade.

Sons da letra S e dos encontros consonantais – SH e CH:

• I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.
• Singing Sammy sung songs on sinking sand.
• She sells seashells by the seashore
• She saw Sherif’s shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure she saw Sherif’s shoes on the sofa?
• I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish.
• I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch
• I wish you were a fish in my dish
• If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
• Six shining cities, six shining cities, six shining cities.
• The soldier’s shoulder surely hurts!
• Chester Cheetah chews a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.
• Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

Encontros consonantais SL e SN:

• Seven slick slimy snails, slowly sliding southward.

Som do R e H:

• Race horse, race horse.
• A happy hippo hopped and hiccupped.
• A loyal warrior will rarely worry why we rule.
• The hotel heirs were honored to help host happy hour.

Letras R e L:

• A little critter bit a bigger critter and made the bigger critter bleed red blood.
• Willy’s real rear wheel.

Consoantes M, N e G:

• Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager? Imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.
• The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes.
• A noisy noise annoys an oyster.

Letra K:

• A snake sneaks to seek a snack.

Letra B:

• A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose!
• A big black bug bit a big black bear and made the big black bear bleed blood. 
• Black background, brown background.

Som da consoante P:

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
• A proper copper coffee pot.

Letra D:

• Drew Dodd’s dad’s dog’s dead.

Letra C:

• Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
• Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.

Som do “TH”:

• He threw three balls.
• I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you.
• Elizabeth’s birthday is on the third Thursday of this month.
• He threw three free throws.
• This is the sixth zebra snoozing thoroughly.
• The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
• They threw three thick thighs into the broth.

Palavras iniciadas com T:

• Two tiny tigers take two taxis to town.
• A tiny tiger tied her tie tighter to tidy her tiny tail.

Som do i curto (i) e i longo (ee, ea):

• Each Easter Eddie eats eighty Easter eggs
• I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.
• How many slips would a slip ship shift if a slip ship could shift slips?
• I eat eel while you peel eel.
• Ship some sheep for neat knitting, slip into the creek for feet dipping.
• I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.
• A sailor went to sea to see what he could see.

Som das vogais O, U e encontro vocálico OO:

• How many cookies could a good cook cook If a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.
• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Encontro vocálico OU:

• Four furious friends fought for the phone

Terminação “ing”:

• The king would sing, about a ring that would go ding

Escrito por Lígia Crispino e publicado na coluna semanal da Exame.com. Editado para o blog da Companhia de Idiomas.