Learning English Pronunciation Is Like Learning Skiing and Reading

from How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler

“Reading is like skiing. When done well, when done by an expert, both reading and skiing are graceful, harmonious activities. When done by a beginner, both are awkward, frustrating, and slow.”
(My Experience: Speaking a different language is also like skiing and reading. It is frustrating for beginners because you have to learn a new tongue and pronunciation.)

“Learning to ski is one of the most humiliating experiences an adult can undergo (that is one reason to start young). After all, an adult has been walking for a long time; he knows where his feet are; he knows how to put one foot in front of the other in order to get somewhere. But as soon as he puts skis on his feet, it is as though he had to learn to walk all over again. He slips and slides, falls down, has trouble getting up, gets his skis crossed, tumbles again, and generally looks-and feels-like a fool.”
(My Experience: Because I mispronounced many words, I went through some humiliating situations. I felt that relearning English pronunciation was the one of the toughest experiences I had to go through. How do you feel about learning English pronunciation?)

“Even the best instructor seems at first to be no help. The ease with which the instructor performs actions that he says are simple but that the student secretly believes are impossible is almost insulting. How can you remember everything the instructor says you have to remember? Bend your knees. Look down the hill. Keep your weight on the downhill ski. Keep your back straight, but nevertheless lean forward. The admonitions seem endless-how can you think about all that and still ski?”
(My Experience: It seemed to me that no one could teach me English pronunciation. I just couldn't distinguish the differences between any two sounds or words.)

“The point about skiing, of course, is that you should not be thinking about the separate acts that, together, make a smooth turn or series of linked turns-instead, you should merely be looking ahead of you down the hill, anticipating bumps and other skiers, enjoying the feel of the cold wind on your cheeks, smiling with pleasure at the fluid grace of your body as you speed down the mountain. In other words, you must learn to forget the separate acts in order to perform all of them, and indeed any of them, well. But in order to forget them as separate acts, you have to learn them first as separate acts. Only then can you put them together to become a good skier.”
(My Experience: I had to learn each sound and word separately to be able to pronounce English correctly. I understand that is easier said than done. After having done it myself, I can say that practice is very important. Pronunciation Patterns is designed to help you with your practice.)

I hope this helps you realize that attaining good, even perfect, English pronunciation is possible. Again, I know that correcting pronunciation is hard. But once you master each sound, it becomes so easy you will never have to think about it again when you want to express your ideas.

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Pg 54, "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer J. Adler