Myth 08 — You Must Master IPA to Speak Well
People say “if you want perfect pronunciation, you must memorise the IPA chart.” That was true—when we were learning from paper dictionaries twenty years ago.
Why IPA used to be essential
- Before audio dictionaries existed, IPA was the only way to decode pronunciation.
- Studying IPA forces you to focus on individual sounds, so you feel faster progress.
Why things are different now
- Every major digital dictionary (Cambridge, Oxford, Google) has audio for UK and US accents.
- Videos and pronunciation apps show mouth shapes so you can mirror them directly.
- Native speakers didn’t grow up with IPA—they listened and repeated.
When IPA still helps
- You enjoy analysing sounds and want precise descriptions of mouth positions.
- You teach pronunciation or rely on paper dictionaries for phonetic guides.
What to do if you skip IPA
- Look up the word → listen to the audio → mimic the sound.
- Note how it differs from Vietnamese (final consonants like /t/, /d/, etc.).
- Repeat deliberately until the response becomes automatic.
IPA is just a tool, not a requirement. Accurate listening and conscious imitation are the real keys to better pronunciation.
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