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This website was created to help people improve their American English pronunciation. At the core is a series of videos explaining in detail how each sound is created, as well as a blog.
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Though I highly recommend learning via video :), sometimes a book is a nice resource to have. I especially like this one:
The 'ow' as in 'now' Sound
How to make this sound:
Video Text:
The 'ow' diphthong. The first sound of this diphthong is once again a sound that does not stand on its own as a vowel sound in American English. However, it is very similar in sound to the aa as in bat. The way it is different from that sound is that the jaw on aa, aa, is tighter. And on aa as in ow, it drops more. In that way, it is similar to the ah as in father. Also, as you can see, aa, there's the lift here, and it's not quite as extreme in the 'ow', 'ow'. In that sense, the lips are also like the ah as in father. The tongue however, aa, ow, is similar to the aa as in bat in that it's raised in the back and then comes forward, and that's what you see.
The second sound is written as the uh as in pull. I do find, however, that it tends to taper a little bit towards the oo as in boo without the lips acutally coming into that position. Ow, ow. Sample words: cow, bough, sound. Sample sentence: I came back from vacation and found my flowers dead and brown.
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Hey Guys, I'm REALLY EXCITED about a way to get you more feedback on your accents. The videos are great, but they're also passive, and to speak better English you have to speak!!
I really hope some of you will take advantage of a new kind of exercise I'm trying out where you actually GET FEEDBACK FROM ME! Check out the details, record yourself, and send it in!
If you cannot view the videos, click here.
Check out this site ...
... I think it is a GREAT resource for studying pronunciation. You can slow down videos without the pitch changing, you can loop sections, you can look up words. It's an amazing resource, and I've enjoyed playing around with it.
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Get fun IPA gear here!