Mirrors in Language Practice

[jackb]

I recently started using a large display in addition to my laptop. Last week I noticed that I can see my reflection when I practice speaking, so I decided to pay a little more attention to my mouth and cheeks. It appears that I am not making the shapes with my mouth like I thought. After correcting, I think I sound better.

Does (or has) anyone done practice in front of a mirror to help their speech? If so, what have you done or might you suggest to some one thinking about doing it?

Or should I just continue on my way.

[Speakeasy]

Very interesting! Yes, I have used the mirror when practicing German, although not to a very large extent. While I could be wrong, I believe that Professor Arguelles suggested this technique, either on the HTLAL or on his website – Foreign Language Expertise – which, regrettably, seems to be out-of-service.

[aravinda]

Does (or has) anyone done practice in front of a mirror to help their speech? If so, what have you done or might you suggest to some one thinking about doing it?

I have used a small handheld mirror for practising sounds that I find difficult. I have seen this recommended in several books. It is most useful when you have a teacher/native speaker (I didn't), videos or at least pictures/line drawings to guide you/demonstrate.

[leosmith]

I recently started using a large display in addition to my laptop. Last week I noticed that I can see my reflection when I practice speaking, so I decided to pay a little more attention to my mouth and cheeks. It appears that I am not making the shapes with my mouth like I thought. After correcting, I think I sound better.

Does (or has) anyone done practice in front of a mirror to help their speech? If so, what have you done or might you suggest to some one thinking about doing it?

Or should I just continue on my way.

I was pleasantly surprised to read this discussion because I thought it was going to be about using a mirror for "talking to yourself" type conversation practice. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just find your suggestion more applicable to my way of learning languages. I could see it being useful especially in languages that have many similar sounds, like Korean. Exaggerating a facial expression could help one become better understood. I may have to give it a try!

[jackb]

It's good to know I'm not the only one. There are a couple of good videos on YouTube about pronouncing certain french-specific sounds. I'm going to try to set aside a little practice with the video as the instructor and the mirror to help with self correction. I may graduate to sentences where the sounds I make grate on me.

This language learning process is an interesting thing!