Indian student practicing English pronunciation for IELTS and OET speaking tests

Common Pronunciation Errors by Indian Students in English Tests

Pronunciation is one of the most neglected yet important areas in IELTS and OET, which checks the English proficiency of a candidate. Many students in India have good grammar and vocabulary, but pronunciation problems make even a very fluent speaker unclear and unnatural. In exams, such as IELTS speaking or OET role-play, pronunciation directly contributes to the fluency and coherence score. And, it does not mean that a person needs to adopt a foreign accent; rather, it means they are easy to understand by examiners and patients from different linguistic backgrounds. Thus, improving English pronunciation helps Indian students speak with confidence, clarity, and professionalism in both tests and real-world settings.

Common Sounds Indian Learners Mispronounce

Due to the immense variety of Indian languages, most learners carry over some pronunciation from their mother tongue languages when speaking English. Following are some of the common pronunciation errors Indians make while speaking English:

/v/ and /w/ – Many students pronounce “vine” and “wine” the same way.

Tip: Round your lips slightly for /w/, and lightly touch your upper teeth to your lower lip for /v/.

/s/ and /ʃ/ – Words such as sea and she are often homophones.

Tip: To produce /ʃ/, shift your tongue slightly back and round your lips a bit more.

/t/ and /θ/ – “Thing” becomes “ting” or “think” sounds like “tink.”

Tip: For /θ/, put your tongue lightly between your teeth and blow softly.

Silent letters – Words like debt, island, and know are often pronounced with extra letters.

Tip: Always check dictionary transcriptions before learning pronunciation.

Word endings – Many learners drop sounds at the end, such as saying “wan” instead of “want.”

Hint: Articulate the final consonant clearly while practicing.

Long and short vowels – The difference between ship and sheep or full and fool is critical.

Tip: Learn to recognize vowel length through minimal pair practice: ship/sheep, bit/beat, sit/seat.

These subtle variations of pronunciation, if understood and corrected, make speech sound more neutral and natural in IELTS or OET speaking tasks.

Stress, Rhythm, and Intonation Techniques

Pronunciation isn’t just about individual sounds—it’s also about how you stress, pace, and rise or fall your voice.

Word Stress: In English some syllables are stronger than others. For example, TAble, comPUter, phoTOgraph.Incorrect stress can confuse the listener or change the meaning.

Practice: Use online dictionaries that mark stress or clap for each syllable to find which one is stressed.

Sentence Rhythm: Indian speakers almost always speak in a syllable-timed rhythm, meaning each syllable is given approximately equal time. English uses a stress-timed rhythm, with the important words stressed while the smaller ones, such as “a,” “the,” “of,” are said quickly.

Practice: Try reading English poems or listening to the rhythm patterns of native speakers.

Intonation: This is the melody of speech. Rising tone in most cases means that this is a question, while a falling tone shows completion or certainty.

Practice: Record yourself reading dialogues, then compare them with native examples for mastery of tone variation.

Correct stress, rhythm, and intonation make your English sound alive, natural, and confident—keys to improving your IELTS speaking accent or avoiding OET pronunciation mistakes.

Practical Exercises to Overcome Accent Problems

Improving pronunciation requires daily and consistent effort. Here are practical exercises Indian learners can do:

Mirror Practice: Stand in front of a mirror and speak slowly. Observe your mouth, lip, and tongue positions.
Record Yourself: Speak for one minute on any topic, playback, and observe unclear sounds.
Minimal Pairs: Practice pairs such as pen/pain, bat/bad, or fan/van to train your ear to hear small differences.
Tongue Twisters: Repeat tricky phrases like “She sells seashells by the seashore” or “Red lorry, yellow lorry.”
Shadowing Technique: Listen to a short clip of a native speaker and repeat it immediately after, mimicking the tone and rhythm.

These simple yet effective exercises help to build up muscle memory, refine sound accuracy, and boost exam-speaking confidence.

Using Phonetics and Speech Shadowing

Phonetics, or the study of speech sounds, gives Indian students a chance to master English pronunciation with great ease. A study of the International Phonetic Alphabet trains your brain on how each word should sound without you getting to hear it.

For example, thought = /θɔːt/ and taught = /tɔːt/—the small difference is in the initial consonant.

Match phonetic learning with speech shadowing, a technique where you imitate the speech of native speakers in real-time. Take short clips from BBC, TED Talks, or movies; then, try to imitate their speed, emotion, and tone in your speech. This method not only improves pronunciation but also enhances rhythm and intonation naturally.

This, if done for 10-15 minutes every day, can reduce the accent interference quite drastically, allowing your spoken English to sound smoother in IELTS or OET contexts.

Daily Listening Habits for Better Clarity

Listening forms a very important basis of how you speak. To enhance and develop a clearer accent for better listening comprehension:

Listen Actively: Listen to English news, podcasts, or YouTube channels – BBC, TED, The English We Speak – and focus on pronunciation patterns.
Repeat After Speakers: Choose short sentences and imitate them word for word.
Transcribe and Compare: Write down what you hear then check your accuracy using subtitles or transcripts.
Switch to English Environment: Change your phone language, follow English-speaking influencers, or join English clubs online.
Listen to Different Accents: Listen to British, Australian, and American accents-practice useful for OET candidates dealing with global patients.

Conclusion

A neutral accent doesn’t mean erasing one’s identity; this means clear and confident communication with anyone, anywhere. For Indian students preparing for IELTS or OET, clearing pronunciation is not “sounding foreign,” but understanding you easily. With the acquisition of basic pronunciation, learning stress and rhythm, practising with phonetics and shadowing, and building up daily listening habits, you will speak confidently, fluently, and neutrally. Clear pronunciation boosts not only your test score but also your professional communication in real-world healthcare and academic settings.