Topic Two: Pronunciation & Phonetics

Phonetic symbols are surely useful to learn the pronunciation of new words, and I use them particularly with difficult words. But they aren't enough. I think the best way to get the right pronunciation is listening to a good English teacher, possibly a native speaker - that's a faster way as well. If you don't have a teacher, then you can go to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/. It's a good site where you can hear the correct pronunciation of every word (American and British pronunciation) thanks to a recorded voice and then make practice. Much better than phonetic symbols!