Thank you for the suggestions!

Personally, I like using recordings of native speakers to get used to their sound. I am not sure if I can always get it right myself in the beginning.

BUT recording yourself is invaluable nonetheless! I usually do this in a separate exercise by using transcriptions (which I encountered first in jazz – see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcription_(music)). As you suggested, saying the word out loud before Anki plays the recording is important, too.