English Pronunciation Mistakes to Avoid Improve English Speaking
hi everybody welcome back to our weekly
live stream my name is Alicia and in
today’s live lesson I’m going to talk
about English pronunciation tips so I
have chosen some common pronunciation
mistakes that I hear from students I’m
going to talk about those mistakes show
you some example words and then try to
give some tips about how to practice
and/or fix these mistakes there’s a lot
to talk about today and for this lesson
of course I can’t see everybody and tell
you when your pronunciation is correct
or not but I hope that these can help
you at home as you practice with media
and with your speaking partners so we’re
going to begin shortly
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today’s topic is English pronunciation
I’m going to talk about some English
pronunciation mistakes and hopefully
some ways to fix those or at least to
practice fixing those so if you’re
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out of the way let’s get started on
today’s topic today’s topic I have kind
of separated into roughly three groups
sort of there’s a lot to explain so I’m
going to try to introduce some
vocabulary words I hope can help you
with pronunciation one big point all of
today’s pronunciation points are
American English focused so I am an
American English speaker I’m going to
talk about American English
pronunciation I’m not going to talk
about British English pronunciation so
please try to remember that today there
might be some differences depending on
the region of the world that the English
is spoken in this is going to be
American
focused so with that said let’s get
started I want to begin over here with
this point so some of these are kind of
like verses points so in this case my
first verses is the th sound versus the
s sound so th verses s so let’s start I
want to start by talking about this th
sound so we have two kinds of th sounds
actually the first one is this this
example these are three example where
it’s here like think and teeth and bath
so when we make these sounds it’s like
our tongue comes kind of between our
teeth a little bit think and teeth and
bath so that motion of the tongue being
between the teeth is a bit stronger then
you’ll hear with these words so the
second type of th sound is a similar
sound but your tongue is just pressed
against the back of your teeth it
doesn’t come between the teeth so some
examples of this are this that these
those so the tongue doesn’t come between
the teeth it stays against the back of
your teeth so this is kind of a key a
key pronunciation mistake or one that I
noticed people have difficulty with
because mispronouncing this th sound
right here in these words in the first
group can sound like these words which
use an S sound so for example people who
have trouble making the th sound that
first sound make an S sound a lot of the
time instead of think they say sink sink
it’s a sound which is incorrect you need
to make sure to practice making that
sound so to practice this sound how
should I do this I should I go to this
camera I don’t know to practice this
sound this is gonna be funny you have to
practice this sound and to do this you
need to put your tongue okay
over here okay okay hi I’ll go to this
camera that’s twice your color sorry
sorry is that better
okay is it okay alright so to practice
this daddy should put your tongue
between your teeth it’s hard to see on
the big camera are they gonna see that
yeah so we’ll go to yeah hey welcome to
camera two okay to do this to make this
down you want to put your tongue between
your teeth like this and then make the
sound so practice this like try it right
now if you haven’t ever practiced this
before actually if you laughed like many
of my students actually laugh when I
tell them to do this because it feels
really strange if you’re not used to
doing it like that the sound but that’s
correct that’s the sound that you should
make so lots of my students laugh when I
tell them this but I’ll stop them in
lessons just to get them to practice
making this sound because it does feel
strange it’s like the first time you
ride a bicycle you know it feels totally
weird because it’s not something you’re
used to doing but you need to practice
doing that okay we’ll come back to this
one so try that to practice this th
sound that think teeth bath sound to
make that sound quite clearly so that
when you make this sound think we don’t
mistake it for its ink in this case or
here teeth if you don’t pronounce this
th sound in teeth it can sound like
piece or something similar bath can
sound like bus which is also a vowel
related problem okay so when you’ve
practiced this sound this kind of
stronger th sound with the tongue
between the teeth a bit more you can
kind of like a level down the intensity
sort of when you make this one this that
these those it’s the same tongue
position but your tongue doesn’t come
between your teeth it’s just against the
back of your teeth so this that these
those if you don’t pronounce this sound
correctly it could make like another s
sound though not quite as strong so like
to compare an S sound is much much like
it has like
Hisss almost so it’s like sister or sat
or see or so so that’s quite different
from a this or that or these or those so
practice making that th sound this first
type first I would recommend start here
and then kind of like as you relax into
making that sound clearly you can work
on making this sound faster and faster
so I know that this is hard many of you
have said this is hard to say like in
quick speech just try to practice okay
good
if you have any questions let me know
though today is going to be kind of lots
of practice anything okay so that’s the
first pair I want to talk about the
second pair I want to talk about for
today is it’s in today’s lesson
thumbnail actually it’s this oops
me versus s that’s very creative me
versus V V versus V is the second versus
I want to talk about today so uh first
let’s take a look at this V sound so the
B sound it’s a sound we make we put our
lips together and curl them in so mmm
it’s it’s like you’re curling your lips
inward and then you release it to make
the B sound but but so example words to
practice are like back big ball black
big Batman so you can use these but
these strong starting B sounds to
practice making that sound so the common
mistake that I hear with these B and V
sounds is not with BB seems to be like
okay in terms of making the sound but
when we try to separate it from a V
sound is where it gets difficult so
that’s why I wanted to introduce the B
sound first so when you make the V sound
then you should not use the same mouth
position as a B sound when you make the
V sound maybe
go to the second camera again for this
one when you make the V sound it should
your teeth will go to the second camera
I think is it okay right there
okay cool thank you so when you make
this sound your teeth should be resting
on top of your lower lip so it’s a butt
so when we make the B sound both like
your top lip and your your bottom lip
are together curled together but but
when you make a V sound your teeth are
on top of your lower lip
so example words you can use to practice
this or like vegetable or vegan or
Valley or Velociraptor or very so making
that V sound you don’t need to make the
same mouth shape as a bees down so when
I hear students say like video instead
of video that’s like that’s a really
great example of a mistake so we’ll go
back to the first camera thank you okay
so be sound and V sound quite different
so practice that position making the
sound so try to do that one webcam is
ugly okay got it
Thanks control desk okay alright so but
and the that’s the second point
alright then I want to focus lastly on
this first group on a mistake of
omission omission means you forget to do
something or you do not do something
this is a mistake of omission in
pronunciation yes it’s a pronunciation
issue something we forget to pronounce
but it’s related to grammar knowledge as
well so these two examples are the sound
and the death sound so by this I mean
the left sound in a pattern like I’ve
like I’ve been to France I’ve never
eaten ramen I’ve really had fun today
this sound so people forget to make the
sound I’ve I’ve we forget sometimes or
learners forget sometimes and say I
never and that’s not correct so it’s a
grammatical problem and it’s a
pronunciation related problem the two
are closely connected here so I’ve I’ve
I’ve so that same the position we talked
about here look we can use here it’s
just quicker and shorter I’ve I’ve the
same problem I here with this D sound
so this apostrophe this relates to I for
example I’d like a drink I’d like some
help for example I I’d so this is I
would the contracted their reduced form
I would like something right so please
don’t forget this one this is a mistake
relating to grammar but that will affect
your speech as well so I would I
oh right I think it’s time for a break
do we have stuff to show today as always
we have free stuff for you guys I think
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ah YouTube check the link in the
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on Instagram please check the link from
YouTube or from Facebook um so today
we’re talking about pronunciation but
I’ve noticed that when you are traveling
or you are working or in a situation
with people who are not used to dealing
with like second language learners it
can be extra difficult to communicate if
your pronunciation is not like
spectacular so let’s take a look a
couple of situations where it can be a
really good idea to have good extra good
pronunciation we’ll go back over here is
when you are eating at a restaurant so
when you’re eating at a restaurant like
I just said actually
there are back here there are some
situations where good pronunciation can
be important when you’re ordering for
example where’s a good one where is it
ah
so when you’re ordering for example up
here data so like I can or I can’t eat
or drink that tea sound is important
here or when you’re asking for something
I would like for example that’s another
situation where your pronunciation is
important or maybe this one this key
word here it’s raw that could be an
issue anyway this is a situation where
having good pronunciation could be quite
important when you’re at a restaurant so
you can get this this is a free PDF with
vocabulary words and expressions you can
use at restaurants this is for free as
are all of these other ones I’ll show
some other ones a bit later too so these
are all for free on the website there
they are all of them of control desk is
showing them to you now
so check these out please you can
download these for free
you need an account on the website but
the account is free so please check
those out you can grab all of them at
one time not just one everything you
know ok so if you’re just joining us
today today’s topic is English
pronunciation tips so I covered the th
and the S sound B and V sounds and this
end sound already so now I want to move
on to the next group and as you’re just
joining don’t forget to like the video
it’s very helpful ok let’s go on to the
second group or the second part of
today’s lesson which is one of the
biggest pronunciation mistakes
I hear L verses are the L sound versus
the R sound so I know in many languages
there are no like equivalents we don’t
have the exact same sound for the
English
and the English are sound so today I
want to introduce some words that can
help you practice and help you kind of
like understand how to make this sounds
better so let’s begin with an L sound so
first a couple example words I’ve paired
these together first with L there’s lái
lái and lip so these all begin with that
L sound lai lai and lip so these are
commonly confused for example with our
sounds like Wray Wray and rip these are
all real words
so pronunciation can really affect your
understanding of a conversation or the
listeners understanding of a
conversation okay so when you’re making
the L sound if you want to kind of find
the mouth position you need to use for
that L sound it’s a it’s kind of a tall
feeling in the back of your mouth and
when you make the lip sound your tongue
briefly touches the top of your mouth
look like the back of your teeth the top
row of your teeth the back of them your
tongue briefly touches that look so and
then it quickly moves away so I touch
the top of my teeth and then move it
away quickly look to make that L sound
so to practice this yeah lai lai lip
love fly lice so there are lots of
starting L sounds that you can use to
practice this but as I said a lot of the
time this sound is quite difficult and
as a result students make this error
sound so R this is one of the kind of
the more difficult sounds to make I
think so when we make the R sound the
tongue is not touching any part of the
mouth so the tongue is just like is
pointing up the tip of the tongue is
pointing up in the mouth and then the
back of the throat kind of tightens as
we release our voice so
ar-ar-ar so my tongue doesn’t touch
anything it’s just like hanging out in
space in my mouth
are are so don’t let your tongue touch
anything in your mouth when you make the
r' sound fernando says what do ray and
dry mean ray is like a ray of sunshine a
beam of sunlight and rai is a type of
flower or a type of bread for reference
so a little extra vocabulary um excuse
me so our our does not touch anything in
your mouth the our sound el does when
you make the L sound your tongue touches
the top of your mouth the roof of your
mouth L yeah so many people have trouble
with L sounds and our sound someone said
can you do a quick review for
pronunciation if you missed the
beginning part of this lesson you can
watch it back this video is being
recorded so if you missed these parts
don’t worry you can watch the video
later on YouTube or Facebook
okay so time’s going quickly so I’m
going to go to the next one the next
point I want to talk about is er endings
so I talked about this R sound this
basic R sound but when we put it at the
end of a word
I noticed sometimes students make an O
sound instead of an ER sound so some
examples are player and computer earth
so it’s again that Earth sound not
player or computer which I sometimes
hear again this is for American English
computer player junior says corridor
corridor that’s how you pronounce
corridor yes this is live why do you how
do you pronounce butterfly that’s how a
butterfly I say butterfly so er sounds
other common ones are like a father or
bigger so this is a great point right
here this word bigger in your
comparative forms bigger
warmer smaller these ends with E are
sounds so don’t make it an O sound but
an ER sound bigger smaller faster cuz
okay some of you are sending just vowel
sounds into the chat I can’t answer that
because it depends on the word so a you
in one word might not sound the same as
a you in another word I’ll talk a little
bit about vowels at the end of today’s
lesson but please keep in mind that one
vowel sound does not make like one vowel
does not equal exactly the same sound
everywhere okay let’s move along then I
guess we’ll take one more break and then
yeah
okie dokie we’ll take one more break and
then we’ll continue to the last group of
points vowels I’ll talk a little bit
about that though that’s a really tricky
topic to do in this kind of lesson so
Donna let’s look at some other free
things what sounds interesting to talk
about now not that guy we’ll talk about
something else for oh this is a good one
oh my god this is such a good one for
this topic singing in English oh man
like I don’t know if people like cuddle
or karaoke as we say in English but when
you if you like music and you like
singing I’ll go this camera if you like
music and you like singing and your
pronunciation is not very good when
you’re trying to sing along to your
favorite song it can sound really really
strange so these are some words related
to singing these are not specifically
like ways to improve your singing we
unfortunately can’t help with that but
if you’re interested in music and you
like music and you like singing along to
English songs these are some vocabulary
words and some phrases that may help you
to do that so like right here we’ve
talked about it on this channel before
but how to talk about your favorite
singer
for example or your favorite song so I
like this song
that’s a great example of when to use
that s sound instead of the th sound so
check this out
this is another free thing on the
website you can download right now okay
right now I’m sorry okay
let’s finish today’s lesson then with as
I mentioned some vowel related issues
some vowel problems so it’s a bit tricky
to to talk about all vowel sounds in a
lesson like this but I want to share a
couple vowel sounds you can practice
yourself these are again these are from
mistakes that I’ve heard students make
students make these mistakes in my
lesson and I have trouble understanding
and we have to practice together so
let’s look at this first pair this first
pair is crash and crush crash and crush
so crash is like a car crash two things
or more coming together like in an
accident
crash to crash then crush is the other
one to crush something means like to
violently destroy something like to
crush a can for example to crush so the
difference here is this vowel sound
crash and crush so the a sound has a
really tall feel to it crash is wide
later sorry it’s quite tall that was the
word quite tall crash but crush uses a
really low
you sound so it’s like your jaw this
part is called your job right here we
drop that a bit crush to crush something
this gets even more complicated with a
word like class two like crash class
clash so making this our sound is also
quite important so like
clash is also a word to clash means to
have a verbal argument of words argument
not actual fighting necessarily to clash
so this is a great example of a
pronunciation pair for vowels and for
this L&R sound let’s look at one more
pair that focuses on a different vowel
problem this is work focusing here work
and walk work and walk so this is
another one my students really struggled
with work so this is it oh yes this is
an O but the pronunciation here is the
same as the word word work if I were you
it’s the same sound were here walk this
has that same tall L sound
walk walk let’s walk in the park I need
to take a walk so walk and work quite
different so a great way to practice
this is with the sentence I walk to work
I walk to work so really practice making
those sounds clearly and distinct from
one another walk and work Oh someone
else has a nice pair cup cap and cop
I’ll add that here bonus one cup cap ah
so vowel practice cup cap cop so that
low you sound I talked about here with
crush cup the tall a sound cap and then
cop so this is kind of kind of a wide Oh
sound cop cop so these are great ways
great kind of pairs or groups that you
can use to practice pronunciation okay
let’s move along then because times go
in quickly let’s go on then we’ve talked
about this point a few times in live
streams and in lessons this is Eadie
endings I want to review these easy
vowel sound and
the Spelling’s end in edy but there are
three different sounds we make so to
review they are this eid sound a sound
and a sound so let’s take a look at some
words that use these so let’s start with
this in sound an example wanted or
pleaded so these words they end in an e
d sound yes
but they have like this Eid Eid thing so
it’s not an IDI one Ted pleaded but one
did plea did it’s an ID ending this one
so that’s the first type the second type
as I said is this T sound
so examples of these are walked and
talked so again the ending is an IDI
sound but we make a sound I walked to
the park I talked to her yesterday
so again IDI ending a second type a
third type then here is this D sound so
a great example is like breathe breathe
or side side breathe or side so it’s a
soft D sound so we have this in and a
dip sound so one spelling yes but three
different types of pronunciation okay
good umm then finally to finish today
because we’re out of time
ah there are lots of other things we
could talk about up and thank you for
all of these like questions about
pronunciation these are some just very
common mistakes I’ve noticed if you
really want to practice some difficult
pairs one of my favorites to practice is
elegant versus arrogant
this is a great one to practice because
it pairs vowel pronunciation with this L
and our pronunciation elegant so here we
need to focus on this L sound here we
have an R sound arrogant arrogant
elegant and arrogant this is a great
pair I’m like to really challenge
yourself with your clear pronunciation
and another good one is the word brewery
brewery this is a really tough word
brewery this is a place where like beer
is made like the factory where beer is
made a brewery this is a great word for
this our pronunciation along with some
kind of tough foul pronunciation in the
middle okay someone says they can’t see
the live stream on YouTube would no I
don’t see any friends with the YouTube
yet alright but that’s a quick
introduction to some common some common
pronunciation related problems I know
that that’s not everything and thank you
for your questions maybe we can do
another pronunciation stream in the
future but as I talked about with
especially with this th sound and with
this V sound try to actually practice
that mouth position so again to review
the th sound to practice that first type
your tongue goes between your teeth but
the think teeth bath sound and with V we
should put the teeth on top of our lower
lip okay so I have to finish up there
but thank you as always to everybody for
joining us on Facebook and YouTube and
on Instagram fantastic if you missed
this live stream don’t worry the video
has been recorded you can watch it on
YouTube and on Facebook and you can get
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if you like we’re going to be back next
week we’re gonna be back next week
August 29th that is Wednesday 10:00 p.m.
stern standard time we’re going to
practice leveling up your adjectives so
for this I want to the goal for this
lesson next week’s lesson is to give
some like better more specific
adjectives I’m going to talk about us
like a specific tool you can use to
called adjectives wheels so we’ll talk
about how to go from saying like good or
bad or sad or happy to something more
specific so how to level up your
adjectives a bit I’m going to focus
specifically on like emotions and maybe
like tastes and smells I think we’ll see
okay so we’ll finish there for today
thank you as always for joining us thank
you for liking and sharing the video we
really appreciate it and thank you very
much for all of your comments in the
chat too so please make sure to check
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there for today so thank you as always
for watching enjoy the rest of your day
or your week or your night or whatever
and we will see you again next time bye
bye
you