Y and W
Are “Y” and “W” consonants or vowels? The answer is: both are both. Step One: watch for compounds When you see a ”Y” or a “W” in the middle of a word, first look to […]
Consonants
Ends of Words — A Special Trick
Consonant sounds at the ends of English words are difficult for many students, but it is definitely important to pronounce them well. This is explained in Ends of Words. If you have difficulty pronouncing word-final consonants […]
S vs. Z
When you see the letter “S” how do you know if you should pronounce it with an S-sound or a Z-sound? Knowing how to pronounce “S” can be tricky. The bad news is that there are […]
Voicing
Voicing is an important factor for pronouncing consonants correctly. There are some consonants that are spoken with the voice off (voiceless) and others that need to have the voice on (voiced). Let’s compare T and D. […]
The Sound of R
The American English R-sound is different from the R-sound of most languages in the world. Many students of English feel that it is more like a vowel than a consonant, and there is good reason […]
The Power of R
R is an unusual letter. Normally it is a consonant. Sometimes it acts as a vowel. But something even more amazing is that it sometimes has the power to change the sound of a vowel […]
Ends of Words
Another common problem is saying the ends of words clearly. I have seen a lot of students who skip the last letters of words, and it seems that many of them are not aware that […]
TH – Part 2. Some funny mix-ups.
So, when people do not pronounce TH correctly, what sound do they make instead? When TH is voiceless (voice is off), common substitutions are T or S, and sometimes F. When TH is voiced, the […]
TH – Part 1. Don’t Be Shy!
The “TH” sound is one that most ESL learners have problems with — I would guess it is probably 99%. Do you absolutely need to fix it? No. That’s because so many people mispronounce it, […]
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