Hello, I’m Jay and welcome to Simple English Videos. In this video, Gabi and Tom talk about pronunciation difficulties and how to overcome them, due to that crazy English spelling.  At the end there’s a short quiz where you can test your own pronunciation skills with these tricky English words. So let’s get into it.

Hola Thomas. Hello everyone! Welcome to our language learning journey, where we help Spanish speakers navigate their way towards fluency in English. And today we’re diving into the tricky world of pronunciation.

Why is it tricky, Gabi?

Because Spanish is phonetic, meaning you say word how it looks, but English not so much. 

That’s true. What problems do your students have with pronunciation?

So many. But today, let’s focus on one – the letter ‘E.’ In Spanish it’s always the same. It’s the sound of the ‘e’ in men, but in English it could be pronounced like this.

Edit, eat. ear, enough…

And sometimes it’s silent, like, in this word,

Make. 

Is their anything your students do to remember how to pronounce these different vowel sounds? 

Well, as you can see from the examples, ear and eat, even when the words have the same combination of vowels, they can still produce different sounds. So instead, I sometimes use rhymes in the classroom to help  students remember the vowel sound.

Can you give us an example, Tom?

There’s a bear on the chair playing solitaire.

Oh, it’s solitaire, the card game… Solitario, That’s a funny image.

Yes. The more bizarre or peculiar the image, the better. It makes it easier to remember the rhyme if you can visualize it. So that’s my first tip. Use the power of rhyming words to remember the pronunciation of vowel sounds. 

Great, and I know how you can find rhymes to practice with. Search on the internet for tongue twisters. Tongue twister have short rhymes or poems that are intentionally difficult to pronounce. This makes them a lot of fun to try and say. If you’re a teacher, for example, you can use them to have little competitions or challenges for your students in the classroom. Students always enjoy them.

Can you say this tongue twister. Gabi? 

Each Easter, Eddie eats 80 Easter eggs. 

Each Easter Eddie eats 80 Easter eggs. Wow, that’s not easy, but practicing this tongue twister reminds me of another tip to help students with pronunciation. Slow down. Take the time to say each word slowly and focus your attention on how your mouth changes when you pronounce each word. Speaking slowly and clearly is like learning to walk before you try to run.

It’s true. Did you notice how you needed to push your jaw forward, Gabi, to pronounce the long ‘e’ sound in each and Easter? And by slowing down, you have more time to pay attention to the mechanics or movements of your mouth as you pronounce certain words.  You could practice in front of a mirror so you can see how your mouth moves. 

Okay, but what if students don’t know how to say the words in the first place, Tom?

They can use an online dictionary. Nearly all dictionaries have that little speaker icon next to the word so you can listen to it. 

It’s much better to be sure you have the correct pronunciation than to mispronounce a word so often that it becomes hard to change in your mind. Do you use an online dictionary, Gabi?

Yes, I do. In fact, I use the Cambridge Dictionary because it gives both British and American pronunciation. It’s important that the students decide what accent they will rather speak with and then stick to it.

That’s great. So today we’ve learned that the letter ‘E’ can be pronounced in at least four different ways. And we can remember the different vowel sounds by putting words that rhyme together into the same sentences.

We also learned that tongue twisters are a great resource to practice with, and that slowing down, practicing in front of the mirror can help you pay close attention to how you manipulate your mouth to produce the sounds.

And if you’re not sure of how to pronounce the word, have an online dictionary handy. Install an online dictionary if you have a smartphone so you have quick access to the words you want to check. 

So keep at it, and with work… with a little practice and determination, you’ll be speaking English like a pro in no time.

Hasta la proxima.

Bye for now.

Which of these words rhymes with bear?

So if you said rare, you got it right. Bear – Rare.

Now, which of these words doesn’t 

have the same vowel sound as sheep?

Well done, my friends. Now, you probably figured out that while ‘gene’ and ‘clean’ have the same ‘e’ sound as sheep, ‘dear’ is different. Now, in American English we say ‘dear.’ It’s almost the same as sheep, but not quite  – ‘dear’ – ‘sheep.’ But in British English the difference is more pronounced. ‘dear’ – eah. Sheep – ee – eah –  ee.  So, as Gabi said, pick an accent you like and try to stick with it. 

Okay, next quiz. Which word doesn’t rhyme with the others?

And yes, ‘steer’ does not rhyme with either ‘stair’ or ‘stare.’ 

So as always, thanks for watching Simple English Videos. And remember to subscribe to our channel and share this video with someone who you think might enjoy it. Oh, and in a moment you’ll see links to more videos with tongue twisters and rhymes that I think you’ll really enjoy.

See you next time!