Final position
• /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/
•Chinese - Laster weeker I juster wenter to the banker
•Thai – Las wee I jus wen to the ban
Consonant clusters
• Sp St Sk
• |
Smoke |
Samoke |
• |
Strike |
Satrike |
• |
Perfect |
Perfec |
• Thailand
Tricky consonant clusters for everyone!
• Asked
• Clothes
• Sixth
• What do we do as native speakers with these words?
• Try putting them into a sentence and saying it naturally.
Vowels
Vowels
• Long V short
/i:/ |
/I/ |
Sheep |
Ship |
Leave |
live |
Spanish
Portuguese
French
Chinese
Korean
Long V short vowels
/u:/ |
/ʊ/ |
Pool |
Pull |
Fool |
full |
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Chinese
Arabic
Vowels
/æ/ |
/e/ |
Pan |
Pen |
Sand |
send |
Man |
Men |
•Chinese
•Portuguese
Conclusion
•Understanding how the pronunciation system works in English is the key to successful communication.
•It helps with understanding what native speakers are saying and once you are aware of the key features of pronunciation, you can gradually try to incorporate some of these into your own speaking.
Want more help?
•Look at the Student Learning Support iLearn community site under ‘Resources / Pronunciation’.
•Make an appointment at Student Learning Support for an individual consultation on your pronunciation
So what can I do to improve?
•Focus on identifying the key content words and also on pronouncing those words clearly.
•Raise awareness by listening & noticing.
•You should begin to see an improvement in your communication – both listening and speaking.