Pronunciation tips
The dark L
In English, the L sound changes depending on its position in the word. When L is at the beginning of a word or before a vowel, it is a clear, simple sound. This is called the light L.
like [laɪk]
love [lʌv]
learn [lɜrn]
When L is at the end of a word or before a consonant, it becomes a dark L. To pronounce it, raise the back of your tongue towards the soft palate while the tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth.
feel [fi:ɫ]
call [kɔ:ɫ]
full [fʊɫ]
milk [mɪɫk]
help [hɛɫp]
skill [skɪɫ]
The symbol [ɫ] is used in this section to show the dark L sound. In the rest of this book and in the other books, L is always represented as [l] for clarity.
The two TH sounds
English has two TH sounds.
Voiced [ð]
Place the tip of your tongue against the back of your upper teeth and let the air flow out while your vocal cords vibrate.
the [ðə]
this [ðɪs]
that [ðæt]
they [ðeɪ]
mother ['mʌðər]
weather ['wɛðər]
Voiceless [θ]
Place your tongue between your teeth and blow air, without vocal cord vibration.
think [θɪŋk]
three [θri:]
month [mʌnθ]
bath [bæθ]
birthday ['bɜrθdeɪ]
anything ['ɛniθɪŋ]
The schwa [ə]
The schwa is the most common vowel sound in English. It is a short, relaxed, neutral sound, like a very soft a or e. It appears in unstressed syllables.
about [ə'baʊt]
banana [bə'nænə]
sofa ['soʊfə]
today [tə'deɪ]
problem ['prɑbləm]
animal ['ænɪməl]
Many words that are spelled very differently use the same schwa sound in their unstressed syllables. The schwa is key to sounding natural in English.
The initial S + consonant
In some languages, words cannot start with S + consonant, and speakers tend to add a short vowel sound before the S. In English, there is no vowel before the S. Be careful not to add one.
speak [spi:k] (not "espeak")
street [stri:t] (not "estreet")
small [smɔl] (not "esmall")
stop [stɑp] (not "estop")
school [sku:l] (not "eschool")
Spain [speɪn] (not "eSpain")
The R sound [r]
The English R is very different from the R sound in many other languages. In English, the tongue curls back and does not touch the palate. The tongue does not vibrate.
red [rɛd]
river ['rɪvər]
right [raɪt]
really ['ri:əli]
breakfast ['brɛkfəst]
country ['kʌntri]
Silent letters
English has many silent letters. Here are the most common patterns:
Silent K (before N)
know [noʊ]
knife [naɪf]
knee [ni:]
knock [nɑk]
Silent W (before R)
write [raɪt]
wrong [rɔŋ]
wrap [ræp]
wrist [rɪst]
Silent B (after M)
climb [klaɪm]
bomb [bɑm]
thumb [θʌm]
dumb [dʌm]
Silent GH
night [naɪt]
light [laɪt]
daughter ['dɔ:tər]
thought [θɔt]
Silent H
hour ['aʊr]
honest ['ɑnɪst]
honor ['ɑnər]
Puede parecer buena idea machacar un tema hasta dominarlo, pero alternar diferentes temas en una misma sesión de estudio funciona mejor. La variedad obliga al cerebro a esforzarse más, y eso favorece el aprendizaje.
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