Let’s improve our pronunciation!
Jindaporn Sangganjanavanish
Suranaree University of Technology
Self-analysis of basic pronunciation problems
1.
Which English sounds do you have difficulty with?
(a)
Do you make a difference between the vowels in sit and seat, foot and food?
(b)
Do you make a difference between sheep and cheap, and rice and lice?
2. Do you pronounce consonants at the end of words, for example, ask and first?
3. Do you pronounce <s> and <ed> endings?
How do you pronounce bats, bars, and buses, and stopped and started?
4. Do you pronounce all words with the correct number of syllables?
How many syllables are there in school and student?
5. Do you stress the correct syllable in a word?
Which syllable is stressed in excellent, interesting, and engineer?
6. Does your voice rise and fall enough so your meaning is clear, or does it remain flat?
(a) He’s coming.
(b) He’s coming?
Spelling and pronunciation

Different letters may represent the same sound: to
too

One letter may represent different sounds: cake mat

Combinations of letters may represent one sound: cough

Letters may represent no sounds: knee debt island
shoe glue
any
call
physics
head
Tip: Do not confuse pronunciation of words with their spelling.
Learn to practice what you hear, not what you see.
1
Sounds of English
Source: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
Tip: Use online dictionaries to help
improve your pronunciation.
2
Exercise: Circle the words that are not pronounced with the same vowels as others.
1.
hood
food
book
foot
2.
peas
bread
wheat
leaf
3.
loud
shout
group
count
4.
friend
pain
weight
safe
5.
mean
meant
met
men
Some problem sounds for Thai speakers of English
 and 
They want a leaf.
They want to leave.
and 
What happened to the veal?
What happened to the wheel?
and 
It’s thin.
It’s tin.
and 
He has a strange faith.
He has a strange face.
 and 
He threw the leather away.
He threw the letter away.
and  They began early.
Day began early.
/r/ and /l/
I want some rice.
I want some lice.
 and 
What’s the price?
What’s the prize?
and 
They are sheep.
They are cheap.
What is the difference between the sounds p, t, and k in the left and the
right columns?
park
spark
top
stop
can
scan
peak
speak
tool
stool
car
scar
pot
spot
team
steam
kin
skin
Pronounce these words: paper, prosper, printer, monster, cool, school
3
Pronouncing the –s ending
-s = //
-s = /  /
-s = //
when the word ends in
when the word ends in
when the word does not
/f/
graphs
/s/
boxes
end with the sounds in
/p/
cups
//
breezes
the two lists:
/t/
hats
//
bushes
dogs, names, boys,
/k/
parks
//
watches
learns, goes, plays
//
pages



Exercise: Say the words in each line and decide which one has a different –s sound.
1.
cups
plates
spoons
2.
dishes
gates
pages
3.
dogs
cats
birds
4.
eyes
toes
noses
5.
shoes
dresses
blouses
Pronouncing the –ed ending
-ed = 
-ed = 
-ed = 
when the word ends in
when the word ends in
when the word does not
/f/
laughed
/k/
wanted
end with the sounds in
talked
started
the two lists.
/p/
stopped
protected
/s/
missed
//
pushed
//
watched
/t/
/d/
played, listened, lived
needed
handed
decided
4
Exercise: Say the words in each line and decide which one has a different –ed sound.
1.
stopped
started
stated
2.
looked
liked
loved
3.
tasted
traded
talked
4.
lifted
skipped
hopped
5.
ended
added
danced
Word stress
One part of the word is said a little louder and more clearly.


teacher


stadium


 
important


conversation
Exercise: Say the following words aloud and underline the stressed syllable in each word.
giant
allow
funny
boring
today
shampoo
China
Chinese
product
paper
canteen
student
calendar
energy
apartment
exciting
employee
Canada
Canadian
organize
production
referee
politician
biology
reputation
certificate
energetic
cafeteria
voluntary
technology
Tips: When learning a new word, notice
its stress pattern. When in doubt,
use a dictionary.
Websites for learning English pronunciation:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/
http://www.shiporsheep.com/
http://www.manythings.org/pp/
5