Pronunciation Pro

12. Learning To Listen To American English

Listen Later

The key to learning to speak like a native is learning to open your ears to the sounds and rhythm of American English. As you tune your ear to the sounds of English you'll be better at pronouncing them correctly. 

To go deeper into training your ear to hear, join Pronunciation Pro now! https://pronunciationpro.com/ 


Listening Exercise #1:

Long /A/ vs short /e/

Paper - pepper

Wait - wet

Taste - test

Late - let

Waste - west


Listening Exercise #2: 

Short /o/ vs Short /u/

Hot - hut

Bought - but

Caught - cut

Lock - luck

Mom - mum


10 examples of words that are spelled different than they are pronounced.

  1. Thought: /thot/
  2. Doubt: /dowt/ - no /b/
  3. Wednesday: /wens-dA/
  4. February: /feb-yoo-wAr-ee/
  5. Receipt: /ree-seet/ no /p/
  6. Island: /I-lind/ - no /s/ and reduced /a/
  7. Asthma: /as-mu/ - no /th/
  8. Colonel: /ker-nul/
  9. Hors d’œuvres (French): /or-dervs/ - Other French words: bouillon, casserole, vinaigrette, protege, ballet, bouquet, boutique, silhouette, etiquette, faux pas
  10. Zucchini: /zoo-kee-nee/  (Italian) - pinata (Spanish)
    11. ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Pronunciation ProBy Annie Ruden M.S. CCC-SLP
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    10 ratings

    More shows like Pronunciation Pro

    View all
    6 Minute English by BBC Radio

    6 Minute English

    1,753 Listeners

    Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

    Learning English Conversations

    1,045 Listeners

    Learning English Vocabulary by BBC Radio

    Learning English Vocabulary

    501 Listeners

    All Ears English Podcast by Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan

    All Ears English Podcast

    2,231 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    112,063 Listeners

    Speak English Now Podcast: Learn English | Speak English without grammar. by Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

    Speak English Now Podcast: Learn English | Speak English without grammar.

    560 Listeners

    American English Podcast by Shana Thompson

    American English Podcast

    627 Listeners