#159 English pronunciation practice - Difficult words

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

Today we will practice some of the most difficult words to pronounce in English.

Words that start with "th" as in this or that and words that end in "ly" as in constantly or definitely." And with a mini-story, you will improve your fluency.

English pronunciation can be a big problem for some English students. And their native language determines, for the most part, what types of difficulties students will have. 

However, most English students worldwide find it difficult to pronounce words that start with "th."

"th" is one of the hardest sounds to pronounce.

And we pronounce it in three different ways: 

• as /ð/ as in this, that, these, those, they or them. 

 

• As the voiceless /θ/ as in three, thing, thought.

Some students often say "dat" instead of that.

- but we also pronounce it as a /t/ as in Thai.

I've asked my students what words they found difficult and many of them were words beginning with "th."

Thought, through, three, threaten, throughout, theft.

I will give an example for each word but first, let's pronounce them one by one.

 

Listen and repeat.

Thought, through, three, threaten, throughout, theft.

 

Examples:

1. "I never thought my wish could one day come true."
2. "Through repetition, you will improve your English fluency."
3. "I had three exams last week and passed all of them."
4. "They tried to threaten to take away my scholarship, but in the end, they had a change of heart."
5. You have always been by my side, especially throughout the difficult times.
6. "They were put in prison for theft."

Read the transcript here: SpeakEnglishPodcast.com