/a/ (as in at)
The short a sound may be difficult to hear and pronounce since it does not exist in some languages.
/a/ (as in ate)
Students may confuse the sound of long a with the sound of /e/ as in Ed (i.e. late--let; paper--pepper).
/b/
When /b/ is the last sound of a word, students sometimes forget to vibrate their vocal cords, causing the voiced /b/ to sound like the voiceless /p/ (i.e. cub--cup).
/c/ (as in cat)
It may need to be explained to students that when the sound /k/ is the beginning sound of a word, it is said with strong aspiration and a puff of air.
/d/
When /d/ is the last sound in a word, some students forget to vibrate their vocal cords, causing the /d/ to sound like the voiceless /t/ (i.e. bad--bat).
/e/ (as in Ed)
It may be difficult for some students to hear and pronounce the difference between the sounds of short e and short a (i.e. met--mat).
/e/ (as in eat)
Confusing English spellings cause pronunciation problems. Also, students may substitute the long e sound with the short i sound (i.e. eat--it).
/f/
Some students may keep their lips apart and instead produce a sound like /h/ (i.e. fat--hat). Or, students may completely close their lips and produce the sound /p/ (i.e. cuff--cup).
/g/
When /g/ is the last sound of a word, some students forget to vibrate their vocal cords, causing the /g/ to sound like the voiceless /k/ sound (i.e. rag--rack).
/h/
Some students may substitute /h/ with /f/ or /sh/ before the vowels u and i
(i.e. hit--fit; hut--shut).
/i/ (as in it)
The sound /i/ may be difficult to hear and pronounce since it does not exist in some languages. The more familiar sound of long e is often substituted (i.e. hit--heat).
/i/ (as in my)
The long i sound is generally easy for students to produce; however, irregular spelling patterns may confuse students about how to correctly pronounce words containing this sound.
/j/
Difficulty differentiating between the sound /j/ and other similar sounds might result in substituting /j/ with /y/, /zh/, /sh/, or /ch/ (i.e. jello--yellow; pledger--pleasure; gin--shin; badge--batch). Also, English spelling patterns can be confusing.
/k/
It may need to be explained to students that when /k/ is the beginning sound of a word, it is said with strong aspiration and a puff of air.
/l/
The sounds /l/ and /r/ do not exist in many languages. Oftentimes these two sounds are confused (i.e. flight--fright; late--rate).
/m/
Pronouncing /m/ at the beginning and in the middle of words may not be difficult, but pronouncing /m/ at the end of words is sometimes difficult and substituted with /n/ or /ng/ sounds (i.e. some--sun; swim--swing).
/n/
Pronouncing /n/ at the end of words can be difficult because of the similarities between the sounds /n/, /m/, and /ng/. Sometimes /n/ is substituted with /m/ or /ng/ sounds (i.e. sun--some; ran--rang).
/o/ (as in odd)
Confusing English spelling patterns cause substitutions of the sound /o/ for more familiar vowels, such as long o (i.e. not--note, cot--coat).
/o/ (as in boat) and /ow/ (as in show)
Students may confuse the sound of long o with other similar English sounds, such as short u and short o (i.e. coat--cut; note--not).
/p/
It may be helpful to explain to students that p is much more explosive in English than it is in other languages. At the beginning of English words, /p/ should be produced with a puff of air or it could sound like /b/ (i.e. pat--bat)
q
Q must stand with the vowel u in order to make a sound. The sound of qu is /kw/. Initially, teach only the name of the letter. Students should be informed that the consonant q has only a name—no sound—when it stands alone.
/r/
The sound /r/ does not exist in some languages. In many languages, the r is a blend of the English sounds /r/ and /l/ and is produced by rapidly touching the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth. Some students attempt to say the English /r/ by touching the roof of the mouth with the tongue. As a result, the /r/ sounds like /l/ (i.e. read--lead). Joining r with a vowel helps produce correct pronunciation.
/s/
The sound /s/ is a common sound and is generally easy for students to produce; however, some speakers tend to say /sh/ instead of /s/ before e and i (i.e. see--she; sip--ship). It is helpful for some students to place the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth when learning how to produce this sound.
/t/
The sound /t/ is a common sound and is generally easy for students to produce; however, some speakers tend to substitute /t/ with /ts/ before long u and /ch/ before long e and short i (i.e. two--tsu; tear--cheer; tin--chin).
/u/ (as in up)
A short u has the same sound as a schwa. Because this sound does not exist in some languages, it may be difficult to hear and pronounce. Also, irregular spelling patterns may confuse students, causing them to substitute /u/ for sounds that are more familiar, such as short o and long o (i.e. color--collar; come--comb).
/u/ (as in suit) and /oo/ (as in too)
Students may confuse the sound of /u/ as in suit with the sound of /oo/ as in look.
/u/ (as in unit)
Students may confuse the two sounds of u: /u/ as in union and /u/ as in suit.
/v/
Sometimes students substitute b for v (i.e. bet--vet). Also, when /v/ is the last sound in a word, some students forget to vibrate their vocal cords, causing the /v/ to sound like the voiceless /f/ (i.e. save--safe; leave--leaf).
/w/
Sometimes w and v are confused (i.e. went--vent; we’ll--veal). The lower lip should not touch the upper teeth. Also, sometimes students omit the w before double o vowels (i.e. wool--ool; wood--ood).
/x/ (as in fox)
The sound /x/ is a combination of the sounds /k/ and /s/. Students need to quickly roll from the sound /k/ to the sound /s/ to produce this sound accurately.
/y/ (as in yes)
The sound of y as a consonant only occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable. This sound may be difficult to pronounce. Students may substitute the sound /y/ with the sound /j/, or they may omit it entirely (i.e. yet--jet; year--ear). If helpful, have students put the tip of their tongue against the back of the lower front teeth, but emphasize that the tongue should NOT touch the roof of the mouth.
/z/
The sound /z/ is not a common sound. Many students pronounce the letter z as a /s/ or /j/ sound (i.e. zoo--Sue; zest--jest). Irregular English spelling patterns also cause confusion. Remind students that /z/ is a voiced sound.
Some information adapted from: Dale, P. and Poms, L. (1999). English Pronunciation for International Students. Prentice Hall Regents: USA.