Episode 159
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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:
"I never thought my wish could one day come true."
"Through repetition, you will improve your English fluency."
"I had three exams last week and passed all of them."
"They tried to threaten to take away my scholarship, but in the end, they had a change of heart."
You have always been by my side, especially throughout the difficult times.
"They were put in prison for theft."
Ok, let's continue.
My students also find it hard to pronounce words that end in "ly."
Examples:
Independently / significantly
unfortunately / definitely
consciously
excitedly
You have difficulty pronouncing words ending in "ly" because it is often part of a consonant blend. You have to say two or even three consonants together.
If you want to pronounce words ending in 'ly,' you first need to know how to pronounce the consonant /l/ correctly in English.
1) In the words Independently and Significantly, we have consonants n, t, and l, one after the other.
That's what makes these words difficult to pronounce.
Listen and repeat after me several times:
independently
significantly
Examples:
"The two sections operate independently of each other."
"Teens tend to like to act independently."
"You can reduce your health problems significantly if you have a healthy diet."
"American English is significantly different from British English."
2) Unfortunately and Definitely.
In unfortunately, and definitely, we have the consonant group tl. Again, listen to the words unfortunately and definitely and repeat after me several times:
unfortunately
definitely
Examples:
"Unfortunately, I can't talk much. My time is limited."
"They thought I was exaggerating, but unfortunately, all the reports have turned out to be true."
"I'm definitely excited about our trip to New York."
"I'm definitely going to get in touch with the company."
3) Consciously
In the word consciously, we have the consonant cluster sl.
Listen to the word consciously and repeat after me several times: consciously.
Examples:
"You have made a decision, whether consciously or unconsciously."
"I would not think he is consciously rude to people; it's just his personality."
4) Excitedly:
In the word excitedly, we have the consonant group dl.
Listen to the word excitedly and repeat after me several times: excitedly.
Examples:
"People were gathering and talking excitedly."
"She waved excitedly as the car approached."
That's all for now; I hope you have practiced your English pronunciation with these exercises and examples. Now let's continue with a mini-story.
Now, let’s practice.
Want more speaking practice? Continue with a complete audio course.
IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING
Mini-Story: Speaking Practice
Answer the questions aloud with short and quick responses. Repeat the Mini-Story several times to improve your speaking and listening.
Tom was a chef, and he enjoyed cooking continuously.
Was Tom a lawyer?
No. No. Tom wasn’t a lawyer. He was a chef.
Did he hate cooking?
No. No. He didn’t hate cooking. He loved cooking.
Did he cook every day? Yes, he cooked every day. He cooked continuously.
Every week he excitedly made a selection of ingredients for his delicious dishes.
When did he make a selection?
Every week. He made a selection of ingredients every week.
Did he make the selection excitedly?
Yes. He made the selection excitedly. He was excited about his work.
Were his dishes inedible?
No. No. His dishes were not inedible. His dishes were delicious.
Unfortunately, one day something terrible happened. Tom lost his inspiration.
Did something wonderful happen?
No. No. Unfortunately, something terrible happened.
Was Tom inspired to prepare new dishes?
No. No. Tom wasn’t inspired. He lost his inspiration.
Was he significantly inspired?
No. He wasn’t significantly inspired. Tom lost his inspiration.
But luckily, Tom realized that what he needed was to operate more independently.
Was Tom able to realize something?
Yes. Luckily, Tom realized something.
Did Tom need more supervision?
No. No. Tom needed to become more independent. He needed to operate more independently.
So he definitely opened up his own restaurant and worked as a chef there.
What did Tom open? A bakery?
No. No. Tom didn’t open a bakery. He opened a restaurant.
Was it his own restaurant?
Yes. Tom opened his own restaurant.
Did he work as a waiter there?
No. No. Tom worked as a chef in his own restaurant.
That’s how he recovered his inspiration and worked continuously and excitedly for the rest of his life.
What did he recover? His dignity?
No. No. He didn’t recover his dignity. He recovered his inspiration.
Did he work again continuously?
Yes. He worked again continuously and excitedly.
How long did he continue to work as a chef?
For the rest of his life. Tom continued to work as a chef for the rest of his life.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
Voiced TH
The /ð/ sound used in words such as this, that, these, those, they, and them.
Voiceless TH
The /θ/ sound used in words such as three, thing, and thought.
Threaten
To say or show that you may cause harm or trouble if something happens.
Throughout
During the whole period of time or in every part of something.
Theft
The crime of stealing something.
Consonant blend
A group of consonants pronounced together; the episode explains that this can make some -ly words difficult.
Consonant cluster
Two or more consonant sounds occurring together, such as the /sl/ sounds discussed in consciously.
Excitedly
In an excited way; the episode uses it to practice the consonant group /dl/.
Want more speaking practice? Continue with a complete audio course.
This is very usefull practice