Hi, everyone!

I'm Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU to speak English fluently and confidently.

In today's episode:

I'll focus on the pronunciation of some words which my students often mispronounce.

Later, you'll practice your English speaking with a funny mini-story.

Before you get started, make sure you read the text. Go to my website SpeakEnglishPodcast.com and look for episode #046.

Awesome! Let's get started!

I've noticed that you love my pronunciation episodes, so I've selected nine more popular words that most students mispronounce.

I'll start by telling you the correct pronunciation, and then I'll use each word in a sentence.

Captain

A captain is someone who leads or has authority over others.

In American English, we pronounce it like this: "kap-tuh n"

Example:

"He was the captain of the ship, and the sailors had to obey him."

Cousin

A cousin, also called the first cousin or full cousin, is the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt. Let me say it again, and you can repeat after me:

"kuhz-uh n"

Example:

"My cousin and I always used to get in trouble when we were kids."

Island

Another word on my list is the island. I must have listened to my students mispronounce this word thousands of times. And yeah… We never pronounce the consonant S. We say "ahy-luh nd" and never "is-land"

Example:

"Every time I have a fight with my sister, I feel like fleeing to a deserted island."

Situation

Many people find this word difficult to pronounce because it's not easy to guess the pronunciation based on the way it's written. This is the proper way to pronounce it: "sich-oo-ey-shuh n"

Example:

"This tense situation is becoming increasingly difficult to bear."

Society

This is another word that many students find it challenging to pronounce. I'm talking about the word society. You should pronounce it like this: "suh-sahy-i-tee"

Example:

"Their parents are more comfortable living in a traditional society."

Soldier

I also wanted to include the word soldier in today's lesson. For those of you who don't know the meaning of this word, a soldier is someone engaged in military service. I'll pronounce this word again so you can repeat after me: "sohl-jer"

Example:

"Every dead soldier has a face, a story, and a heartbroken family."

Statue

The word statue is another word that I wanted to include in today's lesson. A statue is usually a representation of a person, animal, or mythical being that is created by sculpting or modeling.

Listen and repeat: "stach-oo"

Example:

"The moment he saw her for the first time, John stood still like a statue."

Vehicle And here's the last word for today; the truth is that many people are mispronouncing it. I'm talking about the word vehicle. A vehicle is used to transport people or goods, especially on land, such as a car, truck, or car. You should pronounce it like this: "vee-i-kuh l."

Example:

"Jimmy insisted on leaving the vehicle at her disposal in case she needed it."

Before I continue with the next section, let's practice the eight words again:

captain

cousin

island

situation

society

soldier

statue

vehicle

I hope you're enjoying today's lesson. Let me just point out that in order to get a better pronunciation, you should be listening more. Many students enjoy reading books or articles, but, especially if you have a low or intermediate level of English, it's very convenient to listen to the audio of the text as well.

Now let's continue with a story told with questions and answers!