From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

Pronouncing English can be difficult. One reason is because English has some difficult sounds that are – unfortunately for English learners – very common.

But English learners can improve their pronunciation by using simple, everyday objects. These objects include candy, a pencil, and a mirror.

What are some of these common difficult sounds? Well, you have already heard or read them several times in this story.

The "th" sounds

In English, two different sounds are spelled with the same pair of letters: "th." You hear (/ð/) in the word "this," and (/θ/) in the word "thing."

When you say "this," your voice box moves. When you say "thing," air moves freely through your throat.

Marla Yoshida teaches English as a foreign language at the University of California, Irvine. She notes how strange these sounds are:

Did this method help you? What other things do you do to improve your pronunciation? Let us know in the Comments section or on 51VOA.COM.

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Words in This Story

pronunciation – n. the way in which a word or name is pronounced

candy – n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate

mirror – n. a piece of glass that reflects images

tricky – adj. difficult to do or deal with

stick – v. to put something or someone in a specified place

lollipop – n. a round piece of hard candy on the end of a stick

tongue – n. the soft, movable part in the mouth that is used for tasting and eating food and in human beings for speaking

relaxed – adj. not strict or carefully controlled

tense – adj. not relaxed but hard and tight