Learning to speak is usually the first skill we all want to master when we start studying a foreign language. Actually, learning to speak is very important in order to learn how to read and write, and is also crucial to being able to listen well.
In order to speak a foreign language, we must learn basic pronunciation and we inevitably encounter various words or sounds which are not easy to make. Rolling the double R for most Americans elicits strange reactions, for example.
For our ESL students the problems are compounded because English may be one of the most difficult languages in the world to pronounce.
Why?
Various sounds in English are almost impossible to reproduce for English learners. “TH…”, for example, is very problematic for just about everybody, as well as the soft G, the short I, L vs. R, the short U, and V.
And there are many words that are pronounced differently from the way they are spelled.
English is a Germanic language that, after many years, has been influenced by other languages, such as: Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish, and, of course, German.
Interestingly, many of the problems ESL students have in learning English stem from the Native language of the learner.
For example, the sound of “Th…”: Germans pronounce it “D”, the French like “Z”, and Spanish speakers like “T”.
Asian speakers have difficulty with “L” and “R”.
In any case, in my program I focus on pronunciation from the beginning, and I have learned that it is best to approach the lessons in an order of usefulness. So, learning how to pronounce the alphabet, the numbers and greetings is very helpful as an introduction to English in general and English pronunciation in particular. In those lessons the students can practice the “problem sounds” of g/j, short I, short u, v, th, and at the same time learn the silent e rule.
My website, PUMAROSA, is a very good resource to learn pronunciation, especially lesson 15. Even non-Spanish speakers have benefitted from these lessons.
I have found that, once students have improved their pronunciation, they gain confidence in speaking and also in learning English in general.