If you are learning English by yourself, pronunciation can be really difficult. After a while, you will learn some basic pronunciation rules, but English being the language it is, many of these rules have exceptions. This is the rule, except …… This leads to errors, especially the following common pronunciation errors below.
Common Pronunciation Problems
There are several common pronunciation mistakes that students make, the most common of which are listed below and have helpful links to other resources.
Results of Pronunciation Errors
If you make a pronunciation error, you may not be aware of it, but your listener will probably notice. If you make a slight error, then they will be able to keep listening and follow what you are saying. However, if your error limits your listener’s understanding, then they will stop listening and try and think what you were trying to say. Meanwhile, you keep talking, so more often than not, they will have missed important information. If you know your pronunciation is not very clear, then keep checking that your listener understands you. This will stop more misunderstandings.
The Schwa
The schwa is the /ə/ the weak vowel sound. Most students can use this very well in the middle of words, but many add this sound at the end of a word. This adds an extra syllable which restricts fluency once students become more advanced. Watch this video and try to stop adding the extra sound. It is really difficult to this quickly, often taking students years of practice to stop. Start trying now!
Stress in compound nouns
In several Asian languages, how you pronounce each sound is critical, but in English, stress is the most important. Sure, if a student gets a vowel sound wrong, then they may be difficult to understand, but stress is the main reason English learners are misunderstood. Compound nouns especially cause difficulties. In English, the stress is usually (not always!) on the first part rather than the second. If you understand that stress is an important part of the pronunciation, then it will be easier for you to practice.
Ed Endings
There are three different ways to pronounce words with ‘ed’ endings. They are usually the past tense of verbs, but not always. One of these ways (adding /id/) adds a syllable and so is easily noticed as a mistake. Practice stopping this error first before you consider the other two pronunciations, and your speech will improve faster.
Contractions
In English, it is very common to shorten words by using contractions such as:
I am = I’m
cannot = can’t
did not = didn’t
we are = we’re
There are many of these and most students recognise them in texts. However, many of these same students still pronounce the original words rather than the shorter form. These contractions have different pronunciations from the originals and are often much simpler than students think. Using them and practicing them leads to more confident and fluent speaking from more advanced students.
Final ‘S’
This is a similar issue to ‘ed’ endings, with the biggest problem arising when a syllable is added at the wrong time. Again, practice is essential and helps the student to become more confident.
/i/ Endings
For students from some countries, it is difficult to know when to pronounce the /I/ at the end of a word, so a two-syllable word such as ‘taxi’ becomes a one syllable one. The basic idea is, if the word ends in an I or a y, then you pronounce the /I/ sound. I don’t know for sure, but I feel that this error is made so they don’t add an extra syllable as in the schwa sound.
Heteronyms
This is a long and complicated word, but it applies to words that have the same spelling but two meanings, which have slightly different pronunciations. For example, close (meaning near) is pronounced with an /s/ sound, while close with a /z/ sound means to shut. Often the two words have similar meanings, but one pronunciation is for the noun, and the other for the verb as in REcord (noun) and reCORD (verb).
The Difference Between /m/ and /n/
This is an easy one for teachers to notice in classrooms because to pronounce /m/, you MUST close your mouth. When pronouncing /n/, you MUST NOT close your mouth, with the sound coming from your nose.
Conclusion
These are the main common errors. If you would like to practice more, then there are simple Shadowing exercises here, the phonemic chart here and here as well as the differences between vowel sounds here (as long as you can put up with close ups of my mouth 🙁 )