English Pronunciation I: Consonant Sounds

Learn how to pronounce the [Th], [S], [Z], [F], [V], and [P] English consonant sounds. No more pronunciation mistakes!

Created byShawn Roe

Last updated 10/2015

English

What you'll learn

By the end of the course, you will be able to correctly hear and speak the difference between the [Th] and [S] sound.
... hear and speak the difference between the [S] and [Z] sound
... hear and speak the difference between the [F] and [V] sound
... hear and speak the difference between the [F] and [P] sound
And learn a few vocabulary words and phrases as well.

Course content

5 sections • 17 lectures • 47m total length

About the Course1:56
What's the course about? What will you learn? Who is your teacher? This video explains it all.
Practice Quiz: About this Course
Funny Pronunciation Mistake Commercial0:40
Just for FUN!

Don't make the same pronunciation mistakes as this guy! Watch this funny commercial showing how bad English pronunciation can cause problems.

This video shows the difference between the [Th] and [S] sounds in English. Maybe if the German man had taken my Pronunciation course, he wouldn't have made the same mistake.
Why is Pronunciation Important?4:19
Tips to Effectively Take this Course4:06

[Th] vs [S] Sound: Pronunciation Difference1:00

Read the simple descriptions of how to pronounce the [Th] and [S] sound. Practice pronouncing the vocabulary words that use each of the sounds. Then practice reading the example sentences and short phrases at the bottom.

The more you practice speaking, the better your pronunciation can become. Use this lesson combined with the video lesson to improve your pronunciation.
Watch the video lesson next to hear and see how to pronounce these sounds correctly.
[Th] vs [S] Sound: Video4:06
Listen and practice the difference between the [Th] and [S] sound.
Repeat after me as many times as you need to improve your English pronunciation of these difficult consonant sounds.
[S] vs [Z]: Pronunciation Difference1:00
Read these explanations to help you better understand how to pronounce the [S] and [Z] sounds.
Practice reading the vocabulary words to improve your pronunciation.
Pay careful attention to the pronunciation in the example sentences at the bottom. Some of the 's' letters are pronounced with the [Z] sound!
Watch the video lesson next to hear how to pronounce both sounds correctly.
[S] vs [Z] Sound: Video4:19
Improve your English pronunciation. How to pronounce the difference between the English [S] and [Z] sound.
[Th], [S] and [Z] sounds Quiz

[F] vs [V] Pronunciation Difference1:00
Notice the difference in pronunciation of the [F] and [V] sound. The mouth shape is the same, but the sound is slightly different.
Practice pronouncing the different vocabulary words. Read the first [F] word aloud, then read the first [V] word. Make sure you pronounce the consonant sound differently. Notice how many of the words sound very similar.
Watch the video lesson next to hear the difference between these two English consonant sounds.
[F] vs [V] Sound: Video4:32
How to pronounce the difference between the English [F] and [V] sound.
This is the third video in the course Pronunciation 1: Difficult Consonant Sounds.
[F] vs [P] Pronunciation Difference1:00
Learn how to pronounce the difference between the [F] and [P] sound in English.
Read the vocabulary words aloud. Listen to yourself reading them and see if you can notice the difference between the two consonant sounds.
Watch the video lesson to see and hear the difference between the two sounds.
[F] vs [P] Sound: Video4:18
This video explains the difference between the English [F] and [P] sound. You will learn how to pronounce each consonant sound, and practice vocabulary words and a few phrases for each.
[F], [V], and [P] sounds Quiz

Review of Consonant Pronunciation Differences1:00
Review of how to pronounce the consonant sounds, along with example pronunciation word pairs that you can use to practice the difference in pronunciation.
Review Video4:26
A review of how to pronounce all 6 English consonant sounds.

Repeat after me, and see if you can hear AND correctly speak the difficult pronunciation pairs of words. This is a fun review. Have fun and repeat after me a lot!

[T] Sound: Hard, soft, and unfinished5:21
Three ways to pronounce the [T] Sound in American English: hard, soft and unfinished. See if you can hear the difference between the ways the [T] Sound is pronounced at the beginning, middle and end of words. Repeat after me to practice on your own!
[R] Sound: At the beginning, middle, and end of words6:03
Here are many examples of the [R] sound in American pronunciation at the beginning, middle and end of words. Practice repeating after me to perfect your pronunciation of the sometimes tricky [R] sound.

Pay attention to the shape of your mouth. Are the corners of your mouth closer together when you pronounce the [R] sound?
Man vs Men & Woman vs Women Pronunciation Tip3:33
Thank you all for signing up for my short pronunciation course on difficult consonant sounds. Here is a bonus pronuciation lesson for you. The difference between 'man' and 'men', and 'woman' and 'women'. Hope it helps!

Requirements

Basic understanding of English

Description

This simple Pronunciation course will help you understand differences in how to pronounce six common English consonant sounds. By the end of the course, you will know how to hear, speak, and understand the pronunciation of the:

[Th] sound
[S] sound
[Z] sound
[F] sound
[V] sound
[P] sound

Content

Most of the course consists of short, simple videos of Shawn Roe, an experienced ESL instructor, explaining how to pronounce each English consonant sound, and giving examples of words and short phrases that use each sound. Students can follow along and practice speaking the way Shawn describes. Students are also encouraged to repeat after Shawn while watching the videos.

Benefits

One great thing about taking this course, that it's available to the student everywhere there's an internet connection... forever. Watch and rewatch the videos. Pause the videos in the middle. Practice repeating how to pronounce different words and phrases, and watch how your English pronunciation improves!

After watching and practicing along with the videos, students should notice a difference in their ability to pronounce these 6 common English consonant sounds.

Instructor Feedback

Shawn will be active in the course answering student questions as they arise. If enough students participate, Shawn also plans to make himself available for several live sessions giving students a chance to practice their pronunciation and receive immediate feedback from a native-speaking American English ESL instructor.

Summary

Take this course to gain confidence in your ability to speak English! Improve your pronunciation and simply speak English better.

Who this course is for:

ESL students
English learners
Non-native English speakers
Students of all ages

English Pronunciation I: Consonant Sounds

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction to Pronunciation4 lectures • 11min

American English [Th], [S], and [Z] Sounds: Consonant Pronunciation - Part 14 lectures • 10min

American English [F], [V], and [P] Sounds: Consonant Pronunciation - Part 24 lectures • 11min

Consonant Pronunciation Review2 lectures • 5min

Bonus Lessons3 lectures • 15min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: