How to Speak English - Pronunciation for Russian Speakers

Want to speak English more naturally? This lesson is designed specifically for our Russian students. It addresses pronunciation of consonants, such as ’W’ and ’V’, which are difficult for Russian speakers. Often, Russians speak English very well, with almost perfect grammar. Watch this lesson and practice your pronunciation with me so that you can speak, and be understood, clearly. Although this lesson explores pronunciation issues that Russian speakers struggle with, all ESL students can benefit from the practice. Удачи! TRANSCRIPT Hi, there. Welcome back to EngVid. Today, we’re doing a pronunciation lesson. It’s particularly designed for Russian speakers who -- I had some experience of working in a language school this summer, and there were mistakes that I noticed from some of the Russian-speaking folks. But it’s also a lesson to really drill pronunciation for speakers of first languages -- if it’s Spanish, French, German -- whatever your first language is, it will be a useful lesson for you. So do stay tuned, and let’s work on crystal clear, crisp pronunciation for all of you. Okay. We’re just going to be looking mainly at consonant noises, sounds, today. And then, a little bit on how we use our pitch to suggest that what we are saying is a question. Is that right? Yes, it is. So first of all, the difference between T and D. T, T, T, T. Okay? I’m flicking my tongue along the roof of my mouth. T, T -- okay? But when I do D, D, D, I’m making more of a sound. D, D, D. Okay. T, T, T -- it’s kind of without the force of my breath. But when I do D, D, D, I put more weight behind it -- D. Okay? So we’re going to do this side, and then this side. Please repeat after me. Ten, den. Ten, den. Try, dry. Latter, ladder. Whiter, wider. Bent, bend. Mate, made. Good. So you all know the meanings of this. Obviously, the number ten. “Den“ is like an outdoor little house. “Try“ -- put in effort. “Dry“ -- the opposite of “wet“. “Latter“, as in “the last“. “Ladder“ to climb up. “Whiter“ teeth than you. “Wider“ than him. “Bent“ -- “bend“, the process, the verb of bending. “Mate“ -- my friend. “Made“ in Chelsea.“ Okay? Where something is produced. Now, we’re looking particularly at the dark L, the stronger L, L, L. So it’s a sound that I make quite back in my mouth. L, L. Again, the tongue is kind of doing that, but it’s back in my mouth -- L. Whereas R, R, R, it’s further forward, further forward. L, L, R, R. See what my mouth is doing? R, okay? R, R. It’s kind of opening and coming down -- R. Let’s practice here. Load, road. Load, road. Lice, rice. Liver, river. Fly, fry, fry. This is a difficult one because you’ve got the F followed by the R -- F, R, F, F, F, F, F. So I’m using my bottom lip down here -- F -- flicking it up to the stop lip. F -- rye. Fry, fry. Belly, berry. Belly, berry. Okay. So that dark L and the R. I also noticed some difficulty with the nasal -- the nose sound NG. Okay? When I do that NG sound, I should feel vibration here in my nose. NG. Have a go at home. NG. Okay, focus that noise out here through your nose. And let’s go for “sing“. Okay? Feel the vibration in your nose. Ring, bring, fling, thing. Again, let’s check the meaning. “Sing“, obviously “sing“ a song. “Ring“ on my finger. “Bring“ me a cake. “Fling“ a pen; throw -- also means “romance“, a fling. And “thing“ is an object. Okay? Now, we’re on to TH. Oh, just having a bit of a malfunction of the old wardrobe. Don’t worry; my trousers aren’t falling down. We’re okay. We’re okay. Now, obviously, there’s no TH sound in the Russian alphabet, so it’s going to be particularly difficult for Russians. TH, TH. So my lip is going to my upper jaw and to the front teeth. They, they. Okay. Make sure your tongue comes right forward to the tip of your teeth. They, they. And it just nestles under there under your teeth. They. They, dey. They, dey. There, dare. Thy, die. Then, den. Southern, sudden. Okay. Let’s do it one more time. They, dey -- misspelling. Dey -- that sounds like a kind of Jamaican phrase. “Dey people over there, man. Dey [inaudible].“ Okay. But I actually mean “day“ with an A. Okay? There, dare. Thy, die. Then, den. Southern, sudden. “Sudden“ meaning “quick“; it happens fast. This, I think, is probably the biggest mistake that Russian speakers would make, the confusion between W and V. W, V -- vibration here in the lips -- V -- and release -- V -- release. West, vest. Went, vent. Wire, via. This is a really confusing one, wire and via. Also, for German speakers, this is relevant. Wary, vary. Wiper, viper. Okay? W and V -- feel the vibration here. W -- okay, watch what I’m doing -- W.