On Accents

Does a person from Córdoba speak the same language as one from Venezuela? We could say they do. They speak Spanish. Do they sound the same? Definitely not! They have quite different accents.

Think of the way people from these places sound:

Buenos Aires city

Córdoba 

Corrientes

Chile

Colombia

México

Spain

My variety of Spanish, for one, is Riverplate Spanish (Español Rioplatense), since I was born in the city of Buenos Aires. What's yours?

With English, it's the same story: there are numerous varieties and accents. We've all heard about how British vs American accents are chalk and cheese, but there is more than that. People from Scotland and people from Australia, for example, are different as night and day, and there are tons of other examples. Each country has several different accents, just as Argentina does.

At least to me, all these accents are truly beautiful in their own way. So here are some videos for those who feel the same. Enjoy!

General American Accent

Southern American Accent

British vs American Accents

Scottish English 

Australian vs American Accents

What's with /dʒ/? A difficult consonant sound

From my experience as a teacher, I can tell you that the /dʒ/ consonant sound poses one of the biggest challenges for Spanish speakers pronunciation-wise. However, it is not a complex sound to produce. Actually, the difficulty lies in the fact that this sound is not used in Spanish, and so we need to learn it from scratch.
In general, Spanish speakers mistake it for the sound /ʃ/, the sound in lluvia or shopping. /dʒ/ does share some features with /ʃ/, but we need to add (1) vibration of the vocal chords and (2) an "explosion".
These videos will help you produce this sound:

These are some of the words that include this sound:

/dʒ/ job /dʒɒb/ bridge /brɪdʒ/ joke /dʒəʊk/ Jim /dʒɪm/ message /ˈmesɪdʒ/ just /dʒʌst/ enjoy /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ/ January /ˈdʒænjuəri/ gender /ˈdʒendə(r)/ danger /ˈdeɪndʒə(r)/ image /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ judge /dʒʌdʒ/ Jamaica /dʒəˈmeɪkə/

Now practice reading these sentences aloud:

❧ Jim enjoys danger.
❧ Your job's a joke.
❧ I went to Jamaica in January.
❧ I've just left her a message.

Minimal pairs: /iː/ or /ɪ/ ?

Arguably the most difficult vowel contrast for Spanish speakers is that between /iː/ and /ɪ/. This is because, while Spanish has only one vowel of this quality - /i/ -, English makes a clear distinction between /iː/ and /ɪ/. 
That you are able to make this distinction is important to such an extent that, if you pronounce one when you should pronounce the other, your interlocutor may understand something different from what you mean.
Watch this video to learn about the difference between /iː/ and /ɪ/:

Now practise producing these very different sounds!

/ɪ/	/iː/
it /ɪt/	eat /iːt/
fit /fɪt/	feet /fiːt/
slip /slɪp/	sleep /sliːp/
bit /bɪt/	beat /biːt/
still /stɪl/	steal /stiːl/
this /ðɪs/	these /ðiːz/

Now read these sentences aloud, trying to get the distinction right!

✨ These are beans.
✨ This is a bin.
✨ We will win at the beginning.
✨ There are fish in the sea.
✨ The week on the beach was nice.
✨ She goes to the gym and takes pills to stay slim and trim.

What are Minimal Pairs?

What is a Minimal Pair?
A minimal pair is a pair of words that differ only in one sound. 
For example:
BAD BED
BIT BEAT
THINK THING
FAT HAT
SINK THINK

Why is it important for EFL students to learn Minimal Pairs?
Because just by mispronouncing ONE sound, we may change the meaning of a word completely. Our interlocutor may not understand what we mean or may be really confused.

One, two, three! 

or
One, two, free!

Minimal Pairs: /d/ and /ð/

Another very difficult contrast for Spanish speakers is that of /d/ and /ð/. The production of these two sounds is very different. Here goes an example:

day /deɪ/ = produce /d/ by pressing the tip of the tongue against the area behind your upper teeth, and releasing it with an "explosion."

they /ðeɪ/ = produce /ð/ by placing the tip of the tongue between your upper and lower teeth. This is the same as our Spanish <d>, as in ¿Qué día es?

Now practice saying these minimal pairs.

/ð/	/d/
then /ðen/	den /den/
than /ðæn/	Dan /dæn/
though /ðəʊ/	dough /dəʊ/
their /ðeə(r)/	dare /deə(r)/
these /ðiːz/	D’s /diːz/

Lastly, practice saying these sentences.

✻ These are the dens.
✻ Dan is dumber than them.
✻ Those were the days!
✻ I made some dough, though.
✻ Do you dare do this?

Minimal Pairs: /b/ and /v/

This is one of the most difficult contrasts for Spanish speakers, mainly because in Spanish, <b> and <v> represent the same sound: /ß/. Conversely, in English, <b> and <v> represent two completely different sounds: /b/ and /v/, and if we don't get this right, people probably won't understand what we mean.
First, check out this video to learn how to produce these two very different sounds:

Second, practice saying these minimal pairs:

/b/	/v/
ban  /bæn/	van /væn/
berry /beri/	very /veri/
boat  /bəʊt/	vote /vəʊt/
best /best/	vest /vest/
bet  /bet/	vet /vet/

Finally, practice saying these sentences. Make /b/ and /v/ sound very different from each other!

♪ I only hang out with the very best.
♪ The vet has bought a van.
♪ I've got blueberry on my vest!
♪ I bet she'll vote for Ben. 
♪ What a terrible problem!

Silent Letters

We all know that English pronunciation is quite tricky!!
Not only can the pronunciation of some words be unpredictable for Spanish native speakers, but there are also some letters WHICH WE DON'T NEED TO PRONOUNCE! These are called SILENT LETTERS.
How on earth am I supposed to know that!?

Actually, it's not that difficult. It's just a matter of learning and studying the silent letters of English, which I'll help you to do.

Check out this summary of silent letters, together with a video that may help you understand better: Realtimeboard: Silent Letters