ESL/Reading and pronunciation practice

'Reading and pronunciation practice

Practice saying the letters, sounds, words and sentences. Click on the audio button to hear them in English

For Prayers go to Rosary prayers pronunciation practice (Práctica de pronunciación de oraciones)

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Sounds

Letters

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Vowels

A, E, I, O, U, Y

Children are taught that "Y" can act like a vowel, so when they say the vowels, they said, "and sometimes Y":

A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y

Consonants

B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z

Hard consonants

require exhaling breathe ("aspiration"

B, F, K, P, Q, S, T, V, W, X, Y,

do not require exhalation (no breathing out)

C, D, G, H, J, L, M, N, R,

Vowel shifts

at, ate, and, awe

be, beam, bee, beg, bet, beat

because, bud, but, bugle, buy

choice, chose, choose, chore, chord, cool

gene, gentle, get, great, green

ma, mad, made, main, many, me, mean, men, mere

shrewd, shriek, shut, soon, sour, sue, sure

the, the, them, theme, there, they

unfit, unity, us, under, use, use, until

S-words

school, seems, silent, smart, snatch, someone, special, strong, student

Ending consonant pronunciation

It is important in English to articulate clearly the consonants in a word, especially the final consonant. Listen to the final consonant in each word and practice articulating it yourself:

Es importante en inglés articular claramente las consonantes de una palabra, especialmente la consonante final. Escucha la consonante final de cada palabra y practica articularla tú mismo:

Bring back the street lamps that we used to use at night.

• Spoken fast:

• Spoken slowly:

It is important for youthful users to get going early in the day.

• Spoken fast:

• Spoken slowly:

Pronouns

Goals:

• practice using gender pronouns (he/she) for people but not for things (it)
• practice pronouncing consonants, especially at end of words
• note the different ways to state someone's name

Sentence 1:

My sister is Susan. She lives in California. It is very nice there.

Mi hermana se llama Susan. Vive en California. Es muy bonito allí.

• notes:
  • "My sister is Susan" is the same as "My sister's name is Susan" or "The name of my sister is Susan"
  • "it" and "there" are pronouns that refer to California

Sentence 2:

My brother's name is Ben. He is a Physics professor. He teaches it to college students.

Mi hermano se llama Ben. Es profesor de Física. Lo enseña a los estudiantes universitarios

• notes:
  • "My brother's name is Ben" can also be "My brother is Ben" or "The name of my brother is Ben"
  • "physics" is an adjective to tell us what kind of "professor" he is. It can also be expressed as "He is a teacher of physics" using the preposition "of" as in Spanish ("professor de Fiisca")

Sentence 3:

I have three dogs, a girl and two boys. She is very sweet and the boys love to play. They are all so much fun!

Tengo tres perros, una niña y dos niños. Es muy dulce y a los chicos les encanta jugar. ¡Todos son muy divertidos!

Sentence 4:

I live near the park. It is fun to go there.

Vivo cerca del parque. Es divertido ir allí.

• notes:
  • "it is" is an impersonal verb construction, whereas "there" is a pronoun that refers to the park

Sentence 5:

My wife and I go to church. It is very beautiful. She is beautiful, too!

Mi esposa y yo vamos a la iglesia. Es muy bonita. ¡Ella también es hermosa!

• Notes:
  • the pronoun "it" refers to the church

Hearing English sounds

Here are some difficult sentences. Let the sounds go from the ear to the mouth. Don't worry about the meaning of the words!

He aquí algunas frases difíciles. Deja que los sonidos pasen del oído a la boca. ¡No te preocupes por el significado de las palabras!

The brave knight fought fearlessly as shouts echoed across the field.

El valiente caballero luchó sin miedo mientras los gritos resonaban en el campo.

As the sea unfurled its misty veil, the boat’s sail caught the gale.

A medida que el mar desplegaba su velo brumoso, la vela del barco atrapó el vendaval.

The bright moonlight shines on the meadow, where the deer graze, casting eerie shadows.

La brillante luz de la luna brilla en la pradera, donde pastan los ciervos, proyectando sombras espeluznantes.

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Footnotes