English Pronunciation Guide for Chinese Speakers

A quick summary of what we will look at:

1. Remember to use past tenses
2. Practice 'kt', 'pt', 'st', 'cht' sounds
3. Don't forget the extra sound on words with -ded and -ted
4. Don't forget the 's' on the end of the word for plural nouns
5. Practice ‘ts', 'sts', 'ks', 'sks', 'kts' sounds
6. Don't forget to use an extra sound on words which end with -ces, -ses, -ges, -ches, -zes
7. Practice words with 'x' in them, and difficult 'ks' sounds in the middle of the word
8. Practice 'eeeii' and 'aaaii' sounds 

1. Remember to use past tenses

One of the biggest problems that Chinese speakers have with pronunciation and grammar is that they often forget to use past tenses.  This is because past tenses are not necessary in Chinese, but it can make a big difference to the meaning if they are missed in English:

2. Practice 'kt', 'pt', 'st' sounds, and use a strong 't' sound on the end of a word

Many past tense sounds are difficult because they have 2 difficult sounds together.  These sounds need a strong 't' on the end to show that they are past tense.

3. Don't forget to use an extra sound on words which end with -ted and -ded

These are some other very important past tense words.  Many learners of English miss the extra 'tid' or 'did' sounds on the ends of these past verbs:

4. Don't forget the 's' on the end of the word for plurals

When there is more than 1 of something, we often need to add an 's' on the end of the word, e.g. 2 cats. Many English learners know this, but it is still very easy to forget even with advanced learners:

5. Practice 'ts', 'sts', 'ks', 'sks', 'kts' Sounds

Adding 's' on the end of the word can make some very difficult sounds!:

6. Don't forget to use an extra sound on words which end with -ces, -ses, -ges, -ches, -zes

With words that end with these letters we need to add an extra sound, 'siz', 'jiz', 'chiz', 'ziz'. E.g. promises = /pro mi siz/. Words with these endings are not only plural words, but they are also used for present simple verbs in the 3rd person singular:

he promises

she promises

John promises

7. Practice Words with 'x' in them, and Difficult Words with a 'ks' Sound in the Middle

There are many words in English which have an 'x' in the middle.  This is a really difficult sound to make because it is like a 'ks' sound:

expert = /ek spert/

It makes some difficult sound combinations:

Check out these horrible sound combinations.  Unfortunately it is difficult to avoid these!

I passed the test - /I past the test/

I fixed 3 problems - /I fikst three problems/

I watched 4 videos - /I wacht four videos/

I have tasks to complete - /I have tasks to complete/

The man looked strong - /The man lookt strong/

He develops training programs - /He develops training programs/

8. Practice eeeiii Sounds and aaaiii Sounds

'eeii' sounds: The following words all have a sound the same as in the word 'say':

change    = /cheeiinj/  “I changed my plans”

name     = /neeiim/“My name is John”

train     = /treeiin/“I went to London on the train”

remain    = /remeeiin/    “She will remain as manager”

campaign= /campeeiin/  “The social media campaign went well”

aaaiii sounds:  The following words have a long 'aaiii' sound the same as in the words 'my' and 'fly'

find = /faaiind/     “I am trying to find my keys”