VOA · Ask a Teacher
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01Hello!
02This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Muhammad in Egypt about using the phonetic alphabet.
03Dear Teacher, I want to ask about the most important sources through which I can learn to improve the pronunciation of English letters for trying to master the American accent.
04Thank you, Muhammad.
05I'm happy to answer this question, Muhammad.
06You can use the phonetic alphabet to help you know each sound of American English.
07Let's start by looking at what the phonetic alphabet is.
08Each separate sound we make when we talk is called a phoneme.
09For example, the word cat has three phonemes.
10C-A-T-Cat.
11For every phoneme we say, in any language, we can show that phoneme by using a special symbol or sign.
12Those symbols are what make the International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA.
13Notice that in the example with cat, only the phonetic symbol for the letter T looks the same as the English letter for that sound.
14For many phonemes, the phonetic symbol does not look the same as the letters of the English alphabet that make the sound of the phonemes.
15Consider the word need, for example.
16It is spelled N-E-E-D, but the phonetic symbol signifying the vowel looks like the English letter I.
17How can you use the phonetic alphabet?
18Try to identify the phonemes that are difficult for you.
19For example, small differences between some vowel sounds in American English may be difficult for some non-native speakers to hear.
20Consider the following example.
21Bit.
22Bet.
23Did you clearly hear the difference between the two words?
24Hearing the sounds more clearly can help you pronounce them.
25The IPA Pronunciation Guide on the website vocabulary.com has an audio element so you can listen to the sound of each symbol.
26It also provides example words that contain the sound of each symbol.
27So, you can use the guide to practice hearing and saying any phoneme in American English.
28The VOA Learning English video series, How to Pronounce, has many lessons that use IPA symbols to help learners practice the sounds of American English.
29The 21 lessons, Games with Vowel Sounds, and the Listening Practice lessons are good places to start.
30On the VOA Learning English website, you can play a short piece of audio and listen for phonemes you want to practice.
31You can hear words pronounced clearly and look at the way English spelling represents the phonemes you hear.
32For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English?
33We want to hear from you.
34Send us an email at learningenglish at voanews.com.
35And please let us know where you are from, too.
36And that's Ask a Teacher.
37I'm Andrew Smith.
// transcribed with Whisper AI — reading it is easy; catching it by ear is the skill
Practice it by ear
