English Pronunciation Mistakes Every Learner Makes

Are you pronouncing this word correctly?

Let's find out.

If I write this word like this, then that should help.

We pronounce it as /sleɪ/.

A slay is a vehicle, sometimes pulled by horses or reindeer,

that glides over the snow.

Listen carefully.

/sleɪ/.

So, we have the S going into the light L sound: /sl/, /sl/, /sl/, and then

we have the diphthong, /eɪ/, /eɪ/.

A diphthong is two vowel sounds blended together.

Continuous sound from one to the other  /e/ - /ɪ/ — /eɪ/, / eɪ/;

/s/, /l/, / eɪ/ — /sleɪ/.

Got it?

Try this sentence.

"Santa's sleigh glided smoothly across the snowy sky."

"Santa's sleigh glided smoothly across the snowy sky."

Let's keep working on our pronunciation, but first, if you don't know me, my name

is Anna from englishlikeanative.co.uk.

I'm an English teacher and pronunciation coach.

Now to help you to make the most out of this lesson, I have an audio practice

track that you can download for free.

I'll leave a link for you in the description.

So, sticking with the S L sound — /sl/.

Next, we have slippery, slippery, slippery.

This word is an adjective and describes something that's wet or smooth and

causes things to slide easily, like ice.

Ice is slippery.

Try this sentence.

"Be careful on the icy path; it's very slippery!"

"Be careful on the icy path; it's very slippery!"

Now, what about sled?

Sled.

A sled is a small simple version of a sleigh and it's

often used by children for fun.

Try this sentence.

"The children raced down the hill on their wooden sled."

How about slush, slush.

Slush is wet, melting snow that's a bit mushy and a bit messy.

Here's a sentence for you.

"The roads were covered in dirty slush after the heavy snowfall."

Now be aware of the /ʌ/ vowel in  slush,  slush.

We don't want /slɒ/, /slɒʃ/, or  /sljuʃ/, we want /ʌ/, like

in the word up, /slʌ/, /slʌʃ/.

Got it?

Excellent.

Finally, we have — slide.

To slide means to move smoothly across a surface.

Try this sentence.

"We watched the penguins slide down the icy slopes with ease."

Very good.

The /aɪ/ here is long.

It's a diphthong — /aɪ/, /aɪ/; /slaɪd/.

It's very different to the /ɪ/ sound in slid.

So, you have  /slɪd/ and /slaɪd/,  /slɪd/ —  /slaɪd/.

"I slid down the slide."

Fantastic.

Now, I'm going to read you a passage.

Now you can read along with the words on screen or via the transcript that you can

download with your audio practice track.

See if you can hear the words that we've worked on today.

The sled had been Sam's idea.

Of course, it had to be his idea.

Everything fun, thrilling, and slightly dangerous always was.

Emma could still hear his voice in her mind.

Full of boyish excitement as he dragged the old wooden sled out from the garage,

its faded red paint peeling at the edges.

"Come on, Em" he'd say, his green eyes sparkling like the fairy

lights strung across the rooftops.

"The hill by the orchard is perfect today, it's slippery enough to fly!"

She'd hesitated at first, her practical side, warning her about the icy

paths and the risk of taking a slip.

But Sam had a way of pulling her into his world where caution

melted like snow in the sun.

So, she bundled up in her thickest coat, yanked on her woollen mittens and followed

him out into the crisp December air.

The memory was vivid now, as if it had happened just yesterday.

The snow had been fresh and powdery, crunching under their

boots as they climbed the hill.

When they reached the top, Sam had plopped down onto the sled,

patting the space behind him.

"Don't chicken out," he'd teased, grinning, as she

rolled her eyes and climbed on.

The wind had whipped against her face as they flew down the slope, her

laughter mixing with his whoop of joy.

They had crashed, of course, tumbling into a heap at the bottom, covered

in snow and breathless with laughter.

Later, they'd sat side by side on the sled, listening to the

distant jingle of a sleigh bell.

The sound had drifted on the wind, soft and magical, as they caught

their breath and watched the stars blink in the frosty night sky.

"Do you think Santa's real?"

Emma had asked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

Sam had tilted his head thoughtfully.

"I don't know.

But if he is, I bet he'd love the slush around here.

Perfect for sleigh rides."

She laughed, nudging him with her elbow.

"Slush isn't exactly magical, Sam."

"Maybe not" he'd admitted a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"But magic isn't about perfect things, Em, it's about the

moments you remember forever."

And then there was the slip, the one she'd never let him live down.

As they'd made their way back home, arms full of snowballs for an impromptu

fight, Sam had misjudged a patch of ice.

He'd gone down with a surprised YELP!

His legs flying out from under him.

Emma had laughed so hard, she'd almost joined him on the ground,

but instead she'd offered him a hand up, her cheeks aching from smiling.

"Not a word" he muttered, brushing the snow off his coat,

but his grin had betrayed him.

Years later, standing in the town square, Emma clung to that memory.

The hill, the laughter, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about magic.

The world might have moved on, but those moments had stayed with her, etched

into her heart like initials on a tree.

And as she stood, visualising Sam's mischievous smile, she

thought of all those wishes whispered beneath the wishing tree.

Maybe, just maybe, magic wasn't about perfect things.

It was about the moments you couldn't forget, and the people

who made them unforgettable.

If you liked this lesson, then please do give Give it a like, and until next

time, take very good care, and goodbye.