Practice Your English Pronunciation Th /θ/ vs /z/ Sounds | Course #16

In this video,

we are going to focus

on two English consonant sounds.

The sounds th /ð/ and /z/.

So the ‘th’ sound and a ‘z’ sound.

I know they sound very similar

but they are actually quite different.

And they are very important sounds in English

so I want you

to be able to pronounce them correctly.

Let's take two example words.

The first word I have is the word ‘then’.

Can you hear the th sound?

‘then’

The second word is ‘zen’.

Can you hear the sound ‘z’?

‘zen’

So ‘then’ and ‘zen’.

I know this may sound complicated

because they sound similar

but they are different, guys.

And if you practice with me,

by the end of this video,

you will be able to pronounce them.

So let's get started.

Before we learn about the consonant sounds

‘th’ /ð/ and zed /z/ in English,

you should always know about the I.P.A spelling, guys.

This is very useful.

And you can also watch how I move my mouth

and please always try to repeat after me -

it's very important.

You can do it.

Let's do it together.

Let's first learn how to produce the ‘th’ /ð/ sound in English.

But this ‘th’ is voiced.

So you are going to use your voice

You're going to use… um…

you're going to feel a vibration in your throat, okay.

And what you're going to do

is you're going to put your tongue between your teeth

and you're not going to push out some air.

What you're going to do,

is you're going to create a vibration with your tongue.

So your tongue has to vibrate, /ð/.

Okay.

Please watch my mouth and repeat after me.

/ð/

/ð/

/ð/

Let's practice with the word ‘then’.

Please repeat after me.

‘then’

‘then’

‘then’

Good.

Let's now move on to the /z/ sound.

So this is voiced.

You are going to use your voice

and feel a vibration in your throat.

You're going to put your tongue

against your bottom teeth

and you're going to make it vibrate.

Use your tongue.

Just make a sound so, /z/.

Okay.

Please repeat after me.

/z/

/z/

/z/

Let's practice with the word ‘zen’.

Please repeat after me.

‘zen’

‘zen’

‘zen’

Good.

Let's now practice with minimal pairs.

These words, that have very similar sounds,

but they are quite different actually.

And they're very good if you really want to hear the difference.

But first let's focus on the sounds.

Please watch how I move my mouth

and repeat after me.

First, the ‘th’ sound.

/ð/

/ð/

/ð/

And now the /z/ sound. Please repeat after me.

/z/

/z/

/z/

Let's now do both. Repeat after me, guys.

/ð/

/z/

/ð/

/z/

/ð/

/z/

Let's now practice with our words.

Please repeat after me.

‘then’

‘zen’

‘then’

‘zen’

‘then’

‘zen’

Excellent, guys.

Well, guys.

It's now time to go through minimal pairs together.

Please watch how I move my mouth

and repeat after me.

Let's go.

bathe

bays

breathe

breeze

clothe

close

clothing

closing

lathe

laze

loathe

lows

scythe

size

seethe

sees

sheathe

she's

soothed

sues

then

zen

with

whiz

Excellent, guys.

Okay, guys.

Let's now practice with sentences

containing these consonant sounds.

The first sentence:

‘Sue's voice soothes me.’

Please repeat after me.

‘Sue's voice soothes me.’

And finally:

‘The clothing store is closing.’

Please repeat after me.

‘The clothing store is closing.’

Good job.

Let's move on.

Let's now move on to listening practice.

I'm now going to show you two words.

I will say one of the two words,

and I want you to listen very carefully

and to tell me if this word is, ‘a)’ or ‘b)’

Let's get started.

Let's start with our first two words.

Now which one do I say?

Word ‘a’ or word ‘b’?

Listen.

‘whiz’

One more time.

‘whiz’

Is it ‘a’ or is it ‘b’?

It's ‘b’ guys, ‘whiz’.

‘a’ is ‘with’.

Listen to me.

‘lathe’

‘lathe’

It's ‘a’ guys, ‘lathe’.

‘b’ is ‘laze’.

‘scythe’

‘scythe’

It's ‘a’, ‘scythe’.

‘b’ is ‘size’.

‘lows’

‘lows’

Answer ‘b’ is correct, ‘lows’.

‘a’ is ‘loathe’.

‘close’

‘close’

‘b’ of course, ‘close’.

‘a’ is ‘clothe’.

Listen to me, guys.

‘soothe’

‘soothe’

It's answer ‘a’, ‘soothe’.

‘b’ is pronounced ‘sues’.

‘teasing’

‘teasing’

It's ‘b’, ‘teasing’.

‘a’ is ‘teething’.

‘breeze’

‘breeze’

Which one is it?

It's ‘b’, ‘breeze’.

‘a’ is ‘breathe’.

Listen to me very carefully.

‘closing’

‘closing’

It's ‘b’, ‘closing’.

‘a’ is ‘clothing’.

And finally.

‘sheathe’

‘sheathe’

Of course guys it's ‘a’, ‘sheathe’.

‘b’ would be ‘she's’.

Great practice, guys.

You now have a better understanding

of the two consonant sounds /ð/ and /z/ in English.

Keep practicing.

It takes a lot of practice

to be able to master these sounds

but you can do it.

So keep practicing.

Train your ear as well to hear the different sounds in English.

And obviously watch my other pronunciation videos.

I promise you they will help you improve your skills.

See you next time.