Top 10 MOST Difficult Words in English: Pronunciation lesson

Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.

Teeth, desks, asks, tests.

How do I pronounce these tough words?

Don't worry.

I'll help you.

Let's talk about it.

Have you ever been speaking in English, and then all of a sudden you say a word, and you

pause, and you have to say it again, and maybe again, because it's pretty tricky?

These words trip you up, which is a great phrasal verb to mean, it makes you stumble,

and hesitate, and have a problem.

So today I'd like to help you with the common words that often trip up English learners.

And do you know what?

Sometimes they trip up native English speakers too.

Our first category are words that end in TH the second category are words that have SKS.

Our final category are words that have STS.

These all are quite tough, but after today's lesson, I hope you will have some power to

be able to say them more clearly and understandably.

Let's start with our first category, words that end in TH.

Word number one, month.

Month.

Notice what my tongue is doing at the end of this word.

It's out between my teeth, and there's some lovely air streaming out.

Month.

Can you say it with me?

Month.

I think that the TH at the end of words is tricky for English learners, because you often

practice TH at the beginning of words.

Thursday, Thanks, Theater.

But when it comes to the end of the word, it gets skipped over.

So let's make sure that you can say this clearly in a sentence.

October is my favorite month of the year.

Say it with me.

October is my favorite month of the year.

Don't forget the TH.

Let's go on to our next word.

Word number two is, teeth.

Teeth.

Notice the same thing as happening.

My tongue is between my teeth, and there's a stream of air coming out.

Say it with me, teeth.

Teeth.

Let's put it in a sentence.

Later this month, I'm going to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned.

Say that whole sentence with me.

Later this month, I'm going to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned.

Each of these sentences is going to include the previous word.

So I hope that you'll be able to easily integrate it into your pronunciation as you speak.

All right, let's go to our next one.

Fourth.

Fourth.

This is talking about four, but we're going to add a TH on the end.

And there is a tricky R before the TH.

So say it with me.

Fourth.

Fourth.

You can just think about the word four, and then we're going to add on a TH.

Four-th.

Fourth.

Fourth.

Let's put it in a sentence.

I brushed my teeth after I ate my fourth piece of chocolate.

Say it with me.

I brushed my teeth after I ate my fourth piece of chocolate.

Are you feeling a little bit better about the TH at the end of words?

Don't forget it.

It's there, and it's important.

Let's go to our next category.

Our second category of tough words are words that end in SKS.

This is actually a category of words that sometimes trips up native English speakers,

too.

Especially if we're trying to say something again, and again, if you're repeating one

of these words, sometimes you think about it too much, and it starts to sound weird.

And you realize, "Can I say this right?

How do you say this word, is this weird?"

So I want to help you as an English learner.

Be able to say it right as well.

Asks.

Asks.

Don't you see how this could be weird?

Let's slow it down.

Asks.

Let's focus on just the last two letters, KS.

KS.

KS.

Can you say that with me?

KS.

KS.

And then we're going to add the beginning of this word Asks.

Asks.

When you separate it like that, with just the KS at the end, it helps to more accurately

say this word without feeling too weird about it.

Let's put it in a sentence.

When my son asks why for the fourth time I tell him, I don't know.

If you've ever had a toddler, or a three-year-old like I do, they like to ask why for everything,

because they're curious about the world, and that's fine, but sometimes it's a little excessive.

So let's try to say this sentence together, and focus on the word asks, but don't forget

our previous word fourth.

When my son asks why for the fourth time I tell him, I don't know.

When my son asks why for the fourth time I tell him, I don't know.

Our next word that ends in SKS is, desks.

Desks.

If you are a teacher, or even if you work in an office, and there are a lot of desks,

you might have to say this word a lot, which could get tricky, but that's why we're here,

right?

To practice it.

So let's try to say this word.

Let's separate KS from the first part, DES.

Des-ks.

Des-ks.

Desks.

Desks.

Desks.

Let's put it in a sentence.

The teacher asks the students to sit at their assigned desks.

Let's slow down.

And I want you to try to say this sentence with me.

The teacher asks the students to sit at their assigned desks.

Their assigned desks.

Let's go to the next one.

Tasks.

Tasks.

But separate KS from the first part, T-A-S.

TAS.

TAS.

And then we'll add on KS.

Tas-ks.

Tas-ks.

Can you say it with me?

Tasks.

Tasks.

Let's add to a sentence.

One of my weekly tasks is cleaning off the desks.

Say it with me.

One of my weekly tasks is cleaning off the desks.

One of my weekly tasks is cleaning off the desks.

Our final word in this section with SKS is, risks.

Risks.

Let's do the same thing that we've been doing before.

Separate the first part from KS.

Ris-ks.

Ris-ks.

Say it with me.

Risks.

Risks.

Let's put it in a sentence.

The zookeepers weekly tasks have some high risks.

The zookeepers weekly tasks have some high risks, like brushing the lion's teeth.

This is a high risk activity.

So let's try to say that sentence together.

The zookeepers weekly tasks have high risks, like brushing the lion's teeth.

Let's go to our final category, which are words that end in STS.

Oh, lovely word.

Tests.

Tests.

In my opinion, this is taking what we just talked about with SKS to the next level.

There's something about the word T that makes it a little bit harder than a K.

So let's slow down these words and try to do the same separation of TS.

TS.

That T-S from the beginning of the word.

Let's take this word tes-ts, but first let's just practice that ending.

T-S, can you say that with me.

TS.

TS This is different than just S. SS.

SS.

There needs to be a hard T sound at the beginning.

TS.

TS.

TS.

Now let's add on the beginning of the word.

Tes-ts.

Tests.

Tests.

There's not an awful lot that's happening with your tongue to change the shape between

the S letter and the T letter, and then the S again.

Instead, there's just a change in the amount of air emphasis.

Tests.

Tests.

Tests.

Your tongue is doing a little bit of work for that T, but it is quite settled and yet

important.

Let's put it in a sentence.

The skydiver always tests his limits with the risks he takes.

For you, is it the same that the T-S is tougher than the K-S sound comparing tests to risks?

That's how it is for me, but maybe it's different for you.

Let's try to say the sentence altogether.

The skydiver always tests his limits with the risks he takes.

The skydiver always tests his limits with the risks he takes.

Let's go on to the next word.

Posts.

Posts.

Let's separate this word.

Let's say pos, and then add on TS.

TS.

Can you say that with me?

Pos-ts.

Pos-ts.

Posts.

Posts.

I feel like I need, I can massage after this.

It's quite difficult.

All right.

Let's try and put this all together in a sentence.

The teacher always posts the grades of the tests online.

Testing your skills here.

The teacher always posts the grades of the tests online.

The teacher always posts.

Posts The grades of the tests online.

You might be wondering can I just say, the result of the test online, or the teacher

always post the results.

Can you cut off that last S?

And the answer is unfortunately, no.

It's not grammatically correct, and it's not going to sound correct if you cut off that

S. That's what I see a lot of english learners

doing, because, yes, this is a tricky sound in english, but it needs to be there.

You need that final S. So I hope today is able to help you practice that a little bit

more.

Let's go to one final word.

Beasts.

Beasts.

So let's separate it from the beginning of this word.

Beas-ts.

Beas-ts.

Say it with me.

Beas-ts.

Beas-ts.

Beasts.

Beasts.

Let's put it in a sentence.

My uncle posts pictures of mysterious beasts online, but I know they're fake.

Let's say it together.

My uncle posts pictures of mysterious beasts online, but I know they're fake.

My uncle posts pictures of mysterious beasts online, but I know they're fake.

Huh.

Are you ready to take this all to the next level?

We're going to put this together in a little story, using most of the words that we talked

about today, get your thinking cap on, get your muscles ready to pronounce.

Let's do it.

Once a month I take a hiking trip.

One of the risks of this is running into wild beasts with big teeth.

My mom worries about me.

So she always asks for my checklist of safety tasks before I go.

When I was preparing for my fourth hiking trip, I ran some tests to check my rain gear.

When I return home, I enjoy sharing pictures of nature in posts on social media.

I encourage all of you to take a break from your desks and computers, and enjoy nature.

I'm going to say this story one more time, but this time I want you to try to repeat

the story with me.

I want you to exercise those pronunciation muscles, and test yourself with these tough

words.

All right, let's say the story together.

Once a month, I take a hiking trip.

One of the risks of this is running into wild beasts with big teeth.

My mom worries about me.

So she always asks about my checklist of safety tasks, before I go.

When I was preparing for my fourth hiking trip, I ran some tests to check my rain gear.

When I return home, I enjoy sharing pictures of nature in posts on social media.

I encourage you all to take a break from your desks and computers, and enjoy nature.

How did you do.

Did you exercise your pronunciation muscles?

Well, now I have a question for you.

Let me know in the comments, which one of these words is the most tricky for you.

I'm curious if other people from other backgrounds, or other native languages think the same thing

as you.

You were all connected as English learners.

So I hope this lesson was helpful for you.

Well, thank you so much for learning English with me.

I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.

Bye.

The next step is to download my free ebook, 5 Steps to Becoming a Confident English Speaker.

You'll learn what you need to do to speak confidently, and fluently.

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more free lessons.

Thanks so much.

Bye.