Lesson Four: Word and World

This lesson covers the /3:/ sound that is found in the words her, were, fur, girl, heard, word. This sound is not found in the Vietnamese language sound you must practice and listen. One way to remember this sound is to think of the word "monster." Also, we talk about the sound of the words word and world. Very often these two words are confused. To say "world" must say "were-earl-d." Practice this with the video.

Lesson Three: Sip and Zip

This lesson teaches the pronunciation for the sounds /s/ and /z/.

The /s/ in English is also found in the Vietnamese language in words like xe, xin, xem, and xoài. The "x" in Vietnamese is often very similar to the /s/ sound in English. The /z/ sound is found in the Northern dialect of Vietnamese speakers. The /z/ sound is found in words such as cái gì, bao giờ, giây. Don't confuse these sounds with the way these words are pronounced in the south.

Practice listening to this video first until you can hear the difference in the two sounds. Remember that the /s/ sound is voiceless and is made by pushing air through a small space in the roof of your mouth. The /z/ sound is voiced and is made with your mouth and tongue in the same position but the sound comes from air over your vocal chords.

Lesson Two: Ate and At

This lesson teaches the pronunciation of the /eɪ/ and the /æ/ sounds.

The /eɪ/ sound is found in Vietnamese words like đây, cô ấy, mây, and sây.  Some English words with the sound are ate, cape, cane, plane, ape. The /æ/ sound in Vietnamese is the same as the vietnamese letter "a" found in words like xa, ma, la, and ta. Some English words with the sound are at, cap, can, plan, and app.

The most important practice you can get out of this video is listening to the difference in the two sounds together. The sounds themselves are very easy for Vietnamese speakers to make, but they are often mispronounced because the sounds are not distinguished. So, listen till you can hear the difference. When you can hear the difference you will be able to speak the difference. Hearing always comes before speaking. Just like with a baby.