Greetings English Learners! This will be my last Post for this year and I have decided to focus on common English words that many of you find difficult to pronounce. My students can usually pronounce these difficult words if I give them an easy keyword containing the same sound.

For example, how would you pronounce the word ache? (Headache,  earache, toothache) It’s not easy, is it? However, I’m sure you can say make. Take off the m and you have the same sound: ..ake = ache. Easy! 

Check-out the table below. The same sounds are in orange. The Practice sound examples are underlined. Practise saying the words and your speaking and confidence will certainly improve! 

Difficult Words	Key Words	Practice & Pictures
bought, thought, taught, caught	sort	What sort of fish have you caught?
bus,	just, must	Oh no! I just missed the bus!
headache, earache, toothache, stomachache	make	Too much music makes my head ache.
stomach	sick	I feel sick in my stomach.
it’ll	little	Remove the l from little and you will be able to say it’ll. It’ll take just a little practice!
enough, rough, tough	stuff	Stop! That’s enough rough  stuff!
through	do / food	Do you ever go through all the food in the fridge?
busy	business	His business is very busy.
busy, coffee	bee	I’m as bus y   as a  bee. Too bus y   for coffee.
manage, baggage	fridge	Who managed to put my baggage in the fridge?!
would, should, could	good / wood	It would be good if you could chop some wood.
blood, flood	love	Vampires love blood.
said	bed	Doctor Ted said, “Ed, go to bed!”
says	fez	Des says the fez is for Les. Les says the fez is for Des.
suite	sweet	There were sweet treats and Champagne in our Honeymoon suite.
queue	q / cue	To pronounce this strange word, just say the first letter – q. Don’t wait for a cue (a sign); wait in the queue.
since	sin city	How long since you visited Sin City?
sew	so	So, Jo taught you to sew, did she?
suit	fruit	Why do you have fruit in your suit pocket?

* That’s all for now. Make sure you click ‘Follow’ if you would like to receive Part 2 and more Posts to help you in your English journey.  

See below for a playlist of Christmas songs, with subtitles so you can song along, by Michael Buble.

I wish you all the blessings of Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, & Prosperous New Year!