English pronunciation for Spanish speakers
Spanish has 5 pure vowels where English has around 20, so the highest-impact work for Spanish speakers is vowel contrasts (ship/sheep, cat/cut) plus the b/v merger and the extra 'e' that sneaks in before s-clusters (eSpain).
- 7 sounds to fix, in order
- Every sound read aloud
- A listening game for each contrast
Your sounds, in order
- ɪ
1
i as in sit
/ɪ/ merges with /iː/: 'ship' and 'sheep', 'live' and 'leave' sound identical
Fix: Relax your lips and jaw, no smile.
- æ
2
a as in cat
/æ/, /ʌ/ and /ɑː/ collapse into one Spanish 'a': cat/cut/cart blur together
Fix: Open your mouth wide, wider than feels natural at first.
- v
3
v as in very
b and v merge into one soft sound: 'berry' and 'very' are indistinguishable
Fix: Touch your top teeth to your bottom lip, same position as /f/.
- z
4
z as in zoo
no /z/ in Spanish: 'eyes' devoices to 'ice', plural endings disappear
Fix: Same position as /s/, tongue near the ridge.
- dʒ
5
j as in job
/dʒ/ and /j/ swap: 'jet' becomes 'yet' and vice versa
Fix: Start as if saying /d/, tongue on the ridge.
- ʃ
6
sh as in she
Latin American speakers often merge /ʃ/ into /tʃ/: 'ship' becomes 'chip'
Fix: Pull your tongue slightly further back than for /s/.
- ə
7
a as in about (schwa)
Spanish has no reduced vowels: every syllable gets a full vowel, making rhythm staccato
Fix: Relax everything: lips, jaw, tongue in the neutral middle position.
Stress and rhythm
- Spanish is syllable-timed; English squeezes unstressed syllables. Practise weak forms (of → /ə/, can → /kən/) to unlock natural rhythm.
- Avoid the extra 'e' before s-clusters: school, Spain, street start straight on the /s/.
- Spanish pitch range is narrower; exaggerate stressed-word pitch jumps until they feel theatrical; they will sound normal.
Start this week
- Master /ɪ/ vs /iː/ first; it fixes hundreds of everyday words.
- Hold a long 'vvvv' with teeth on lip daily until b/v separate.
- Read plurals aloud, buzzing every final s into a /z/: dogs, plans, ideas.