English medium teachers training module

A word about ‘English Sounds’

For many learners of English, one of the hardest things to grasp about

English is its pronunciation. In English, there are some speech sounds

that are difficult for the learners to produce. Moreover, the writing and

speaking systems of English do not have one-to-one phonetic

correlation. Hence, besides the English alphabet, the learners need to

approach the English pronunciation which is an essential aspect of

English speaking system.

Therefore, to write in and read English, one has to learn the 26 letters of

the English alphabet, and to speak English with its accent, which can be

globally acceptable, one has to learn the 44 sounds of English along with

word-accent and intonation. However, the teachers should introduce the

sounds or word-accent or intonation to the learners not theoretically, but

orally.

Prior to the teacher’s classroom teaching, the teacher should be aware

of the 44 English sounds mentioned below.