English Pronunciation for Spanish Speakers
Your strengths first, then the fixes that change how clearly you are understood.
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First language
If your first language is Spanish
These are the patterns Spanish speakers bring most often. Nothing here is a mistake — it is your first language doing exactly what it always does. Each row says where the fix lives.
| The challenge | What often happens | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Ship vs sheep | one Spanish 'i' serves for both | Long vs Short Vowels |
| B and V merge | 'berry' and 'very', 'bat' and 'vat' become one | W vs V |
| The TH sounds | 'think' → 'sink' or 'tink', 'this' → 'dis' | The TH Sound |
| E- before S-clusters | 'school' → 'eschool' | see the tip |
| Z is a buzz | 'zoo' → 'soo', 'eyes' → 'ice' | The -S Ending |
| SH vs CH | 'she' → 'che', 'ship' → 'chip' | CH vs SH |
| Endings get dropped | '-ed' and '-s' fall away and clusters simplify | -ED + -S Endings |
| The English R | a tap or trill stands in for the curl | The English R |
| J and Y swap | 'yes' → 'jess' | J vs Y |
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