We can start by identifying your areas of strength and your areas for growth in English pronunciation. Then we’ll focus on the most useful topics for your goals.

Here are some common areas we can explore:

• • Using the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) – learning the symbols for English sounds helps you pronounce new words more accurately and use dictionaries more effectively.
  • Vowel sounds – learn to recognise and pronounce key vowel sounds in English. We’ll often use minimal pairs — pairs of words that differ by just one sound — to help you hear and produce the difference. For example: ship /ʃɪp/ vs sheep /ʃiːp/.

• • Consonant sounds – focus on sounds that often cause difficulty, such as /θ/, /ð/, /w/, /v/, and /r/. We’ll practise contrasts like this /ðɪs/ vs dis /dɪs/, right /raɪt/ vs light /laɪt/.

• • Weak sounds – especially the schwa /ə/, the most common sound in English. It appears in many unstressed syllables, such as the a in banana /bəˈnɑːnə/ or the o in computer /kəmˈpjuːtə/.

• • Sound combinations – practising more difficult sequences like text /tekst/, crisps /krɪsps/, or asked /ɑːskt/.

• • Linking and connected speech – how native speakers blend words together naturally in fluent speech: go on → /ɡəʊ‿ɒn/, not at all → /ˌnɒtəˈtɔːl/.

• • Word stress – knowing which syllable to stress in a word. For example, PREsent /ˈprezənt/ (noun) vs preSENT /prɪˈzent/ (verb).

• • Sentence stress and rhythm – learning which words in a sentence are usually stressed and how this affects the natural rhythm of English.

• • Pausing naturally – learning where to pause so your speech sounds clear and easy to follow.

• • Intonation – using your tone of voice to express meaning or emotion. In British English, pitch often rises slightly in polite questions or friendly invitations, and falls at the end of most statements.

• • Sounding polite or confident – using intonation and stress to adapt your tone depending on the situation (e.g. being firm, enthusiastic, gentle or diplomatic).

• • Spelling vs pronunciation – understanding why some words sound different from how they’re spelled. For example: knife /naɪf/, honest /ˈɒnɪst/, hour /ˈaʊə/.

In our lessons, we’ll work together to identify what’s relevant for you. Improving pronunciation is about being understood clearly, feeling confident, and integrating more comfortably in English-speaking environments. Some people want to sound as close to a native speaker as possible; others prefer to keep their accent as part of their identity. It’s your choice — my job is to support you.