American English pronunciation errors made by speakers native to Russia

Common
American English
Pronunciation Errors

Vowel Errors

Russia

Pronunciation will also be improved by correcting 3 or 4 critical Vowel errors.

Problem:

Sounds that are confused:

No difference between short and long Vowels

i.e.

"beat" – "bit"

Use of "a" instead of "e"

i.e.

"sat" – "set"

i.e.

"bed" – "bad"

Long Vowels that get shortened

i.e.

"cat" sounds like "cart"

i.e.

"bird" sounds like "bed"

i.e.

"torn" sounds like "ton"

Solution:
AAP Vowel Tutorial

Techniques Taught :

- Tongue Position
- Lip Position
- Jaw Position
- Tongue Tension
- Vowel Length
- Compound Vowels

Targeted Exercises

- Vowel Reductions
- Vowel Sounds
- Vowel Pairs
- Vowel Length Drills

Consonant Errors

Russia

Pronunciation will be improved dramatically by correcting a few critical Consonant errors.

Problem:

Sounds mispronounced:

The ‘r’ is trilled, instead of a soft ‘r’

The use of "g" or "n" instead of "ng"

i.e.

"wing" – "'wig" or "win"

‘th’ mispronounced as "s" or "z"

i.e.

"sin" instead of "thin"

i.e.

"useful" instead of "youthful"

i.e.

"zen" instead of "then"

"w" is said as "v"

i.e.

"work" is mispronounced as "vork"

i.e.

"wet" is mispronounced as "vet"

Solution:
AAP Consonant Tutorial

Techniques Taught :

- Placement
- Airflow
- Voicing

Targeted Exercises

- Consonant Sounds

24 different sounds

- L Drills

Blends
Sound combinations

- R Drills

Beginning
Middle
Ending

Intonation Errors

Russia

Using the correct stress and rhythm will immediately improve your ability to be understood.

Problem:

Rate – Too fast - Slower is better to allow more time to pronounce sounds more clearly

Pitch – generally good up and down pitch

Stress – on important words and ending inflection is good.

Intonation – generally good

Russian speakers have fewer weaknesses in intonation. Vowel and Consonant errors are much more prevalent. In addition, Russian sounds are pronounced more harshly than American English sounds. You need to use less force to pronounce sounds more lightly.

Solution:
AAP Intonation Tutorial

Techniques Taught :

- Stress
- Pitch
- Steps and Glides
- Duration

Targeted Exercises

- Intonation Patterns
- Compound Nouns
- Heteronyms
- Word Reductions
- Sentence Level Intonation
- Contrastive Intonation
- Response Drills
- Tag Questions