Pronunciation Course for Korean Speakers

Free 21-Day English Pronunciation Course for Korean Speakers

Introduction

Is Korean your first language?

Do you believe people sometimes have trouble understanding your English?

Improve your English pronunciation in 21 days with this free course. The goal of the 21-Day English Pronunciation Course for Korean Speakers is to improve intelligibility and raise awareness of common pronunciation challenges faced by people who speak Korean as their first language.

Again, the goal is to improve intelligibility and raise awareness of Korean speakers' common pronunciation challenges.

Why did I say the goal twice?

Because this is not intended to be a magic cure for all your speaking problems, instead, expect significant improvement in your English-speaking intelligibility. In other words, by the end of this course, people will be able to understand you better when you speak English.

Over the next 21 days, we will target twelve specific sounds (four consonants, four vowels, and four consonant clusters) that often give Korean speakers trouble. When you practice each sound, you will complete five different activities:

• Minimal Pairs
• Vowels
• Syllable Stress
• Reduced Sounds
• Tongue Twisters

The sounds of English do not exist in a vacuum, so we practice these sounds on the word level and sentence level. These activities will improve your understanding of American English stress patterns, reduced sounds, and speech music.

There are a multitude of Korean dialects with distinct features. This 21-day course is a general guideline, so feel free to tweak the recommended daily practice based on your needs.

If you would like more ideas on how to work on your pronunciation outside of this program, you can jump to the section Additional Resources for Korean Speakers.

Do You Need This 21-Day Pronunciation Course?

Many English language learners believe pronunciation is their biggest weakness.

A student recently confessed, “If I improve my pronunciation, my English will be perfect.”

She was wrong.

The fact is you might NOT need to work directly on your pronunciation.

Listen to these three speaking samples from Korean speakers preparing for the TOEFL iBT. The original questions can be found on TST Prep’s official website.

Read the summary below each response and compare your pronunciation.

01, Female, Korean, Comparing Jobs and Careers

This 21-day pronunciation course is NOT a good fit for this student. She had some minor issues with her spoken grammar and speaking speed, but it did not affect her overall intelligibility.

02, Female, Korean, Switching Jobs

This student does NOT need help with her pronunciation. She spoke clearly, linked words together, and varied her intonation.

If you want feedback and pronunciation advice from an experienced teacher, send an email to Josh at [email protected].

The 21-Day Pronunciation Course for Korean Speakers

The Speaker English collection of sound practice includes 18 consonant sounds, 20 vowel sounds, and 25 consonant clusters. These are the sounds of American English.

Consonants: p, b, t, d, k, g, v, l, r, z, s, h, dʒ (dg), m, n, w, j (y), f

Vowels: æ (a), eɪ (A), e(ɛ), i: (ee), ɪ (i), aɪ (ai), ɒ (o), ɘʊ (O), ʌ (u), Ʊ (oo), u: (oo), aʊ (ow), ɔɪ (oi), ɪə (eer), ə (“uh”/schwa), ɜ: (er), ɔ: (aw/or), a: (ar), eə (air), ʊɘ

Consonant Clusters: zh (ʒ), ng (ŋ), sh (ʃ), ch (tʃ), th (ð, voiced), th (θ, unvoiced), bl, br, st, sw, cl, cr, dr, fr, fl, gl, gr, pl, pr, tr, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp

Each day, you will complete various activities on four different sounds.

Even though there may be other sounds you struggle to pronounce well, we have selected 12 sounds most Korean speakers find challenging. This represents a large sample size that will target current weaknesses and improve your overall intelligibility.

Consonants:

• p
• l
• z
• w

Vowels:

• æ
• i:
• ɘʊ
• ɔɪ

Consonant Clusters:

• ʒ
• tʃ
• θ
• fl

Follow the links below and complete the given assignments. Set aside approximately 30 minutes each day to complete all activities.

Additional Resources for Korean Speakers

It is important to note that this 21-day pronunciation course is not a one-size-fits-all solution. I encourage you to tweak this plan based on personal preference.

Regarding particular sounds, I have highlighted sounds often identified as troublesome for Korean speakers.

Consonants: p, b, t, d, k, g, v, l, r, z, s, h, dʒ (dg), m, n, w, j (y), f

Vowels: æ (a), eɪ (A), e(ɛ), i: (ee), ɪ (i), aɪ (ai), ɒ (o), ɘʊ (O), ʌ (u), Ʊ (oo), u: (oo), aʊ (ow), ɔɪ (oi), ɪə (eer), ə (“uh”/schwa), ɜ: (er), ɔ: (aw/or), a: (ar), eə (air), ʊɘ

Consonant Clusters: zh (ʒ), ng (ŋ), sh (ʃ), ch (tʃ), th (ð, voiced), th (θ, unvoiced), bl, br, st, sw, cl, cr, dr, fr, fl, gl, gr, pl, pr, tr, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp

If you went through the pronunciation course, you know there are five activities to complete each day:

• Minimal Pairs
• Vowels
• Syllable Stress
• Reduced Sounds
• Tongue Twisters

While these activities are helpful, Korean speakers should focus on consonant clusters and word stress. Korean syllables often end with a vowel, which makes consonant clusters incredibly difficult to pronounce (play → pu - ray). Inserting vowels between consonants is a tough habit to break. Go through the pronunciation practice for all consonant clusters on the Speaker English site, and pay special attention to minimal pairs. It will help you distinguish between a single consonant and a consonant cluster.

Regarding word stress, Korean speakers tend to give an equal weight of stress to each word, even each syllable. Therefore, many consider English a stress-timed language while Korean a syllable-timed language. Unfortunately, we do not include any daily activities about word stress, but you might find this site helpful.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback below. I’m always learning :)