You all right?

This is Elliot from E T J.

English.

And what I'm going to be talking to you about today are some minimal pairs.

So we've got two different sounds that we're going to talk about today.

And these will really help you with your confidence in pronunciation, British accent and the way you sound when you speak.

Now I've heard a lot of different ways of these sounds being made, and it's these two sounds that people get very, very confused with.

So let me go straight into the lesson.

Let's start learning some pronunciation and hopefully, hopefully I can fix your problems.

Remember, with pronunciation, everybody has a different accent.

Everybody sounds different.

Okay, But with these sounds, most of my students seem to have a problem with these two particular sounds.

And they do get said wrong.

So if you already know how to do it, that's great.

If you don't, then this video is for you.

So we're going to compare the e and the e sound.

So we're going to go straight into this.

First of all, I want you to practice the it sound, and that is how I am shaping my mouth.

The mouth shape is always important with pronunciation, especially when we have two sounds which are very similar so that a you know, it's how I'm creating more of a smile.

It's an unwritten founded sound, which means we create more of a smile.

When we create this sound, the tongue goes kind of up, not touching the top, but it's near the top of the mouth and what we do is we quickly let a sound out is a short vowel sound.

So it's a quick Yeah.

Hey, now, for example, think of words like it with sicked.

These words are very common words that you're going to need to use, so make sure you're creating that quick.

It sounds okay, smile slightly, tongue up.

It's not rounded at all, and our mouth is almost closed.

Really?

When we make this sound it okay and the sound we're comparing it to is the e sound e.

Okay, Now, once again, this shape is very, very similar.

The e sound The shape is very similar.

We're creating a smile.

It's a bit more of a smile this time we really want to create that e sound okay?

And we do exactly the same thing.

The tongue goes up e So once again for the e sound.

What happens is so once again for the e sound, the tongue goes high, we stretch our lips out and we create more of a smile.

Don't be afraid to smile when it comes up in words e Okay.

For example, if we have a word like seat Feet Beach, you'll notice what's happening is I am creating a smile and what you need to do when you first start making the difference between these two sounds is you really need to express and exaggerate that shape because that will create the muscle memory to remind you that you need to make that shape and eventually that expression will slowly go away and it becomes more normal like it is when I speak.

But in the beginning, you have to really force the sounds out to distinguish the difference and remind your body how to do it.

So what I'd like you to do first of all before we start any words, is start with the basics.

Okay.

The basics we want to do is just practice going.

It and e.

So remember, the tongue is always high.

We're creating a smile.

One sound is shorter than the other.

So three times, let's say e e do it with me E e a e.

Okay, now, hopefully you have that sound right.

Now, if you don't rewind, try again.

Keep practicing until you get that shape.

Correct.

Okay, then.

Once you've done that, you can start moving on to putting it in words.

These sounds are really common, and they're easily mistaken.

So let's make sure we get them right.

Okay, So we're going to be comparing some minimal pairs, which are really going to help you with comparing the two sounds in sentences and in different situations.

So, first of all, we have the difference between the words Sit and seat sit and seat.

So why don't we try sentence?

I want to sit in the seat.

I want to sit in the seat, try and get a bit faster every time.

Pronunciation is all about repetition.

So keep repeating yourself.

I want to sit in the seat.

I want to sit in the seat, get faster and faster.

And if you're not seeing any improvement, slow down again Start, Go back to the sounds again.

Okay?

It takes time.

Pronunciation.

Let's try the words chip and cheap chip and cheap.

So what we're going to do is we're going to use a very popular British phrase when something isn't very expensive when it doesn't cost much money.

Quite often, we say that was as cheap as chips, cheap as chips.

So just try that for me.

Repeat after me.

Cheap as chips, cheap as chips, Cheap as chips Try and get faster, We've got eat and it now these words can come together quite often.

In one sentence, for example, I could say, Can I eat it?

Can I eat it?

Can I eat it?

Can I eat it and think about Internation there as well?

Think about how the Internation goes when we ask questions in English.

It's a yes, no question.

So we would go, Can I eat it up?

Okay, so we're learning some Internation here as well.

I'm so good to you guys.

How about we try a double one?

Let's try to minimal pairs in one sentence.

Now we know we're reaching the big time with this sound, so let's do it he's sitting on his seat.

He's sitting on his seat.

He's sitting on his seat.

Try that one a few times.

When you get that right, you should be on the right track.

So let's just try another technique, which is where you just repeat them over and over again.

So what I would like you to do for some practice at home is practice these sentences, but also practice just repeating these words one after another and see whether you make any improvement.

So we've got cheek and chick cheek, cheek, cheek, cheek deep and dip deep, deep, deep dip and each with each each each each each, and what I want you to do is create some sentences.

Use your grammar, use your vocabulary and use your imagination to create sentences because it also helps you improve your English.

When you're learning these words with pronunciation, create your own sentences using these sounds and practice.

So I really hope this helps you this sound like I said.

Most of my students have a problem with this, and even people say I don't have a problem with this sound.

But then, when they get in a Skype lesson with me they realize.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

I do have a problem with this sound, and then we spend a while practicing it.

It's really important.

Okay, if you would like my help on Skype with some pronunciation lessons, expressions, lessons, British English lessons provided with voice recordings and images and feedback, then you're welcome to book a Skype lesson.

With me, you can book a trial lesson.

There's usually a waiting list.

So you would book the trial lesson and then we would decide a date when we'd both be free for you to start.

Thank you very much for watching.

I hope you enjoyed the video and I will see you all very soon.

Cheers, guys.

Thank you.

Bye.