For years, language learners have been told: “Don’t focus on pronunciation.” “Your accent is beautiful.” “Every accent is unique.”

Pronunciation isn’t about losing your accent. It is about reclaiming clarity, confidence, and presence. In this episode, we explore why so many advanced English speakers feel their voice doesn’t match their intelligence, and how small changes in pronunciation can restore authority without sacrificing identity.

If this episode resonated with you, follow the podcast for more conversations like this. And if you’d like personalised support in refining your pronunciation without erasing your accent, you can work with me one on one on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274

Why does work sound like werrrk when it’s spelled with an o? In this episode, we unpack one of the most confusing features of British pronunciation: the /ɜː/ sound. With clear explanations, grouped practice words, minimal pairs, and tongue twisters, this lesson will help you stop trusting the spelling and start trusting the R.

Practice Transcript:

Spelled with 'e': her, term, serve, early, person, learn

With 'o': work, word, world, worth, worse, worm, worst, worthwhile, attorney

With 'i': bird, first, girl, shirt

With 'u': nurse, turn, burn, church

Practice 2:

her, bird, nurse, work

term, girl, turn, word

serve, first, burn, world

early, shirt, church, worth

person, bird, nurse, worse

learn, girl, turn, worm

person, girl, nurse, word

Minimal pairs:

Word - ward, work - walk, world - wall, worse - wars, worth - north, worm - warn

Tongue Twisters:

I like to walk to work in warm weather.

The worm on the war ship worships workplaces

The early bird turns and learns to work.

Were the worst words worth the work?

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274

This guided practice episode helps you train the e schwa, the most common weak vowel sound in English. You’ll practice how it appears at the end, in the middle, and at the beginning of words, focusing on relaxation, rhythm, and smooth transitions rather than clear vowel shapes. We start with the most reliable endings such as er, en, and el, then move on to common middle schwa patterns, and finish with unstressed e at the start of words, where pronunciation can vary depending on speed and accent. This episode is designed to help you reduce effort, improve flow, and sound more natural in connected speech.

Transcript:

-er (uhr): teacher, driver, player, worker, baker, manager, leader, owner, member, partner, computer, number, paper, summer, letter

-en (uhn): open, broken, written, taken, given, garden, listen, happen, children, often, golden, sudden, heaven, seven

-el (uhl): travel, model, level, label, novel, cancel, vowel, tunnel, panel, angel

Middle e schwa: different, camera, general, interest, average, moment, student, patient, parent, president, independent, permanent

Initial e schwa: effect, event, enough, explain, exit, exist, elect, emerge, enable, engage, economy, election

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274