Courses for STEP, IELTS, TOEFL and everyday English
Module 1
7 min read
لم تحدد مستواك بعد؟ اختبار من خمس دقائق يفتح لك الشرح بالعربية في الدروس الأولى.
ابدأ اختبار تحديد المستوىHere's something nobody tells you at the start: English isn't hard because the words are long. It's hard at first because your mouth has never made some of the sounds before. Your mouth is brilliant at Arabic sounds. It just hasn't practised these yet.
Four sounds cause most of the trouble. Once you can make them, hundreds of words get easier at the same time.
Arabic has B but not P. They're made in the same place — both lips together — but P has a little puff of air and B doesn't. Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say "pen". You should feel the puff. Now say "Ben". No puff.
This one matters, because "pen" and "Ben" are different words. So are "pig" and "big".
Put your top teeth gently on your bottom lip. Blow — that's F. Now make the same shape but use your voice — that's V. Try "fan" and then "van".
English has a long "ee" (sheep) and a short "i" (ship), and they're different words. Arabic speakers often say the long one for both. The short one is quick and relaxed — barely open your mouth.
Say these out loud
pen / Ben — pig / big — fan / van — ship / sheep — chip / cheap. Say each pair five times. Then have your parent say one of them and you guess which. Then swap.
Try it now
Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say "pen, pen, pen". Feel the puff of air each time? That's the P sound. Now say "Ben, Ben, Ben" with no puff. Two minutes of this is a real start.
A few quick questions. You'll see an explanation after each one.
Question 1 of 4
What is the difference between the P sound and the B sound?