Languages and its sounds

One of the things we perceive most immediately from any language is how it sounds. We may enjoy listening to it. We are curious about how natives reproduce it so naturally. Then we probably think how difficult it may be for us to do so, especially when it comes to certain sounds that are not part of our mother tongue. Take for example some languages such as French, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, English or Spanish. They all sound different! Not to mention there’s a wide range of accent variations in each... However, despite all the small or large differences we can find, there will always be a standard pronunciation in each language which makes learning and teaching more friendly.As language teachers or tutors it's key to approach target language standard pronunciation. Our students can use it and improve it to their preference throughout their learning journey. Let's keep in mind that pronunciation does not need to be perfect, but clear enough for it to be understood. It's up to us to give our students the foundations and tools they need to make it clearer. As you know, being language teacher or tutor is a great beautiful challenge and responsibility.So if you're looking for free resources to teach all Spanish sounds, this post is for you! Use them in class with your students. And guess what... they can also practice at home!

Before getting to that...

In spite pronunciation is inevitably part of Speaking skills, it all starts in the ear. In other words, sounds of target language is something we both listen to and produce. Here's my personal favorite quote when it comes to this topic:

"Good pronunciation begins not in the mouth but in the ear”.- Paul Pimsleur

The more your students listen to target language and then practice, the more natural their pronunciation is going to be, so to speak (literally). Below you will find free resources that will get your students listen and get instant feedback in their pronunciation of all the sounds in Spanish.There's no need to rush! Take all the time you and your students need to go through these free resources. Let's make the most out of them!