With any language, ability to communicate verbally depends on being able to pronounce and recognise its sounds. Some languages are written phonetically but English is not. Conventional English spelling is illogical, inconsistent and misleading.

This makes spoken English difficult to teach.

This website therefore provides a range of resources featuring phonetic text for learners and teachers. These resources use simplified S4 phonetic text rather than academic IPA phonetic text.

Learning the sounds of English without phonetic text as a prop is like learning arithmetic without pencil and paper or playing the piano without sheet music. It can be done, but it is not easy.

Using the resources available on this website, learners and teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) can quickly obtain the information they need to learn and teach mainstream pronunciation productively.

Read my phonetic books new

New Concept English 新概念英语

List of all the sounds of English (with audio)

Why I think IPA symbols need simplification

Getting started

What's in it for me?

How good does pronunciation need to be?

What is S4?

Is S4 "phonetic" or "phonemic"?

And what about "phonics"?

Concerning cockney and Received Pronunciation (RP) accents

Free files featuring phonetics - to download
 
Accent reduction coach online

Things you can do with S4

Français ? Cliquez ici

英语口音英式英语

About phonetic text in general

Contact Simon Vickers at: +33 5 65 53 94 74‬ (France)