Pronunciation Practice: 1) Schwa - 2) /b/ vs. /v/

Time for some badly needed pronunciation practice.

1) Schwa: As you know, the schwa is the most common sound in English. It is a weak, unstressed sound and it occurs in many words, among others in weak forms of articles and prepositions (and other grammar words).

If you want to sound natural and accurate in English, you have to get the schwa sound correct.

To help you in this task, check this BBC Learning English Schwa Practice page.

2) /b/ versus /v/

A simple B-V Quiz will help you distinguish these two sounds.

You will hear a sentence using one word containing etiher /b/ or /v/. Just listen and choose the word you hear in the sentence, then check your answers (and practise). Good luck!