Ever wonder why when Vietnamese people speak to you in English, sometimes you can’t figure out what they say? Well, it turns out that there are 7 critical mistakes that make the speakers belong to the Vietnamese-speaking-English tribe.

Let’s see what are those mistakes and how we can deal with them, shall we?

1. Missing the Ending sounds

• Why: We don’t have those sounds in Vietnamese.
• Examples: “s” in is, “t” in heat, “ed” in missed or “st” in fast.
• How to correct: Listen and learn the rule: when to pronounce “s” as “s” or “z”, when to pronounce as “t” or as “id”. Imitate native speakers long enough and you’ll have the full confidence to say it out loud.

2. Missing the Middle sounds

• Why: Vietnamese words only have one syllable! We are thus not familiar with multi-syllable words, especially those with complex middle sounds.
• Examples: “s” in Wednesday, in master or “g” in virgin
• How to correct: Split the word into smaller parts and try to pronounce each part slowly, then faster. Pay attention to the stress and the rhythm.

3. Misplacement of the “S” sound

• Why: We try to fix the “s” missing problem! Unfortunately, we over-emphasize it too often that we fall into the trap of misplacing it.
• Example: With this sentence She is doing her homework, many people add the “s” sound after doing or her.
• How to correct: Write the sentence down. Identify the words with “s” sounds. Then speak the sentence slowly. Or simply, just slow down. Please, slow down.

So those are the top 3 common mistakes for Vietnamese speakers. In the next part, we will list the next 4 areas that will help you eventually become fluent in English! Stay tuned!