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American English for
Vietnamese Speakers

Vietnamese is a beautiful language, but it doesn't have many sounds that are essential in English. Our curriculum targets exactly what you need to practice.

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Why Vietnamese speakers have a distinct accent

Your native language shapes how you hear and produce sounds. Vietnamese has a different sound system than English, which creates predictable challenges:

#1 Challenge

Vietnamese has no TH sounds

English has two TH sounds (/θ/ and /ð/) that don't exist in Vietnamese. Most Vietnamese speakers substitute "t", "d", or "s" sounds instead, making "think" sound like "sink" and "this" sound like "dis".

Vietnamese words don't end with consonants

In Vietnamese, words typically end with vowels or simple nasal sounds. English words like "worked", "stopped", and "laughed" are challenging because the final consonants get dropped or simplified.

Vietnamese doesn't have consonant clusters

Words like "street", "spring", and "strength" combine multiple consonants at the start or end. Vietnamese speakers often insert vowels between them, making "street" sound like "suh-treet".

V and B sound the same in Vietnamese

The Vietnamese "v" sound is pronounced like "b" in the south and "v" in the north, but neither matches the English V. This causes confusion with pairs like "very/berry" and "vest/best".

The American R is unique

The American R sound requires a tongue position that doesn't exist in Vietnamese. Vietnamese speakers often produce an R that sounds too soft or substitute with an L-like sound, affecting words like "right", "car", and "world".

What you'll master

Our Vietnamese curriculum focuses on the exact sounds that will make the biggest difference in your pronunciation.

TH

The TH Sounds

Learn to produce /θ/ (think, three) and /ð/ (this, that)

Practice words: think, three, thank, this, that, the, they, mother, brother

-ed

Final Consonants

Stop dropping the endings of words

Practice words: worked, stopped, loved, asked, finished, watched, needed

str-

Consonant Clusters

Pronounce multiple consonants smoothly

Practice words: street, strong, spring, splash, script, texts, asks

V/B

V vs B Distinction

Differentiate between these similar sounds

Practice pairs: very/berry, vest/best, vine/bine, vow/bow

R

American R Sound

Master the unique American R articulation

Practice words: right, car, world, girl, work, order, water

How it works

Listen to minimal pairs

Train your ear to hear the difference between similar sounds like "think" vs "sink"

Practice speaking

Record yourself and get instant AI feedback on your pronunciation

Build muscle memory

Unlimited practice until the correct pronunciation becomes automatic

Start improving your pronunciation today

Download English Accent Coach and get unlimited AI practice with a curriculum built specifically for Vietnamese speakers.

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