音标与发音 3.3

English and Chinese, like all languages, consist of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In both languages, reading and writing are related to characters. The basic unit in English is the alphabet, which comprises 26 letters forming all words, while in Chinese, characters and pronunciations belong to two separate systems. Unlike Chinese, in English, the sound (pronunciation) and form (word) are directly correlated.

Many students face challenges with memorizing English words, often due to attempting to memorize them the same way Chinese characters are learned. Most English words are composed of 2 or 3 letters grouped together, with these groupings corresponding to syllables. Syllables are in turn made up of 1 or 2 phonemes. The logic behind spelling a word is to first identify the phonemes through pronunciation and then combine the corresponding letter groupings to form the word. This process from sound to word spelling is akin to understanding a word's pronunciation once you know its spelling. This logic is similar to Pinyin in Chinese, a method introduced by Western missionaries during the late Ming Dynasty that eventually evolved into the current system used today.

This app is the first part of the "Mystery Valley English Classroom" series, designed to help students learn phonemes and phonetic symbols: mastering phoneme pronunciation, distinguishing similar phonemes, and laying a solid foundation for future vocabulary recall and systematic English learning. The aim is to achieve the ability to write words upon hearing them and read words upon seeing them.

Setting itself apart from other apps that only provide text and images, this tutorial employs English teacher-led video explanations guiding pronunciation techniques. It focuses on aspects such as tongue, teeth, lip positions, shapes, and movements to address pronunciation issues at the phoneme level and resolve accents.

Unlike other apps that follow a listen-and-repeat approach, this application tackles pronunciation from the methodological perspective. By addressing pronunciation accuracy and accent issues at their core, this app establishes strong foundations and correct habits for enhancing listening skills, oral proficiency, vocabulary retention while averting future struggles in rectifying improper habits that would otherwise demand considerable time and effort.