Lessons · Unit 4, lesson 3

Beginnings that stack: stop, glad, swim

Two consonants before the vowel — measurably the harder direction, and the place learners most often slip a little vowel in. Say sss-top if you must, but never suh-top: the two consonants belong to one breath.

Now say it yourself

Read each word from its sheet, out loud, three times. Where there's a play button, listen first and copy what you hear. Slow is fine — clear beats fast.

If your language never starts words with two consonants, this band deserves extra repeats — it's the single most common giveaway of an accent, and the most fixable.