AEE 2610: Walk or Work? 3 Pronunciation Mistakes to Avoid With Dave Nicholls

Summary

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Podcast Summary: All Ears English Episode 2610

Title: Walk or Work? 3 Pronunciation Mistakes to Avoid With Dave Nicholls
Date: May 4, 2026
Host: Aubrey Carter (subbing for Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan)
Guest: Dave Nicholls, English teacher & pronunciation expert
Main Theme:
Three of the most common English pronunciation mistakes among learners, how to avoid them, and a lively comparison of British and American English pronunciation with actionable tips.

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and practical episode, Aubrey Carter welcomes British English teacher and pronunciation specialist Dave Nicholls. Together, they break down three major pronunciation challenges for English learners:

• Differentiating "walk" and "work" (and "wok")
• Pronouncing "clothes" correctly
• Understanding when and how to pronounce silent letters, especially silent "b"

The conversation is rich with examples, cross-accent comparisons (British vs. American English), and memorable tips to help listeners speak and be understood more clearly.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Differentiating "Walk", "Work", and "Wok"

[03:42-08:12]

Main Problem

Many students confuse these words due to their similar vowel sound, especially between American and British English.

Examples/Explanation:

• British English (Dave):

  • "walk" (to go on foot) has an "aw" sound
  • "work" (to do a job) has an "er" sound
  • "wok" (cooking pan) is a short "o" sound

  Dave: “In British English, we say walk… we have work… but we also have wok, which is a very short sound.” [04:41]

• American English (Aubrey):

  • "walk" and "wok" sound the same ("walk to the store", "cooking with a wok")
  • "work" has a harder, more distinct “er” sound

  Aubrey: “For me, with that hard R, I am creating tension inside my mouth to make that ‘er,’ ‘work.’” [07:00]

Insight:

The real-life context will often clarify which word is meant, but clarity and being able to distinguish these sounds is important, especially in professional environments.

Practice Sentences:

• “I walk to work.”
• “I cook chicken in a wok.”

Notable Quote:

Aubrey: “Whether you’re learning from a British English teacher or American English teacher, what’s really important here is that it’s clear.” [06:42]

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2. Pronouncing "Clothes" Correctly

[08:24-11:14 & 12:33-14:33]

Main Problem

Students often add an extra syllable, saying "clo-thes" or "cloth-us" instead of the correct single-syllable "clothes".

Explanation:

• "Clothes" is a one-syllable word with a voiced dental fricative ("th" sound or "theta") and final "z" sound.
• Common errors stem from breaking up the consonant cluster because “it’s absolutely gymnastics for the mouth.” [09:36]

Tips/Advice:

• Watch video (not just audio) to see mouth and tongue positions.

• Record yourself to observe if you stick your tongue out between your teeth.

• Remember: Bit of "mouth gymnastics"—it’s normal for it to feel tricky!

  Dave: “It’s only one syllable. It is clothes. The mistake I usually hear is students make two syllables... Don’t say that.” [08:57]

  Aubrey: “This is where it’s voiced. Our tongue sticks out between the teeth, which is why it’s called a dental fricative.” [09:17]

Bonus:

Dave, as a British speaker himself, admits growing up saying "cloves," replacing "th" with "v"—even native speakers slip up!

Notable Quote:

Dave: “Anytime you need to do a voiced or voiceless ‘th,’ you need to bite your tongue. It needs to be done each and every time. It can’t be avoided.” [13:28]

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3. Silent Letters – The Case of Silent ‘B’

[14:41-19:30]

Main Problem

Learners often pronounce silent B’s in words like “bomb”, “comb”, “debt”, and “subtle”.

Explanation:

• Two main patterns:

  1. “mb” at the end (bomb, comb, climb, limb, numb, womb, tomb)
  2. “bt” in the middle (debt, doubt, subtle)

• When in doubt, avoid pronouncing B after M or in the “bt” cluster unless you know it's required (as in "bombastic").

  Dave: “Firstly, avoid pronouncing B if you see ‘mb’—usually it is silent. And the second situation is when you have BT... debt, doubt, subtle.” [16:03-16:53]

Tips/Advice:

• Memorize and drill commonly used silent B words.

• Listen to audiobooks while reading along to connect written and spoken forms.

  Aubrey: “I love the idea of listening to an audiobook, but then whenever possible... follow along with the audiobook and take note of this... Record yourself.” [18:52]

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Teaching Techniques & Practical Tips

• Record Yourself: See and hear your tongue and mouth shape, especially for tricky sounds like “th.”
• Watch Videos: Visual cues help for placement of mouth and tongue.
• Repetition and Drilling: Repeat words and sentences containing target sounds.
• Read Along: Use both audio and written material to link spelling and pronunciation.
• Memorize Exception Lists: Words like “subtle,” “debt,” and “numb” should be learned as special cases.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dave [13:28]: “Anytime you need to do a voiced or voiceless ‘th,’ you need to bite your tongue. It needs to be done each and every time. It can’t be avoided.”
• Aubrey [06:42]: “What’s important is that you understand what others are saying and that what you say is clear so that your message is clear.”
• Dave [14:01]: “A lot of natives will avoid it by using a F. They will say ‘thank you’. I think lots of British speakers say ‘fanks’... But it should be ‘thanks’—if your tongue isn’t between your teeth... you’re saying it like a British native speaker.”
• Dave [16:53]: “Debt has a silent B. Doubt as well. And third word is subtle. So there's a subtle difference between clothes and clothes.”

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Resources & Further Learning

• Dave Nicholls’ Channel:
  • Website: SkypeLessons.com
  • YouTube: Search “MrSkypeLessons” (one word)
• All Ears English on YouTube: Visual aids for pronunciation.

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Time Stamps for Key Segments

• [03:42] – Introduction to "walk" vs "work" vs "wok"
• [04:41] – British & American pronunciation differences
• [08:24] – The tricky word “clothes” and common mistakes
• [09:17] – Explaining the “theta” (th) sound position
• [12:33] – Dave’s ‘bite your tongue’ technique for “th”
• [14:41] – Common errors with silent “b”
• [16:53] – List of must-memorize words with silent “b”
• [18:52] – Linking listening and reading for improved pronunciation
• [19:32] – Where to find more from guest Dave Nicholls

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is upbeat and reassuring: the goal is connection, not perfection. Mistakes are normal—even among native speakers—but focusing on clarity and practicing with the right tools (like listening, watching, and recording yourself) will dramatically improve your English pronunciation.

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Transcript

[A]

This is an Allers English podcast. Episode 2610 Walk or Work Three Pronunciation Mistakes to Avoid with Dave Nichols

[B]

welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. We believe in connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter and today's featured guest coming to you from Arizona, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe

[A]

do you have difficulty pronouncing walk and work? What about clothes and clothes? Today, English expert Dave Nichols joins us to share tips that will help you avoid three of the most common English pronunciation mistakes.

[C]

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[D]

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[A]

I am so excited to introduce you to our guest today, David Nichols. Welcome to the podcast, Dave.

[C]

Hi Aubrey, thank you for having me.

[A]

Yes, awesome. This is a fun. Let me quickly introduce you. Dave is an English teacher with 20 years of experience. He spent the first eight years of his life working and teaching English in Moscow, Russia, but then moved back to the UK where you're from, right. And since then has been making English courses and providing conversation classes online. And Dave is here to share the three most common pronunciation errors he hears and tips for how to avoid them. So I'm so excited for this. All of our listeners are working to improve their pronunciation just with the goal of being clear, being understood. Right. So welcome. Excited for you to share these tips today.

[C]

Okay, yeah, thanks for having me. Aubrey. I've got some some different words that I often hear mispronounced here and I'd be interested to hear how you pronounce them as well because I'm well aware that America, you have a slightly different accent than we have in the UK and So I'd like to know how you pronounce these words, too. Okay.

[A]

Yeah. This is going to be interesting. Right. The American accent is so different from the British accent, but as we know, there are regional dialects in both countries. So even the way I pronounce things is different from Lindsay or a lot of other American English speakers. And as you said, Dave, very different from many British English speakers.

[C]

Yes. All over the country here, people have very different accents. And it's actually much harder for me to understand someone from Scotland. Scotland. Or from Ireland than someone from the United States.

[A]

Interesting. Yeah. So this is going to be fascinating. Let's start with this first sound that you want to talk to, and we'll hear how they sound in my accent and in your accent.

[C]

Okay? Yeah. So firstly, students have a lot of trouble differentiating the sound of walk. And I mean, when you're walking or running, that kind of activity, walking and working. And I mean, when you go to work and get paid, when you go to the office or go to the factory and you go and get paid, you work. But when you go somewhere on foot, you walk. And so there is a difference. In British English, we say walk. Yeah. When you're walking. Or work. When you're working. How do you say those sounds?

[A]

Yeah, this is fascinating because I can hear the difference when you are saying them, but it's more subtle than American English. Right. So for the verb, it's walk. We walk around. I walk to the store. But then the verb we have that harder off are in American English. So work. I go to work every day. And they. They are more distinct in American English.

[C]

Okay. Yes. It's in British English English that they're closer. And perhaps this is why my students have problems differentiating the sound. And there is a third word which is very, very similar but different. In British English, we have walk for when you're walking. We have work for when you go to work or go to the office. But we also have walk, walk, which is a very short sound. It's shorter than walk or work. Yeah.

[A]

And what is that? Walk. That's a noun. Right. What does it mean?

[C]

So wok is a noun. In British English, it's a noun, and it means something that you cook with. It's a frying pan. That's very often used in Chinese cooking. Stir fries.

[A]

A really deep pan. Right, exactly, exactly. And it's fascinating because in American English, that noun, a walk, sounds exactly the same as the verb walk. We pronounce them exactly the same, and they're similar in British English. But I can hear the difference when you say the verb. And this frying pan. Let me hear them again. Give them in a sentence somewhere that you would walk to. And then cooking with a walk.

[C]

Okay, so yesterday he went walking in the park. Yeah, he went for a walk in the park for the walking. But yesterday he worked from nine to five.

[A]

And give me one with cooking with a wok.

[C]

Okay. And so yesterday my wife cooked some stir fry. In a wok. In a wok.

[A]

Nice. And it is so subtle that this, I feel like, is pretty negligible. Whether you pronounce them like an American English speaker, walk and walk, or like a British English speaker. I don't know if I could even recreate how subtle that difference is. Say them for us. Walk and walk.

[C]

Walk. Work.

[A]

And the noun work.

[C]

And the noun walk. The noun is shorter, in my opinion. It's a shorter sound. Walk, work, walk.

[A]

Yeah. This is so interesting. So whether you are sort of learning from a British English teacher or American English teacher, what's really important here is that it's clear. And usually it will be from context. Right. I walk to the store. I go to work at noon. Often you can tell in context, but you do want to make sure that you are pronouncing these sounds clearly so that the message is always clear. Right. Whether you say it more like an American speaker or like a British speaker and that you can hear the difference. Right. So walk and then work. For me with that hard R. I am. It's a more tight sound. Right. My mouth to make that R. I am creating tension inside my mouth to make that er, work. Which is a sound you never make. Right, Dave? In British English.

[C]

Yeah, it's different. It's certainly. It's different. We say work, work. I think it's less taught. It is. There's a less. Not such a tight sound.

[A]

Exactly. Your mouth is more relaxed inside to make that sound. Exactly. Okay, so this is really interesting. And as you hear from us here a lot on Allers English, it's not about making those sounds perfectly. And there is no right or wrong far as which accent you're choosing, which dialect you might be sounding more like. But what's important is that you understand what others are saying and that what you say is clear so that your message is clear.

[C]

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. It's the most important thing is that the other person understands.

[A]

Exactly. Okay, let's talk about this second sound. This one's really interesting. The second most common error that you hear.

[C]

Yeah. I find this Word very difficult to pronounce as well. And so you have my sympathy, everybody. Clothes. Clothes. Yeah. And we mean shirts, trousers, shorts, jumpers, coats, clothes. And I want all students to notice that it's only one syllable. It's only one sound. It's clothes. Because the mistake that I usually hear is students make two sounds. They make two syllables. They say clothus. Don't say that. Yeah. Never say clothus or cloth, ass, or. It's one syllable. It is clothes. Yes.

[A]

And I'm sure that happens because we're trying to make that. The. That voice. Dental fricative. The theta. Which. How do you pronounce that in UK English? Theta. You would say theta, though, right?

[C]

Theta.

[A]

Theta. And in American English, we say theta, but that's. This where it's voiced. Our tongue sticks out between the teeth, which is why it's called a dental fricative. And we're vibrating sound. And in order to make that sound, a lot of students are splitting it into two syllables to make it easier, because it is very difficult to say clothes and immediately go from that theta to the Z sound that clothes ends with. That's absolutely gymnastics for the mouth. Right? Yeah.

[C]

It's not easy for a tongue to do it to go into the Z sound. Right. It's a very hard sound.

[A]

Yeah. And I highly recommend everyone out there listening. You might be just listening to audio of the podcast now. Come back to YouTube and watch this episode on YouTube, because often with pronunciation, it's easier to see a video of what our mouths are doing. And with this, especially because the tongue sticks out between the teeth, and you want to record video of yourself making these sounds, saying these words to make sure that you are correctly pronouncing that theta.

[C]

Absolutely. It's very good advice to do so. To record your voice and then listen to it so that you can hear if you're. If you're. If your pronunciation is correct or not correct.

[A]

And especially where we also have the verb clothes, which sounds so similar to clothes. Clothing. But the difference is there is no theta. And so your teeth will not stick out. Your tongue will not stick out between the teeth for that sound. But it's very subtle. Clothes. Clothes. Good.

[C]

Clothes. Clothes.

[A]

And then we also have the voiceless dental fricative, for example, with like, months, where that is sigh. There's no vibration of the vocal cords.

[C]

Good. Yeah, absolutely. Months. Months. So it's silent there. You don't need to have any at the. In the background.

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[A]

And you had shared with me an excellent tip about biting your tongue to make sure you're doing this correctly. Because you didn't always pronounce these sounds correctly. Or at least a lot of British English speakers don't do this data, right?

[C]

Absolutely. I think a lot of British English speakers, when they're growing up, they use a fish for a voiceless th and a V for a voiced th.

[A]

If you couldn't hear the difference.

[C]

Exactly. They say clothes. And that's how I grew up. That's how I said it when I was growing up. Certainly.

[A]

And I hear that podcast TV shows, we'll hear that native English speakers that are, you know, creating that sound that way, no right or wrong. But if you are wanting to clearly make sure that the sounds are correct, you will want that void, that dental fricative where it sticks out between your teeth, your tongue. So what is this advice about biting your tongue?

[C]

So definitely anytime you need to do a voiced or a voiceless th, you need to bite your tongue. It needs to be done each and every time. It can't be avoided. A lot of natives will avoid it by using a F. They will say thank you. Yeah, thank you. I think lots of British speakers say thanks, thanks. And they do it like an F. Right. But it should be thanks, thanks. If your. If your tongue isn't between your teeth when you say thanks, then perhaps you're saying it like a British native speaker.

[A]

Yeah. So I love. Because a lot of Brits say it wrong, right? Because I often Will recommend to students, you know, record video to make sure you see your tongue sticking between your teeth. But this is great advice. Like to bite down on your tongue to feel it. Not hard, just you're gently biting down to make sure your tongue is sticking out between your teeth. Whenever you make this dental fricative, that theta sound, the th. And get used to gently biting down on your tongue so that you can feel whether your tongue is sticking out or not.

[C]

Excellent. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. It's great advice.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, let's move on to this third sound that you hear pronounced incorrectly a lot.

[C]

So the third sound is the silent letter. And I think that we have a lot of silent letters in English spelling, sadly. And it makes it very difficult to pronounce words. But there are some tips that you can learn to make it easier. For example, that we often have a silent be. In a lot of words, we have a silent be. For example, combination, tomb, womb. All of these words have a B when they. When we spell them, but none of them have a B when we say them.

[A]

So what mistake are you hearing? If someone is reading and they see the B at the end, for example, a bomb, how would it be pronounced incorrectly?

[C]

They often say bomb. Bomb. They put a B at the end and at the start, and they say comb, tomb.

[A]

And it's understandable because you see that be there, right? Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. It always a very. I. I totally understand why the student is making the mistake. And this is why English spelling is. It can sometimes be counterproductive. It can help. It can help us mispronounce words. English spelling and silent letters are a good example.

[A]

Absolutely. Unfortunately. And B is not just silent at the end of words. Also in the middle of words often, right? Yeah.

[C]

It can be. Indeed. The two situations when B is usually silent is firstly, when it's after the M. Yes. So like in bomb or comb or tomb or numb or limb or climb. Climb a wall, for example. He was climbing the wall, not he was climbing the wall. Lots of students say climbing, but don't say that. Say climbing. Climbing. So firstly, avoid pronouncing B. If you see mb, usually it is silent. There are some exceptions, but usually it is silent. And the second situation is when you have B T. And there are only a few words here I want you to remember. I want you to remember debt. There's a B when you spell debt, but there's not a B when you say debt.

[A]

So debt.

[C]

Debt has a silent B. Doubt as well is a very common word with a silent b. And third word is subtle. Yes, subtle. So there's a subtle difference between clothes and clothes. It's a subtle difference. It's a very subtle difference when you're listening. And so I want you to remember those three words. Memorize, debt, doubt, and subtle. And also those words that have MB in there, like bomb, tomb, numb, limb, climb. There were a few of them, plumber.

[A]

And these are guides. The same in American English. We also have that silent B. Bomb, climb, tomb, debt, doubt, subtle. Right. They. And this is a very common error. If you see it written and you assume we should hear that B, but you shouldn't. There are exceptions. Like you said, bombastic. We hear the beat, subterfuge, subterranean. But I think you're right. The ones that you shared should be memorized because they are used so often in English, and they should always have a silent be.

[C]

Absolutely. And the best way to memorize this, these exceptions, is to say them again and again and again. So to drill these sentences, you need to say them again and again. Repetition is very important for learning anything, but also, I think something that a lot of students perhaps don't do, but I know some do. I think it's very useful to listen to, to podcasts and to. And to songs and to audiobooks, but read the lyrics or the words at the same time, because that will help you pull together what the word looks like and what the word sounds like. You need to pull those two things together so that you get it right. And another thing you can do is read aloud and record yourself, of course, to see if you're getting the words correct each and every time.

[A]

Yes, this is all such great advice. I love the idea of listening to an audiobook, but then whenever possible, often you're listening to an audiobook and you're cooking, you're driving, you're doing chores, but when you can have the words as well, whether that's on a Kindle or you have the actual physical book, follow along with the audiobook and take note of this. When there are silent letters, when there's something that you would have pronounced aloud differently, or read it out loud and then listen to the audiobook while following along, note the difference. Record yourself. There's so much you can do to be prepared to avoid these very common pronunciation errors.

[C]

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.

[A]

Awesome, Dave, thank you for sharing these common pronunciation difficulties. I know many listeners out there have maybe haven't even realized they're making these pronunciation mistakes and might now be aware of it, be able to work on it. So I'm very excited for this. Dave, can you share where our listeners can find more about you?

[C]

Sure. I have a website. It's Skype lessons.com or you can come and find me on YouTube. I have the Mr. Skype Lessons channel. I'm sure you'll find me if you put Mr. Skype lessons as one word into YouTube and you can find my channel there.

[A]

Perfect. That will work well because I definitely recommend everyone come and watch this episode on YouTube. Many of the examples Dave gave, you can see if he's making the F sound or the th sound and you might not be able to hear the difference on the podcast. So come watch this episode on YouTube and then go check out Mr. Skype Lessons right here on YouTube. Thanks again for joining us, Dave, and for these amazing tips.

[C]

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I've really enjoyed it. I appreciate being invited on the podcast. Thanks so much.

[A]

Awesome. We'll see you next time. Thanks. Have a good day.

[C]

Okay, bye bye bye bye.

[B]

Thanks for listening to all ears. English Would you. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com fluencyscore and if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

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