AEE: Consonant Clusters for Clear English

Summary

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All Ears English Podcast: "Consonant Clusters for Clear English"

Release Date: November 5, 2025
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan
Episode Objective:
To demystify the challenge of pronouncing final consonant clusters in English, especially the tricky -sps, -sks, and -sts endings, and to empower listeners with practical tips for clear, confident speech.

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the sometimes-daunting territory of final consonant clusters in English, focusing on sounds like those found in “tasks,” “crisps,” and “lists.” Hosts Lindsay and Michelle share why mastering these clusters matters more for clarity than achieving a “perfect” accent, and offer concrete, actionable techniques to help English learners speak with confidence and be easily understood.

The pair emphasizes the philosophy of “connection, not perfection”—the idea that being able to communicate clearly matters much more than erasing one’s unique accent.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Consonant Clusters Are Challenging

• English words often end with multiple consonant sounds grouped together (“clusters”), such as in “tasks,” “asks,” and “lists.”
• Many learners, even at advanced levels, struggle to pronounce these clusters, leading to misunderstandings or requests to repeat.

Michelle [00:40]: “Do you struggle to say words like tasks, asks, and lists? These are consonant clusters, and they are one of eight secrets that you need to know to speak clearly in English.”

2. Clarity Over Accent

• The hosts dismantle the myth that losing your accent is the most important goal. Instead, they argue that listeners should focus on speaking clearly.
• Accents are tied to identity and diversity, and the world would be “boring” if everyone sounded the same.

Lindsay [03:09]: “These consonant clusters are just one of many secrets that native speakers know. … The goal is not learning any one accent. The goal is to speak clearly.”

Michelle [03:32]: “An accent is part of identity. If everyone spoke the same way, it would be very sad and boring.”

3. Featured Consonant Clusters & Pronunciation Tips

• Clusters Covered:

  • -sps (e.g., crisps, wisps)
  • -sks (e.g., tasks, whisks)
  • -sts (e.g., lists, firsts)

• Technique: Prolong the “S” Sound

  • Think of the “S” as a long snake sound, and “interrupt” it briefly with the other consonant, then return to the “S.”
  • Practice exaggerated pronunciation to train your muscles, then pull back in real conversation for natural clarity.

Michelle [06:51]: “Here’s the trick … really let that S be prolonged. … You’re acting as if the next letter is just interrupting it, but then you’re getting back to it. Right.”

Lindsay [07:28]: “We’re exaggerating here, but sometimes you actually need to exaggerate a sound to develop it. … You’re going to train that muscle so it'll feel much more natural and you’ll be more clear when you do say the words apple crisps.”

4. Real-Life Examples & Mini Role Play

• Vocabulary highlighted includes: crisps, tasks, whisks, wisps, lists, firsts, wasps, asks
• The hosts model these words in a natural dialogue, highlighting how cluster pronunciations change if the word is at the end of a sentence vs. connected to the next word.

Lindsay [09:43]: “Oh, those gross me out. Whenever Jerry asks me to spray for bugs, I get so scared.”

Michelle [10:25]: “So many lists. … I can't skip over that last S sound because I’m stopping. I have a period.”

5. Course Introduction & Broader Pronunciation Strategy

• Announcement of the new “Global English Pronunciation” course, which focuses on the eight secrets of clear speech, including rhythm and stress patterns, not just individual sounds.
• Emphasizes the idea of English as a “stress-timed language,” and the long-term benefit of focusing on flow and understandability.

Lindsay [11:18]: “We want to prepare you for a global life, whether you're traveling, whether you’re working abroad … we’re going to show you how to speak clearly no matter where you are in the world and no matter who's listening to you.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Clarity vs. Accent:

  • Michelle [03:32]: “At a certain point, [sounding like a native] may not actually be realistic. … An accent, to me, it's part of identity.”
  • Lindsay [03:09]: “The goal is to speak clearly, don’t you think?”

• On Practice:

  • Michelle [07:51]: “I always like that idea of kind of exaggerating something with pronunciation when you’re practicing it, because when you get down into the real world, naturally... we pull back a little.”

• On Stress and Fluency:

  • Lindsay [04:39]: “Many of our students have told us... they say something and then they worry that they’ll be asked to repeat again and again. How stressful could that be, right?”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:40 – Introduction to consonant clusters and why they matter
• 03:09 – Discussion on accent vs. clear speech
• 05:31 – Introduction of target clusters for the episode: -sps, -sks, -sts
• 06:25 – “The trick”: prolonging the S sound
• 08:23 – Common words that use these clusters
• 09:31 – Mini role play and pronunciation in context
• 10:46 – When to fully pronounce vs. connect the cluster (word-final vs. mid-sentence)
• 11:18 – Rationale for a global approach to English pronunciation

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Final Takeaways

• Mastering final consonant clusters like -sps, -sks, and -sts is key for being understood in English, regardless of your accent.
• Focus your efforts on clarity, not “perfectly native” pronunciation.
• Don’t be afraid to exaggerate cluster sounds in practice; this builds muscle memory for natural, clear speech.
• Understanding when clusters are pronounced fully (end of sentences) vs. connected (middle of phrases) helps with natural fluency.
• For more in-depth practice and feedback, check out their “Global English Pronunciation” course.

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Listen to this episode if you want to:

• Sharpen your pronunciation of tricky final consonant clusters
• Gain practical strategies to speak more clearly
• Embrace your unique accent while becoming a more effective communicator
• Get a friendly, confidence-boosting push from two engaging and empathetic coaches

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“Connection, not perfection!”

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Transcript

[A]

This is the All Ears English Podcast. Consonant clusters for clear English. Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl coming to you from Colorado and New York City, usa.

[B]

Do you struggle to say words like tasks, asks, and lists? These are consonant clusters, and they are one of eight secrets that you need to know to speak clearly in English. Stop worrying that people will ask you to repeat. Listen in today to learn more.

[C]

You've worked for years on your English. Your grammar is solid, your ideas are sharp, but somehow people still ask you to repeat yourself. You know what you want to say, but your message doesn't always land. You're not alone. And it's not your English knowledge. It's the rhythm beneath your words. That's why we just created Global English Pronunciation, our newest course. You'll discover the sound pattern patterns that make native speech flow. You'll stop overthinking every sentence and start speaking with ease, clarity, and confidence. The course is available now and this week only. You save $50 off the normal price. Plus you get multiple opportunities to speak and practice with teachers and students every week. Go to allearsenglish.com pronunciation that's allersenglish.com p r o n u n c CIA t I o N.

[A]

Hey, Michelle. How are you?

[B]

Hi, Lindsay. I'm good. Lindsay, do you have many more tasks to do today?

[A]

I have a few social. Social media posts to make.

[B]

Oh, okay. I'm gonna actually make two apple crisps later.

[A]

Sounds delicious. Oh, I love apple crisp, by the way.

[B]

Oh, my gosh. Especially this time of the.

[A]

Absolutely. It's one of the best desserts. Yeah.

[B]

Yes, exactly. So, Lindsay, we're not. Unfortunately, this episode is not about apple crisps, but this episode will help you say apple crisps.

[A]

Love that, love that, love that. I'll dream about apple crisp here.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So today we're actually going to talk about pronunciation. So we're going to be discussing final consonant cluster clusters, three of them for today. Lindsay, what do you think about these, you know, pronunciation, like, really paying attention to the ends of words.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, what I think is these are. These consonant clusters are just one of many secrets that native speakers know. And as native speakers utilize these secrets to be clearly understood, to pronounce English clearly. And ultimately, that's the goal. Don't you think, Michelle? The Goal is not learning any, any one accent.

[B]

Right.

[A]

The goal is to speak clearly, don't you think?

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. Right. We, you know, we have, a lot of times students will say, oh, I want to have like, sound like a native speaker. I want to have a accent, an American accent. And it's. Number one, at a certain point, it may not actually be realistic. Number two, that's not what you need to be understood. Right, exactly. And number three, an accent, to me, it's part of identity. And so, you know, it's the world to me. If we didn't have different accents and different ways of speaking, it would be very sad and boring for everyone to speak in the same way.

[A]

Yeah, I agree with you, Michelle. So we are just now, just this week, guys, our brand new course, course, Global English Pronunciation is available. And this course shows you, we introduced to you the fact that English is a stress time language, not a syllable time language. And we'll show you exactly how that, how you can speak more clearly for more success. I mean, many of our students have told us, Michelle, that they, they say something and then they worry that they'll be asked to repeat again and again. How stressful could that be? Right?

[B]

That is stressful. You know, you're trying to focus on what you want to say and you're focusing on listening. And then also, you know, if you're asked to repeat, it just kind of gets in the way of that fluency. It's just kind of an extra speed bump in your brain.

[A]

Almost exactly. So let's leave all that behind and learn how to spend speak English clearly. Right. So there are eight modules in this course, eight kind of secrets of clear speech. And we show them to you, we let you practice, we give you everything you need to achieve that clear speech. So, Michelle, where can our listeners go to get into the course right now?

[B]

Go to allearsenglish.com pronunciation so that's P R O N U N C I A T I O N. Exactly.

[A]

But today we're going to just give our listeners a tiny taste of what's in, in the course. And we hope you guys join us over there inside the course. There's a special deal this week only. All right, good.

[B]

Awesome. Okay, so, yeah, final consonant clusters. So we did in our little role play at the beginning, we were talking about apple crisps.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And social media posts and tasks. And so very interesting here. These, these can be tricky, right, these types of sounds, and many students may have a difficult time pronouncing them. But we're to teach A fun little trick today. So again, the final sounds that we're focusing on, these clusters. The first one is sps. And then what's the next one, Lindsay?

[A]

Okay, the next one is sks.

[B]

And then it's also sts. So crisps. Sps.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Tasks. Sks, posts. Sts, posts.

[A]

It really is, I have to say, as a native speaker, it is hard to say this, right?

[B]

Yes, yes. So, well, one way, right, here's the trick, and Lindsay talks about this in the course, is to really let that S be prolonged. So you're just saying. And then you're acting as if the next letter is just interrupting it, but then you're getting back to it. Right.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So in a way, it's like a snake.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So you're going. But then you're gonna let it interrupt, be interrupted by the next letter, and then get right back to this. So, okay, for example, with sps, it's.

[A]

Oh, got it. Okay, got it. And sks, it would be.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Yeah. Hopefully our listeners can hear that, that we're adding that K sound and that P sound right in the middle of the long S sound.

[B]

Yep. And then STS would be. Yes. Yeah. I mean, these are tricky.

[A]

They are tricky. And of course, guys, we're exaggerating here, but sometimes you actually need to exaggerate a sound to develop it. And then when you're in the real world, you're not going to go out slithering like a snake. Right. Because you're talking about apple crisps, but you're going to train that muscle so it'll feel much more natural and you'll be more clear when you do say the words apple crisps.

[B]

Right, right. I do. I always like that idea of kind of exaggerating something with pronunciation when you're practicing it, because when you get down into the real world, naturally, I think we pull back a little bit, you know?

[A]

Of course. Yeah.

[B]

So. So if. If you're used to doing it a little bit of an exaggerated way, then it'll be kind of in that sweet spot once you get out there.

[A]

I love it. So good. Okay, Michelle, so what are some of the common words? Let's take a look at a couple more common words where we see these consonant cluster sounds with the S sound.

[B]

So here for sps, that ending. So crisps, like we said, or like. I mean, well, if you think about it, in. In the uk, yeah. Instead of chips, they say crisps.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Crisps.

[A]

Yeah. That's interesting. Yes.

[B]

Or wisps. Right. Like wisps of hair.

[A]

Right. Or tasks Tasks. Right. I have many tasks on my list. Or whisks. Now, a whisk is a. A metal tool, Right. That we use to make batter. That kind of thing, to mix it up.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Whisks eggs. Yeah, it whisks eggs. And. Or then there's also. With sts, there's lists. It is. I mean, when you really think about it, lists. Tricky. And then firsts. Right? So there are many firsts when you are a new parent, right?

[A]

Yes. I love it. Firsts. So it. You do kind of need to slow down a little bit to make sure you make it clear that using the plural form.

[B]

Right? Yeah.

[A]

It's okay to hover a little bit and slow down and pronounce that S. Let's see how it sounds in a role play here, shall we?

[B]

All right, here we go. So here we are, friends, and we are watching an old movie.

[A]

All right. Oh, wow. That character has to make so many lists. No computers in those days. Yeah.

[B]

Really? Oh, no. Look at those wasps.

[A]

Oh, those gross me out. Whenever Jerry asks me to spray for bugs, I get so scared.

[B]

Okay. I don't know, Lindsay. Interesting role play, but.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the cool thing in the course, we show you this, but then we also show you what happens when we connect speech together. Right? We connect this sound with the next word and what drops as well. So there's so much to learn. I mean, this is just a tiny piece of what you learn in the course, right?

[B]

Yes, exactly. A little taste. So that's awesome. So. So you said the character has to make so many lists.

[A]

Lists.

[B]

So that. Lists. Lists. Yeah.

[A]

So many lists. Right. And especially when I'm not connecting that to anything because I'm finishing the sentence here. Right. So I can't skip over that last S sound because I'm stopping. I have a period.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And same with the next one. Oh, no. Look at those wasps. We have to say the full SPS sound.

[B]

Right. And then we have. Whenever Jerry asks me to spray for bugs, I get so scared. So Asks me. So this one does kind of connect, Right. Because it's not the last one. So, guys, again, there's more about this in the course.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Really? I mean, I. I can't recommend this course enough. I really feel that this will help take you to the next level. Yeah. And, you know, it's just.

[A]

This is.

[B]

It's really designed to show you the eight secrets to how native speakers make themselves clear.

[A]

Yes, exactly. 100. You know, we start with the rhythm, the heartbeat of English. We don't want to just teach you one single accent because we think that's too narrow. We want to prepare you for a global life, whether you're traveling, whether you're working abroad, and it's too narrow just to learn one accent. Instead, we're going to show you how to speak clearly no matter where you are in the world and no matter who's listening to you.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

Love it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So good. So, guys, going over to allersenglish.com pronunciation and get into the course before the introductory offer goes away very soon. It only lasts for one week, so make sure you get in there now. All right?

[B]

All right. Go for it. Yeah, Lindsay. Well, this was fun, guys. Very, very good stuff here. Really take your time with it and give it a go and let us know how, how it feels for you once you try it.

[A]

All right? Sounds good, Michelle. Talk to you soon. Bye.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

Thanks for listening to allears English. 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.

[D]

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