Make common Spanish sound patterns easier to say. Practise short phrases, notice tricky spellings and build clarity one small correction at a time.
You do not need to lose your own accent to be understood. Practise one pattern, then use it in a sentence. These written exercises support GCSE speaking and read-aloud practice; they are not a complete phonetics course or official assessment material.
This public page has no audio or recording service. Use your teacher’s pronunciation model or a trusted dictionary recording when you need to hear a word. English sound comparisons below are approximate.
Spanish j is made with air towards the back of the mouth. It is stronger in some accents and closer to an English h in others. Both can be valid. Do not start with the English j of jam, and do not strain your throat.
El jueves voy a viajar.
Mi hermano busca trabajo.
Say joven with a relaxed flow of air, then jueves and trabajo. Keep the same kind of sound in the phrases.
Before e or i, g has the same type of sound as Spanish j: gente, gimnasio. Before a, o or u, it has a g sound: gato, gorra, gusto. In gue and gui the u is normally silent, preserving the g sound. The two dots in güe or güi tell you to pronounce the u, as in vergüenza.
Me gusta tocar la guitarra.
Hay mucha gente en el gimnasio.
Compare gente / guitarra. Then say guerra / vergüenza and notice whether you pronounce u. Keep each spelling pattern distinct.
A single r between vowels usually uses one quick tap of the tongue just behind the upper front teeth. Double rr uses a stronger trill with repeated movement. At the start of a word, r also uses the stronger sound, as in ropa. Do not replace either with an English r; a perfect trill may take time.
Mi perro corre por el parque.
La ropa no es cara.
Alternate pero / perro slowly. If the trill is difficult, keep practising a relaxed tongue and clear vowels rather than stopping the whole sentence.
In many Spanish accents, ll and consonant y sound alike, often broadly like English y or a stronger sound. Some regions distinguish them; others use a sound closer to sh or zh. These are real accent differences, not mistakes. Follow a consistent model from your teacher. The word y meaning ‘and’ is a vowel sound like Spanish i.
Yo vivo en una calle tranquila.
Mi hermana y yo llevamos las llaves.
Say yo / llave using your teacher’s pronunciation model. Then say hermana y yo, keeping the word for ‘and’ different from consonant y.
Ñ makes a joined sound similar to ny in canyon. Keep it smooth; do not treat the mark as decoration or split it into a long extra syllable. Año and ano are different words, so this sound matters.
Mañana tengo español.
Mi hermano es pequeño.
Say mañana slowly, then español. Put each back into the whole phrase with no pause inside the ñ sound.
The h in common Spanish words such as hola, hermano and hotel is silent. Start directly on the vowel: do not blow an English h into the word. The ch spelling is a different pattern and has a sound, as in chico.
Mi hermano habla español.
Hay un hotel cerca de aquí.
Say hola starting on o, then hotel starting on o too. Say the second phrase and check that neither hay nor hotel begins with a breathy h.
Before a, o or u, c has a k sound: casa, comer, cultura. Before e or i, c is often like th in think in much of Spain, or s in most of Latin America and some Spanish regions. Z follows that th-or-s pattern in common words such as zapato. Both patterns are valid; neither is the English buzzing z. Qu before e or i has a k sound with a silent u.
Como queso en casa.
Los zapatos cuestan cinco euros.
Compare casa / cine. Pick the th-or-s model you are learning and use it consistently in cinco and zapatos.
Keep a, e, i, o and u clear and consistent. Do not turn unstressed vowels into a weak English uh. Rough English starting hints are a like ah, e like the vowel in bed, i like ee, o a short steady o, and u like oo. They are not exact equivalents: keep them short and avoid sliding into English ay or oh.
Mi casa tiene una cocina pequeña.
Uso una mochila azul.
Say a, e, i, o, u once each, then mochila. Keep the o and a clear even when i carries the main stress.
Without a written accent, words ending in a vowel, n or s usually stress the next-to-last syllable; other endings usually stress the last. A written accent marks the stressed syllable when needed, as in teléfono or inglés. Stress can change meaning: hablo is ‘I speak’, habló is ‘he/she spoke’. Accents can also separate vowels, as in día, or distinguish words, as in tú and tu; they are not merely decoration.
Hablo español en el colegio.
Ayer mi hermana habló con el profesor.
Clap the syllables of teléfono and make the LÉ clap stronger. Then compare hablo / habló, shifting the stress rather than adding volume to every syllable.
In vacaciones, keep every vowel clear and apply your c-before-i sound. In colegio, g before i is j-like. In quiero, qu is k and u is silent. In me gustaría, the written accent makes rí the stressed syllable and í-a remains two syllables. The u in que is silent, but the u in luego is heard.
Me gustaría viajar durante las vacaciones.
Quiero ir al colegio porque veo a mis amigos.
Choose one word and say it slowly with clear vowels. Say the whole phrase twice at a comfortable pace; do not keep every word artificially slow.
Do not judge progress by how fast you speak. Aim for clear sounds, accurate words and natural phrase breaks. In a reading task, read the text as printed; in a conversation, answer the actual question.
Task-by-task practice
Complete five clear tasks and ask a question. Try a concise, original scenario.
Try the practice task →Read clearly, then respond to four questions. Try texts for both tiers.
Try the practice task →Cover both photos, then keep the conversation going. Rehearse with a labelled scene pair.
Try the practice task →Make a transaction work. Practise requests and questions in a realistic setting.
Try the practice task →Start with a short text and an unprepared interaction. Practise pronunciation and responses separately.
Try the practice task →Choose one picture, describe it, then answer questions and converse in the same thematic context.
Try the practice task →These resources are original ScoreMySpeech practice, not exam-board papers. Board-format guidance relates to GCSE Spanish specifications first taught in September 2024, with first examinations in 2026. The mini mock is shortened, and text scene placeholders are not photographs. Follow your school’s instructions and the current official specification.
Reading is a useful start. Speaking aloud is the skill you need to practise. Use ScoreMySpeech for your selected board and tier, receive practice feedback, then try again. Feedback is not an official mark or grade prediction.
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