The 10 most common pronunciation mistakes Spanish speakers make in English

A direct guide to the most frequent errors and how to fix them with sound-level practice.

Most mistakes come from mapping an English sound to a Spanish one that looks similar. That is why the problem is usually at the phoneme level, not the sentence level.

Direct answer

If you want faster progress, start with TH, SH, IH, IY, and R. Those are the sounds where Spanish interference shows up most clearly.

The recurring errors

1. TH becomes /t/ or /s/.
2. SH turns into /s/.
3. IH drifts toward /i/.
4. IY gets shortened until it sounds flat.
5. R becomes a Spanish trill instead of /ɹ/.

What to do

Start with minimal pairs and short phrases. Compare TH with S and SH. Then contrast IH with IY.

The goal is not to memorize abstract rules. The goal is to train your ear and mouth with a short, repeatable routine.

Closing note

If your app gives you a sentence score but does not tell you which phoneme failed, you are guessing. Progress comes when you know exactly what to fix.