Seeing is NOT Believing

"Trust me," I almost pleaded with my student, "don’t pronounce the W in the word answer."

In English you have to learn a word’s meaning, spelling, and pronunciation—three separate skills.

Then came the million-dollar question: "Then why do you have to write it with a W if you don’t pronounce it?" she asked.

I’ve been a teacher for a long time, and I still don’t know how to answer that question. Most of my teaching career has been in my home country, working with people who are immersed in English daily. They hear the correct pronunciation all around them, accept my explanations, and move on.

For the past four years, however, I’ve been teaching English here in Algemesí and Xàtiva. During this time, I’ve noticed something fascinating: Spanish learners of English develop a remarkably uniform pronunciation dialect. I could never figure out why—until I did. And when I correct them, I sometimes sense a sort of skepticism, despite being a native speaker!

Here’s my theory From the moment we start learning a language—even before birth—we assume that all languages function the same way. Take English, for example. Because it’s not a phonetic language, American students have weekly spelling tests—twenty words, every Friday. This continues for years, sometimes even into college. I grew up assuming all children worldwide endured this same process. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that Spaniards don’t have weekly spelling tests.

Why? Because in Spanish, what you see is what you say. There are even accent marks to help with pronunciation. In English, however, you have to learn a word’s meaning, spelling, and pronunciation—three separate skills.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Since Spanish spelling and reading are phonetic, Spanish learners naturally apply the same logic to English. They read a word and assume it should be pronounced exactly as written. It makes perfect sense—just not in English.

I often remind my students, "Reading is not your friend." When they learn words by listening first, their pronunciation is great. But the moment they see the word written down, their pronunciation worsens. It dawned on me: Spanish learners trust what they see.

Americans, on the other hand, would never trust written English. We’ve been trained not to! We grow up memorizing each new word from infancy, knowing that spelling often betrays pronunciation. Spaniards, however, have no reason to doubt their letters. The Spanish writing system has always been loyal to its readers.

So, my advice to all aspiring English speakers: do not believe what you see! Even though it goes against everything you've ever learned, trust me on this.