For those overseas students who often speak 老师as老西and老司, they must be fail to master the pronouncing features of s, sh and x in Chinese Pinyin. When articulating s, the students who learn Mandarin need to know the upper part of the tip of the tongue and the back of the upper teeth form block and the path in mouth becomes narrow. The flow comes from the tip of the tongue and impacts the back of the teeth, forming the obvious and strident sound.

Usually, s is not regarded as the sound difficult to articulate. But when you listen carefully, you may find this sound in Mandarin is a little “sharp”. However, in some languages like English, this sound is articulated with only the tip of the tongue. In addition, when articulating the sound sh in Chinese Pinyin, the tongue is in contraction and the tip of the tongue points to the back of gingival. Both sides of the tongue rolls up and the flow formed form the narrow path.

In Chinese pronunciation teaching, sh is usually a difficult and important point in Chinese Pinyin. The most frequently mistake made by those who study Mandarin online is to articulate it like sh of “shy” in English. This is also the main reason that the foreign students say 老师as老西. The sound sh in English is not articulated from the tip of the tongue, but the blade of the tongue. Therefore, the pronunciation of sh in Chinese Pinyin sounds not like that of in English. It is important for foreign students to articulate the sound sh in Chinese language because it is not only related to the correction of pronunciation of老师, but also influences the learning of zh, ch and r.

When articulating the sound x, the tongue is raised high and close to the hard plate. For some students wholearn Chinese in China, It can be articulated as sh in shy or s, making 老师into 老司. Those three sounds mentioned above have some similarities so that the learners often feel confused. If they want to tell them apart and articulate clearly, they need more practice on the places of tongue and practice one by one until you master them.