Surprising but true, along with “r” and “l” pronunciation, “s” is most difficult for native-born children in North America. It’s critical for grammar for plurals, subject- verb agreement (“I sit” but “she sits”) and for possessive (“The house belongs to Sam” and “Sam’s house.”

Added to the pronunciation difficulty is that “Grammar s” is always written as an “s” letter, but has rules for when you pronounce an “s” with no voice or an “s” with a voice (which is the “z”) sound.

In general, the speech pathology and science field has much evidence that vocal strengthening tasks can affect speech production.

In particular, over the last month, I have been adding this exercise to daily practice for students enrolled in the coached course (see Services) — Do vocal strengthening for the “s” and “z” 3 times a day. Do this: “Take a deep breath and say “sssss” for as long as you can. And, take a deep breath and say “zzzz” for as long as you can.

The outcome has been noticeably strong “Grammar s” and other “s” and “s” with a voice and “z” pronunciation for all direct practice tasks (reading) and presentation and conversation tasks.

Try it, you’ll like the results!