Stop Sneaking Extra Vowels Into Consonant Clusters

Because Japanese syllable structure requires a vowel after most consonants, words like 'strike' or 'milk' can come out as 'sutoraiku' or 'miruku' when that habit transfers into English. English, though, is comfortable stacking consonants together with no vowel breaks at all. Try these words slowly, resisting the urge to add anything between the consonants: street, milk, desk, strong — say 'street' as one smooth push, not 'su-treet.' A helpful two-minute drill: pick one tricky word like 'strong,' say it in slow motion syllable by syllable first to notice where extra vowels sneak in, then gradually speed it up while keeping the consonants glued together with nothing between them. It helps to whisper the word first — whispering makes extra vowels stand out clearly. This is a very common habit, so don't worry if it takes repeated practice — every session gets you a little closer to that crisp, cluster-hugging English sound.