English spelling and English sounds often disagree. Many learners read every letter, as they would in their own language, and say "WED-nes-day", "SAL-mon" or "LEI-ches-ter". British people will usually still understand, but it can slow the conversation down. In this episode: • Silent letters in days, months and the kitchen • Silent letters on the body and outside • British place names that surprise visitors • British ways to say common words • A short invented scene • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: Wednesday (WENZ-day) — the D is silent: See you on Wednesday. February (FEB-roo-ree or FEB-yoo-ree) — both are common receipt (ri-SEET) — the P is silent: Can I have a receipt, please? salmon (SAM-un) — the L is silent: We're having salmon tonight. knife (NIFE) — the K is silent: Pass me a knife. half (HAHF) — the L is silent: Half a cup of milk. biscuit (BIS-kit) — the U is silent: Fancy a biscuit? chocolate (CHOK-lut) — two syllables, not three vegetable (VEJ-tuh-bul) — three syllables, not four knee (NEE) — the K is silent: I've hurt my knee. wrist (RIST) — the W is silent: Put some ice on your wrist. island (EYE-lund) — the S is silent: We're off to an island for the summer holidays. calm (KAHM) — the L is silent: Stay calm. listen (LISS-un) — the T is silent: Listen, the kettle's boiling. castle (KAH-sul) — the T is silent: We visited a castle. often (OF-un) — most British speakers drop the T; some say OF-tun Leicester (LES-tuh) — not LEI-ches-ter Worcester (WUS-tuh) — the middle letters are silent Real British English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — modern British accent, everyday grammar, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang, he/she/it for things, and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.