Pronunciation and spelling

What a strange language English is!

We say words with different spellings in the same way.

/wi:k/ = week and weak

We say words that are spelt the same in a different way.

/rəʊ/ and /raʊ/  = row

We have silent letters ANYWHERE in a word!

/kəʊm/ = comb
/eə(r)/ = heir
/raɪt/ = write 
So how can you improve your listening and speaking?

By learning and using the phonetic alphabet.
Here is an introduction from the excellent BBC Leaning English site, explaining why phonetic knowledge is so useful.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/pron_sounds.mp4