Why Teaching English Is Painful

I'm required to teach pronunciation. The problem is, it turns out I don't speak English very well. For example, when I speak, this and then have the same sound, as do four and for. And math and half. Don't even get me started on the word dog. I mean, I know it's not dawg, I can do that much, but still... We had a big blow-up over the pronunciation of the word bus, which to me is in no way different from the sound in America but which in the Queen's English has a whole other sound which I am apparently not capable of making.

Theoretically, I'm allowed to teach American pronunciation. The problem is, all of their future teachers will penalize them for mispronouncing words that are perfectly correct in American. So I've got to at least try to teach them "proper" English.

Just for fun, go here, click on a few words (I highly recommend "for" and "vacate," and if you really want your brain to explode, "should") and see how good your English is.