What I and others prefer to do: 'gern' and 'lieber' with present tense

At the start of words, German [sp-] and [st-] are pronounced 'schp-' and 'scht-'. [st] and [sp] sound like in English in the middle or at the end of words, except in compound nouns or separable verbs. Practising vocabulary in different ways strengthens long-term recall. 'Lieber' is an adverb meaning 'rather' and goes after the verb to talk about preferring to do something. It is important not to confuse 'lieber' with 'lieben', which is a verb meaning 'to love, loving'.