| FIX PROBLEM | ENGLISH SOUND | - | COMMON ERROR | - | PRACTICE MATERIALS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move front of tongue a little higher. | /ɪ/ | "sit" | /e/ | "set" | Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or /e/ practice |
| Move front of tongue a little lower. | /e/ | "set" | /ɪ/ | "sit" | Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or / e / practice |
| Move front of tongue a little higher. | /e/ | "set" | /æ/ | "sat" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice |
| Tongue lower and more central. Lips relaxed. | /ʌ/ | "but" | /e/ | "bet" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ʌ/ practice |
| Tongue more central. Lips relaxed. | /ʌ/ | "cup" | /æ/ | "cap" | Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice |
| Tongue low central. Lips relaxed. | /ʌ/ | "cup" | Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice |
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| Tongue low, back & fixed. Jaws together. | /ɔ:/ | "bought" | /əʊ/ | "boat" | Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /əʊ/ practice |
| Tongue low & back. Jaws together. Long. | /ɔ:/ | "nought" | /ɒ/ | "not" | Minimal Pairs /ɒ/ or /ɔ:/ practice |
| Weak endings: e.g. "London" "England" | /ə/ | "the" (schwa) | Practise the neutral vowel /ə/ using spoken dialogues |
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| Fix tongue in central position. Long. | /ɜ:/ | "bird" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ɜ:/ practice Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜ:/ practice Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /ɜ:/ practice |
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| Tongue moves from front centre to front high. | /eɪ/ | "late" | /e/ | "let" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /eɪ/ practice |
| Start with tongue low front. | /aɪ/ | "buy" | Minimal Pairs /eɪ/ or /aɪ / practice |
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| Tongue low front to high front to centre. | /aɪə/=/aɪ/+/ə/ | "fire" | |||
| Start with tongue low & back. | /ɔɪ/ | "boy" | Word list to practise /ɔɪ/ |
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| Tongue central. Then tightly round lips. | /əʊ/ | "note" | /ɒ/ | "not" | Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ or /ɒ/ practice |
| Tongue central. Then tightly round lips. | /əʊ/ | "bone" | /ɔ:/ | "born" | Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /əʊ/ practice |
| Tongue low front. Then round & unround lips. | /aʊə/=/aʊ/+/ə/ | "flour" | Minimal Pairs /aʊ/ or /aʊə/ practice |
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| Tongue high and front. Move to centre. | /ɪə/ | "beer" | "bear" | Minimal Pairs /ɪə/ or /eə/ practice |
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| Tongue from centre front. Draw back to centre. | /eə/ | "bear" | Minimal Pairs /ɪə/ or /eə/ practice |
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| Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround. | /ʊə/ | "tour" | Minimal Pairs /eə/ or /ʊə/ practice |
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| Unvoiced. Use more air. Trap it with lips. | /p/ | "pit" | /b/ | "bit" | Minimal Pairs /p/ or /b/ practice |
| Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip. | /v/ | "van" | /f/ | "fan" | Minimal Pairs /f/ or /v/ practice |
| Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /θ/ | "thin" | /s/ | "sin" | Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice |
| Voiced. Friction. Tongue between lips. | /ð/ | "clothe" | /z/ | "close" /z/ | Minimal Pairs /ð/ or /z/ practice |
| Back of tongue to back roof. Nasal. | /ŋk/ | "think" | /ŋ/ | "thing" | Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice |
| Voiced stop: back of tongue to back roof. | /ŋ/ | "thing" | /ŋk/ | "think" | Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice |
| Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʤ/ | "Jerry" | /ʃ/ | "sherry" | Minimal Pairs /ʃ/ or /ʤ/ practice |
| Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʧ/ | "cherry" | /ʃ/ | "sherry" | Minimal Pairs /ʃ/ or /ʧ/ practice |
| Voiced: Front of tongue to palate. Friction. | /ʒ/ | "confusion" | /ʃ/ | "Confucian" | |
| British "r" is weaker & usually silent unless followed by a vowel. |
silent | "survivor" | /r/ | "Sir Ivor" | |
| Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʧ/ | "watch" | /t/ | "what" | Minimal Pairs /ʧ/ or /t/ practice |
External link:Non-native pronunciations of English: Arabic L1
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