English pronunciation practice for Arabic speakers

Correction of common pronunciation problems for learners with Arabic as their first language

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Arabic language background

32 common pronunciation problems

The following problems are followed by links to materials for practising the relevant sounds.

1. /ɪ/ and /e/

Fix the problem Move front of tongue a little higher.
English sound /ɪ/ — "sit"
Common error /e/ — "set"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or /e/ practice

2. /e/ and /ɪ/

Fix the problem Move front of tongue a little lower.
English sound /e/ — "set"
Common error /ɪ/ — "sit"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or /e/ practice

3. /e/ and /æ/

Fix the problem Move front of tongue a little higher.
English sound /e/ — "set"
Common error /æ/ — "sat"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice

4. /ʌ/ and /e/

Fix the problem Tongue lower and more central. Lips relaxed.
English sound /ʌ/ — "but"
Common error /e/ — "bet"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ʌ/ practice

5. /ʌ/ and /æ/

Fix the problem Tongue more central. Lips relaxed.
English sound /ʌ/ — "cup"
Common error /æ/ — "cap"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice

6. /ʌ/

Fix the problem Tongue low central. Lips relaxed.
English sound /ʌ/ — "cup"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice

7. /ɔː/ and /əʊ/

Fix the problem Tongue low, back & fixed. Jaws together.
English sound /ɔː/ — "bought"
Common error /əʊ/ — "boat"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ɔː/ or /əʊ/ practice

8. /ɔː/ and /ɒ/

Fix the problem Tongue low & back. Jaws together. Long.
English sound /ɔː/ — "nought"
Common error /ɒ/ — "not"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ɒ/ or /ɔː/ practice

9. Weak endings and the neutral vowel

Fix the problem Weak endings: e.g. "London", "England"
English sound /ə/ — "the" (schwa)
Practise: Practise the neutral vowel /ə/ using spoken dialogues

10. /ɜː/

Fix the problem Fix tongue in central position. Long.
English sound /ɜː/ — "bird"
Practise:
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ɜː/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜː/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ɔː/ or /ɜː/ practice

11. /eɪ/ and /e/

Fix the problem Tongue moves from front centre to front high.
English sound /eɪ/ — "late"
Common error /e/ — "let"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /e/ or /eɪ/ practice

12. /aɪ/

Fix the problem Start with tongue low front.
English sound /aɪ/ — "buy"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /eɪ/ or /aɪ/ practice

13. /aɪə/

Fix the problem Tongue low front to high front to centre.
English sound /aɪə/ = /aɪ/ + /ə/ — "fire"

14. /ɔɪ/

Fix the problem Start with tongue low & back.
English sound /ɔɪ/ — "boy"
Practise: Word list to practise /ɔɪ/

15. /əʊ/ and /ɒ/

Fix the problem Tongue central. Then tightly round lips.
English sound /əʊ/ — "note"
Common error /ɒ/ — "not"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ or /ɒ/ practice

16. /əʊ/ and /ɔː/

Fix the problem Tongue central. Then tightly round lips.
English sound /əʊ/ — "bone"
Common error /ɔː/ — "born"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ɔː/ or /əʊ/ practice

17. /aʊə/ and /aʊ/

Fix the problem Tongue low front. Then round & unround lips.
English sound /aʊə/ = /aʊ/ + /ə/ — "flour"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /aʊ/ or /aʊə/ practice

18. /ɪə/ and /eə/

Fix the problem Tongue high and front. Move to centre.
English sound /ɪə/ — "beer"
Common error /eə/ — "bear"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ɪə/ or /eə/ practice

19. /eə/

Fix the problem Tongue from centre front. Draw back to centre.
English sound /eə/ — "bear"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ɪə/ or /eə/ practice

20. /ʊə/

Fix the problem Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround.
English sound /ʊə/ — "tour"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /eə/ or /ʊə/ practice

21. /p/ and /b/

Fix the problem Unvoiced. Use more air. Trap it with lips.
English sound /p/ — "pit"
Common error /b/ — "bit"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /p/ or /b/ practice

22. /v/ and /f/

Fix the problem Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip.
English sound /v/ — "van"
Common error /f/ — "fan"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /f/ or /v/ practice

23. /θ/ and /s/

Fix the problem Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound /θ/ — "thin"
Common error /s/ — "sin"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice

24. /ð/ and /z/

Fix the problem Voiced. Friction. Tongue between lips.
English sound /ð/ — "clothe"
Common error /z/ — "close" /z/
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ð/ or /z/ practice

25. /ŋk/ and /ŋ/

Fix the problem Back of tongue to back roof. Nasal.
English sound /ŋk/ — "think"
Common error /ŋ/ — "thing"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice

26. /ŋ/ and /ŋk/

Fix the problem Voiced stop: back of tongue to back roof.
English sound /ŋ/ — "thing"
Common error /ŋk/ — "think"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice

27. /dʒ/ and /ʃ/

Fix the problem Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.
English sound /dʒ/ — "Jerry"
Common error /ʃ/ — "sherry"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ʃ/ or /dʒ/ practice

28. /tʃ/ and /ʃ/

Fix the problem Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.
English sound /tʃ/ — "cherry"
Common error /ʃ/ — "sherry"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /ʃ/ or /tʃ/ practice

29. /ʒ/ and /ʃ/

Fix the problem Voiced: Front of tongue to palate. Friction.
English sound /ʒ/ — "confusion"
Common error /ʃ/ — "Confucian"

30. British /r/

Fix the problem British "r" is weaker & usually silent unless followed by a vowel.
English sound silent — "survivor"
Common error /r/ — "Sir Ivor"

31. /tʃ/ and /t/

Fix the problem Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.
English sound /tʃ/ — "watch"
Common error /t/ — "what"
Practise: Minimal Pairs /tʃ/ or /t/ practice
External link: Non-native pronunciations of English: Arabic L1

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