| FIX PROBLEM | ENGLISH SOUND | - | COMMON ERROR | - | PRACTICE MATERIALS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move tongue to a lower front position. | /æ/ | "man" | /e/ | "men" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice |
| Weak endings: e.g. "London" "England" | /ə/ | "the" (schwa) | Practise the neutral vowel /ə/ using spoken dialogues |
||
| Tongue low & back. Jaws together. Long. | /ɔ:/ | "nought" | /ɒ/ | "not" | Minimal Pairs /ɒ/ or /ɔ:/ practice |
| 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 |
||
| Tongue moves from front centre to front high. | /eɪ/ | "late" | /e/ | "let" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /eɪ/ practice |
| Tongue central. Then tightly round lips. | /əʊ/ | "bone" | /ɔ:/ | "born" | |
| From low front vowel to lips tightly rounded. | /aʊ/ | "cow" | Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ or /aʊ/ practice |
||
| Voiced. Vibration. Trap air with lips. | /b/ | "bill" | /p/ | "pill" | |
| Tip of tongue behind top teeth. | /d/ | "made" | /t/ | "mate" | Minimal Pairs /t/ or /d/ practice |
| Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip. | /v/ | "of" | /f/ | "off" | |
| Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip. | /v/ | "vet" | /w/ | "wet" | Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice |
| Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround & glide. | /w/ | "west" | /v/ | "vest" | Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice |
| Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /θ/ | "thin" | /d/ | "din" | Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /d/ practice |
| Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /θ/ | "thin" | /s/ | "sin" | Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice |
| Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /ð/ | "they" | /d/ | "day" | Minimal Pairs /ð/ or /d/ practice |
| Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /ð/ | "clothe" | /z/ | "close" /z/ | |
| Voiced: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction. | /z/ | "rise" | /s/ | "rice" | Minimal Pairs /s/ or /z/ practice |
| Voiceless. Friction. Front of tongue to palate. | /ʃ/ | "sherry" | /ʧ/ | "cherry" | |
| 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" | |
| Glide /j/(i:) the tongue quickly to next sound | /j/ | "yam" | /ʤ/ | "jam" | Minimal Pairs /ʤ/ or /j/ practice |
| Back of tongue to back roof. Nasal. | /ŋk/ | "think" | /ŋ/ | "thing" | Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice |
| Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʧ/ | "cherry" | /ʃ/ | "sherry" | |
| Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʧ/ | "chin" | /ʤ/ | "gin" | |
| Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʤ/ | "Jerry" | /ʃ/ | "sherry" | |
| Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʤ/ | "job" | /j/ | "yob" |
External links:
Non-native pronunciations of English: German L1
Non-native pronunciations of English: Swiss German L1
|
HOME |
PRONUNCIATION |
MINIMAL PAIRS |
PHONEME CHART |