English pronunciation practice for Italian speakers

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Italian language backgrounds

29 common English pronunciation problems

1. /ɪ/ as in "sit"

Fix problem Relax the mouth and keep sound short.

English sound /ɪ/ — "sit"

Common error /i:/ — "seat"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or /i:/ practice

2. /æ/ as in "ran"

Fix problem Keep tongue front & low and jaws apart.

English sound /æ/ — "ran"

Common error /ʌ/ — "run"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice

3. /ʌ/ as in "cup"

Fix problem Tongue low central. Lips relaxed.

English sound /ʌ/ — "cup"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice

4. /ʌ/ as in "cut"

Fix problem Mouth not so large. Lips relaxed.

English sound /ʌ/ — "cut"

Common error /ɑ:/ — "cart"

5. /ʊ/ as in "full"

Fix problem Back of tongue high. Lips rounded but relaxed. Short.

English sound /ʊ/ — "full"

Common error /u:/ — "fool"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ʊ/ or /u:/ practice

6. /ə/ — weak endings

Fix problem Weak endings: e.g. "London" "England"

English sound /ə/ — "the" (schwa)

Practice materials
Practise the neutral vowel /ə/ using spoken dialogues

7. /ɔ:/ as in "bought"

Fix problem Tongue low, back & fixed. Jaws together.

English sound /ɔ:/ — "bought"

Common error /əʊ/ — "boat"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /əʊ/ practice

8. /ɜ:/ as in "bird"

Fix problem Fix tongue in central position. Long.

English sound /ɜ:/ — "bird"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ɜ:/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜ:/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /ɜ:/ practice

9. /eɪ/ as in "late"

Fix problem Tongue moves from front centre to front high.

English sound /eɪ/ — "late"

Common error /e/ — "let"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /eɪ/ practice

10. /aɪ/ as in "buy"

Fix problem Start with tongue low front.

English sound /aɪ/ — "buy"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /eɪ/ or /aɪ/ practice

11. /aɪə/ as in "fire"

Fix problem Tongue low front to high front to centre.

English sound /aɪə/=/aɪ/+/ə/ — "fire"

12. /ɔɪ/ as in "boy"

Fix problem Start with tongue low & back.

English sound /ɔɪ/ — "boy"

13. /əʊ/ as in "note"

Fix problem Tongue central. Then tightly round lips.

English sound /əʊ/ — "note"

Common error /ɒ/ — "not"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ or /ɒ/ practice

14. /aʊə/ as in "flour"

Fix problem Tongue low front. Then round & unround lips.

English sound /aʊə/=/aʊ/+/ə/ — "flour"

15. /ɪə/ as in "beer"

Fix problem Tongue high and front. Move to centre.

English sound /ɪə/ — "beer"

Common error /eə/ — "bear"

16. /eə/ as in "bear"

Fix problem Tongue from centre front. Draw back to centre.

English sound /eə/ — "bear"

17. /ʊə/ as in "tour"

Fix problem Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround.

English sound /ʊə/ — "tour"

18. /θ/ as in "thin"

Fix problem Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.

English sound /θ/ — "thin"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /ð/ practice
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /t/ practice
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /d/ practice
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice

19. /ð/ as in "clothe"

Fix problem Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.

English sound /ð/ — "clothe"

Common error /θ/ — "cloth"

20. /s/ as in "rice"

Fix problem Voiceless: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction.

English sound /s/ — "rice"

Common error /z/ — "rise"