Practice Techniques for English Pronunciation

Two words that differ in one sound only: pat – bat, ship – sheep, think – sink.

• On your own: use the listening game below. Aim for 10 out of 10 before you practise saying the pair.
• In class: say one word of a pair; learners hold up card 1 or 2. Then swap roles – the learner speaks, the teacher points.
• Odd one out: bed – bed – bet. Which one was different?

Sounds are harder to catch inside a sentence – so practise there too.

• There’s a ship / sheep on the hill. Which makes sense?
• Dictate five sentences with minimal-pair words; learners write them down.
• Accents: listen to the same sentence from a British and an American speaker and note one difference – e.g. the r in car park.

Back-chaining – build long sentences from the end, so the stress and melody stay natural:

Tongue twisters – slowly and accurately first, then faster: Red lorry, yellow lorry (/r/ – /l/) · Which witch is which? (/w/) · Three free throws (/θr/ – /fr/).

Speak along with a recording, a split second behind it. Use a clip of 20–60 seconds.

1. Listen two or three times.
2. Read the transcript and mark the stressed words.
3. Mumble along – just the rhythm and melody.
4. Shadow with the transcript.
5. Shadow without it.
6. Record yourself and compare.

Bingo cards with words instead of numbers. The trick: fill the cards with minimal-pair neighbours (ship, sheep, shop, shape) so players must listen carefully.

• Vowel bingo: cap – cup – carp, bed – bad – bird.
• Learners take turns as the caller – now their pronunciation decides who wins.

Instead of acting out words (which trains acting, not pronunciation), learners mouth one word of a pair without voice. The partner lip-reads which one it was.

• Works best with visible sounds: vine – wine, think – sink, full – fool.
• It forces big, clear mouth movements.

Cards with words to sort by stress pattern: Oo PICture · oO hoTEL · Ooo BEAUtiful · oOo baNAna. First team to sort correctly – and say every word – wins.

• Record a one-minute reading on your phone.
• Listen back with one focus only: only th, only word endings, only sentence stress.
• Keep the recordings. Record the same text a month later and compare – the progress is motivating.

• Partners record a two-minute interview, then listen together.
• Feedback rule: one strength + one point, and make it specific: “I heard ‘sink’ when you meant ‘think’.”
• A short checklist helps: sounds · word stress · sentence stress · linking · overall clarity.

Explain where and how the sound is made, with a mouth diagram or a mirror. Example /θ/:

1. Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth.
2. Blow air gently over it – no voice.
3. Practise: think, three, bath /bɑːθ/, month.

More: TH Sounds · Difficult English Sounds

Practise the sound in sentences where the wrong sound gives a different meaning – that shows why accuracy matters:

Clap on the stressed syllables and keep the beat steady. The extra words get squeezed in between the claps:

English is often described as stress-timed – this chant makes you feel it. Classic source: Carolyn Graham’s Jazz Chants.

Move the main stress and the meaning changes:

Full exercise: “I Never Said That”

• /w/ – lips round and push forward, like a kiss; no teeth.
• /v/ – top teeth touch the lower lip.
• /θ/ – you can see the tongue tip.
• /iː/ spread lips (smile) vs /uː/ rounded lips.

• Tap or clap on each stressed syllable.
• Rubber band: stretch it on the stressed syllable – baNAna – to feel it get longer.
• Hand arrows: your hand rises and falls with the intonation.
• Hum it: hum the melody first – da-DA-da-da-DA – then add the words.