Activities and Exercises for Teaching English Pronunciation

Adam Brown

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781000421040
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book is a practical, comprehensive tool for busy teachers or educators teaching English pronunciation. Brown puts pronunciation into perspective with other aspects of language, highlighting the importance of teaching pronunciation from the start. Applicable for both British and American pronunciation, this book is organized by aspects of pronunciation and includes a wealth of photocopiable worksheets to use in the classroom. The engaging exercises include rhymes, games, puzzles, narratives, and more, all designed to promote learner engagement and understanding. Each worksheet is accompanied by supplementary resources and guidance, including recommendations for modifying lessons for different English learner proficiency levels; instructions for the teacher and learners; correct or expected answers; and tips for teachers to extend and create their own exercises. The versatility and adaptability of this book make it a beneficial resource for teachers of ESL/EFL/EAL, as well as educational professionals who consult and oversee teacher trainer programs and courses in TESOL.

Section E
Vowels and Consonants

E1
Sounds in Common

Pronunciation point: In order to pronounce English words correctly, learners need to be able to keep pronunciations and spellings separate, and not be misled by the spellings. This exercise works in both AmE and BrE, although the pronunciations used may be slightly different, as shown in the Answers section below.

Minimum level: Two exercises are given, one at elementary level, and the other at intermediate (because of the vocabulary assumed).

Exercise type: A pen-and-paper exercise involving pronouncing out loud and thinking about sounds. It can be conducted individually or in pairs.

Approximate time: 15 minutes (exercise), 15 minutes (debrief) Preparation: Make one copy of the worksheet for each learner. Alternatively, to save paper, either make the worksheet accessible in soft copy on learners’ devices, or show the worksheet on a screen.

Introducing the exercise: Explain that the spelling system of English is probably less regular than that of the learners’ own native languages. Illustrate this by using a few simple homophones (e.g. hear, here) and homographs (e.g. wind: “breeze,” “turn”) (see exercise D2); homophones and homographs probably do not exist in the learners’ languages.

Conducting the exercise: The learners read the pairs of words, say them out loud, and work out which sound each pair has in common. Perhaps clarify this by working through the first one or two.

Debrief notes: Emphasize that English spelling can be a misleading indicator of the sounds in words. With more advanced learners, you could ask them to transcribe the words.

Answers

#	Words	Sound in common	Transcriptions
1	soup, true	/u:/	/su:p, tru:/
2	chemist, bank	/k/	/kemɪst, bæŋk/
3	wished, better	/t/	/wɪ∫t, betə(r)/
4	flight, mine	/aɪ/	/flaɪt, maɪn/
5	gaming, hammer	/m/	/ɡeɪmɪŋ, hæmə(r)/
6	taxi, less	/s/	/tæksi:, les/
7	anyone, best	/e/	/enɪwʌn, best/
8	parachute, English	/∫/	/pærə∫u:t, ɪŋɡlɪ∫/
9	physics, rough	/f/	/fɪzɪks, rʌf/
10	feather, wedding	/e/	/feðə(r), wedɪŋ/
11	cheetah, helped	/t/	/tʃi:tə, helpt/
12	become, young	/ʌ/	/bɪkʌm, jʌŋ/
13	zoom, praise	/z/	/zu:m, preɪz/
14	debt, brand	/d/	/det, brænd/
15	machine, breathe	/i:/	/mə∫i:n, bri:ð/
16	guard, single	/g/	/ɡɑ:(r)d, sɪŋɡəl/
17	ceiling, grass	/s/	/si:lɪŋ, ɡræs ~ ɡrɑ:s/
18	rhythm, stitch	/ɪ/	/rɪðəm, stɪt∫/
19	queen, southwest	/w/	/kwi:n, sa℧θwest/
20	Matthew, yourself	/j/	/mæθju:, jɔ:(r)self/
1	piece, Beatles	/i:/	/pi:s, bi:təlz/
2	design, cheese	/z/	/dɪzaɪn, t∫i:z/
3	worth, squeeze	/w/	/wɜ:(r)θ, skwi:z/
4	prove, juice	/u:/	/pru:v, dʒu:s/
5	passion, clichè	/∫/	/pæ∫ən, kli:∫eɪ/
6	doubt, brushed	/t/	/da℧t, brʌ∫t/
7	many, threat	/e/	/meni, θret/
8	lawless, proceed	/s/	/lɔ:lɪs, prəsi:d/
9	rehearse, whose	/h/	/rɪhɜ:(r)s, hu:z/
10	yacht, disuse	/j/	/jɑ:t ~ jɒt, dɪsju:s/
11	bullet, unhook	/℧/	/b℧lɪt, ʌnh℧k/
12	laughter, suffix	/f/	/læftər ~ lɑ:ftə, sʌfɪks/
13	income, strong	/ŋ/	/ɪŋkəm, strɔ:ŋ ~ strɑŋ/
14	business, hymn	/ɪ/	/bɪznɪs, hɪm/
15	Judith, hedge	/dʒ/	/dʒu:dɪθ, hedʒ/
16	kingdom, Gwyneth	/ɪ/	/kɪŋdəm, ɡwɪnɪθ/
17	language, reservoir	/w/	/læŋɡwɪdʒ, rezə(r) vwɑ:(r)/
18	hated, break	/eɪ/	/heɪtɪd, breɪk/
19	reflex, once	/s/	/ri:fleks, wʌns/
20	police, grieving	/i:/	/pəli:s, ɡri:vɪŋ)/

Create your own materials: It is easy to create your own version, provided you are fairly familiar with sounds and phonemic symbols. You can concentrate on sounds that your learners mix up.

Worksheet 1

In each pair of words, only one sound occurs in both words. Say the words out loud, and work out the sound they share.

	Words	Sound in common (as a phonemic symbol)
1	soup, true
2	chemi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Support Material
• Phonemic Symbols Used
• Introduction
• Section A The components of pronunciation
• Section B Suprasegmentals
• Section C Word stress
• Section D Spelling and phonemic symbols
• Section E Vowels and consonants
• References