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Have students look at "Dear Abby" letters. Mix up letters and responses and have students work in groups to match the letter to the response. Nest, have students write their own "Dear Abby" letter. When students are done, exchange letters anonymously and have them write responses to their peers.

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Review previously covered material as needed.

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Speed reading or skimming is great when you quickly want to find a specific piece of information in a piece of text.

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English ESL worksheets, activities for distance learning and physical classrooms (x87318)

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Welcome to , the website where English Language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans, activities, etc. ESL Printables
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions.

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Skimming and Scanning strategies worksheets

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Welcome to , the website where English Language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans, activities, etc. ESL Printables Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions.

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In this week's episode of Everyday Grammar, we are going to talk about conditionals. We use conditionals to show that something is true only when something else is true. Conditionals offer endless possibilities for creative and imaginative expression.
Present real conditional
The present real conditional is the most basic kind of conditional. Basically, when A happens, B happens.

Here's an example of a present real conditional:

"If it rains, I bring an umbrella."

Conditionals have two parts: the if clause: "if it rains," and the result clause: "I bring an umbrella." You could also say "I bring an umbrella if it rains."

Poets and songwriters often use conditionals in their work. Listen for the present real conditional in this song by American songwriter Bob Dylan.

"If you see her, say hello. She might be in Tangier"

Notice that the verbs see and say are both in the present tense for the present real conditional.
Present unreal conditional
The next conditional that we're going to talk about is the present unreal conditional. Use the present unreal conditional to talk about what you would do in an unreal, or imaginary situation. If A happened, B would happen. For example, "If I were you, I would take the job." The key word is would; it makes the conditional unreal. Would can only be used in the result clause of the sentence. Here's an example from American singer Johnny Cash.

"If I were a carpenter
And you were a lady
Would you marry me anyway?
Would you have my baby?"

To form a present unreal conditional, use a simple past verb in the if clause. In the result clause, use would followed by a simple present verb.

Use the verb were for all nouns in the if clause of the sentence. For example, "If she were an animal, she would be a cat." In informal speech, people might say, "If she was an animal, she would be a cat." But you should avoid this in formal writing.
Future real conditional
Now let's talk about the future real conditional. If A happens, B will happen. To make a future real conditional, use will in the result clause. For example, "If your plane is late, I will wait in the car." Use the future real conditional to talk about possible situations in the future.

Speakers sometimes use the future real conditional to threaten others. Listen to actor Liam Neeson in the 2013 movie Taken. In this scene of the movie, Neeson's character is on the phone threatening the man who kidnapped his daughter.

"If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you. I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

This is only a quick introduction to conditionals. In a future episode of Everyday Grammar, we will talk about past and mixed conditionals. Until then, we will leave you with country music stars Johnny Cash and June Carter.

"If you were a carpenter
And I were a lady
I'd marry you anyway
I'd have your baby"

I'm Jonathan Evans.
Adam Brock wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Jill Robbins and Ashley Thompson were the editors.
______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

conditional - n. a word, clause, or sentence that shows that something is true or happens only if something else is true or happens

imaginative - adj. having or showing an ability to think of new and interesting ideas : having or showing imagination

basic - adj. forming or relating to the first or easiest part of something

clause - n. grammar : a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb

tense - n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened

unreal - adj. not real; not true
Now it's your turn. Do you like to use conditionals? If you write a sentence with a conditional in the comments section, we will let you know if it is correct. (Or tell us which kind of conditional is in the previous sentence.)

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Everyday Grammar - Introducing Conditionals

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In everyday conversation, English speakers often talk about things that are not true. Or, they talk about things that only happen if something else happens. Learn how to correctly use these conditional forms in English. If you write to us, we will let you know if it is correct.

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Grammar-Quizzes › Connectors › Connective Prepositions › Conditional › Real vs. Unreal Conditional

Express whether something is an open or a remote possibility

In Context

When Jack came home Friday evening from work, he noticed his lawn was overgrown and needed some work. Because he works Monday through Friday as an electrician, his weekends are free to do as he pleases. This weekend, he will spend some time with friends and do some yard work. He will mow the lawn if he has time.

When Ted came home Friday evening from work, he also noticed that his lawn was overgrown and needed work. Because he works six days a week as a healthcare worker, he has almost no free time and is usually exhausted on weekends. This weekend is his only opportunity to rest. He would mow the lawn if he had time.

exhausted (Adj) - extremely tired

lawn (N) - a garden area with ornamental grass (usually cut short, evenly)

likely (Adj) - probable, possible to happen

mow (V) - cut grass with garden equipment (machine)

overgrown (Participial Adj) - the appearance is not neat (the grass high, uneven)

REMOTE / UNREAL - CONDITIONALS

IF-PHRASE 1ST ACTION

MAIN CLAUSE 2ND ACTION

PRESENT CONDITION

PRESENT / FUTURE

¹ modals which can express future timing: will, can, may, might, shall, should

² preterit - a verb form, which is often used to express past timing, but may also express irrealis, an imaginary or hypothetical situation, contrary to reality: I wish I were there. If I had money, I would buy a plane ticket. (This preterit form is also called subjunctive.)

energetic (Adj) - having energy, physical or mental strength

if ( connective preposition) - heads a prepositional phrase that takes a clause as its complement. (In current linguistic description, a preposition is not limited to taking a noun as its complement. A preposition can take a number of structures its complement. Call me if you are ready. (Cls) Call me if ready. (Adj), Call me if in the mood. (PP) See Prepositional Complements.)

infer (V) - to guess by reasoning or logic; form an opinion that something is probably true based on the information or evidence

irrealis (grammatical mood) - imaginary; contrary to reality; the situation or action is not known to have happened as the speaker is talking

likely (Adj) - likely to happen - probably will happen, 50% or better or neutral (50 / 50); unlikely - poor chance of happening

open conditional - in linguistic description, the name for a real or true conditional is "open" because the possibility of occurring is probable.

remote conditional - in linguistic description, the name for an unreal, untrue, or hypothetical conditional is "remote" because they denote distance - both in formality and reality.

Often Confused - Conditional if vs. Routine if

CONDITIONAL - SINGLE OCCURRENCE

TEMPORAL PREPOSITION - MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES

Related pages: If vs. When and Before, After, When

Request, explain, excuse, analyze, speculate, strategize and more

if → then Constructions

"The remote construction differs in meaning from open in that it entertains the condition as being satisfied in a world which is potentially different from the actual world." (Huddleston 8 §14.2.1)

~When the context of the open conditional requires a real world, immediate answer, hypothetical wording sounds odd: the more time-sensitive (urgent) the question, the less hypothetical the wording.

hypothetical (Adj) - based on a situation that is not real; imaging the situation in a distant or another world

if → then - in mathematics, hypothesis - conclusion; If (hypothesis) - then (conclusion)

¹ if vs. in the event, in case - Condition vs. Precautionary Action

² what if - expression for posing a hypothetical situation; What if God was one of us? (song)

³ If you would (V modal) - In these examples, would expresses mood: If you will, if you would expresses if you are willing (agree) to do something. Note that "if they bought electric" cars focuses on the action, but "if they would buy electric cars" focuses on their attitude toward (acceptance of) the technology.

((Huddleston 8 §14) (Swan 257)

Also see Past Hypotheticals 1 (The Concorde) and Past Hypotheticals 2 (The Titanic)

Errors and Solutions

Error and Solution

► Show Grammar Notes and Works Cited ▼ Hide Grammar Notes

Traditional Grammar and Linguistic Description

Traditional and Linguistic Descriptions

TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR

REED-KELLOGG DIAGRAM

LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION

TREE DIAGRAM

Categories: NP -noun phrase; N - noun; VP - verb phrase; V - verb; Det - determiner; PP - prepositional phrase; P - preposition; AdvP - adverb phrase; Adv - adverb; AdjP- adjective phrase; Adj - adjective; Subord - Subordinator; Coord - Coordinator; Interj - Interjection

Functions: Subject: Subject, Predicate: Predicator (V) Complement: elements required by the verb: object, indirect object, predicative complement Adjuncts: (optional modifiers) Adj, Adv

Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.

Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English. Pearson Education, 1999.

Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.

O'Brien, Elizabeth. "Diagramming Sentences Exercises: Chapter 1." English Grammar Revolution. 2016. english-grammar-revolution.com/english-grammar-exercise.html. Accessed on 10 Oct. 2016.

Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.

"Sentence diagram." Wikipedia. 28 Sep. 2016. Accessed on 10 Oct. 2016.

Real or Unreal

Read the paragraph above about Jack and Ted.

Is the situation likely to happen (real) or unlikely to happen. likely - probably will happen, probably is true. unlikely - probably won't happen, probably isn't true.

1. Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.

2. Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" or "check 1-10" button.

Real or Imagined

Read

Aiden lives in California, where weather is good much of the year. Aiden likes to bike to school. It takes him fifteen minutes to get there. He doesn't bike when it rains. He walks instead. Then it takes him thirty minutes. He doesn't like to walk because his books are heavy, but sometimes he can't help it.

Aiden's friend drives. Aiden can call him and ask his friend for a ride. However, he must call him the night before. Sometimes, it rains unexpectedly in the morning. So Aiden walks in the rain. Fortunately, Aiden has a good umbrella and Aiden likes to walk.

can't help - cannot avoid

forecast - predict something, especially weather

get to school - travel to school

in time - within the time, not from the beginning, but still able to do the activity

on time - at the beginning set time of an activity

Read the conditional sentence and answer the question.

likely - probably will happen, probably is true. unlikely - probably won't happen, probably isn't true.

1. Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.

2. Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" or "check 11-16" button.

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Real / Unreal Conditional | Grammar Quizzes

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Grammar-Quizzes › Connectors › Connective Prepositions › Conditional › Real vs. Unreal Conditional When Jack came home Friday evening from work, he noticed his lawn was overgrown and needed some work. Because he works Monday through Friday as an electrician, his weekends are free to do as he pleases.

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Conditional Sentences

Conditional Sentence Type 0

Conditional type zero is used to talk about general truths, scientific facts or things which always happen under certain conditions.

Form:

Use:

The zero conditional is used to talk about things which are always true, scientific facts, general truths:

Examples:

If you cross an international date line, the time changes.
Phosphorus burns if you expose it to air.
If I wake up early, I go jogging.
NOTE: you can use "when" instead of "if".

Conditional Sentence Type 1

Often called the "real" conditional because it is used for real or possible situations. These situations take place if a certain condition is met. It is possible and also very likely that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form:

Use

Conditional Sentences Type 1 refer to the future. An action in the future will only happen if a certain condition is fulfilled by that time. We don't know for sure whether the condition actually will be fulfilled or not, but the conditions seems rather realistic - so we think it is likely to happen.
Example:
If I have enough time, I'll watch the football match.
I may have time to watch the match but I'm not sure about it.

Conditional Sentence Type 2

Often called the "unreal" conditional because it is used for unreal impossible or improbable situations. This conditional provides an imaginary result for a given situation. It is very unlikely that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form:

Were / Was

In conditional type 2, we usually use were" instead of " was" in the if clause " even if the pronoun is I, he, she or it. " were" here is a subjunctive form.

NOTE " was" is also a possible form.

Example:

If I were a millionaire, I would buy a castle.

Use

Conditional Sentences Type 2 refer to an action in the present that could happen if the present situation were different. I don't really expect the situation to change because it is very unlikely.
Example:
If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.

Conditional Sentence Type 3

It is impossible that the condition will be met because it refers to the past.

Form:

Use

Conditional Sentences Type 3 refer to situations in the past. They express hypothetical results to past given situations.
Example:
If he had been careful, he wouldn't have had that terrible accident.
Sometimes in the past, he was careless. He drove so fast. So he had a terrible accident

Things to remember

1. The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.
Examples:

"Phosphorus burns if you expose it to air."
" I will send her an invitation if I find her address."
" I would travel around the world if I had a million dollars."
"He wouldn't have had that terrible accident if he had been careful."

2. Main clause and/or if clause might be negative.

Example:

If I don't see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.
If he had been careful, he wouldn't have had an accident.

Related materials:

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Grammar Lessons - Real and Unreal Conditional Sentences (If Clauses)

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Conditional type zero is used to talk about general truths, scientific facts or things which always happen under certain conditions. Form: Use: The zero conditional is used to talk about things which are always true, scientific facts, general truths: Examples: If you cross an international date line, the time changes.

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Procedure: 1. Write the word inferences on the board and explain to students that an inference is an idea you have because you already have knowledge and experience that tells you it may be true. Give a couple examples of inferences such as students running in the front door of the school all wet and you infer that it is raining.

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Recordings that you use in class use can be "authentic" ones originally made for native speakers (e.g. radio programmes and other podcasts) or "graded" ones designed for EFL learners (e.g. from textbooks , EFL exams, skills books, self-study books, or radio programmes and other podcasts specifically for English language learners). Whichever ones you use, there seems to be a widely accepted "standard" way of using these recordings, as seen in many textbooks and their accompanying teacher's guides. The same method is also often taught as a part of teacher training such as four-week TEFL courses. This article will explain that method and then examine small and large changes you can make to it.

What has perhaps come to be considered the standard way of using listening texts consists of the following stages:

- Lead in

- Pre-teach

- Gist question(s)

- First listening

- Check answers to the gist question(s)

- Look at the detailed comprehension questions

- Listening for detailed comprehension

- Check answers to the detailed comprehension questions

- Language analysis and/ or discussion questions
Lead in
The teacher gets the students thinking and speaking about the topic of the listening, for example by discussing the accompanying photos, speaking about the same topic the people on the recording tackle, predicting something from some extracts, or roleplaying a situation they will later hear other people in. This stage is to get students' interest in the topic and to make the listening easier to understand by helping them think (consciously or unconsciously) about what they might hear.
Pre-teach
After being told the reason for doing so, the students are taught or tested on some vocabulary that is vital to know to be able to do the later comprehension tasks. Note that this it is not useful to think of this as vocabulary to understand the text, as that could theoretically be every word in it, but rather things needed to do the tasks. This is generally limited to around five to seven words or phrases, and if they need more new language to do the tasks it is probably the questions rather than pre-teach stage that the teacher should change. It is obviously important that they also recognise the words when they hear them, so some pronunciation work at this stage is common.
Gist question(s) and first listening
The students are then told what they should listen for the first time they hear the recording. Gist questions should not rely on detailed comprehension, as that is a different kind of understanding, but should be tasks that keep them listening for the whole text. It is therefore best if each question is answered in several parts of the text, e.g. "Is the man generally happy or unhappy with the hotel?" or "What is the woman's purpose?"

If there are several questions to listen for the first time it is played, it is often worth stopping the tape after the first one is answered to make sure everyone understands what they have to do and that they haven't missed the first answer.

If a substantial number of people can't answer the gist question(s) after the first listening, it was probably too difficult for them and you have little choice but to play it again just for this stage, leaving the detailed comprehension questions for the next time you play the recording. If some of them still haven't got it after the second listening for gist, you can either play important passages again to help them or ask them to continue listening for the answers to the gist questions during the detailed comprehension stage that follows. The latter approach usually works fine, as it will be their third listening and the wording in the comprehension questions can help understand what is being said. If you think they might still not even understand the answers at this stage and it is the difficulty of the text rather than the questions that is to blame, it is probably best to abandon the detailed comprehension stage and just do all you can to help them get the answers to the gist questions.
Detailed comprehension questions and further listenings
Common formats for detailed comprehension questions are:

- True/ False

- Gap filling, e.g. writing information in a form

- Sentence completion

- Correcting wrong information

- Putting events in order

- Matching tasks, e.g. drawing lines between the views expressed and the people who said those things

- Short answers to questions

- Note taking, e.g. making lists

- Labelling pictures or diagrams

Detailed comprehension questions can also be designed to lead naturally on to the discussion and/ or language analysis stages.

It is difficult to read and listen at the same time, so students should be given the chance to read through the questions and make sure they understand them after checking their gist question(s) answers and before the recording is played again. They will probably be able to answer some of the questions from what they understood during their initial gist listening. If anyone has answered all of the questions without listening again it was probably too easy (or those students are in the wrong class) but they will still usually be happy to listen again to check their answers. When they are ready and you play the recording again, you can stop the recording after the first question is answered to check everyone is keeping up, as suggested above.
Check answers
Some teachers like to get students comparing their answers before you do so as a class, but unless they have been making notes they often won't have any way of discussing their answers further when they disagree (unlike reading, where they can go back to the text together), so this is very much optional.

You will probably want to play the recording again in some way as you check the answers as a class. The possibilities are to only play the parts that people misunderstood, to play the whole thing again and pause after each question is answered before you ask for their answers, or to pause before each question is answered to ask for their answers then listen to that little bit to check.
Language analysis
Even if you can really show students that they have improved their listening skills, they are likely to want to learn some language from the activity too. In other classes, e.g. many lessons at the beginning of textbook chapters, the listening is set up specifically to introduce a particular language point.

Many textbooks have a language exercise that students do and then listen again to check, but if possible it is best if you can link naturally between this stage and the previous one. The most common way to do so is to include the target language in the detailed comprehension tasks, e.g. "Has he ever been to Tokyo?" if the point is Present Perfect or "He _______ go to the pub later on" if the point is modals of probability/ possibility. Another possibility is to elicit the language by asking for full sentence versions of the short answers they wrote down at the detailed comprehension stage.

Tasks for the language analysis stage include:

- Filling in grammar words or collocates and listening again to check, then discussing why these are the only or most likely words for each gap

- Choosing which of each pair of sentences is in the text, listening again to check. Students then discuss why each sentence is better, the only correct possibility or more likely in that conversation.

In some classes the rest of the lesson will then continue with practice of that language, meaning moving on from the listening and probably not mentioning it again. Otherwise, it is common to have a speaking task still related to the topic of the listening.
Speaking task
The aim of the speaking task could be to recycle the language in the stage above or just to practise a good range of skills during the lesson. Especially in the latter case, almost any speaking task is possible. Common ones include:

- Students giving their own points of view on the things mentioned in the listening

- Roleplaying the same or a similar situation as in the listening, perhaps personalising it or improving on it (e.g. making it more polite)

- Having a different conversation in the same roles as in the listening
Varying the way you do listenings
Ways of changing the "standard" way of doing listenings that is explained above include:

 Varying the sources

 Cutting out stages

 Combining stages

 Adding stages

 Mixing up stages

 Varying how you do the stages

 Using completely different lesson structures
Varying the sources
Other (perhaps more interesting) sources of listening include songs, videos, the teacher and the students themselves. With videos, you might want to have a stage where they listen without being able to see the images to make it more like textbook and exam listening, then let them watch to check their imaginations about what was going on. Songs are useable with the kind of "standard" lesson structure described above if you choose the song and comprehension questions etc carefully, but most students and teachers prefer to use the whole text of the lyrics at some stage. Common activities with the whole text of songs include gapfills, correcting things which aren't in the song, and reordering the text. With any of these, it is generally best if the students can predict most of the answers (e.g. trying to put in the missing words by using the rhyme scheme) before they listen to check.

Listening to the teacher and each other can be done face to face or by recording it first, e.g. on a Dictaphone. The latter allows students to listen and then record their reaction, e.g. by pretending the Dictaphone is a telephone answer machine.
Cutting out stages
The most obvious stage to cut out is the Pre-teach stage, as the tasks can simply be changed to ones students can do with the language they already know - usually enough of a challenge as it is! The Pre-teach stage also often breaks up the rhythm of the lesson, sometimes making the students lose the interest you built up in the Lead-in stage - or even forget the topic. The language covered in the Pre-teach stage is also usually more important for the detailed comprehension questions than for the gist question(s), thereby giving them another opportunity to forget the language you teach them. If learning vocabulary is an aim, this can always be done at the language analysis stage rather than as part of a Pre-teach.

Especially if the listening is mainly to prompt conversation or to introduce a language point, it is also possible to skip the detailed comprehension stage.
Combining stages
It is possible to combine the lead-in and the pre-teach stage, e.g. by giving them words which are used in the text and asking them to predict something about what it said from those words, answering any vocabulary questions before or during that prediction task. The gist task is then to simply listen and check their predictions.

As mentioned above, it is also desirable to combine the detailed comprehension questions and the language analysis stage.
Adding stages
The most common thing to add to the "standard" way above is some more controlled practice before the speaking stage. One possibility is Shadow Reading, which is students trying to read the tapescript aloud with the same timing as the recording, which is being simultaneously played. A simpler activity at the same stage is for the students to read out the conversation in pairs or small groups before having the same conversation again with some details changed, e.g. using their own names and other personal information. They then hide part or all of the tapescript and try similar conversations with no help.
Mixing up stages
See below for a suggestion on how to rearrange the detailed comprehension and gist stages.
Varying how you do the stages Alternative first listening tasks
Although it is a realistic skill to practise, there is no reason why the first listening task should always be a gist question. For example, if we listen to a recorded train announcement we just want to pick out one piece of information and can happily ignore the rest. The first listening task should, though, always be easier than the later ones. Another first listening task that I have used which works well is to just count the number of something, e.g. angry words, speakers, times they disagree, or examples of a particular word.
Alternative Pre-teach stages
Although vocabulary is likely to be the thing that usually stops comprehension, you can also pre-teach grammatical forms, a particular pronunciation point (e.g. minimal pairs, an intonation pattern or the sentence stress difference in can/ can't sentences), or cultural information (e.g. that English apologies usually include excuses so they can expect to hear one).
Alternatives ways of checking their answers
The most obvious and common variation is letting them check their own answers, e.g. with the tapescript, rather than going through them as a class. This is particularly useful when you want to do the next stage with the tapescript anyway, e.g. when students will practise the dialogue in pairs or the language analysis will happen from the written evidence.
Production stage options
Students could produce other listening texts and/ or tasks for each other that are similar to those they have just been listening to. More details of this are given below.
Completely different lesson structures
One way of completely changing the focus of how you do a listening lesson is to make the meaning and content of the text a secondary point and to make the main focus talking about and developing listening skills. This means spending some time that might usually be used on discussing the topic to talk about improving their ability to listen instead, e.g. talking about how you can predict what will be in the text and then doing so, then discussing how successful it was after.

Another big change is to not play the recording all the way through without stopping, but rather to pause during it to discuss what they have heard so far and what might be coming next. This is much more like the listening that we do in everyday life, e.g. in conversations or when dealing with an interactive machine such as an automatic switchboard. Students could predict the next line of the dialogue or how the story continues. Most textbooks have at least one listening set up this way, and many more texts are easily adaptable to this approach.

Most textbooks also have a jigsaw listening task where sections of the class listen to different recordings and then bring the information together in some way, e.g. hear different job interviews and then work with people who heard the other ones to select the best of all the candidates.

Another nice variation is to give students control of the CD player or computer that is playing the recording so that they can listen however they want. This is particularly good if they can work in small groups in different rooms, e.g. when they write questions for each the other team to answer.

If students all have a copy of the CD, you can also give them control by doing the lead in during class and then setting the actual tasks for homework. This is a nice way of making sure they do actually open the CD case, and hopefully copy it onto their mp3 players for extra practice while they are doing so.

Copyright © 2012 Alex Case

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com

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Different ways of doing a listening - UsingEnglish.com

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Recordings that you use in class use can be "authentic" ones originally made for native speakers (e.g. radio programmes and other podcasts) or "graded" ones designed for EFL learners (e.g. from textbooks , EFL exams, skills books, self-study books, or radio programmes and other podcasts specifically for English language learners).

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ESL Listening Lessons of Natural Conversations - CEFR B1

Low Intermediate - Level 4 Listening

ESL students can learn English with lessons featuring audio or video, a script, interactive quiz and vocabulary activities.

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ESL Listening Lessons of Natural Conversations - CEFR B1 Low Intermediate - Level 4 Listening ESL students can learn English with lessons featuring audio or video, a script, interactive quiz and vocabulary activities.

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The 'voiced th' /ð/ and 'unvoiced th' /θ/ sounds are the only pair of English sounds that share a single, common spelling. For that reason, the 'th sounds' are presented together in this ESL/ELL pronunciation lesson.

With the exception of being voiced or unvoiced, the /ð/ and /θ/ are nearly identical; the tip of the tongue is placed behind the top front teeth. The friction occurs between the tip of the tongue and the top front teeth. Subtle friction may also occur between the top of the front of the tongue and the tooth ridge. The lips are kept relaxed during the production of both 'th sounds.'

An alternative method of producing the 'th sounds' is to place the tip of the tongue between the top and bottom front teeth. While this method will produce the correct sound, it often creates difficulties transitioning to and from other sounds. This is because the tongue needs to be so much further forward when between the front teeth as compared to behind the top front teeth.

The 'th sounds' are continuous consonants, meaning that they should be capable of being held for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration. Because the sounds are fricatives, the majority of the sound comes from the friction of the air traveling through a small opening in the vocal tract.

Listen to the 'th sounds'

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How to pronounce the 'th sounds' /ð, θ/ in American English - Pronuncian: American English Pronunciation

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ESL: The 'voiced th' /ð/ and 'unvoiced th' /θ/ sounds are the only pair of English sounds that share a single, common spelling. To pronounce the sounds, the tip of the tongue is placed behind the top front teeth. The friction occurs between the tip o

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The Internet TESL Journal Richard Soulliere
tarzaninchina [at] yahoo.ca
Taiyuan Normal University (Taiyuan, Shanxi, China)

English language learners often mispronounce the "th" sound by making a simple "s" sound. What follows is a tongue exercise in class that produces near-immediate results in rectifying this learned deficiency.

Introduction of the Problem

Throughout my years of teaching English as a foreign language, I have met many English language learners who say "sink" instead of "think". This occurred in kindergarten all the way through to university level students. Many other teachers encounter the same problem and discussed the ways they have tried to alleviate it, few with any amount of success.

The Technique

A technique I discovered that works well involves all students in the class and can be completed (including practice) in a matter of minutes, so it need not take up an entire class.

First, briefly explain to students that the only way to correctly make the "th" sound is to stick your tongue out. If students reply that this doesn't look nice or involves a loss of face, simply remind them that they're speaking in another language and that they would be saying it wrong and would be more difficult to understand. Many students are willing to become more expressive and chalk it up as part of that expression, especially with full confidence knowing it's correct.

Second, have all students stick their tongues out and to keep them stuck out for thirty seconds. Don't begin timing until all students have stuck out their tongue. Join students by sticking your tongue out as well as it makes it more believable, not to mention allowing them to feed off of you and their classmates to avoid being singularly embarrassed. Make it a point to pay attention to the amount of time it takes as well as insure that all students are keeping their tongues stuck out.

Third, have students practice saying some words with the "th" sound.

Follow-up

Following this exercise, practicing words with the "th" sound in it is important. First, begin with some words. This should be enunciated clearly as they will need to watch your mouth movements closely, so it may help to make a conscious effort to stick your tongue out a little more than usual with the first word and then tone it back down to normal.

Once done assessing their improvement with individual words, move onto some tongue twisters, for example:

These things that these things think, they're the things that these things think.

Thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.

In future conversations with students, you can employ a simple cue as a corrective measure. If ever they speak the 's' sound where the 'sh' sound should have been spoken, simply stick out your tongue and they'll think back to the error they made by associating that action with the proper way to make that sound.
For students who continue slipping up with this sound, you can employ a mild punishment of having them stick out their tongue for an entire two-minute stretch.

Be Mindful of the Following

There are a few concerns in using this technique and they are as follows:

This should not be done before a break as they'll forget if you continue immediately after the break.

If you stick your tongue out as a joke, particularly if you do so often, the corrective cue of sticking your tongue out might not be usable and make correcting this problem more cumbersome.

For younger students, insure they don't stick their tongues out too far or bite their tongues.

Don't emphasize speed with the tongue twisters as students will be prone to biting their tongue.

Don't perform this in a cold classroom (especially during winter) because students will complain.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XI, No. 11, November 2005
http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Soulliere-TH.html

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Teaching the "Th" Sound to ESL/EFL Learners

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The Internet TESL Journal Richard Soullieretarzaninchina [at] yahoo.caTaiyuan Normal University (Taiyuan, Shanxi, China) English language learners often mispronounce the "th" sound by making a simple "s" sound. What follows is a tongue exercise in class that produces near-immediate results in rectifying this learned deficiency.

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© 2013 - 2020 DMM.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Engoo is a service that offers lessons for those learning English. Although the lesson materials can be used for self study, they are intended for use with a teacher. To book a lesson with one of our professional teachers, please visit Engoo. © 2013 - 2020 DMM.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the sound /s/ and the other the sound /θ/.

You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.

At least while you are making a conscious effort to do so, it is fairly easy to pronounce these two sounds differently. /θ/ is pronounced with your tongue between your teeth or even sticking out of your mouth, and you can make sure you pronounce it clearly by putting your finger vertically in front of your lips and checking that it gets wet when you make this sound. /s/ is pronounced with the tongue well inside your mouth and the mouth much more widely stretched.

Elementary

mouse mouth

sing thing

Pre-Intermediate

face faith

force fourth

sick thick

sink think

sort thought

tense tenth

Intermediate

mass math

miss myth

pass path

saw thaw

seem theme

some thumb

song thong

use youth

worse worth

Upper-Intermediate

gross growth

kiss kith

Norse North

race wraith

seam theme

sigh thigh

sin thin

sore thaw

sought thought

sum thumb

truce truth

Advanced

moss moth

piss pith

purse Perth

sank thank

sawn thorn

suds thuds

sump thump

symbol thimble

Written for EnglishClub by Alex Case

Voiced by Jonathan Taylor

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Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the sound /s/ and the other the sound /θ/. You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.