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Search Results - The Internet TESL Journal

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ESL Videos " Sounding the Alphabet Phonemes Sounding the Alphabet Kitao-Testing Listening (TESL/TEFL) There are several ways to test Sasson - Six Tips for Teaching Lower Level Junior High School ESL Students (TESL/... Identifying Phonic and Alkire - Dictation as a Language Learning Device (TESL/TEFL) The first, the Caesar - Using Minimal Pairs to Help with Pronunciation Difficulties (TESL/TEFL) International Otlowski - Pronunciation: What Are the Expectations?

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Learn real English with video lessons. Online teachers and companies design the best videos to teach you English: grammar, vocabulary, usage, situations and much more.

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I would like to... Learn, Share and Enjoy English (Learn English Hamza Classroom)

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What is your city like? (Learning English Online Ucan.Vn)

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Stripping pronunciation naked as in an X-Ray machine to see what is inside. We're going to see how English pronunciation really works when talking (or singing) with the help of the British band One Direction. Make sure you see under all the tabs for explanations and activities.

We will see how word pronunciations change when they are into the speech flow, how grammatical words get weaker and the T and the R sounds change depending on where they go.

Click here Story of My Life - One Direction If you want to see the song with normal lyrics and explanations about the language instead of about the pronunciation.

You can check the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) here.

When people talk (or sing) you can forget about perfect pronunciation. A perfect pronunciation will sound very unnatural, even incorrect in many cases. With this song, we can show you how the English language really works, and maybe you will understand better why you have sometimes problems understanding, especially if you still think that every word must always be pronounced in the same way.

SURROUNDING INFLUENCE

Some sounds are influenced by the sounds surrounding, before or after them. For example you can see OF pronounced before MY at the end of the song in "The story of my life" (Paragraph 13, Line 4), or MY pronounced /mɑ:/ under the influence of HEART () in "I leave my heart open" (P1L3 and P7L4).

THE LETTER R

In British English the R is only pronounced if it's followed by a vowel. This happens a lot in American English too, but only when they are singing (black people there often do it when they are speaking too). In this song you can see this happening all the time, except once (towards the end, when they say "I take her home" (P12L1) he says /aɪ teɪk ər həʊm/, probably under the influence of his native Irish accent, that is almost absent but here it shows).

THE LETTER T

This is probably the most complex phoneme in the English language, because it may be pronounced in different ways, depending on the position of the sound and also on the preferences of the speaker. Here we find almost all the pronunciations of this letter, and because we have different boys singing, we can also find different preferences when there is a choice.

/st/ /t/ It is most of the times pronounced like this when it goes before a vowel. In the first paragraph you can see it in the words STORIES ɔ: rɪz/ (P1L2) and EMPTY e mtɪ/ (P1L4) (and yes, no /p/)

/hɑ:D /D/ When the T goes between vowels, AmE always pronounces it like a very quick and tense /d/. In BrE this is very common too. In this song you can see it happening all the time. In the first paragraph you can see it in "... that I can't..." /ðæD a: kænʔ/ (P1L2), "... heart open" /bəD ɪʔ steɪz/ (P1L4). əʊ pən/ (p1L3) and in "But It stays..."

/a: kænʔ ɪkspl /ʔ/ This is a glottal stop. Instead of pronouncing the T with the tip of your tongue, we pronounce it in our throat, suddenly closing our vocal cords and making a stop in our throat. This sound is very common when the T is not followed by a vowel, for example you can see it in the first paragraph, in the line "...it stays right here..." /ɪʔ steɪz raɪʔ hɪə/ (P1L4). IT and RIGHT end in a T but it is followed by a consonant. It is also common before an /n/ as you can see in the first word of the song, WRITTEN /rɪʔn/ (P1L1) (in this position it is more common in BrE than in AmE). It is possible, but less common, at the end of a word even if the next word begins with a vowel, but it is very common in CAN'T, as you can see in "... I can't explain" eɪ n/ (P1L2).

/tən/tən /d/ It is also common to find this sound instead of /ʔ/ when it is not followed by a vowel. The sound is usually very week so it's hard to hear. One of the boys here does it all the time. He sings the third paragraph and there we can see the end of the first and third lines with TONIGHT /taɪd/(P3L3). But the next time we hear tonight in the song (P8L1)) it is the more common aɪ d/ (P3L1) and TIGHT aɪ ʔ/ again.

STRONG vs WEAK FORMS

Grammatical words (prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, auxiliaries, etc) have no meaning, only function, and so they are usually unstressed. That makes them weak, and due to the rhythm of the English language, unstressed syllables get very weak, and their pronunciation often changes. Most grammatical words have one or several different weak forms, for example:

OTHERS

If you pay attention you can find many other "unexpected" pronunciations. For example:

EMPTY //n e mtɪ/ (P1L4)= a /p/ is easily lost after /m/
TOLD /təʊl/ (P2L1)= a /d/ is easily lost after /l/
AND /æn/ (P3L1), /ən/ (P4L3)= a /d/ is also easily lost after /n/
FIRE/fɑ:ə/ (P8L2)= The diphthong /ɑɪə/ (and also /aʊə/) is now commonly pronounced /ɑ:ə/ (or sometimes even /ɑ:/), especially in BrE.
I'VE BEEN /a (P8L3) and /ɑ: bi:n/ (P3L3)= The "Perfect" pronunciation would be /aɪv bi:n/, but the auxiliary HAVE ('ve) sometimes disappears altogether, and BEEN has a week form /bɪn/
HOPE /əʊp/ (P10L1)= In this song we usually hear /həʊp/ (P5L1), sometimes with a very week /h/, and once we hear /əʊp/. Sometimes, some people drop the initial /h/ sound (dialectal or uneducated people mostly). In this case it is probably an influence of his home dialect again.
NOTHING /ŋ/ is often changed to /n/ when the next word begins with a vowel, as when he says "nothing in between" in the eighth paragraph. You can see more examples of it in this song.

So this is real English. This is life. This is the reason why you must listen to English a lot, a real lot, so your mind unconsciously gets used to all those changes and you can finally understand people speaking English well, and not just word perfect CDs by the BBC or Oxford University Press. If you're looking for real English, you'll find thousands of videos packed with it on this website. Now you can understand why we decided to create this website in the first place, especially since something similar happens with grammar, as you can see in the second paragraph, second line: " She don't feel the same", instead of the more correct "She doesn't". ʌ θɪn/ (P3L4)= A final

1
Written in these walls are
The stories that I can't explain
I leave my heart open
But it stays right here empty for days
2
She told me in the morning
She don't feel the same about us in her bones
It seems to me that when I die
These words will be written on my stone
3
And I'll be gone, gone tonight,
The ground beneath my feet is open wide,
The way that I've been holding on too tight
With nothing in between.
4
The story of my life, I take her home
I drive all night to keep her warm
And time is frozen
The story of my life, I give her hope
I spend her love until she's broke inside
The story of my life
6
Written on these walls are
The colours that I can't change
I leave my heart open
But it stays right here in its cage.
7
I know that in the morning now
I'll see us in the light upon a hill
Although I am broken
My heart is untamed still.
8
And I'll be gone, gone tonight
The fire beneath my feet is burning bright
The way that I've been holding on so tight
With nothing in between.
9
The story of my life, I take her home
I drive all night to keep her warm and time
Is frozen
The story of my life, I give her hope
I spend her love until she's broke inside
The story of my life
11
And I've been waiting for this time to come around
But, baby, running after you is like chasing the clouds.
12
The story of my life, I take her home
I drive all night to keep her warm
And time is frozen.
13
The story of my life, I give her hope
I spend her love until she's broke inside
The story of my life
The story of my life
The story of my life
The story of my life

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Phonetics with... Story of My Life (One Direction)

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Stripping pronunciation naked as in an X-Ray machine to see what is inside. We're going to see how English pronunciation really works when talking (or singing) with the help of the British band One Direction. Make sure you see under all the tabs for explanations and activities.

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This song was written by Ed for his friend's wedding. Its a cute wedding song that wants to interpret true love that lasts ("Your soul could never grow old its evergreen"). Sheeran has described the piece as a "walking down the aisle song" (for a wedding). The song is a romantic ballad.

SWEEP YOU OFF YOUR FEET= When a man romances you and does a very good job of it so that you fall in love with him, then he has swept you off your feet. Then you can also say that you "fell head over heels" in love with him. Both expressions are used for great passion and extreme feelings. He actually says "sweep you off OF your feet", which is not standard British English but it is common in some dialects and in American English.

'TIL= Until. When he says "til we're 70", obviously he means "forever".

FALL= Fall in love. If you fall hard, you feel very much in love.

AS HARD AT 23= As intensely as when I was 23 (it should be "as hard as at 23")

'BOUT= (coll.) About.

WANNA= Want to.

I AM= I am in love.

HONEY= The sweet produce of bees. It is used as a loving way of addressing the person you love (boyfriend, wife, etc or children)

BEATING HEART= A beating heart is a heart in love (when you are in love, your heart beats faster, so you can feel it beating: boom-boom, boom-boom)

THINKING OUT LOUD= Thinking and pronouncing the words of my thoughts, so people can hear what I'm thinking.

ALL BUT= Almost.

FADES= Disolves, becomes weak.

THE CROWDS= A crud is a multitude of people. "The crowds" means, more or less, "a big part of the population". Since he is a famous singer, the crowds now know him (but when he is old maybe the crowds will have forgotten him, so they won't remember his name = he won't be famous).

THE STRINGS= The strings of a guitar, etc. ( see picture)

'CAUSE= (coll.) Because.

SOUL= Spirit.

EVERGREEN= An evergreen tree is a tree that never sheds its leaves. It stays green all year round, even in automn and winter.

This song is basically describing how things will change throughout life, he will grow old and his memory will grow weak and he knows he'll grow weak physically as well, but the one thing that he's sure of is the fact that he will love her just the way he did back when he was young and he knows she will love him just the same. "baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23" and "I know you will still love me the same". And that's basically what he's trying to convey through this song. The feeling of loving someone deeply and knowing that they feel and will feel the exact same way towards you.

Phonetics with... Thinking Out Loud

When your legs don't work like they used to before
And I can't sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks

And darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70
And baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Oh me, I fall in love with you every single day
And I just wanna tell you I am

So honey now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are

When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades
And the crowds don't remember my name
When my hands don't play the strings the same way, mm
I know you will still love me the same

'Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen
Baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory

I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe it's all part of a plan
Oh, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes
Hoping that you'll understand

But baby, now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are, oh

(Ah la la, la la la, la la la, la la la la)

So baby now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Oh darling, place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are

Oh baby, we found love right where we are
And we found love right where we are
PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION NOTES
This is not a normal standard transcription but specifically the reflection of Sheeran's pronunciation in this song.

- T -: To better express the peculiarities of Sheeran's pronunciation here (British English) we will use three symbols to transcribe his pronunciation of the sound /t/: /t/ (pronounced with the tip of the tongue) / D/ (the quick flap similar to the Spanish or Italian R in "cara") and /ʔ/ (gutural sound pronounced in your throat by suddenly closing the air flow). / is also a common pronunciation of /t/ and /d/ when they go between vowels (it's in fact a very quick /d/ sound).

- -: This sound is, as we've seen, a variation of /t/, but it also appears sometimes as the beginning of a vowel which is starting a new word or beginning a sentence. It is used to make it stronger. In that case it has no meaning (it's nothing, really, just a way of articulation), but it has an importan phonetic consequence since it prevents the linking sounds. For example, if we say "for us", the normal pronunciation in British English would be /fər ʌs/, but if we use this glottal stop then sounds don't link and we say , because in BrE we only pronounce the R when followed by a vowel, and this behaves like a consonant, so the

- R -: in British English the R is often silent but is pronounced when followed by a vowel, so "your eyes" should be /jɔ:r aɪz/ (or usually with the usual weakening of grammar words). But for example in the 4th line here you can hear . So what's wrong? In English (as in most languages), if a word starts with a vowel you can begin the pronunciation of that vowel with a kind of "strong push" in your throat. That "push" means you close the air flow for an instant, which is what we do with the consonant T in its gutural variant , so the actual pronunciation is . That means that between the vocalic sounds we have a consonant like sound , so there is no need of a linking R because the letter R is not then followed by a vowel, almost as if the spelling of this were "your tais" and not "your eyes". Of course the most usual pronunciation in normal speech would always be , since in English we don't usually use the vocalic gutural stop in vowels inside a sentence (but it is not uncommon in a vowel which begins a sentence).

- I -: When the vowel goes at the end of a word two pronunciations are possible in both British and American English. We can pronounce it or . For example the word "seventy" is transcribed , but it is also perfectly correct to pronounce it as we see in line 5 here.

- O -: The standard British pronunciation of the diphthong O is/əʊ/, but Sheeran is from the north, and though he speaks perfect standard here, he uses the normal northern variant of this diphthong which is (like in American English) .

- grammar words -: Prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, etc. are often weakend in normal conversation, but the rhythm of the music sometimes forces to stress one of this words and so they retain their "strong pronunciation". For example YOUR has a strong pronunciation and a weak pronunciation , which is the one we use inside a sentence in normal conversation, but in this song sometimes he uses the strong form because the rhythm makes him pronounce it emphatically, as if it were alone.

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This song was written by Ed for his friend's wedding. Its a cute wedding song that wants to interpret true love that lasts ("Your soul could never grow old its evergreen"). Sheeran has described the piece as a "walking down the aisle song" (for a wedding). The song is a romantic ballad.

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Interactive Phonetic chart for English Pronunciation

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ESL Videos " Sounding the Alphabet Phonemes

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Happy Christmas (John Lennon) ESLpodTV Lesson 14 - A Japanese Festival "

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Looking to learn digraphs? Get silly with this game that makes a big, fluffy monster jump in the puddle containing the word with the correct ending.

No standards associated with this content.

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Make a splash in digraphs with this game that challenges kids to hop in the puddle containing the correct picture.

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by Susan Verner 38,724 views

If you are looking for some fun ways to practice pronunciation with your ESL students, try one of the following games that puts the fun in phonology.

7 Games for Practicing Pronunciation

1. Same or Different

For this activity, you'll need to make two sets of sentences, list A and list B. Some sentences in list A and B should be identical. But other sentences should differ by a minimal pair or two. For example, if list A contains the sentence "Don't forget to bring your pens." List B might contain the sentence "Don't forget to bring your pins." Choose your minimal pair words based on the specific sounds you are teaching your class or the ones they struggle with the most. Then put students in pairs and give one person list A and the other list B. Students should then read their sentences to each other, carefully, and decide together if the sentence in list A and the sentence in list B are the same or if they are different. Have students write their answers down and then award ten points for every correct answer. The team with the highest score wins the game. If you like, play two or three rounds with different lists of sentences.

2. Minimal Pair Up

This simple game challenges students to speak with accuracy as they search for the perfect match in their classroom. To set up for this group game, write words that comprise minimal pairs on index cards. You will need one card for each person in class. Give each person a card and tell them they cannot let anyone else see what is written on their card. Then have students mingle until they find the person who has the match to complete their minimal pair. When students find their minimal pair, they can sit down. You can play several rounds with the same set of cards by shuffling them and redistributing them to your students or by changing up the cards you use each time.

3. Pronunciation Grid

This game take some space to set up, so it might be good to plan it for a gym or outside if you have a day with no wind. To prepare, write several words with the sounds you want to target for pronunciation practice, each on its own sheet of paper. You will lay these papers out in a grid in the playing area. Break students into two teams. One member of each team stands at a line five feet back from the grid of papers and tosses a bean bag toward one of the word. If the beanbag lands on a sheet of paper, that person must correctly pronounce the word. If they do, they claim the sheet of paper for their team. If not, the paper remains in the grid. Keep playing until all of the papers have been claimed by one team or the other. The team with the most papers at het end of the game wins.

Pronunciation practice doesn't have to be boring.

Put the fun in phonology with these games and watch your students get excited about saying things right.

P.S. If you enjoyed this article, please help spread it by clicking one of those sharing buttons below. And if you are interested in more, you should follow our Facebook page where we share more about creative, non-boring ways to teach English.

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Playing the Phonics Game: 7 Games for Practicing Pronunciation

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by Susan Verner 38,724 views For this activity, you'll need to make two sets of sentences, list A and list B. Some sentences in list A and B should be identical. But other sentences should differ by a minimal pair or two. For example, if list A contains the sentence "Don't forget to bring your pens."

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Worksheets for Kids & Free Printables | Education.com

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Play these free phonics games online from our fun-filled learning system, Brainzy. Phonics games for kids help build reading skills that will last a lifetime.

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introductory grammar and vocabulary with color key

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Learn English | Pronunciation Power Software " Pronunciation Power Speech Test

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English Computerized Learnings online suite of products now includes speech recognition to instantly tell you which lessons to practice to improve your English pronunciation.

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That's okay-ESL students with a great grasp on English pronunciation are hard to come by.

They usually walk in the classroom already at an advanced level, having lived abroad or having an English-speaking parent.

As for the rest, English pronunciation can be a tough area to master.

Do you get tired of trying to correct them, and just let them keep saying it wrong because it's too much trouble? (After all, maybe it's just part of their almost cute "accent.") You might bypass pronunciation mistakes so you can focus on vocabulary or grammar instead. You might even think that too much pronunciation correction could be disheartening when your students are trying so hard.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

How to Solve ESL Student Pronunciation Problems

There are some sounds in English that can be difficult for any learner, and there are also distinctions between sounds that some students find confusing because there is no such distinction in their mother tongue. When all, or at least several, of your students are struggling with the same problem, it is definitely worthwhile doing some activities to target specific areas.

First, they need to be able to hear the difference between the incorrect and the correct sound.

Then they need to learn how to make the correct sound.

Finally, they also need to be able to recognize (when reading, for example) when and how to make the correct sound.

What Are Minimal Pairs and How Can They Help Your Students?

Maybe you've already been noticing particular words or sounds some of your students are having trouble with.

At any rate, it's worth doing a little bit of research to find out where your students are most likely to need help based on their first language(s). This PDF document will help you to know which problems relate to specific first languages.

Then you can look for appropriate minimal pairs -words that are exactly the same except for one different sound. These can help you target the sounds that your students need to focus on. A simple example would be:

"ship" and "sheep"

The sounds "i" and "ee" in these two words are significant because they're the only difference between two words which have different meanings, but for many ESL students the two sounds aren't distinct in their mother tongue.

By learning to recognize and reproduce the difference in these words' sounds and meanings, students can start heading towards pronunciation mastery.

There are many websites that provide lists of minimal pairs. For example, this one is particularly extensive.

Try to choose pairs of words that not only contain your required minimal pairs, but are also suitable to the ability level of your students. The pairs will be useful to practice the target sounds through fun ESL activities.

Now the big question: Can you explain the physical difference between the two sounds to your students?

Sometimes you can say the sounds over and over, with your students trying to mimic, but they just don't seem to be able to hear or feel the difference. You need to be able to tell them how to make the new sound(s).

If you aren't already familiar with the Phonemic Chart, then you might find it helpful because it shows how and where each sound is made. You don't have to learn the symbols or teach your students the symbols, although some older students particularly enjoy learning them.

However, it will be useful for you to be aware how each sound is made.

With that in mind, let's take a look at some fun activities you can use to better teach pronunciation to your students.

There are lots of games and activities you can use to teach this topic. Since they'll all involve speaking and listening, they're naturally engaging and interactive games. The purpose of these is to focus on the particular sounds your students are having problems with using appropriate minimal pairs of words.

Ready, set, go!

1. Minimal Pairs Bingo

This is one of the easiest ways to focus on particular pairs of sounds.

A Bingo card commonly has 5 x 5 squares, so you can use 25 words (12 minimal pairs, or more than two words for some sounds). One or more spaces on each card could be a "free" spot, or you could change the size, maybe to 4 x 4. (I have found that 25 words works well for a full lesson, and everyone will be able to learn them all by the end.)

Go to a website such as ESL activities to create your Bingo cards. You simply type in the words you want to use, choose how many individual cards you need and then let the program randomize the cards so that they each have a different arrangement of the same words.

Have a spare card cut up into individual squares that you can jumble and use to call the words.

Don't let the students mark their cards. Provide markers such as small stones or sunflower seeds that they can put on each word as they hear it (and then remove to play again).

If you have "free" spots they can start the game by putting markers on those.

The first student to get five markers in a row in any direction calls "Bingo!"

Students remove their markers and a new game starts with the winner as the new caller.

After a game or two the students can swap cards to get a different arrangement of words to look at.

At the end of the lesson you can review the words and target sounds with the whole class.

This activity can give students the opportunity to hear the difference between the minimal pairs, recognize the different words written on the card and clearly pronounce the difference when they win and have a chance to be the caller. As each word is called, students tend to all say it quietly to themselves as well.

2. Odd One Out

Put similar words into groups of three-two with one sound, and one with a different (although similar) sound. Or you could have groups of four or five which contain the same sound, but only one that's different. For example:

meet, seat, sit (for vowels)

plays, pace, space (for consonants)

The selection of the odd word can be a reading exercise-where students read the words to themselves out loud and identify the sounds in the written words-or a listening exercise-where the teacher reads the words and the students respond to the "odd" word.

Likewise, selected students could try reading the words aloud for others to identify the odd word, or they could work in pairs or small groups with one person pronouncing the words and the others indicating which is odd.

There are a number of different activities you could run with these groups of words-depending on the ages and abilities of your class, and your classroom arrangement.

Ask the students individually to read through the word groups and pick which words have different sounds.

Ask the students to discuss the groups of words with a partner and decide which one is odd.

Divide the class into two teams, in two lines, and ask the person whose turn it is to choose the odd word as you read them out loud.

Make the question part of another game like Tic Tac Toe. The team or individual whose turn it is to place an X or an O must first pick the odd one out. They proceed with their turn if they choose the right word. If they can't identify the odd word, then they lose their turn.

Play Run and Grab (see below) putting the words on the board and having participants run up to pick the odd word.

3. Run and Grab

You could have your minimal pairs on flashcards or you could simply write two (or more) words at a time on the board.

Create two teams and then pair students up with a member of the opposite team. In turn, each pair goes to stand at the back of the room, looking down an aisle at the board.

When you call one of the minimal pairs out, the pair races to the front to touch the correct word (the odd word out) on the board or grab the appropriate flashcard.

Students from the winning team could have a turn at calling the words for others to run to.

Younger students especially enjoy activities that include movement and a chance to race, but older students also find it enjoyable.

4. Basketball

If your students are keen on basketball then there are a couple of ways you can use this to inspire them to practice their minimal pairs.

Board Basketball-Set questions using minimal pairs such as choosing the "odd one out" (see above) or asking students to choose the correct word as in Run and Grab (see above). When students give the correct answer, they (or their team) score "baskets" (points) on the board. An optional additional to this game is to have students take a shot at throwing a ball into a hoop or receptacle after they identify the correct odd word. (Making the shot wins them another point.)

Crumple and Shoot Basketball-The minimal pair words are written on pieces of (scrap) paper. Students are lined up in two teams. In turn, the front student picks up the paper and reads the word. If it's read correctly they then crumple it up and throw it into a basket/bin/receptacle a set distance away. (Getting it into the basket wins another point.)

Or you could display words on a screen (with an LCD projector) or on flashcards. When the student whose turn it is gets it right they can throw a ball (or other object) into the basket or bin, gaining another point.

5. Sound TPR (Total Physical Response)

Younger students especially enjoy any activity that involves movement.

Designate particular movements to particular sounds, as lively or as gentle as you like. For instance, they could be sitting at their desks and raise a hand, clap or stand up when they hear a particular sound, or they could be standing in a space and jump or run in response to sounds.

As with "Odd One Out" (see above), this could be reading based or listening based. They could respond to words on flashcards by correctly pronouncing them and moving in the prescribed way, or they could respond to the teacher (or another student) saying the words.

If you're teaching younger students-who may also be learning to read and write-they should also be learning phonics, which relates each sound to English letters. There are established systems of hand signs or gestures for each sound which you may find useful here. These can be seen under Visual Phonics on YouTube, or you can look up Jolly Phonics.

6. Dictation

Dictation is when someone speaks out loud and someone else writes it down. Getting your students to write down what you say is good listening practice for them, and when you're dictating minimal pairs they need to listen especially carefully. There are a few different dictation activities you can use.

Minimal Pairs Dictation-The teacher reads out minimal pairs in a particular order and the students write them down. Or the students could have the words already written down and you could instruct them to put marks, numbers, colors, etc. on particular words as you read.

Running Dictation-The students work in pairs. One student runs to read the words or sentences from somewhere farther away, like on the wall outside the classroom. They then dictate to the other student who writes them down. The dictation could be single words, minimal pairs or sentences including target words and sounds.

Fast Dictation-This is where the dictation is read in one continuous stream instead of a few words at a time with breaks. The students listen and write any words or phrases they notice (without panicking!) In this situation, the dictation should include some target words (in minimal pairs) which the students should listen for specifically and write down in the order they hear them.

Picture Dictation-The students have a picture, background or series of pictures containing objects that represent the minimal pair words. They follow instructions to highlight the pictures of their minimal pair words, which may include, coloring, making marks or drawing additional items.

A great way to get your students fully enthused when it comes to pronunciation and dictation is to highlight native English forms with authentic content from FluentU.
Thanks to the massive library, you'll be able to find appropriate content for all levels of learners with differing pronunciation capabilities.
7. Fruit Salad

This is generally a game where the players sit in a circle with one player standing in the middle. The players have each been designated as a type of fruit. The middle player calls a fruit, and all of the players who've been assigned that fruit must rush to change places while the middle player tries to take one of their chairs. Periodically they can call "fruit salad!" and then everyone must change places.

Instead of using the names of fruits, you can designate words containing minimal pairs to groups of students, and maybe choose another word for the "fruit salad!" command.

For example, as the students are sitting in the circle they "number off" one by one around the circle with:

"pea," " bee," "pin," "bin"

Then the person in the middle will call "pin!" or another given word to get their peers running around.

8. Chinese Whispers

When someone is genuinely whispering, and therefore not using their voice, it's nearly impossible to hear the difference between some words. For example: "bit" and "pit." In a social situation where whispering is used we rely on context to fill out the meaning.

In the classroom, Chinese Whispers is a game that involves passing a message from student to student, hopefully without it getting changed too much. In order to play Chinese Whispers as a pronunciation game it might be best to allow speaking and to ask students to carry the message farther away where it can't be overheard by others.

One student could be outside the door and you tell them what the message is. Then the second student goes outside and they tell them the message. The first student comes back in the classroom and sends the next student out. This goes on until every student has heard the secret word. The final student comes back into the classroom to say what they think the message was.

If the message contains words from your minimal pairs list, it will probably have changed, maybe more than once.

9. Card Games

Flashcards are a wonderful resource that every ESL teacher should have bundles of. They can be used for whole class activities and games, or you can create multiple smaller sets to be used by individuals at their desks or in pair/group work activities. Here are a few examples:

Hold it High-Just like Run and Touch (see above) if students have individual sets of cards on their desks, they can hold up the appropriate one when it's called, and the teacher can then look around and have a quick check that everyone is correct. To move from reading to speaking they should firstly say it as they hold it up, and secondly individual students could have a turn at the front.

Happy Families-Create a set of cards containing maybe 6 - 10 families of 4 cards, color coded by families. For example, "boo zoo boom zoom," "cap tap cub tub," "kick thick kink think," etc. Supply a complete list for each member. The cards are distributed like in Go Fish. Students in groups of four play, trying to collect sets of four by asking the person next to them if they have particular cards.

Snap-Make the same decks of cards as in Happy Families. Students can play Snap in pairs or groups with a stack of cards containing relevant minimal pairs. The student placing the card down on the deck should call it at the same time. The next student must put down a card that fits in with that card family. The group proceeds until the winner has no cards left.

Catching Cards-Students gather at the back of the room. The teacher throws individual flashcards and students try to catch them. When they get one they say the word and show it to everyone.

Pair Up-Students are each handed a flashcard with a minimal pair word. They have to walk around and either find others with the same word/sound.

Bean Bag Toss-Lay the flashcards containing the minimal pairs spread out on the floor. Each students takes a turn throwing a bean bag onto a card and clearly saying the word on that card. (They could then collect the card and win a point.)

Stepping Stones-Lay the cards on the floor. Students use them as "stepping stones" to cross a river, saying each one clearly as they step on it.

10. Minimal Pair Math

Assign a number to each of the minimal pair words you wish to focus on. Then call out the words in your chosen sequence, possibly joined with mathematical symbols (e.g., plus, minus). Students can write down the words and their associated numbers while you speak. Ask the students to give you the final number that all these words add up to.

Pronunciation Upkeep

Obviously just doing a couple of activities once or twice may not fix the pronunciation problems your students are having. Hopefully, these activities for targeted practice will lead your students to a better understanding of English pronunciation so that an occasional "nudge" (rather than nagging) will keep them on track.

Whenever the opportunity arises, you can remind them of these pronunciation lessons and minimal pairs when those minimal pair words pop up again in speaking, listening and reading lessons. This is a great way to continue pointing out the words used in your minimal pairs in context. Then students can hear how they sound (again) and get a feel for which words have which meanings.

Practicing a whole phrase or sentence containing the troublesome sound is more likely to cement it in their memory, especially if it's part of a song or a video that they can watch and practice along with.

The important thing is to integrate these activities into your class's routine whenever possible, and to keep reinforcing the different sounds and meanings.

With time, great English pronunciation will come!

And One More Thing...

If you're looking for creative ways to teach English, then you'll love using FluentU in your classroom!

It's got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch regularly. There are tons of great choices there when you're looking for songs for in-class activities.

You'll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids' singalongs, commercial jingles and much, much more.

On FluentU, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students.

Words come with example sentences and definitions. Students will be able to add them to their own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos.

For example, if a student taps on the word "searching," they'll see this:

Plus, these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active learning tools for students, like multimedia flashcards and fun games like "fill in the blank."

It's perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. Not to mention, it's guaranteed to get your students excited about learning English!

Sign up for a free trial and bring FluentU to your classroom today.

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If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach English with real-world videos.
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