```html English pronunciation practice for German speakers

English pronunciation practice for German speakers

Correction of common pronunciation problems for learners with German as their first language

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German language backgrounds

26 common English pronunciation problems

1. /æ/ as in "man"

Fix problem Move tongue to a lower front position.
English sound /æ/ — "man"
Common error /e/ — "men"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice

2. /ə/ — weak endings

Fix problem Weak endings: e.g. "London" "England"
English sound /ə/ — "the" (schwa)
Practice materials
Practise the neutral vowel /ə/ using spoken dialogues

3. /ɔ:/ as in "nought"

Fix problem Tongue low & back. Jaws together. Long.
English sound /ɔ:/ — "nought"
Common error /ɒ/ — "not"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ɒ/ or /ɔ:/ practice

4. /ɜ:/ as in "bird"

Fix problem Fix tongue in central position. Long.
English sound /ɜ:/ — "bird"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ɜ:/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜ:/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /ɜ:/ practice

5. /eɪ/ as in "late"

Fix problem Tongue moves from front centre to front high.
English sound /eɪ/ — "late"
Common error /e/ — "let"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /eɪ/ practice

6. /əʊ/ as in "bone"

Fix problem Tongue central. Then tightly round lips.
English sound /əʊ/ — "bone"
Common error /ɔ:/ — "born"

7. /aʊ/ as in "cow"

Fix problem From low front vowel to lips tightly rounded.
English sound /aʊ/ — "cow"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ or /aʊ/ practice

8. /b/ as in "bill"

Fix problem Voiced. Vibration. Trap air with lips.
English sound /b/ — "bill"
Common error /p/ — "pill"

9. /d/ as in "made"

Fix problem Tip of tongue behind top teeth.
English sound /d/ — "made"
Common error /t/ — "mate"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /t/ or /d/ practice

10. /v/ as in "of"

Fix problem Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip.
English sound /v/ — "of"
Common error /f/ — "off"

11. /v/ as in "vet"

Fix problem Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip.
English sound /v/ — "vet"
Common error /w/ — "wet"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice

12. /w/ as in "west"

Fix problem Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround & glide.
English sound /w/ — "west"
Common error /v/ — "vest"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice

13. /θ/ as in "thin"

Fix problem Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound /θ/ — "thin"
Common error /d/ — "din"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /d/ practice

14. /θ/ as in "thin"

Fix problem Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound /θ/ — "thin"
Common error /s/ — "sin"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice

15. /ð/ as in "they"

Fix problem Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound /ð/ — "they"
Common error /d/ — "day"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ð/ or /d/ practice

16. /ð/ as in "clothe"

Fix problem Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
English sound /ð/ — "clothe"
Common error /z/ — "close" /z/

17. /z/ as in "rise"

Fix problem Voiced: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction.
English sound /z/ — "rise"
Common error /s/ — "rice"
Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /s/ or /z/ practice

18. /ʃ/ as in "sherry"

Fix problem Voiceless. Friction. Front of tongue to palate.
English sound /ʃ/ — "sherry"
Common error /tʃ/ — "cherry"

19. /ʒ/ as in "confusion"

Fix problem Voiced: Front of tongue to palate. Friction.
English sound /ʒ/ — "confusion"
Common error /ʃ/ — "Confucian"

20. British "r"

Fix problem British "r" is weaker & usually silent unless followed by a vowel.
English sound silent — "survivor"
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