| FIX PROBLEM | ENGLISH SOUND | - | COMMON ERROR | - | PRACTICE MATERIALS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relax the mouth and keep sound short. | /ɪ/ | "sit" | /i:/ | "seat" | Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or / i: / practice |
| Keep tongue front & low and jaws apart. | /æ/ | "ran" | /ʌ/ | "run" | Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice |
| Tongue low central. Lips relaxed. | /ʌ/ | "cup" | Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice |
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| Mouth not so large. Lips relaxed. | /ʌ/ | "cut" | /ɑ:/ | "cart" | |
| Back of tongue high. Lips rounded but relaxed. Short. | /ʊ/ | "full" | /u:/ | "fool" | Minimal Pairs /ʊ/ or / u: / practice |
| Weak endings: e.g. "London" "England" | /ə/ | "the" (schwa) | Practise the neutral vowel /ə/ using spoken dialogues |
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| Tongue low, back & fixed. Jaws together. | /ɔ:/ | "bought" | /əʊ/ | "boat" | Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /əʊ/ practice |
| Fix tongue in central position. Long. | /ɜ:/ | "bird" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ɜ:/ practice Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜ:/ practice Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /ɜ:/ practice |
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| Tongue moves from front centre to front high. | /eɪ/ | "late" | /e/ | "let" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /eɪ/ practice |
| Start with tongue low front. | /aɪ/ | "buy" | Minimal Pairs /eɪ/ or /aɪ / practice |
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| Tongue low front to high front to centre. | /aɪə/=/aɪ/+/ə/ | "fire" | Start with tongue low & back. | /ɔɪ/ | "boy" |
| Tongue central. Then tightly round lips. | /əʊ/ | "note" | /ɒ/ | "not" | Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ or /ɒ/ practice |
| Tongue low front. Then round & unround lips. | /aʊə/=/aʊ/+/ə/ | "flour" | Tongue high and front. Move to centre. | /ɪə/ | "beer" | /eə/ | "bear" |
| Tongue from centre front. Draw back to centre. | /eə/ | "bear" | |||
| Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround. | /ʊə/ | "tour" | |||
| Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /θ/ | "thin" | Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /ð/ practice Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /t/ practice Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /d/ practice Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice |
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| Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /ð/ | "clothe" | /θ/ | "cloth" | |
| Voiceless: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction. | /s/ | "rice" | /z/ | "rise" | Minimal Pairs /s/ or /z/ practice |
| Voiced: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction. | /z/ | "rise" | /s/ | "rice" | |
| Voiceless. Friction. Front of tongue to palate. | /ʃ/ | "sherry" | /ʧ/ | "cherry" | |
| Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʧ/ | "cherry" | /ʃ/ | "sherry" | |
| Quickly push air from throat out of mouth. | /h/ | "hot" | "ch" in "loch" | Minimal Pairs /h/ or silent "h" practice |
|
| Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʤ/ | "wage" | |||
| Back of tongue to back roof. Nasal. | /ŋk/ | "think" | /ŋ/ | "thing" | Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice |
| British "r" is weaker & usually silent unless followed by a vowel. | silent | "survivor" | /r/ | "Sir Ivor" | |
| Glide /j/(i:) the tongue quickly to next sound | /j/ | "yam" | /ʤ/ | "jam" | Minimal Pairs /ʤ/ or /j/ practice |
| Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround & glide. | /w/ | "west" | /v/ | "vest" | Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice |
EXTERNAL LINK: Non-native pronunciations of English: Italian L1
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