This document discusses activities to practice English spelling, pronunciation, homographs, and homonyms. It includes discussion questions about languages, the most difficult aspects of English, and favorite English words. It also contains examples of homographs and homophones, as well as exercises to identify and use them in sentences. The purpose is to help students improve their spelling, pronunciation, and understanding of words that look or sound the same but have different meanings.

1. CARLOS ALBERTO MARÍN CARO
IRENE LÓPEZ-RODRÍGUEZ
ACTIVITIES TO PRACTICE ENGLISH SPELLING, PRONUNCIATION, HOMOGRAPHS
AND HOMONYMS

2. Discussion:
1) How many languages can you speak?
2) Say words in as many languages as you can.
3) Which of all those languages you find the most difficult? Why?
4) In your opinion, what are the most difficult aspects of English?
(spelling? pronunciation?)
4) From your point of view, which are the hardest languages to learn?
Why?

3. Which is your favorite word in English?
Why?

4. What do
you know
about
English?
1.-Which is the most commonly used
letter in English?
2.-Which is the shortest complete sentence
in the English language?
3.-Which is the longest English word that can
be spelled without repeating any letters?
4.-Which is the longest word in English?
5.-And the shortest one?
6.-Do you know what is special about the following sentence? ‘The quick brown fox
jumps over the lazy dog’.
7.-Which is the most difficult tongue twister in the English language?
ANSWERS: 1) E; 2) I AM; 3) uncopyrightable; 4) The longest word in English has 45 letters:
‘pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis’! It is a type of lung disease caused by
inhaling ash and sand dust; 5) I; 6) It uses every letter in the English language; 7) The most difficult
tongue twister in the English language is “sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick”. Why not try it out on your
friends and see if any of them can say it without making a mistake?

5. Read the text about the crazy English language. What is the point the writer is trying to make?

6. Task 2. Come up with a list of
words whose parts have nothing to
do with the meaning of the word
itself. Example: Egg + plant=eggplant.
Task 3. Conversely, make a list of
words whose parts do provide
meaning to the whole word.
Example: bed+time=bedtime
What are Compound Words?
Compound words are formed when two or more words are put together to form a new
word with a new meaning
Did you know that there are three different types of compound words?
Closed form: Two words are joined together to create a new meaning. EXAMPLES: firefly, softball, redhead, keyboard,
makeup, notebook.
Hyphenated form: The words are joined together by a hyphen. EXAMPLES: daughter-in-law, over-the-counter, six-year-old.
Open form: The words are open but when read together, a new meaning is formed. EXAMPLES: post office, real estate, full
moon, half sister.
Task 1: Come up with a list of
compound words.

7. CHALLENGE: In pairs, you are going to be making compounds with the words below.
Ready, set, go!

9. Choose a semantic field, that is, words
belonging to the same topic or category and
make a list of compounds.
Example: COOKING
Pancake
Cupcake
Doughnut
EXAMPLE: ANIMALS
Butterfly
Jellyfish

10. ASSIGNMENT: You ate going to make up a text about crazy compounds like the one below.
Your text must have AT LEAST 12 compounds whose individual words have nothing to do with the meaning of
the whole word. You can work individually, in pairs and in groups.

11. Have a look at the following jokes based on different aspects of the English Language.
Why are they funny?

14. 1) Close the windows, as the storm is getting close.
2) I am content with the content I've written for my blog.
3) Please elaborate on your plans for the elaborate gala.
4) My handsome escort will escort me to the dance.
5) I'd like to present you with a birthday present.
6) She will read the book that her older sister read last year.
7) The store issued a refund to refund my money for the defective item.
8) I will update my resume and resume my job search.
9) Separate the laundry into separate piles for light and dark clothing.
Read the following sentences. There are words which are repeated with similar meaning.
In pairs, identify those words and explain what they mean.

15. HOMOGRAPHS
Words with the same spelling
but different meaning

17. The bandage was wound around the wound.
The dump was so full, it had to refuse more refuse.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he could get the lead out.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
The bass player sang a song about catching bass.
The insurance was invalid because it didn’t cover the invalid’s wheelchair.
The band will record a new record.
When startled the dove dove into the bush.
I will be second in line if I wait one more second.
My peer told me to peer through the window at our supervisor.
Please excuse my bad behavior, for which I have no excuse.
The flower will flower if you move it.
The shoes were too close to the door for it to close completely.
She has tears in her eyes as she tears old photos.
Please lower the shade lower than the window sill.
The tower towers over the city.
I hope I finish refinishing the new finish on the table.
She will resort to taking her vacation at the cheaper resort.
The gamblers were upset over the upset of the big game!
We need a transfer to transfer to the other bus.
The couple will separate after ten years and live in separate homes.
How long will the live fish live without food?
The jury was deliberate when they agreed to deliberate another day.
Because the wedding had to be perfect, Sue spent hours to perfect the dress.
VOCABULARY
Dictionary work: Check the words below. Determine: A. part of
speech
B. meaning
C.
pronunciation
1. _________________________
A. _____________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________
C.______________________________________________________
Identify the HOMOGRAPHS in these
sentences.
Use a dictionary to look up the word.
Complete the chart above for each
word.

18. Draw pictures for each sentence
I hit the bat with a bat The dove dove into its
nest
I will park my car near the
park
My peer told me to peer
through the window
I will polish these Polish
shoes
I hit my nail with a nail
YOUR CHOICE YOUR CHOICE

19. Working with
HOMOGRAPHS
Have a look at the following list
of homographs. Make
sentences with 2 of their
meanings.
Example: bow/bow
a) She put a bow in her
daughter’s hair.
b) You need to bow in front of
the king.
HOMOGRAPHS:
1)LEAD/LEAD
2)MINUTE/MINUTE
3)WIND/WIND
4)FILE/FILE
5)NAIL/NAIL
6)DOES/DOES
7)SOW/SOW

21. HOMOPHONES
Have a look at the following cartoons. What can you notice about
the SPELLING and PRONUNCIATION of some of the words
used?
HOMOPHONES ARE
WORDS WITH DIFFERENT
SPELLING BUT SAME
PRONUNCIATION

22. Look at the cartoons. Identify the HOMOPHONES

25. Homophone Pairs
Meet/meat Ad/add Eight/ate Blew/blue Toad/towed
Wait/weight Be/bee By/buy/bye Hour/our Know
There/their/they’re To/too/two Your/you’re Rose/rows
Here/hear One/won Bale/bail Board/bored Byte/bite
Bread/bred Break/brake Seller/cellar Censor/sensor
Chilly/chile Crews/cruise Days/daze Dear/deer Die/dye
Eye/I Find/fined Gate/gait Hay/hey Him/hym Hole/whole
Lie/lye Made/maid Male/mail Passed/past Piece/peace Peer/pier
Pray/prey Read/reed See/sea Sun/son Would/wood
Write sentences with these homophones

30. ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
English pronunciation can be very tricky.
Read the following poem.