pronunciation

1. Lunch & Learn
Tongue twisters and other tips to
help you improve your
pronunciation

2. Why is proper
pronunciation so
important?

3. Do you have any
pronunciation tips
you’d like to
share?

4. Now let’s discuss some more great
pronunciation tips!

5. 1. We can use tongue
twisters

6. In the following example we are
going to use a popular tongue
twister to practice the short e
(/e/)sound.

7. Ken said Ted meant to send
the rent but left the check
on a bench when he
stopped to mend the fence.

8. We can also use tongue
twisters to contrast
similar sounds, as in the
following example …

9. They set sail as the rain fell
and made a wet mess of
guests who came to watch
whales and tell tales.

10. 2. Pay attention to how
your mouth and lips
move
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11. Observe other people speaking
and saying the sounds you have
trouble with. How is his/her
mouth moving?

12. For example:
To create the /v/, we must keep our jaw nearly closed. The
upper backside of the bottom lip is pressed very lightly into the
bottom of the top teeth. Air is pushed out of the mouth between
the top teeth and the upper backside of the bottom lip. We
should be able to make the sound for a few seconds.
We should relax our lips during the /v/. A common error many
people make is overproducing this sound by curling the bottom
lip under the top teeth. This creates problems when linking to
and from the /v/.

13. For example:
To create the /w/ sound we must
round our lips and form a narrow
space at the back of the mouth
with the tongue. This sound is
voiced, meaning that the vocal
cords vibrate when the sound is
made.

14. Notice your mouth while
speaking, using a mirror. See if
you can make the same sounds.
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15. Remember! When we speak, we move our mouth. The
movement of our mouth will affect the sounds we
make when we speak.
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16. 3. Think about your
tongue, too!

17. When speaking we usually don’t
think about what our tongue is
doing, but we should!

18. Proper tongue placement and
movement can help us with our
pronunciation.

19. Example 1
When producing the “L” sound, your
tongue should touch the back of
your front teeth and the top of your
mouth, just behind your teeth. Try it
now: Say the word “lamp.” Repeat
again and again until you feel where
your tongue is in your mouth. Can you
feel your tongue touch the top of your
mouth?

20. Example 2
Your tongue does not touch the top of your
mouth when make “R” sounds. Pull your tongue
back to the middle of your mouth, near where it
naturally rests if you are not speaking. As you say
the sound, your lips should be a little rounded. Try it
now: Say the word “rope” a few times. You should
feel air blowing between your tongue and the top of
your mouth as you speak. Your lips should become a
little rounder when you make the sound.

21. Example 3
To produce the “th” sound put your tongue
between your top and bottom teeth. Your tongue
should stick out a little between your teeth, and as
you push air out of your mouth, let some air escape
between your tongue and teeth—that’s what makes
the sound. Try it now: Say the word “thick.” Repeat
it a few times. Make sure you push your tongue
between your teeth.

22. 4. Break words down
into parts
Many words are made up of individual sounds called
syllables. Breaking up hard to pronounce words into
its syllable parts can make even the most difficult
words- easier to pronounce.

23. A few examples:
domination do –mi-na-tion
appreciate a-ppre-ci-ate
community co-mmun-i-ty
Intermittent In-ter-mi-ttent
ordinary or-di-nar-y

24. 5. Use dictionary.com’s
sound button and mimic
what you hear

25. Type in just about any word in the
English language, press the sound
button and you will hear the appropriate
pronunciation!

26. This screenshot was taken from dictionary.com

27. Questions?
Amrita
@ agill@myenglishonline.ca
englishonlinemb10
Blaine
@ broberts@myenglishonline.ca
blaine_myenglishonline
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28. Thank you for attending!
See you next time!
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