TEFL Pronunciation Resources




23/08/2012

For Students:- Rachel's English - How to Videos

32 videos on how to pronounce sounds, follow this link http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB043E64B8BE05FB7&feature=plcp and practise making vowel, dipthong and consonant sounds correctly.
There is also an extra video on there on linking consonants sounds to vowels.

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21/08/2012

For Students:- Charles Kelly (2001) Listen and Repeat Videos

  • 69 Two-Syllable Words Accented on the First Syllable

  • 72 Two-Syllable Words Accented on the Second Syllable


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For Students:- BBC World Service Pronunciation Tips


The Sounds of English 

The resource develops your knowledge of the system of symbols for writing the sounds of English. Videos show how to pronounce each of the sounds correctly. There are also activities to practise identifying the difference between certain sounds which may sound similar.

Features of English

Information about different elements of English pronunciation and compares the sounds of words to their spellings. There are interactive and downloadable exercises to help you build an understanding of these areas.


Quizzes

Interactive quizzes to test your knowledge of and help you learn about English pronunciation. They are very varied and are based on learning the symbols, audio recognition of sounds, differentiating different sounds from similar spellings, 

Programmes

Three radio programmes from 2005 on the topic of pronunciation. You can download the full programmes along with the script and audio examples. 





For Teachers:- The Phonemic Chart and Correct Pronunciation of Consonant Sounds in English



You can find a British Council phonemic chart at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/activities/phonemic-chart 
It has the advantage that you can hear the phoneme sound on it's own; and/or if you press the top right hand corner where you see the white arrow icon against a blue background, you have a choice of 3 words that you can choose and listen to also. The accent is a Standard English one. This means that there is no regional or social class accent in it. 

The chart is divided into 3 sections; vowels, consonants and dipthongs. There are 39 phonemes to learn in total. 

Voiced and Unvoiced Sound Pairs. Set 1 

The first 4 unvoiced and voiced consonant pairs are: 

p and b, 
t and d, 
tʃ and dʒ, 
k and g. 

The first sound of each pair is unvoiced and the second voiced. That means you don't use your vocal cords to make the first sound but you do the second. Your vocal cords are found in your throat. You can test whether you are using your vocal cords when making a sound by putting your fingers on your throat. If you can feel a vibration or 'buzzing' you are forming a voiced sound correctly. For the unvoiced consonant of the pair you should not feel any vibration. 

Plosive Sounds 

The p and b, t and d, k and g are all plosive sounds. When we make these sounds there is a complete nasal and oral blockage in the vocal tract. Air is then released explosively from the mouth to form the sound. 

For a diagram of where the sounds are formed please refer to this link 

The 'p and b' are bilabial and are formed between the lips (point 1 on the diagram); the 't and d' are alveolar and formed on the roof of the mouth (point 4 on the diagram); and finally the 'k and g' are velar and are formed nearer the back of the mouth (point 7 on the diagram). 

Affricative Sounds 

The 'tʃ and dʒ' or 'ch and 'dje' are affricative sounds. They begin like a plosive sound but then release as a fricative, a sound produced by forcing air through a constricted space. This results in more turbulence and therefore more noise than a plosive sound (Point 5 on the diagram). 

The British Council have created posters for each phoneme. Stick them on the wall where you can see and practice them regularly: 





Voiced and Unvoiced Sound Pairs. Set 2 

The second set of 4 unvoiced and voiced consonant pairs are: 

f and v 
ɵ and ə 
s and z 
ʃ and ʒ 

The first sound of each pair is unvoiced and the second voiced. That means you don't use your vocal cords to make the first sound but you do the second. Your vocal cords are found in your throat. You can test whether you are using your vocal cords when making a sound by putting your fingers on your throat. If you can feel a vibration or 'buzzing' you are forming a voiced sound correctly. For the unvoiced consonant of the pair you should not feel any vibration. 

Fricative Sounds 

All the sounds this week are called 'fricatives'. These sounds create turbulent and noisy airflow in the parts of the mouth where they are formed. Air should be heard passing between 2 vocal organs. Most languages have these types of sound but many only have an 's'. The 's' is the most common fricative sound and is called a 'sibilant'. English sibilants are 's and z'. Airflow is guided through a groove in the tongue towards the teeth creating a high pitched and distinctive sound. 

For a diagram of where the sounds are formed please refer to this link:- 

  • the 'f and v' are labiodental sounds and are formed between the lips and the upper teeth (point 2 on the diagram); 

  • the 'ɵ and ə' are dental sounds and are formed with the tongue against the upper teeth (point 3 on the diagram); 

  • the 's and z' are alveolar sounds and are formed with the tongue closed to the alveolar ridge (point 4 on the diagram) 

  • and finally the 'ʃ and ʒ' are formed with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge (point 5b on the diagram). 

The British Council have created posters for each phoneme. Stick them on the wall where you can see and practise them regularly: 





Other consonant sounds. Set 3 

The final consonant sounds are n, m, ɳ, h, l, j, w and r. 

Nasal Sounds 

The first three n, m and ɳ are nasal sounds. They are produced with a lowered velum allowing air to escape freely through the nose. They are also all voiced sounds. 

  • m is formed between the lips and is bilabial (point 1 on the diagram) 

  • n and ɳ are alveolar and velar sounds respectively formed on the roof of the mouth (point 4 and 7on the diagram) 

Fricative 

h is a voiceless glottal fricative commonly referred to as a fricative, it is a type of sound which forms like a fricative or approximant but lacks the sound of turbulent and noisy airflow. 

Approximants 

Approximants are speech sounds that involve the vocal tract parts approaching each other but not so closely or so precisely as to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no turbulence. 

  • l is an alveolar (point 4 on diagram) lateral aproximant, air travels along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth. 

  • j is a palatal (formed at point 6 on diagram) approximant 

  • w is a labiovelar (formed at points 2 and 7 on diagram) approximant 
The latter two are the closest consonants to vowels and are sometimes referred to as semi vowel or glides 

Trill 

A kind of vocal shake. r is an alveolar trill. It is produced by directing air over the articulator(the alveolar) so that it vibrates (point 4 on the diagram) 

The British Council have created posters for each phoneme. Stick them on the wall where you can see and practise them regularly: 







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