ALC Courses Intermediate Pronunciation

Intermediate Pronunciation
ACTIVITY 1: Tricky sounds in English

a) /ɵ/ and /ð/

Practise these exercises one box at a time before trying the whole thing.

This is a thing.
This thing is thick.
That thing is thin.
This thing is thick, but that thing is thin.
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Think about this.
Think about that.
Think about them.
Think about these.
Think about those.
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This theory is the most important thing to think about.
That theory is the least important thing to think about.
These theories are the most exciting things to think about.
Those theories are the least exciting things to think about.
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This theory is important; therefore, it should be thought about carefully.

That theory is not important; therefore it does not need to be thought about.

These theories are the last thing you need to think about!

Those theories are the least important thing on earth.

What on earth does “theoretically” mean?

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 ALC Courses Intermediate Pronunciation

b) Schwa /Ə/: how many schwas can you find in this sentence?

The Cathedral is the best-known feature of the city of Durham, which

is situated in the North-East of the United Kingdom.

ACTIVITY 2: Joining sounds

a) Consonant-vowel joining: can you join up the words correctly in these

sentences?

There’s an elephant in the tent over on the left.

There are seven elephants in the show altogether.

Not a single elephant is missing in the zoo.

There are never enough elephants in the world.

Eleven angry elephants are in their own area.

Another angry elephant is in its own area.

A single elephant can eat its own weight in grass.

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 ALC Courses Intermediate Pronunciation

b) Joining sound /j/ after lip-spread vowel sounds: practice

the apple, the elephant, the ice cream, the orange, the umbrella

There are three elephants and the angry one’s enormous.

The elephants are under the elm tree.

The Indian elephant is smaller than the African elephant.

The oranges are awful.

We understand the efforts he is making.

c) Joining sound /w/ after lip-rounded vowel sounds: practice

You answered the question.

You entered the contest.

You interviewed the candidate.

You ought to try this exercise.

You understand this.

Mo answered the phone.

Flo entered the contest.

So I helped her.

Joe offered to help me and we co-operated.

Ko understood the situation and co-ordinated the project teams.

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 ALC Courses Intermediate Pronunciation

ACTIVITY 3: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Here are two short texts based on stories on the BBC News website. Practise reading
these texts aloud, following the correct rhythm. The stressed syllables are marked like
this.

1) General Electric has won a 2.6 billion dollar contract from the Indian government to

build a fleet of new trains for the country. The US-based industrial company said it

would supply India with 1,000 new diesel trains over the next eleven years. The deal

includes a 200 million dollar investment by GE to build new plants and warehouses.GE

chief executive Jeff Immelt said: "This infrastructure project is further evidence of India's

position as a growth engine for Asia."

2) An international team of architects and scientists have observed "thermal anomalies"

in the pyramids of Giza. Thermal cameras detected higher temperatures in three

adjacent stones at the bottom of the Great Pyramid. Officials said possible causes

included the existence of empty areas inside the pyramid, internal air currents, or the

use of different building materials. It comes as experts search for hidden chambers

within the pyramids.