Part I: IPA Symbols and Pronunciation

Slide 3: Vowels
Slide 4: Vowels cont.
Slide 5: Consonants
Slide 6: Consonants cont.
Slide 7: Consonants cont.
Part II: Non-Native English Speaker
Slide 8: Text & Recording
Part III: Diagnosis & Solutions
Slide 9: Error 1
Slide 10. Error 2
Slide 11: Error 3
Part IV: References
Slide 12: Reference list
IPA Symbol Example 1 Example 2
Ʌ Cup Luck
Ɑ: Arm Father
æ Cat Black
e Met Bed
ǝ Away About
Ȝ: r Turn Learn

I Hit Pit
i: See Heat

ɒ Hot Rock
ɔ: Call Ball
IPA Symbol Example 1 Example 2
Ʊ Put Could
u: Blue Food

aɪ Five Eye

aʊ Now Out

eɪ Say Eight

OƱ Go Home

ɔɪ Boy Join

eǝ r Where Air

ɪǝ r Near Here

Ʊǝ r Pure Tourist
IPA Symbol Example 2 Example 3
b Bad Lab

d Did Lady

f Find If

g Give Flag

h How Hello

j Yes Yellow

k Cat Back

l Let Little

m Man Lemon

n No Ten
IPA Symbol Example 1 Example 2

ŋ Sing Finger

p Pet Map

r Red Try
s Sun Miss

ſ She Crash

t Tea Getting

tſ Check Church
ɵ Think Both

ð This Mother
V Voice Five
IPA Symbol Example 1 Example 2

w Wet Window

z Zoo Lazy

ȝ Pleasure Vision

dȝ Just Large
Have you ever watched young children practice the sounds of the
language they are learning? They imitate, repeat, and sing consonant and
vowel combinations without effort. For young children, learning to speak
a language is natural and automatic. No one would suspect that complex
learning is occurring. For adult learners, however, pronunciation of a
new language is not automatic. It presents an unusual challenge. Why is
pronunciation progress in adults more limited? Some researchers say the
reasons are biological or physical. Others say they are social or cultural.
Although many questions are still unanswered, it is important to realize
two things about clear speaking. First, pronunciation improvement might
be difficult, but it is possible. Second, adults can learn to communicate
clearly in English without losing their accents or their identification with
their native cultures.

From Well Said by Linda Grant

The English L2 speaker had trouble pronouncing the sound /r/in the recording.
The speaker does not presents a problem producing the /r/ in other words but
rather /Ȝ: r / as in the words learning and learn. In the word learning, the speaker
substitute the /r/ with /l/, while in learn, the speaker drops the /r/ completely.
This pronunciation error can lead to misunderstandings. The following are ways
to help correct this error.

• First thing I would suggest that the speaker do is practice the tongue
placement of both the /l/ and /r/. For /l/, speaker should place the tip of the
tongue behind the top teeth. For /r/, speaker should slide tongue back so it
curves up.
• Next, I would suggest the speaker practice pronouncing words with /Ȝ: r /
such as turn, burning, and girl. While doing this, speaker should pay close
attention to her tongue placement.
• Lastly, I would suggest that the student practice saying words with /Ȝl/ and
pay attention to the difference between these words and the previous words
with /Ȝ: r / .
Another pronunciation issue the English L2 speaker had in the recording was
with /ǝ/. When pronouncing the words adult and adults in the recording, the
speaker substituted /ǝ/ with /aɪ/. This type of error can lead to
misunderstandings because it changes words.

-First, I would have student record herself pronouncing a list of words that
start with /ǝ/ like adult. I would have the speaker listen to the correct
pronunciation of /ǝ/.
-Next, I would have the speaker listen to her recording and compare the
pronunciations.
-Then, I would have the student practice the lip movements for both /ǝ/ and
/aɪ/.
-Lastly, I would have the student practice reading the same list she recorded
herself reading but making sure she is pronouncing /ǝ/ and not/aɪ/.
A third pronunciation error the speaker made in the recording is dropping the /n/
sound from words such as pronunciation, learning, learners, and consonants. Not
pronouncing sounds in words can make it extremely difficult for listeners to fully
understand a message given that they are having trouble identifying certain words in
the speech. In instances like this, listeners are left to use context clues to fill in the
misunderstood words.

• First thing I would suggest the speaker do is practice pronouncing /n/ in isolation.
• Next, I would have the student listen to the tongue twister “ managers at the manor
mentor minors numerous mornings a month.” I would have the student listen to the
recording again, this time while writing down what she hears. This would allow me to
identify if she is having trouble hearing the /n/ sound.
• Then, I would have the speaker practice saying the tongue twister herself. She would
be able to use a copy of the written tongue twister or the one she wrote to help her
remember the pronunciation. If this is to challenging, I would instead have the
student practice saying /n/ syllables and then move on to short /n/ words.
• Later, I would have the speaker practice pronouncing longer words with the /n/
sound.
Pesce, C. (2013, March 11). 7 Worst Pronunciation Mistakes ESL Students Make
Around the World. Retrieved from
https://busyteacher.org/14846-7-worst-pronunciation-mistakes-esl-students-
make.html

Yu, J. (n.d.). Tongue twister /m/ & /n/ sounds: the small guide site. Retrieved from
http://thesmallguidesite.com/tonguetwister/tonguetwister_m_n.html