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The movements of your tongue, lips, and jaw are incredibly quick, delicate, and complex—just
as complex as the movements of an Olympic gymnast or a surgeon’s hands.

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Teaching About the Articulatory System and the Articulation of Sounds
It’s important for students of all ages to become aware of the parts of their mouths and how they
move when they produce sounds. It’s much less important for them to memorize the names of
the parts of the articulatory system, either in English or in their native language.
We can use tools, models, and illustrations to help students of all ages understand the
articulatory system:
•Have students look in a mirror to see how their mouths move, whether their lips are rounded or
not, and how wide open their mouths are so they can compare these things with an illustration
or the teacher’s example.
•Have students touch their throats to feel the vibration of their vocal cords.
•Use a dental model (a set of giant teeth like dentists use to show children how to brush their
teeth) to show students what’s happening inside their mouths (Figure 3.4) It’s much easier to
show students where the alveolar ridge is on a model, for example, than to try to get them to
look inside the teacher’s mouth. (It’s dark in there!)
•Diagrams of the vocal tract, like the ones we’ve seen in this chapter, also give students a visual
image of the position of the articulators during speech. This type of diagram is called a sagittal
section diagram or a Sammy diagram. However, these diagrams are sometimes hard for
students to understand and connect to reality, especially for younger students (see Figures 3.2
and 3.3).
•Many websites, apps, and software programs offer videos or interactive diagrams showing the
articulation of sounds.
For young learners, show students what to do and keep explanations especially
simple. Children are already aware of the more visible parts of the articulatory system—the
tongue, teeth, and lips—and this is usually enough to help them understand what they need to
do to say a sound.
Think of images or actions to help children understand how to pronounce new sounds, and keep
them within the realm of children’s experience. For example, when practicing the /θ/ sound, you
might say, “Pretend you’re licking a lollipop” to make it easier for them to stick their tongues out
just a bit. To get them to round their lips for sounds like /w/ and /uw/, have them pretend they’re
blowing soap bubbles. (Or if it’s allowed by your school, bring in actual lollipops and bubbles
for them to practice with.) Sounds or names of familiar animals can also be helpful. For
example, for the /s/ sound, ask students to make a sound like a hissing snake.
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PLACE OF ARTICULATION
Bilabial. Both lips touch or almost touch. The sounds in this group are /p/, /b/, /m/, and /w/.
•Labiodental. The upper teeth softly touch the lower lip. The sounds in this group are /f/ and /v/.
•Dental (also called interdental). The tip of the tongue touches the bottom edge of the top teeth
or slightly between the teeth. The sounds in this group are /θ/ and /ð/.
•Alveolar. The tip of the tongue touches or almost touches the alveolar ridge (the tooth ridge).
The sounds in this group are /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, and /l/.
•Palatal (also called alveopalatal). The blade of the tongue touches or almost touches the hard
palate. The sounds in this group are /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/, /ʤ/, /r/, and /y/.
•Velar. The back of the tongue touches the soft palate. The sounds in this group are /k/, /g/,
and /ŋ/.
•Glottal. There is friction in the glottis (the space between the vocal cords). The only phoneme in
this group is /h/.

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Manner of Articulation
Stops (also called plosives). The air stream is blocked completely somewhere in the mouth, air
pressure builds up, and then it’s released, like a pop or a tiny explosion. The stops in English
are /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /ɡ/.
•Fricatives. The air stream is compressed and passes through a small opening
in the mouth, creating friction—a hissing sound. The airstream is never completely blocked, so
the sound can continue. The fricatives in English are /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and /h/.
•Affricates. A combination of a stop followed by a fricative—an explosion with
a slow release. The affricates in English are /ʧ/ and /ʤ/. Each of these symbols is made up of
two parts—a stop symbol and a fricative symbol. This reminds us that the sounds also have two
parts.
•Nasals. In these sounds, the tongue or lips block off the vocal tract so air
can’t go out through the mouth. Instead, the passage leading up into the nose opens so that the
airstream can go out through the nose. The sounds in the nasal group are /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/.
•Liquids. These are sounds that are pronounced very smoothly, like water flowing in a river. The
airstream moves around the tongue in a relatively unobstructed manner. The liquid sounds in
English are /l/ and /r/.
•Glides (also called semivowels). A glide is like a very quick vowel. This is why they’re
sometimes called semivowels, which means “half-vowels.” They sound like vowels, but they can
function as consonants. The glides in English are /w/ (which sounds like a quick /uw/) and /y/
(which sounds like a quick /iy/).