SPECIAL 1-1 COURSE

ENGLISH FOR COMMUNICATION – LESSON 1

Pronunciation

SECTION 1: /p/ AND /b/ SOUND

How to make the sound /p/

/p/ is an unvoiced sound. Look at the

diagram. Listen and say the sound.

Stop the air behind your lips.

Open your lips to release the air.

Sound and spelling

/p/ is often spelled p or pp. Listen and say these words.

- p: pen push stop package

- pp: happy stopping pepper passport

Now listen and say these phrases

1. a piece of paper
2. Push or pull ?
3. a deep sleep
4. a package tour
Now, listen and say these sentences.

1. Peter ordered a pineapple pizza (pitsa).

2. I had a cheap trip to Europe.
3. Please fill your information properly in this paper.
4. We want a perfect picnic in Spain in September.
How to make the sound /b/

/b/ is a voiced sound. Look at the diagram.

Listen and say the sound.

Stop the air behind your lips.

Open your lips to release the air.

Notice:

/b/ is different from /p/ in the way that there is voicing ( vibration from the throat)

Sound and spelling

/b/ is often spelled b or bb. Listen and say these words.

- b: big best buy brother

- bb: robber bubble
Pest - fist - cast

Notice:

/b/ is silent at the end of a few words.

climb comb thumb bomb

Climbing combing bombing

Now listen and say these phrases and sentences (Recording A70e)

1. a big business
2. When was the baby born?
3. It’s better to bake your own cake than to buy it.
4. What’s that big building between the bank and the library?
Libra - ry

Brown, brain, bruise, brick, break, zebra, algebra

Practice of /p/ and /b/

Exercise 1: Complete the words with ‘p’ or ‘b’.

1. I got a new job in September.

2. Can you remember Peter’s phone number ?
3. Don’t forget to pack your bags and bring your passport.
4. My brother got big problems with his neighbors.
SECTION 2: /t/ AND /d/ SOUND

How to make the sound /t/

/t/ is an unvoiced sound. Look at the diagram.

Listen and say the sound. Stop the air with the
tongue behind your teeth.

Move your tongue down to release the air.

tea

thi

Sound and spelling

/t/ is usually spelled t or tt. Listen and say these words.

- t: tea ten two water eat complete great

- tt: better bottle kettle

Underline the words that contain the /t/ sound. Then listen and say these sentences.

Notice: The letter t is generally held at the end of words and before consonants within words. This
“held t” is very common in American English. You should try to pronounce the /t/ sound at the end
of every word.

1. That’s not great at all! I might not do that.

tall

2. He built that website last night.

3.Thomas ate two hot dogs.

4. Matt went out to eat.

5. That apartment felt quite hot.

fell

6. Could you tell me how to get to the train station?

stop/ stay/ steam/ storm

How to make the sound /d/

/d/ is a voiced sound. Look at the diagram.

Listen and say the sound. Stop the air with your
tongue behind your teeth.

Move your tongue down to release the air.

Notice:

/d/ is different from /t/ in the way that there is voicing ( vibration from the throat)

Sound and spelling

/d/ is usually spelled d or dd. Listen and say these words.

- d: day deep do door food good head ready

- dd: add address ladder middle

Underline the words that contain the /d/ sound. Then listen and say these sentences.

1. She had a bad cold.

2. Eddy’s birthday is today.
3. David didn’t do the dishes.
4. Does Donna have a dollar? - Donald
5. Dan drove us around before dinner.
Was - were

Exercise 1: Fill in the gaps with the right transcription word.

arrived asked decided welcomed

enjoyed stayed travelled cooked

Last weekend I /askt/ ......................... my parents to visit my relatives in Algiers. I /trævld/

........................ there by bus. I /ra ɪ
vd/......................... there at 10:00. My granny /welkmd/......................... me and
ʊkt/...................... me some dishes. I /steɪd/

........................ there till 5:00, then / dɪsaɪdɪd/......................... to return back home.

I /ɪndʒɔɪd/ ........................ my weekend very much.
SECTION 3: /k/ AND /g/ SOUND

How to make the sound /k/

/k/ is an unvoiced sound. Look at the diagram.

Listen and say the sound. Stop the air with the
back of your tongue against the top of your
mouth.

Move your tongue to release the air.

K/c - kh

Sound and spelling

/k/ is often spelled c, k or ck, and sometimes ch. Listen and say these words.

- c car careful clean close fact

- k key keep kitchen desk talk
- ck back black check pocket tick
- ch school stomach chemist architect

Notice:

/kw/ is often spelled qu. Listen and say these words.

quick quiet question quarter

The letter k is silent in a few words.

know knee knife knight

Underline the words that contain the /k/ sound. Then say these sentences.

1. I’ll make a cake for Mike.

2. Look in the kitchen cupboard.
3. Keep your keys in your pocket.
4. Look at the black bike over there.
5. Luke fell off his bike and scraped his skin.
How to make the sound /g/

/g/ is a voiced sound. Look at the diagram. Listen

and say the sound. Stop the air with the back of your
tongue against the top of your mouth.

Move your tongue to release the air. There should be

vibration from the throat.

Sound and spelling

/g/ is usually spelled g or gg. Listen and say these words

garden girl gold ago hungry bigger egg

Now listen and say these phrases

1. get together
2. go and get yourself a job
3. never give up

Underline the words that contain the /g/ sound. Then listen and say these sentences.

1. Can you guess the beginning of the dialogue?

2. Are you going jogging again?
3. It’s great to see you again!
4. Peggy begged to go to the art gallery.
5. I’ve bought a bigger bag and a new pair of glasses.
Communication: Revise the previous file and practice directly