| Level: | Pre-Intermediate |
| Skill Area: | Reading |
| Target Language: | Pronunciation |
| Length: | 5-10 minutes |
| Resources Needed: | None |
Step 1
It is useful for students tot identify the phonic sounds of the alphabet so that they can speak English accurately.
Depending on where they are from, our non-native speakers have problems with certain letters. Look at the follownig box and notice the problems that students from different countries might have with certain phonetic sounds.
| Nationality | Phonetic Sound | Example | Sound Produced |
| French | /Ø/ | Theatre | Seeatre |
| Japanese | /l/ | Trolley | Trorrey |
| Greek | /ƒ/ | Shopping | Sopping |
| German | /w/ | Whatever | Vhatever |
Step 2
Get your students to sit in pairs, back to back. Ask them to say one of the following words.
| Sound 1 | Sound 2 |
| Sea | She |
| Sue | Shoe |
| Sip | Ship |
| Ass (donkey!) | Ash |
Can you think of any more examples?
Include pictures to make it clearer.
Step 3
The other student has to listen carefully and decide which column the word comes from.
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Here in Indonesia students say "dat" instead of that or "dare" instead of there and so on. It seems the "TH" sound is beyond their grasp so to speak. I use the finger method as I like to call it.
While holding their index finger to their mouths in the Shhhhh posture I ask them to touch their finger with the tip of their tongues and then try to make the dreaded "TH" sound. it actually works, but it seems they can't duplicate the sound without the "finger" in front of their mouths.
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