Free ESL Resources: Teaching and Learning English Pronunciation
Pronunciation can be one of the most difficult areas to mast in any foreign language. Have a go at reading the following poetic verse out loud:
“I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble but not you
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?”
(Attributed to George Bernard Shaw)
Not so easy, was it? English pronunciation is, in part, so tricky because English spelling is not phonetic. In a phonetic alphabet, each letter will only represent one sound, and each sound will only be represented by one letter. In English, this is certainly not the case! Other teachers are always asking me for good resources to teach pronunciation, so here’s a list of websites along with their descriptions. Many of these sites are good for both language teachers and language learners.
Sounds of English
Sounds of English is primarily a site for English teachers. It includes some great links, handouts from presentations, pronunciation pages including sound and video files, activities and exercises for pronunciation and listening, teacher tips, and printable worksheets with answer keys. It’s one of the best sites for English language educators.
American Clear Speech Sounds
This site gives great visuals of sounds in English and some practice exercises. Good for teachers or students who want to make sure they’re pronouncing a sound correctly, or for teachers who want practice exercises for class. The best part is the large, detailed pictures of the position of the mouth and tongue for each sound.
ESL Flow
A collection of pronunciation lesson plans. Easy to read, use and print PDFs can be found here. There are many exercises for teaching stress and speech sounds, but most are for British English. You can find lists of minimal pairs for both consonants and vowels at this site. There’s also a link to an article on the 100 most commonly mispronounced words.
About.com
About.com has a collection of pronunciation lesson plans for experienced teachers. The ones on stress-timing are particularly good. These lesson plans assume that the teacher already knows the content material, so if you don’t know the subject matter these plans won’t help you very much.
American Accent Training
This informative site gives information and examples of the pronunciation of the 6 sounds that are most difficult for non-native speakers to master. The best part about this site is that you can click on any IPA symbol in the vowel chart and hear the sound pronounced.
Many Things: American English Pronunciation Practice
This site lists many exercises for practicing minimal pairs, words that have only one sound different between them. It’s another great resource for teachers or learners.
English is Soup!
English is Soup is a resource for adult ESL learners. It’s put together by Kent University, and it includes PDFs for mastering vowels, consonants, consonant blends, and vowels combined with the ‘r’ sound.
**
Feature photo: Muffet
ESL Teacher Connection
Do you know of any other websites for teaching and learning English pronunciation? Share them in the comments section!
I must say, too, that English sounds even frustrate the native speakers as they are learning to read! I taught mixes of ESL students and native speakers in my elementary classroom, and I often found that ESL resources were helpful to me as a teacher than so many other things out there. Thanks for posting this list! I’ll visit these sites!
Thanks for stopping by Janet! You make a great point that these resources are good for English (as a subject) classes as well, especially if you have mixed groups of native and non-native speakers. Many of the sites I listed are more technical and are aimed at ESL educators and advanced learners, so please feel free to add any of your favorite elementary English pronunciation resources in the comments for other readers to check out!
These are great resources. I’m actually in grad school now to become a teacher and I know I will be working with ESL students. It’s good to know that there are plenty of resources out there to visit that will help in this area.
Also, I like that passage from Shaw. It just shows how difficult English can be.
I have to admit I trip over the Shaw passage myself!
What graduate program are you doing?
You’ve captured this pefrcetly. Thanks for taking the time!
We are looking for dedicated Supervisors and Teachers as soon as possible for subjects of ESL/English,Mathematics,Social Studies,Physics,Government,Literature,History,Biology,Chemistry,Commerce,Account and Agric.
We will offer you a fully supported working experience and also strive to make your experience in United Arab Emirates rewarding as well as satisfying.
The school encourages academic excellent and high social standards, with British Curriculum.
Dubai is a beautiful city in United Arab Emirates. Our School have a strong foreign teacher team. It enjoys a great reputation both with students and our teachers. Our school pay is higher in Dubai.
No knowledge of the Arabic language is required.
To apply you MUST meet the following requirements:
* All Nationalities are Accepted
* Bachelor Degree in any discipline.
* Valid Passport.
* Positive outlook with a strong desire to teach.
The Salary & Benefits will be as follows:
* Salary is $4800 per month(Tax Free)
* Overtime pay $50/an hour
* Severance Pay equal to 1 month’s salary (on completion of contract).
* 30 days Paid Vacation per year
* Free Round trip economy class ticket provided.
* Pension 100% provided by academic institution .
* Medical Insurance 100% provided by academic institution.
* Free private accommodations (Rent-free and furnished) will be provided within the school premises.
Furniture: Curtains, bed, bedding, sheets, desk, closet, table, dining set, VCR, TV, washing machine, clothes rack, pots,pans, dishes, cutlery, phone, fridge, stove, fan or AC, and a working heating system etc.
The Job Details are as follows:
* 12 months contract(Renewable)
* Working days : Monday to Friday (6hours Daily)
* Generally classes 1 hour equals 40 minutes to 50 minutes Teaching per a class.
* Age groups range from elementary to middle school students (30~40 students/a class)
Interested applicants should submit their CV/Resume,recent photo & Education/Teaching certificate and International passport copy through email: principal@dubaibritish-school.com
ONLY SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED
Thanks for sharing Andrew! Hope you find some wonderful teachers. Have you considered using Search Associates or International School Services to search for candidates?
Thanks for sharing the resources. These sites are really useful.