English word how to read

Даже если вы только начали изучать английский, то уже наверняка знаете, что слово далеко не всегда произносится так, как пишется. А ведь именно правильное произношение (pronunciation) максимально приблизит вас к уровню advanced и поможет не только свободно общаться, но и легко понимать людей с разными акцентами.

Для тех, кто не помнит назубок все правила чтения в английском языке, есть отличная альтернатива — транскрипция. Однако не все могут верно расшифровать этот загадочный, на первый взгляд, набор символов. На самом деле, все довольно легко, и сегодня мы это докажем.

В этой статье мы разберемся как правильно читать транскрипцию на английском языке и зачем вообще нужно изучать чтение английской транскрипции.

Звуки в английском языке

Начнем с того, что несмотря на то, что в английском алфавите всего 26 букв, звуков намного больше — 44. Некоторые из них тяжело даются иностранцам из-за особенности речевого аппарата, да и просто с непривычки. Иногда требуется более активная артикуляция и долгие тренировки, чтобы произнести сложные звуки без ошибок.

Каждый из звуков в английском языке имеет свое графическое выражение и обозначение в фонетической транскрипции. Без нее не всегда можно понять как именно произносится слово: закрытый там слог или открытый, как долго тянется гласная и какие согласные не произносятся. Поэтому чтение транскрипции на английском языке — это тот навык, который нужно развивать параллельно с изучением слов.

Открытый слог — такой, который заканчивается гласной (take, nose, cute), а закрытый, самый распространенный в английском, заканчивается на одну или более согласную, а гласный звук в нем будет читаться кратко (hat, red, pin).

Помимо этих двух основных вариантов, существует много правил произношения, например, когда после гласной идет буква r или слоги re и le.

Гласные в свою очередь делятся на: одиночные, дифтонги (сочетание двух гласных) и трифтонги (сочетание трех гласных). В транскрипции они также обозначаются по-разному.

Количество звуков в слове далеко не всегда совпадает с количеством букв. Так, интересным примером является слово daughter (дочь), транскрипция которого выглядит как [ˈdɔ:tə] и состоит из четырех звуков.

Один из самых сложных для нас звуков — это сочетание th, которое обозначается фонетически как [ð].

Так все же, как читается английская транскрипция? Разбираемся вместе.

Транскрипция

Первое, что вам нужно знать — на письме транскрипция обозначается квадратными скобками [] как в примерах выше. Второе: одно и то же слово может иметь разную транскрипцию в зависимости от варианта произношения (британский или американский).

Ударения в английской транскрипции бывают двух видов: основное и второстепенное.

‘ — это основное ударение (main stress). Оно ставится перед ударной гласной в каком бы месте слова она ни находилась.

, — это второстепенное ударение (secondary stress). Оно ставится перед гласной в длинных словах, где это необходимо.

Еще есть один важный знак, который будет обозначать долготу гласного звука. Он может располагаться как в середине, так и в конце слова:

: — долгота гласной

Знаки в транскрипции могут повторять сами английские буквы, а могут и быть теми самыми «закорючками», которые так пугают новичков. Ниже мы приведем примеры звуков и фонетических знаков с примерным описанием того, как они будут звучать, чтобы вам было понятнее, как читать транскрипцию на английском языке.

Эти согласные звуки похожи на русские и даются нам более-менее легко:

• [f] — ф (энергично, слегка прикусить нижнюю губу) — forest
• [v] — в (слегка прикусить нижнюю губу) — vocal
• [s] — с (приглушенный звук, прижать не кончик языка, а чуть большую его часть) — sofa
• [z] — з (аналогично, прижать язык не кончиком, а «спинкой») — zone
• [h] — х (произносить на легком выдохе) — hall
• [p] — п (резкий выдох с придыханием) — pen
• [b] — б (резкий выдох с придыханием) — ball
• [d] — д (кончик языка поставить чуть за передние зубы, на бугорки десны) — drink
• [k] — к (резкий выдох с придыханием) — kite
• [g] — г (как в русском, но не такой энергичный) — green
• [m] — м (как в русском) — mother
• [n] — н (как в русском) — note
• [l] — л (как в русском, но чуть мягче) — let
• [r] — р (более мягкий звук, кончик языка на бугорках десен) — rose
• [t] — т (более мягкий, кончик языка не к зубам, а на бугорки десны над ними) — tree
• [w] — в (губы сложить трубочкой и резко разжать) — what

Звуки согласных, напоминающие сочетания русских букв:

• [ʃ] — ш (что-то среднее между ш и щ, но не свистящий) — ship  
• [ʒ] — ж (мягкая, почти жь, но не свистящая) — pleasure
• [tʃ] — тч (мягкое сочетание, произносится слитно) — catch
• [dʒ] — дж (мягкая, почти джь, произносится как единый звук) — jump
• [j] — йи (что-то среднее между этими буквами) — yet

Согласные звуки, которых нет в русском языке:

• [θ] — с (как бы «подуйте» на кончик языка между зубов) — thin
• [ð] — з (снова подуйте на кончик языка между зубов, произнося русскую букву «з»)
• [ŋ] — н (произносится «в нос») — long

Гласные звуки, похожие на русские:

• [ʌ] — а (короткий и звучный) — sun
• [ɑː] — а (глубокий и долгий звук, будто показываете горло врачу) — car
• [i] — и (короткий звук, что-то среднее между «и» и «ы») — fit
• [i:] — и (долгий звук и) — sea
• [u] — у (произносится чуть расслабленее) — cook
• [u:] — у (длинное легкое «у») — true
• [e] — е (мягкий звук, что-то среднее между «e» и «э») — get
• [ə] — э (слабая, что-то среднее между «э» и «а») — sister
• [ɔː] — о (долгий звук, будто вы чем-то удивлены) — more
• [ɒ] — о (что-то среднее между «о» и «а») — hot

Гласные звуки, которых нет в русском:

• [ɜː] — ёо (будто вы приготовились сказать «ё», но говорите «о») — her
• [æ] — аэ (произнести, расслабив нижнюю челюсть и чуть растянув губы) — cat

Дифтонги:

• [aɪ] — аи (с ударением на «а» и в конце именно «и», а не «й») — like
• [au] — ау (коротко, с ударением на «а») — cow
• [ɪə] — иэ (с ударением на «и») — hear
• [eɪ] — эи (произносится коротко, с ударением на «э») — take
• [eə] — эа (с ударением на «э») — hair
• [əu] — оу (коротко, с ударением на «о», а «у» практически не звучит) — go  
• [uə] — уэ (мягко, с ударением на «у») — cure
• [ɔɪ] — ои (произносится коротко, с ударением на «о») — boy

И наконец, встречаются тройные сочетания звуков:

• [aɪə] — аиэ (с ударением на «а», быстро и слитно) — fire
• [auə] — ауэ (с с ударением на «а», быстро и слитно) — our

Каверзная транскрипция и сложные слова

Всегда проверяйте транскрипцию слов, которые вам непонятны. Например, казалось бы, что сложного может быть в произнесении такого простого предлога of? Но на конце произносится не «ф», а «в», а его транскрипция выглядит как [ɔv].

А вот слово halt (останавливать) в британской версии транскрипции будет [hɒlt], а в американской — [hɑːlt]. В обоих случаях произносится «о», но никак не «а» на немецкий манер.

Часто согласные и вовсе опускаются при произношении. Например, в слове doubt (сомнение) буква «б» не произносится, а транскрипция в обоих вариантах выглядит следующим образом: [daʊt]. Аналогично и в слове comb (расческа), на конце не будет никакой «б», хотя соблазн ее произнести очень велик. Транскрипция у него следующая: [kəʊm].

Что касается долгих гласных, то они не всегда произносятся так, как вам кажется, независимо от того, что гласная в слове двойная. Хорошие примеры таких слов с подвохом — это good [ɡʊd] (хорошо), book [bʊk] (книга) и look [lʊk] (смотреть).

Всегда обращайте внимание на то, где в транскрипции стоит ударение. Приведем интересный пример: слово valet (камердинер, слуга). На русский манер мы хотим произнести его с ударением на «е», но делать этого определенно не стоит, потому что согласно его английской транскрипции [ˈvæleɪ], ударение ставится на первую гласную «а».

А где вы поставите ударение в слове applicable (подходящий)? Правильный ответ — на второй слог (гласный «и»), потому что его транскрипция выглядит как [əˈplɪkəbəl].

Кстати, даже у самих носителей языка бывают проблемы с произношением. Так, согласно исследованию, британцам тяжелее всего даются слова, в которых рядом стоят буквы m и n, t и s и сочетание th.

Одна из самых популярных британских газет The Daily Telegraph опросила людей Великобритании и выявила 20 самых трудных для произношения слов на английском языке. Интересно, что одно из этих слов — и есть само «произношение» или pronunciation, которое даже и пишется нелегко. Приводим примеры всех двадцати ниже с транскрипцией:

1. Phenomenon [fəˈnɒmɪnən] — явление
2. Anaesthetist [əˈniːsθətɪst] — анестезиолог
3. Remuneration [rɪˌmjuːnərˈeɪʃən] — вознаграждение
4. Statistics [stəˈtɪstɪks] — статистика
5. Ethnicity [eθˈnɪsɪt̬i] — этническая принадлежность  
6. Philosophical [ˌfɪləˈsɒfɪkəl] — философский
7. Provocatively [prəˈvɒkətɪvlɪ] — вызывающе
8. Anonymous [əˈnɒnɪməs] — анонимный
9. Thesaurus [θɪˈsɔːrəs] — тезаурус
10. Aluminium [ˌæljəˈmɪniəm] — алюминий
11. Regularly [ˈreɡjələli] — регулярно
12. February [ˈfebruəri] — февраль
13. Particularly [pəˈtɪkjələli] — в особенности
14. Hereditary [hɪˈredɪtəri] — наследственный
15. Prioritising [praɪˈɒrɪtaɪzɪŋ] — определение приоритетов
16. Pronunciation [prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃən] — произношение  
17. Prejudice [ˈpredʒədɪs] — предубеждение
18. Facilitate [fəˈsɪlɪteɪt] — облегчать
19. Hospitable [hɒsˈpɪtəbəl] — гостеприимный
20. Onomatopoeia [ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə] — ономатопея, звукоподражание

Типичные ошибки в произношении

Если уж сами британцы имеют сложности с выговариванием звуков, то что говорить о всех тех, кто только начинают учить английский? Да и что скрывать, даже те, кто изучает и практикует язык в течение многих лет могут неправильно произносить звуки или же иметь проблемы с какими-то определенными сочетаниями букв. Это вполне нормально, и главное тут — регулярная практика и тренировки.

Интересно, что жители разных стран имеют разные проблемы с английскими звуками. Именно так формируется «типичный акцент», по которому иностранцы могут с легкостью определить, откуда вы прибыли. Даже если вы не хотите сообщать им этого — они поймут из какой страны вы родом. Давайте посмотрим, какие типичные ошибки встречаются в речи россиян, чтобы мы не только знали как читать транскрипцию на английском языке, но и смогли сделать это like a native.

Итак, русские чаще всего:

• Приглушают звонкие согласные в конце слова

При неправильном произношении слово bed (кровать) может легко превратиться в bat (летучую мышь). Поэтому проговаривайте звуки до конца и не съедайте окончания.

• Произносят короткие и долгие гласные одинаково

Если не обращать внимание на то, как долго произносится гласный звук, то можно легко получить из овцы (sheep) корабль (ship).

• Произносят [w] и [v] как русский звук «в»

Основная проблема в том, что в нашем языке только один такой звук, а в английском у него несколько вариантов произношения.

• Произносят [r] как русскую «р»

Этот английский звук не такой звонкий и резкий, как у нас. Потренируйтесь, чтобы не «каркать», произнося слово car (автомобиль).

• Произносят [ŋ] как русскую «н»

Научиться говорить этот звук «в нос» бывает довольно непросто, но как только вы поймете как правильно это делать, то быстро привыкните и перестроите свой речевой аппарат.

• Произносят [h] как русскую «х»

По сути, этот звук — легкий выдох, которого почти не должно быть слышно, а мы произносим его по привычке четко и ясно.  

• Произносят [p] как русскую «п»

В английском языке этот звук более четкий и резкий. Произносите так, будто задуваете свечу на торте. Аналогичная ситуация и со звуком [t].

Надеемся, что эта статья оказалась полезной и теперь произносить английские звуки, а также читать транскрипцию вам станет намного легче! Great pronunciation to you!

 

Contents

Content

English sounds for children: how to learn them simply and easily

Did you know that the English alphabet consists of 26 letters and 46 different sounds? The same letter can convey several sounds at the same time. Just don’t panic! We will tell you how easy it is to remember English sounds without boring tables and cramming.

As a rule, in English lessons, the child keeps a separate dictionary, in which the pages are divided into three columns: “word”, “transcription”, “translation”. New words are written there, which then need to be learned. And if everything is clear with the “word” and “translation” columns, then there are often difficulties with “transcription”.

What is transcription?

This is a kind of instruction on how to read the word. Usually it is written in square brackets. For example: [pen]. The characters that are inside the square brackets are the sounds of the English language. One character = one sound. Only these symbols are not always similar to the letters of the alphabet.

Let’s look at the English sounds that are most difficult for a child and how to learn them:

We select associations

It’s no secret that complex things are easier to remember by association. This rule works especially well for children.

ʊ

— short [y] — very similar to

the horseshoe icon



æ

— wide [e] — open your mouth wide and say «e». We call this symbol

«bug icon»



ŋ

— [n] — a funny sound that is similar to how the Baby Elephant spoke in the cartoon «38 Parrots». You need to say «n», but a little «on the nose»,

as if you have a runny nose

. Try pinching your nose with your fingers, open your mouth and say «n». Happened?



ð

– interdental [z]


θ

– interdental [s]

To remember this pair of sounds, a child can be told a whole

fairy tale:

“There was a little bunny (our tongue). But he was very shy, so he sat in a mink all the time (in his mouth). But one day he dared to stick the very tip of his nose out of the mink (we put the tip of the tongue between the teeth). At first he said quietly [θ], and then loudly [ð].

s, d, n, t

— [s], [d], [n], [t] — remember the Yeralash series about English pronunciation? “You need to talk like you have a hot potato in your mouth,” is the best explanation for the baby. When you pronounce these sounds,

the tongue touches the hard palate and alveoli

, a little further than in Russian.


r

— [r] — the English «r» is not like ours. In Russian, the tongue seems to tremble in the mouth. In English, the tongue

«rolls»

with its tip back toward the soft palate.


w

— [y] / [v] — there is no such sound in Russian either. First, we stretch our lips, trying to say “y”, but then the lips should seem to

“spring”

, without closing and returning to a smile. Remember how you say «Wow!».


e

— narrow [e] — similar to the Russian «e» without «th». When pronunciation, open your mouth quite a bit.

ə

— deaf [e] — a deaf, slightly “stifled” sound, very short and almost indistinguishable. When you say the word «m

o

loko», then you pronounce this sound in place of the first «o». The symbol is called

funny

—

«seam».



ɜ

— middle [e] — reads like the letter ё in the word «ice».


j

— [th] — it is very important

not to confuse

with the letter Jj («jay»)! In transcription, this symbol does not mean at all what the letter does.

To make things even easier,

we’ve drawn the basic English transcription characters with the appropriate Russian sounds.

Tell your child that they can handle sounds brilliantly. Indeed, at this stage, the baby should feel relaxed and not be shy to experiment. Otherwise, the child will think it looks funny and will refuse to continue.

If lessons at home do not bring the desired results, come to us. AllRight.com teachers will always find an easy way to even the most difficult knowledge. Free trial lesson!

Funny men English sound

On this page you will find materials on the following topics: Early Development: English (manual). Early development: English (a manual for preschoolers). English transcription for children (visual aid for children). English: transcription for children (allowance). English transcription sounds for children (visual aid). Learning English for Children with Transcription (Visual Aid for Preschoolers). Sounds in English transcription for children (a visual aid for preschoolers).

How to explain transcription to a child (visual aid). English lessons in kindergarten (allowance). English sounds for children. How to teach a child English sounds. Early development: English. Early development: English. Explaining English sounds to children. English sounds for kids video. English sounds transcription for children. Table of English sounds for children. Sounds of English for children. Sounds of the English alphabet for children. Sounds of English letters for children. English sound cards for kids. Pronunciation of English sounds for children. Learning the sounds of the English language in a playful way. An interesting approach to teaching children the sounds of English.

GET READ WITH VISUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL AIDS FOR ENGLISH LESSONS IN DOE

Which comes first, reading or speaking?

How to teach a child English sounds

For some reason, very often, when English teachers decide to dedicate one or another stage of the lesson in a preschool institution to teaching children the phonetic structure of the English language (at an elementary level, of course), many of them consider it their duty to teach children the English alphabet. The knowledge that the child has mastered the English alphabet gives the teacher confidence that he has done a very important part of the work of teaching the basics of phonetics. But let’s think about whether children really need the alphabet at the very early stage of learning a foreign language? Is it of paramount importance for children to learn the letters of the English alphabet and their corresponding sounds? My answer to this question is no.

Why? Yes, everything is very simple. To begin with, remember yourself in early childhood (as far as your memory allows). What did you learn earlier, being in the mind of a two-three-four-five-year-old baby — letters or sounds? That’s right, sounds (meaning mainly the sounds made by people). Move on. What kind of sounds did you learn in natural conditions during your development before your parents began to buy you alphabets in pictures? Were these only the sounds of the letters of the Russian alphabet?

Not really. You unconsciously memorized ALL SOUNDS of the Russian language, and, of course, there are more of them than the sounds corresponding to the letters of the Russian alphabet. Russian has 33 letters and 42 sounds. Six vowels — [a], [i], [o], [y], [s], [e] and thirty-six consonants — [b], [b], [c], [v], [g ], [g], [d], [d], [g], [d], [s], [s], [k], [k], [l], [l], [m], [m], [n], [n], [n], [p], [p], [p], [s], [s], [t], [t], [f], [f], [x], [x], [c], [ch], [w ], [SCH]. (Note that if Russian sounds often differ only in hardness-softness, and memorizing such paired sounds does not present any particular problems, then in English there are 23 sounds that are not even close in the English alphabet — [θ], [ð], [ʃ], [ʒ], [ɪə], [ʊə], [ɪ], [ə], [ʊ], [g], [ɔɪ], [ɜ:], [ɔ], [ŋ], [ r], [j], [h], [eə], [aʊ], [ɒ], [ɑ:], [ʌ], [æ].) As many as twenty-three (!) Sounds that you DO NOT TEACH children if you’re just teaching them the alphabet!

Without a doubt, a child unconsciously learns to pronounce all the sounds of any language long before he learns about the existence of the alphabet, that is, letters (we will consider the cases of very early learning of the alphabet from the cradle as an exception). So, the child, before moving on to the study of the Russian alphabet, FIRST learns SOUNDS, not letters. Why is he doing this? He is learning to SPEAK! Therefore, it would be more logical to start teaching children to SPEAK in a foreign language from SOUNDS.

And why, then, you ask, are children generally taught the alphabet, the alphabet? Perhaps so that they could learn to READ in a foreign language? “Well, yes, when we teach children to speak, we introduce them to sounds, but when teaching children to read, we teach them letters, not sounds,” you say and you will not be entirely right. Remember the problem that often arises among your friends and familiar acquaintances (“The child knows all the letters, but cannot read, cannot combine letters into words!”).

This problem is precisely connected with an attempt to teach letters without sounds. How will the baby read the word «squirrel» knowing only the names of the letters? That’s right — «be-e-el-ka-a».) You yourself teach him this, forcing him to remember how the letters are pronounced. And what needs to be done so that the baby correctly read the word «squirrel»? Someone has already guessed — read this word aloud to him and ask him to repeat it, looking at the letter designation of this word.

You will teach him to read the word the way it “sounds”, hard [l] is noticeably different from the “alphabetic” version of this sound ([el]), soft [b ‘] is also a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT sound, not at all [be], even though they are similar. You will not remind the child about the letter “beee” (which actually contains a solid sound [b] that you do not need in this situation), if you do not want to confuse him and slow down the process of learning to read in his native language.

In other words, reading also needs to be taught from sounds. Without sounds — nowhere. Why, then, do many (including authors of preschool textbooks) believe that in order to teach a child to read in a foreign language, it is so necessary first of all to know the names and sequence of letters in the alphabet? My answer is that it’s all about the stereotype they follow: «Everyone has been doing this all their lives, and I will.»

Indeed, at the later stages of teaching children a native or foreign language, the development of conversational skills will already be based on the ability to read, but do we really need the alphabet, the letters themselves, their names for this? As you can see, my answer is again no. Well, what’s the use of a child to know that a letter is called a «double» if he cannot read it correctly in a word? The alphabet (the alphabet means the names of the letters in the language, arranged in a certain sequence), of course, can be learned, but the successful teaching of the child to read, knowledge of the names of the letters does not primarily affect, especially when teaching Russian-speaking children the English language (only when teaching reading consonants in a word, this knowledge is useful if their pronunciation is close to alphabetic). Here is a video from Youtube about

These children may not know the correct names of the letters of the English alphabet, but they will soon be able to read perfectly even without this “valuable” knowledge. While they are learning to read words, they are studying the correspondence of the sounds of the language and letters as signs in the word, and they can learn the names of the letters themselves later, even if they already know how to read perfectly. By the way, they can easily learn the names of the letters of the alphabet, already knowing how to read and knowing the letter-sound correspondences.

Thus, until children have learned to SPEAK English, there is no point in teaching them to READ in this language. So, at the very early stage of learning English, it makes no sense to study the English alphabet. True, when teaching children to read in English at school, nothing prevents the teacher from teaching children letters and sounds at the same time, because the school curriculum provides for the simultaneous mastery of the sound system and the alphabet. But it’s still a school…

In preschool institutions, teaching English, in my opinion, should be a simulation of the simplest situations of COMMUNICATION, allowing children to learn to SAY simple communicative phrases in English. Before moving on to learning to read, it is important that children go through the same stage of mastering the sound system of the language in an abbreviated form, which they went through when they intuitively mastered their native language. We all understand that these simulated situations are “not real”, that half an hour of classes two or three times a week is very little for a child to be able to “speak” English as a native. But, understanding this, we also recognize that learning a foreign language is useful for training brain activity, that it will make it easier for a child to master not only a foreign language at school, but also other subjects, and, finally, it is simply INTERESTING. Maybe,

But we digress a little. What have we come to in our reasoning? Oh yes, to the fact that you need to start introducing children to the English language with SOUNDS, not letters, learning a foreign language should start with speaking, not reading. How to start teaching children the sounds of English?

As you know, the English language, based on the Latin alphabet, has 26 letters, which correspond to 44 sounds (not counting more three-element vowel combinations). We know that the hallmark of the English language is the presence of a large number of sounds, which does not correspond to the number of letters in the English alphabet. But this information is not interesting for children, so I strongly do not recommend starting learning sounds from it. What to do? Here the funny little men of English sound come to our aid. English sound is the surname of forty-four little men-sounds of the English language, and their names are the sounds of the English language themselves. Each little man has his own character, his own habits that make him (or her, since there are girls among the little men) unique. Children love to get into the details

«So it was a promotional article?» You ask, and you might not be entirely right. It was an OPINION ARTICLE, and little people-sounds do not need advertising. It’s just that now you have learned about the existence of a set of didactic materials for teaching English to preschoolers «MAN-SOUNDS» and didactic cards «Man-sounds» (they can only be purchased from me as the author so far) and you can use these materials in your English classes in educational institutions of preschool education.

English transcription marks denoting the sounds of the English language	Description of the human sounds
Consonants
1[f]	When the English sound people are having fun, this little man puts on a hedgehog mask and runs around, snorting [f]–[f]–[f].
2[v]	This sound is very diffuse. His name is Voldemar, but sometimes he even forgets his name. When asked what his name is, he tries to remember his own name, while saying [v]–[v]–[v] and everyone thinks that this is his name.
3[θ]	This little man got himself a pet — a dragonfly, walks with her, and when it’s time to go home, he calls her [θ] — [θ] — [θ] So he was nicknamed — [θ].
4 [ð]	This little man loves … bees, for a holiday he always puts on a bee costume and buzzes like a bee — [ð] — [ð] — [ð] So he was nicknamed — [ð].
5[s]	This little man is very quiet, does not like noise when other little men play around, he walks quietly and quietly — [s] — [s] — [s].
6[z]	This little man is buzzing like a fly.
7[ʃ]	This little man loves snakes, even hisses like them.
8[ʒ]	This little man buzzes like a bumblebee.
9[h]	This little man in winter often breathes on the window pane [h] — [h] — [h] and draws letters on it with his finger. He was nicknamed [h], his name is just a light exhalation.
10[p]	This little man is called [p] because he puffs all the time [p]–[p]–[p], all the time he is dissatisfied with something.
11[b]	This little man is freezing all the time — [b] — [b] — [b].
12[t]	This man’s name is [t], he likes to play around in the morning (still in pajamas), jump on the bed [t]–t]–[t].
13[d]	The name of this little man is [d], because he often plays with a toy car and says [d] — [d] — [d].
14[k]	This English sound often catches colds and coughs [k]–[k]–[k], which is how it was called – [k].
15[g]	This little man has a white dove, the little man coos[g]–[g]–[g] when talking to his pet.
16 [tʃ]	This English sound is strict, tells everyone not to make noise, to be quieter [tʃ]–[tʃ]–[tʃ].
17 [dʒ]	This man loves to play with toy airplanes.
18[m]	This little man loves the sound [m], he even eats only food that starts with this sound and says [mmmmm] with pleasure.
19[n]	This little man loves to dance, often dances and sings [n] — [n] — [n] — [n].
20[ŋ]	This little man loves to have fun, but does not always like to make the bed in the morning. His mother asks him about it, and he: “nope”, [ ŋ ] — [ ŋ ].
22[r]	And this English sound likes to scare everyone. He dresses up as a tiger and roars [r ]–[ r]–[ r]–[ r].
21[l]	A friend of the little man [r], dresses up as a lion and tries to growl like [r] too, but he can’t pronounce the sound [r], instead he gets [l].
23[w]	When English sound people are having fun, this one jumps and croaks like a frog [w]–[w]–[w].
24[j]	This man jumps like a monkey and makes friends with the monkeys.
Vowels
25[i:]	This little man loves to squeal [i:]–[i:]–[i:] merrily.
26[ɪ]	This one often hiccups [ɪ] — [ɪ] — [ɪ], so they called him — [ɪ].
27[e]	This little man is a little mischievous and mocking, he laughs like this: [e] — [e] — [e].
28[æ]	Does this little man keep asking everyone [æ]? [æ]? (especially when he doesn’t feel like doing what he was asked to do).
29 [ɑ:]	This little man is inquisitive, asks a lot of questions, and when he gets an answer, he says [ɑ:].
30 [ɒ]	This little man constantly teases everyone [ɒ] — [ɒ] — [ɒ].
31 [ʌ]	This is the funniest English sound, he laughs like this: [ʌ] — [ʌ] — [ʌ].
32 [ʊ]	This little man is an athlete, loves to run, jump.
33 [u:]	This little man often puts on a mask and depicts a wolf.
34 [ə:]	This little man is small, but he wants to appear big and strong, so he roars like a bear in the forest.
35 [ə]	This little man often groans like an old man, [ə] — [ə] — [ə] — [ə].
36 [ɔ:]	This little man is often dissatisfied, it seems to him that everything around is bad, often groans [ɔ:] — [ɔ:] — [ɔ:].
Diphthongs and triphthongs
37 [eɪ]	This little man constantly comes up with new games and convenes other little men, so they called him — [eɪ].
38 [aɪ]	This English sound is afraid of everything. The door creaks or the dog barks, the man shouts [aɪ] — [aɪ] — [aɪ].
39 [aʊ]	This man loves dogs (and puppies).
40 [ɔɪ]	This man is ticklish.
41 [ɜʊ]	This little man is surprised all the time, everything seems interesting to him: [ɜʊ] — [ɜʊ] — [ɜʊ].
42 [ɪə]	When English sound people are having fun, this one crawls under the table and shouts [ɪə].
43 [ɛə]	When English sound people are having fun, this one swings and shouts [ɛə]–[ɛə]–[ɛə]–[ɛə].
44 [ʊə]	This one loves to jump rope.
[aɪə]	When the little men [aɪ] and [ə] play together, they shout [aɪə] in unison.
[aʊə]	When the little men [aʊ] and [ə] play together, they shout [aʊə] in unison.
[ɔɪə]	When the little men [ɔɪ] and [ə] play together, they shout [ɔɪə] in unison.

English transcription | English 4 Kids: English for kids

How to read a combination of letters th in English? Reading a combination of letters th in English is very simple. These letters always give the same interdental sound, which can be pronounced: 1) as voiced (voiced), then in the phonetic alphabet we denote it with the symbol [ð] this sound can be heard in the words: then, this, there, other, smooth 2)…

Continue Reading »

We continue to publish materials on the topic “English transcription for children“. Surely you liked our Most complete guide to English sounds, you can use it to clarify the pronunciation of individual phonemes of the English language, to feel the difference in pronouncing sounds similar to our ear. For working with children, I prefer a special English transcription for children, on the basis of which I made cards …

Continue Reading »

Today we have an online transcription of the English language, created specifically for children. And although we have already got acquainted with the best and most detailed online guide “Transcription of English sounds”, where, under the guidance of a British teacher, we learned to pronounce and differentiate the sounds of English speech, which were indicated in writing by intricate icons called transcription, I think that for children “children’s transcription…

Continue Reading » English transcription for children: in pictures and exercises Good-good-good morning planet!

I don’t know about you, of course, but on my planet of English (called Liza’s English) it’s morning. And I decided to write an important informational and practical article about English transcription on a peppy morning head. I don’t think you mind.) Then we will begin the analysis of this simple, but often questionable topic.

Content:

1. Is transcription required?
2. Why was it invented?
3. Vowel sounds.
4. consonant sounds.
5. Diphthongs (double sounds).
6. A little practice.

And I’ll start with a question:

Do you need an English transcription at all?

What do you say to that? If in the school curriculum in English it is passed and forced to learn, then of course you can’t get out! Speaking globally, then its absence when studying English will not affect the results and knowledge in any way.

BUT!

Since our children are still learning English, it is a matter of honor to know what transcription is in it. This is about the same as it is important to know that there are 6 cases in Russian (and this, by the way, differs from English and many others). But after all, we can learn to speak and write words without thinking about what case to use in them …

“And

van

Rodil

Girl …

Well

, you understand me, I think.

Therefore, my verdict — we will study! But quickly and without any stretching for a year! Lesson or two — and

«English


transcription»

will become the most pleasant phrase in the world …

In addition, having the ability to decipher English transcription, any student and adult will be able to read and pronounce any, even the most “terribly incomprehensible” word in the English dictionary !!!

Why was it invented? They came up with it a very, very long time ago, while the British themselves, for themselves — when they realized that they themselves could not always understand how this or that word was read.

The fact is that in English there are reading rules according to which you can read words correctly. For example, such a rule: “In a closed syllable, the English letter “a” will be read like this (words

bag, laptop

)”. But at the same time, there are so many exceptions to these rules that sometimes it’s impossible to remember them (for example, let’s take an exception to this rule with a word with a closed syllable

task

, in which the letter “a” is already read differently).

Well, they came up with such a thing as transcription, so that every English word can be read correctly, even without knowing the rules, but simply by owning a set of transcription icons.

Sometimes you may see two versions of the same icon, this is normal. Both of them have their place. My analogies with Russian letters are very conditional. The main thing here is to hear the sound and imitate it as accurately as possible.

Transcription icons for vowels

[i]

or

[ı]

sound similar to «and», but more abrupt and firm.

[e]

sound similar to «e», but more abrupt and hard.

[ӕ]

sound similar to «e», but wider.

[ɔ]

or

[ɒ]

sound similar to «o», but more abrupt and open.

[ ∧ ]

sound similar to «a», but more abrupt.

[u]

or

[ʋ]

sound similar to «y», but more abrupt.

[i:]

sound like a long «and».

[ ɔ: ]

a sound similar to a long «o».

[ ɑ: ]

a sound similar to a long and deep «a».

[ ɑ: ]

a sound similar to a long and deep «a».

[ə:]

or

[ɜ:]

a sound resembling something between «o» and «yo».

In English, there is one single transcription icon that denotes an unstressed vowel —

[ə].

It is pronounced very short and indistinct. Often we hear it at the end of words ending in unstressed vowels.

Teacher, computer…

Transcription icons for consonants

[p]

sound similar to «p».

[b]

sound similar to «b».

[t]

sound similar to «t».

[d]

sound similar to «d».

[k]

sound similar to «k».

[ g ]

sound similar to «g».

[f]

a sound similar to «f».

[ v ]

sound similar to «in».

[s]

sound similar to «s».

[z]

sound similar to «z».

[ m ]

sound similar to «m».

[n]

sound similar to «n».

[l]

sound similar to «l».

[ h ]

sound similar to the air «x».

[ʃ]

sound similar to «u».

[tʃ]

a sound similar to «h».

[ʒ]

sound similar to «zh».

[ʒ]

sound similar to «zh».

[r]

sound similar to «r».

[ j ]

sound similar to «y». Softens vowels, eg.

[jɒ] [je] [ju:]

[ w ]

a sound pronounced by the lips.

[ ŋ ]

a sound similar to «n» pronounced through the nose.

[θ]

voiceless interdental sound.

[ð]

voiced interdental sound.

Transcription icons for diphthongs (double sounds)

[aı]

or

[ai]

a sound similar to «ai».

[eı]

or

[ei]

sound similar to «hey».

[ɔı]

or

[ɔi]

a sound similar to «oh».

[aʋ]

or

[au]

sound similar to «au».

[əʋ]

or

[ou]

sound similar to «ou».

[ıə]

or

[iə]

a sound similar to «ie».

[ʋə]

or

[uə]

sound similar to «ue».

[eə]

or

[εə]

a sound similar to «ea».

Practice time

Well, here we have examined with you all the signs of English transcription. Most of them, children and adults remember quite easily. Difficulties sometimes arise with icons denoting diphthongs or some sounds that are not at all like Russian. But this is quickly corrected if you immediately fix everything with good practice and exercises, which we will now do.

I recommend buying and taking an online

English course from scratch

(from the notorious

LinguaLeo

service ). It deals with the letters and sounds of the English language in detail. Transcription works well too.

Register

and try the course for free. If you like it, go ahead!

Exercise 1

The first thing to do is to repeat several times the sound corresponding to a certain sign of the English transcription. Go in order (according to the list that I gave). Repeat one sound 3-5 times, while trying to associate a complex icon with an image. For example, while repeating the sound

[ӕ]

, imagine a cat [ kӕt], a hat [hӕt] or any other image, but only let this image correspond to a word that is pronounced with this sound in English. For example, an image of a bag [bӕg] with such a brand icon appeared in my head.))

Well, how? Difficult? If yes, then I will share with you my ideas regarding the most «intractable» signs of transcription. Please do not judge strictly my clumsy pictures. I swear, in my imagination they look much prettier)).

The icon

[ ʋ ] is

the image of the foot-heel.

The word foot [fʋt].

The icon

[ ɜ: ] is

the image of a bird.

The word bird [

bɜ:

d].

The icon

[ ʃ ]

is the image of a shoe.

The word shoe [ʃu:] .

The icon

[ tʃ ]

is the image of a chicken.

The word is chick [tʃık].

The icon

[ dʒ ]

is an image of a page in a textbook.

The word page [peıdʒ] .

Icon

[ j ]

— an image of a check mark, the correct answer.

The word yes [jes].

The icon

[ ŋ ]

is an image of a long and rough road.

The word is long [lɒŋ].

The icon

[ θ ]

is the image of the number three.

The word three [θri:].

The icon

[ð]

is an image of a mother with a baby.

The word mother [m∧ðə].

The word mother [m∧ðə].

Exercise 2

• Now we will read with you simple words with different sounds. Your task is to look at the word, listen to its pronunciation, repeat it, and then guess which transcription icon from the ones below corresponds to the sound in the word (the necessary vowels or combinations will be underlined).

birds	family	cool
pig	butter	first
doll	eat	sit
last	bed	car
apple	clock	men
daughter	put	clean
doctor	fruits	kitchen
dark	girl	dinner
door	trolley-bus	cap
foot	book	ball

• Now you will see other words that you will also need to listen to and repeat, and then select the required transcription sign from the ones below, which corresponds to a particular sound (the desired consonants or combinations will be underlined in the words).

[ p ] [ b ] [ t ] [ d ] [ k ] [ g ] [ f ] [ v ] [ s ] [ z ] [ m ] [ n ]

[l] [h] [ʃ] [tʃ] [ʒ] [dʒ] [r] [j] [w] [ŋ] [θ] [ð]

between	very	window
village	street	zoo
thin	then	teacher
sugar	telephone	five
hundred	must	night
middle	number	present
black	kitten	give
knife	horse	room
pink	sponge	king
page	factory	you

• The following words contain diphthongs. We listen, repeat and select the desired transcription sign for underlined letters and letter combinations.

[aı]


[eı]


[ɔı]


[aʋ]


[əʋ]


[ıə]


[ʋə]


[eə]

fear	name	behind
wardrobe	chair	tone
poor	cake	town
here	tour	coins
brown	those	hare
July	boy	table
trousers	yellow	bike
care	near	so

• The final exercise in this section is to choose the correct transcription for a word from the two proposed. The scheme of work is the same: we listen, repeat, and then choose.

cup

[kʌp] or [kӕp]

twelve

[tvelv] or [twelv]

month

[mɑ:nθ] or [mʌnθ]

rain

[raın] or [reın]

farm

[fɜ:m] or [fɑːm]

large

[lɑːʒ] or [lɑːdʒ]

spoon

[spuːn] or [spɔ:n]

fair

[feə] or [fıə]

say

[seɪ] or [seə]

say

[seɪ] or [seə]

June

[tʃ uːn] or [dʒuːn]

Exercise 3

Well, it’s time to write the transcription of the words ourselves. I think you will succeed! A day or two — and the topic of English transcription will become as easy for you as you never even dreamed of)). Let me remind you once again that unstressed syllables are often denoted as

[ə].

after, box, write, with, open,

season, shut, round,


tall, number,

shirt, plus, jam, song, yogurt, hate

Exercise 4

This exercise is to practice reading a lot of English words by transcription. For children, the best option here would be cards with English words and transcriptions for them. Some authors (for example, Nosova, Epanova) specially develop such cards — after all, they help not only to consolidate the learned signs of transcription, but also to easily replenish their vocabulary. These are interesting cards I found in the

Labyrinth

store . Here are the most basic topics and words:

Set «Wild Animals»

Set «Fruits»

Set «Man»

Set «Professions»

Set «School»

Set «House»

Well, I did it, friends!

And you? Did you manage? If you have any questions, be sure to ask me. I will try to answer them.

I would be grateful if you share these materials in your favorite social networks. This will be the so-called small contribution to the further development of my resource.

And yet — on the right in the sidebar of my site you can find a convenient service

«Online Transcription»

— enter any English word in the field and get its transcription. Enjoy!

In addition, I invite you to my tasty newsletter (you can subscribe to it at the end of this article — after the tutor selection form)! The most useful and interesting about English and not only …

Answers to the exercises:

exercise 2

b ir d [ɜ:]	f a mily [ɕ]	c oo l [ u: ]
p i g [ ı ]	b u tter [ ∧ ]	f ir st [ɜ:]
d o ll [ɔ:]	ea t [i:]	s i t [ ı ]
l a st [ɑ:]	b e d [e]	c ar [ɑ:]

bet ween [ w ]	very [ v ]	w indow[w]
v illa ge [v] [dʒ]	treet [s ]	zoo [ z ]
th in [θ]	th en [ð]	tea cher [tʃ]
sugar [ʃ]	teleph one [f]	f i v e [ f ] [ v ]
hundre d [d]	must [ t ]	low t [ t ]
midle [ l ]	nu mber [ m ]	present [ p ]
b lack [b]	k itten [ k ]	g ive [g]
knife [n]	orse [ h ]	rooom [ r ]
pink [ ŋ ]	sponge [ dʒ ]	ki ng [ŋ]
pa ge [dʒ]	facto r y [ r ]	y ou [ j ]

f ear [ıə]	n a me [eı]	beh i nd [aı]
warr o be [əʋ]	ch air [eə]	to ne [əʋ ]
poor [ ʋə ]	c a ke [eı]	town [ aʋ ]
h ere [ıə]	tour [ ʋə ]	coi n [ɔı ]
brow n [aʋ ]	th o se [əʋ]	h are [eə]
July [ aı ]	boy [ ɔı ]	ta ble [eı ]
tr ou sers [aʋ]	yell ow [əʋ]	b i ke [aı]
are [eə ]	ear [ ıə ]	so [ əʋ ]

a

pple [ӕ]

cl

o

ck [ɒ]

m

e

n [ e ]

daugh

ter

[ɔ:]

p

u

t [ʋ]

cl

ea

n [i:]

doctor [

ɒ ]

fr

ui

t [u:]

k

i

tchen [ı]

dark

[ ɑ :]

g

ir

l [ɜ:]

dinner [

ı

]

door [

ɔ

:]

trolley-b

u

s [ ∧ ]

c

a

p [ӕ]

f

oo

t [ʋ]

b

oo

k [ʋ]

b

a

ll [ɔ:]

[kʌp]

[twelve]

[mʌnθ]

[ren]

[fɑːm]

[lɑːdʒ]

[spuːn]

[feə]

[seɪ]

[naʊ]

[dʒuːn]

exercise 3

[ˈɑːftə], [bɒks], [raɪt], [wɪð], [ˈəʊpən],

[ˈsiːzn], [ʃʌt], [raʊnd], [tɔːl], [ˈnʌmbə],

[ʃɜːt], [plʌs], [dʒæm], [sɒŋ], [ˈjɒɡət], [heɪt]

We are looking for an English tutor and not only …

English alphabet for kids — sounds and letters

Linguistic and psychological studies show that teaching a child a foreign language is one of the best ways of his intellectual development. Learning a foreign language will serve as a solid foundation for the future achievements of the child. And the beginning of this business is, of course, the study of the English alphabet.

Why is it easier for kids to learn a language?

Children are born with a special genetic mechanism that allows them to quickly absorb a new language, even without the help of teachers or educators. Therefore, usually for children, the English alphabet is not difficult. If an adult has to turn on logical analysis when learning a new language system, then the child practically “absorbs” the new alphabet. This is due to the fact that babies have not yet developed that part of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for logical perception. According to scientists, if children did not have this special “linguistic” mechanism, it would take them about a century to master their native language.

When to start learning the alphabet?

Many parents note that as early as 2-3 years old, a child may begin to be interested in letters. At this age, it is useful to tell the baby about what a certain letter means, but for now, you should not overload him with unnecessary information. If one of the letters caught his attention, do not immediately tell him about all the sounds and letters of the English alphabet

.

You can simply repeat the pronunciation of this letter with him, name some word that begins with it. To read words correctly, an adult can use the transcription of English sounds.

One of the difficulties of English is that a large number of letters have different sounds. At an early age, one should limit oneself to the simplest explanations, choosing those words in which the sound is most like the very letter of the alphabet. For example, the word «Book» («book») is suitable for the letter «B» as the simplest.

Videos for learning English

When the baby starts learning the alphabet of the English language

,

it is much easier for him to do it effortlessly. There are many ways to motivate a child. After all, if you just put a four-five-year-old at a desk and force them to learn English letters and sounds

,

nothing good will come of it. Therefore, it is good for children to learn the English alphabet from songs, watch videos about the English alphabet

.

Now you can find a large number of videos — fortunately, the authors of various schools and teachers do not skimp on materials. It will be very interesting for the kid to sing the sounds of the English alphabet, repeating them after the leader of the video. Also, the parent can sing these simple songs with the baby. It is always important for children that mom and dad support them.

In the following video, the letters of the alphabet are compared with the names of animals

:

Some time after the toddler has watched the video about the English alphabet, it is helpful to ask him about the letters. For example, draw or show the child a letter and ask if he remembers what it is called, what are the words that begin with it. At the same time, it is better to praise the baby for the correct answer. Don’t take your child’s success for granted. Indeed, otherwise the child’s self-esteem will suffer, and interest in classes will come to naught.

Preparation for school

If it is necessary to prepare for schoolwork, it is useful for the baby to start learning the written English alphabet

.

At this time, you should also not overload the child very much. After all, a lot of time must pass before the baby «fills his hand.» Remember how hard it is to write written letters for a first-grader. Therefore, at this stage, short lessons with prescriptions will be quite enough.

Learn the English alphabet: educational games

What games will make learning the alphabet more interesting for a child? Learn the English alphabet for kids in a fun and effective way with games:

• The little ones will love the game called Letter Soup. To carry it out, you will need any pot or bowl, as well as cards with letters and the corresponding words. Well, if in addition to the standard «Apple» and «Book» there will be something entertaining like «Snail» or «Frog». The kid must get any card at random, name the letter, as well as the word, the first letter of which corresponds to the name of the letter of the alphabet. This will be his «lunch» for today. For small children, it is especially fun to extract snails, toads, and spiders for lunch. Here is the yummy!
• Schoolchildren will do an exercise called «ABC». To complete it, you first need to ask the child to tell the entire English alphabet. Then ask him to do this, starting with the letter «C», then — with the letter «D», and so on. The exercise should be completed to the very end of the alphabet. This is quite a long lesson — it will take about half an hour. However, the result will be very good.
• The most banal (but at the same time the most effective) method of learning English with a child is the use of special cards. You can buy them or make your own. To do this, small squares are taken, cut out of paper or cardboard, a letter and an image of the desired object are drawn or pasted on them. For example, a card with the letter «C» may contain a picture of a cloud — «Cloud». Kids really like bright pictures, so in this regard it’s better not to “reinvent the wheel” and use the grandfather’s proven method.
• Compilation of the alphabet. And this method is well suited for working with the sounds of the English alphabet
  
  .
  
  To complete it, you will also need all the cards with the names of the letters. An adult turns on a recording with a song of the English alphabet, and stops it at any point. The kid needs to lay out the alphabet from the cards to the place where the stop occurred.
• For the smallest, learning the alphabet with the help of creativity is suitable. For example, you can make a drawing with the letters of the alphabet in the form of animals or funny fairy-tale creatures. Or draw your own dictionary. You can sculpt the letters of the alphabet from plasticine.

Do adults need an alphabet?

And finally, most importantly, the parent himself must know the alphabet. After all, we can only pass on the knowledge that we ourselves possess. Therefore, do not be shy to use the same methods with which we teach children. Here, the English alphabet with transcription and Russian pronunciation will be a good help. Having mastered it, you can safely proceed to classes with the child. In addition, the adult himself may be interested in learning a foreign language, and, in particular, the alphabet. Indeed, in everyday life, sometimes you have to deal with the process of spelling — spelling words in transliteration. Transcription of Russian words into English will help here. With the help of this transcription, you can correctly sign the student’s notebook in English.

English alphabet with transcription and pronunciation

When starting to learn English, the first thing a student is almost always introduced to is the English alphabet. Without proper knowledge of its letters and pronunciation

of English sounds

, it is almost impossible to fully study and use teaching materials. Mastering the alphabet and the basic principles of pronunciation is the foundation for learning not only English, but also any other foreign language.

The English alphabet consists of 26 letters, which in writing represent 44 sounds. Its modern basis is the Latin alphabet, which, with the beginning of the spread of Christianity in Britain, gradually replaced the Anglo-Saxon runes.

English alphabet with transcription and pronunciation:

• according to statistics, the most common letter of the English alphabet is the letter
  
  E
  
  , the rarest is the letter
  
  Z
  
• letters
  
  A
  
  ,
  
  E
  
  ,
  
  I
  
  ,
  
  O
  
  ,
  
  U
  
  ,
  
  Y
  
  in various combinations in writing can represent 20 vowels (12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs)
• letters
  
  B
  
  ,
  
  C
  
  ,
  
  D
  
  ,
  
  F
  
  ,
  
  G
  
  ,
  
  H
  
  ,
  
  J
  
  ,
  
  K
  
  ,
  
  L
  
  ,
  
  M
  
  ,
  
  N
  
  ,
  
  P
  
  ,
  
  Q
  
  ,
  
  R
  
  ,
  
  S
  
  ,
  
  T
  
  ,
  
  V
  
  ,
  
  W
  
  ,
  
  X
  
  ,
  
  Y
  
  ,
  
  Z
  
  in writing can represent 24 consonants
• the letter
  
  Y
  
  , depending on the context, can represent both a vowel and a consonant, for example:

myth [ miθ ] — vowel sound [ i ]

yes [ jes ] — consonant sound [ j ]

Capital letters of the English alphabet

Letters written in cursive have their own style and are used mainly when writing texts by hand:

English alphabet for children

To make it easier for a child to remember the English alphabet, try turning on an animated video song about English letters:

You can also use a specially prepared image with the English alphabet, containing examples of the names of animals and objects starting with the corresponding letters:

My first words: English words for kids

How to raise a polyglot child? The answer is simple: start learning languages with him as early as possible. Basic English will be an excellent foundation for the future knowledge of the baby and will help develop learning skills, because the brain of children at an early age absorbs an almost endless amount of information like a sponge. The main thing is to present it correctly.

In this article you will find not only simple first English words for children, but also recommendations for learning them. Open the fascinating world of English to your kid!

At what age do we start learning?

The opinions of experts and parents themselves about the age at which it is worth starting to learn English with a child differ. Of course, you can start singing lullabies to your baby in English even from infancy, but your strength will be almost wasted.

Most agree that the most optimal age from which the average child begins to adequately learn English as a foreign language is 2.5-3 years. It is believed that at this age the process of formation of native speech is already ending. That is, the child must be able to clearly pronounce Russian sounds and words, as well as build sentences and have a coherent speech.

The exceptions here are cases when the child grows up in a multicultural environment. For example, if the mother is Russian and the father is English, then it is possible to communicate with the child in two languages from the very beginning. True, then your child will be funny to form sentences, and questions like: “Mom, can I have an apple” will constantly sound in the house.

This approach is good when the family lives abroad, where the main language is a foreign one. As a child gets older and starts attending kindergarten, the child will understand the difference between the languages of his parents and begin to use words in the correct context. This applies, by the way, not only to English, but also to any foreign language.

If you want your child to speak only English from the very beginning, you can create a multicultural environment artificially. For example, at home talking with the baby only in a foreign language.

Is it possible to send the child to a language nursery or a kindergarten with an English bias? Then do it without any hesitation. So the multicultural environment will be natural for the child: in the nursery they will communicate with him mainly in English, and at home you will be able to talk with the baby in Russian. In specialized language kindergartens, teachers will help your child learn English in a natural environment, and at home you can consolidate knowledge with him through various games and riddles.

If it is not possible to send a child to a language kindergarten, start learning English at home using the same methods that you studied your native language with him.

How to learn English with a child?

At a young age, of course, there is no question of grammar or the spelling of English words. To begin with, the child needs to learn how to pronounce sounds correctly, remember letters and form a basic vocabulary. By the way, it will be much easier for a baby than for an adult to remember the correct pronunciation of English sounds, which are so different from Russian ones. They will not have to rebuild their articulation apparatus as much as we, adults, who have been speaking their native language for many years.

Here is a list of skills to develop in a preschooler first:

— listening comprehension

— speaking

— reading

To ensure that learning English does not become a burden for a child, add an element of the game to the learning process.

Get a bright glove doll and make it a kind of «teacher» for the child. Introduce your baby to a new toy and say that it only understands English, which means that in order to play with it, the child needs to learn an interesting new language. So this toy will become the main intermediary between you and your child in learning English.

First of all, learn the alphabet with your child and the correct pronunciation of letters and basic sounds. Do it better with the popular ABC Song. This is how the English alphabet is taught all over the world, not only by foreigners, but also by native speakers themselves.

Next — form basic English for children: words and simple phrases. For example, make cards for basic words that the child already knows in their native language. These can be household items, animals, body parts, etc. It is better that the cards are bright, with the spelling of a word and a picture symbolizing a particular subject. You can stick these cards on household items so that the child constantly sees the names of objects in English and memorizes them automatically.

Incorporate English words into your regular vocabulary when communicating with your child. In the context of what is happening around the baby, it will be much easier to understand and learn the language. Whether playing at home or outside, use the phrases and words you have already learned. If a child tells you: “Mom, look, a kitty!” Then answer: “Yes, it’s true, it’s a cat. How would it be in English? A cat. This is a cat.»

By the way, it is better to start learning not just individual words, but whole phrases at once, as in the example above. That is, to acquaint with the very, very basic grammar. After all, if you tell your child only words, he will only know the translation, and if you start using whole sentences, then he will memorize in sentences.

For learning English with a child, visibility and variety are important. Children may enjoy books in English with colorful pictures that can be read together at bedtime instead of the usual Russian fairy tales. Also, do not forget about special educational cartoons in English, where bright characters tell the child about the basics of the language or teach him the alphabet.

Start fun games with a learning element with your baby so that he is not bored with learning English. It can be cards, pantomimes, drawings and much more.

Basic set of words with transcription and translation

The first English words for children to start learning the language with are those that surround the child every day. Below you will find a list of such words by topic.

Family [ˈfæmɪli] — family

Mother [ˈmʌðə] — mother

Father [ˈfɑːðə] — father

Brother [ˈbrʌðə] — brother

Sister [ˈsɪstə] — sister

Grandmother [ˈgrænˌmʌðə] — grandmother

Grandfather [ˈgrændˌfɑːðə] — grandfather

Body [


ˈbɒdi


] — body

Head [hed] — head

Hair [heə] — hair

Eyes [aɪz] — eyes

Nose [nəʊz] — nose

Teeth [tiːθ] — teeth

Lips [lɪps] — lips

Ears [ɪəz] — ears

Neck [nek] — neck

Shoulders [ ˈʃəʊldəz] — shoulders

Leg [leg] — leg

Feet [fiːt] — feet

Pets [


pets


] — pets

Dog [dɒg] — dog

Cat [kæt] — cat

Kitten [ˈkɪtn] — kitten

Puppy [ˈpʌpi] — puppy

Rabbit [ˈræbɪt] — rabbit

Parrot [ˈpærət] — parrot

Fish [fɪʃ] — fish

Hamster [ˈhæmstə] — hamster

Snake [ sneɪk] — snake

Turtle [ˈtɜːtl] — turtle

Animals [


ˈænɪməlz


] — animals

Goat [gəʊt] — goat

Pig [pɪg] — pig

Sheep [ʃiːp] — sheep

Horse [hɔːs] — horse

Cow [kaʊ] — cow

Goose [guːs] — goose

Chicken [ˈʧɪkɪn] — chicken

Duck [dʌk] — duck

Cockerel [ ˈkɒkərəl] — rooster

Fox [fɒks] — fox

Wolf [wʊlf] — wolf

Bear [beə] — bear

Hare [heə] — hare

Elephant [ˈelɪfənt] — elephant

Tiger [ˈtaɪgə] — tiger

Lion [ˈlaɪən] — lion

Crocodile [ˈkrɒkədaɪl] — crocodile

Giraffe [ʤɪˈrɑːf] — giraffe

Colors [


ˈkʌləz


] — colors

Red [red] — red

Green [griːn] — green

Blue [bluː] — blue

Orange [ˈɒrɪnʤ] — orange

Yellow [ˈjeləʊ] — yellow

Pink [pɪŋk] — pink

Gray [greɪ] — gray

Black [blæk] — black

White [ waɪt] — white

Purple [ˈpɜːpl] — purple

Brown [braʊn] — brown

Food [


fuːd


] — food

Water [ˈwɔːtə] — water

Tea [tiː] — tea

Juice [ʤuːs] — juice

Sugar [ˈʃʊgə] — sugar

Salt [sɒlt] — salt

Yogurt [ˈjɒgət] — yogurt

Bread [bred] — bread

Milk [mɪlk] — milk

Cheese [ ʧiːz] — cheese

Eggs [egz] — eggs

Butter [ˈbʌtə] — butter

Meat [miːt] — meat

Cookies [ˈkʊkiz] — cookies

Chocolate [ˈʧɒkəlɪt] — chocolate

Fruits [


fruːts


] — fruits

Apple [ˈæpl] — apple

Pear [peər] — pear

Orange [ˈɒrɪnʤ] — orange

Banana [bəˈnɑːnə] — banana

Lemon [ˈlemən] — lemon

Pineapple [ˈpaɪnˌæpl] — pineapple

Grapes [greɪps] — grapes

Kiwi [ˈkiːwi:] — kiwi

Tangerine [tæn(d)ʒəˈriːn] — tangerine

Melon [ˈmelən] — melon

Watermelon [ˈwɔːtəˌmelən] — watermelon

Peach [piːʧ] — peach

Vegetables [


ˈveʤɪtəblz


] — vegetables

Carrot [ˈkærət] — carrot

Onion [ˈʌnjən] — onion

Garlic [ˈgɑːlɪk] — garlic

Tomato [təˈmɑːtəʊ] — tomato

Cabbage [ˈkæbɪʤ] — cabbage

Pepper [ˈpepər] — pepper

Potato [pəˈteɪtəʌ] -kjumber

potatoes

House [haʊs] — house

Bedroom [ˈbedruːm] — bedroom

Living room [ˈlɪvɪŋ ruːm] — living room

Kitchen [ˈkɪʧɪn] — kitchen

Bathroom [ˈbɑːθruːm] — bathroom

Fridge [frɪʤ] — refrigerator

Cooker [ˈkʊkə] — stove

Table [ˈteɪbl] — table

Chair [ʧeə] — chair

Sofa [ˈsəʊfə] — sofa

Bed [bed] — bed

Window [ˈwɪndəʊ] — window

Mirror [ˈmɪrə] — mirror

Towel [ˈtaʊəl] — towel

Toothbrush [ˈtuːθbrʌʃ] — toothbrush

Toothpaste [ˈtuːθpeɪst] — toothpaste

Wardrobe [ˈwɔːbdr] — wardrobe

Cup [kʌp] — mug

Plate [pleɪt] — plate

Bowl [bəʊl] — bowl

Fork [fɔːk] — fork

Spoon [spuːn] — spoon

Knife [naɪf] — knife

Clock [klɒk] — hours

Clothes [


kləʊðz


] — clothes

Dress [dres] — dress

Skirt [skɜːt] — skirt

Shirt [ʃɜːt] — shirt

T-shirt [ˈtiːʃɜːt] — T-shirt

Jeans [ʤiːnz] — jeans

Trousers [ˈtraʊzəz] — pants

Shorts [ʃɔːts] — shorts

Jumper [ˈʤʌmpə] — sweater

Suit [suːt] — suit

Coat [kəʊt] — coat

Hat [hæt] — hat

Socks [sɒks] — socks

Months [


mʌnθs


] — months

January [ˈʤænjʊəri] — January

February [ˈfebrʊəri] — February

March [mɑːʧ] — March

April [ˈeɪprəl] — April

May [meɪ] — May

June [ʤuːn] — June

July [ʤu (ː)ˈlaɪ] — July

August [ˈɔːgəst] — August

September [sepˈtɛmbər] — September

October [ɒkˈtəʊbə] — October

November [nəʊˈvembə] — November

December [dɪˈsembə] — December

Weather [


ˈweðə


] — weather

Sun [sʌn] — sun

Rain [reɪn] — rain

Cloud [klaʊd] — cloud

Wind [wɪnd] — wind

Snow [snəʊ] — snow

Fog [fɒg] — fog

Cold [kəʊld] — cold

Hot [hɒt] — hot

Winter [ ˈwɪntə] — winter

Spring [sprɪŋ] — spring

Summer [ˈsʌmər] — summer

Autumn [ˈɔːtəm] — autumn

This list of first English words for children is far from complete. Include in it those words that the child encounters daily.

And most importantly, do not forget: in order to teach your baby English from an early age, you need to be confident in your knowledge. You can check your level of English before you start learning the language with your child here.

18 Pronunciation Sites and Apps for Language Learners — Lexical Press Blog of the American TESOL Institute in Florida

Pronunciation is very important for understanding. To learn how to pronounce words correctly, you need to train a lot and constantly practice. Students should know how words are pronounced and how to pronounce them. Below is a list of 18 web tools and sites we recommend for language learners to improve their pronunciation. More learning tips can be found on the American TESOL Youtube video channel with over 100 videos!

To learn more about technology integration to support English learners, visit our free webinars on Fridays.

Recommended Tools and Applications

• Speech Sounds is an interactive site with various sounds and videos of people making those sounds. Find it also in German and Spanish.
• Text2Phonetics is a web application that converts small English texts into wide phonetic transcriptions of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
• Sounds is a free app based on the work of Adrian Underhill. Language learners learn, practice and play with pronunciation.
• Pronunciation Power is another free app to learn all 52 sounds.
• The Speech Flip Book is a free iOS app that can be used for phonological awareness, apraxia, and articulation. It’s interactive and visual.
• Fun Easy English contains videos of characters showing mouth movements.
• English Central offers a variety of sound and pronunciation courses.
• HowJSay is a free online English pronunciation dictionary.
• Forvo is a pronunciation dictionary.
• BBC Voices is no longer updated but contains many authentic voices using real English.

Children’s Pronunciation Resources

• Starfall is one of the best websites with games, stories, songs and exercises for kids to practice pronunciation.
• Dream English is a site with videos, songs, mp3 audio lessons, related worksheets and flashcards that are free to download.
• Phonics Studio is a free iOS app that contains 2500 visual flashcards with sounds.
• M&M Lite is a free iOS app for creating audio mixing and matching exercises for young learners.
• English Raven by Jason Renshaw offers a free download of starter kits for kids.
• ABC Fast Phonics contains phonetics tutorials and cartoons for kids.

IN

• Neo K12 has several songs, games and quizzes.
• Reading Bear is a free website with videos, quizzes and reviews for kids to help them learn phonetics.

If you enjoyed the resources in this post, check out our online training course, Learning with Certification Technology.

Live TESOL webinars are held every Friday at 4:00 pm EST or NY time with Shelley Terrell. TESOL lectures are open to the public, so feel free to invite a friend. To join the TESOL webinar, click here https://americantesol.adobeconnect.com/terrell/. Then click «Login as Guest», enter your name and click «Enter Room».

8 fun activities to help with pronunciation!

8 fun activities to help with pronunciation!

Here are

8 fun activities you can try with your little one to help her improve her pronunciation!

1. 
   Play Bingo!
   
   Prepare several bingo sheets with sample words for each of the sounds you want to practice, such as ‘Toy’ for ‘T’, ‘Red’ for ‘R’, etc. Then prepare flashcards with sounds only. When you pull out a card, say a sound and your little one and her friends have to find the word that matches that sound on their bingo table.
2. 
   Practice in minimal pairs!
   
   Practicing words that sound almost the same but with slight differences in pronunciation can help your toddler become aware of these different sounds. Some examples of these words are: low/throw, bat/bad, sheep/ship, etc. To make this more fun and also help your child listen more closely to their own voice, record your own voices while you practice as well then listen to the recordings to see how you’re doing!
3. 
   Try tongue twisters!
   
   Because they use alliteration (the repetition of a single sound), they are great for practicing sounds and improving your pronunciation and fluency skills. Here’s a simple example to practice the /th/ sound: «I can think of six thin things and six thick things.» .
4. 
   Play guessing game!
   
   Have your child guess what word you are saying by looking into your mouth while you whisper it from a distance. She will have to focus on the shape of your mouth while making this sound. Then it’s your baby’s turn to whisper that word too!
5. 
   Draw a character!
   
   If your little one is imaginative and imaginative, she will definitely love this activity. Create a character along with a name that starts with the sound you want to practice, such as: «Sam». Draw Sam, and then think of different things Sam would like his name to start with, such as «singing», «soup», or «sea» and draw your character’s image with them.
6. 
   Play a mobile game!
   
   If your child is very active, then this is a fun activity for her. To play this game, assign a movement to each sound. For example, jump on «L» and clap on «R». Your child will have to do these movements every time she hears the corresponding sound! You can try to say just the sound or, to make it a little more difficult, say the words with these sounds.
7. 
   Throw the dice!
   
   Create your own dice with different sounds on each side. You can play with your little one and her friends. When each player rolls the dice, they will have to say a word or several words with the sound they got!
8. 
   Do motor exercises for the oral cavity!
   
   Play funny faces with your baby and try these moves: a.
   
   Make the biggest smile possible, then relax.
   
   d. Puff out your cheeks without closing your lips. Try both cheeks, then one by one, and then the upper and lower lips!
   
   d. Press your lips together to kiss and move them apart.
   
   d. Press the tongue against the palate and then push it out.
   
   e. Circle the perimeter of the lips with your tongue without moving your jaw! Do this in both directions.
   
   For more fun, you can use a mirror to see all your funny faces! These movements will help your child strengthen the muscles of the lips, cheeks, tongue and jaw. Other fun activities associated with oral movement exercises include blowing bubbles, balloons or whistles and drinking through a straw. These exercises will not only help strengthen your oral muscles, but will also help your little one get enough air to make sounds, words, and eventually sentences!

If you need more ideas, check out these links:

• 12 pronunciation games and exercises for ESL students

• Simple oral motor exercises to try today!

• 6 exercises to improve pronunciation

‘Children’ pronunciation — Stack Exchange for English learners

There is no contrast between /s/ and /z/ in this position (word-end or syllable-end after a difficult consonant). But the word «kids» is usually transcribed with the phoneme /z/. * Please note that in English, the typical pronunciation of the words «adze», «adds» and «advertising» sounds the same.

«Resonant» obstacles in English can be cleared or partially cleared

Keep in mind that the phoneme /z/ is not always pronounced as a fully voiced [z]. At the end of a word, /z/ may be less phonetically voiced (or maybe even completely devoid), but it is still distinct from /s/ because syllables ending in /s/ have shortened (or «truncated») vowels, but syllables ending in /z/ are not necessary. The following words have a cut vowel:

kit, kits, kiss.

The following words do not have a clipped vowel:

kid, kids, fizz.

I don’t know much about the exact phonetic nature of the chant or partial voicing. Here’s a related article (which I haven’t read) that I found with a quick search: «Variation in the implementation of voicing in obstructive American English» by Lisa Davidson.

I don’t know much about the exact phonetic nature of the chant or partial voicing. Here’s a related article (which I haven’t read) that I found with a quick search: «Variation in the implementation of voicing in obstructive American English» by Lisa Davidson.

See the following ELU questions:

Reasons why «children» are analyzed as having /dz/ and not /ds/

I think it’s rather difficult to definitively establish that

kids

ends in /z/, but there are several arguments that can be accepted.

The plural/genitive suffix contains /z/ instead of /s/ in contrast environments

In all environments where the contrast a /z/ versus /s/ is phonologically possible in English (after a vowel or after an approximate), the plural and genitive suffixes (as well as the third person singular suffix) contain /z/. The following minimal or near-minimal pairs demonstrate this:

• 
  bays
  
  (
  
  bay
  
  ) /beız/ versus base /beıs/
• 
  bar
  
  (
  
  bar-s
  
  ) /bɑɹz/ vs.
  
  parsing
  
  /pɑɹs/
• 
  bells
  
  (
  
  bell-s
  
  ) / bɛlz / vs.
  
  else
  
  /ɛls/
• 
  tens
  
  (
  
  tens
  
  ) /tɛnz/ against
  
  time
  
  /tɛns/

Based on this, it can be argued that /z/ is the main form of suffixes, and /s/ (as well as /ɨz/) is a less basic form, the use of which requires some explanation. The use of /s/ after /ptk/ and after /f θ/ when not alternating with voiced /v ð/ in the plural can be explained as assimilation on the phonemic level of the silence of the previous segment. Since the segment /d/ is not voiceless on the phonemic level, it is not expected to cause silence assimilation, so this analysis predicts that words like

kids

should appear with the /z/ unchanged.

*/dz/ and /ds/ may contrast before a vowel, although functional load is low

The strongest argument I can think of for analyzing

kids

(etc.) as ending in /dz/ is that there is a contrast between /dz/ as in

sudsy

and /ds. /, as in

Hudson,

and the cluster at the end of the word

-ds

(as in

suds

) does not sound like /ds/ when followed by a vowel. The contrast between /dz/ and /ds/ is not particularly sharp: it doesn’t shock me when a native English speaker pronounces «Hudson» in a way that sounds like «Hu /dz/ on» with progressive assimilation, or as «Khu / c / on», with regressive assimilation. However, I wouldn’t consider either of these as a standard phonemic realization of the consonant sequence in the middle of a name: on a phonemic level, I’d say that /ds/ is a possible sequence that contrasts with both /dz/ and /ц/.

A possible weakness in my argument in the previous paragraph is the issue of syllabic text. Some linguists believe that empty beginnings are not welcome in syllabic forms: the application of this principle would lead to syllabic changes

su [dz] y

and

Hu [ds] on.

In this case, the contrast is quite clear (although there may still be a question of whether the final syllable of

Hudson

has a different level of stress than the final syllable

of sudsy

). But other linguists believe that empty syllable onsets are more common in English phonology, raising the possibility that that

sudsy

and

Hudson

can be syllabic differently:

suds.y

vs.

Hud son.

If we accept the suds.y

syllabification,

and consider syllabification in general as a possible factor in creating minimum pairs for pronunciation, then I don’t think it can be established by this kind of argument that the consonant after /d/ is /z/ and not /s/.

Acoustics assignments, Acoustics online games, Acoustics videos, Kindergarten to Grade 2

Introduction to the section — Alphabet and Phonetics Resources.

• 
  Goal:
  
  Learn the letters of the alphabet

Section 1 — Greetings — Hello

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach basic greetings — Hello, hello, goodbye.

Block 2 — What is your name?

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children to pronounce their names.

Block 3 — How old are you?

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children to say their age and memorize the numbers from 1 to 5.

Block 4 — Numbers — How much?

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children to count from 1 to 10.

Block 5 A — Colors — What color?

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children to describe objects using colors.

Section 5 B — Color Dictionary

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach the vocabulary of flowers

Unit 5 C — Green Monster Flowers Lesson

• 
  goal
  
  : teach colors through color songs

Block 6 — Fruits — I love apples.

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children the names of fruits and the expression of likes.

Block 7 — Body — I have a head.

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children about parts of the body.

Block 8 — Actions — I can’t.

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children to express abilities using simple action verbs.

Video lessons of the course level 2

Block 1 — Animals — Animals on farms.

• 
  Objective:
  
  To teach students to express preferences using vocabulary related to farm animals.

Block 2 — Family members

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach words and expressions used in describing a family.

Block 3 — School backpack

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach words and expressions related to objects in the classroom.

Block 4 — Actions — Do’s and Don’ts

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach action verbs

Block 5 — Shapes and sizes

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach different shapes and adjectives to describe size.

Chapter 6 — Demonstrative Pronouns — This / That / These / Those

• 
  Goal:
  
  Learn nouns and demonstrative pronouns, singular and plural.

Block 7 — Numbers — from 10 to 100

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach the numbers from 10 to 100 and the difference between the pronunciation of long and short vowels.

Block 8 — Toys — Where is it?

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach words and expressions related to toys and ask where objects are.

Block 9 — Days of the week and weekly events

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach the days of the week and some of the things we do on a weekly basis.

Unit 10 — Weather — What’s the weather like?

• 
  Objective:
  
  To teach students to ask about the weather and describe it.

Block 11 — Food — What do you want to eat

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To explain to students what we eat and express desire.

Video lessons of the course 3 levels

Block 1 — Pets: Why do you like dogs?

• 
  Objective:
  
  Learn the names of pets and give a brief description of pets using personal adjectives.

Block 2a — Time — What time is it?

• 
  Objective:
  
  To teach students to tell the time, as well as to talk about everyday affairs.

Block 2b — Time — What time is it?

• 
  Objective:
  
  To teach students to tell time using a quarter / past / half past, etc.

Block 3 — Months and days of birth — When is your birthday?

• 
  Objective:
  
  To teach students the months of the year and how to determine dates using months and ordinal numbers.

Section 4 — Work — What people do.

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children to describe work using action verbs.

Block 5 — Actions — What are you doing?

• 
  Objective:
  
  Students will learn to describe actions they perform using progressive progress.

Block 6 — Transport — How do you get to school?

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach students about different modes of transport and how to get around.

Block 7 — Clothing — What are you wearing today?

• 
  Goal:
  
  Learn to describe what someone wears.

Block 8 — Where is it? — Houses

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children the prepositions of places, rooms and things in the house.

Block 9a — Vegetables — How much do carrots cost?

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children the vocabulary of vegetables and how to buy vegetables.

Section 9b — Vegetables — Lesson with additional vegetable vocabulary — Cauliflower, broccoli, etc.

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach schoolchildren additional vegetable vocabulary.

Block 10 — Weather and clothing — Wear sunglasses.

• 
  Purpose:
  
  To teach children to talk about clothes depending on the weather.

Block 11 — Zoo — What does a panda look like?

• 
  Objective:
  
  To teach students to describe zoo animals in terms of how they eat and how they look.

10 Simple Strategies for Mastering English Pronunciation

When you study English, you don’t always see what you hear.

These past years have been wonderful. The world is constantly becoming more interconnected, so more and more people are learning new languages.

English is one of the most popular and in-demand languages in the world, and its proximity to other languages such as French and German makes it fairly easy to learn.

There’s only one thing: English isn’t as easy as one might think, and for that we have its strange pronunciation rules.

Unlike, for example, Spanish, in which words are read and pronounced exactly as they are written, many words in English are pronounced differently than their written forms. Some words sound completely different even though they are spelled the same. For example, the words tough,(“tuff”) and, although (“thoh”) differ in only one letter, they sound completely different.

Like any other language, English is full of exceptions and oddities, even in pronunciation, and mastering these difficult parts can feel like a nightmare, but it is both a necessary and interesting aspect of learning.

Download:

This blog post is available as a handy and portable PDF file that you can take anywhere. Click here for a copy. (Download)

Why should you practice English pronunciation?

The reasons for practicing pronunciation are numerous and significant:

• Improving pronunciation helps in reading, writing and communication.

• A better understanding of pronunciation leads to less confusion, especially when speaking.

• Most importantly, it’s a sign of progress and you feel more comfortable and confident speaking English.

Mastering English pronunciation can be a goal, but that doesn’t mean there’s only one way to achieve it. As with everything else in life, everyone has their own path to achieve their goals. Whatever your needs and desires, these strategies will help you get there.

1. Know how you want to sound

The English language uses a wide variety of sounds. English pronunciation can vary greatly from region to region. For example, the United Kingdom may be relatively small in size, but it is rich in different accents that carry their personality, as seen in this video.

Depending on where you are going and how long you are going to be there, the first step is to

understand how the locals sound.

Practice sounding like them. This will help you fully understand what they are talking about.

If you don’t know anyone who speaks with the accent you want, keep watching videos like the one above. You can also visit websites such as this guide to American pronunciation.

If you know you want to sound like an American, you should consider the Creativa Mastering North American English Pronunciation course

.

Creativa provides high-quality, high-quality videos for learning English and business communication skills. Creativa provides entertaining videos, helpful yet unexpected tips, and is not limited to just English to teach you body language and intonation. Creativa is a new product from the FluentU team.

Here is an example video from the Creativa Mastering Business Video Calling in English course, which has tips for effective self-expression:

2. Focus on the words that give you trouble and break them down

Did you stumble upon a long, confusing mass of letters? Do you forget when you need to say a few words differently?

em>Any time you hit a wall and don’t know how to pronounce a strange word, just stop, take a break, and

pay close attention to the features of that word.

Features include its spelling, syllables, and meaning.

What you need is to take this long and complicated word and break it down into parts. Then slowly put it back together.

For example: one of the most commonly mispronounced words in English is

February.

People continue to pronounce it as fev-yu-airi. If you look closely, you’ll notice the

r

in the middle, and if you break it down, it turns out that it’s actually pronounced Feb-ru-airi.

You should also look at #1 for these words. Americans never say

r

in February. The regional pronunciation may not necessarily be he correct English pronunciation.

However, using this method will help you understand how words should actually be pronounced.

However, keep in mind that words in English are not always pronounced the way they are spelled, so practice these words slowly and keep a dictionary handy just in case. If you’re still having trouble breaking up words, this guide will help.

3. Read aloud and write yourself down

The best way to make progress on any task is to keep track of your improvements. For practicing English pronunciation, the best way to do this is to write down how you read and speak loudly and clearly, which gives yourself a great benchmark for progress.

Once you go overboard with the sound of your own voice (we all hate the way we sound when we record), you’ll find yourself making more progress than you otherwise would. If you record yourself speaking English for months or years in future, you will really hear how much you have improved.

4. Listen carefully to the music of the words

Everything in life follows a certain form of organization. Life has a strong rhythm. Otherwise, everything would be random and disorganized.

Just as we memorize and understand songs and other pieces of music by listening carefully to lyrics and other features, we can also

master complex words by listening carefully to their rhythm and the way certain syllables sound.

Words change with emotion, and listening to how words are pronounced will also tell you more than just their meaning.

The intonation or tone of words affects their meaning. Depending on which part of the word is

stressed

and

where it is placed in the sentence

, it can be a noun or a verb.

Understanding this can even make the pronunciation of the word clearer. For example, words refuse, and refuse. If it is heard as REH-fuse , then we are talking about garbage (noun), but if it is heard as re-FUZ, then it means to say “no” or to reject something (verb).

The key here is to listen carefully to how the words are used. Break them up as you practice until you feel comfortable enough to use them in conversation.

5. Subscribe to English websites, podcasts and Youtube channels

When it comes to learning languages, the Internet is your best friend. It contains an extremely wide range of resources to help you master English, even if you are just starting to learn English for beginners.

FluentU

is a great place to start.

FluentU

takes real videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news, and inspirational speeches—and turns them into personalized language lessons.

And it’s not just about passively watching videos — it’s about actively learning and practicing English.

Active learning tools are probably the best part. Click on any word with subtitles to see an on-screen definition and audio clip showing native pronunciation. You can then learn and reinforce new language lessons with multimedia flashcards and vocabulary lists based on the vocabulary and grammar you encounter as you browse videos of your choice.

If you love that sound, I have even better news for you—you can practice FluentU anywhere with the iOS or Android mobile apps.

There are also a number of websites and social media groups that help people become fluent in English and other languages. While we are talking about it…

It has never been easier to turn YouTube time into English learning time. It’s all about changing your browsing habits.

If you’re a movie fan, why not make the most of that passion by subscribing to a YouTube channel dedicated to making the most of native content? The FluentU English YouTube channel takes its own content, such as Enola Holmes’ hilarious and addictive film, and turns it into an active learning lesson.

You can imitate British actress Millie Bobby Brown’s stunning accent or learn all the unique adjectives she uses in the movie. Be sure to subscribe to the FluentU YouTube channel for more great content for English learners.

6. Communication is the key to success: always practice with someone

The best way to speak English like a native speaker is to speak to them. When you are in class or walking in the park, make sure you only speak English.

If you don’t know native speakers near you, don’t let that hinder your progress. As I mentioned earlier, there are many great forums and other websites that allow language learners to connect and teach each other.

Google+ is a perfect example of this: people from all over the world come together in a global classroom as students and teachers alike. This creates a comfortable and fun environment for improving your pronunciation as well as making new friends from all over the world.

7. Follow the news

You may not like to watch the news all the time, but you can use it as a great tool to improve your pronunciation. Announcers usually speak slowly and clearly to get their messages across. If there are subtitles, that’s even better. Watching the news helps you understand English words in their normal context and lets you hear how they sound in real life. In addition, news broadcasts use many images and videos to make their messages more compelling and easier to understand.

A good website to use is the BBC (British English) or CNN (American English).

8. Forget everything you know about reading and pronunciation

As I mentioned earlier, English is known for having words that look different from how they are pronounced. If your native language is similar to Spanish, where what you read is what you hear, then learning to pronounce some words in English can be a daunting puzzle (remember,

though


difficult

?).

That’s why you shouldn’t transfer what you know about one language to another. Reading English like Spanish will only confuse you.

9. Dictionaries are your friends

When things go wrong, dictionaries are always ready to help. It’s always a good idea to keep it handy, especially if you have a smartphone. The Merriam-Webster dictionary app is a great example that includes a simple yet very effective pronunciation guide for each word.

While they are helpful and will tell you what you need to know, learning the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) will tell you exactly how to pronounce words. It won’t be easy, but once you master the IPA, no English word is too difficult.

10. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

It’s easy to get flustered and start talking quickly once you’ve learned how to pronounce a word, but it’s best to be patient and slowly practice the word until you’re able to pronounce it perfectly. Your friends and teachers understand this, so don’t worry about sounding funny or speaking too slowly. Learning a language is a journey, not just an end, so take your time and enjoy the ride!

Other Great Resources

Guide to British Accent and Dialect

BBC English Pronunciation Guide

Macmillan Online Dictionary (with British and American pronunciations)

Simple Pronunciation Guide (Wikipedia)

Download:

This blog post is available as a handy and portable PDF file that you can take anywhere. Click here for a copy. (Download)

And one more thing …

And one more thing …

If you’d like to watch it, it might be on the FluentU app.

The FluentU app and website make it very easy to watch videos in English. There are interactive captions. This means you can click on any word to see an image, definition, and helpful examples.

The FluentU app and website make it very easy to watch videos in English. There are interactive captions. This means you can click on any word to see an image, definition, and helpful examples.

For example, by clicking on the word «search», you will see the following:

FluentU lets you tap to find any word.

Learn vocabulary from any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

FluentU helps you learn quickly with helpful questions and lots of examples. To learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary you learn. This gives you an extra opportunity to practice difficult words and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You really have an individual experience.

Start using FluentU on your website from your computer or tablet, or better yet, download the FluentU app from iTunes or the Google Play store.

If you

enjoyed this post,

something tells me you

‘ll love

FluentU, the best way to learn English through real videos.

Experience English immersion online!

Articulation (Pronunciation and Conversation) — Developing a Child’s Senses

What is articulation (pronunciation and speaking)?

Articulation (pronunciation and speaking) is the ability to physically move the tongue, lips, teeth, and jaw to produce the sequence of speech sounds that make up words and sentences.

Why is articulation (pronunciation and speaking) so important?

Articulation is important in order to be able to produce sounds, words and sentences that are clear and can be easily understood and interpreted by others, to be able to express basic needs and desires, up to being able to engage in complex conversations.

Depending on the degree of difficulty, slurred speech can significantly affect how well a child can interact with adults and their peers, and can also affect the development of language and social skills. A child who is difficult to understand may become frustrated and angry, which can lead to behavioral problems. Articulation is also important for literacy skills such as reading and writing words.

What building blocks are needed to develop articulation (pronunciation and speaking)?

• 
  Attention and Concentration:
  
  Sustained effort, listening and doing things without distraction, and the ability to sustain that effort long enough to complete a task (e.g., the ability to pay attention to speech and sounds long enough to be able to process information).
• 
  Hearing:
  
  To detect speech sounds.
• 
  Good functioning of the middle ear
  
  most of the time (for example, a child with chronic ear infections, tick-ears, or a cold that blocks the ears may have fluctuating hearing levels, which can affect speech).
• 
  Process speech sounds
  
  , identify and hear differences between sounds.
• 
  Muscular Coordination:
  
  The ability to move and coordinate the muscles involved in sound production (eg, diaphragm, lips, tongue, vocal cords, jaw, and palate).
• 
  Understanding
  
  that sounds convey meaning.

How do I know if my child has problems with articulation (pronunciation and speaking)?

If a child has problems with articulation, he may:

• Get very upset when interacting with other people.
• Producing speech that is difficult to understand even for familiar listeners.
• It is difficult to link together more than one or two sounds.
• Usually only vowels are used (very open mouth noises).
• Produce slurred speech along with ball dribbling and messy eating skills.
• Speech is less clear than other children of the same age.
• To produce an interdental lisp (for example, the tongue protrudes between the teeth when pronouncing the sound / s / or / z /) over the age of 3.5 — 4 years.
• Being a schoolboy and still having a hard time making a few sounds.

What other problems can arise if a child has difficulty with articulation (pronunciation and speaking)?

What other problems can arise if a child has difficulty with articulation (pronunciation and speaking)?

• 
  Social Skills:
  
  Fuzzy articulation can affect the ability to engage in mutual interaction with others (verbally or non-verbally), to compromise with others, and to recognize and follow social norms.
• 
  Expressive (using) language:
  
  The use of language through speech, signs, or alternative forms of communication to communicate desires, needs, thoughts, and ideas. The child may shorten their sentences or use familiar words to help them understand better.
• 
  Self-confidence:
  
  The child’s belief in his ability to complete the task.
• 
  Fluency: The fluidity
  
  or fluidity with which sounds, syllables, words, and phrases are produced when speaking.
• 
  Independence:
  
  The child may be «intrusive» or always wants a parent/guardian around to translate or help with their communication.
• 
  Behavior:
  
  The child may become very upset at being misunderstood.
• 
  Reading and spelling
  
  , which are based on the pronunciation of words.
  
  
  

What can be done to improve articulation (pronunciation and speaking)?

• 
  Play:
  
  For young children, play where you model and use many different sounds while playing (e.g. saying ‘hhh’ when the train passes by, ‘baa’ is a sheep).
• 
  Talk
  
  to your child frequently throughout the day to model the correct pronunciation of words.
• 
  Reducing background noise:
  
  Turn off background noise in the house (eg TV, radio, music) when you are interacting with your child to minimize distractions.
• 
  Look
  
  at your child when he speaks and encourage him to look at you so he can imitate how to pronounce words or sounds correctly.
• 
  Read
  
  to a child.
• 
  Listen
  
  to the child’s message and respond to it (not the exact pronunciation of the words).
• 
  Repeat
  
  the child’s sentences if the speech is slurred (for example, child: «Dat my deen tar.» Adult: «Yes, that’s your green car»). By repeating what your child said, you create a good language model and also show that you were listening to what the child said.
• 
  Show:
  
  Ask the child to show you what he is talking about if you do not understand what he has said. Ask for ONE repetition and try to guess. Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t understand what the child said.

What activities can help improve articulation (pronunciation and speaking)?

• 
  Naming
  
  objects while doing tasks such as looking at a book, in the car, looking outside, while playing, and while shopping.
• 
  Copying
  
  facial expressions in a mirror (for example, smiling, kissing, licking lips).
• 
  Play together at
  
  something the child really enjoys, and throughout the game, model words that the child has difficulty with.
• 
  Modeling
  
  and using different sounds during interaction and during play (for example, “s” is the sound of a snake, “sh” is the sound of a child sleeping).
• 
  Listening
  
  and identifying sounds in words (for example, «shoe» begins with the sound «sh»).
• 
  Correction:
  
  If the child does not pronounce the word correctly, return the correct word to him, but there is no need to make him repeat it again (for example, Gram. child: «Look at tat.» adult: «Yes, it’s
  
  c
  
  at» and continue the conversation). This helps to provide subtle, positive correction by modeling the correct answer rather than emphasizing that the child said it wrong.

Why should I seek therapy if I notice articulation (pronunciation and speaking) difficulties?

Therapeutic intervention to help a child with articulation disorders is important for:

• Enhance your child’s ability to speak more clearly.
• Increase your child’s ability to be understood by others.
• Increase your child’s ability to interact positively with other children and adults.
• Facilitate the child’s interactions with acquaintances (eg, family members, peers) and strangers.
• Reduce frustration in a child who is trying to get his point across to an audience.
• Improve spelling and/or writing.

What can articulation (pronunciation and speaking) difficulties lead to if left untreated?

When children have difficulty articulating, they may also have difficulty with:

• Establishing friendships and engaging in positive social interactions with peers.
• Fulfillment of educational tasks of the highest level.
• Be understood during interactions, such as meeting new people, playing with friends, or talking to a teacher.
• Developing literacy skills such as reading and writing.

What type of therapy is recommended for articulation (pronunciation and speech) difficulties?

If your child has problems with articulation, it is recommended to consult with a speech therapist.

Child mispronounces words | figured out

When children first learn to speak, they often make mistakes in their speech. They replace sounds, such as saying

tat

when they mean

cat

. They also do not consider sounds, such as asking for a spoon when they really need a spoon.

Sometimes children shorten words to make them easier to pronounce. Many of my younger students ask to play on my computer

‘

when they need time at the computer. This is how they communicate their needs while they are still learning to imitate the sounds they hear.

As children get older, they usually stop making these mistakes. By the age of 8, they are expected to speak correctly. And they should be understandable to a wide range of people.

Teaching children to read is one of the most complicated, arduous and time-consuming parts of teaching English. There’re many approaches to teaching to read nowadays. However, I’ll focus on two popular and effective methods: Phonics and “Look and say”.

Phonics

Phonics is a method of teaching young learners how to read which focuses on how letters make sounds, and how these sounds make words. This approach is not meaning focused, it is only about decoding and pronunciation. Teachers are to put accuracy before speed because fluency (i.e. speed, accuracy, expression, and comprehension) will come with time.

Phonics is the study of the relationship between the spoken and written language, i.e. phonemic awareness and letter shape. Each letter or combination of letters represents a sound or sounds. The information is codified, as we must be able to recognise which symbols make which sounds in order to read. Children are taught 44 letter sounds, which is a mix of alphabet sounds:

• grapheme (1 sound – 1 letter, e.g. c, t, a )
• digraphs (1 sound – 2 letters, e.g. sh, th, ai, ue )
• trigraphs (1 sound — 3 letters, e.g. ght )

This information is found in the Alphabetic Code. There’s no one order you choose to teach phonics, but it’s definitely better to go from simple to more complex phonics.

“Phonics involves the teaching of the transparent alphabet (e.g. /k/ as in «cat») before progressing onto the “opaque” alphabet (e.g. /k/ as in «school»). In other words, children are taught steps which are straightforward and easy before being taught the complications and variations of pronunciation and spelling of the full alphabetic code”(© Wikipedia).

Therefore children are first taught graphemes and high-frequency tricky words, then digraphs and trigraphs; then less frequency tricky words. Moreover, it’s better to base phonics on the target vocabulary, so phonics are not separated from the main course and children learn as they go along.

What are tricky words?

These are some words which don’t follow easily recognisable patterns. Children have to learn these words in their entirety, by sight. Native speakers learn a lot of these at school through poetry, so one way to teach them is to say a word that rhymes with the tricky word (for example, “shoe” rhymes with “zoo” and “key” rhymes with “tree”). Another good way to practise them is flashcard-type games.

When a child is learning to read there are crucial things to learn:

• how the sounds are represented by written letters;
• how to blend (synthesise) the sounds together to make words;
• how to segment for spelling (e.g. spell your name).

Children are taught to read letters or groups of letters by saying the sound(s) they represent. For example, how to teach the word “cat” using the Phonics method.

1. Say the sound [k].
2. Have the student repeat the sound.
3. Say the whole word, “cat” [kæt].
4. Tell the student to repeat the whole word.
5. Say some other words that start with [k]: “cake”, “cup”, “coke”.
6. Prepare flashcards with different pictures. Say the words for the student to listen and choose the words with the sound [k] (to practise sound recognition)
7. Tell the student to write the letter, then the word. (to practise tracing and letter recognition)

Teachers have to read a full range of target vocabulary, sentences, comic strips, literature with the children and ensure that students have a full range of experience of activities associated with literacy such as role play, chants, songs, poetry, but children are not expected to ‘read’ text which is beyond them, and the method does not involve guessing the meaning from context, picture, and initial letter clues. If students do not know or cannot read, a teacher reads for them.

This is a great five-level course you can use.

Pros of Phonics:

• Students learn sounds.
• They learn to read step by step.
• It’s more comprehensible, consistent and based on Lexis.
• Children can read the words they don’t know if they know the sounds spelling

Cons of Phonics:

• Students cannot start reading until they learn enough sounds.
• They can read only the words with the sounds they know.
• It can take a long time.
• This approach is not comprehension-focused.

Look and say

Phonics can be compared with the whole word, or ‘Look and say’ approach, which focuses on recognising words. This is a method of teaching reading based on the visual recognition and memorizing of words rather than by the association of sounds and letters.

For example, using a “Look and say” approach a child may be shown the word “cat” on a flashcard and is told, “cat”. The child, over time, then learns that when they see the symbol “cat”, they are to say the word “cat”. This way English becomes kind of a logographic language, that has thousands of detailed symbols that represent individual words.

Picture-words or sight words account for up to 75% of the words used in beginning children’s print materials. Sight word lists have been compiled based on high-frequency words, for example, the Dolch word list. These words are divided into levels which are prioritised and introduced to children according to a frequency of appearance in beginning readers’ texts.

Pros of “Look and say”:

• Children learn high frequency and easy words fast.
• Students learnt how to read “similar” new words by association and word recognition. For example, “cat”, “bat”, “rat”. Children recognize words automatically, as a result, a beginning reader will be able to identify the majority of words in a beginning text before they even attempt to read it (in phonics approach they see the similar letter sounds, when in “Look and say” they see the similar symbols).
• It allows children to concentrate on meaning and comprehension as they read without having to stop and decode every single word.
• It helps to learn tricky words with unusual spelling, as they cannot be sounded out using basic phonics knowledge.

Cons of “Look and say”:

• Children are required to memorise thousands of words and cannot decode new words they come across independently. Instead of having to remember only 26 letters and their matching phonemes, children have to use their memory space to remember each and every word as a symbol.
• Children may be stuck in reading if they don’t know how to read certain letters.
• Students may have difficulties with spelling.
• You always need an image: pictures or miming which doesn’t work well for abstract things of certain phrases.

Based on the information above I would recommend combining both methods to make teaching reading more productive, comprehensible, logical and consistent.