Practicing Phonetics

Question

Which are your preferred methods or activities to improve your student's phonetics accuracy?

Answer 1

To improve my students' phonetic accuracy, I use a few effective methods:

1. Minimal Pair Drills – I focus on pairs of words that differ by only one sound (like ship vs. sheep), helping students distinguish and practice similar sounds.
2. Visual and Physical Cues – I demonstrate mouth shapes and tongue positions, sometimes using mirrors, so students can see their articulation. This makes learning more physical and interactive.
3. Slow, Exaggerated Pronunciation – We start slowly, exaggerating each sound, and then gradually speed up. This helps students feel the sound structure and build muscle memory.
4. Shadowing Exercises—I encourage students to repeat after native speakers (audio or video), focusing on rhythm, intonation, and stress. They “shadow” the speaker in real time, which reinforces natural pronunciation patterns.
5. Recording and Self-Analysis—I ask students to record themselves speaking and then listen back, comparing their pronunciation to a native model. This helps them self-correct and become more aware of specific sounds they struggle with.

Each method engages students differently, but together they create a balanced approach to mastering phonetics.

Answer 2

Music and dance give us great examples here! Language, like these other fields, is really complicated in its use as our brains are busy with ideas, listening, etc. and our bodies have to send the necessary sounds through muscle memory. To this end, I always suggest breaking the word apart into the individual sounds maintaining a full break between each sound. Go at a speed where you can hear the sound before saying it..where you can visualize the mouth/tongue shape before making it. Just like you'd practice a choreography! As you develop this skill of pre-visualization, you can slowly speed up the sounds, while always maintaining the breaks and visualizations. Each repetition goes a bit faster and before you know it, the sounds become a well-rehearsed word all on their own. Ex: Mountains (Mau-n-tin-s)