P and F drills

For P and F, they are the opposite of B and V. This is because they are voiceless.

/p/

• press your lips together
• let the air explode from between them
• do not add your voice!!!
• note: this is the same position as /b/, but without your voice

/f/

• rest your upper front teeth on your lower lip
• don't press too hard, make sure there is space between them for air to pass through
• blow air gently through
• note: this is the same position as /v/, except that it is voiceless.

Drills

/p/                                           /f/

plea                                      flee

vampire                                samphire

pace                                    phase 

supper                                 suffer

/p/

1. Lap up the milk, pretty kitten.
2. Pinch the pampered pets and plead guilty.
3. Patty pruned her petunias before September.
4. I spent plenty of time preparing for class.

/f/

1. I felt fulfilled before I even met Fred.
2. Frank played the fiddle while Farrah finished cleaning the fireplace.
3. Fancy knowing federal agents are flat-footed.
4. Fat flower bugs feed on fizzy water.

TONGUE TWISTERS

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Fancy Fiona thinks she is cool. But people know that she is a fool. Feeling perfect and circumspect, she faces people with fabulous cool. But Fiona, fancying herself an expert on needle-thin heels, started walking ferociously forward. Needless to say, we found the fool in the pool.

S and SH drills

S and SH sound drills

/s/

• place your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth
• blow air out and make a hissing sound, like a snake

/sh/

• place your tongue in the same position as /s/
• pull it back gently and purse your lips
• tighten your tongue as it curls backward
• make a shhhh sound in that position

Note: don't forget that these two sounds are unvoiced!

Drills

/s/                            /sh/

sea                              she

fist                            fished

 whist                       wished

lass                           lash

sip                               ship

sake                         shake

/s/

1. I see seven simple seagulls starting to sing.
2. Slip the slip under your skirt.
3. Saddle the silver horse and slowly sit on him.

/sh/

1. Shade your sheer, shivering self.
2. She wants to crush the Irishman who shouted at her.
3. Shape Sherman’s shoulder-length hair.

TONGUE TWISTER

She sells seashells on the seashore.

On the seashore she sells seashells.

Seashells at the seashore she sells.

If she sells seashells at the seashore,

Those seashells are real seashells I am sure.

Credits for the tongue twister belongs to its creator. I didn't make this at all.

T and TH (voiceless)

t and voiceless th drills

/t/

• this is popped /t/ sound. refer to The Five Sounds of T article from before.

/th/

• put your tongue between your teeth
• it must be very slightly curved upwards
• there must be a space between your tongue and lower teeth and the sides of your mouth for air to pass through
• do not bite your tongue, and then blow air gently out.
• this is a voiceless sound

Drills

PRONUNCIATION DRILLS /t/ & /θ/

/t/                      /θ/

           taught                 thought         

 toot                      tooth   

Thai                       thigh

     

         tread                    thread         

      debt                   death           

/t/

1. He does not want to go to school.
2.  I might eat some hot buttered toast.
3. Eat the bitter butter after the fantastic party.
4. Our first guest gave me a rotten toy.

/θ/

1. We asked for three thousand thimbles.
2. I was thrilled by the case of healthy wealthy Arthur.
3. The path of thoroughness is filled with thorns and thistles.
4. I thought of faith as the theme of both movies.

TONGUE TWISTER

The thunderstruck thundering thunderer thunders like a thunderbolt in a thunderstorm!

Better never trouble trouble,

Until trouble troubles you;

For you only make your trouble

Double trouble if you do.

Voiced and Voiceless TH

the /th/ sounds have basically the same position.

• place your tongue gently between your teeth.
• your lips are slightly pursed, sort of around your tongue
• allow some space between your teeth and around the sides of your tongue so air can pass through.

the difference is here. 

• for unvoiced /th/ ( /Ө/), simply blow air out between your teeth and around your tongue.
• for voiced /th/ (/ð/  ), add your voice to that position.

Drills

                                                 /Ө/                                                         /ð/                                                                  
               thin                                                            then            

     birthday                                                    brother

toothpaste                                                 father

bath                                                          bathe

/Ө/

1. Thin thinkers are thirsty for broth.

2. Open your mouth and say thank you.

3. April third is my birthday celebration.

/ð/   

1. Father and mother are with my other brother.

2. That's right, don't bother me.

3. There are thirteen mothers waiting there.

                                                                 Tongue Twister

 Although Samantha was very thorough with their thesis, they thought she loathed their thinking and threatened to throw her thesaurus on the path before it thawed.

Note: Some of these sentences are based or are from a website on the internet, which unfortunately I can't find anymore (my apologies). The tongue twister is from thesmallguidesite. Thank you so much!

           

Consonant Sound Clusters: BL and BR

For consonant sound clusters, or combinations of consonants, a lot of people usually have problems and r and l and paired. let's do the drills then, so you can review.

/BL/

• start with the /b/ position (lips pressed together)
• once you release the air that  is inside your mouth, move your tongue to /l/ position (tip touching the small circle behind your upper front teeth)

/BR/

• the same as above, start with the /b/ position
• release the air and at the same time, move your tongue and lips to /r/ position

review your r and l mouth positions here 

Ready for the drills?

bl                     br

bloom             broom

bling                 bring

blown            brown

bleed               breed

/bl/

1. The black boot is the black boot black's property.

2. Blooming flowers blazed under the blue sky.

3. Blend the blown balloons with the blue crayons.

/br/

1. Bright brown brats are back.

2. Breezy bright days are best.

3. Bring me the broom from the broom closet.

TONGUE TWISTER

Ring me when you've got the bling that you're gonna bring,
And you know you gotta ring me so I can let you in with the bling that you're bringing to my bling bringing party, you gotta give me a ring!

Tongue Twister credit: http://allpoetry.com/poem/1489287-Bl-Br-ing----a-tongue-twist-wbr-er--by-Autumn_Whisper

CL/KL and CR/KR Drills

CL/KL and CR/KR Drills

This is one of the easiest pairs of consonant sound clusters to practice. Please review your L and R Drills here.

Now, let's get directly into the practice session. Ready? Go!

CL/KL                      CR/KR

clean                         cream

clear                          creed

click                          crick

clue                          crew

claim                         crime

CL/KL

1. Close the clip bags and clamp them shut.
2. Clever clerk classes climb up the mountain.
3. The clown club clones the clover leaves.
4. The cleft made him cling to the clipped rock.

CR/KR

1.The crazy crowd crashed through the croplands.
2. The critical crime problem crowned the city.
3. The crane cried when the crow crashed into its nest.
4. The credit crisis worried the cream of the crop.

TONGUE TWISTERS

The cat crept into the crypt, clipped the clinging moss, and crept out.

The cat climbed and clambered up the wall then crumbs fell out.

FL and FR Drills

FL and FR drills

We've already covered the pronunciation of /f/, so just visit this link if you need to review. Also, check your /r/ and /l/ pronunciation here.

The main thing you must remember when you are making the /f/ sound is that your lips must move into that position before you move your tongue to either /l/ or /r/. That said, on to the drills!

Drills

/fl/            /fr/

fly          fry

flame     frame

fleece    freeze

flee        free

/fl/

1. I flipped the flapjacks into the flames.
2. Flee the seven flies flying after you.
3. Flowers are flooding into the flattering vases.

/fr/

1. Free fries for free taste tests.
2. Freeze the fried frame of bacon.
3. Frantic frogs froze on the road.

Tongue Twister

Few free fruit flies fly from flames.

From flames do fly few free fruit flies.

If few free fruit flies fly, 

How can we fry free fruit flies with flames?