Recognizing Difficulties of English Pronunciation and How to Teach Them Gabrielle Martineau

What do we do? Speak louder “Just watch me” “Practice in front of the mirror” “Watch YouTube videos”

Things we should do Use paper for /p/ and /b/ Fingers on the throat for /f/ and /v/ Puppets/molds for /l/ and /r/

Arabic Speakers /p/ and /b/ Cannot hear the difference Lips/Air Review all vowel sounds /k/ combined with /p/ such as backpack

Asian Speakers /l/ and /r/ Cannot hear the difference Difficulty with tongue positioning Show using puppet that the tongue will curl downward or upward

/r/ TIPS Have the students bite the sides of their tongues so they can be more aware of where they are Anchor the tongue on their top back molars When doing the /l/ sound the tongue will have to move from the molars This can also be used for the r-colored words such as sistER, fIRst & lEARn

/l/ Tips Tip of tongue is on ridge of teeth Sides of tongue should not touch teeth Rounded /lw/ should have rounded lips (Look) Unrounded /l/ should have pursed lips (like) Voiceless /l/ should have relaxed lips (please)

Tests for /l/ Ask the student to feel the bump behind their teeth Feel tongue as it moves Use a ribbon Have the student put a ribbon on their tongue. When the student puts their tongue to their teeth have them pull on the ends of the ribbon to allow airflow.

Do they hear it? The students may be able to make to make the noise only once in a while They may switch back and forth between the two sounds

My go to resources Eliciting Sounds Techniques and Strategies for Clinicians 2nd Edition Wayne A. Secord, Suzanne E. Boyce, JoAnn S. Donohue, Robert A. Fox & Richard E. Shine Teaching American English Pronunciation Peter Avery & Susan Ehrlich

Questions? Gabrielle Martineau Gabrielle.martineau@maine.edu