1. Mini Lesson about /ε/ and /ae/
APLNG 410
Teaching Pronunciation
October 8, 2008
Youngsook Song and Jennifer Miller
Audience: 5th and 6th grade children
in an ESL classroom
(But the lesson is adaptable for any age)

2. /ε/ and /ae/

3. /ε/ and /ae/

4. Minimal Pairs /ε/ /ae/ dead dad dense dance said sad mess mass end and
left
laughed
pet
pat
better
batter

5. Which sound most frequently occurs in this conversation?
Let’s have a chat about that cat.
My cat?
Yes…em…it’s too fat.
Well, it is a bit fat. But it’s…mm…a very happy cat! 
Pair Practice

6. /ε/ pen------------- /ae/ pan
Listen and Respond
/ε/ pen /ae/ pan
This ________ leaks.
Don’t write with it.
Don’t cook with it.
Practice 1

7. /ε/ letter------------- /ae/ ladder
Listen and Respond
/ε/ letter /ae/ ladder
Where is the ________ ?
Do you want to mail it?
Do you want to climb it?
Practice 2

8. Listen and Respond /ε/ pedal------------- /ae/ paddle
They had to ________ the boat.
with their legs
with their arms
Practice 3

9. /ε/ begged------------- /ae/ bagged
Listen and Respond
/ε/ begged /ae/ bagged
He ________ a lot.
asked for money
put groceries in bags
Practice 4

10. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫
Tasks
1. Listen to the song and
write down the words
including /ε/ and /ae/ sounds.
2. How many times
does each sound appear?

11. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

12. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

13. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

14. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

15. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

16. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

17. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

18. Mary Had a Little Lamb ♫♫

19. Activity Answer Key Mary Had a Little Lamb Little Lamb, Little Lamb
It’s fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The Lamb was sure to go
/ae/ = 3
/ae/ = 2
/ae/ = 1
/ae/ = 4 /ε/ = 2
/ae/ = 2 /ε/ = 2
/ae/ = 3 /ε/ = 2
Total /ae/ = 19 Total /ε/ = 6

20. Let’s sing along! ♫♫

21. Charades Game Directions: Form groups of 4-5 people each.
Each group should nominate a person to go up front and pick
a word to act out.
That person should return to their group and act it out for their
team.
They may tell their team the topic word.
Whichever team guesses the acted word first wins.
(This game could go on and on, but will be short, due to the time
limit of our lesson.)