Practice exercises: Consonant identification, minimal pair drills

Practice Exercises: Consonant Identification and Minimal Pair Drills

Consonant Identification

Exercise 1: Listen and identify

Listen to the following words and identify the consonant sound at the beginning of each word:

  • Labial plosives: pen, bat, pop, bib
  • Dental/alveolar plosives: ten, dog, top, dad
  • Velar plosives: can, go, kick, gag
  • Labio-dental fricatives: fan, van, fish, vine
  • Interdental fricatives: think, then, bath, the
  • Alveolar fricatives: sun, zoo, sit, zip
  • Palatal-alveolar fricatives: ship, measure, shoe, vision
  • Affricates: cheap, jeep, chip, edge
  • Nasals: man, nan, sang, sing, bang
  • Liquids: late, light, love, red, ride, row
  • Glides: wet, win, want, yet, you, yellow

Exercise 2: Say the words aloud

Say each word aloud and try to pronounce the consonant sound correctly. Pay attention to the placement of your tongue and lips.

Minimal Pair Drills

Exercise 1: Identify the difference

Listen to the following pairs of words and identify the consonant sound that is different:

  • pin – bin
  • sit – zit
  • ship – zip
  • cheap – jeep
  • man – van
  • thin – then
  • sun – zun
  • late – late
  • wet – yet

Exercise 2: Say the pairs aloud

Say each pair of words aloud, focusing on the difference in pronunciation. Try to produce the correct consonant sound for each word.

Additional tips:

  • Record yourself: Record yourself saying the words and listen to the differences in pronunciation.
  • Find a language partner: Practice with a language partner to get feedback on your pronunciation.
  • Use online resources: There are many online resources available to help you practice your pronunciation.
See also  Articulatory features: Place, manner, and voicing of sounds

By practicing these exercises regularly, you can improve your ability to identify and produce English consonants accurately.

Syllabus for Pronunciation of English Language

You may also like...