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