This is an UNVOICED sound which means Your Vocal Cords DO
NOT vibrate when making the sound.
You CANNOT
LISTEN to your Vocal Cords vibrating if you cover
your ears with your hands.
Try covering your ears with your hands as Akiko is doing in
the picture.
Now make the sound of this lesson. You cannot listen to your vocal cords vibrating.
VERY GOOD
You
CANNOT FEEL your Vocal Cords vibrating if
you place your hands on your neck.
Try placing your hands on your neck as Akiko is doing in the
picture.
Now make the sound of this lesson. You cannot feel your vocal
cords vibrating.
VERY GOOD
The following diagram shows the most important parts of your
head and mouth used for pronouncing the sounds of English.
It also shows the location of your Vocal Cords.
Mouth, lips,
and tongue position
The following descriptions explain the proper mouth, lips,
and tongue position when you make this sound.
Mouth
Your
mouth releases air continuously.
Lips
Your upper teeth touch your lower lip.
Tongue
The front part of your tongue should be in the center part of your
mouth.
Practice video
Watch the following video and
practice pronouncing this sound.
Listen to the video and practice repeating each word.
Pronunciation practice words
Look at your mouth in a mirror and practice pronouncing
the following words. Make sure your mouth, lips, and
tongue are in their proper positions.
phase
front
fast
fan
fairy
phrase
feel
awful
surfing
belief
proof
laughter
Note: the red letters all
have the same sound (watch the video above)
Pronunciation word test
Try saying the following tongue twisters as quickly as
possible.
I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant
plucker's mate, and I'm only plucking pheasants 'cause the
pheasant plucker's late. I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the
pheasant plucker's son, and I'm only plucking pheasants Till the
pheasant pluckers come.
One smart fellow, he felt smart. Two smart
fellows, they felt smart. Three smart fellows, they all felt
smart.
Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.
A flea and a fly flew up in a flue. Said the
flea, "Let us fly!" Said the fly, "Let us flee!" So they flew
through a flaw in the flue.
Fat frogs flying past fast.
Flee from fog to fight flu fast!
Of all the felt I ever felt, I never felt a
piece of felt which felt as fine as that felt felt, when first I
felt that felt hat's felt.
Learn the sounds of vowel and consonant combinations.
Match the vowels (A,E,I,O,U) with the consonants
(B,D,G,M,N,P,R,T,W,Y) to form words with the same
sounds. Pictures included to make understanding easier.
Great pages for kids.
Learn to correctly pronounce difficult world places and
names in the news. Each country page shows the English
spelling and the phonetic spelling of difficult to
pronounce words in the news from that country. This is
very important if you want to discuss the news and other
issues with native English speakers.
More Pronunciation Information
Are You How You Talk?
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of American dialects.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page.
Are You How You Talk?
(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
help with your understanding of American dialects. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
audio program.
Improve Your Pronunciation by Training Your
Ears
(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
help with your
pronunciation and English language
reductions. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed. Great English pronunciation tips.
Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
audio program.
You CANNOT
LISTEN to your Vocal Cords vibrating if you cover
your ears with your hands.
You
CANNOT FEEL your Vocal Cords vibrating if
you place your hands on your neck.
Mouth
Lips
Tongue
