Voiced and Voiceless (sometimes Unvoiced) describe the two different ways we can make sounds in our mouths.
The basic difference is this:
voiced sounds occur when the vocal chords vibrate
voiceless sounds occur when the vocal chords are still
An Example of Voiced & Unvoiced
The best way to explain this is with an example. Take these two words:
van – fan
To make both…
Pronunciation Snake is a simple game you can use to have your students practice particular pronunciations. It’s especially good for those problems that a particular class might have in similar sounds. It can be used with both words and single sounds.
For example, some students find it difficult to distinguish between the /b/ or /p/ sounds. This activity will help give them practice with this.
The…
Minimal Pairs are pairs of words (and sometimes phrases) which differ in their sound by just one element.
They are an incredibly useful tool in the TEFL teachers’ bag and if you haven’t started yet, you should learn about them and use them!
Mostly minimal pairs are used as pronunciation practice where the meaning of the word is not really important at all – it’s the…
