The following series of pronunciation exercises combines words beginning with the same diphthong sound followed by similar diphthong sounds. Voiced and voiceless consonants are paired (b - voiced / p - voiceless, d - voiced / t - voiceless, etc.) to help students compare and contrast similar consonant formation.
- Repeat each line slowly, listen for the minor differences between the vowel and consonant sounds.
- Repeat each line three times. Each time repeat more quickly trying to keep the sounds distinct.
- Find a partner and listen to each other repeat the lines.
- Try to invent sentences using each sound at least once. For example: The Pope went to the pow-wow and was very poised. - Don't worry too much about the sentence making much sense!
| 'ou' as in 'home' | 'ow' as in 'house' | 'oi' as in 'boy' |
| bowl | bow | boy |
| Pope | pow-wow | poise |
| don't | Dow | doily |
| toe | towel | toy |
| go | gouge | goiter |
| cope | cow | coy |
| soap | sour | soy sauce |
| zone | zowie! | (none) |
| show | shower | (none) |
| Jones | jowl | join |
| chose | ciao! | choice |
| home | howl | hoist |
Vowel Sounds
'eh' - as in 'let', 'ih' - as in 'hit', 'ee' - as in 'see', and 'ae'- as in 'cat'
'long ah' - as in 'car', 'short ah' - as in 'got'
'long uh' - as in 'put', 'short uh' - as in 'up', 'oo' - as in 'through'
Diphthong Sounds
'ay' - as in 'day', 'ai' - as in 'sky'
'ou' - as in 'home', 'ow' - as in 'mouse', 'oi' - as in 'boy'
'ieh(r)' - as in 'near', 'ehi(r)' - as in 'hair'
