If I had half a brain I would record all these common mistakes and analyze them! Snake and snack often get confused. They frequently sound like the same word! They can usually produce correctly when you point out the different sounds /eɪk/ and /æk/ So is it the spelling that confuses them or not hearing the difference?
That's a great idea! There's a lot already online that might help you make a systematized effort at it. From what I've read, snack/snake seems to be a common problem - on youtube there are Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. that struggle with the difference. From what I can tell, it might have something to do with how subtly different the mouth movements are - it's easy to slip into a halfway version and split the difference - especially if you get a little lazy. I have that problem all the time with my Vietnamese. I can make the correct sounds, but sometimes I'm not 100% sure or I get overwhelmed in a sentence and things fall apart. I might try a minimal pairs game with snack/snake, too. Try putting in a few other challenging word pairs. Create a word cloud/picture cloud handout. Have students play in groups of 3. One student speaks, the others point at the correct picture. Whoever is fastest and correct gets to speak next. If you want to keep them 100% honest, make up word cards that they draw from - they have to say that word and show it to classmates, too.
Top-notch as ever ;-) Some consonant combinations with S are tricky for them too "STS" "TS" "KS" etc they have to learn how to make the "Unnatural" changes in the position of the mouth, tongue, etc
@@StarTeacherTraining Basically repeatedly making the sound myself in front of the mirror and being able to simply describe and demonstrate the sound and "Mechanics" of the mouth/tongue/etc action to the Ss. So "TS" The tip of the tongue touches the bottom of the top teeth momentarily for "T" then retracts to make the sibilant "S" sound by blowing out. Then rinse repeat for any other problematic sounds
I recommend Adrian Underhill for a more in-depth understanding www.adrianunderhill.com/2020/01/08/pronunciation-methodology-fails-in-several-respects-it-is-over-reliant-on-repetition-treats-pronunciation-as-a-cognitive-rather-than-physical-activity-and-is-linear-rather-than-holistic/
The other mistake that used to confuse me was the random confusion between "S" and "SH" they don't really seem to understand that the "S" sound is lips pulled back to the teeth, mouth wide but narrow and "SH" is lips pursed, small round and pushed forward. Ask your Ss if they like Japanese food, half of them will really or maybe very like Shushi! With this sound and others, you can get them to put a finger or fingers on the corners of the mouth so their brain kinda realizes what the mouth shape is and one finger on the lips to feel them going forward for "SH"
One of the other things I do is to model the mouth shapes, sometimes exaggerating them and then give them a small mirror to see themselves, right sound and shape simultaneously. Try saying Sushi when your lips are left static in the "SH" sound position!
That's a great idea! I hear some teachers with smaller classes get their students to do the same with their smartphones on selfie mode. Not sure that'd work in a large class setting, though... haha
If I had half a brain I would record all these common mistakes and analyze them!
Snake and snack often get confused. They frequently sound like the same word! They can usually produce correctly when you point out the different sounds /eɪk/ and /æk/
So is it the spelling that confuses them or not hearing the difference?
That's a great idea! There's a lot already online that might help you make a systematized effort at it.
From what I've read, snack/snake seems to be a common problem - on youtube there are Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. that struggle with the difference. From what I can tell, it might have something to do with how subtly different the mouth movements are - it's easy to slip into a halfway version and split the difference - especially if you get a little lazy. I have that problem all the time with my Vietnamese. I can make the correct sounds, but sometimes I'm not 100% sure or I get overwhelmed in a sentence and things fall apart.
I might try a minimal pairs game with snack/snake, too. Try putting in a few other challenging word pairs. Create a word cloud/picture cloud handout. Have students play in groups of 3. One student speaks, the others point at the correct picture. Whoever is fastest and correct gets to speak next. If you want to keep them 100% honest, make up word cards that they draw from - they have to say that word and show it to classmates, too.
Top-notch as ever ;-)
Some consonant combinations with S are tricky for them too "STS" "TS" "KS" etc they have to learn how to make the "Unnatural" changes in the position of the mouth, tongue, etc
thanks robert mooney! What techniques do you use to help your students learn the mouth/tongue positioning? :)
@@StarTeacherTraining Basically repeatedly making the sound myself in front of the mirror and being able to simply describe and demonstrate the sound and "Mechanics" of the mouth/tongue/etc action to the Ss.
So "TS"
The tip of the tongue touches the bottom of the top teeth momentarily for "T" then retracts to make the sibilant "S" sound by blowing out.
Then rinse repeat for any other problematic sounds
I recommend Adrian Underhill for a more in-depth understanding
www.adrianunderhill.com/2020/01/08/pronunciation-methodology-fails-in-several-respects-it-is-over-reliant-on-repetition-treats-pronunciation-as-a-cognitive-rather-than-physical-activity-and-is-linear-rather-than-holistic/
The other mistake that used to confuse me was the random confusion between "S" and "SH" they don't really seem to understand that the "S" sound is lips pulled back to the teeth, mouth wide but narrow and "SH" is lips pursed, small round and pushed forward.
Ask your Ss if they like Japanese food, half of them will really or maybe very like Shushi!
With this sound and others, you can get them to put a finger or fingers on the corners of the mouth so their brain kinda realizes what the mouth shape is and one finger on the lips to feel them going forward for "SH"
@@ziggyA1001 great tips! thanks for sharing robert. :)
One of the other things I do is to model the mouth shapes, sometimes exaggerating them and then give them a small mirror to see themselves, right sound and shape simultaneously.
Try saying Sushi when your lips are left static in the "SH" sound position!
That's a great idea! I hear some teachers with smaller classes get their students to do the same with their smartphones on selfie mode.
Not sure that'd work in a large class setting, though... haha