Speech Sounds
Transcription Worksheets
Speech Sounds - Consonants
Practice by reading aloud
Listen, understand and speak along
Speech Sounds - Monophthongs, Diphthongs
Practice by reading out loud
Listen, understand and speak along
Listen, understand and speak along
Examples for Consonants, Monophthongs (Vowels), Diphthongs
Transcription Worksheets - Try it out
Some difficult sounds for speakers of English - /ə/
This is the most frequent vowel sound in spoken English, which can also represent several letters or syllables. It can be found in unstressed function words such as
a, am, an, but, can, of;
in prefixes and suffixes such as in-, suc-, to-, ad-, -ible, -able, -ment;
in words such as according, lemon, minute, purpose, second etc.
Write the /ə/ sound in the following sentences.
1. We went to the theatre yesterday.
2. He can speak Russian and German.
3. Susan is famous for her Christmas cake.
4. The pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary are difficult.
5. We could ask them if they have reached a decision.
Another difficult sound to reproduce: /ɜː/
Examples: world - /wɜːld/, third - /θɜːd/.
Exercise: Write the words that contain the /ɜː/ sound.
1. Thursday 2. Tuesday
3. birthday 4. ball
5. does 6. work
7. turn 8. hurt
9. skirt 10. ear
11. bun 12. early
13. short 14. nurse
15. weren't 16. ward
This poem illustrates the various English spelling complexities. Read it aloud.
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead, it's said like bed, not bead-
for goodness' sake don't call it 'deed'!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(they rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth, or brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there's doze and rose and lose-
Just look them up- and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart-
Come, I've hardly made a start!