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Improve your pronunciation | Season 2
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Transcript
(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)
Hi. I’m Janice Petersen from SBS World News and I’m here to help you improve your English pronunciation
Every day, when reporting the news, I need to be very aware about how I pronounce words. Even if you practise just a little bit each day it can help
This short lesson is only about 5 minutes so you can easily fit it into your day… perhaps on your lunch break
Because I can get very busy at work, I usually bring my lunch. Sometimes I’ll bring fried rice that I’ve cooked the night before, and sometimes, if I’m really busy, I’ll just have a vegemite sandwich
Do you like vegemite? Or fried rice? Or, like me, you might love to eat both! Vegemite and fried rice are also great examples of the sounds /r/ and /v/
Today we are going to practise these sounds with a poem. The first two lines are usually used to make a love poem. So, I think they fit well with things I love to eat. Have a listenRoses are red
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I love vegemite
And fried rice too
Did you know that /r/ and /v/ are some of the most mispronounced sounds
This is because some languages like Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese don’t have the /v/ sound. And Turkish has three varieties of the letter R [ar] that are all different to /r/
Let’s start by comparing the sounds in these word pairs
- Ran van
- Rest vest
- Real veal
- Rote vote
- Rain vain
Can you hear the difference
Now, let’s work on how to pronounce these sounds. Start by imagining a pirate - arrrrr
When you make this sound, the sides of the back of your tongue should touch your bottom back teeth, and the tip of your tongue should be slightly curved but not touching your mouth or teeth. Your lips should be relaxed and slightly open
Have a try
- Rrrrrr
- Ran
- Rest
- Real
The /v/ sound is made differently. Pretend you are biting your bottom lip and force the air out
Have a go holding this sound for a few seconds and humming like a bee: vvvvv. Let’s try together
- Van
- Vest
- Veal
Both the /r/ and the /v/ sound are voiced, so if you put your hand on your throat, you’ll feel it vibrating
Try putting your hand on your throat and saying both sounds: Rrrrrr vvvvvv. Can you feel the different vibrations they make
Let’s have a go practicing these sounds in the word pairs
- Ran van
- Rest vest
- Real veal
- Rote vote
- Rain vain
((Option 1: )) Who is with us today? ((Students answer)) OK, everyone, let's hear the poem
((Option 2: )) OK, today we are visiting the Mosman Council Conversation Class. Let’s hear from them
Students
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I love vegemite
And fried rice too
They did well, didn’t they
Great work! You’ve just learnt and practised the difference between the /r/ and /v/ sounds
I’m off to have lunch now… this lesson has made me hungry
CREDITS
Thanks to our educational consultant, Natalie Oostergo from IES College and learners from the Mosman Council Conversation Class
