Click phonemes to hear examples!
To practice identifying phonemes in words, try these minimal pair exercises:
Indonesian students of English are lucky in that the sounds of their language are quite close to the sounds of English. However, here is a song that focuses on two pronunciation features that are rare in Bahasa Indonesia: Continue reading
In minimal pair activity we listen to the difference between Sue and ‘shoe’, and maybe learn how to say “Sue’s shoe!” Continue reading
Comparing the short /e/, and the diphthong /eɪ/. Click or touch the sound you hear! Continue reading
In this activity we practice recognising the short ‘a’ and the short ‘e’ in minimal pairs. Click or touch the sound you hear! Continue reading
Q:What did the bean say to the bin?
A: How’ve you been?
In this activity we practice recognising short and long ‘i’ sounds in minimal pairs. Click or touch the sound you hear! Continue reading
A minimal pair is two words that sound the same except for one sound. Can you recognise which of two words is being spoken? Have a go! Continue reading
A little game to let you practice listening to and producing the sounds of English!
I’m very busy during the week, but at weekends I go out with my colleges.
This was something I overheard someone say, although I sometimes see the same error in writing. Mostly it’s a pronunciation problem that influences written form.
There’s a world of difference between colleges and colleagues:
A student out for a walk with his colleges(!)
Whoever you are, and wherever you are, you’re extremely unlikely to go out with your colleges! What you mean is:
But even here there’s a problem. English native speakers are unlikely to refer to the people they study with as colleagues. If the context is education, then a native speaker is more likely to use the following:
If you go out with colleagues, you are going out with the people you work with, and not the people you study with! If you are hanging out with college colleagues then you are probably a teacher or professor hanging out with fellow teachers or professors!
Note! I’m still working on the algorithm and I’d very much appreciate your feedback on how it’s working so far! Please leave comments in the comments box at the bottom of this page.
Indonesian students are used to separating – when they speak Indonesian – every single syllable, and therefore every single word, so that the boundaries between words are always easy to identify. Unfortunately, native English speakers try where possible to join words together in speech, making the boundaries between words less obvious.
Indonesians are aware that they can still communicate well in English without linking words the way English native speakers do. However, forcing yourself to link words has at least two important advantages:
Linkin’ text highlights 4 link types: