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Writer's pictureIneka Estabrook
Apr 16, 20201 min read

Pronounce /p/ in pet and /b/ in bet

Updated: Dec 6, 2020


The /p/ and /b/ sounds are formed with the same mouth position. The /p/ is unvoiced, only air passes through your mouth. The /b/ is voiced, meaning the vocal cords are making a sound. In both /p/ and /b/ the lips press together to stop the airflow and then open to release it.

 

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Practice Reading:

Bill always took his tiny pug pup, Penny, to the pub with him every time he went. Penny was a good pug and always sat under Bill’s chair with a cup of water to sip. Bill sipped his own beer and bored his poor buddies with base jokes and dumb puns. He liked to play pranks on his buddies, too, pulling the chair out from beneath them and such. One day his buddies decided to turn the tables on Bill. They slipped Penny out the back of the pub while Bill wasn’t looking. When Bill got ready to go, he couldn't find Penny, which frightened him out of his wits. Bill’s buddies got a good laugh out of it.




More Practice with /b/:


#/b/soundPracticeReadingForAdults #/p/and/b/WordPairs #DifferenceBetween/p/and/b/ #/p/and/b/MinimalWordPairs #PetBet #P #p #B #b

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Writer's pictureIneka Estabrook
Apr 16, 20201 min read

Pronounce /ʊ/ in bull

Updated: Jul 28, 2020


How to make the /ʊ/ sound:


The /ʊ/ in bull is a short sound. Your mouth is relaxed, your lips are only slightly rounded, your tongue is high in the back of your mouth. Imagine a hot potato in the back of your mouth and you don’t want anything to touch i




 

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Practice Reading:

Brook was sitting outside on a cushioned wooden bench next to the flowering bush in her front yard. She had been reading a good book and couldn’t put it down, but she’d been distracted by a sound. It was the bellow of a bull in the field below. She stood up and saw that a wolf had sneaked into the pasture. A calf shook in fear as the bull stood his ground and wouldn’t let the wolf near the calf. The wolf attacked, trying to push past the bull, but the bull kicked it with a cloven hoof, driving the wolf back into the bush. Brook couldn’t look away—all that drama took less than a minute. Wow, she thought, that is one good bull.


More practice with U:


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Writer's pictureIneka Estabrook
Apr 16, 20202 min read

Pronounce /rθ/ in Earth and /θr/ in three

Updated: Dec 6, 2020

Two difficult sound in a row! You can do it.


How to make the /θr/ and /rθ/sounds:

Tom make the /θr/, place the tongue lightly on the bottom of the top teeth for th. After blowing your air through, retract your tongue into the shape of the /r/. The sides of your tongue touch the sides of your upper teeth and forms a bowl shape while the tip of your tongue touches nothing at all. To make the /rθ/, just reverse the order.

 

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Practice Reading:

There were three days before Christmas and we were driving north to the Netherlands to visit my father and mother. My brother and his family were going to be there, too. I was thrilled to be seeing everyone, but I had a sore throat and felt under the weather. My children and I packed up the car and headed off for the three hour drive. As soon as we left the house, my son started up, “Are we there yet? I need to go to the bathroom.” My daughter was poking her brother. Very quickly, I wanted to throw everyone out of the window and go by myself, but I kept my temper. When we finally got there, my mother had decorated the hearth with candles, garlands of greenery, and there were three Christmas trees. The drive was worth it and I was so glad to be there together with all of my family.

More practice with /r/ and /th/:





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