1. USING THE IPA EFFECTIVELY
OPEN TUTORING SESSION
PRONUNCIATION
USING THE IPA EFFECTIVELY

2. Objectives
Talk about the IPA in order to get familiar with its symbols.
Identify the most important differences between the phonetic systems of Spanish and English and spot the most difficult English sounds for Spanish speakers
Get familiar with some resources that are available to practice pronunciation

3. In your experience… /θ/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /Ʒ/ …what is the IPA?
…have you ever had any problem while pronouncing some sounds in English? Which ones?
…do you recognize or know which sound is represented by any of the following symbols?
/ʃ/ /ɔ/
/θ/ /æ/
/ʌ/ /Ʒ/

4. IPA
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an international system created to represent sounds of any spoken language. It contains letters of the alphabet that you already know, as wel as some others that do not exist.
Consonants
[b], [d], [f], [ɡ], [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [s], [t], [v], [z].
Vowels
[a], [e], [i], [o], [u].

5. Consonants

6. Strategy Try to learn the correct way to pronounce and draw the symbols that are different from the normal written letters.
/ʃ /
Shirt, passion
/Ʒ/
Usual, vision
/θ/
Thanks, think
/ŋ/
Ring, sink
/ð/
That, brother
/ʧ/
Future, teacher
/ʤ/
Jet, biology

7. Exercise Practice the pronunciation of these words with the sounds
/ʃ/ /ʒ/ /ʤ/ /ʧ/ /ð/ /θ/ /j/
Pleasure
Profession
Teacher
Magic
Yesterday
Think
Brother
/ˈple ʒər/
/prə ˈfe ʃən/
/ˈti: ʧər/
/ˈmæ ʤɪk/
/ˈjes tər deɪ/
/θɪŋk/
/ˈbrʌ ðər/

8. Exercise Find the phonetic transcription of the following words and then practice their pronunciation of sounds /ʧ/, /ʤ/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ŋ/, /θ/ and /ð/
Measure
Nation
Bathtub
There
Tongue
Age
Question
Lawyer
/ˈme ʒər/
/ˈneɪ ʃən/
/ˈbæθ tʌb/
/ðer/
/tʌŋ/
/eɪʤ/
/ˈkwes ʧən/
/ˈlɔ: jər/

9. Vowel Sounds
[a], [e], [i], [o], [u]

10. Strategy Try to learn the correct way to pronounce and draw the symbols that are different to the normal written letters.
/ʊ /
book good
/ɪ /
in his
/ə/
the about
/ɜ/
birthday first
/ɔ/
board door
/æ/
thanks bag
/ʌ/
but ugly

11. Exercise Practice the pronunciation of these words with the sounds /ə/ /ɔ/ /ʌ/ /æ/ /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ɜ/
Woman
Sofa
Butter
Map
Third
Tall
Building
/ˈwʊ mən/
/ˈsoʊ fə/
/ˈbʌ tər/
/mæp/
/θɜ:rd/
/tɔ:l/
/ˈbɪl dɪŋ/

12. /fʊl/ /hæv/ /drɔ:/ /ɪn ˈte lə dʒənt/ /ˈkʌ zən/ /ˈʌn dər/ /ˈθɜrz deɪ/
Exercise Find the phonetic transcription of the following words and then practice their pronunciation of sounds /ə ɔ ʌ æ ɪ ʊ ɜ/
Full
Have
Draw
Intelligent
Cousin
Under
Thursday
/fʊl/
/hæv/
/drɔ:/
/ɪn ˈte lə dʒənt/
/ˈkʌ zən/
/ˈʌn dər/
/ˈθɜrz deɪ/

13. Tongue Twisters - Black back bat.
- I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop where she sits
she shines, and where she shines she sits.
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

14. Why is the use of the IPA necessary?
IPA makes the learning of pronunciation easier
IPA allows learners to work autonomously on pronunciation
IPA makes the association of words with the same pronunciation easier: to, two, too /tu/
IPA allows the differentiation of words with similar endings: thought /θɔt/, though /ðoʊ/, tough /tʌf/ and through /θru/.

15. Suggestions
Identify the sound and the phonetic symbol that represents it.
Practice the pronunciation of the sounds whose symbols are different from the alphabet letters. Remember to pay special attention to the position of the lips and the tongue as well as the amount of air that is needed to produce the sounds.
Use the IPA every day to prepare the new vocabulary you may encounter in the following lesson. Choose at least 5 words daily.

16. Useful Resources

19. By learning to use the IPA, I will understand that:
As I learn new vocabulary, it is important that I get familiar with its pronunciation.  
Minor changes in pronunciation can alter meanings significantly.  
There are sounds especially difficult for Hispanics since they are not present in their native language.   
I can find patterns that can help me understand how to pronounce certain words.  
This strategy is there to help you. Using the online tools will facilitate understanding of it.  

20. Thanks