{r}, {sh} and {th} sounds

{r} Sound
It is easy to confuse /r/ and /l/ in English.

However, it is also easy to learn how to make

the two different sounds.

{r} Sound Illustration

Your tongue should not touch the top of your mouth. It should be bunched up towards the back of your mouth with the tip

pointing towards the top of your mouth (BUT NOT TOUCHING!). We do NOT move our tongue while making the American /r/ sound. Your lips should also be round when you say /r/, like you are getting ready to kiss someone.

Minimal Pairs
ray reed lay lead way weed fire steer file steel marrow crew mellow clue

rain rash
rind rest

lain lash
wind lest

wane

tear trier
pyre

teal trial
pile

bereave berated

believe belated

Challenging Words
rhyme care ear ire wary ritual retrieving irrelevant

rail rare
roar roll war strip

wire flare
hair arrow really heirloom

ogre peril
wristwatch infringe rowing

relentless rollover
labyrinth occurrence

Dialogue

Teacher: What's wrong? Student: Nothing. Just rehearsing my lines. Teacher : What for? Are you performing in a play? Student : It's called "The Grapes of Wrath." Teacher : Never heard of it. Student : Really? It's the most popular play around. Teacher : Are you memorizing or just trying to remember? Teacher: I'm trying to concentrate. Student: Sorry.

Oral Reading
Dear Laura: You're probably wondering why I'm writing this letter so hurriedly. My trip to Europe has been a real treasure. Yesterday, I boarded a train for the southern area of Germany. Ever since we crossed the Rhine River, it's been a series of rolling hills and breath-taking views. The Bavarian Forest is right out of a fairy tale. Tomorrow we head for Switzerland. Can't wait for the roller coaster journey across the Alps. Well, I'd better get this card in the mail. See you in Ireland! Sincerely yours, Roland

Tongue Twisters
Rubber baby buggy bumpers, Rubber baby buggy bumpers, Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Raleigh, are you already ready? Are you really ready, Raleigh? Raleigh's really ready, Riley. Riley, Raleigh's already ready!

Red lorry, yellow lorry Red lorry, yellow lorry Red lorry, yellow lorry

{sh} Sound
The sh sound is unvoiced (the vocal cords do not vibrate during its production), and is the counterpart to the voiced zh sound.

{sh} Sound Illustration

 To create the sh sound, air is forced between a wide

groove in the center of the front of the tongue and the back of the tooth ridge. The sides of the blade of the tongue may touch the side teeth. The lips are kept slightly tense, and may protrude somewhat during the production of the sound.

Minimal Pairs
shoe she shear ship shack shin shell chew chi cheer chip Jack chin gel Jew gee jeer yip yak gin yell witch watching catch much leash lashing wish washing cash mush leech latches

SH words

Sh Story

Tongue Twisters

I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.

Fisherman Fisher
There was a fisherman named Fisher who fished for some fish in a fissure. Till a fish with a grin, pulled the fisherman in. Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.

Th sounds in English
There are actually two different "th" sounds in English.
The voiceless "th" sound

It is made by putting the tongue between or just behind the teeth. The tongue presses and then moves away. The tongue is thickly pressed for a moment--the sound should not be the same as D.
The voiced th sound

It vibrates a little bit. It is mostly used in common words, and the tongue is in the same position as voiceless th

{th} Sound Illustration

Minimal Pairs Voiceless th

thin thick sin sick fin tick myth path mitt pat ether wreath eater reef

thank thought
think

sank sought
sink

tank sought

forth taught

fort fought

Challenging Words
thief theft ruthless threaten Thanksgiving thermodynamic threshold arithmetic

thorn thrice
thrust broth

mammoth monthly
apothecary withdraw

mathematics parenthetical
thrifty

parentheses wrath
health

Dialogue
A: When's Thanksgiving?
B: It's on a Thursday in November. A: The third Thursday or the fourth?

B: I think it's the fourth.

A: That would be the twenty-fifth. B: No, it's the twenty-sixth. A: Thanks.

Oral Reading
If you think you're safe from thievery, think again. Most thefts occur within three miles of the victim's home. People often venture into the streets without giving their valuables a second thought. They leave things out in the open, where thieves can easily spot them. Items worth thousands of dollars can be stolen in a tenth of a second. So be thoughtful. Only you can thwart this terrible crime. Watch your things carefully. Thieves do.

Minimal Pairs: Voiced "th

thee then that they day lay Dee den Lee zen bathe breathe teethe writhe bade breed tease ride other father udder fodder

there
though

dare
dough

lair
low

loathe

load

Challenging Words
feather zither the they rhythm rhythmic thereupon therewith

lather
rather

theirs
they've

therefore

Oral Reading
Even though my father is a weatherman, he can't predict with absolute certainty whether it will rain or not. Neither can the other people who work with him. They say there's only a thirty per cent chance of rain, and the next thing you know, it's pouring. They predict snow, and there's nothing for another five days. Then, there's a blizzard. So rather than trust my father's weather forecasts, I use a more reasonable approach. I ask my mother.

Tongue Twisters
Something in a thirty-acre thermal thicket of thorns and thistles thumped and thundered threatening the three-D thoughts of Matthew the thug - although, theatrically, it was only the thirteen-thousand thistles and thorns through the underneath of his thigh that the thirty year old thug thought of that morning.

Six thick thistle sticks Six thick thistle sticks Six thick thistle sticks