Here is a list of activities, games and teaching ideas which I used when teaching pronunciation at Damyang. Some may be higher level, they can be made simpler, and others are applicable to all levels of learners including workshops. Some have been seen here, so thanks to those contributors for the ideas, and others may be new.
Summary of Games and Activities
Pronunciation Race- Write various sounds on the board. Divide your class into teams and have them send one person to the front of the class. all out a sound and have the student, A) circle the correct sound on the board or B) hit the correct sound with a fly swatter. This can be use for minimal pairs.
Bell Game. Divide your class into teams and have them send one person to the front of the class. Give each member a bell. Next, show them a card with a sound on it. If they know the sound, tell them to ring their bell. If they are correct they get a point. If they are incorrect the other teams can answer the question and get a point.
Triple Echo, Quadruple Echo activity. Divide the class into groups. Have one student be the captain, or you can do it. Say a sound and have the first group repeat it like an echo, the second group then repeats it like an echo, the third, the fourth etc.... Change the sound and do it again.
Konglish sentences to reinforce simple grammar. - Have the students in groups come up with a list of Konglish words. The group with the biggest list of correct Konglish words can be the winner. To go a bit further, review how to make a simple sentence using a noun and verb. Next, the students can use their Konglish words to make sentences. You can offer a reward for the student who makes the best or funniest sentence using Konglish words. They will be surprised at how many words they can words they know and how many sentences they can make.
A-Z Konglish game. Give the students a sheet with A-Z written on it. You can out them in teams or have them work alone. Have them come up with as many words for each letter as they can. Give them one point per word. Next have them choose a word they think no one else has If it is unique they can get an additional 5 points. The individual/team with the most points is the winner.
Elastic vowels- When have students repeat vowel sounds. You can use an elastic and stretch to when you say longer stretched vowels like ee. The visual learners will have a chance to learn. Also works well for sustained sounds such as s and z. For example breeze, sustain the z and they can't add a jee.
Singing Sounds- If you are teaching a certain sound such as the short a sound, you can find a song that has a lot of that particular sound. Listen to the song and in particular that sound. The listening will be difficult. Next give the students a copy of the lyrics and have them find examples of that sound in the song. Go over all the sounds and listen to the song again. A good short a sound song is Yakkety Yak by the coasters.
Spitting Image- I work in a girls middle school so most of my students have a mirror. Now, have the students watch how you move your mouth when pronouncing a sound. Then have your students look in their mirror and try to make the sound. It will make it easier for them to make the sound and they will have a good laugh.
What's my phone number?
This activity can be used to practice other letters, pure vowels or consonants. Write 10 diphthongs sounds on the board with word examples. Give each word a number between 0-9. Review all the sounds. Tell the students your phone number using the sounds. The first student to get your number is the winner. Students can also take turns giving their number to the class or each other. Too make it more interesting, tell them it's your bank account number, they may get really excited.
Low 0 Loud 1 Lay 2 Lie 3 Loin 4 Leer 5 Lair 6 Lure 7 Lore 8 Alarm 9
Where's my minimal pair partner?Create enough minimal pair so that each student in your class can have one word. Cut the words on small pieces of paper. Give each student one. Have the students go around the class room introducing themselves with their minimal pair card. They must find the student with the matching minimal pair. This can be used to teach consonants minimal pairs such as pool/fool. Or for similar sounds such as hit/sit.
What's different? (minimal pairs)Great for the students to review pronunciation without worrying about making mistakes in front of the class. Create two different sheets, with similar minimal pair list. Student A will read the list to student B. Student B must indicate what words they thought were different. When student A finishes, student B can read his sheet to A. Student A and B should not see each others sheet. When they are finished they can look at each others sheet and see how well they did. This can be used for vowel sounds or consonants.
Tongue Twister Competition. Using the tongue twister sheet, go over some Korean tongue twisters first. The students can see you reading Korean and have a good laugh. This will make them more comfortable seeing you butcher their natural language.
Then you can have the students read some Korean ones, which will make them even more comfortable in class. Some of my students who never participated before did this and had fun.Go over the English tongue twisters focusing on pronunciation, clarity and accuracy.
Divide the class into groups and hand out a card with an English tongue twister on it to each group. Give them time to practice and then each group will present their twister to the class. The best group can win a prize.
Another idea is that you can have them write their own tongue twisters. They pick a letter or beginning sound for person or thing, verb, adjective and another person, place or thing. They can put these together in a sentence and they will have a tongue twister.
Alphabet Chant- Word Stress ActivityTeach students the chant,
slap, slap (slap the desks),clap, clap(your hands), snap, snap (your fingers), 2 beats of silence.
Do it three times and on the third time replace the silence with vocabulary or a word with the word stress indicated. You can do this as a group and then assign words to particular students. Fun rhythmic way to reinforce vocabulary.
Impersonating a Celebrities pronunciation- Impersonations can be done as a class. Students can impersonate famous people, like Jack Nicholson or Harry Potter, or they can impersonate teachers – always a fun activity! The idea is to have them take on a whole different identity and try out the pronunciation that goes with it. Often, your students will produce the best English pronunciation of their lives when impersonating someone else. Be sure to tape them for this as well, since it proves that they can use English pronunciation in a conversation or monologue.
