A Commonly Mispronounced sound you can Master today

This lesson will help you master the American English /th/ sound. We'll take you through the process from learning how to make it to incorporating the new sound into conversation.  Lots of people have difficulty with this particular sound and we want you to master it. 

Did you know that you can make changes in your speech by practicing only five minutes a day?  That's right!  Spend time in practice and awareness of speech for five minutes a day, and your speech will change, too.  Give yourself several weeks to master the sound.  You may need to consciously do some "touch-ups" after you have learned the sound, but it won't take long to say it right again.

Same or Different:

For this exercise, listen to the word pairs on the recording.  Can you hear the difference between the words?  Write same or different in your workbook (pg 3).  Check your answers at the end of the workbook (pg 12).  If you got any wrong, please stay here and listen again before moving on.

Compare and Contrast /th/:

Compare and contrast these word pairs.  Say the following word lists to contrast the /th/ with commonly substituted words/sounds. (pg 4).  

/th/ in the beginning, middle and ends of words:

Say each list of words, both voiced and voiceless in all positions.  Listen to the recording and imitate what you hear.  Use your hand-out to follow along (pp 5-8).

/th/ loaded paragraphs:

As your practice becomes more complex, we introduce more complex tasks to complete.  In this lesson, you will be reading sound-loaded paragraphs. Read the paragraphs in your hand-out.  Repeat them as often as possible.  Listen to them being read out loud, too.

/th/ in conversation:

After reading exercises, comes practice of using your target sounds in conversation.  Start with easy low-stakes conversations and incorporate these words into your speech.  Make up sentences you would use in conversation.  Here are some common words you may use with the /th/ sound:

These, those, them, there, the, father, mother Think, thank, thought, through The

What are other /th/ words that you use frequently?  Write them in your booklet and make up sentences you might use.  Intentionally, incorporate those sentences into your conversation as often as possible.  Be intentional with your practice so that you can notice yourself using /th/ words.  If you were to notice 10 times a day for short periods, then you are accomplishing the awareness that is needed.  Don't worry if you didn't practice correctly, just notice that you practiced!  You'll probably make the sound correctly next time.

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