PRONUNCIATION AND PHONETICS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS DEVELOPING LISTENING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

Аннотация

This article discusses effective activities for teaching minimal pairs or words that differ by only one sound essential for English as a Second Language (ESL) students aiming for pronunciation mastery. Recognizing and reproducing distinct sounds can be challenging for learners whose native languages do not differentiate these phonetic elements. By focusing on minimal pairs, these exercises not only improve pronunciation but also foster a dynamic learning environment where students can practice at their own pace while actively engaging with their peers. Keywords: ESL, pronunciation, phonetic elements, minimal pairs, speech. The objective of improving pronunciation is that it needs to be said at the outset that the aim of pronunciation improvement is not to achieve a perfect imitation of a native accent, but simply to get the learner to pronounce accurately enough to be easily and comfortably comprehensible to other speakers. “Perfect” accents are difficult if not impossible for most of us to achieve in a foreign language anyway, and may not even be desirable [1]. Learners’ errors of pronunciation derive from various sources: 1. A particular sound may not exist in the mother tongue, so that the learner is not used to forming it and therefore trends to substitute the nearest equivalent: she or he knows 2. A sound does exist in the mother tongue, but not as a separate phoneme, that is to say, the learner does not perceive it as a distinct sound that makes a difference to meaning. In Hebrew, for example, both the /i/ and/i:/ (ship/sheep) sounds occur, but which is used depends only on where the sound comes in the word or phrase, not what the word means; and if one is substituted for the other, no difference in meaning results. These are called “allophonic variations” of a phoneme, or “allophones”. The result is that the Hebrew-speaking learner is not naturally aware of the difference in English, and may not even hear it. Overall, the second of the two problems is the more difficult. A very new sound is often easily perceived as alien, and once you hear a sound you are well on the way to being able to pronounce it. But if you cannot hear it then you cannot even attempt to pronounce it, and the problem of perception needs to be overcome before any progress can be made. https://scientific-jl.com/ 1 9 8 44-son_1-to’plam_May-2025 ISSN: 3030-3621 Ta'lim innovatsiyasi va integratsiyasi We suggest some ideas for improving learners’ pronunciation. - Imitation to teacher or recorded model of sounds, words and sentences. - Recording of learners’ speech, contrasted with native model. - Systematic explanation and instruction (including details of the structure and movement of parts of the mouth). - Imitation drills repetition of sounds, words and sentences. - Choral repetition of drills. - Varied repetition of drills (varied speed, volume, mood). - Learning and performing dialogues - Learning by heart of sentences, rhymes, jingles. - Jazz chants. - Tongue twisters. - Self-correction through listening to recordings of own speech. There are some sounds in English that can be difficult for any learner, and there are also distinctions between sounds that some students find confusing because there is no such distinction in their mother tongue. When all, or at least several, of your students are struggling with the same problem, it is definitely worthwhile doing some activities to target specific areas. First, they need to be able to hear the difference between the incorrect and the correct sound. Then they need to learn how to make the correct sound. Finally, they also need to be able to recognize when and how to make the correct sound [2]. Then you can look for appropriate minimal pairs—words that are exactly the same except for one different sound. These can help you target the sounds that your students need to focus on. A simple example would be: “Ship” and “sheep” The sounds “i” and “ee” in these two words are significant because they are the only difference between two words which have different meanings, but for many ESL students the two sounds are not distinct in their mother tongue. By learning to recognize and reproduce the difference in these words’ sounds and meanings, students can start heading towards pronunciation mastery. Try to choose pairs of words that not only contain your required minimal pairs, but are also suitable to the ability level of your students. The pairs will be useful to practice the target sounds through fun activities. There are lots of games and activities learners’ can use to teach the topic. Since they will all involve speaking and listening, they are naturally engaging and interactive games. The purpose of these is to focus on the particular sounds of students are having problems with using appropriate minimal pairs of words [3]. 1. Minimal Pairs Bingo This activity can give students the opportunity to hear the difference between the minimal pairs, recognize the different words written on the