Author: British Council | Published on 1 May 2023
You don’t just have to use drill activities to practise pronunciation, you can use mingle activities, too, for example to help learners with confusing sounds.
In order to communicate effectively, learners need to hear and then produce confusing sounds correctly. This activity practises this in a fun and interactive way.
Listen
Listen to the pronunciation of these minimal pairs:
[play audio]
| Consonant sounds: | Vowel sounds: |
|
tree three they day thin tin wash was shell sell heart hard card cart vet wet |
sheep ship wet wait fast first saw so bed bad bat but hot heart hair her |
Prepare
You need one small piece of paper for each learner in your class, e.g. 32 learners = 32 pieces.
Write two words from one minimal pair on four pieces of paper. You will have papers. Example:
| tree | tree | three | three |
Repeat with other minimal pairs. Each learner needs one word paper. (32 learners = two copies of eight minimal pairs.)
Fold the word papers and put them in a bag or a box.
Introduce
Say: ‘Let’s play Find your partner. In my bag I have many words. Take a word. Read it. Don’t show it to anyone. When I say, walk around the class and say your word. Listen and find the classmate who is saying the same word. When you find your partner, give your papers to me.’
Take the bag around the room or ask learners to stand in line. Each learner takes a word.
Mingle
Tell learners to mingle and find their partner. When pairs return their word papers, check they are the same and put them in the bag.
Repeat 2 or 3 times.
At the end, ask learners to sit with their new partner for the next activity.
Tip: If you don’t have space in your classroom, mingle outside.
You could re-use this activity during any lesson to re-group learners.