Author: Hafsah Aminu (Nigeria) | Editor: Gary Motteram | Published on 11 July 2023
Introduction
We are venturing into an exciting world of pronunciation! In this interactive class, our adventure will be on a gamified quest to conquer two thrilling sounds: /θ/ and /ð/. Get ready to level up your pronunciation skills and become a master of these special phonetic treasures. Let's go!
Sound Spotting
Objective: To train the students’ ears to recognise and produce the sounds /θ/ and /ð/ in different words.
The teacher needs to introduce, or remind the students of the different sounds.
Use the board, or flash cards to practise some of the words below, getting students to correctly pronounce the different sounds. You can ask them what they think the difference is. You can then explain the difference between voiced and voiceless, (if you think that would be helpful for the students).
Once the students are managing to pronounce the words with the sounds /θ/ and /ð/, write the symbols on the board next to a number and try saying some of the other words below.
Ask the students to identify the sounds in the words by calling out a number.
Examples:
Voiceless “th” /θ/
Mouth, thought, teeth, thigh, monthly, maths, faithful, think, throne, breath, three, cloth, south, Thursday, birthday, thin
Voiced “th” /ð/
Those, the, other, bathe, that, fathom, though, father, brother, mother there, breathe, smother, that, weather
Game Title: Sound Safari
Resources:
Safari Board: Make a game board looking like a safari landscape, divided into different sections. The idea of the safari is that the students can progress through the landscape to arrive at the destination. The students can work as a team to make the game board with cardboards. They can work on creating the artwork that tells the story of the journey.
Dice or Spinner: A dice or spinner will be used to ascertain each player’s moves.
Pronunciation Cards: Have a set of cards with words or phrases with the sounds /θ/ and /ð/. Each card should have a corresponding illustration to represent the word or phrase.
(Again, the students can be guided to make the cards).
Instructions:
Step 1:
i) Place the game board in the centre of the playing area.
ii) Shuffle the Pronunciation Cards and place them facedown.
Step 2:
i) Players take turns rolling the dice or spinning the spinner to determine the number of moves.
ii) When a player lands on a spot, they pick a Pronunciation Card and read the word or phrase aloud, focusing on correctly pronouncing the /θ/ or /ð/ sound.
iii) If the player pronounces the sound correctly, they advance to the next spot. If they mispronounce it, they stay in the same spot.
iv) Encourage players to listen to each other and provide constructive feedback to promote learning.
Extra Challenges:
i) Create more challenge cards that ask players to come up with a word containing the /θ/ or /ð/ sound within a specific category (e.g., plants, careers, places).
ii) Award bonus points/rewards for correctly completed challenges.
Condition for winning:
The player who reaches the final spot on the Sound Safari Board first or covers the most distance within the allotted time wins the game.
Examples of Pronunciation Cards:
| Word | Illustration |
| Mouth | Picture of a toothbrush |
| Bathe | Picture of a shower |
| Think | Picture of a human brain |
| Mother | Picture of a woman and a child |
Conclusion
Congratulations, pronunciation explorers! You have explored the Sound Safari and conquered the sounds /θ/ and /ð/. Your hard work and steadfastness have paid off, and now you can pronounce these sounds with confidence. Keep practising, exploring, and honing your pronunciation skills.