IHWO Seminar Pack

Using the Phonemic Chart in Class

written by Colin Michell, IH Johannesburg
Trainers notes
This input session is designed to give teachers practical ideas on how to use the phonemic
chart with students in class. Apart from helping the students, this session will also help less
experienced teachers get to grips with the phonemic chart. Unfortunately, this session
requires quite a bit of preparation, but it is worth it as the materials can be used over and over
again with different classes. I strongly recommend laminating the materials. This session has
the following structure:
1. Board race
2. Worksheet + feedback
3. Tongue twisters
4. Phonemic scrabble
5. Swat the correct phoneme
6. Phoneme bingo

5 minutes
15 minutes
10 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes

Notes to trainers
All the pronunciation activities are based on Received Pronunciation
(RP). Since most EFL teachers speak a different dialect of English to
RP, I suggest you check all the words and pronunciation beforehand. If
your pronunciation of the word differs from that of RP, take this as an
opportunity to introduce the concept of different Englishes and the fact
that there isnt only one correct form of English.
The session also uses the phoneme /x/ which is included in many
dictionaries to represent the final sound in words such as [loch] and
[lough] and is common in such accents as Scottish and Irish. It is up to
the individual trainer to decide whether to include this in the session.
1. Phonemic board-race (Appendix 1)
This is the warmer section. The individual phonemes are cut up and put on the board. The
trainees are divided into two lines in front of the board. The trainer pronounces the phoneme
which the trainees have to recognise and grab. This can be done as a competition. If you are
faced with a class of very experienced teachers you may want to use the additional phonemic
symbols: and
note (American English)
happy
what (glottal stop)
pain (compare the p in pain to the p in Spain, you will hear that it is aspirated)
tusk (compare the aspirated t in tusk to the t in took)
horse (American English)

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

2. Worksheet and feedback (Worksheet 1)

Trainees work in pairs or small groups to complete the worksheet. The point of this activity is
to gauge the trainees views of the phonemic chart. It is no secret that many teachers, even
after years of experience, still feel threatened by the phonemic chart. Some possible answers
to the brainstorm are:
Helps with learner training (dictionary work). Students will be more autonomous if they
can read the phonetic transcription of a word they have looked up.
Makes students aware of different sounds especially if they are quite similar e.g.

Certain sounds may not exist in their language at all or may be similar or different, e.g.
in English is often phonetically realised as in many languages. That is
often phonetically realised as *dat in Portuguese or *zat in French.
Students may tend to pronounce letters or a combination in the same way as their own
language. For example: consider all the possible pronunciations of ough (cough,
enough, through and though) which students will, understandably, think are realised
with the same sound.
Teaching all the sounds of English shows the students that the number of sounds is not
limitless.
3. Tongue twisters (Appendix 2)
The trainer writes a tongue twister on the board and models the pronunciation. Then the
trainer elicits the target sound(s) he/she wants and writes the correct phonemes above the
word (see the example below). The class then practises this first as a choral drill and then
individually. You may want to tone this down during the input with teachers if you think this
could be patronising. This is a particularly good way to home in on problem sounds individual
languages may have. For example, Germans and Turkish students have trouble with the
sound /w/ which they often realise as /v/. Portuguese speakers often confuse and
Therefore the trainer may want to use the following tongue twister as an example before
asking students (in a classroom situation) to write similar tongue twisters for each other.

which wicked witch wished that wicked wish

4. Phonemic scrabble (Appendix 3)
This is played in the same way as normal scrabble but with phonemes not letters. The
trainees are divided into small groups (3 or 4 is ideal). Each person is given 7 phonemes and
they take turns making words. The trainer may want to recommend that trainees who are not
too familiar with the phonemic chart play this in their free time after the session. Its important
that all trainees in a group accept the pronunciation a player puts down.
5. Swat the correct phoneme (Appendix 4)
Trainees are put into small groups and each trainee is given a fly swat (ensure beforehand
that it is a heavy duty swat; the plastic ones wont last very long). The trainer shows a word
and the trainees have to swat the correct phoneme, e.g. ed endings (played, wished, waited)
/d/, /t/ & /Id/. The phonemes should be attached to the desk with Prestik /Blutack .The
trainee who swats the correct ending (/t/ for wished, for example) gets to keep the card. This
Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

can also be used with minimal pairs and even dependent prepositions. When this is done with
a normal EFL class it is a good idea to let the students put the words under the phonemes
and then record them in their vocabulary books. e.g.:

/t/
wished
watched
walked
worked
etc

/d/

/Id/

amazed
played
fried
copied
etc

waited
needed
sorted
wanted
etc

Warning This activity has the potential to get seriously out of hand.
6. Phonemic bingo (Appendix 5)
This is played like normal bingo, but with phonemes. The trainees are each given a card with
phonemes on. The trainer pronounces the sounds and the trainees cross them off the list. The
trainee who completes his or her card first shouts bingo. Oxford University Press has
produced a wall chart with far more visually exciting Bingo cards on called the English File
sounds chart.
I would like to give credit to my colleagues at International House Johannesburg, who have,
over the years, given me the ideas for the above activities.
The phonemes used in these materials can easily be downloaded from www.phonmap.com
(you may need to download the latest version) and can be accessed from Lucinda Sans
Unicode in the symbols function of word.

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Appendix 1 Phonemic board race

Photocopy onto card, laminate and cut up.

If you have a very experienced group and you would like to challenge them, use the following
symbols:

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Worksheet 1

1. Which of the following statements best reflects your feelings of the phonemic chart? Why?
Its a fantastic resource for students to
use.
Its a good idea but too difficult to learn.

Its ok but grossly overrated.

It is difficult and unnecessary.

Why do they have to make life so

complicated?!

2. Why should students learn it? Brainstorm some ideas with your partner.

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Appendix 2 Tongue twisters

I thought a thought but the thought I thought wasnt the thought I thought.
Thirty thousand feathers on a thirsty thrushs throat
Which wicked witch wished that wicked wish?
She sells sea shells on the sea shore, the sea shells she sells are sea shells Im
sure
I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sat
Swan swam over the sea
swim swan swim
swan swam back again
well swum swan
We surely shall see the sun shine soon
The sixth sick Sheiks sixth sheep is sick
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper
Wheres the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Appendix 3 Phonemic scrabble

Photocopy on to card, laminate and cut up.

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Appendix 4 Swat the correct phoneme

Photocopy on to card, laminate and cut up.

said
beg
gem
pet

sad
bag
jam
pat

asked
Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

amazed

walked
jumped
wished

fried
played
eyed

invented
waited
wanted
needed

torn
Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

turn

warm
ward
walker

worm
word
worker

Appendix 5 Phonemic bingo

Photocopy and cut up

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg

Handout for teachers

Phonemic board-race
The individual phonemes are cut up and put on the board. The students are divided into two
lines in front of the board. The teacher pronounces the phoneme which the students have to
recognise and grab.
Tongue twisters
The teacher writes a tongue twister on the board and models the pronunciation. The teacher
then elicits the sound(s) he/she is targeting and writes the correct phonemes above the
words; the class then drills the tongue twister, first as a group and then individually.

She sells sea shells on the sea shore, the

sea
/

shells she sells are sea shells Im sure

Phonemic scrabble
Played the same as normal scrabble but with phonemes not letters
Swat the correct phoneme
Students are put into small groups and are each given a fly swat. The teacher shows a word
and the students have to hit the correct phoneme, e.g., ed endings /d/, /t/ & /Id/. This can be
used with minimal pairs and even dependant prepositions.
Phonemic bingo
Played like normal bingo, but with phonemes.

Colin Michell IH Johannesburg