TOEFL Speaking: Pronunciation tips

Good pronunciation

You will not be expected to speak with a perfect English or American accent in the test - so don't worry about that!

Being understood is more important - check out this video to see why! Click here to watch

So what you need to do is  speak clearly, enunciate well and put the stress (accent tonique)  in the correct place for each word.

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Exercise 1

Look at this document for help on word stress: Click here

Don't just read through it silently but say the words aloud so that you get used to how they are supposed to sound

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Exercise 2

The Phone number game

Practice saying these words aloud. They should each sound different!

1 = Zen     2= Then

3 = Ship    4 = Sheep

5 = Bought  6 = Boat

7 = At        8 = Hat

9  = Think  0 = Sink

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Exercise 3

Look at the exercises below. If you aren't sure how to pronounce a word then you can look it up and listen to it on www.wordreference.com. You can even choose to hear an American or English accent!

1. Repeat these words.. Do they begin with /ch/ or /sh/? Write each word in the correct column.
shirt	checked	shorts	chicken	cheese	chef
/sh/ shirt _______ _______			/ch/ checked _______ _______
2. Repeat these words. Each word ends in the sound /?/.
pasta	tuna	pizza	cola	yoga	visa
3. Repeat these words.. Then listen and repeat.
/l/ blind light clouds fly			/r/ bright right crowds fry
4. Repeat these words. Can you hear /s/ or /z/ at the end? Write each word in the correct column.
twist	bruise	slice	movies	shoes	mouse
/s/ twist _______ _______			/z/ bruise _______ _______
5. Repeat these words.. The stress is at the beginning, but one word is different. Write down the odd one.
chemistry	architecture	medicine	education	languages
6. Repeat these words.. The stress is in the middle, but one word is different. Write down the odd one.
repellent	mosquitoes	medical	binoculars	emergency
7. Repeat these words.. Each word has -ea in the middle but one word sounds different. Write down the odd one.
greasy	weak	steak	tea	cheap	read
8. Repeat these words. these words. Each word ends in the sound /k/.
energetic	artistic	enthusiastic	guidebook	silk
9. Repeat these words.. Is the stress at the beginning or in the middle? Write each word in the correct column.
sympathetic	sociable	genuine	argumentative	uncaring	generous
sympathetic _______ _______			sociable _______ _______
10.Repeat these words.. Do they end in /d/ or /t/? Write each word in the correct column.
confused	embarrassed	even-tempered	striped	checked	organized
/d/ confused _______ _______			/t/ embarrassed _______ _______
11. Repeat these words. Do they contain the sound /a/ or /e/? Write each word in the correct column.
ankle	head	leg	fan	math	belt
/a/ ankle _______ _______			/e/ head _______ _______