Each sound of English (General American and Standard British) is discussed and practiced in a separate chapter. Bear in mind that although many sounds of English may resemble the sounds of your native language, most of them will be somehow different from their equivalents. All the chapters are structured similarly and consist of various exercises aimed at presenting a particular sound in the broadest possible context.
PHONETIC ENEMIES
The exercise contains pairs of words, the meaning and pronunciation of which make them phonetic false friends, as their pronunciation in English and the learner's native tongue can be quite distant. The aim of this exercise is for the learner to get acquainted with those differences.
COMMON WORDS
This exercise contains 100-150 common words which contain the practiced sound. The words may be selected according to their frequency ranking or according to the position of the practiced sound (initial, medial, final). The spelling of the practiced sound may be optionally highlighted. When you click on any word, you will hear a native speaker pronouncing it, while a text box containing its translation into your native language and, optionally, its phonetic transcription is displayed.
FIRST AND LAST NAMES
This exercise contains common first and last names which include the practiced sound.
PROPER NAMES
This exercise contains common geographical names or brand names which include the practiced sound.
PHRASES
This exercise contains common phrases or idioms which include the practiced sound.
SENTENCES
This exercise contains sentences in which nearly every word includes the practiced sound. These sentences are not the ubiqitous tongue twisters, but meaningful sentences that one may hear in different situations.
TEXT
This exercise contains a text which features an impressive saturation of the sound in practice. The correct reading of the text is an ultimate test of having mastered the pronunciation of a given sound in all contexts.
WORD CONTRASTS
This exercise contains pairs of words in which the practiced sound is contrasted with another sound. The exercise shows how important it is to master the correct pronunciation of English sounds, as their substitution with other sounds changes the meaning.
PHRASE CONTRASTS
The exercise contains pairs of phrases which differ in a single sound. If this sound is not correctly pronounced, the whole phrase may dramatically change its meaning.
SENTENCE CONTRASTS
The exercise contains pairs of sentences which differ in a single sound. If this sound is not correctly pronounced, the whole sentence may dramatically change its meaning.
TESTING WORD PRONUNCIATION
The exercise consists in listening to words (each time one of a pair) and then marking which word of a pair was pronounced. It is meant to practice the recognition of a particular sound. Each time, the words are selected randomly.
TESTING PHRASE PRONUNCIATION
The exercise consists in listening to phrases (each time one of a pair) and then marking which phrase of a pair was pronounced. It is meant to practice the recognition of a particular sound. Each time, the phrases are selected randomly.
TESTING SENTENCE PRONUNCIATION
The exercise consists in listening to sentences (each time one of a pair) and then marking which sentence of a pair was pronounced. It is meant to practice the recognition of a particular sound. Each time, the sentences are selected randomly.
In some chapters, the number of exercises may be bigger. This concerns sounds which have many variants in English.
Each exercise may be performed in the way suggested in the program, i.e. by playing and repeating particular words, phrases, or sentences. It is also possible to automatically play all words, phrases, or sentences. In this case, a moment of silence will be added after each word, phrase, or sentence, which will make it possible for the learner to repeat the material after the speaker. It is also possible to change the routine in various ways presented on the subpage TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS.
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