Ways of training english pronunciation through tongue twisters: experience of Poltava university of economics and trade

Abstract

The article focuses on some new approaches to teaching Practical Phonetics of English for the students majoring in Philology on the university level. The formation of phonetic skills is an indispensable condition for adequate understanding of a language message, accuracy of expression of thought and performance of a communicative function in language. It is stated that the goal of teaching phonetic material means forming comprehension, pronunciation, rhythmic, and intonation skills. One of the commonly applied algorithms of forming and improving students’ articulation skills is discussed but the authors focus on one of the stages of it and offer an example of using tongue twisters for practicing pronunciation of sounds. The research shows how to move from purely receptive exercises to receptive and reproductive ones, in which two goals are combined – the formation of listening and speaking skills. Experience has shown that the application of this strategy deepens the knowledge of basic rules of pronunciation, helps to master the articulation of those sounds that are not typical for the student’s mother tongue, as well as increases the motivation of students to study English in general and makes them sound more natural while speaking English.