Uploaded November 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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ABOUT THE VIDEO
When it comes to improving pronunciation, I am NOT a fan of tongue twisters. Why? Because after many years of teaching, I've come to realize that basic pronunciation is difficult enough for students. If the goal is to help students speak clearly, correctly, and confidently... we can use real, everyday English for that, which is already a challenge. We don't need to give students unnecessarily complicated tasks. So, while many people find tongue twisters to be a fun, invigorating challenge, I personally would not use them or recommend them for serious pronunciation training.
Here is the definition of a tongue twister:
Tongue Twister: a sequence of words or sounds that are difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly
Example: tie twine to three tree twigs.
Instead of using complicated tongue twisters that are even difficult for native speakers to say, I prefer to create material for my students that helps them drill challenging sounds without being unnecessarily difficult. So, even though the paragraph I show in this video might look like a tongue twister, it's not... at least not for native speakers. And that's why this kind of material is perfect for English learners! You get to work on sounds that are difficult for you, but the challenge is realistic and will prepare you for English in the "real world".
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
1:16 Basic pronunciation is hard enough
1:40 Tongue twisters are even difficult for native speakers
2:19 They make you tense
2:30 Tongue twisters are not natural
3:30 They trigger feelings of frustration, overwhelm, and defeat
3:59 Actors don't practice pronunciation
5:51 Tongue twisters are not what you need
6:06 How I teach pronunciation to my students
8:35 Pronunciation training material I made for my students
10:04 Day at the Theater
10:56 Phrases with TH
🌎 OUR STUDENTS
See some of our English Full:Time students here:
instagram.com/englishfulltime_students
10 THINGS ABOUT ME
1. I was born in California, USA
2. I went to study abroad in Argentina in 2013
3. I met my husband Renzo in Argentina
4. We got married 5 months after we met!
5. We lived about 5 years in Argentina then started traveling
6. I started English Full:Time in 2016
7. Ren & I now live in California and have two amazing kids
8. We travel as much as we can (especially to Argentina!)
9. I speak Spanish fluently
10. I drink "mate" 🧉 every day!
CONNECT WITH ME 🙋🏼♀️
→ Newsletter: englishfulltime.com
→ Instagram: instagram.com/theenglishcoach
→ Facebook: facebook.com/stefanietheenglishcoach
→ Tiktok: tiktok.com/@theenglishcoach
→ X: https://x.com/englishfulltime
→ Business Inquiries: stefanie@englishfulltime.com
Join my EnglishLife community 👉 englishfulltime.com/englishlife
Get the Sound Bank 👉 englishfulltime.com/sound-bank
Grab my FREE Starter Pack 👉 englishfulltime.com
ABOUT THE VIDEO
When it comes to improving pronunciation, I am NOT a fan of tongue twisters. Why? Because after many years of teaching, I've come to realize that basic pronunciation is difficult enough for students. If the goal is to help students speak clearly, correctly, and confidently... we can use real, everyday English for that, which is already a challenge. We don't need to give students unnecessarily complicated tasks. So, while many people find tongue twisters to be a fun, invigorating challenge, I personally would not use them or recommend them for serious pronunciation training.
Here is the definition of a tongue twister:
Tongue Twister: a sequence of words or sounds that are difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly
Example: tie twine to three tree twigs.
Instead of using complicated tongue twisters that are even difficult for native speakers to say, I prefer to create material for my students that helps them drill challenging sounds without being unnecessarily difficult. So, even though the paragraph I show in this video might look like a tongue twister, it's not... at least not for native speakers. And that's why this kind of material is perfect for English learners! You get to work on sounds that are difficult for you, but the challenge is realistic and will prepare you for English in the "real world".
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
1:16 Basic pronunciation is hard enough
1:40 Tongue twisters are even difficult for native speakers
2:19 They make you tense
2:30 Tongue twisters are not natural
3:30 They trigger feelings of frustration, overwhelm, and defeat
3:59 Actors don't practice pronunciation
5:51 Tongue twisters are not what you need
6:06 How I teach pronunciation to my students
8:35 Pronunciation training material I made for my students
10:04 Day at the Theater
10:56 Phrases with TH
🌎 OUR STUDENTS
See some of our English Full:Time students here:
instagram.com/englishfulltime_students
10 THINGS ABOUT ME
1. I was born in California, USA
2. I went to study abroad in Argentina in 2013
3. I met my husband Renzo in Argentina
4. We got married 5 months after we met!
5. We lived about 5 years in Argentina then started traveling
6. I started English Full:Time in 2016
7. Ren & I now live in California and have two amazing kids
8. We travel as much as we can (especially to Argentina!)
9. I speak Spanish fluently
10. I drink "mate" 🧉 every day!
CONNECT WITH ME 🙋🏼♀️
→ Newsletter: englishfulltime.com
→ Instagram: instagram.com/theenglishcoach
→ Facebook: facebook.com/stefanietheenglishcoach
→ Tiktok: tiktok.com/@theenglishcoach
→ X: https://x.com/englishfulltime
→ Business Inquiries: stefanie@englishfulltime.com
