This document discusses the pronunciation of certain vowel sounds in English - specifically /ɪ/ and /i:/. It notes that these sounds don't exist in some other languages and can cause misunderstandings if pronounced incorrectly. Several word pairs, like beach/bitch and sheet/shit, are provided as examples. The document then provides exercises for learners to practice distinguishing and producing these sounds correctly, including tongue positioning, listening games, and discussion of sound changes in specific contexts.

2. This is a pig (/pɪg/), not a peeg (/piːg/)

3. In some languages, these sounds (/ɪ/ and /iː/)
don’t exist. However, they are very common in
English, and can cause misunderstandings when
pronounced incorrectly.
 For example, it is embarrassing to confuse:
› Beach Bitch
› /biːʧ/ /bɪʧ/
› Sheet Shit
› /ʃiːt/ /ʃɪt/

4. Ship
/ʃɪp/
Sheep
/ʃiːp/

5. The sheep on the ship feel seasick.
/ðə ʃiːp ɒn ðə ʃɪp fiːl ˈsiːsɪk/

6. Cheese
/ʧiːz/

7. In English speaking countries, we
tell people to “say cheese” in
photos because doing so forces
them to make a smile.

8.  /ɪ/
 ship
 /iː/
 sheep
Practice with a partner
for a few minutes.
Watch each other as
you make these
sounds. Notice the
shape of your partner’s
mouth as they speak.
Does it look like this?

9.  We will now listen to a song. After hearing
the song, discuss with a partner what you
think it is called.

10.  The song was called “All the World Is
Green.”
 Practice saying song of the lyrics aloud,
paying attention to the /ɪ/ and /iː/ sounds:
› Pretend that you owe me nothing
And all the world is green
We can bring back the old days again
When all the world is green
 You don’t need to sing it 

11. Copy the diagram in your notebook

12. Listen to the teacher’s pronunciation. If he says a
word containing /ɪ/ then turn left. If he says /iː/
then turn right.
Example:

13. Now take turns to play in small groups. Take turns saying
words with /ɪ/ and /iː/. See if the others can get your
meaning.
Ideas:
bin bean
chip cheap
his he’s
it eat
sit seat
did deed
fill feel
fit feet
grin green
hit heat
is ease
mitt meet
slip sleep
still steal
itch each
gin gene
grid greed
hid heed
hill he’ll
ill eel
kip keep
knit neat
lick leak
lip leap
mill meal
pick peek
pitch peach

14.  You are now going to watch a short video
clip. In the video clip, one person makes a
mistake in pronunciation.
› What did she mean to say?
› What did she say instead?
› Why did this cause a problem?

15. Answer
 The man’s name is Phil (/fɪl/) but she said
/fiːl/, which sounds like “feel.”

16. How to say /θ/

17. To make the target sound
/θ/, put your tongue
between your teeth. Blow
out air between your
tongue and your top
teeth. Do not use your
voice.

18. 1. Find something clean, such as your finger.
2. Hold it in front of your mouth.
3. Say a word like “think” or “thousand”.
4. Can you feel your tongue?

19. Mouth
/maʊθ/
Mouse
/maʊs/

20. He’s sinking. He’s thinking.

21. A B
1. face faith
2. force fourth
3. sick thick
4. sink think
5. sort thought
6. tense tenth

22. A: What did you think of the new theatre?
B: I thought it would have been better. It cost
thousands to rebuild. But I thought it was
nothing special. What did you think?
A: I thought it was really something!

23.  CATHERINE: Samantha Roth is only thirty.
 RUTH: ls she? l thought she was thirty-three.
 CATHERINE: Samantha’s birthday was last
Thursday.
 RUTH: Was it? I thought it was last month.
 CATHERINE: The Roths’ house is worth six
hundred thousand.
 RUTH: ls it? l thought it was worth three hundred
thousand.
 CATHERINE: Ross Roth is the author of a book
about moths.
 RUTH: ls he? I thought he was a mathematician.

24.  Pay attention to tricky consonant sounds
nearby. For example:
 First thing
 Last thought
 Just think

25. This is going to be interesting…

26. Feather
/ˈfeðə/

27.  It’s the same as /θ/,
but this time your
vocal cords move.

28. 1. Put your hand against your throat.
2. Say “think, thin, thousand.”
3. Can you feel anything? No.
4. Say “this, those, these, there.”
5. Can you feel anything? Yes!

29.  Many Chinese students say “then” as “Zen.”
Zen means a kind of Buddhism.

30. Clothing
ˈkləʊðɪŋ
Closing
ˈkləʊzɪŋ

31. A: Where are the others?
B: They’ve gone bathing.
A: I hope they’ve gone together.
B: They said they’d rather go separately.
A: What about their mother and father?
B: They’re washing their clothes.

33.  Thanks for learning with me. Check out my
teaching resources website for the full lesson
plan.
 Also try my IELTS website for fun IELTS
practice.