skip to main content
Join OTAN / Login

Leading adult education through support for and the effective application of technology.

Home Program Areas CCRs Categories

Search

Antimoon: The Sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet

Details

Main Website:
http://www.antimoon.com/
Activity Website:
http://www.antimoon.com/

Activity Description

Use this site when teaching the International Phonetic Alphabet. You can give students familiarity with the IPA symbols and the sounds they represent so that they can use dictionaries to know the pronunciation of words in English. Use the site for a whole-class activity to introduce the IPA or assign students to use the site individually in a computer lab setting or as supplemental homework outside of class.

Preparation

  1. Preview the page to ensure that it is appropriate to your students' English levels and for your teaching objectives.
  2. Make sure that the site is not blocked at your school before using it with students.
  3. Download, print, and photocopy the chart to distribute to students (optionally).
  4. Turn on the speaker connected to the computer or the headphones, and select Amer next to any IPA symbol to check that the volume is set at an appropriate level.

How-To

  1. Open the Example Web Site (above).
  2. Distribute the handout of the chart, optionally.
  3. Demonstrate for the students how to use the link Amer next to each IPA symbol to hear the sound pronounced in a word that contains it. Have students listen and repeat the words. At this point you can either continue as a group or assign students to listen individually.

Teacher Tips

  • The site also has British English pronunciation of sounds that differ from American. This may be helpful for students who studied British English in their countries.
  • English vowel sounds are provided in the left column, and consonant sounds are in the right column.

More Ways

In a pronunciation class in particular, follow up with an IPA transcription assignment: Have students write a sentence or two about themselves and transcribe the words in the sentences into IPA symbols using the Web site as a reference or conversely, provide students some sentences written in IPA symbols and have students use the site to write the sentences in English. These would be challenging assignments for beginning students, so instead you could have them simply transcribe simple words.

Program Areas

  • ESL: English as a Second Language

Levels

  • Beginning Low
  • Beginning High
  • Intermediate Low
  • Intermediate High
  • Advanced

Tags

listening, speaking, accent,accent reduction,alphabet,American English,Antimoon,Antimoon: The Sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet,articulation,British English,consonant sounds,dictionary,English,explanations,international,international phonetic alphabet,IPA,North American English,phonemes,phonetic,phonetic transcription,phonetics,pronunciation,sounds,sounds of English,videos,vowel sounds
Scroll To Top
Home | About Us | Contact Us | Locate Us | Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Sitemap

OTAN activities are funded by contract CN240137 from the Adult Education Office, in the Career & College Transition Division, California Department of Education, with funds provided through Federal P.L., 105-220, Section 223. However, OTAN content does not necessarily reflect the position of that department or the U.S. Department of Education.