6 Pronunciation Activities for Esl Students That Really Work

Pronunciation often gets overlooked in language classes, but it’s one of the key factors that determines whether learners are understood. Good pronunciation boosts intelligibility, listening skills, confidence and natural rhythm. The right classroom activities make pronunciation practice varied, meaningful and enjoyable — not just repetitive drilling.

Below are six practical pronunciation activities you can use with any level, from beginner to advanced. Each activity includes clear steps, adaptation ideas and tips for classroom management.

1. Sound scavenger hunt Why it works Learners often don’t notice how often a particular sound appears in connected speech. A sound scavenger hunt trains the ear and makes students actively search for that sound in context.

How to run it

1. Choose a target sound (e.g. /θ/, /ɪ/ vs /iː/, /æ/, /ʃ/).
2. Prepare a short text: a dialogue, song verse, short story, or a textbook passage with many occurrences of the sound.
3. Give students copies of the text and ask them to underline or highlight every word that contains the target sound.
4. In pairs, one student reads the text aloud while the partner counts the target sound occurrences. Switch roles.
5. Finish with one or two students reading aloud to the whole class, focusing on accurate production.

Variations • Use listening-only: play an audio and students tick every time they hear the target sound. • Make it timed for a competitive edge. • For higher levels, search for connected-speech features (e.g. linking, weak forms).

Classroom tips • Provide a short model list of words with the sound before starting. • Monitor and give corrective feedback, focusing on a couple of common errors rather than everything.

2. Targeted tongue-twister relay Why it works Tongue twisters activate muscles and coordination needed for unfamiliar sounds and encourage faster, clearer articulation. They’re also motivating and fun.

How to run it

1. Pick or create 1–3 tongue twisters that emphasize the target sounds (e.g. /s/ vs /ʃ/, /θ/ vs /s/).
2. Demonstrate slowly, then at normal pace.
3. Students practise in small groups. Stage the activity: • Slow group repetition (choral). • Faster choral repetition. • Individual or pair challenge: who can say it three times correctly?
4. Turn it into a relay: each student says one line and passes to the next; mistakes mean the team restarts.

Variations • Students invent their own tongue twisters using the target sound(s). • Record students and let them self-assess or peer-assess for accuracy and speed.

Classroom tips • Encourage exaggerated mouth movements at first, then normalise to natural speed. • Praise effort — speed comes after accuracy.

3. Backchaining for natural phrasing Why it works Backchaining builds fluency and connected speech by starting from the end of a phrase and adding words backwards. This helps learners internalize stress patterns and rhythm.

How to run it

1. Select short phrases or sentences (4–7 words) with natural reductions or contractions. Example: She should’ve told him earlier.
2. Model the final chunk: “earlier”.
3. Add the preceding word: “him earlier”.
4. Continue: “told him earlier” → “have told him earlier” → “should have told him earlier” → full sentence.
5. Practice chorally first, then in pairs and individually. Point out contractions and connected sounds (should’ve → /ʃʊdəv/).

Variations • Use sentences from a listening text or recorded dialogue to link with comprehension work. • Apply to question forms and tag questions, where intonation matters.

Classroom tips • Use gestures or tapping to show rhythm and stress. • Slow down at first; when learners are comfortable, increase speed.

4. Shadowing with focused repetition Why it works Shadowing — repeating simultaneously with a speaker — develops pronunciation, prosody and fluency. It forces learners to match rhythm, stress and intonation in real time.

How to run it

1. Choose a short, clear audio clip (10–30 seconds): podcast excerpt, interview line, film line, or a teacher-recorded model.
2. Play it 2–3 times for comprehension.
3. Students shadow: repeat aloud at the same time as the recording. Start with choral shadowing, then pairs, then individuals.
4. Reduce speed or play in segments for learners who need more support.
5. Ask learners to focus on one feature each round: vowels, word stress, or intonation.

Variations • Use visual waveform tools or subtitles to show phrasing. • Combine with recording: students record themselves shadowing and compare to the model.

Classroom tips • Choose authentic but clear speech. Avoid overly accented or noisy recordings. • Give specific feedback: “You matched the intonation well, but shorten unstressed words.”

5. Stress-shift practice (word stress and meaning) Why it works Stress placement can change word class and meaning in English (e.g. REcord vs reCORD). Practising stress helps with both pronunciation and comprehension.

How to run it

1. Prepare pairs of words where stress shifts meaning (REcord / reCORD, PREsent / preSENT).
2. Present examples in minimal-pair sentences that make the difference clear: • “I bought a REcord yesterday.” (noun) • “Please reCORD your answer.” (verb)
3. Students practice in pairs, alternating noun/verb forms and focusing on stress placement and sentence rhythm.
4. Extend to other pairs (desert/dessert, CONduct/conDUCT) and to multiword stress (blackboard vs black board).

Variations • Make a quick card game where students match word forms to definitions. • For advanced learners, contrast sentence stress patterns and how stress changes sentence meaning (e.g. focusing stress to shift emphasis).

Classroom tips • Model stress clearly and show syllable counts. • Use clapping or tapping to make stress audible and kinaesthetic.

6. Mouth-position micro-practice Why it works Correct articulation often comes down to tiny adjustments of tongue, jaw and lips. Explicitly teaching mouth positions accelerates learning of difficult sounds.

How to run it

1. Choose problematic sounds for your students (e.g. /θ/, /r/, /v/).
2. Demonstrate mouth position slowly (use mirror or model video): • /θ/: tongue gently between teeth, air through the sides. • /r/: tongue bunched or retroflex without touching palate; lips slightly rounded. • /v/: upper teeth on lower lip, voiced.
3. Have students practise in front of mirrors or record close-up video/audio of their mouth while repeating target words.
4. Progress from isolated sound → syllables → words → phrases.
5. Add tactile or visual cues (e.g. mirror, tongue depressor gently used by teacher) when appropriate and with consent.

Variations • Silent mouth rehearsal: students mouth words while others guess the sound. • Use minimal-pair drills that highlight the articulatory difference (e.g. very/berry).

Classroom tips • Keep the atmosphere safe; some learners feel self-conscious about close work. Emphasize that physical practice helps everyone. • Give corrective feedback with clear models, not long explanations.

General tips for effective pronunciation work • Short, frequent practice beats occasional long drills. Aim for 5–10 minute pronunciation moments in many lessons. • Context matters. Pair pronunciation work with real communicative tasks so learners apply the sounds immediately. • Focus on the most impactful features first — sounds that frequently cause misunderstanding for your students. • Combine auditory, visual and kinaesthetic cues (listening, mouth models, tapping rhythm). • Use recording for self-assessment. Hearing themselves helps students notice improvements and persistent errors. • Keep it low pressure. Make activities playful and goal-oriented so learners are willing to take risks.

Final thought Pronunciation is a skill that responds well to regular, purposeful practice. Using a mix of scavenger hunts, tongue twisters, backchaining, shadowing, stress work and mouth-position drills gives students multiple pathways to improve. Rotate activities, tailor targets to your learners’ needs, and integrate pronunciation into real speaking tasks. With consistent practice, learners will notice clearer speech, improved listening, and greater confidence in everyday communication.