GENERAL HINTS FOR TEACHING SPEECH SOUNDS

• Think about how you make individual speech sounds. Consider what you do with your teeth, lips, tongue, voice and airflow.
• Consider how you would describe this so a child would understand.
• In your descriptions explain features of how the sound looks (use a mirror), feels, and sounds.
• Talk about the sound made not the name of the letter.
• Some commercial phonics and reading programs give letter sounds a character. If you are already using one of these, you can link your speech sound practise to these programs.

 

HINTS FOR THE ‘F’ SOUND

1. Rest your top teeth on the bottom lip. Make sure the contact is gentle so air can pass through.
2. Blow air over your lips / through your teeth. You can feel this airflow with your hand.
3. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
4. ‘F’ is a long continuous sound
5. Associate the ‘f’ sound with an object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘flyspray’ sound.

 HINTS FOR THE ‘V’ SOUND

1. Rest top teeth on the bottom lip. Make sure the contact is gentle so air can pass through.
2. Blow air over your lips / through your teeth. You can feel this airflow with your hand.
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘V’ is a long continuous sound
5. Associate the ‘V’ sound with an object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘jet plane’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘S’ SOUND

1. Most people make this sound with the tongue tip behind the upper teeth, but not touching the teeth. Close teeth together so your tongue is hidden.
2. Blow air out the front of your mouth. If air escapes from the sides of your mouth (may sound ‘slushy’) try to push the sides of your tongue against your back teeth.
3. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
4. ‘S’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Another method is to say a ‘t’ sound quickly and repetitively until it becomes an ‘s’ e.g., ‘ttttttttttt-sss’
6. Associate the ‘s’ sound with an object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘snake’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘Z’ SOUND

1. Most people make this sound with the tongue tip behind the upper teeth but without the tongue touching the teeth. Close teeth together so your tongue is hidden.
2. Blow air out the front of your mouth. If air escapes from the sides of your mouth (may sound ‘slushy’) try to push the sides of your tongue against your back teeth.
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘Z’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Another method is to say a ‘d’ sound quickly and repetitively until it becomes an ‘z’ e.g., ‘dddddddd-zzz’
6. Associate the ‘z’ sound with an object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘buzzing bee’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘SH’ SOUND

1. Make this sound with the tongue pushed against the roof of your mouth with a tunnel down the middle of your tongue. Close teeth together so your tongue is hidden. Round and push your lips forward.
2. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
3. ‘Sh’ is a long continuous sound.
4. Another method is to say ‘s’ and pull your tongue back slightly until you say ‘sh.’
5. Associate the ‘sh’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘quiet’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘ZH’ SOUND

1. Make this sound with the tongue pushed against the roof of your mouth with a tunnel down the middle of your tongue. Close teeth together so your tongue is hidden. Round and push your lips forward.
2. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
3. ‘Zh’ is a long continuous sound.
4. Another method is to say ‘z’ and pull your tongue back slightly until you say ‘zh.’
5. Associate the ‘zh’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘vacuum’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘CH’ SOUND

1. Make this sound with the tongue up behind your top teeth. Close teeth together so your tongue is hidden.
2. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
3. ‘Ch’ is a short ‘explosive’ sound.
4. Another method is to say ‘t’ and ‘sh’ close together. Say ‘it . . . shoo’ faster and faster until the sound in the middle becomes ‘ch’.
5. Associate the ‘ch’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘sneeze’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘J’ SOUND

1. Make this sound with the tongue up behind your top teeth. Close teeth together so your tongue is hidden.
2. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
3. ‘J’ is a short ‘explosive’ sound.
4. Another method is to say ‘d’ and ‘zh’ close together. Say ‘id . . . zhoo’ faster and faster until the sound in the middle becomes ‘j’.
5. Associate the ‘j’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘jumping jack in the box’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘H’ SOUND

1. Keep your mouth open and push some air out.
2. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
3. ‘H’ is a long continuous sound.
4. Associate the ‘h’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘panting dog’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘K’ SOUND

1. Put the back of your tongue up at the back of your mouth. Keep your mouth open. You may need to hold down the front of your tongue to help achieve this sound initially.
2. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
3. ‘K’ is a short explosive sound.
4. Associate the ‘k’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘camera - kkk’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘G’ SOUND

1. Put the back of your tongue up at the back of your mouth. Keep your mouth open. You may need to hold down the front of your tongue to help achieve this sound initially.
2. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
3. ‘G’ is a short explosive sound.
4. Associate the ‘g’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘frog’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘P’ SOUND

1. Press your lips together and them push them apart with a puff of air.
2. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
3. ‘P’ is a short explosive sound.
4. Associate the ‘p’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘popping’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘B’ SOUND

1. Press your lips together and them push them apart with a puff of air.
2. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
3. ‘B’ is a short explosive sound.
4. Associate the ‘b’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘bouncing ball’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘T’ SOUND

1. Tap your tongue tip on the ridge behind your top teeth. Sometimes touching the ridge with your finger helps your tongue find this place.
2. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
3. ‘T’ is a short explosive sound.
4. Associate the ‘t’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘hammering - ttt’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘D’ SOUND

1. Tap your tongue tip on the ridge behind your top teeth. Sometimes touching the ridge with your finger helps your tongue find this place.
2. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
3. ‘D’ is a short explosive sound.
4. Associate the ‘d’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘drum’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘M’ SOUND

1. Press your lips together.
2. Direct air through your nose. You can feel a slight vibration by placing your finger on the side of your nose.
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘M’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Associate the ‘m’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘humming’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘N’ SOUND

1. Your tongue should be up on the ridge behind your top teeth as for the ‘t’ and ‘d’ sounds.
2. Direct air through your nose. You can feel a slight vibration by placing your finger on the side of your nose.
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘N’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Associate the ‘n’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘jack hammer - nnn’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘NG’ SOUND

1. Hold the back of your tongue up at the back of your mouth. Your mouth needs to be slightly open.
2. Direct air through your nose. You can feel a slight vibration by placing your finger on the side of your nose.
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘Ng’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Associate the ‘ng’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘mosquito’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘L’ SOUND

1. Make this sound with the tongue up behind your top teeth with your mouth open.
2. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
3. ‘L’ is a long continuous sound.
4. Associate the ‘L’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘singing la-la-la’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘R’ SOUND

1. The position of the tongue for this sound can vary. With your tongue near the roof of your mouth, try curling your tongue tip back.
2. Try not to round your lips. Sometimes initially it is easier to achieve this sound by pulling your bottom lip over your bottom teeth. This stops lip rounding and moves your tongue back slightly.
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘R’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Another method is to say the ‘L’ sound, then pull your tongue back along the roof of your mouth to say ‘r’.
6. Associate the ‘r’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘lion - rrrrr’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘Y’ SOUND

1. With your teeth slightly apart, place the sides of your tongue against your top teeth. Make a tunnel down the centre of your tongue.
2. Round your lips slightly.
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘Y’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Associate the ‘y’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘yo-yo’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘W’ SOUND

1. Round your lips. You can try shaping your lips around a straw or your finger.
2. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
3. ‘W’ is a long continuous sound.
4. Associate the ‘w’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘wind - www’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘TH’ (VOICELESS) SOUND

5. Push your tongue out between your teeth Make sure only the tip of your tongue is visible.
6. Blow air out over the top of your tongue
7. Make sure your voice is turned off. When you touch your throat there will be no vibration.
8. ‘Th’ is a long continuous sound.
9. Associate the ‘th’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘flat tyre’ sound.

HINTS FOR THE ‘TH’ (VOICED) SOUND

1. Push your tongue out between your teeth Make sure only the tip of your tongue is visible.
2. Blow air out over the top of your tongue
3. Make sure your voice is turned on. When you touch your throat there will be a vibration.
4. ‘Th’ is a long continuous sound.
5. Associate the ‘th’ sound with an action, object or animal that has some features of the sound e.g., the ‘motor’ sound.