Today in the classroom you are going to
learn to pronounce the sound b as in
the words bet, but,
bit, beach.
Remember "practice makes perfect" if you want to improve
your English speaking ability.
Hey
if you cannot understand something on this page,
then use the Fun Easy English
dictionary
(opens in a new window)
bet,
bass,
bat,
but,
bit,
bunch,
boring,
bony,
beach,
bill,
best,
beak,
back
Note: the red
letters all have the same sound
Sound Type
This is a VOICED sound which means Your Vocal Cords DO
vibrate when making this sound.
You CAN
LISTEN to your Vocal Cords vibrating if you cover
your ears with your hands.
Try covering your ears with your hands as Akiko is doing in
the picture.
Now make the sound of this lesson. Can you listen to your vocal cords vibrating?
VERY GOOD
You CAN
FEEL your Vocal Cords vibrating if
you place your hands on your neck.
Try placing your hands on your neck as Akiko is doing in the
picture.
Now make the sound of this lesson. Can you feel your vocal
cords vibrating?
VERY GOOD
The following diagram shows the most important parts of your
head and mouth used for pronouncing the sounds of English.
It also shows the location of your Vocal Cords.
Mouth, lips,
and tongue position
The following descriptions explain the proper mouth, lips,
and tongue position when you make this sound.
Mouth
Your
mouth releases air which is then quickly stopped.
Lips
Your lips are together at the beginning.
Tongue
The front part of your tongue should be in the center part of your
mouth.
Practice video
Listen to the video and practice repeating each word.
Pronunciation practice words
Look at your mouth in a mirror and practice pronouncing
the following words. Make sure your mouth, lips, and
tongue are in their proper positions.
bet
bass
bat
but
bit
bunch
boring
back
beach
bill
best
beak
Note: the red letters all
have the same sound (watch the video above)
Pronunciation word test
Try saying the following tongue twisters as quickly as
possible.
Betty Botter bought some butter. / "But," she
said, "this butter's bitter! / If I put it in my batter, / It
will make my batter bitter!" / So she bought a bit of butter /
Better than her bitter butter, / And she put it in her batter, /
And her batter was not bitter. / So 'twas better Betty Botter /
Bought a bit of better butter.
Peggy Babcock.
The black bloke's back brake block broke.
Toy boat [repeated]
Rubber buggy bumpers [repeated]
Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.
A bitter biting bittern Bit a better brother
bittern, And the bitter better bittern Bit the bitter biter
back. And the bitter bittern, bitten, By the better bitten
bittern, Said: "I'm a bitter biter bit, alack!"
I cannot bear to see a bear Bear down upon a
hare. When bare of hair he strips the hare, Right there I cry,
"Forbear!"
A box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits.
A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the
big black bear bleed blood.
The boot black bought the black boot back.
Black bug's blood.
Betty better butter Brad's bread.
Brad's big black bath brush broke.
Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from
the big bazaar.
A bloke's back bike brake block broke.
Good blood, bad blood.
Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright
blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons -- balancing them badly.
The blue bluebird blinks.
Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten
cat. The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat. The kitten that
was bitten had a button for an eye, and biting off the button
made the cotton batten fly.
Ruby Rugby's brother bought and brought her
back some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.
From
YOUR Teacher:
To B or not to B
No this is really not a lesson about Shakespeare but
simply a little joke about pronouncing the letter B in
English.
Additional Lessons
About These
Lessons
The following classroom lessons are great for students
who want additional conversation, listening, and reading
practice.
Conversation Lesson -
Advanced
Level. Dialogs for everyday use.
Short situational dialogs for students of English as
a Foreign (EFL) or Second (ESL) Language with a
written conversation and a conversation notes
section.
Dialogs for everyday use. Short situational dialogs for
students of English as a Foreign (EFL) or Second (ESL)
Language.
Giving Your Opinion
JAKE: Where should we take a vacation this
year? Let’s decide soon.
MELISSA: Well, I’d like to go somewhere
warm. How about the beach? Or we could rent a cabin on the lake.
JAKE: You want to go to the beach, again?
I want to ski this winter. How about a compromise? What about traveling to the
Alps in Europe next April? We can find a ski resort on a lake.
MELISSA: Oh, we’ve never been to Europe
before! But I don’t know if it will be sunny and warm then. I need to do some
research first. That will help me make up my mind.
Conversation Notes
Decide is a useful verb to express choice. The idiom “to
make up my mind” also means “to decide”: “There are so many choices in this
menu. It’s going to take awhile to make up my mind/decide.” You can finish
this sentence with either the idiom or the verb “decide.”
How about This phrase presents an alternative. This
phrase can be followed by a subject plus a conjugated verb or by a noun: How
about we go swimming? / How about a movie tonight?
Many verbs express opinions: to think / to believe / to
suppose / to assume, etc. They are not all synonymous. For example, “to
suppose” and “to assume” express that the speaker has a preconceived idea:
He came back late from work, so I assumed that traffic was bad. /I suppose
that may not have been the case, and that he might just have had a lot of
work.
This is a collection of 30 situational conversations
which focus on a wide variety of communicative and
natural encounters in English....these
lessons are for beginning students.
This is a collection of 36 situational conversations
which focus on spoken American English in a relatively
natural way....these
lessons are for intermediate students.
The complete lesson includes an audio program explaining this
topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section,
and other important information.
Click for the complete lesson
Audio Program
Listen to the audio program explaining this topic.
The complete lesson includes an audio program explaining this
topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section,
and other important information.
Click for the complete lesson
Audio Program
Listen to the audio program explaining this topic.
The lesson includes an audio program explaining this
topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section,
and other important information.
Click for the complete lesson
Audio Program
Listen to the audio program explaining this topic.
Hey Students,
Use this dictionary and reference to look up any words you do not
understand in Fun Easy English.
You CAN
LISTEN to your Vocal Cords vibrating if you cover
your ears with your hands.
You CAN
FEEL your Vocal Cords vibrating if
you place your hands on your neck.
Mouth
Lips
Tongue
