Ear training module

The ipa chart

 

As mentioned in the 'before uni' page, the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is something that you will see a lot during the course and on placement. Typically, it is used to transcribe speech during assessments and can be used to identify speech sound difficulties. Using the IPA means that we can understand HOW a person has said a word, not just what they have said.

It may look scary, but frequent practice is the key. Here are some tricks when trying to practice the IPA:

  • Practice in small but frequent amounts. 
  • Attend IPA seminars!!!!
  • Practice in groups! This makes it super fun and you can identify when one of you makes a mistake. 
  • Use interactive IPA chart apps - (there are different ones available on Android/iPhone)
    • IPA Phonetics - shows a video of the sound being produced by the articulators. 
    • Sounds Pronunciation App - has options to use a clickable IPA chart with English sounds, practice identifying sounds and quizzes to help you read & write the symbols
    • AV Phonetics - this app has a range of resources from descriptions to recordings of the sounds as well as animations of the articulators when each sound is produced

Here are some websites you might find useful:

Both of these have interactive versions of the IPA with recordings of the sounds that play when you click on each symbol. These are really handy when you're sat practicing the sounds and want to check that your productions are as accurate as possible. 

 

consonants

Vowels

lexical set vowels

Vowels are quite different to consonants, as they are made with a constant airstream. We change the way each vowel sounds by moving our tongue and shaping our lips. The vowel chart below represents the vowel space.

These vowels are the ones we use in British English, although as you learn more about accents you'll realise that these are used in different ways in different areas.