Tongue Twisters [Teaching Tip]

Students from different native languages have certain difficulties with pronunciation. For example Spanish speakers have difficulty with the different between /v/ & /b/ and many students from some Asiatic countries find /r/ difficult to say. To help practice these sounds, here are some tongue twisters you could teach them.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? A quick witted cricket critic. I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits. How many boards Could the Mongols hoard If the Mongol hordes got bored? How can a clam cram in a clean cream can? Chester Cheetah chews a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese Ray Rag ran across a rough road. Across a rough road Ray Rag ran. Where is the rough road Ray Rag ran across?

Then Spanish students have difficulties too with /h/, and pronounce it with a strong throat sound. So try this out!

Hungry Henry hit heavy Harriet over the head with a heavy hammer.

I often get my students to memorize this and ask them to say it out loud in class as a group and in pairs.

Happy tongue twisting!