Voice exercises

FOR CLEARER SPEECH

Vowel sounds

We have 5 vowels a,e,i,o,u and each letter makes more than one sound.
For example the letter a in day, cat, and car
Diphthongs are vowel sounds made with two sounds this means your mouth should change shape for these sounds (see my video course for more help)
My house joins new road way
The only thing that alters the sound of vowel is the shape of our mouth

i (eye)
Open your mouth wide enough to put three fingers in it vertically.
As you say the sound the shape of your mouth should alter from very open to a smile shape (see my video course)
The child smiles all of the time
High in the Pine tree

o (oh)
Make a circle with your lips

Your mouth should change shape as you say this sound
Don't moan about it though
Follow the arrows to avoid the snow

a (ay)
Your mouth should change shape as you say this sound.
Eight o'clock is too late
The lady gave me the plate on friday

a (ah)
Open your mouth wide enough to put three fingers in it vertically.
Your mouth doesn't change shape
My car is a very fast car
Stay calm, don’t argue

You will see from the exercises above that the spelling of the word doesn't matter - it is the sound that is important.

The 'ay' sound in 'eight' is the same as in 'date' even though one is 'ei' and the other 'a'.

Likewise, the 'oh' sound can be 'ou' or 'oa' or just 'o'. My video course covers this in more detail.

Consonant sounds

Consonant sounds are made when 2 organs of speech touch and the main organs of speech are:

Teeth
Tongue
Lips
Hard Palate
Soft Palate

'D' AND 'T'

Sound all the consonant sounds in each word, especially the 't' and 'd' sounds at the ends of the words and in the middle of words.
Just wait and see, the coat and hat might fit you
The little girl was absolutely certain that the chocolate was hers

'TH'
Tongue and teeth for the 'th' sound
Your tongue must be outside of your mouth before you start the 'th'sound

This sound can be at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a word

This is my finger, this is my thumb
Can I have another little brother
We both like living in the south of the country

'L'
The 'l' should be heard - only very quietly - in words like child, smile, adult etc. you must make sure that when you say 'mile' your tongue touches the roof of your mouth for the 'l' sound

The child smiles at the adult
Salt is bad for your health

Fun tongue twisters

She sells sea shells on the sea shore
Whether the weather be hot or whether the weather be cold
Peter Piper picked a piece of pickled pepper
Red leather yellow leather