By Singapore Teaching Centre, British Council

19 October 2015 - 12:17

Two students in class at Napier Road Centre
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British Council

'The thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I’d thought.'

Try the fun tongue-twisters below. If it is difficult for you, say it ten times in front of a mirror. Look at your mouth shape and think about the movement of your tongue. With practise, your pronunciation will improve a lot! 

Consonant Blends

She sells seashells by the seashore
I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen
thought I thought of thinking of thanking you
Slim slam slap
A big black bug snoozed on a big black rug
He threw three free throws
Thin sticksthick bricks
Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread

L vs. R

Red lorry, yellow lorry
Truly rural
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream
Rolling red wagons
Red blood, bad blood

B vs. V

Blue blurry vines blind
Betty loves the velvet vest best
Barber baby bubbles and a bumblebee
Burnt base, vicious vase
Vivacious Val vacuumed Violet’s very vivid vehicle

Vowels

Eddie edited Earl’s easy music
Gooey gopher guts
Excited executioner exercising his excising powers excessively
Annie ate eight Arctic apples
An orange oval spooks the odd operative
An awful aardvark and an aching ape ate an antelope

Bonus Twists

Printed papers under pressure make pens prickle
The poor boar pours batter over his putter
Six sticky skeletons
Thunder sunders thick sticks 

Learn more on Enlish courses for adults

Three students, one with a cap, at Napier Road Centre
©

British Council