Tongue twisters and PSLE orals: Enhance pronunciation for higher scores

Do you know that according to the SEAB, or the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, the number #1 requirement for getting a high score in PSLE English reading aloud component is:

"For Reading Aloud, candidates are assessed on their ability to pronounce and articulate words clearly, as well as their ability to read fluently with appropriate expression and rhythm."

Effective pronunciation can help bring a student's score up significantly. This is because when a student pronounces words correctly, it signals a higher command over the language.

A great way to improve one's pronunciation is to practice tongue twisters, which involve repeating sequences of words with similar sounds quickly and correctly. This article will discuss how tongue twisters can be used to enhance pronunciation for higher scores in the PSLE orals.

We will be covering:

- How practising tongue twisters can help your child avoid these common PSLE Oral mistakes

- 15 Tongue twisters to practice with your child to help them improve their pronunciation

How practising tongue twisters can help your child avoid these common PSLE Oral mistakes

1. Not using appropriate intonations

Tongue twisters can actually be quite helpful for a student who struggles with using the right intonations. Intonation is how the voice goes up and down while we talk, and it can affect the meaning of what we're saying.

For example, let's take this simple sentence: "I didn't say he was stupid."

Now, depending on where you put the emphasis or stress in this sentence, the meaning can change:

"I didn't say he was stupid." - Here, it means that you didn't mention anything about him being stupid, but someone else might have.
"I didn't say he was stupid." - This suggests that you might have said something else about him, but not that he's stupid.
"I didn't say he was stupid." - In this case, it means you didn't make any statement about his intelligence, but maybe you implied it in some other way.

So, you see, by changing the stress or emphasis on different words, the sentence can mean different things. This is why the way we say things, the tone, and the stress on certain words can really affect the message we're trying to convey.

Since tongue twisters are tricky phrases that are hard to say quickly, they can help improve your child's command over intonations in a few ways:

Practice with rhythm: Tongue twisters have a specific rhythm to them. When we say them out loud, we naturally start using the right rise and fall in our voices. This practice can carry over to regular speech and help us use the right intonation.
Listening to ourselves: When we say a tongue twister, we pay more attention to how we sound. This can help us become more aware of the way our voice goes up and down when we talk. It's like training our ears to catch the right intonation.
Sounding clearer: Tongue twisters challenge us to enunciate words clearly and at a good pace. This can indirectly help us work on our intonation because we're focusing on each word's sound.
Getting comfortable with pitch changes: Intonation involves changing the pitch of our voice. Tongue twisters can help us get more comfortable with these changes, so it becomes more natural in our regular speech.

2. Making mistakes in grammar rules

Tongue twisters can actually be quite helpful in avoiding some of the most common grammar mistakes. They're not just fun to say, but they can also train our brain and mouth to work together more smoothly. When we practice saying them correctly, it can have a positive impact on our overall language skills.

See, tongue twisters are like little challenges for our mouth muscles and our brains. When we say them, we need to pay extra attention to the sounds and the order of the words. This helps us become more aware of the structure of sentences and the way words fit together.

Let's take verb tenses as an example. In a tongue twister, the words are often arranged in tricky ways, and this can help us practice using the right verb tense. As we get better at saying the tongue twister without stumbling, our brain gets better at choosing the right tense in regular conversation.

The same goes for pronouns and word order. Tongue twisters often have unusual sentence structures, so practising them can train our brains to spot and fix errors in pronoun usage and word order.

3. Not connecting words with each other by using conjunctions

Tongue twisters can be super helpful for students who find it tricky to connect words smoothly with conjunctions like "and," "but," or "because." Not using conjunctions can make speech sound a bit choppy and harder for listeners to understand. Tongue twisters are like little speech workouts that can improve this.

When we say tongue twisters, we're practising saying lots of words in a row without tripping over them. This practice can help our brain get used to moving from one word to the next without getting stuck. And guess what? That's the same thing we need to do when using conjunctions to connect words smoothly.

So, if your child is having trouble making their speech sound smooth and connected, try giving these tongue twisters a shot.

15 Tongue twisters to practice with your child to help them improve their pronunciation

1. She sells seashells by the seashore, the shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure. So if she sells seashells on the seashore, then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

This one helps you practice the "sh" and "s" sounds.

2. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

It helps with the "k" and "cl" sounds.

3. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy. No, by gosh, he wasn’t, was he?

This one works on the "z" and "w" sounds.

4. Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.

Practice the "s" and "sl" sounds.

5. Red lorry, yellow lorry.

Focus on the "r" and "l" sounds.

6. Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter’s bitter. So Betty bought a better bit of butter, to make the bitter bit of butter better.

Great for the "b" and "t" sounds.

7. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Practice the "p" and "k" sounds.

8. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

This one helps with the "w" and "ch" sounds.

9. Black bug bleeds black blood. Black blood bleeds black bug.

Practice the "b" and "bl" sounds.

10. Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Focuses on the "b" and "r" sounds.

11. How can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

Works on the "k" and "c" sounds.

12. The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes.

Helps with the "g" and "gr" sounds.

13. A skunk sat on a stump. The stump thunk the skunk stunk.

Focuses on the "s" and "st" sounds.

14. She saw Sherif's shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure she saw Sherif's shoes on the sofa?

Works on the "sh" and "s" sounds.

15. Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread.

Helps with the "f" and "d" sounds.

Remember, the more your child practices these tongue twisters, the better they’ll become at pronouncing difficult sounds and combinations of sounds in English.

If you liked reading this article, read How to improve English pronunciation: A comprehensive guide next!