1 00:00:00,467 --> 00:00:03,630 Hi! I'm Tom Kelly, a Rachel's English teacher. 2 00:00:03,630 --> 00:00:09,080 Today's practice tip deals with what some students consider a pretty tricky consonant sound. 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:10,820 The TH. 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:23,460 For many students, the TH consonant ends up sounding like an American English D or T consonant. 5 00:00:23,460 --> 00:00:29,880 For instance, instead of saying "the", a very common word that begins with the voiced TH consonant, 6 00:00:29,890 --> 00:00:33,590 students will say "duh". It's in the back. 7 00:00:33,860 --> 00:00:38,120 You can hear the consonant sound "duh-duh". 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,400 We want the TH sound "the - the". 9 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:48,500 It's in the back. "In the - in the". It's in the back. 10 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:51,939 Here are a few tips to help with your TH sound. 11 00:00:51,939 --> 00:00:56,350 First off, you want the tip of your tongue to be between the teeth. 12 00:00:56,350 --> 00:01:00,190 You don 't need to bite the tongue. You can just gently rest the tongue 13 00:01:00,190 --> 00:01:02,920 between the teeth. 14 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,100 You also don't need to push a lot of the tongue out. 15 00:01:06,100 --> 00:01:09,400 It can just be the very tip of the tongue. That's enough. 16 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:14,900 Another tip I have for you is to remember that the TH consonant is a very gentle sound. 17 00:01:14,900 --> 00:01:18,280 And it takes a bit of relaxation to find it. 18 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:23,980 A great way to test your TH consonant sound is to see if you're able to hold out the consonant. 19 00:01:23,980 --> 00:01:27,720 For instance, here is the unvoiced consonant held out. 20 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:36,200 TH 21 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:37,680 Can you even hear it? 22 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,880 It's a very quiet, gentle sound. Right? 23 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:46,180 All that's happening is air is being pushed past the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth. 24 00:01:46,190 --> 00:01:49,820 You don't have to hold any tension anywhere in your face for this sound. 25 00:01:49,820 --> 00:01:54,000 Just rush the air past the tongue and teeth. 26 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,340 TH 27 00:01:56,340 --> 00:01:58,300 Think 28 00:01:58,300 --> 00:02:00,900 Therapy 29 00:02:00,900 --> 00:02:03,560 For the voiced version of this consonant, 30 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:08,440 all you do is add vibration of your vocal cords and use just a little less air. 31 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,000 You should feel the vibration in your tongue. 32 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,800 Again, you should be able to hold the sound out easily. 33 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:22,360 TH 34 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,460 Their 35 00:02:24,460 --> 00:02:26,360 This 36 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:27,980 Their 37 00:02:27,980 --> 00:02:30,920 This 38 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:34,880 Here's one last tip to help you work on this challenging consonant sound. 39 00:02:34,890 --> 00:02:39,380 We always talk about putting the tip of the tongue between the teeth for this consonant sound. 40 00:02:39,380 --> 00:02:43,320 Or having the tip of the tongue just behind the opening between the teeth. 41 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,040 But what is the rest of the tongue doing? 42 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,600 Think of the rest of the tongue being low in the mouth and relaxed for this sound. 43 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,940 Many students will place the tip of the tongue between the teeth, 44 00:02:53,940 --> 00:02:57,220 but the rest of the tongue is actually lifted in the mouth 45 00:02:57,220 --> 00:03:01,439 which blocks the air from flowing easily past the tongue and teeth. 46 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,480 If you do this, you will end up with that D or T consonant. 47 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,640 With a low relaxed tongue, "there". 48 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:14,000 With a lifted tongue blocking the airflow, "there". 49 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,520 It sounds like a D consonant - "there" 50 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,120 because my tongue is blocking the airflow. 51 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,202 There, there. 52 00:03:23,220 --> 00:03:26,380 Keep that tongue low in the mouth. 53 00:03:26,380 --> 00:03:30,540 Don't forget to keep the rest of the tongue low and relaxed when the TH consonant 54 00:03:30,540 --> 00:03:33,800 comes in the middle or at the ends of words as well. 55 00:03:33,810 --> 00:03:41,850 Another, father, whether, myth, faith, bath 56 00:03:41,850 --> 00:03:46,100 Practice this sound by holding out the consonant easily in words. 57 00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:50,140 This will build up the habit of keeping the tongue relaxed and letting the airflow 58 00:03:50,140 --> 00:03:53,040 easily pass the tongue and teeth. 59 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,920 TH 60 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,760 Therapy 61 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:05,520 Whether 62 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:11,220 Faith 63 00:04:11,220 --> 00:04:14,000 You don't really need to hold out the TH that long. 64 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,279 This is just a way to practice. 65 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,279 That's all for today's practice tip. 66 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,418 If you're interested in learning more about taking private lessons with me, 67 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,820 click here or in the description below. 68 00:04:23,820 --> 00:04:26,180 I also offer pronunciation evaluations 69 00:04:26,180 --> 00:04:30,687 where I help you identify and focus on your specific pronunciation challenges. 70 00:04:30,687 --> 00:04:35,827 Keep practicing, have fun, and thanks for watching Rachel's English!