Minimal Pairs

Minimal Pairs
Goal: To listen to the words and understand the differences between the words.
Level: Pre-intermediate
Class: 9th class
Time: 30 minutes
Input: Instructions of the teacher, activity sheets, the internet connection for www.hearwho.com
Outcome:
• Students will practice speaking, listening and pronunciation.
• Students will be able to improve their listening skills.
• Students will be aware of the minimal pairs by listening and using.
Teacher roles:
• Teacher watches the students and provides help.
• Teacher is a model for the learners. S/he tries to pronounce the words correctly.
• Teacher encourages the students.
• Teacher controls the sound system for listening.
Learner roles:
• Students are participants.
• They work in pairs.
Anticipated problems:
• Students may have problems with understanding the words. They can say they are the same, but the teacher should show and explain how they are different.
• Students may be confused with numbers; so the teacher should make a revision of the numbers at the beginning of the lesson.
Procedure:
• Deliver the activity sheets to the students.
• Tell them that they are going to listen to the words one by one.
• Ask them to listen to the words carefully.
• Play the words again and again.
• Ask some of the students to repeat.
• Then, tell that you are going to say your phone number using these words.
• Students find the number.
• Then, give the definition of minimal pairs to the students.
• The teacher writes a variety of words containing the target sounds (long and short vowels) on the board. The following is just one possible set:
0- PORT
1- PIT
2- PAT
3- PERT
4- PET
5- POT
6- PUTT
7- PUT
8- PART
9- PEAT
• Here, the only difference in sound is that of the vowel - familiar to anyone who has done minimal pair work. As in these examples, the word should begin and end with the same consonant. 0, 3, 8, and 9, are long vowels and the rest are short.
• Model each word and individal repetition follows. The vowel sound can be isolated and the procedure repeated until you are reasonably sure that there are no major problems.
• Then, tell the students that they are going to hear one of the words and must write the number which corresponds to the word they hear. What the students have written is then checked and compared.
• This automatically leads into a discussion of what they heard and what sounds they are confusing. If student X heard1 when you said 9, they are confusing the short vowel / I / with the long vowel / i: /. Give feedback and the sounds may then be modelled again and practised.
• Two or three words are then presented together and the procedure repeated. Tell the class they are going to hear seven words and that the numbers correspond to a telephone number.
• Tell the students that they are going to work in pairs.
• Deliver the words and ask , "What's my number?".
• They all use some words and try to find the phone numbers.



List of minimal pairs.

1) lit - light read - red sing - sang
2) bed - bad saw - sought boot - boat
3) soot - suit but - boot why - way
4) know - now wreath - wreathe leak - lick
5) look - luck sock - suck vest - vast
6) cod - card dug - dog thirst - first
7) fair - fear pay - bay read - lead
8) need - mead zoo - sue near - ne'er
9) catch - cash azure - assure jet - chet
0) leige - lease wistle - thistle beige - bays


The link for the activity:
http://www.hearwho.com/conversions/2011115&85&108&32&143&114420AM.MP3