Daily practice: 15 minutes

The routine

1. 3 minutes: r and l pairs (Rule 3). First one pair every 2 seconds, then at your normal speaking speed.
2. 3 minutes: t words and numbers (Rules 1 and 2): twenty, thirty, thirteen, water, better.
3. 3 minutes: vowel pairs (Rules 4 to 6): work and walk, hot and hut, ship and sheep, can and can't.
4. 3 minutes: read one paragraph aloud and record it on your phone.
5. 3 minutes: listen back and mark every word that broke a rule.

Weekly test

Set your phone's dictation to English (UK) and read the pair lists aloud. When it types light for right, or walk for work, that pair needs more practice.

Hear the difference

Every word and pair in this guide has a 🔊 button with Standard English audio. For human recordings, the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner's Dictionaries play 'UK' audio (Standard English) and 'US' audio for each word, so you can compare the two.

For teachers and further reading

• Jennifer Jenkins, The Phonology of English as an International Language (Oxford University Press, 2000), is the research behind the Lingua Franca Core: the sounds that matter most when non-native speakers talk to each other.
• Robin Walker, Teaching the Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca (Oxford University Press, 2010), turns it into practical exercises.