Articulation is the production of speech sounds, which involves the tongue, teeth, lips, jaw, and vocal cords, as well as airflow through the mouth and nose.
There are about 44 sounds in the English language. For many students, producing them will come naturally — they’ll listen to sounds and know how to make them.
However, some students will need help with articulating the sounds. We should provide explicit instruction to all students on what the mouth and vocal cords are doing when we teach a new sound. This will help with phonemic awareness, as well as with spelling down the line.
Giving this instruction to all students is also part of culturally responsive practice! For English Learners and students who speak a variety of English such as African American English, their spoken language may have phonological differences from the language in which they’re learning to read, making articulation instruction essential. Also, students with speech and language disorders will need extra support with and practice articulating the sounds.
The interactive below includes each phoneme in the English language. Everything you need to know is there: how to make the sound, the articulatory features of the sound, common spellings, and keyword pictures. You can navigate directly to the consonants or vowels at the top of the visual. Or simply move through each sound to learn them all. Come back to this interactive again and again!
