English language is a stressed language (I mean stress in linguistic terms) and as such it poses some daunting challenges to learners particularly EFL learners. I speak four languages and I have been teaching English to EFL students for several years and I know exactly the hardships students encounter when learning English pronunciation. Unlike other languages, mal-pronunciation in English can result in a completely different meaning than the intended one. Some examples of the problematic words EFL learners have issues with include : fear/fair, tank/thank, read (present tense)/ read(past tense), got/gut.
As a teacher, you definitely can not model the pronunciation of every single word for your students and this is where the importance of web tool such as the ones below is highlighted. Anytime students come across a new word they haven't seen before, they can check its pronunciation using these tools. In this way they can be sure of how to say it right.
1- Howjsay
This is a great free online talking dictionary of English pronunciation. Just type in your word and Howjsay provides the pronunciation together with other variations of the word.
2- Wordhippo
This is another great free online dictionary that allows students to check for pronunciation of words. To use Wordhippo, type in your word, and select pronounce from the options. Students can also use it to look for synonyms, antonyms, word meanings, and many more.
3- Macmillan Dictionary
The popular Macmillan dictionary has an option where users can listen to the pronunciation of the word looked for. Under each word you look for in Macmillan, a pronunciation button is provided that you can click on to hear how the word is pronounced.
4- Dictionarist
Dictionarist is similar to Macmillan. It provides both word meaning and its pronunciation. It also shows the word translation in different languages.
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