Are you looking for strategies to help students who have trouble mimicking speech sounds? If so, keep reading.

1. Ensure that the learner can hear the difference between the target sound and the way it should be made and the way it sounds when incorrectly pronounced.

2. Get the learner to keep a list of all the words they can think of that contain sounds they have difficulty pronouncing accurately.

3. Throughout oral reading, underline words containing the target sound and reinforce the learner for correct pronunciations.

4. Assess the appropriateness of requiring the learner to accurately pronounce specific sounds (e.g., developmentally, specific sounds may not be pronounced accurately until the age of 8 or 9).

5. Get the learner to cut out images of things depicting words containing the target sound. Display them where they can be practiced each day.

6. Create cards with the target sound and cards with vowels. Get the learner to combine a target sound card with a vowel card to make a syllable that they can pronounce (e.g., ra, re, ro, and ar, er; or).

7. Get the learner to keep a notebook of complicated words encountered each day. These can be practiced by the learner with a teacher or peer assistant.

8. Get the learner to read simple passages and record them. Get them to listen to the recording and mark errors and/or correct pronunciations.

9. Utilize a board game that requires the learner to tag images containing the target sound. The learner needs to pronounce the target sound correctly before they can move on the game board. (This learning experience can be simplified or expanded based on the level of expertise of the learner.)

10. Get the learner’s hearing reviewed if it has not been recently reviewed.

11. Utilize a schematic drawing as a visual aid to show the learner how the mouth looks during the production of the target sound.

12. Get the learner to stand up every time they hear the target sound pronounced accurately as contrasted with inaccurate pronunciations.

13. Give the learner a list of words containing the target sound. Get them to practice the words daily. As the learner masters the word list, add more words. (Using words from the learner’s everyday vocabulary, reading lists, spelling lists, etc., will enable the transfer of correct pronunciation of the target sound into everyday speech.)

14. Get the learner to tally the number of correct pronunciations of the targeted sound when the teacher or a peer reads a list of words.

15. Get the learner to use phonics “fun” sheets to practice their sound orally. These are also excellent for home practice.

16. Inform the learner what to listen for when requiring them to mimic speech sounds.

17. Get the learner to write sentences using words containing the target sound.

18. Select a peer to model correctly, pronouncing targeted words for the learner.

19. At the onset, each correct pronunciation may need reinforcement. As the learner progresses, random reinforcement may be sufficient.

20. Get the learner to show thumbs-up every time the target sound is pronounced accurately when images are tagged and thumbs-down if the target sound is pronounced inaccurately.

21. Read The Edvocate’s Guide to K-12 Speech Therapy.

22. Consider using a language development app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

23. Consider using an assistive technology designed to support students with articulation disorder.