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. Notice one improvement, then choose one sound to practise again. Repeat the sentence and compare your recordings.

Weekly test

Ask someone to listen while you say a few words or numbers from the practice lists, without showing them the text. Ask them to repeat or write what they heard. Notice which examples are clear, then choose one pair to practise again.

You can also set your phone's dictation to English (UK). Treat its results as another clue: a transcription error does not necessarily mean you pronounced the word incorrectly. If you are practising alone, compare your recording with the guide's audio and try the listener check when someone is available.

Hear the difference

Use the 🔊 buttons to practise with the Standard English recordings. American comparison clips help you recognise other pronunciations. For additional listening, the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner's Dictionaries offer 'UK' and 'US' recordings.

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.