English tongue twisters to test your English skills

Two friends sat outide smiling and looking at a phone
Reading time: 6 minutes

“She sells seashells by the seashore” and "If a woodchuck could chuck wood" are classic tongue twisters and aren’t just whimsical phrases but one of many tools language learners use to polish their pronunciation and articulate troublesome English sounds. For students and enthusiasts alike, tongue twisters are not only entertaining but they also serve as an effective and fun way to test and improve your English skills.

In this blog post, we’ll explore some challenging English tongue twisters perfect for language learners seeking to refine their pronunciation. Of course, the best way to use these tongue twisters is to say them out loud–so don’t just read them; try to repeat them and see how fast you can go without stumbling. Incorporating funny tongue twisters into your practice can make learning more enjoyable for kids and adults alike.

Test your English skills with tongue twisters
播放
隐私和颁辞辞办颈别蝉

观看此视频表示你同意培生可於一年内使用你观看的数据以作分析及营销之用。你可以通过清除肠辞辞办颈别蝉撤销设定。

What are tongue twisters and how can they help language learners?

Tongue twisters are phrases or sentences that are challenging to articulate because they contain similar-sounding syllables, words, or letters. They serve as a form of speaking exercise that can help with speech clarity, pronunciation and fluency in any language.

They can be especially helpful for those learning English, as the language’s diverse range of phonemes (distinct units of sound) provides a great exercise for all manner of verbal communication. Tongue twisters can be seen as a form of verbal gymnastics that challenges language learners.

Easy tongue twisters: A peck of pickled peppers

When you’re just beginning, start with some straightforward tongue twisters in English. These will help you get a sense of rhythm, which is crucial for getting your mouth used to the mechanics of English pronunciation. You’ve likely heard of this first one.

  1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
  2. Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter’s bitter.
  3. If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
  4. Red lorry, yellow lorry.
  5. Three free throws.
  6. Ted fed Fred bread. Fred fed Ted bread,
  7. Fresh fried fish fresh fried.
  8. Four furious friends fought for the phone.
  9. Tie twine to three tree twigs.
  10. Toy boat.

Medium tongue twisters: The proper copper coffee pot challenge

Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to up the ante. These slightly more complex tongue twisters will begin to challenge your diction and speed of speech.

  1. A proper copper coffee pot.
  2. Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.
  3. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
  4. She sees cheese on the Chinese chessboard.
  5. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
  6. She sells seashells on the seashore; the shells she sells are surely seashells.
  7. Too big a toboggan is too big a toboggan to buy to begin to toboggan.
  8. I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits, she shines, and where she shines, she sits.
  9. Double bubble gum bubbles double.
  10. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

Hard tongue twisters: How much wood can a woodchuck chuck

For those ready to push their skills to the limit, these tongue twisters are particularly tough. They involve tricky combinations of phonemes and are a true workout for your mouth.

  1. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as he could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
  2. The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
  3. Can you can a canned can into an uncanned can like a canner can can a canned can into an uncanned can?
  4. The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes but do great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes only.
  5. Swan swam over the sea, swim, swan, swim! Swan swam back again well swum swan.
  6. A big black bear sat on a big black rug while a big black bug bit the big black bear.
  7. If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
  8. Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.
  9. How much ground would a groundhog grind if a groundhog could grind ground.

What's the hardest tongue twister?

This depends on who you ask, but a named the challenge of "Pad kid poured curd pulled cod" the most difficult tongue twister in the world. The phrases “kid poured curd pulled” and “poured curd pulled cod” show why many have twisted their tongues trying to pronounce it.

Another example of a challenging tongue twister is “nearly eerie ear,” emphasizing its difficulty in pronunciation and showcasing the complexity of certain sounds and words.

Three friends sat together looking at a open book

How to practice with tongue twisters

Here are some steps to follow when practicing with tongue twisters:

  1. Start slow: Begin by saying the phrase slowly, ensuring you focus on the accurate pronunciation of each word and sound. This initial focus on accuracy is crucial for building a solid foundation in your pronunciation skills.
  2. Repeat: Repetition is key. Repeat it several times at a slow pace before trying to speed up.
  3. Record yourself: Listen to your pronunciation by recording yourself. This will help you catch subtleties and improve.
  4. Try different tongue twisters: Each tongue twister will test different aspects of speech. Don’t stick to just one; variety is important.
  5. Have fun: Don’t stress over getting it perfect. Have fun and use it as a warm-up exercise or a break from more serious study sessions.

Incorporating tongue twisters into daily language learning

Incorporating tongue twisters into your daily language-learning routine can significantly enhance your spoken English skills. Here are a few creative ways to make them part of your practice:

  • Morning warm-up: Begin your day with a set of tongue twisters to awaken your speech muscles and start your day with a word workout.
  • Social challenges: Challenge friends or fellow language learners to duels. This can be done in person or through social media, adding a competitive edge to your practice.
  • Teaching tool: If you’re teaching English, use tongue twisters as a fun and effective tool to engage students in pronunciation practice.

Remember, the key is consistency and enjoyment. By regularly challenging yourself with using tongue twisters in English, you’ll gradually notice improvements in your fluency, articulation and confidence in speaking English. Using tongue twisters daily can serve as a form of practice for your speech muscles.

Whether you’re a novice or an advanced English learner, tongue twisters are not only a fantastic way to improve your linguistic skills but also serve as an effective diagnostic tool to identify pronunciation challenges.

They can pinpoint which sounds you struggle with and provide a focused platform to work on them. Just remember, even fluent English speakers can trip over these tricky sentences, so take your time and enjoy the process.

Feeling tongue-tied yet? Take this opportunity to untangle your tongue and brush up on your English skills. Visit our blog for more tips, tricks and guides on mastering the English language.

Read more of our blog posts?

More blogs from 蜜桃app

  • A teacher stood in front of a classroom of students sat at their desks

    5 ways to deal with mixed ability students in secondary classes

    提交者 Anna Roslaniec

    No two teenagers are the same. Within all of our classes there tends to be not only a range of English proficiency levels, but also general learning styles, maturity, motivation, and personalities. This diversity can bring some challenges, but also opportunities to vary your classroom activities and teaching methodology.

    Here are some ways to help deal with mixed-ability classes and ensure all your students experience success in their language learning journeys.

    ?

  • A woman holding a tablet stood in a server room

    The role of AI in English assessment

    提交者 Jennifer Manning

    Digital assessment is becoming more and more widespread in recent years. But what’s the role of digital assessment in teaching today? We’d like to give you some insight into digital assessment and automated scoring.

    Just a few years ago, there may have been doubts about the role of AI in English assessment and the ability of a computer to score language tests accurately. But today, thousands of teachers worldwide use automated language tests to assess their students’ language proficiency.

    For example, 蜜桃app’s suite of Versant tests have been delivering automated language assessments for nearly 25 years. And since its launch in 1996, over 350 million tests have been scored. The same technology is used in 蜜桃app’s Benchmark and Level tests.

    So what makes automated scoring systems so reliable?

    Huge data sets of exam answers and results are used to train artificial intelligence machine learning technology to score English tests the same way that human markers do. This way, we’re not replacing human judgment; we’re just teaching computers to replicate it.

    Of course, computers are much more efficient than humans. They don’t mind monotonous work and don’t make mistakes (the standard marking error of an AI-scored test is lower than that of a human-scored test). So we can get unbiased, accurate, and consistent scores.

    The top benefits of automated scoring are speed, reliability, flexibility, and free from bias.

    Speed

    The main advantage computers have over humans is that they can quickly process complex information. Digital assessments can often provide an instant score turnaround. We can get accurate, reliable results within minutes. And that’s not just for multiple-choice answers but complex responses, too.

    The benefit for teachers and institutions is that they can have hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of learners taking a test simultaneously and instantly receive a score.

    The sooner you have scores, the sooner you can make decisions about placement and students’ language level or benchmark a learner’s strengths and weaknesses and make adjustments to learning that drive improvement and progress.

    Flexibility

    The next biggest benefit of digital assessment is flexible delivery models. This has become increasingly more important since online learning has become more prominent.

    Accessibility became key: how can your institution provide access to assessment for your learners, if you can’t deliver tests on school premises?

    The answer is digital assessment.

    For example, Versant, our web-based test can be delivered online or offline, on-site or off-site. All test-takers need is a computer and a headset with a microphone. They can take the test anywhere, any time of day, any day of the week, making it very flexible to fit into someone's schedule or situation.?

    Free from bias

    Impartiality is another important benefit of AI-based scoring. The AI engine used to score digital proficiency tests is completely free from bias. It doesn’t get tired, and it doesn’t have good and bad days like human markers do. And it doesn’t have a personality.

    While some human markers are more generous and others are more strict, AI is always equally fair. Thanks to this, automated scoring provides consistent, standardized scores, no matter who’s taking the test.

    If you’re testing students from around the world, with different backgrounds, they will be scored solely on their level of English, in a perfectly objective way.

    Additional benefits of automated scoring are security and cost.

    Security

    Digital assessments are more difficult to monitor than in-person tests, so security is a valid concern. One way to deal with this is remote monitoring.

    Remote proctoring adds an extra layer of security, so test administrators can be confident that learners taking the test from home don’t cheat.

    For example, our software captures a video of test takers, and the AI detection system automatically flags suspicious test-taker behavior. Test administrators can access the video anytime for audits and reviews, and easily find suspicious segments highlighted by our AI.

    Here are a few examples of suspicious behavior that our system might flag:

    Image monitoring:

    • A different face or multiple faces appearing in the frame
    • Camera blocked

    Browser monitoring:

    • Navigating away from the test window or changing tabs multiple times

    Video monitoring:

    • Test taker moving out of camera view
    • More than one person in the camera view
    • Looking away from the camera multiple times

    Cost

    Last but not least, the cost of automated English certifications are a benefit. Indeed, automated scoring can be a more cost-effective way of monitoring tests, primarily because it saves time and resources.

    蜜桃app English proficiency assessments are highly scalable and don’t require extra time from human scorers, no matter how many test-takers you have.

    Plus, there’s no need to spend time and money on training markers or purchasing equipment.

    AI is helping to lead the way with efficient, accessible, fair and cost-effective English test marking/management. Given time it should develop even further, becoming even more advanced and being of even more help within the world of English language learning and assessments.?

  • A woman and a man talking together

    4 ways to improve your students' intelligibility

    提交者

    Intelligibility is the art of being understood by others. Many students think they need to speak a language flawlessly and with a native-like accent to make themselves clear, but this is not quite true.

    While there is a correlation between proficiency and intelligibility, even students of lower general proficiency are capable of expressing what they mean, in a way that the listener understands, if they are using good intelligibility practices.

    Being understandable in a second language is often extremely important in work environments, especially as the world becomes more connected and job markets more competitive.?

    Intelligibility is a vital aspect of communication but it is not exactly a skill in itself. Instead, it is a combination of fluency, pronunciation, and managing your speed of speech. To reflect how important this is for language learners when studying, traveling or at work, we use an Intelligibility Index as part of our Versant English Test scoring.

    This index is based on factors affecting how understandable speech is to fluent English speakers. These include things like speed, clarity, pronunciation and fluency. Ranging from 1 (low) to 5 (high), the Intelligibility Index shows how intelligible someone’s speech in English is likely to be in a real-world situation.

    Let’s go into some activities and exercises you can try in class to help your students improve their intelligibility with their English and speaking skills.