Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

Hi everyone

I have a one-on-one Elementary class with an Italian lady and she's making good progress. However, I can't get her to pronounce the 'h' sound on 'hello', 'hungry', 'how' etc! She can't see that the sound comes from the diaphragm and I'm worried that she's going to have difficulty being understood in English.

Does anyone have any ideas/games/tools for getting someone to practice pronouncing the 'h'?

Thanks!
Evie

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

How is she with 'ha, ha, ha?' I feel like the first situation would be to find a word that she says with the sound. . . And then to make her see that she can say it, and how it's said.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with Italian, but when I can find German words (guess where I teach) with the sounds they need, it helps a lot.

Hope this helps,
-Toby

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

Hi OP,

Okay. This one is EASY.....

Bring her up to a pane of glass and show her how you fog it up. "haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa". Then, have her do it. :D

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

Okay. . . I have to agree with teaching English made easy. That's a much better idea than my suggestions!

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

lol, :lol: Stupid? I know. But, extremely effective. I love using TPR/actual student physical participation to learn things. They get a kick out of it and at the same time, learn something! I'm a goofball! Tis true!

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

Excellent idea!!! Then make a list of words with this sound and let her pronounce them with the pane of glass.

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

thanks guys! Great suggestion about the glass! STCrowley, also good ta - but being Italian they just don't seem to need to make that sound! In fact, 'ha' in Italian is pronounced 'a'!

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

you know.....you could buy a decently-sized mirror; take it into the shower with you; fog it up; write a secret message on it; take it to class; then have her practice the "h" sound in "ha" and have her "decode" the message! Talk about fun!
:eek:

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

Hi. I teach in Italy, too - in Tuscany. The Florentines are famous for pronouncing the Italian hard "c" like an "h". So "casa" becomes "hasa". If your student knows how to imitate this aspect of the Florentine accent, it might help. I use it here because everyone knows about it - even if they're from another region because they imitate it to make fun of the Florentines.

Re: Pronouncing the 'h' sound, how to get my student to do it?!
 

Fantastic idea! Ok so I have to get my student to practice a Florentine accent, whilst holding a mirror to her face! Easy ;)

Thanks guys!

I'll try those suggestions today... She's a bit shy though so it might take some coaxing!

Evie