Mapping the English /r/ Sound: Articulation and Rules

Section role: supports the 'Mapping the English /r/ Sound' section while the teacher uses visual models to formalize phonetics rules based on student discoveries from the previous listening challenge. Slides: (1) Title — 'Mapping the English /r/ Sound'; (2) The No-Touch Rule — bullets: tongue never touches the roof of the mouth, contrasting with Spanish trilled 'rr'; (3) Tongue Positioning — diagram showing 'bunched' versus 'retroflex' shapes; (4) Lip Rounding — visual of the 'O' shape required for clear production; (5) The Silent W — analysis of words like 'wrist', 'write', and 'right' demonstrating identical /r/ sounds despite spelling differences; (6) Vowel Influence — comparison between 'railway' and 'rest' to show how adjacent vowels affect articulation. Closing slide: 'Why is railway harder to say than rest?' — hands control back to the teacher for discussion. This material is part of a English foreign-language class for students in Chile learning English. Regardless of the material's language, the key terms and examples being taught must be written in English, not in the students' native language.

Lara de Teachy