7 Pronunciation games for all levels

Pronunciation is one of those aspects that can be challenging at any level of language learning. 

All the words may seem familiar, and the rules clear, but how do you pronounce a particular sound correctly? 

This is especially true for students who are just starting to learn English or have advanced but still struggle with their accents and make mistakes. 

Let's explore a few games that are suitable for any language proficiency level and will help your students improve their pronunciation with ease.

Tongue twisters are perhaps one of the most fun and effective ways to improve pronunciation. 

They are loved by both children and adults because trying to quickly and correctly articulate tricky phrases always brings a lot of smiles and laughter. 

Moreover, it's a great tool for practising specific sounds and intonation. 

For example, a short tongue twister is ideal for beginners: "She sells seashells by the seashore."

Let the students try to repeat the phrase slowly, then a bit faster, and finally as fast as they can. 

Mistakes are inevitable, but that's what makes it fun. 

For those who have already advanced in learning English, more complex options can be offered. 

For example: "The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday." 

The faster the student speaks, the harder it is to maintain the correct intonation and pronounce the sounds clearly. 

Want to make the exercise even more engaging? 

You can set up a competition: the winner is the one who says the tongue twister the quickest and with the fewest mistakes.

The game “Where’s the Stress?” is a great exercise for practising correct word stress, which is often challenging for students of all levels. 

In English, the stress doesn’t always fall where you expect it to. 

How to play? 

The teacher prepares a list of words in advance where the stress might cause difficulties. 

For example, words like photograph, economics, vegetable, record (both as a noun and a verb). 

This can be done orally or written on the board with the stressed syllable highlighted. 

You can suggest that students divide into teams. 

Each team takes turns receiving a word and must place the stress correctly. 

If the team succeeds, they earn a point. 

If not, the other team gets the chance to answer. 

Examples of word stress:

Pronunciation bingo is an engaging and effective game that helps students practise the pronunciation of various sounds, words, or phrases in a fun way. 

It’s suitable for students of any level and can be adapted based on their needs.

How to play? 

Give each student a bingo card and markers or pens to mark off their words. 

Start the game by announcing a sound that students need to find on their cards. 

For example, say the sound /ʃ/. 

The students should find a word on their card that includes this sound, such as ship, and mark it. 

To reinforce correct pronunciation, ask the students to say the word out loud once they find it on their card.

The student must shout “Bingo!” and pronounce all the marked words. 

Check their pronunciation, and if everything is correct, congratulate the winner!

Rhyming memory is a game that helps students with pronunciation and develops their ability to find and recognise rhymes.

How to play? 

To start, place cards with words written on them face down on the table. 

For example, if you have the word cat on one card, its rhyme hat will be hidden somewhere among the other cards. 

The task of your students is to find all the rhyming pairs. 

However, there’s a catch: the cards are laid out face down, and players take turns flipping them over, trying to remember where the pairs are. 

Once a rhyme is found, the pair is collected, and the player keeps it.

The concept of the game is simple, but the impact is impressive! 

You could even make it more fun by holding a mini-competition to see who can collect the most rhyming pairs.

Sound hunt is an exciting game that will help your students improve their pronunciation and practise specific sounds at any level of English proficiency.

How to play? 

The task for the students is to find and pronounce as many words as they can that contain this sound. 

Players can look for words around them, whether in the classroom, outside, or even recall them from their learning materials and personal experience. 

For instance, if you're practising the sound /θ/, students might come up with words like think, thumb, theatre.

You can divide the students into teams. 

Each team is given one minute to come up with and pronounce as many words with the target sound as possible. 

For every correctly pronounced word, the team earns a point.

This game is especially helpful for students who often confuse similar sounds, such as /θ/ and /s/.

Sound sprint is a fun and dynamic game suitable for any level of English, and you can easily adapt it to your lessons.

How to play? 

Divide the class into two teams and have them line up. 

Place a chair or any other object in front of each team that they will need to run to. 

Each student takes turns running to the chair, pronouncing the word correctly — such as rabbit — and then runs back, passing the baton to the next team member. 

The team that finishes first and pronounces all the words correctly wins.

Sound сhain is an engaging game suitable for students of any level of English.

How to play? 

You start the game by saying a word.

For example, if you say cat, the next student must come up with a word that starts with the sound /t/, such as train.

Sound сhain helps students to listen more attentively to sounds, improve pronunciation, and actively expand their vocabulary.

Pronunciation is one of the most important skills in learning a language, but it doesn’t have to be practised in a dull or monotonous way. 

Incorporating games into your lessons makes the process more engaging. 

The games we’ve explored today help turn pronunciation into something lively, rather than a tedious repetition exercise. 

Let your lessons be filled with active participation, and your students will look forward to every session with excitement.