Miss Elise
Pronunciation Coach
Master Pronunciation in Minutes: Free 5-Minute Tutorials
Engaging and accessible lesson plans to complement each tutorial.
Start your ESL classes with quick, effective pronunciation lessons—perfect as a warmup or standalone activity. Or, dive deeper to discover essential habits and techniques for mastering American English pronunciation with confidence.
The Sound of D
How to produce D: D is a voiced sound formed by pressing the front of the tongue, not the tip, against the upper palate, then breathing out while making a soft sound.
Practice the D sound by repeating the following, making only the sound:
D, D, D
D, D, D
D, D, D
D, D, D
Repeat the following two times, exaggerating the D sound:
Da, de, di, do, doo, dy; Da, de, di, do, doo, dy
Dad, data, dab, dabbler, damage
Dazzle, darn, desk, debt, decay
Deal, deacon, dictum, diesel, dice
Dial, diet, dog, doll, dogma
Audio, elder, medal, modem, order
Repeat the following sentences two times:
1) Debbie dabbled divinely in the dark arts.
2) The peddler paddled politely in South Dakota.
3) Daniel thought deeply while he drank a double scotch.
4) The donkeys drooled at the sight of the delicious dessert.
5) Dorothy decided to advance to the final round, to the delight of her fans.
6) Hayden was addicted to darts and dancing.
7) The deer deceived the hunter by darting away.
8) They derided the Christmas decorations.
9) Dianne disliked dividing the dessert.
10) Addison detoured down by the dam.
* Please note that letters and sounds in English do not always match. Different letters can make the same sound, such as hard C and K, and the same letter can make different sounds depending on context, like cat/cake.