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Short Tongue Twisters (A) - Lesson Collection Set #5©EFL4U.com

Good blood, bad blood.Good blood, bad blood.Good blood, bad blood.

Tie twine to three tree twigs.Tie twine to three tree twigs.Tie twine to three tree twigs.

She sells seashells down by the seashore.She sells seashells down by the seashore.She sells seashells down by the seashore.

This thick thistle thrived in that thicket.This thick thistle thrived in that thicket.This thick thistle thrived in that thicket.

Sue threw three free throws.Sue threw three free throws.Sue threw three free throws.

Short

X 3

X 3

X 3

X 3

X 3

What’s Number 2?

What’s Number 4?

What’s Number 6?

What’s Number 8?

What’s Number 10?

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Short Tongue Twisters (B) - Lesson Collection Set #5©EFL4U.com

Red lorry, yellow lorry.Red lorry, yellow lorry.Red lorry, yellow lorry.

The sheik’s sixth sheep is sick.The sheik’s sixth sheep is sick.The sheik’s sixth sheep is sick.

Rubber baby-buggy bumpers.Rubber baby-buggy bumpers.Rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

Blake’s black bike’s back brake broke.Blake’s black bike’s back brake broke.Blake’s black bike’s back brake broke.

The fool pulled the full pail from the pool.The fool pulled the full pail from the pool.The fool pulled the full pail from the pool.

Short

X 3

X 3

X 3

X 3

X 3

What’s Number 1?

What’s Number 3?

What’s Number 5?

What’s Number 7?

What’s Number 9?

Teachers’ Instructions (1/2)

For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets Short Tongue Twisters [Lesson Collection Set #5 – Lesson 16a]Visit: http://www.efl4u.com ©EFL4U.com

Short Tongue Twisters

1. Student ability: High Beginner ~ Intermediate 2. Approximate length of lesson: 20+ 3. Number of students necessary: 2+ 4. Preferred age/maturity: JHS, HS, College, Adult 5. Type of lesson: Pair Work Activity

* * * * *

Language Target: Using ten short tonguetwisters to practice rhythm, rhyme andpronunciation.

Setting Up: Ask students if they know anytongue twisters in their own language.The class will usually become veryanimated and everyone will want to showtheir skill.

Say a few famous English tonguetwisters such as:

She sells sea shells down by thesea shore.

Peter Piper picked a peck ofpickled peppers…

Try to get a few students (or thewhole class) to say it three times asnaturally as possible. Try it slowly at firstand build up a little speed. (If studentshave trouble, write it on the board.)

Getting Started: Pair the students and giveone Worksheet A and the other

Worksheet B. Hand out the worksheet,one per student. Student B asks StudentA What’s Number 1?

Student A reads the first tonguetwister on Worksheet A: Good blood,bad blood, Student A should read it threetimes as quickly (but accurately) aspossible. Student B writes this tonguetwister on the appropriate lines onWorksheet B then says it three times asquickly and accurately as possible.

Follow this procedure for all tentongue twisters printed on theworksheets.

Each tongue twister should be readby both Student A and B three times as quickly and accurately as possible.

Variation 1: Have pairs compete againstother pairs by saying the tongue twistersin unison. The pair that finishes first isthe winner.

Variation 2: Challenge the students to readthe tongue twisters forwards thenbackwards smoothly.

Variation 3: To really enliven a class,separate student pairs as far away fromeach other as possible within theclassroom. When they say their TongueTwisters to their partners, they’ll have toshout loudly to their partners in order tobe heard!

Variation 4: Invite students to say someTongue Twisters in their own language(and to translate them into English!).

Building Fluency: Ask students if they canexplain, in English, the meaning of thetongue twisters.

For higher level ability students, askthem to paraphrase the tongue twisterswithout using any of the original

α Teachers’ Instructions (2/2)

For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets Short Tongue Twisters [Lesson Collection Set #5 – Lesson 16a]Visit: http://www.efl4u.com ©EFL4U.com

adjectives, verbs and nouns. (This is verydifficult!)

Writing Practice 1: Encourage students tocreate their own tongue twisters. Eventhough the meaning is often silly, thesentence(s) must be accurate and therehas to be some meaning. Students thenswap and recite their tongue twisters withother students.

Writing Practice 2: Rather than handingout the worksheets at first, use thisopportunity as a dictation (and spelling?)exercise. Afterward, follow the stepsgiven above.

Similar Lesson:Long Tongue Twisters

(Lesson Collection Set #5 – Lesson 16b)

Additional Resources: There are a numberof really good web sites featuringhundreds of well known and/or unknowntongue twisters.

The first one in the following listhas over 2500 tongue twisters (and theirmeanings!) in 105 languages:

1st International Collection of TongueTwisters(www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm)

The Tongue Twister Database(www.geocities.com/Athens/8136/tonguetwisters.html)

Tongue Twisters(www.oink.demon.co.uk/fun/tt/tongue.htm)

Contributed by Kurt Scheibner

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