How Do I Make the Student Pronounce the “TH” Sound?

It’s a question that many teachers ask themselves and each other; how can I make the students pronounce the “TH” sound so frequently found in English? Luckily, the answer is quite simple, but the road to that answer is long and riddled with difficulties.

One of the difficulties comes from the size of the average Japanese person’s tongue. It is a well-known fact that Japanese have longer intestines than any other race on the planet, lending to specialization towards their diet of rice, fish and miso soup. Because of the longer intestines, the tongue is shorter for obvious reasons. With short tongues, they develop a condition where they infrequently move outwards from the back of the throat, leading to mispronunciation of sounds that make great use of the tongue, primarily the “TH” sound.

Tongue Image

Tongue Image

To teach the “TH” sound, it is as simple as convincing the student to stick their tongue out. Stick your tongue out when looking at the student and speak, making liberal use of words that begin with “S”. As the teeth come down, they naturally create a “TH” sound. Each time the student successfully makes a “TH” sound, reward them with a smile and say “ooo, nice”. If they make an “S” sound, you should shake your head in disappointment and reinforce this with “oh, not good at all”.
Very few people outside of the medical field own calipers, but it is possible to maneuver the tongue out of the mouth with fingers, chopsticks, or pens used as chopsticks. Make certain to wash or use alcohol rub on anything before placing it into your mouth or the student’s.

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