by Keisha Centa Putri
Have you ever felt tongue-tied when trying to say certain English words? Maybe the sentence is just too difficult. Or maybe, it’s a sign that your speech muscles aren’t fully trained.
This is where tongue twisters actually become the secret to improvement. They’re not just funny word games that people often play, when done correctly and consistently, tongue twisters can serve as practical exercises to genuinely improve your pronunciation and further train your speech muscles.
How can we do it?
- Use tongue twisters to practice coordinating your lips, tongue, and jaw.
- Choose a short sentence, say it slowly while paying attention to your mouth position and the sounds you make. Here are some classic ones:
a. She sells seashells by the seashore.
b. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
c. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
d. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he? - Repeat it 5 to 10 times until it feels familiar and more natural.
- Continue to gradually increase your speed while maintaining clear articulation. Focus on sounds that are generally difficult, such as “th,” “r,” and also the stress in the sentence.
With this practice, you can build the control needed for more natural and accurate pronunciation.
One thing that can also help you improve is by listening to examples of someone saying the tongue twisters There are a lot of videos on YouTube that you can look up! Not only will this help train your tongue muscles, it will also help improve your listening at the same time.
Words used in tongue twisters aren’t commonly used in everyday conversation, but that’s actually part of their benefit. Tongue twisters challenge your brain to learn in a fun and memorable way that makes learning more effective. Try it today and comment how you did!
Source:
- Fritz, L. G. (n.d.). The benefits of tongue twisters – Celebrating #NationalTongueTwisterDay! Teach Them Diligently. https://teachthemdiligently.net/blog/tongue-twisters/?srsltid=AfmBOorCaw-ivR98H3a1Y9Y3z65XKnm5qBlZu9JqMo9UBVzZG4lkLMSE
- Dills, D. (2026, March 26). How tongue twisters can help you learn a language. Duolingo. https://blog.duolingo.com/tongue-twisters-language-learning/
- Khanh, Q. (2024, May 14). Tongue twisters – A fun and effective way to improve pronunciation. IDP IELTS. https://ielts.idp.com/vietnam/about/news-and-articles/article-tongue-twisters/en-gb
