39 Facilitating Accurate /s/ Production with Placement and Motivational Strategies
Stacey Zhang
Guided Practice Script
Let’s try to say the /s/ sound. Have you tried to suck on a lemon before? It’s sour. The /s/ sound is in the beginning of sour. Let’s say sour together.
Here’s a hint to help you say it, put your teeth together like you’re going to bite a burger. Can you lightly touch your tongue tip to the top of your mouth while keeping your teeth closed? While you’re doing that, have your tongue touch the sides of the upper teeth and blow air out without your voice. It sounds a little squeaky!
Have you been to the zoo before? At the zoo, there are snakes and they make the /s/ sound too! When you practice the /s/ sound, you’re trying to win against them, who can do /s/ better?
Target Techniques and Considerations
Elicitation Techniques in the Script
- Modeling
- Phonetic Placement
- Verbal instructions using a metaphor
Potential Sound Errors
- Interdental lisp, producing /θ/ instead of /s/ because the tongue is protruding in between the lips. For example: thide instead of side.
Dialectal Differences
- In African American Vernacular English (AAVE), the final /s/ sound may be removed.
- For example: “She work at the school” instead of “She works at the school.”
