3. A Review of an Online Resource "Phonetics Focus"

Phonetics Focus created by Cambridge English Online offers a wide range of fun, free phonetics lessons and games specifically designed for all ages. It provides a variety of enjoyable, interactive resources helpful for learning and teaching English pronunciation and the knowledge of phonetics. The website can be accessed via the following link given “http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/”. With its stylish, innovative design, the website is attractive, showing the icons of the features, through which the users can simply access the interested lessons provided. Every activity has clear instructions. This is a heartily recommended website to English pronunciation teachers, as well as learners, as it presents a more entertaining style of English phonetics learning, including phonemic chart, phonemic chart quiz and many various, creative games. Teachers may embark on using the interactive phonemic chart, showing the active phonetic symbols with audio recordings and example words where a particular sound exists before allowing the students to enter the phonemic chart quiz. After going through the phonemic chart, the students will become familiar with all the phonetic symbols and the English sounds they represent. Then teachers may pick one of the games to reinforce the students’ better understanding of phonetics and sound production. Another interesting function teachers may find useful is “Flashcard Maker”.