🔊 Phonetics Reference

30-Day Cheat Sheet

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30-Day Cheat Sheet

Your complete phonetics roadmap — all 30 days + 4 key takeaways + a post-plan daily routine. Bookmark this page and come back any time.

Week 1 · Vowels 🎵
D1
Phonetics & IPA basics
What is phonetics? IPA overview.
 D2
Short vowels
/ɪ ʊ æ e ɒ ʌ/ — sit, book, cat, pen, dog, cup.
 D3
Long vowels
/iː uː ɑː ɔː ɜː/ — see, blue, car, door, bird.
 D4
Short vs long
ship/sheep, full/fool, cat/cart.
 D5
Listen & identify
Train the ear first.
 D6
Record & self-compare
Listen → repeat → record → compare.
 D7
Vowel review
Consolidate Week 1.
Week 2 · Consonants 🔤
D8
Plosives
/p b t d k g/ — explosion sounds.
 D9
Fricatives
/f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ/ — friction sounds.
 D10
Nasals
/m n ŋ/ — nose sounds.
 D11
Approximants
/l r j w/ — smooth glides.
 D12
Affricates
/tʃ dʒ/ — stop + friction.
 D13
Consonant review
All 5 groups mixed.
Week 3 · Stress & Rhythm 💪
D14
Word stress
TAble, reCORD.
 D15
Sentence stress
Content vs function.
 D16
Listen for stress
Hear the rhythm.
 D17
Stress in paragraphs
Longer text.
 D18
Connected speech
Linking, elision, assimilation, weak forms.
 D19
Shadowing
Echo native speech.
 D20
Problem sounds
/θ/-/ð/, /r/-/l/, /v/-/w/.
 D21
Full sound review
Vowels + consonants mixed.
Week 4 · Natural Fluency 🎤
D22
Stories + linking
Natural flow applied.
 D23
Intonation
↘ ↗ ↗↘.
 D24
Dialogues
Real conversation style.
 D25
Storytelling
Longer speech, natural rhythm.
 D26
Reductions
gonna, wanna, lemme, gotta.
 D27
1-minute fluency
Speak non-stop.
 D28
Fix weak spots
Targeted practice.
 D29
Final review
All skills combined.
 D30
Final test + daily plan
🏆 Graduation.
Daily 20-Minute Routine (after Day 30) ⏱️
5m
Vowel + consonant pairs
10 quick pairs like ship/sheep.
5m
Shadow short audio
Podcast, video — 10–20s clips.
5m
3 sentences w/ rhythm
Stress + intonation focus.
5m
Record a short story
Compare with yesterday.
Four Takeaways 🎯
1
Sounds
Vowels + consonants = your alphabet.
2
Stress
Emphasize content words.
3
Intonation
Melody of your voice.
4
Connected speech
Smooth & natural.
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