Prevocalic /r/
Say a sentence with prevocalic /r/ that uses the word "red."
Example: "The red ball rolled across the rug.")
Say a sentence with vocalic /r/ using the word "car."
Example: "My car is blue."
Produce a sentence with the /br/ blend using the word "brown."
(Student: "The brown dog chased the ball.")
Name one strategy to increase speech intelligibility when producing /r/ sounds.
Answer: slow speech rate
Read the sentence aloud focusing on clear /r/: "I rode my bike."
(Target: ride)
Identify the prevocalic /r/ in this sentence: "Rachel runs rapidly every morning."
the /r/ at the beginning of Rachel, runs, rapidly
Identify the vocalic /r/ in this sentence: "The bird perched on the branch."
Answer: /ɝ/ or /ər/ in bird
Identify the /gr/ blend in this sentence: "Greg grabbed the green grapes."
Answer: Greg, grabbed, green
Describe how cueing (visual) can help a speaker produce /r/
Answer: provides a physical reminder of tongue placement
Read this sentence focusing on vocalic /r/: "Her fur is soft."
(Targets: her, fur)
Produce a sentence using the prevocalic /r/ in a multisyllabic word: use "remember."
Example target sentence: "Remember to bring your book."
Produce a sentence using an r-controlled vowel in a multisyllabic word: use "teacher" or "dinner."
(Example: "The teacher marked our papers.")
Say a sentence using the /tr/ blend in a multisyllabic word: use "transport."
Example: "They will transport the chairs."
Explain why over-articulation (exaggerating sounds) can help with intelligibility and give a quick example.
Answer: makes sounds clearer for listeners; e.g., stretch and emphasize the /r/ in "red" — "R-edd"
Read this sentence emphasizing an /r/ blend: "Brad brought bright blankets."
(Targets: Brad, brought, bright)
Create a short two-clause sentence that includes two different prevocalic /r/ words (different parts of speech).
Example answer: "Ryan read the report before dinner."
Read this sentence and emphasize the r-controlled vowel sounds: "The farmer stirred the warm porridge."
(Targets: farmer, stirred, warm, porridge)
Read this sentence that includes three different /r/ blends: "Brad's strong, bright truck arrived."
Targets: Brad's (/br/), strong (/str/), bright (/br/), truck (/tr/)
List three strategies a speaker can use during conversation to improve /r/ intelligibility.
Answer: slow rate, place emphasis on problem sounds, use visual cues or gestures, ask listener to repeat if needed — any three
Read this sentence using both prevocalic and vocalic /r/: "Ron repaired the car before dinner."
(Targets: Ron, repaired, car, dinner)
Read this complex sentence emphasizing the prevocalic /r/ sounds: "Rita rarely returns rotten fruit to grocery retailers."
Produces clear initial /r/ in Rita, rarely, returns, rotten, retailers)
Produce a sentence blending multiple vocalic /r/ words in a row: "Her siren occurred near the shore."
Targets: her, siren, occurred, near, shore)
Produce a complex sentence emphasizing consonant clusters with /r/ blends: "The brave crew prepared the crisp, brown crates for transport."
Targets: brave, crew, prepared, crisp, brown, crates, transport
Explain how context and sentence restructuring can increase intelligibility for a listener. Provide an example sentence rephrased to be clearer.
Answer: simplifying sentence structure and using stronger keywords reduces confusion.
Example: Original: "He returned the book that was red and old." Rephrased: "He returned the red book." Emphasize /r/ in "returned" and "red."
Read this longer sentence clearly, using strategies (slow rate, emphasis, brief pause): "Before the morning break, the brave crew repaired the broken radar receiver."
(Targets: before, brave, crew, repaired, broken, radar, receiver)