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British English Diphthongs /ɔɪ/ and /əʊ/ Pronunciation Practice

ACCENT TRAINING MASTERY

10/4/2026

Exercise:

  1. Listen to the recording and repeat each word or sentence in the same way as the speaker.

    (Do your best to imitate them!)

  2. Voice-record yourself reading the words out loud

  3. Play your voice recording audio and listen to your pronunciation

  4. Compare with the original audio and Imitate the speaker

  5. Send your voice recording to your language coach.

grey microphone on brown wooden stand
grey microphone on brown wooden stand

Goal: Practise two British English diphthongs by moving smoothly between vowel positions without adding extra syllables.

1. WARM-UP

Say each sound slowly, then naturally.

  • /ɔɪ/ — boy, choice, voice

  • /əʊ/ — go, home, phone

Instruction: Make each vowel movement smooth and continuous. In standard British English, /əʊ/ begins with a relaxed central vowel and moves towards a closer rounded vowel.

2. SOUND 1 — /ɔɪ/

Examples: boy, coin, enjoy, point, choice.

Practise these sentences:

  1. The boy found a coin.

  2. I enjoy listening to your voice.

  3. Make the right choice.

  4. The noisy toy annoyed the little boy.

  5. Roy joined us for dinner.

  6. The appointment was cancelled, so we avoided the crowded shopping centre.

Activation: Start with the first vowel, then glide towards /ɪ/. Keep both parts within one syllable.

3. SOUND 2 — /əʊ/

Examples: go, home, road, phone, although.

Practise these sentences:

  1. Don't go home alone.

  2. Rose spoke to Joe on the phone.

  3. The road goes towards the coast.

  4. I hope you know the answer.

  5. Although it was cold, we went for a walk.

  6. The coach told us to slow down before reaching the old stone bridge.

Activation: Begin with a relaxed central vowel and round your lips as you move towards the final vowel. Avoid pronouncing the sound as a single Spanish-style vowel.

4. CONTRAST PRACTICE

Instruction: Read each pair aloud. Notice how the mouth movement changes.

  1. boy — bow

  2. toy — toe

  3. voice — vote

  4. coin — cone

  5. point — won't

  6. choice — chose

  7. noise — nose

  8. join — Joan

Now practise these sentences:

  • The boy chose a toy for his brother.

  • Roy phoned home before joining the others.

  • I enjoyed the show, although the noise was annoying.

  • Don't throw the coins onto the road.

5. WORD PRONUNCIATION GUESSING

Instruction: Read each word aloud. Identify whether it contains /ɔɪ/ or /əʊ/.

  1. Employ

  2. Shoulder

  3. Destroy

  4. Floating

  5. Avoid

  6. Coach

  7. Broke

  8. Moist

  9. Approach

  10. Loyal

6. FINAL CHALLENGE — READ AND RECORD

Instruction: Record yourself reading the paragraph. Listen for clear vowel movement and avoid flattening the diphthongs.

Roy phoned his brother Joe to invite him on a coastal road trip. Although the weather was cold, they decided to go. On the road, they stopped at a small shop, where Roy bought a toy for his nephew. They enjoyed the journey, talked about their favourite films and agreed to explore another part of the coast the following year.

Success criterion: You can distinguish /ɔɪ/ from /əʊ/ in isolated words and connected speech while maintaining a natural British English rhythm.