Pronunciation: Plural ‘S’ in English: /s/ /z/ /iz/

ESL Level: Intermediate+

Language Focus: Pronunciation of 's' sounds (plurals)

Class Time: 40 minutes (or one hour if you watch the video)

Materials: A worksheet for each student, a tongue twister for each student

Lesson Plan Download: This lesson is now on TPT


Lesson Plan Description

Firstly, you'll have to teach your students to recognize which plural verbs and nouns end with a /s/, /z/, or /iz/ sound. There's a great video on plural sounds online by Elemental English. Instead of teaching it yourself, you can just show your students the video.

Next, review the rules quickly for each plural sound.

Part 1: Grouping Plural Verbs

Then give your students the hand-out below (download the file above). For the first part, as per the instructions, the students can (individually or with a partner) put the plural word into the correct column according to the sound of its ending.

[See TPT for worksheet preview]

When finished, they can read the story to each other. You, the teacher, should take up the answers as well.

Part 2: Tongue Twisters

Beforehand, you should cut up one tongue twister (from below) for each student. There are only 4 tongue twisters; it's okay that multiple students have the same one. The tongue twisters also test the pronunciation of other sounds, but there are some plural nouns as well.
Plural S Pronunciation Tongue Twisters
Give a tongue twister to each student. Have them practice it for a minute. Then, get them to stand up and mix around. Have them say their tongue twisters to each other. When they hear a tongue twister, they should write it down at the bottom of their worksheet (on page 1). Remind them to

  • actually say the tongue twister (instead of just showing the paper to their partner)
  • ask questions for repetition ("Can you say that again?") or spelling ("How do you spell 'chopstick'?")

Once the students have heard and written down the other three tongue twisters, the pronunciation lesson is complete.

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Free Worksheet Answer Key - /s/ /z/ /iz/

[See TPT for answer key]

In my experience, students always enjoy tongue twisters. Give it a shot and have fun in your ESL class.

- Matthew Barton / Creator of Englishcurrent.com

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16 comments on “Pronunciation: Plural ‘S’ in English: /s/ /z/ /iz/

  1. Anonymous (Posted on 10-19-2016 at 13:00) Reply

    Thanks a lot for this work.It’s very helpful

    1. Hoa Hoa (Posted on 7-6-2023 at 22:15) Reply

      I am confused the word “ring” when it is put in /s/ column, I thought that it is /z/. Can you explain it?

      1. mb (Posted on 7-6-2023 at 22:45) Reply

        There was a mistake. Thanks for pointing it out!

  2. Anonymous (Posted on 8-21-2017 at 10:49) Reply

    thanks a lot! it’s really great.

  3. Joanna (Posted on 8-22-2018 at 21:36) Reply

    Great ideas to practice pronunciation of plural s. Thanks!

  4. Greg Grisham (Posted on 12-19-2019 at 10:47) Reply

    Excellent job! Thank you. So useful and well explained by the speaker and graphics.

  5. Gregory (Posted on 12-27-2019 at 07:47) Reply

    Great job, however, they are not plural nouns rather words that end in s, some verbs and some plural nouns

  6. Anonymous (Posted on 7-10-2022 at 03:17) Reply

    Don’t you have the answers?

    1. mb Post author (Posted on 7-10-2022 at 17:06) Reply

      Hello. The worksheet is designed for teachers. However, if you want to see if you have the answers, please type them below and I’ll give you some feedback.

  7. Tom (Posted on 12-7-2022 at 18:15) Reply

    What answers

    1. mb Post author (Posted on 12-8-2022 at 09:25) Reply

      Hello. I’ve added the answers.

  8. Tom (Posted on 12-7-2022 at 18:17) Reply

    Present simple pronunciation s z iz
    Rules for3 pereson singular he she it pronunciation of s

  9. Hà Tú Uyên (Posted on 2-8-2023 at 05:09) Reply

    it’s so good

  10. Cevallos Holguin Jaritza Xiomara (Posted on 8-18-2023 at 05:27) Reply

    Excelente información que nospermite aprender más

  11. Juana Pisco Cedeño (Posted on 8-18-2023 at 14:40) Reply

    Hola Muy bueno es aprender esto por que nos ayuda a identificar los verbos en plural y los sustantivos..

  12. David Martínez (Posted on 8-18-2023 at 14:51) Reply

    Excellent job! Thank you. So useful and well explained by the speaker and graphics.

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