I’ll never forget the day one of my Saudi students accused a classmate of “sheating” off of them. Except it wasn’t just the sh/ch mix-up…the vowels were also a mess, so what I heard was closer to “shitting.” Did I immediately demonstrate what a blush looks like? Yes. Yes, darn it, I did.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. My Saudi students often asked where they could find another “share” (chair), telling me they liked something very “mush” (much), and referring to their “teasher” (teacher). Meanwhile, my Korean and Spanish students? No issues with sh/ch at all. My Ivory Coast students sometimes struggled with it, but my Saudi students? Every single time.
The pronunciation of sh/ch is a bigger problem than you might think, and repeating words at students like they’re parrots isn’t going to fix it. Here’s what will.
First: Figure out what their first language is doing to them
Before you do anything else, you need to know if this is a language issue or something else entirely.
In the case of my Saudi students, Arabic doesn’t have the /ʧ/ sound (that’s “ch”). It does have /ʃ/ (that’s “sh”), so that’s the sound they substituted every single time. They weren’t being careless. They literally didn’t have that sound in their language toolkit, and their brains went straight for the /ʃ/ sound without even asking them for permission.
Do a quick google search: “Does [language] have the ch sound?” or “Does [language] have the /ʧ/ phoneme?” You need to know if you’re dealing with a language gap or if something else is going on.
Sometimes a sound exists in a language but only in certain positions. Korean has /ʃ/ at the beginning of words but not at the end, which is why you might hear “Englishee” instead of “English.” Knowing this stuff changes how you approach the problem.
Second: Teach them the vocabulary they need to fix it themselves
Here’s the thing about sh and ch…the difference happens inside the mouth where students can’t see it.
Go look in a mirror right now and say “shoe” and then “chew.” Your lips do almost the exact same thing. They’re in the same position, they move the same way. It’s your tongue that creates the difference, and your students can’t see your tongue. (And no, you can’t make those sounds with your mouth wide open for tongue visibility. I know because I tried.)
This means you have to describe where the tongue goes and how it moves, which means your students need to know words like: tip, top, blow, gum, hard palate, upper, side, protruded (or pursed/pushed out), vocal cords, vibrate, unvoiced, combination/combine, ridge, airflow, drop, lower.
I know. It’s a whole vocabulary lesson before you even get to the pronunciation lesson. But without these words, you’re just gesturing vaguely at your mouth and hoping they figure it out. Anyway, you’ll be using those words (and others) during other pronunciation mini workshops to target specific sounds.
Third: Use minimal and similar pairs (and not just for drilling)
Yes, minimal pairs help with sound production. But they also show students WHY this matters.
You need to tell the dentist you can’t chew without pain. If you say you can’t “shoe” without pain, that dentist might get distracted by your footwear situation. You order a cheese sandwich at the drive-thru. If they hear “she’s sanwish,” good luck getting what you ordered.
By practicing with pairs, students move their tongue back and forth between the /ʃ/ sound and the /ʧ/ sound. This exercises the tongue. It makes putting the tongue in those positions feel more natural. If your language doesn’t have one of those sounds, saying anything with it feels bizarre and awkward, which makes it harder to remember how to do it and harder to actually do it when you’re trying to communicate.
Practice the pairs. Let students feel the difference in their mouths. That’s what makes it become automatic.
One more thing that will help
I’ve found that telling students the /ʧ/ sound is a quick punch and the /ʃ/ sound is a gentle caress helps them remember the difference. It sounds ridiculous, but it gives them a physical feeling to associate with each sound. Punch versus caress. Quick versus long.
Try it yourself. “Chop” (punch). “Shop” (caress). Feel the difference? That’s what you want your students to feel.
The Bottom Line
Teaching your students how (and when) to make the /ʧ/ sound versus the /ʃ/ sound isn’t about eliminating an accent. It’s about reducing a pronunciation challenge enough that your students can communicate on the level they need and want to.
That’s it from me. See you in the next post!
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These sh/ch resources are available in my TpT store:
presentation & activities . . . | | | . . . flashcards . . . | | | . . . game . . . | | | . . . bundle of all three resources
Or take a look at my pronunciation category on TpT to see what other sounds I’ve covered.
Read more about pronunciation in adult ESL!
Pronunciation Truly Matters: The Spelling Quiz That Made My Students Question Everything
When Your Best Student Is Also Your Most Incomprehensible
4 Strategies for R/L Pronunciation That Don’t Involve Parroting
Create Listening Labyrinths Using Minimal Pairs: a Step by Step Guide
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