Cued Articulation

In school we use cued articulation to help children learn how to correctly pronounce the sounds that letters make. Each sound has an accompanying hand action which helps children to learn where in the mouth the sound is made for example, using the lips, the tongue or at the back of the mouth. The hand action also helps children learn which sounds are voiced (made using the vocal cords) or voiceless (made using breath but not felt in the vocal cords).

The hand signs show three key pieces of information about the sounds:

1. Placement – where in the mouth a sound is made

The shape and position of the hand indicates the lip and tongue positions i.e. where in the mouth the sound is made.

2. Manner – how a sound is made

The movement of the hand gives information about whether the sound is long (continuous air stream) or short (a short burst of air) or a mixture of both

3. Voicing – whether the vocal cords are used or not

The number of fingers show whether the sound is voiced or voiceless:

1 finger for voiceless (quiet) sounds
2 fingers for voiced (noisy) sounds

The hand signs are easy to learn and are made at the same time as the sound is said.

Please click below to see the hand gestures for the letters learned in school each week.