Connected Speech Worksheets
22 worksheets · Sounds & spelling
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Connected speech worksheets
22 printable worksheets with answer keys.
About Connected speech
In natural speech, words run together and sounds change at word boundaries. Key features are linking (turn_off sounds like tur-noff), elision, where a sound is dropped (nex(t) week), assimilation, where a sound changes under the influence of the next one (ten boys → /tem bɔɪz/), and intrusive /j/, /w/ and /r/ between vowels (go /w/ out, law /r/ and order). Weak forms such as /tə/ and /ən/ add to the effect.
Connected speech is usually taught at B1–B2, mainly to improve listening. Learners who can read a text perfectly may fail to recognize the same words at natural speed, because they expect every word to be separate and fully pronounced. Understanding these processes helps listening more than attempting to reproduce them all.
This page provides printable connected speech worksheets with answer keys, including linking marking, dictation and gap-fill listening tasks, which you can print as PDF or complete online via a class link.
Teaching tips: Connected speech
- Mark consonant-to-vowel links with a curved line on transcripts before learners listen.
- Watch for learners who pause between every word when reading aloud; practice linking in short, high-frequency chunks such as a lot of and an apple.
- Use short dictations of fast speech so learners notice how words merge, then compare what they heard with the written form.
- Prioritize recognition for listening, and teach production of the most frequent features, such as linking and weak forms.
Questions teachers ask
Should learners produce connected speech or just recognize it?
Recognition matters most for listening, but producing common features such as linking and weak forms makes speech more fluent and natural.
What is elision?
Elision is the loss of a sound in fast speech, most often /t/ or /d/ between consonants, as in las(t) night and han(d)bag.
Is intrusive /r/ correct?
It is a normal feature of many non-rhotic accents, including standard British English, as in law and order and the idea of, although some speakers regard it as careless.