Introducing IPA Practice: Master English Sounds One at a Time
IPA Practice is a new Whisper activity that helps you listen to, record, and get feedback on each of the 44 English sounds, so you can see which ones you have mastered.
We are introducing IPA Practice, a new Whisper activity for practising each sound of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Listen to a model pronunciation, record yourself, and get feedback on the exact sound you are working on.
Many learners understand spoken English well but still struggle to produce certain sounds: /iː/ versus /ɪ/, /θ/ versus /s/, or /æ/ versus /e/. Small differences like these are easy to miss when you practise whole sentences. IPA Practice isolates each sound so you can focus on exactly what needs work.
A map of all 44 English sounds
The IPA Practice page shows all 44 English sounds in three groups:
- Monophthongs — 12 sounds
- Diphthongs — 8 sounds
- Consonants — 24 sounds
Each tile shows the IPA symbol, an example word, and your best score. Its colour tells you how well you know the sound:
- Green — good (85 or higher)
- Orange — fair (60–84)
- Red — needs work (below 60)
- Uncoloured — not practised yet
At a glance, you can see which sounds are solid and which deserve another round.
How a session works
When you open a sound, you see its symbol, a short description of how to produce it, example words with their transcriptions, and your best score and number of attempts.
Each session uses five words chosen at random that contain the sound. For each word:
- Read the transcription — the target sound is highlighted in the word's IPA.
- Listen — tap the speaker button to hear the word.
- Record — tap the microphone and say the word (up to 10 seconds).
- Get feedback — Whisper scores you out of 100, focusing mainly on the target sound. It tells you whether you produced that sound correctly, shows what it heard, and gives one or two specific tips.
If you are not happy with the result, you can record the word again before moving on.
Track your progress
After five words, Whisper shows your average score for the session and a score for each word. Beat your previous best and you will see a new record badge. Your best score and attempt count are saved for every sound, and the colour on the sound map updates to match.
Get started
Sign in to Whisper, open IPA Practice from the sidebar, pick a sound, and start a session. Allow microphone access when your browser asks.
If you are unsure where to begin, try a commonly confused pair such as /iː/ and /ɪ/, then come back to any red or orange tiles. A few minutes a day is enough to watch them turn green.
We would love to hear how IPA Practice supports your learning — please share your thoughts through Whisper Feedback.
The English Whisper Team