24 March 2015 / by Elena Riches

'Schwa' - unstressed syllables

Before I was taught how to teach English, by Oxbridge TEFL, I had no idea that the word "schwa" existed. Today, I'm writing about the 'schwa', which isn't (incidentally) about the pronunciation of words such as 'Schwartz' and 'Schwarzkopf'...it's about pronouncing a sound, a sound that features a lot in the English language but, not in any other language.

The schwa (

LETTER - With this word, although the schwa sound comes in at the second "e" so that we say "letta", the problem is not so much the schwa but actually lies in the "r". Where Spanish speakers roll their r's it makes it impossible for them to pronounce it the way it should be due to this. If they tried saying it with an invisible "r", I think they'd get it right.

CHOCOLATE - It's never too LATE to learn how to pronounce "choclert" (with no rolling of the R, of course). The mispronunciation of this word kind of confuses me because it goes against the grain of the way it would be pronounced if it was a Spanish word...chock-o-la-teh, not chock-o-LATE.

CIRCUS - This is where the schwa is really dominant and one that probably confuses the hell out of non-native English speakers as it is neither pronounced "sir-cuss" nor "sir-couss".

COMFORTABLE - When students pronounce this word you ought to be forgiven for thinking that they're inviting you for dinner..."Come-for-table"...why, thank you for asking but I wouldn't feel "cum-fter-bul".

FAMOUS - Students are "fay-muss" for not being able to say this word correctly, simply because "ou" customarily looks like it should be pronounced "ooh".

MOUNTAIN - This is another word where the ending is pronounced as "tane" and understandably so when you have words like "attainable", "pertain", "tainted" etc, where the "tain" is pronounced as it is written.

It is unfortunate that the schwa sound doesn't belong to any particular vowel as this makes it very difficult to teach. You could explain to your students that vowels don't always sound like 'themselves' and sometimes a vowel can't remember the sound it's supposed to make, so it scratches its head and goes "uh?"

27

January 2012

Pretty....

by Radmila Gurkova

Pretty has many different meaning depending on how it is used. Adjective Adverb Verb Noun ...

27

January 2012

Try something new for 30 days…

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnfBXjWm7hc Matt Cutts was “stuck in a rut” with his life so he took the advice of a fairly modern American philosopher – Morgan Spurlock – which was to, “do something new for 30 days”. So he thought of doing something straightforward that he has always wanted to try and add it to his life but for ...

27

January 2012

Friday Fun: The History of English #4

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN7-EvgKAsk&feature=relmfu The Friday posts about the history of English continue with this video about the impact of the King James Bible. Have you heard any of these terms and phrases? Why not try using some of them to talk about contemporary events. ...

24

January 2012

S1: Learn the Alphabet...

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpIhzFh0yw8 Can you say the English alphabet? This musical video helps you to remember and pronounce the alphabet. ...

20

January 2012

I am rowing... subject + 'ing'

by Radmila Gurkova

The present continuous We use the present continuous to talk about actions in progress: I am reading I am swimming I am eating ...

20

January 2012

Roz Savage – Rows across the Pacific and embraces another big adventure

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXqPaHQp4Xw Roz Savage rows solo across many oceans – the Atlantic and the Pacific to name a few. She has rowed over 8,000 miles and taken over three million oar strokes and spent more than 312 days alone on a 23 foot rowboat. Roz has a love hate relationship wi...

20

January 2012

Across the river......preposition

by Radmila Gurkova

The preposition across talks about movement from one side to another, usually two-dimensional lines for example Room, or a River. How are we going to get ...

20

January 2012

Therefore......Connector

by Radmila Gurkova

Therefore is a connecting adverb that can be used instead of SO, it is formal. It can come at the beginning of the clause or after the...

20

January 2012

If you read this post, you will understand the zero conditional

by Radmila Gurkova

We use the zero conditional when we talk about something that's generally true. For example. If I study, I will pass the exams. if +...

20

January 2012

€4,000 For a child's birthday party?

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn9B9cwZY4Y&feature=related Stephanie Kaster of Manhattan set out to plan the birthday party of a lifetime for her daughter. Little three year-old Sophie, had not have many birthday parties to compare to, so after careful deliberation and her mother Mrs Kaster saying: "I just thought,...

Inicio

Contact us

24 March 2015 / by Elena Riches

'Schwa' - unstressed syllables

27

27

27

24

20

20

20

20

20

20