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?"

14

November 2011

English Tip #4 - False Friends

by Radmila Gurkova

False friends are words that look and sound similar but have different meanings. When we are learning a language, we tend to subconsciously use familiar-words... There are many wo...

11

November 2011

Oxbridge TEFL: Job Vacancy - English Teacher in Córdoba

by Radmila Gurkova

We have been contacted by an English academy that is looking for a d...

11

November 2011

Oxbridge and Ciball host first teacher's meeting

by Radmila Gurkova

On the 3rd of November Oxbridge joined forces with CIBALL – A centre in Madrid developed as a meeting place for innovators associated with the network o...

11

November 2011

Asteroid - Near miss in collision with Earth

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GuRj1ve1M An Asteroid on a flyby this month will have a 'near-miss' collision with Earth. The asteroid, the size of an aircraft carrier is being tracked by NASA and is reported to orbit the Earth much closer than the Moon's on November 8th. Nasa has been tracking the asteroid over a period of days to gather...

11

November 2011

English Tips #3 - Ziggurat

by Radmila Gurkova

What is a Ziggurat? Noun - an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with out...

10

November 2011

Would you fire someone for 'planking'?

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRHnTFesv7c "Police take offence to new planking craze after one was done on an officers vehicle." Planking is an online craze - started in Australia and New Zealand —where people post pictures of themselves laying flat as a board on ...

10

November 2011

English Tips #2 - it's vs. its

by Radmila Gurkova

So, it's vs. its.....which one???? it's and its cause all sorts of problems. Take a minute to understand the difference between the two. IT'S is a co...

09

November 2011

English Tips #1 - For and Since (Time)

by Radmila Gurkova

We often use for...

08

November 2011

Michael Jackson Doctor Found Guilty

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=944iHM4A8Lw&feature=related "Jurors find Dr. Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter." Michael Jackson can now rest in peace after a jury of seven men and five women found his personal physician guilty of involuntary manslaughter, after a long two and a half years wait. The "Doctor" will remain o...

04

November 2011

Friday Meeting 4/11/2011

by Radmila Gurkova

How can we effectively teach Business English? We have been debating for a while about the difference between General English and Business English. The structures that business...

Inicio

Contact us

24 March 2015 / by Elena Riches

'Schwa' - unstressed syllables

14

11

11

11

11

10

10

09

08

04