- Stress within a word
- Learners often stress the wrong syllable within a word. For example, they will say “tel e phone” instead of “tel e phone.”
- Using hand signals and clapping as you say the word, have your learner repeat after you.
- This will help her hear the stress and she will then be able to produce it properly.
- It will also help her to know that in two-syllable words, the accent is
usually on the first syllable.
- Show tutors the clapping with the examples: fol low, cir cus, but ton.
- Stress within a sentence
- Say that in English, the syllables or words that are stressed in a sentence usually carry the meaning.
- These syllables or words are louder and are held longer.
- Again show the clapping with a sentence: If it rains tomorrow, I’ll go
shopping.
- Unstressed words
- Talk about how the unstressed words are squeezed in quietly and quickly. This system of stress and timing creates the particular rhythm of English.
- Using clapping and hand signals to show stress and rhythm is effective in practising stress within a word and within a sentence.
- Note also that when some syllables are unstressed, the vowel becomes very short and sounds like the a in about, which is the schwa sound,
 . For example, the last syllable in taken and pencil are unstressed and the vowel in the last syllable shortens to the schwa sound. By the way, schwa means “nothing” and the vowels really become almost nothing.
- Pass out the handout Guidelines for Teaching Stress and pick one of the rules to go over. Remind tutors that the handout has other rules and that they can refer to it when they need more information. Remind them also that the rules have exceptions.
|