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English Excellence In The New Millennium

The 4S Approach To Literacy and LanguageAccelerated English Program

The

Superior SpeakingGuide

Outreach PublicationsPty LtdInternational Language Academy Pty. Ltd. (ILA)

Australian International Language Academy (AILA)(Copyright KWW 2010)


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Contents

Developing Superior Speaking Skills 1

Common Spoken English Problems 1

The Ps of the Professional Public Speaker 1

Common Pronunciation Problems And Errors 2

Assessing Pronunciation Competency 3

Difficulties In Speaking English 4

Twelve Common Pronunciation Problem Possibilities 12

The 4S Keys To Understanding Pronunciation 14

Teach Speaking To ESL EAL Learners 19

Developing Pronunciation Accuracy 21

Confusing The Final Consonants 22

Correctly Pronouncing And Stressing Words 23

The Spreading Schwa Problem 24

ESL and EAL Speaking Issues 26

Helpful Hints For Pronunciation 26


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Developing Superior Speaking Skills

It is an old adage that attitude is just as important as aptitude when it come tothe altitude one aspires to reach in English proficiency. To be a superior speakerand writer of English, one needs to adopt an introspective attitude of self-correction

and self-development. Language experience by language experience - day by day -there must be a willingness to focus on repairing, replacing, reinforcing andrefining ones personal speaking, pronunciation and writing and spelling knowledge and skills.

While the six English macro skills reading, listening, viewing, speaking, writing and interpreting requireseparate and individual attention in a language-learning environment, each is interrelated with the othersand are in group-dependency if a high level of English proficiency is the goal. Likewise, correctpronunciation is often the prerequisite to accurate spelling and in turn, incorrect pronunciation can result inwords being misspelt. The quality of ones speech is founded on correct pronunciation just as the standardof ones writing primarily is dependent on the ability to spell with accuracy.

Before solutions can be applied, the prevailing problems must be recognised. The4S Approach To Literacy

And Language adopts a ProblemSolution strategy to raise pronunciation and speaking competency.This booklet highlights the ten most common pronunciation problem areas. While some pronunciationproblems are systemic, many are simply the result of a lack of self-discipline. Given a personal, self-correcting attitude and a willingness to practice speaking purely and precisely, the common errors can bequickly and readily eliminated if one is prepared to adopt the solutions that are offered and is prepared topractice and pretend.

Common Spoken English Problems:

Lack of Confidenceand Competence

Lack of English Language Skills

Lack of PronunciationandGrammar Skills

Lack of Knowledgeand Experience

The Ps of the Professional Public Speaker:

Purpose Preparation Planning

Priorities Pronunciation Punctuality

Precision Presence Potential

Performance Personality Persistence

Perseverence Professionalism Prevention

Persona Practice Pretend


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Common Pronunciation Problems And Errors

Problem One:Omitting the endings of words

Many people have the habit of dropping the g off the end of ing words. Others wrongly replace the finalg with a k.. sound. Some, especially those for whom English is an additional language, omit consonant

sounds from the ends of words, in particular d.., p.. and t...

swimming swimmin- running runnin- going goin- talking talkin- doing doin-something somethink nothing nothink anything anythink everything everythinkmound moun found foun grasp gras lump lum last las past pas .

Problem Two: Adding and omitting vowels and syllables

In everyday speech, ary, ery and ory word endings are often shortened by omitting the vowel.Crushing these final symbol combinations results in pronunciation and spelling errors. Syllables also arewrongly added creating an extra er.. sound, particularly in ry-ending words.

dictionary dictionry jewellery jewelry mystery mystry ordinary ordinryrobbery robbry military militry directory directry history histry library libryfoundry foundery umbrella umberella industry industery ministry ministery

Problem Three; Wrongly adding the vowels u and i

Another common mistake is to add the vowels u and i forming an extra syllable. A syllable or blend alsomay be lost because sounds are crushed together. Errors occur too because of lazy pronunciation habitsomitting middle and frontal sounds.

grievous grevious mischievous mischevious kiln kilun film filum brother bruver another anuver mother muver picture pitcha government guvment bureaucracy brocracy American Merican Australian Stralian

Problem Four: Adding or omitting a d.. sound in a word

Adding a d.. sound or in turn, failing to pronounce the symbol d in a word is another common error.

pigeon pidgon magic madgic tragic tradgic message messedge logic lodgicjudge juge hedge hege edge ege ledge lege wedge wege pledge plege

Problem Five: Confusing the final sound of ed, t and te

Care is required with words ending in t (or te) and ed, particularly when they have a similar sound.Discipline is needed to always give due stress to the d and t respectively if spelling errors are to beeliminated. An effective Key To Understanding is: If you did it, it ends in d, e.g. missed, chased.

passed past bussed bust leased least paced pasteguessed guest packed pact wrapped rapt based baste


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Problem Six: Confusing ance and ence with ents and ants

Words ending in ence and ance regularly are confused with words ending in ents and ants.

patience patients incidence incidents residence residentspresence presents

attendance attendants

assistance assistants

Problem Seven: Confusing ve.., th.. and f.. sounds

Words ending in ve and th cause problems because of the tendency to make an f.. sound. Words endingin f are often wrongly spelt with a v or ve.

above abuf love luf glove gluf carve carfboth bof path parf shelf shelve elf elv

Problem Eight: Confusing le and al, el and ol -ending words

Words are mispronounced and misspelt because the final syllable is not sounded clearly, especially thoseending in -le and in al, el and ol.peddle pedal muscle mussel idle idol meddle medal gamble gambol

Problem Nine: Confusing al, el, il, ol and ul words

Pronunciation errors occur because al, el, il and ul combinations at the beginning, in the middle and atthe end of words, are not pronounced purely.

alephant elephant hospitol hospital pedul pedal Elsatian Alsatian pencel pencilProblem Ten: Confusing ar, er, or and en and on -ending words

When the final syllable is er, ar, or en and on, pronunciation and spelling errors occur.miner minor seller cellar altar alter barren baron lessen lesson batten batonAssessing Pronunciation Competency:

To develop personal proficiency and self-confidence when communicating in English, requires a willingnessto be introspective, self-correct, accept criticism and to want to be different. The road to communicationcompetency can begin by:

(i) Accurately stressing and emphasising particular syllables, e.g. contribute >-contribute.

(ii) Accurately breaking words into their correct syllabic structure, e.g. es/tim/a/tion > es/ti/ma/tion

(iii) Accurately pronouncing the different vowels and symbol combinations, e.g. car war canary

(iv) Eliminating Schwa sounds, e.g. doctor > docta- neighbour > neighba--- ap/proach >a/proach

(v) Correctly pronouncing the consonants on the end of words, mound > moun-_ -- half >harp

(vi) Recognising Silent Symbols in words, island subtle Wednesday often

(vii) Wrongly adding or omitting vowels or combinations, e.g. ministry > ministery - history > histry

(viii) Confusing the final sounds of ed, d and t. past passed-- dropped> dropt

(ix) Eliminating Common Speech habits, um er ah - you know actually

(x) Speaking with fluency and competency.


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Difficulties In Speaking English

Problems can arise when speaking English mainly because of two characteristics of the language. Firstly,many of the alphabetical symbols and core symbol combinations can make more than one sound and it isnot always easy to know which sound is being made in a particular word, e.g. g in goatand giraffe ar indwarfand parachute ur in bury, juryand injury ear in pear, dear, earnand heart. oo in moon,

book, door, floodand brooch our in four, hour, touristand courage. This characteristic of symbols andcombinations causes problems particularly in reading and pronunciation.

Secondly, difficulties occur in spelling and writing because some different symbols and core symbolcombinations can make the same sound and it can be difficult to work out which one to use, e.g. cityandsite fern, firm and furnacehere, weir, yearand fierce e.g. for, bore, door, hawk, pour, dinosaur,daughter, water, baulk.

It is this second characteristic that is found in Homophonic words and which is why Homophones are one ofthe four spelling-problem areas, e.g. right, rite, wright, write. As we will learn in more detail later, the otherfour pronunciation and spelling-problem areas relate to:

(i) Foreign words that have been borrowed by English, e.g. colonel, caf, chalet-(ii) Words that have silent symbols, e.g. island, autumn, plumber-(iii) Pluralised words, e.g. women, chateaux, radii.(iv) When, which and how the syllables in words are stressed or emphasised

The Art of Conversion

While some words just have to be remembered, the key to being a superior speaker and writer of theEnglish language is to master the Art of Conversion. In the case of Spelling and Writing, it requires beingable to convert the sounds heard when a word is spoken, to the correct symbols and symbol combinations,e.g. pilot.. = pi.. + l.. + ot... = pi + l + ot = pi + lot = pilot. To be highly skilled at Pronunciation and Reading,the challenge is to be able to convert the written symbols and symbol combinations from which a word is

made to their correct sounds, e.g. partner= p+ar+t+n+er= p.. + ar.. + t..+ n.. + er.. = part.. + ner.. = partner...

By knowing the correct sounds of the symbols and the symbols combinations, one can work out how to readand pronounce unknown words, e.g. misadventure = mis+ad+ven+ture = mis.. + ad.. + ven.. + ture.. =misadventure.. psoriasis = psor+i+as+is = psor.. + i.. + as.. + is.. = psoriasis.. .

Being able to recognise the symbols and the core and extended symbol combinations and being able toconvert them to their correct sounds, enables one to work out how to spell words not previously learnt, e.g.contravention.. = con.. + tra.. + ven.. + tion.. = con+tra+ven+tion = contravention. To be able to achievethese literacy objectives, one must have a detailed knowledge of those symbols and symbol combinationsthat make more than one sound or that make the same sound as another symbol or symbol combination.The 4S Manualis recommended for this purpose.

Personal pronunciation of words can vary because of the way vowels are pronounced. It is important also toknow that pronunciation variations occur also because of the way a word is broken into its syllables.Compare: con/tri/buteand con/trib/utein/ven/toryand in/vent/oryze/braand zeb/ra.

Having mastered the regular, core symbol combinations, the more difficult ones as well as the variations canthen be tackled, e.g. m-on-ey, ac-tion, con-scious, aer-i-al, th-or-ough, h-ear-t, j-our-n-al, chat-eau, Th-ai-l-an-d, etc. The challenge to be able to do this is made a little bit more difficult because many of the singlesymbols, that is, the consonants and vowels and the symbol combinations they make, can produce anumber of different sounds.


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While the Consonant Digraph ch usually says ch.. as in cheese, it also can make an sh.. sound in chef,a k.. sound in acheand a qu.. sound in choir. Similarly, many of the symbols and combinations can alsomake different sounds.

cheese chef ache choir

Another good example is the symbol combination ar which can make five different sounds, e.g. ar.. inharp; - or.. in dwarf; - air.. in parents. In the word caravan, the a in the ar combination makes its regularvowel sound as one hears in hatwhile in ar-ending words like dollar, instead of being a regular ar soundlike in car it can be pronounced as the short neutral sound one hears in panda, i.e. it is what is called theschwa -uh sound shown by the phonetic symbol .

harp dwarf parents caravan dollar

The vast majority of words are built, not from separate-sounding letters or symbols but from recognizablesymbol combinations that can produce both regular and varied sound signals e.g. form, worm - enough,cough - dead, plead - chant, prank, many - fear, bear, learn, heart, etc.

A basic knowledge of the individual letters or symbols of the Alphabet is not enough to be able to pronounceand spell most words correctly. Instead, to be able to read and pronounce words well, one must be able tovisually recognise and interpret the individual symbols and combinations in written words as well as know thecorrect sounds that the symbols and symbol combinations send when spoken, e.g. furto f+ur to f.. + er..

manyto m+an+yto m.. + en.. + y.. to meny.. frontto fr+on+t to fr.. + un.. + t.. to frunt...

To be able to spell and write well, one has to be able to aurally distinguish the distinct sound signals a wordsends when it is spoken - and to convert individual sounds and sound combinations to their correct symbolsand symbol combinations, e.g. garden.. to g.. + ar.. + d... + en.. to g + ar + d + ento gar + dento garden--convert.. to c.. + on.. + v.. + er.. + t.. to c + on + v + er + tto con + vertto convert.

To this end, it is the aim of 4S to provide learners of all age and skill levels with an in-depth, all-encompassing, practical understanding of the many different symbols and symbol combinations and soundsand sound combinations that are to be found in the English language based on their personal need to know.To achieve this learning objective, the 4Sprogram begins with the basics, gradually progressing on a need-to-know basis, from the simple to the complex and the known to the unknown.

Having been building a solid foundation of knowledge about the special Characteristics, Relationships andStructural Attributes of the English language, it is now time to advance to the more difficult areas. One ofthe most challenging aspects is the fact that many symbols and symbol combinations can make more thanone sound while other different combinations can make the same sound. This is particularly true of the rcombinations.

The r Symbol Combinations also can cause spelling and pronunciation problems because of the way rcan influence other symbols in a word and usually change the sound of vowels that come before it. Asalready learnt, the consonant r is one of the Five Influential Consonants in English. The 4S Key ToUnderstanding teaches: r usually changes the sounds of the vowels that come before it.


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Many r combinations can make more than one sound: ar, er, or, ir, ur, our, are, ere, ure, ear, our - arr,orr. The Combinationar can make five different sounds.

ar

star scary caravan dwarfs dollar

As demonstrated below, the regular, two-symbol r combinations all make a number of different sounds.How some of the words below are pronounced, e.g. the Schwa-uh words, will often depend on individual,personal pronunciation, e.g. injury may be pronounced as injary, injery or injry and scholar asscholar, scholer or schol. The our and ear variations also need to be known.

r Combination Clue Word

ar (ar) car

ar (or) warar (air) canary

ar ( ar er) beggar

ar (at) parallel

er (er) her

er (ar) sergeant

er (air) peril

er (eer) serial

er (-uh er) butter

ir (er) bird

ir (eer) spirit

or (or) foror ( or er) doctor

or (er) worm

ur (er) surf

ur (air) bury

ur (oo) jury

ur () curious

ur (or) insurance

ur (-uh er) murmur

our Variations

our (cow) hour flour sour

our (for) four course fourteen

our (moon) tour tourist tourism

our (uh) colour flavour neighbour

our (her) courtesy journal journalist

our (cup) courage flourish

ear Variations

ear bear wear tear pear

ear dear ear near year

ear learn earn search earth ear

heart hearty heartache

Just as the same r combinations listed above can make different sounds in words, problems are also

caused in pronunciation and spelling because different r combinations can make the same sound.

Depending on personal pronunciation, there are almost twenty different symbol combinations that can makean or.. sound as in corn. Many such or.. sounds are made by r combinations. In the USA, aw wordssuch as hawkare not normally included in the or.. - sounding group.

or..

corn boar snore four door dinosaur war

4


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The sounds of er.. (perch), ar.. (card), eer.. (steer), and air.. (hair) can also be made by many differentsymbol combinations as shown by the words listed below.

er.. Combinations

er camera her perchir bird skirt shirtur turkey hurt churchor worm worth worldure injure pressure failureear learn earn searchour journey courtesy journaleur pasteurize entrepreneuruer guerillaere were

air.. Combinations

air pair air hair

are square mare carear canary vary waryer very merit perilerr berry ferry merryaer aerial aeroplaneear bear pear weareir their heir heiressur bury buriedere there compere

While the r Key To Understanding is very helpful, especially for pronunciation purposes, the best andquickest way to learn the sound variations that are found in so many r words in English, is to use SoundFamilies and Word Families as memory tools.

To this end, there can be four Word Families which group together the ear words that you need to know,e.g. bear - wear, tear, pears dear - year, fear, gear, hear, beard, clearer - learn - earn, earth, heard,search, pearl, early -heart- hearty, heartily, hearth.

Although it is a little more difficult to do, words that make the same r sound also can be grouped into aWord Family: pair - share - very - berry - their - bury - aeroplane - merit.

eer.. Combinations

eer deer steer careerear year appear nearir spirit mirage miracleier fierce tier pierceer serial serious cerealirr mirror stirrupere here sphereeir weir weirdyr syrup

ar.. Combinations

ar car arm cardear heart hearty heartacheer sergeant serjeant-at-arms

or..Combinations

or doctor* sort fortuneore shore core scoreoar board oar coarseoor door floor poorour four pour courtau haul pause sauceaw hawk straw crawlaur dinosaur thesaurusough ought thought bought

augh daughter taught naughtyure sure insure ensureur insurance assuranceawe awe awesome awedoer boer oera water almightyal walk talk chalkar war warn warmaul baulk


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The Double r Variation

The Double r combinations, arr, orr also make more than one sound as shown in the box below.However, while the single Consonant r is one of the five Influential Consonants in the English languageand usually changes the regular sound made by any vowel that comes before it, it will be seen in the wordslisted below that this does not always occur in Double r words even though it does some of the time.

Two-Vowel Combinations

In English, there are numerous symbol combinations that are made by combining two vowels together, e.g.ui -juice; ui - build ua - guard; ua - guarantee ie - pie; ie - thief ai - train; ai - said ue - fuel; ue -guest ea - speak; ea - steak eo - people; eo - leopard ei - eight; ei - height oe - toe; oe - shoeetc. A detailed list of the two-vowel symbol combinations is to be found on Page 76 of the 4S Manual.

Two very common symbol combinations that are made from two vowels are ou and au. Both thesecombinations can cause special pronunciation and spelling problems because of the number of different

sounds they can make in words.

The American approach is to spell our words as or, e.g. colour = color; neighbour = neighbor;flavour = flavor, etc. Many dictionaries now offer American spelling as an option because of the influenceof American-produced computer software programs.

The vowel - rr Combinations

arr carrot carry tarry marry arrowarr arrest arrange arrive array arrears

arr warren warrior warrant warranty warrigal

err merry cherry herrings ferry error errand

irr mirror stirrup squirrel irremovable

orr horror sorrow lorry borrow torrent

orr correct corrupt corruption incorruptible

orr worry worried worrisomeurr hurry curry currency furrow currency

Variations Of ou

ou (cow) mouse out mouth loud proud house shout mountain council

ou (moon) group soup coupon tour tourist through you youth coup

ou (cup) couple cousin double touch country trouble young enough

ou (or) nought fought sought thought court course bought brought

ou (no) shoulder mould though bouquet dough boulder doughnut

ou (her) journey courteous courtesy bourbon journal journal journalist

ou (ado) colour harbour flavour labour favour jealous N.B. See below.

ou (book) could would should

ou (hot) cough trough


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Addressing Personal Pronunciation Problems

One of the most challenging task confronting a learner of the English language, especially someone forwhom English is an additional language (EAL), is to be able to pronounce words and sentences correctly

and with confidence. People do not like to use a word in a conversation if they are not sure how it iscorrectly pronounced. Therefore, they often tend to limit their speaking vocabulary or language bank tothose words they feel confident to use, especially when not among family or close friends. Sometimes, ESLspeakers talk more quickly when they are using words they are unsure of to cover up the possible incorrectpronunciation.

4S contends that excellent Pronunciation skills can be readily acquired particularly when a learnerunderstands the Dos and the Donts of Pronunciation and is willing to practice speaking in a variety oflanguage-related situations. Having mastered the Art of Symbol and Sound Conversion, i.e. being able toconvert sounds to symbols and symbols to sounds accurately, one needs to appreciate that there are twokeys to accurate pronunciation in English, - the Double Ss, Syllables and Stress.

The Importance Of Syllables In PronunciationEnglish words are pronounced in Syllables, i.e. in Sound Chunks, that have be made from individualsymbols, from core symbol combinations and from extended combinations, e.g. form= one syllable; in/form= two syllables; in/form/ant= three syllables; in/ form/a/tion= four syllables. While speakers oftenbreak words into syllables differently, e.g. ce/mentand cem/ent, recognising a words syllabic structure is thefirst key to pronouncing that word correctly.

When English words are pronounced, verbal stress or emphasis is placed on one or more of the syllables,e.g. pi / lot - in / vest /or - cy /clist. While personal pronunciation styles can vary the way a word ispronounced, there are some general pronunciation rules and 4S Pronunciation Keys that can be of valuableassistance.

Variations Of au- eau eu

au (for) daughter caught taught sauce haul author laundry automatic

au (car) aunt laugh draught laughter

au (hot) Australia sausage vault fault austere austerity Austriaau (day) gauge

eau (you) beauty beautiful

eau (go) plateau chateau

eu (you) feud sleuth

ough Variations

ough (moon) through

ough (huff) tough rough enough sloughough (uh) thorough

ough (cow) plough bough

ough (hot) cough

ough (no) dough

ought (for) bought fought brought thought


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(a)

pro/pell/or un/luck/y ex/plo/sion con/sult/ant con/tent/ed

(b) ad/dress re/cord re/view re/ply com/mand

(c)

cow/boy mar/ried pay/ment Lon/don mon/key

(vi) In words of more than two syllables, when the stress is not on the first syllable, it is nearly always on thebase or root from which the word has been derived. This is very often on the second or middle syllable.If one is unsure as to which syllable to stress, the safest approach always is to stress both, e.g. ham/mer;but/ter; ban/ner, etc.

sub/trac/tion re/port/er de/tec/tive chron/i/cle tem/per/a/ture

dis/cus/sion con/struc/tion pro/spect/or af/fec/tion den/tis.try

As seen in (v) (b) above, the way a word is stressed when pronounced can change depending on thepurpose for which it is used. When a word is used as a noun or the name of something, the stress is on thefirst syllable. When a words function is action, i.e. a verb, the stress is often on the second syllable.

Noun Verb Noun Verb

account account permit permit

record record address address

survey survey reply reply

increase increase delay delay

excuse excuse review review


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Twelve Common Pronunciation Problem Possibilities

A common cause of poor spelling is poor pronunciation. If a word is pronounced wrongly then it is often mis-spelt. There are twelve (12) main Pronunciation Problem Possibilities:

(i) Dropping the g off ing... words and instead making just an in... sound:

rowin-rowing snorin-snoring racin-racing howlin-howling learnin-learning

(ii) Changing -ing on the end of words to -ink, e.g. somethingto somethink

(iii) Replacing r Combinations and Vowels with a Schwa - short uh sound:

burg-burger wait-waiter report-reporter envlope-envelope octpus-octopus

(iv) Wrongly adding an extra sound or syllable to a word:

umberella-umbrella ministery-ministry dentistery-denistry infantary-infantry

(v) Wrongly omitting a vowel sound or syllable from a word:

miltry-military libry-library factry-factory robbry-robbery favrite-favourite

(vi) Replacing vowels with an er... sound

amberlance-ambulance atherlete-athlete dinersaur-dinosaur kangeroo-kangaroo

(vii) Replacing vowels with different vowels and combinations:

alaphant- elephant optomitrist-optometrist instrament-instrument muver-mother


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(viii) Vowels and Symbols are wrongly omitted from or added to words:

Stralia-Australia Merican-American sovreign-sovereign filum-film carve-carf

(ix) Consonants are wrongly omitting, changed or added in words:

ege-edge juge-judge larf- laugh harp-half past pidgeon- pigeon

(x) The final combination ed is regularly replaced by the Consonant t and vice versa:

missed - mist chased - chaste bussed - bust wrapped - rapt tuft - toughed

(xi) The final d is wrongly omitted from the end of words:

islan - island chil - child blon - blond hans - hands bons - bonds ban - band

(xii) The final major pronunciation problem area is Homophones, i.e. those words that sound the same butare made from different symbols and are therefore spelt differently but pronounced the same, e.g. to, too,two- their, there, theyre- council, counsel-weather, whether, wether.

The best way to master Homophones is to use the words in context, i.e., in sentences. This approach helpsone to remember how the words are spelt and very importantly, teaches what the words mean.

idol - idle gauge - gage petrol - petrel flower - flour muscle - mussel

presents - presence pistol - pistil carrot - carat naval - navel baton batton


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The 4S Keys To Understanding Pronunciation

There are a twenty-two basic 4S Keys To Understanding that can assist learners to know why words arepronounced the way they are, i.e. why they say what they say. Learners can confidently rely on thesepronunciation "clues even though there are some exceptions to the "rules" they teach. Combating illiteracycan be likened to being in a military battle. In such circumstances, it is better to have a weapon with which

to fight than no weapon at all, even if that weapon fires a few blanks at times.When students understand why particular clue words are pronounced the way they are that knowledge canbe transferred and used to explain why many like words say what they say. The 4S Keys To Understandingplay a vital role in this Skills Transfer process.

(i) When a word has two vowels together, the first vowel usually is long', i.e. it says its own name when theword is pronounced. The second vowel is silent, e.g. fla, gat. The 4S Key teaches: When two vowels goout walking, the first one usually does the talking. This is also called The Two Vowel Rule.

paint flea diary goat tie statue

In some words, the first vowel makes a short regular sound but the second vowel is still silent, e.g. had,brath, lather, lopard. There are also some special variations where the second vowel is long and thefirst vowel is silent, e.g., Casar, archaologist, hyana, stek. The second vowel can also be short, e.g.aroplane, arial. Most are foreign words.

(ii) In English, the vowel "e" on the end of words is usually silent. The preceding vowel is usually "long" andsays its own name, e.g. plne, hme. The 4S Key teaches: The final, silent "e" usually lets the other voweldo the talking. Again, the few exceptions are usually foreign words, e.g. apostroph, catastroph, epitom,hyperbol, recip.

plane athlete dice home mule shave

(iii) Except when followed by r, ee says ee... as in h. The 4S Key teaches: Double ee usually saysee....The Two Vowel Rule applies, i.e. The first "e" does the talking. However, when ee is followed byr, the long e sound changes to a short i sound as in bt, e.g. deer, cheer, beer, career,

bee jeep sweep needle deer cheer

(iv) One can work out where the syllables are in many words by knowing where the Consonant Blends are.The 4S Key teaches: Blends usually begin words and syllables.

com /plain in /troduce lob /ster dol /phin pan /ther um /brella

*


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(v) Words with two of the same consonants together usually split and show where the syllables end andbegin, as well as how to pronounce and spell words. The 4S Key teaches: Double consonants usuallysplit. An exception can be Double l when the pronunciation often depends on the way an individualspeaks, e.g. stroll / eror strol / ler; mill / ionor mil/ lion; stall / ionor stal /lion; wholl / yor whol / ly. This isone of the reasons why 4S teaches: l can rebel.

span / ner bar / row stub / born glas / ses swag / gie shut / tle

(vi) The consonant w is one of five influential consonants. w can be wild in words. It can silence someconsonants or it can remain silent itself, e.g. where, who. It can also change the sounds of vowels, e.g.warn, worth, women. The 4S Key teaches: w sends a warning to be wary as the sounds and the symbolsmay vary.

watch worm woman water wolf walrus

(vii) The consonant r is also one of five influential consonants. r can affect the sound of precedingvowels. The 4S Key teaches: r usually changes the sounds of vowels that come before it.

parents sheriff stir buried sergeant turkey

(viii) Another one of five influential consonants is l. The consonant l often breaks the regularpronunciation rules. Depending on personal pronunciation, not all double l's split, e.g. bill/ionor bil/lion.When l helps to close a syllable with another consonant, or is doubled, the preceding vowel can be longinstead of short, e.g. child, wild - wholly, stroller. The 4S Key teaches: I can rebel.

troll/ey- trol/ley stall/ion-stal/lion stroll/er-strol/ler child calf colonel

(ix) When words and syllables end in a consonant, they are said to be closed and the preceding vowelusually makes its regular short sound. The 4S Key teaches: Closed syllables end in a consonant and thevowel is usually short.

cn tnt ps / tl Jp /n ht / dg cb /n /t


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(x) When syllables in words end in a vowel, it is usually long, i.e. it says its own name. The 4S Keyteaches: Open syllables usually end in long vowel. The exceptions to this rule are -le words and most e-ending words. Compare apostropheand snakeand circle.

b / cycle b / gler j / d sp / der d / sign / tility

(xi) A number of odd-looking Blends and Digraphs have come into English from other languages. The 4SKey teaches: In odd-looking, consonant blends, only one consonant is sounded.

psychiatrist gnaw khaki knock rhinoceros ghost

(xii) The vowels a, o and u often can be linked because of their similar characteristics just as the vowelse and i and the semi-vowel, y can be. This link is easily seen in relation to the sounds made by theconsonant c. When "c" is followed immediately by the vowels "a", "o" or "u", it usually makes its hard "k..."sound, e.g. cat, cot, curtain. When c is followed by e, i and y, it makes its softer, s... sound as insix. The 4S Key teaches: Can you count the cups? -ca-, co-, cu- say k....

camel cot cubs centre circle cyclists

(xiii) Like the consonant c, the consonant g usually makes its hard sound when followed by the vowelsa, o, u and a soft sound when followed by i and e and the semi- vowel, y. The 4S Keys teach: Gail'sgoats are in the gully - ga-, go-, gu- say g..... or Gary's got a gun - ga-, go-, gu- say g.... N.B. girwords are exceptions, e.g. girl, girth, gird.

gazelle goat gun gentle giant gymnast

(xiv) The influence of the consonant w is also seen in the Consonant Digraph wr. The 4S Key teaches: wr always says r....

write wrench wrestle wreath wrapping shipwrecked

(xv) The influence of the consonant w is again seen in the Consonant Digraph wh. When wh is followedby an o, only the h is sounded. The 4S Key teaches: In who words, w is always silent. e.g. who,whom, whose, whole,wholly,wholesome, etc.

*

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It will be noted that when wh is followed by the other vowels, a, i, e and the semi-vowel y, the w isusually sounded, e.g. whale, whisper, when, why. wh can be pronounced in different ways by differentspeakers. Some only pronounce the w.. - where Some say wh.. - whip, while others say hw.., forexample whyas hwip..

(xvi) While the single Consonant r is one of the five Influential Consonants and usually changes the soundof a vowel that comes before it, rr words are different. The 4S Key teaches: Vowels that precede "doubler's" in words are usually regular. e.g. carrot, error, stirrup, sorry, curry. There are some exceptions,particular words that begin with "w", e.g. warrior, warren.

arrow ferry mirror sorrow burrow worried

(xvii) When the Double Consonants in a word split, the first consonant closes off the first syllable making thevowel in that syllable a short, regular sound, e.g. banner = bn / ner. The 4S Key teaches: DoubleConsonants usually follow short vowels. Exceptions are the ll words, rller, whllyand strller.

pple kttle snffing lrry pzzle grasshpper

(xviii) Except for ll, Double Consonants rarely follow long vowels. The 4S Key teaches: Long vowels areusually followed by single consonants. l words exceptions: child, wild, stoller, whollyand Christ.

brdle tility dver gyptian porcpine rdce

(xix) Just as there is a 4S Pronunciation Key for odd-looking blends and digraphs, there is also onespecifically for those odd-looking symbol combinations that begin with p such as pneumonia, psychiatrist,psychologist, ptomaine, psalm, psychic. This 4S Key teaches: Whenp begins an odd-looking blend, it is always silent.

psychologist psychiatrist Psalms pneumonia

(xx) While the Consonant k makes a k.. sound as in key, the k...sound in English is made more often bythe consonant c than by either of the consonants k and q or the Consonant Digraph ch. The 4S Keyteaches: A k... sound within a word is usually made by the consonant c. It is a valuable spelling rule toalso know that most multi-syllabic words that end in a k.. sound usually end in c - sometimes in ck butnot just in k. e.g. magic. tragic, logic, allergic, strategic, energetic, athletic- attack.

cycle detective unicorn calculator secretary circus

*


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(xxi) A group of Consonant-Vowel Digraphs called the ti family can cause both pronunciation and spellingproblems. The 4S Key teaches: When ti, si, ci and xi are followed by a vowel, they usually say sh....e.g. lotion, cautious, pension, Ephesians, precious, anxious. The combinations ce, sci and su can beadded to this sh... family, e.g. ocean, conscience, sure.

construction mansion musician anxious ocean pressure unconscious

(xxii) There are two important characteristics about symbols and symbol combinations thatone must understand to be accurate and confident when pronouncing English words.

(a) The 4S Key: Many symbols and symbol combinations can make more than one sound.

giraffe gorilla ears bear heart searching

(b) The 4S Key: Different symbols and symbol combinations can make the same sound.

fox cliff trophy draughthorse pliers turkey first

Testing What Has Been Taught:

(i) Underline the words that are "stressed" incorrectly?

volume ticket pickle cereal biscuits angle atlas axis

equal vinegar flavour comma national legal policy freedom

qualify Mavis cancel deposit basin valid delta prairie

loan option lawyer piston express anchor vessel circle

action David doctor station bargain insisted permitting relation

marketing revolver rapid native butter wisdom expert winner

provide election regular crooning ulcer answer kingdom weather

(ii) Which words are stressed as Verbs?

protest depict survey convict index

demand control umpire divide contract

review increase release defeat command

repeat approach decrease account record

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Teach Speaking To ESL EAL Learners

Q. 1 What Kind Of Speaking Should Students Do?

With the emphasis on Activate, students should be able to use any or all of the English language known tothem in the performance of a wide variety of oral tasks.

Q. 2 Why Encourage Students To Do Speaking Tasks?

Speaking tasks provoke students to make use of all their English language knowledge if those tasks meetthe requirements of Rehearsal - Feedback - Engagement.

Q. 3 What should the characteristics of a speaking activity be?

It should be an Engage exercise, e.g. a Role Play or Situational or Simulated activity

It should be a Study exercise, e.g. to study why words are stressed the way they are

It should be an Activate exercise, e.g. a practical, real-life, conversational activity

It should involve everyone, e.g. using a buddy system everyone can participate.

It should practise specific language structures, e.g. from the simple to the complex

Students should concentrate on the accuracy of what they are saying, e.g. this is optional.

Q. 4 Which activity is the odd one out?

a. Questionnaire Why? - If it involves completing a form in writing (Could be okay if oral?).Drill Why? - If it involves Study - e.g. Practising pronouncing and writing words that

belong to the same phonological group.

b. Grammar Exercise Why?- About the construction of language therefore is more related to Study.

c. Enjoyment Why? A consequence of language rather than an activity.

The odd ones conflict with the Activate purpose and advantages, i.e. rehearsal, feedback and engagement.

Q. 5 What are the attributes or elements of Speaking Activities?

Speaking activities are to centre of three aspects or elements Rehearsal, Feedback and Engagement.

1. They can involve the Information gap e.g. (a) Describe and Draw activity - One student, having seen apicture, tells another student about it, who in turn has to draw what it is about without having seen it - (b)TheMystery Story - Groups are each given a picture from which a story is eventually worked out. (c) Completethe Ending - A story is started by one student and other students make up an ending.

2. The Survey is another speaking activity that provokes conversation, opinion exchange, group participationand which activates the students language knowledge.

3. Discussion also encourages the exchange of opinions provoking spontaneous language use. Givensome facilitation, subjects of interest and adopting the idea of a buddy system or teams a vigorousexchange or sharing of information can occur.

4. The use of the role-play particularly for upper intermediate or advanced students who are more languageproficient and confident can meet the activate-lesson expectations. Role-playing can be a prerequisite torelevant writing tasks and bring an enjoyable sense of entertainment to the learning process.


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Q. 6 How Should Teachers Correct Speaking?

a. When teachers hear a mistake during a speaking activity they should note it down and correct it laterbeing mindful not to unnecessarily disrupt the conversational flow. Constant interruption on the partof the teacher not only embarrasses but can frustrate and even destroy the whole purpose of the

speaking activity. However, for the sake of clarity and the success of the activity, it may be thatintervention is necessary by the teacher. This could be the case when totally incorrect words arebeing used that distort the topic of the activity.

b. After a speaking activity, teachers should discuss how well the students performed the activity byseeking feedback from both the students involved in the activity as well as those who were theaudience. Mistakes, if raised by the students should be discussed and examined preferably with thestudents suggesting or determining the correct alternative/s to an error. Again, the participantsshould be praised for their effort.

c. When teachers discuss mistakes after a speaking activity, they should be careful to give due praiseand not create a situation whereby students are left with the belief that if they participate in an activity

and make a mistake, they are going to face a lot of embarrassing criticism afterwards. To this end,telling the class that a mistake had been made without specifying who made can be a way to handleindividual mistakes.

Q. 7 What else should teachers do during a speaking activity?

Teachers should prompt when sought by the student or when considered necessary to keep the activityflowing. Encouragement should be forthcoming when a participant falters. It is also the teachers task toensure, by careful and appropriate intervention, that the activity does not become boring or irrelevant.

Q. 8 What is the objective of a Speaking activity?

The purpose of a Speaking activity is four fold

(a) to give EFL learners practical speaking experience in a variety of relevant, real-life, personalconversational and public communicative situations.

(b) to provide individual learners with the opportunity to introspectively assess themselves against thestandards set by others in the group with regard to their pronunciation, vocabulary, intonation,presentation,

(c) to develop, in each learner, an increasingly higher level of competence and personal confidence when

speaking publicly with the ultimate objective of becoming a superior speaker of English.

(d) to enable teachers to assess the progress of individual learners by observing their participation indifferent simulated and true-to-life, situational and functional language circumstances.


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Developing Pronunciation Accuracy

Correct pronunciation is often the prerequisite to spelling a word correctly. Incorrect pronunciation oftenresults in words being mis-spelt. The way a person spells is sometimes determined by the way that personspeaks. In everyday speech, the endings of words are sometimes shortened, syllables are wrongly added

and omitted as well as crushed together resulting in wrong spelling. When perfecting ones spelling skills,a more pure or precise approach to pronunciation is required.

Omitting The Endings Of Words

Many people have the habit of dropping the g off the end of ing words while others wrongly replace theg with a k sound. Others, especially those for whom English is their second language, sometimes omitother consonants from the ends of words, in particular d, p and t.

swimming swimmin- something somethinkrunning runnin- nothing nothinkgoing goin- anything anythink

wishing wishin- thing thinktalking talkin- everything everythink

mound moun found foungrasp gras lump lumlast las past pas

Adding And Omitting Vowels And Syllables

Sometimes an extra sound such as er.. is added wrongly, particularly when the word ends in ry. In wordsending in ary, ery and ory, the vowel often is omitted incorrectly.

foundry foundery pantry pantery umbrella umberella

industry industery ministry ministery juggler juggerlerinfantry infantery dentistry dentistery cockroach cockeroachdictionary dictionry jewellery jewelry oratory oratryordinary ordinry mystery mystry directory directrymilitary militry archery archry lavatory lavatrylibrary libry robbery robbry history histry

The mistake also is made of incorrectly adding the vowels u and i thus forming an extra syllable. Asyllable also may be lost because of the way distinct sound signals are crushed or run together. Errorsoccur too because of lazy pronunciation habits and middle and frontal sounds are omitted.

grievous grevious mischievous mischeviouskiln kilun film filum

brother bruver another anuvermother muver picture pitchagovernment guvment bureaucracy brocracyAmerican Merican Australian Stralian

It is also common for some people incorrectly to add a d.. sound to a word or in turn, to fail to pronouncethe letter d in a word.

pigeon pidgon judge jugemagic madgic hedge hegetragic tradgic edge egemessage messedge ledge lege


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Confusing The Final Consonants

One reason why some people spell words incorrectly is because they fail to pronounce the final symbol or syllaistinctly or correctly. Special care needs to be taken with words that end in t (or te) and ed particularly when

words have a similar sound. Personal discipline is needed to always give due stress to the d and the t respectivspelling errors are to be eliminated. An effective Key To Understanding to apply is: If you did it, it ends in

.g. missed, chased.

passed past missed mist paced paste leased leastbussed bust guessed guest tacked tact wrapped rapttracked tract ducked duct packed pact trussed trustbased baste chased chaste hissed hist toughed tuft

Words ending in ence and ance also are confused with words ending in ents and ants, e.g.

patience patients incidence incidents residence residentsinnocence innocents presence presents instance instantsdependence dependants attendance attendants assistance assistants

Words ending in ve and th can also be pronunciation and spelling casualties because of the tendency to make an found, while words ending in f are often wrongly spelt with a v or ve.

above abuf love luf glove gluf carve carfserve serf swerve swerf with wif path parfboth bof half harve calf carve self selvshelf shelve elf elv gulf gulv itself itselv

Confusing the Sound of Syllables

Correct pronunciation can be a prerequisite to spelling well. As explained above, there are words which are regularmis-spelt because the final syllable is not clearly and distinctly sounded or pronounced. This is common with -lewords and where like-sounding words end in el, al and ol. A similar problem can arise when the final syllable er, ar, or, en and on.

idle idol mettle metal peddle pedalmeddle medal gamble gambol muscle musselpistol pistil petrol petrel naval navel

manner manor miner minor seller cellaraltar alter carrot carat rigger rigor or rigourbarren baron lessen lesson batten baton

Just as difficulties arise because some end - l symbol combinations can send the same sound signal, e.g. meddleand medal, problems also occur because al, el and il combinations at the beginning, in the middle and at

the end of words, are not pronounced purely.

alephant elephant malon melon aligible eligible

hospitil hospital medicil medical pedul pedal

elsatian Alsatian elgebra algebra pencel pencil

As also demonstrated by the words above, variations occur in the way words are pronounced, even fromcountry to country, because of the way the vowels in words are pronounced. Consider the words clerk andcement which are pronounced as clar..kand cler..kand cee..mentand cem..ent. The main consonantvariation is z which is pronounced as z..or zeeas in zeb..raand zee..bra. N.B. Building Word Familiesof words that often are pronounced and spelt incorrectly is a helpful tool for retention, e.g. words where er iswrongly added -category, umbrella, cockroach, foundry, etc.


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Correctly Pronouncing And Stressing Words

Single-Syllabic Words:

To correctly pronounce a single-syllabic word, one first needs to be able to target the Core or Extended Symbo

Combinations from which the word has been made, e.g. ship = sh and ip -- grudge = gr and udge. Secondlyone must know what sound is being made by the Symbols and the Core or Extended Combinations, knowing thasome symbols and symbol combinations can make different sounds or can be silent, e.g. romp, comb, tombsome, home swam, swamp.

Multi-Syllabic Words:

When dealing with a multi-syllabic word, once the Core and Extended Combinations are targeted, the next task isto work out where the syllables begin and finish. Knowing the relevant 4S Pronunciation Keys is helpful, i.eBlends usually begin words and syllables. - Double consonants usually split. e.g. con/tract/or ap/pro/pri/ate. The challenge then is to know which syllable is stressed. The 4S Pronunciation Key teachethat:Most multi-syllabic words usually stress the first syllable.

pan/try men/tion hon/est light/ning des/ert ac/tionwork/er pris/on cof/fee chim/ney bash/ful dol/phinguar/an/tee cin/e/ma el/e/phant pen/in/sul/ar mes/sen/ger mus/ic/al

This Key applies especially when the first syllable ends in a long vowel, i.e. it says its own name:

cy/clone no/ble to/tal ti/dal o/pen fi/nal na/tionte/di/ous Je/sus cy/cle o/dour cli/mate sta/tion mu/tiny

Stressing The Base Or Root Of The Word:

If the stress is not on the first syllable in a multi-syllabic word, it is nearly always on the base or root from which

the word has been built or derived. A 4S Key To Pronunciation teaches: In a multi-syllabic word the stressalso can be on the root or base from which it has been built.

ex-pend-i-ture e-val-u-a-tion re-sour-ces in-fla-tion e-vac-u-a-tionde-ben-ture dis-trib-u-tion e-con-om-y vo-cab-u-lar-y ex-cav-a-tionap-par-ent-ly de-fen-sive se-cur-i-ty re-pent-ance in-fat-u-a-ted

Pronouncing Suffixes And Prefixes:

A 4S Pronunciation Key teaches: Suffixes are never stressed, e.g. jumper, sweetest, quickly. In contrast, aPrefix can be stressed when a word is used as the name of something, i.e. a Noun, or as a descriptive, i.e. anAdjective, e.g. Did you keep arecord of the height of the flood?- In May we had arecord rainfall. When thesame prefixed word is used as an action word or Verb, like Suffixes, the Prefix is not stressed but the second

syllable is, e.g.Can you recordthat song for me?. The 4S Key: When a multi-syllabic word is used as a verbthe stress is usually on the second syllable.

Noun/Adj Verb Noun/Adj Verb Noun/Adj Verb

ac/count ac/count per/mit per/mit prod/uce pro/ducerec/ord re/cord pro/ject pro/ject re/turn re/turnad/dress ad/dress re/ply re/ply con/fines con/finesre/view re/view sur/vey sur/vey separate se/par/ate

Personal pronunciation can influence how words are sounded. Stressing both or more than one syllable in a wordis a safe rule to apply when unsure as to which syllable to stress, e.g. con/fine, sta/tion, cy/clone, e/con/om/y.


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The Spreading Schwa Problem

One of the primary objectives of 4S-Accelerated English Program (AEP)Is to focus on personal speaking and pronunciation difficulties andaddress them. 4S stresses the importance of pronouncing words correctly.

The reason is simple. Words that are pronounced incorrectly often are

wrongly misunderstood by the listener resulting in miscommunication.More importantly, they are also mis-spelt. It is because of thesenegatives that attention is given to pronunciation problem areas.

Schwa

In recent decades, one of those problem areas is the use of what is known as the Schwa sound. Schwa is ashort, neutral, uh..-like, vowel sound that is best understood and demonstrated by the final uh.... sound incomma, pandaand eraand the initial sound in agoandagain.

This sound is often the result of lack of speech discipline and copying. It is now occurring even among radioand television presenters, as well as well-educated English language practitioners. It is also common inAmerican English where words such as carand polarare said as in a shortened form as c-uh.. and pol-uh..i.e. ending in Schwa instead of the regular ar sound.

Schwa regularly is heard in words that end in vowel -r combinations such as worker,runner,jumper,doctordirector,neighbour, vapour, grammar, seminar. Again, it is commonly used in re- ending words such as firehire, acre, conspire, entire, centreand metreand in other words.

Likewise, it is now heard when the regular or long vowel sound is shortened and changed in everyday wordse.g. demand, remedy, essential, propose, attend, command, accommodate, estimate, appeal, benefitcourtesy, allow, etc. Schwais represented by the phonetic symbol .

To reiterate the point, words pronounced using a Schwa sound can cause spelling, comprehension andinterpretation difficulties especially for those learning English as an additional or second language. Such wordare often spelt incorrectly, e.g.

approach =aproach; benefit = benafit; essential =asential; allow =alow;courtesy = courtasy; attend=atend; annoy =anoy; account =acount.

This pronunciation practice is now so common that most English language dictionaries are listing the Schwapronunciation alternative for the affected words. As a result, many English teachers believe that the battleagainst the spread of Schwa has already been lost and that there is no alternative but to acknowledge thesound as an acceptable pronunciation option, despite the negative outcomes particularly in relation to its impacon spelling accuracy.

This position is taken because there is an ever increasing range of words in which the Schwa- uh.. sound isbeing used. However, while appreciating the complexity of the challenge, 4S argues that if one wants to be asuperior speaker and speller of English, the problem does need to be addressed, at least in part.


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Addressing The Problem

To assist in addressing this problem, 4S recommends that when words are encountered for the first timeespecially by those for whom English is not their first language, the new words should be pronounced purelyand emphatically.

This can be achieved by over-emphasizing and even exaggerating the vowel or symbol combination at risk, e.gdoctor; worker; command; essential, etc. While this approach may sound a little amusing sometimes tolearners and listeners, it can result in enhanced speaking and spelling skills.

To restate the point, the way an unknown word is pronounced by a speaker often determines how it will spelt bythat person, unless taught otherwise.

One of the objectives of 4S is to show that correctly spelling words, such as the Schwa-uh.. group, can bemade much easier if care is taken to pronounce them purely when they are being learnt.

This is the 4S approach to pronunciation even though it is readily acknowledged and appreciated that ineveryday, community speech, a different sound is made other than the more precise, learned sound, e.gbutter > buta.

This method works well with vowel - r combinations, e.g. run/ner, act/or, fla/vour, in words where a vowel isfollowed by a double consonant, e.g. ap/peal, ac/cuse, as/sume, and in initial consonant vowel words, e.gre/form, de/fine, pre/fer, pro/vide.

When the pure sounds of the syllables in a word are known, it is easier to convert these sounds correctly intotheir symbol combinations and thus spell the word accurately. To achieve this goal, time needs to be spencarefully and precisely pronouncing words and listening to the various sound signals as well as practisingconverting these pure sound signals into their correct symbol combinations and vice versa.

It is also of value to make a list of clue words that depict the variations of the schwa words and to buildrelevant Word Families, e.g. remedy, comedy, tragedy, etc.

As many of the Schwa pronounced words belong to the r-combination families, i.e. ar, er. or, our, rethere is value in spending quality time imparting the pure pronunciation of such words, e.g. collar singermentor Saviour retire. Secondly, as the second major Schwa group all have double consonants, similaspecial attention is required, e.g. accuse, effective, allotment, essentially, attribute.

It is at this point that the Pronunciation Key: Double Consonants Usually Split can be taught or revised toexplain why the Schwa sound should not be used, i.e. because the initial symbol combinations are now closedwith a consonant thus making the preceding vowel, short or regular.

Take a moment to test yourself as to how you pronounce the following list of 50 words that are so oftenpronounced with the Schwa sound:

farmer, doctor, grammar, thorough, demand, effect, colour, fire, attend, metre,

furious, abide, remedy, assist, appoint, annul, estimate, command, resist, actor,

prefer, propose, worker, journalist, appeal, singer, hire, accrue, acre, comedy,

centre, assess, afford, commute, connect, addition, competitor, dollar, assist, release .

enter,accommodate, neighbour, elector,director, pretend, result, allege, attest, inspire


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ESL and EAL Speaking Issues

Many people for whom English is an additional or second language :

* Pronounce words incorrectly and stress words wrongly.

* Regularly omit the articles the and a.

* Often drop the final consonant in words, e.g. lum = lump; ban = band; spen = spent, etc

* Use the same known phrases and sentences as responses and to express different ideas.

* Have difficulty in sequencing thoughts in a logical, progressive way.

* Make mistakes in Tense.

* Use incorrect and inappropriate Prepositions.

* Sentence structure is often awkward and pedestrian.

To improve ones pronunciation proficiency, one needs to be across The 4S Keys To UnderstandingPronunciation, for example,

(i) Multi-syllabic nouns usually stress the first syllable, e.g.gar/den;den/tist -

(ii)Double Consonants Usually Split, e.g. but/ter, ham/mer.

(iii)Double consonants usually follow short vowels, e.g. ld/der, skp/per.

When a word or syllable ends in a consonant, the previous vowel is usually short or regular. 4S teaches:

(iv) Closed syllables end in consonants and the vowel is usually short, e.g. bn/ner; cf/fee.

(v) Consonants Usually Close Vowels Usually Open.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. The main one relates to words and syllables ending in r. The reasonis r is one of the Five Influential Consonantsin English and the 4S Key teaches:

(vi) r changes the sound of the vowel that comes before it, e.g. Compare cat and car - foxand for.

Knowing these Keys is one of the secret to Superior Pronunciation.

Helpful Hints For Pronunciation

* Watch English Television programs

* Listen to and sing English songs -

* Listen to English radio e.g. news programs

* Have conversations with capable English speakers

* Regularly record yourself readingshort articles

Documents

$ Superior Speaking Guide