Tag Archives: language
Mind your spelling
On a former post I had written about how weird the English language was and this text by Richard Leverer proves it once again. But, among all this jungle of weirdness, probably one of the big challenges for most English learners is spelling and pronunciation. It is even a big issue for native speakers who may have difficulties spelling correctly.
Some words have different meanings, but are pronounced the same (homophones); others share the same sounds but are spelt differently, and there are silent letters (debt) and disappearing syllables (as in strawberry, because of word stress)….enough to make anyone go crazy!
There is a poem that illustrates this wonderfully. The title is ‘The Chaos’ (by the way, are you sure you know how “chaos” is pronounced?) and it was written by Gerard Nolst Trenité in 1922. You can read the whole poem on this post . How do you feel about it? Do you agree with the Frenchman who said he’d rather spend six months of labour than reading six lines aloud ever again?
The Spelling Reform
Watch the following video and find out the speaker’s main argument.
There are many people who advocate a spelling reform, in fact many proposals have been put forward to bring English up to date, arguing that the current spelling system has a significant economic and social cost.
What do you think about this? Would you like English spelling to be easier? Do you think there is no point in changing it ?
TIPS FOR LEARNING SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION
- Keep your own pronunciation record. I always recommend dedicating a few pages on your notebooks to grouping words according to their pronunciation. This is particularly helpful with vowels and vocalic groups. When you learn a new word which has a “weird” pronunciation, write it down with other words that contain the same sound. It can be useful also when there is a word you always seem to be getting wrong.
- Learn the symbols of the IPA (international phonetic alphabet). The IPA is an essential tool for language learners. I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to learn to transcribe or even be familiar with every single sound, but you should be aware of some phonemes, as it will enable to pronounce any word at all by simply looking it up in the dictionary. The interactive phonetic chart below may be of some help to get started:
3. Learn to recognize word stress and sentence stress. Stress is the most important features of the English phonological system. Being aware that some syllables and words will not be heard because they are weak forms, while others will surely stand out because they are strong, will make it a little easier for you to start prediciting certain phrases because of their stress patterns. And you’ll finally get to understand the reason why “the English seem to eat up all the words”.
4. Be patient!
Classroom language: instructions
For extra practice on classroom language you can will find more on: classroom language for pair and group work.
For extra practice on QUIZLET- FLASHCARDS of classroom objects: https://quizlet.com/165315845/flashcards/embed
For extra practice on QUIZLET- FLASHCARDS to practice classroom language:
https://quizlet.com/165319285/flashcards/embed
And try doing the quizzes on www.esolcourse.com -for beginners.
Classroom language for pair & group work
Video version with audio:
More practice on classroom instructions on this post: classroom language: instructions.
Verb Patterns with Music
These days we’re learning how to use verb patterns and trying to practise enough so as to remember them better.
It is surely one of the most demanding parts of English and it seems that learners are unaware of how to learn them easily.
Some students suggested their own ideas about how to make the most of the time they spend revising the commonest verb patterns, and here are a few examples that were discussed:
- Spotting examples in songs.
- Doing guided production: creating their own examples and sentences:
- Noticing them more and paying attention when you come across one in a text, whether oral or written.
Top Tips for Language Learning
This is the list of top learning tips that a group of students of A2 English found most helpful this year.
If you’re learning a language, take into account the experience of these students who have become really smart learners!
One Click Closer 