'Identifying stress pattern in two-syllable nouns and adjectives' less

'My favourite things' lesson

Course: General English Language level: B1+ Learner type: Adults Skills: Developing phonetic (stress patterns) and vocabulary skills Topic: identifying stress patterns in two-syllable nouns and adjectives Vocabulary: every-day objects, animals and words related to nature Time: 50 minutes

lesson plan

Topic: Identifying stress patterns in two-syllable nouns and adjectives

why is it important to learn about stress patterns while learning english?

Syllables and stress are two of the main areas of spoken language. Pronouncing words with the stress on the correct syllables will help you improve your spoken English, make your sentences easier to understand and help you sound more like a native speaker.

Quarter past seven

How many syllables does the word 'quarter' have? How many syllables does the word 'past' have? How many syllables does the word 'seven' have?

Quarter past seven

Which is stressed syllable in the word 'quarter'? Which is unstressed syllable in the word 'quarter'? Which is stressed syllable in the word 'seven'? Which is unstressed syllable in the word 'seven'?

WHAT IS A GENERAL RULE FOR TWO SYLLABLE WORDS, NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES?

Quarter past seven

A general rule is that for two syllable words, nouns and adjectives have the stress on the first syllable

Quarter past seven

This phrase has beats (corresponding to the stressed syllables) note that the first beat is followed by weak syllables AND the next beat by . So you have to imagine the rhythm of the line as:

O - stressed syllable (a beat) o - unstressed/weak syllable

DRAW A PATTERN Of THE PHRASE ABOVE, USING BIG AND SMALL CIRCLES.

Quarter past seven

This phrase has two beats, corresponding to the stressed syllables. note that the first beat is followed by two weak syllables AND the next by one. So you have to imagine the rhythm of the line as:

O o o Oo

DAH du du DAH du

DAH is relatively long and loud while du is relatively short and quiet

Listen to what happens if we keep to the same four-beat rhythm, while changing the words and varying the number of weak syllables.

• Mary and Joseph • Where are you going? • What are you doing? • Everyone thinks so • Isn’t she lovely? • Monday and Tuesday

O o o Oo

DAH du du DAH du

I am going to show you 4 images. For each image, you should write down what you see. Importantly, the phrases that you write should consist of 5 syllables and conform to the stress pattern:

OooOo

OooOo

OooOo

OooOo

OooOo

O o o O oo O o o O

answers

Write down the words that you hear

OooOo

raindrops on roses

OooOo

whiskers on kittens

OooOo

bright copper kettles

OooOo

warm woolen mittens

O o o O oo O o o O

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favourite things

let's sing the verse

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

brown paper packages tied up with strings

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS

write YOUR own personal ‘Favorite Things’ verse. keep the exact same stress pattern as before.

O o o O o and O o o O o O o o O o and O o o O o O o o O o o O o o O These are a few of my favorite things

the use of very rhythmic poems will help learners of English to sound more natural when they speak. Most importantly, if you hit the beat correctly you will give correct importance to the most important syllables. Or, as I say later: If you don’t want your English to sound a mess, You’ve got to hit the beat, you’ve got to hit the stress. But it’s going to sound funny, it’s going to go wrong If you make your weak sounds much too strong.

(A poem-based course for English pronunciation) Michael Vaughan-Rees

THANKS