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Here I will share how my class is doing, our favorite sites, ideas, lesson plans, and of course listen to your ideas, look at your lesson plans, ask for your input.
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Here is a wonderful tool that I was sent from http://esl.about.com/
This site also has a newletter here is what I was sent today. I hope this helps.
Voiced and Voiceless Consonants
One problem that many students face in pronunciation is whether a consonant is voiced or voiceless. This guide should help you understand the differences and give you some simple rules. To help you I’ve recorded this voiced and voiceless consonant page so you can listen to the examples. (Suggestion: open the sound file in another page or tab so you can read along while you listen)
What is Voiced?
A simple explanation of voiced consonants is that they use the voice. This is easy to test by putting your finger on your throat. If you feel a vibration the consonant is voiced. Here is a list of some voiced consonants. Pronounce each consonant sound (not the letter) and feel the vibration of your vocal chords.
b
d
th (as in then)
v
l
r
z
j (as in Jane)
What is Voiceless?
Voiceless consonants do not use the voice.
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They are percussive and use hard sounds. Once again, you can test if a consonant is voiceless by putting your finger on your throat. You will feel no vibration in your throat, just a short explosion of air as you pronounce. Pronounce each of these consonant sounds and feel NO vibration in your throat.
p
t
k
s
sh
ch
th (as in thing)
Careful! Some Consonants Voiced, but are Voiceless
When consonants are put in groups they can change the voiced or voiceless quality of the consonant that follows. A great example of this is the past simple form of regular verbs. As you know, regular verbs add -ed to the end of the verb in the past simple.
play – played
wash – washed
live – lived etc.
These past simple verbs all end in ‘-ed’. However, some of the verbs are pronounced with a voiceless ‘t’ sound and some are pronounced with the voiced ‘d’ sound. Why? Here are the rules:
- If -ed is preceded by a voiceless consonant sound (p, k, sh, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiceless ‘t’. Remember that the ‘e’ is silent.
- If -ed is preceded by a voiced consonant sound (d, b, v, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiced ‘d’. Remember that the ‘e’ is silent.
- If -ed is preceded by a vowel sound (often ‘ay’) -ed sounds as a voiced ‘d’ because vowels are always voiced. Remember that the ‘e’ is silent.
- Exception: If -ed is preceded by ‘t’ pronounce a voiced -id. In this case, the ‘e’ is pronounced.
This pattern can also be found with plural forms. If the consonant preceding the ‘s’ is voiced, ‘s’ will sound as voiced ‘z’:
chairs
machines
bags
If the consonant preceding the ‘s’ is voiceless, ‘s’ will sound as voiceless ‘s’:
bats
parks
pipes
Connected Speech
Finally, when speaking in sentences the ending consonant sounds can change based on the following words. This is often referred to as ‘connected speech’. Here is an example of a change from a voiceless ‘s’ plural to a voiced ‘z’ plural because of the vowel sound of the following word:
We went to some parties at school.
The ‘ae’ vowel sound changes the voiceless ‘s’!
Here is an example of a change from a voiced ‘d’ past simple verb changed to voiceless ‘t’:
We played tennis yesterday afternoon.
Exercise:
Take this list of words and decide if the final consonants are voiced or voiceless. Once you have made your decision, click on the link to check the answers (or, if you are listening, I will provide the answers in the audio):
washed
traveled
coats
gloves
shells
watched
started
changed
books
wheels
lived
dreams
seats
dropped
exchanged
globes
phones
carts
listened
organized
washed – voiceless
traveled – voiced
coats – voiceless
gloves – voiced
shells – voiced
watched – voiceless
started – voiced
changed – voiced
books – voiceless
wheels – voiced
lived – voiced
dreams – voiced
seats – voiceless
dropped – voiceless
exchanged – voiced
globes – voiced
phones – voiced
carts – voiceless
listened – voiced
organized – voiced
In multi-syllable words the stress falls on one of the syllables while the other syllables tend to be spoken over quickly. This leads to sounds that are not clear (muted) on unstressed syllables. In order to improve your pronunciation, focus on pronouncing the stressed syllable clearly. However, don’t be afraid to “mute” (not say clearly) the other unstressed vowels. Listen to the examples by clicking on “listen”. Return to this page using the “back” button on your browser.
For example:
Listen to these specific examples:
PersonNEL
TOtally
InDUstrial
ToMAto
FanTAstic
Unstressed syllables keep the correct sound, but sound muted. Sometimes, unstressed vowels become a schwa sound – like a soft “uh” sound.
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For example:
Listen to these specific examples:
Little
Repeat
Tomato
At other times, the vowel is pronounced but not stressed.
For example:
Listen to these specific examples:
Industrial
Noisily
With this in mind, here are the eight common word stress patterns in English.
One Syllable – Stressed
All one syllable words have the stress on the one syllable. The intonation should go down. Listen to the general pattern.
EAT
DRINK
SIGN
WELL
Two Syllable – First Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
GIant
PICture
HEAting
Two Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
toDAY
aHEAD
aLLOW
Three Syllable – First Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
ENergy
Operate
ORganize
Three Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
meMORial
aSSUMPtion
caNAdian
Three Syllable – Third Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
employEE
japanESE
voluntEER
Four Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
psyCHOLogy
eVAporate
cerTIficate
Four Syllable – Third Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
poliTIcian
indiVIdual
repuTAtion
t
k
s
sh
ch
th (as in thing)
wash – washed
live – lived etc.
machines
bags
parks
pipes
traveled
coats
gloves
shells
watched
started
changed
books
wheels
lived
dreams
seats
dropped
exchanged
globes
phones
carts
listened
organized
traveled – voiced
coats – voiceless
gloves – voiced
shells – voiced
watched – voiceless
started – voiced
changed – voiced
books – voiceless
wheels – voiced
lived – voiced
dreams – voiced
seats – voiceless
dropped – voiceless
exchanged – voiced
globes – voiced
phones – voiced
carts – voiceless
listened – voiced
organized – voiced
TOtally
InDUstrial
ToMAto
FanTAstic
Learn to Teach ESLSpecialize in teaching English as a second language. Learn more now.Phoenix.edu
Esl ListeningTake English as a Second Language Classes Online! Get free info.WashingtonPost.com
For example:
Listen to these specific examples:
Little
Repeat
Tomato
At other times, the vowel is pronounced but not stressed.
For example:
Listen to these specific examples:
Industrial
Noisily
With this in mind, here are the eight common word stress patterns in English.
One Syllable – Stressed
All one syllable words have the stress on the one syllable. The intonation should go down. Listen to the general pattern.
EAT
DRINK
SIGN
WELL
Two Syllable – First Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
GIant
PICture
HEAting
Two Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
toDAY
aHEAD
aLLOW
Three Syllable – First Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
ENergy
Operate
ORganize
Three Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
meMORial
aSSUMPtion
caNAdian
Three Syllable – Third Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
employEE
japanESE
voluntEER
Four Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
psyCHOLogy
eVAporate
cerTIficate
Four Syllable – Third Syllable Stressed
Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:
poliTIcian
indiVIdual
repuTAtion
