/æ/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ɑ/ and /ʌ/. We call these the relative vowel sounds. They do not have an off-glide.
We learned the One Vowel Rule for relative vowel sounds. The rule: If there is only one vowel letter in a short word, it is pronounced with its relative vowel sound.
Like yesterday's Two Vowel Rule, the One Vowel Rule does not work 100% of the time. However, a rule that works most of the time is better than no guideline at all, no?
After some listening exercises, choral repeating and individual repeating with corrections, we had fun with a few minimal pair sentences. Then it was time to practice the sounds in a real world context.
We learned some vocabulary for one cornerstone of the Canadian cultural experience: ordering at Tim Horton's. When recently arrived Florin asked, "What's a Timbit," I was ready. We passed around napkins and enjoyed the unofficial national snack food of Canada.
We talked about the meaning of such terms as steeped tea, ham & Swiss sandwich, and regular. Lina explained to us the meaning of "double double." Annonciata said that in Tanzania, you can pick coffee beans right off the bush! Angela said you can do that in Colombia, too. Florin said Canadian coffee is weak. Coffee is stronger in Romania.
Then we worked together to group the terms by vowel sounds. Here was the result:
/æ/
black, apple, ham, salad, crackers, chamomile.
/ɛ/
egg, peppermint, English Breakfast, honey lemon.
/ɪ/
Timbit, Swiss, chicken, stir stick, lid, cinnamon, peppermint.
/ɑ/
hot chocolate, coffee, water.
/ʌ/
donut, muffin, mug, double, honey.
We learned the One Vowel Rule for relative vowel sounds. The rule: If there is only one vowel letter in a short word, it is pronounced with its relative vowel sound.
Like yesterday's Two Vowel Rule, the One Vowel Rule does not work 100% of the time. However, a rule that works most of the time is better than no guideline at all, no?
After some listening exercises, choral repeating and individual repeating with corrections, we had fun with a few minimal pair sentences. Then it was time to practice the sounds in a real world context.
We learned some vocabulary for one cornerstone of the Canadian cultural experience: ordering at Tim Horton's. When recently arrived Florin asked, "What's a Timbit," I was ready. We passed around napkins and enjoyed the unofficial national snack food of Canada.
We talked about the meaning of such terms as steeped tea, ham & Swiss sandwich, and regular. Lina explained to us the meaning of "double double." Annonciata said that in Tanzania, you can pick coffee beans right off the bush! Angela said you can do that in Colombia, too. Florin said Canadian coffee is weak. Coffee is stronger in Romania.
Then we worked together to group the terms by vowel sounds. Here was the result:
/æ/
black, apple, ham, salad, crackers, chamomile.
/ɛ/
egg, peppermint, English Breakfast, honey lemon.
/ɪ/
Timbit, Swiss, chicken, stir stick, lid, cinnamon, peppermint.
/ɑ/
hot chocolate, coffee, water.
/ʌ/
donut, muffin, mug, double, honey.
When the students wanted to know the meaning of chamomile, I passed out seven tea packets, one for each kind of tea offered at Tim's. We opened the chamomile and smelled it. Florin and Ina quickly agreed on the Romanian word for it while Ana and Fermin were also able to name it in Spanish.
Finally, we practiced some dialogues for ordering at Tim's. These included such phrases as "for here or to go" and "can I help who's next, please?"
We did not finish working with the dialogues, so on Thursday we will finish up those before starting the next pronunciation lesson.
Finally, we practiced some dialogues for ordering at Tim's. These included such phrases as "for here or to go" and "can I help who's next, please?"
We did not finish working with the dialogues, so on Thursday we will finish up those before starting the next pronunciation lesson.
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