What is word stress?

Posted on by Stratford Teachers

Word stress is part of the sound of a word.

Every word is made of blocks of sound. These blocks are called syllables.

Words with two or more syllables have one sound that is stronger than the others. This is called word stress.

When we speak, we put word stress on one syllable in each word.

The video focuses on ‘station’. Station is a two-syllable word.

Watch the video to hear how to make the word stress.

By Louise and Barney

 

If you have any questions about this, leave a comment below.

If you are interested in learning with Stratford Teachers, send us a message.

Sounds and spelling – Vowels 3

Posted on by Stratford Teachers

Part of learning vocabulary involves learning the sound of a word, but learners of English are often confused by English spelling and are not sure how words sound.

We have chosen some common sound/spelling combinations to help you.

We give the phonemic symbol, the letters which can make that sound, and some common examples.

You can also hear the words then pause the video to practise saying them.

Finally, we suggest that you create your own groups using words that are important for you.

Here is the third and final set of vowel sounds.

Sound Spelling Examples
/eɪ/ a take late shave make
ai wait train straight
ay play say stay
ey they grey obey
ei eight weight
ea break
/əʊ/ o home phone open
ow show throw own
oa coat road coast
ol cold told
ou mould
/ɜ:/ ir bird third shirt
or work world word
ur burn turn
ear learn earn

Watch the video and practise saying the words.

See Sound and spelling – Vowels 1

And Sound and spelling – Vowels 2

By Louise and Barney

 

If you have any questions about this, leave a comment below.

If you are interested in learning with Stratford Teachers, send us a message.

Sounds and spelling – Vowels 2

Posted on by Stratford Teachers

Part of learning vocabulary involves learning the sound of a word, but learners of English are often confused by English spelling and are not sure how words sound.

We have chosen some common sound/spelling combinations to help you.

We give the phonemic symbol, the letters which can make that sound, and some common examples.

You can also hear the words then pause the video to practise saying them.

Finally, we suggest that you create your own groups using words that are important for you.

Here is a second set of some vowel sounds.

Sound Spelling Examples
/ʌ/ u fun sun husband
o some mother month
ou cousin double young
oo blood
/ɒ/ o hot pocket top
a watch what want
/ɔ:/ or short sport store
our your four course
ough bought
augh daughter taught
al ball tall always walk talk
aw draw saw raw
ar warden warm
oor floor door
/ɑɪ/ i like time island
y dry shy cycle
ie fries die tie
igh light high right
ei height
ey eyes
uy buy

Watch the video and practise saying the words.

See Sound and spelling – Vowels 1

Come back to the website next week for Sound and spelling – Vowels 3.

By Louise and Barney

 

If you have any questions about this, leave a comment below.

If you are interested in learning with Stratford Teachers, send us a message.

Sounds and spelling – Vowels 1

Posted on by Stratford Teachers

Part of learning vocabulary involves learning the sound of a word, but learners of English are often confused by English spelling and are not sure how words sound.

We have chosen some common sound/spelling combinations to help you.

We give the phonemic symbol, the letters which can make that sound, and some common examples.

You can also hear the words then pause the video to practise saying them.

Finally, we suggest that you create your own groups using words that are important for you.

We are starting with some vowel sounds.

Sound Spelling Examples
/ɪ/ i this listen
y gym typical
ui build guitar
e pretty
/i:/ ee green sleep
ie niece believe
ea increase teacher
e these complete
ey key
ei receipt receive
i police
/æ/ a can man pasta bank family dance*
au laugh*
/ɑ:/ a can’t dance*
ar scarf bargain
al half
au laugh* aunt*
ea heart
* in some British accents

Watch the video and practise saying the words.

Come back to the website next week for Sound and spelling – Vowels 2.

By Louise and Barney

 

If you have any questions about this, leave a comment below.

If you are interested in learning with Stratford Teachers, send us a message.

Spelling words with the International Radio Alphabet

Posted on by Stratford Teachers

When you say the alphabet in English, some letters can sound very similar.

For example:

B /bi:/ and P /pi:/

A /eɪ/ and H /eɪʧ/

M /em/ and N /en/

This means you must be careful when you spell words, especially on the telephone.

The International Radio Alphabet has a word for every letter of the alphabet. You can use it to be sure that you are clear when you spell something.

International Radio Alphabet
A for Alpha N for November
B for Bravo O for Oscar
C for Charlie P for Papa
D for Delta Q for Quebec
E for Echo R for Romeo
F for Foxtrot S for Sierra
G for Golf T for Tango
H for Hotel U for Uniform
I for India V for Victor
J for Juliet W for Whiskey
K for Kilo X for X-ray
L for Lima Y for Yankee
M for Mike Z for Zulu

Watch the video to hear how to say each word in the International Radio Alphabet.

Barney’s name contains several of these letters with similar sounds.

Watch the second video to hear how he uses the Radio Alphabet to spell it.

Transcript

Hello. My name’s Barney. That’s B for Bravo, A for Alpha, R for Romeo, N for November, E for Echo, and Y for Yankee. Barney.

Download a pdf of the International Radio Alphabet.

 

By Louise and Barney

 

If you have any questions about this, leave a comment below.

If you are interested in learning with Stratford Teachers, send us a message.