One of the most frequently mispronounced consonant is the letter X. In spoken American English the letter X has two pronunciations. Here are the rules and a few examples. 1. When the letter X occurs before a stressed vowel it is pronounced like /gz/. Here are a few examples. The word exact sounds like egzact.… Continue reading #88, Susan Ryan’s Tip: Frequently Mispronounced Consonant
Category: Susan Ryan’s ELT Tips
ELTWeekly Issue#85
Word of the week: Global comprehension Video: English Language Teaching In Action – Disc 1: Games and Activities Research Paper: ‘Towards Intercultural Communicative Competence in English Language Teaching’ by Saeid Najafi Sarem Research Article: ‘Honing Communication Skills of Students’ by Leena U. Jadhav Susan Ryan’s Tip: Intonation Patterns
#85, Susan Ryan’s Tip: Intonation Patterns
Perhaps you have heard people say that intonation is the melody or the music of spoken American English. That’s because English speakers use different types of intonation or pitch patterns in sentences and phrases. These intonation patterns are not visible in the written language. However they are extremely important because they convey meaning. If you… Continue reading #85, Susan Ryan’s Tip: Intonation Patterns
ELTWeekly Issue#84
Word of the week: Informal assessment Video: Shaping the Way We Teach English: Module 14, Reflective Teaching Article: ‘Core activities for using the chart to integrate pronunciation’ by Adrian Underhill Research Paper: ‘The Possible Effects of Question-Making as a Post-Reading Activity on the Amount of Student-Teacher Interaction’ by Dr. Mohammad Mohammadi & Simin Nezamdoost-e Sani… Continue reading ELTWeekly Issue#84
#84, Susan Ryan’s Tip: Spoken English is Stress Timed
English is a stress timed language. This means that stressed syllables occur at regular intervals when you say a sentence. In stress timed languages, the amount of time it takes you to say a sentence depends on the number of stressed syllables in a sentence, not on the total number of syllables. The combination of… Continue reading #84, Susan Ryan’s Tip: Spoken English is Stress Timed
ELTWeekly Issue#83
Word of the week: Direct method Opinion: Do Teachers Have the Right to Blog? Advertisement: Station-e Language Lab Susan Ryan’s Tip: Three Strategies for Listening to Spoken English Research Paper: ‘Forgetting vs. Remembering: Implications in Language Teaching’ by Laleh Fakhraei Faruji Article: ‘Using texts constructively 2: intensive input-output work’ by Michael Swan Video: Shaping the… Continue reading ELTWeekly Issue#83
ELTWeekly Issue#82
Word of the week: Choral repetition Video: Shaping the Way We Teach English: Module 12, Younger Learners Susan Ryan’s Tip: Using Content, Focus & Function Words in Spoken English Advertisement: Clarity English Courses Article: Using texts constructively: what are texts for? Research Article: ‘Types of Syllabuses in Language Teaching – ESL/EFL Context’ by Shabnum Iftikhar.… Continue reading ELTWeekly Issue#82
#82, Susan Ryan’s Tip: Using Content, Focus & Function Words in Spoken English
When English speakers talk they emphasize the content and focus words in a sentence. That’s because these words are the most important for meaning. Function words are said quickly because these words, while needed for structure, are not always key to meaning. In spoken English each sentence or phrase contains: A Focus word-the most important… Continue reading #82, Susan Ryan’s Tip: Using Content, Focus & Function Words in Spoken English