Reduction

Reduced Vowel Sounds

In English, when teaching reduced vowel sounds we give some syllables more stress than others. That means that we have to point out to our learners that some syllables are louder, longer, and clearer than others. Syllables that are unstressed are shorter, softer, and less clear. In fact, there are o nly TWO reduced vowel sounds in English. These are the "Schwa" sound and the "barred i" sound.

The "barred i" is like a really short /I/ sound. 
The "schwa" is like a really short vowel made in the center of your mouth.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

schwa sounds:
• writer
• explanation
• emphasis

barred i sounds:
• recitation
• monitor
• implication

Below are tips for pronunciation activities you can do with your students, including links to printable resources and games and links to related web sites. Enjoy!

Contrastive Stress Practice. Here is another fun activity. Have students write 10 FALSE sentences. They could be about anything, as only as they are not true. Next have students read the statements to their pa rtner. The partner must correct each of the incorrect statements. 
For example: "Christmas is in July." "No, Christmas is in December ."
My students really like this game, especially when the false sentences are outrageous!

Pronunciation Partners. Put students in groups of 4-5.  Deal 6 cards to each students and put the rest face-down on the table.  Students take turns asking for a card they need to complete their set. 

 

Humming. Put students in pairs.  Give student A a list of questions or statements.  Give student B a list of replies.  Student A should hum the intonation patterns of his utterances.  Student B should reply with the correct response.  We like to make sure that all of the sentences have the same number of syllables so that Student B really has to listen to the intonation to get the sentence.  Example utterances:

Student A	Student B
I like pizza, pickles, and chips. (list intonation)	Not all together, I hope.
Would you prefer coffee or tea? (choice intonation)	Tea, please.
Would you like some ice cream and cake? (double-rising intonation)	No, thank you. I'm not hungry.
Next week we are flying to Rome. (falling intonation)	Really? How long will you be there?
Is he going to the dentist? (rising intonation)	Yes. He has a toothache.

Click on the following video to practice vowel reduction!