Oral Skills JUST: 2015

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Bounding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQDgU-D8YAs

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Second Test

1. Written: 10 marks on Monday (December 21)

2. Oral: 10 marks on Monday

(December 21)+(Wednesday December 23)

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Presentation deadline: Monday December 28

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Describing Poeple, Pictures, Things, etc.

Describe the following:

The pronunciation of S at the end of plural nouns, verbs in third person and as a part of the possessive case sometimes causes problems for non-native speakers because it can be pronounced in three different ways: / ɪz /, / s / or / z /.

(Note: whenever you see letters or symbols between two slash marks (/ /), it refers to the pronunciation of that letter or sound)

The pronunciation depends on the last sound of the verb or noun which is usually a consonant. Before we learn the different ways to pronounce the final S, we must first know what voiced and voiceless consonants are as well as sibilant sounds:

Voiced Consonants vs. Voiceless Consonants

A voiced consonant (or sound) means that it uses the vocal cords and they produce a vibration or humming sound in the throat when they are said. Put your finger on your throat and then pronounce the letter L. You will notice a slight vibration in your neck / throat. That is because it is a voiced sound.

A voiceless sound is when there is no vibration in your throat and the sound comes from the mouth area. Pronounce the letter P and notice that there is no vibration.

Sibilant Sounds

Another sound which is relevant to this is the sibilant sound which is produced by forcing air out toward your teeth. Is is characterized by a hissing sound (sssss), a buzzing sound (zzzzz) or the sound teachers make when they want you to be quiet (shhhh!).

Sibilant consonants in English: /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/

The pronunciation of the ‘S’ at the end of words in English

The pronunciation of the final S in plural words and verbs in the third person depend on the final consonant sound before that S.

The ending is pronounced /s/ after a voiceless sound, it is pronounced /z/ after a voiced sound and is pronounced /ɪz / or /əz/ after a sibilant sound:

Voiceless: helps /ps/ -- sits /ts/ -- looks /ks/
Voiced: crabs /bz/ -- words /dz/ -- gloves /vz/,
Sibilant: buses /sɪz/, buzzes /zɪz /, bridges /dʒɪz /, wishes /shɪz /

Examples of words ending in the /ɪz/ sound:

C: races (sounds like "race-iz")
S: pauses, nurses, buses, rises
X: fixes, boxes, hoaxes
Z: amazes, freezes, prizes, quizzes
SS: kisses, misses, passes, bosses
CH: churches, sandwiches, witches, teaches
SH: dishes, wishes, pushes, crashes
GE: garages, changes, ages, judges

Examples of words ending in the /s/ sound:

P: cups stops, sleeps
T: hats, students, hits, writes
K: cooks, books, drinks, walks
F: cliffs, sniffs, beliefs, laughs, graphs, apostrophes (the -gh and -ph here are pronounced like a F)

Examples of words ending in the /z/ sound:

B: crabs, rubs
D: cards, words, rides, ends
G: rugs, bags, begs
L: deals calls, falls, hills
M: plums, dreams
N: fans, drains, runs, pens
R: wears, cures
V: gloves, wives, shelves, drives
VOWEL SOUNDS: sees, fleas

Exercise: How is the final ‘s’ pronounced in the following?

Faces	Talks	Walks	Puts
Rooms	Minds	Sees	Ali’s
Malak’s	Feels	Computers	Churches
Languages	Maps	Takes	Pads
Pens	Pencils	Boards	myths

Pronouncing the final ‘-ed’

The ending is pronounced /t/ after a voiceless sound (except /t/), it is pronounced /d/ after a voiced sound (except /d/) and is pronounced /ɪd / or /əd/ after /t/ and /d/:

voiceless sound (except /t/): walked, taped, pushed, bluffed.

voiced sound (except /d/): squeezed, bathed, moved.

after /t/ and /d/: needed, started, visited.

Exercise

Word	/t/	/d/	/ ɪd/	Irregular verb
walk
meet
ask
say
want
break
talk
drink
dance
look
smile
accept
admire
agree
allow
boil
breathed
brush

Question: How are the following words pronounced?

Alarm

Almond

Analogy

Speaking Task

Speaking Task

Describe persons, pictures, places, etc.

-My husband Khaled is 36 years old. He is an architect. He is short. He has beautiful big brown eyes. He has short straight, black hair. He has a charming smile. His favourite colours are black and white.

-My favourite little sister is Belen. She is sixteen years old. She is short, 1 meter and 51 centimetres tall. She has long wavy, shiny, brown hair. Her skin is so beautiful. It reminds me of the colour of coffee with milk. Her face is a heart form. You can see her anger or happiness in her big expressive brown eyes.

-My cousin, Vera, is 20 years old. She is single. She has smiling brown eyes. She has long, curly, black hair. She is quite short and a little fat. She doesn’t like to wear any kind of lipstick. She doesn’t like to wear dresses. Her favourite colour is black

Useful Expressions

1. Admiration

I am very glad to finally work with you

It gives me much pleasure to finally work with you

You are very precious to us

2. Appreciation

I really appreciate your cooperation

I can hardly express my gratitude for your cooperation

3. Happiness

I am very much delighted to tell you the news.

It is my pleasure to tell you the news.

Nice to meet you

4. Expressing Regret

I am very sorry I won’t be able be there.

It is regrettable that you should go

I wish I could be able to accept your invitation, but ….

Unfortunately, I can’t make it tomorrow.

5. Condolences

I am sorry for you loss!

I am so sorry to hear that!

Please accept my sincere condolences!

You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers!

May he/she rest in peace!

May God rest his/her soul!

We belong to God and to him We shall return!

Useful Vocabulary

condolences (noun): expressions of sympathy with another's sadness

- We're sorry to hear about your brother. Please give our condolences to his wife and children.

pass away (verb): die

- My father passed away suddenly three months ago.

hard (adjective): difficult

- Greg went through some very hard times after his wife died in a car accident.

get over (verb): recover from

- It took Sarah over a year to get over the loss of her baby.

down (adjective): low in spirits

- I'm feeling so down now that I can hardly concentrate on my work.

funeral (noun): a ceremony where a person is buried or cremated

- My boss took the day off to attend the funeral of a close friend.

Mourning (noun) sadness that you show and feel because sb has died

The government announced a day of national mourning for the victims.

She was still in mourning for her husband.

Oral Skills JUST