Week 4: The /t/-consonant sound in English

The /t/-consonant sound in English
Voicing	voiceless
Place of articulation	alveolar
Manner of articulation	stop

1.  Words containing /t/

tea	adult
tell	winter
attack	hot
coat	attractive

2.  Contrastive words

/t/	/d/	/t/	/d/
tear	dear	bat	bad
tie	die / dye	neat	need
time	dime	hat	had
to / too	do	coat	code
town	down	hit	hid

3.  Sentences to practice

1	A	Do you have the time?
	B	Do you have the dime?
2	A	Can you tile it?
	B	Can you dial it?
3	a	Did you say “tore?”
	B	Did you say “door?”
4	A	I like the tie.
	B	I like the die.
5	A	Will you write it?
	B	Will you ride it?

Week 4: The /p/-consonant sound in English

The /p/-consonant sound in English
Voicing	voiceless
Place of articulation	bilabial
Manner of articulation	stop

Taken from the BBC Learning English Channel in youtube.com

  1.  Words containing /p/

pack	problem
piece	public
repair	hop
type	step

2.  Contrastive words

/p/	/b/	/p/	/b/
pie	buy	staple	stable
pack	back	lap	lab
peach	beach	rip	rib
pest	best	pig	big
simple	symbol	palate	ballot

3.  Sentences to practice

1	a	Give him a pat.
	b	Give him a bat.
2	a	This is my pet.
	b	This is my bet.
3	a	Did you take the pill?
	b	Did you take the bill?
4	a	I see the palate.
	b	I see the ballot.
5	a	Is it a little pig?
	b	Is it a little big?

Week 4: Listening Exercise / The Green Iguana Fact Sheet

The Green Iguana Fact Sheet

Here you have been provided with a video on green iguanas. Listen to the facts given through the explanation and decide if the following statements are true or false. Once you are finished with this part of the exercise, transcribe the words provided at the end, which were part of this listening exercise. And don’t forget to bring a copy of this exercises, not only printed but also answered.

1	T	F	Iguanas are scattered all through the Americas.
2	T	F	An adult green iguana can get to weigh up to 20 pounds.
3	T	F	In the wild, iguanas can live up to 30 years.
4	T	F	Iguanas have two rows of spines from head down to their tails.
5	T	F	An iguana uses her spines against her predators.
6	T	F	Her sharp claws are used to scratch trees while climbing.
7	T	F	An iguana’s long tail is used for balance and for tree climbing.
8	T	F	The tail is also used by the green iguana as a defense mechanism against predators.
9	T	F	The body warmth regulation known as dewlaps is located above their head.
10	T	F	Dewlaps are also used in courtship and in territorial displays.
11	T	F	The number of eggs a female can produce is related to her size and maturity.
12	T	F	Iguanas in general are insectivores.
13	T	F	The green iguana’s parietal eye is basically a third eye.
14	T	F	The parietal eye can see differences in color, light, and movement.
15	T	F	The parietal eye contains a fully-developed retina.
16	T	F	Iguanas use their parietal eye to detect aerial predators.
17	TRANSCRIPTIONS a) iguana /ɪ’gwanǝ/ b) rows of spines c) sharp claws d) predators e) dewlaps f) maturity g) parietal eye

Video material taken from www.youtube.com channel expertvillage

Download a copy of the worksheet over here.

See the worksheet for the exercise here.

And the answers?

Week 4: The Stops

The Sounds of American English

The Stops

Stops are characterized by the complete obstruction of the airstream coming out of your mouth. Your tongue, as one of the articulators which are part of this group of consonants, is the key element in producing these sounds accurately.

Stops are divided into three subgroups:

1. Bilabial Stops

2. Alveolar Stops

3. Velar Stops

The question regarding the difference or similarity of consonants in two different languages can help us analyze these phonemes in detail. Let’s take a look at the following chart:

Phoneme	Spanish	English
/b/	voiced-bilabial	voiced-bilabial
/p/	voiceless-bilabial	voiceless-bilabial
/d/	voiced-dental	voiced-alveolar
/t/	voiceless-dental	voiceless-alveolar
/g/	voiced-velar	voiced-velar
/k/	voiceless-velar	voiceless-velar

The most important difference we have to point out is the fact that /t/ and /d/ are different in the two languages. Whereas they are dental sounds in Spanish, we must remember that when these sounds are articulated in English, they are alveolar.