Introduction to Word Stress

Practice 1: Student A read the dialogue choosing one of the two words in each parentheses ( ). Student B listen carefully and answer with either 1) or 2) depending on what you hear. A. Hey, I wanted to give you a (massage, message). B. 1) That should help me relax! 2) I hope its not bad news! A. How many minutes do you haveit might take about (nineteen, ninety). B. 1) Go ahead; I have time. 2) Oh, Im sorry, but I only have an hour. A. Or we could talk about the (comedy, committee). B. 1) Sure, I thought it was funny! 2) Yes, I thought we really needed to meet. A. So did I! But first, why dont you tell me about African (desserts, deserts). B. Oh, I didnt know you were interested in 1) cooking. 2) geography.
Source: The idea for this activity is taken from Well Said Intro (Grant, 2007, p. 54)

Two Syllable Word Stress

Rule1: Stress the first syllable Most 2-syllable nouns (PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble) Most 2-syllable adjectives (PRESent, SLENder, CLEVer, HAPpy) Rule 2: Stress the last syllable Most 2-syllable verbs (to preSENT, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN) Practice 2: Read the sentences with your partner. Focus on the two syllable words and make sure to use the correct word stress for each of them. 1. Lets decide what we will eat for dinner. 2. She is a decent leader. 3. When will the meeting begin? 4. Could you please repeat the sentence? 5. She is a happy teacher. 6. We need to repair the table. 7. I need to create a new lesson. 8. When will you return to China? 9. Have the students explain it.

10. What a clever question! 11. He will present his homework to the class. 12. Enjoy the music.

Two Syllable Word Stress: Numbers

Number Stress Rule 3a: When teen numbers come at the end of a phrase, the teen syllable is usually stressed. Notice how this contrasts with numbers ending in ty. Also pay attention to the difference in the way the t is pronounced in the teen vs. in the -ty. THIRty / thirTEEN FIFty / fifTEEN NINEty / nineTEEN Practice 3: Student A ask your partner the question in column 1. Student B respond with either a or b from column 2, making sure to stress the correct syllable. Student A listen and respond with either a or b from column 3 depending on what you hear your partner say from column 2. Once you finish, switch roles. 1. Student A 1. How many do you need? 2. What time is it? 3. How many pages do you have left? 4. How many students are there? 5. How much did she say it costs? 2. Student B a. I need thirteen. b. I need thirty. a. Its 12:14. b. Its 12:40 a. About fifteen. b. About fifty. a. nineteen. b. ninety a. seventeen b. seventy 3. Student A a. Less than fifteen. Thats not too many! b. More than twenty five; thats a lot! a. Wow, its nearly a quarter after! b. Wow, its almost one oclock already! a. Great, youre almost done! b. Oh, how long will it take to finish? a. Thats a small class! b. Wow, thats a large class! a. Less than twenty dollars; not bad! b. Seventy! Thats way too much!

Rule 3b: The stress in teen numbers will change in some special situations. 1) When counting, the first syllable (not the teen syllable) will be stressed. For example: thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen 2) When the teen number is part of a year. For example: 1817 is pronounced as eighteen seventeen 3) When another stressed syllable follows the teen number, then the first syllable will be stressed. For example: thirteen dollars, eighteen people, fourteen minutes Practice 4: Student A ask Student B the questions from the left column, and Student B respond with the answers from the right column. Pay close attention to the numbers, and make sure to stress the correct syllable. When you are finished, switch roles. Student A 1. Q. How much longer till the bus comes? 2. Q. How many people are you expecting tonight? 3. Q. How much money did you lose? 4. Q. This bag sure is heavy! How much does it weigh? 5. Q. Did the First World War start in nineteen fourteen or nineteen fifteen? Student B A. It should come in about fifteen minutes. A. There should be at least sixteen guests. A. Eighteen dollars. A. It has to weigh at least nineteen pounds. A. It started in nineteen fourteen.

Practice 5: First, decide with your partner which syllable should be stressed in each number. Choose roles, and read the dialogue. When you are finished, switch roles, and read it again. A. Happy New Year! B. Happy New Year to you too! I cant believe its already 2013! Did you have a good Spring Festival? A. I sure did! We had a big family reunion; there were nineteen people at my house on New Years day! B. Wow, you have a big family! A. Yeah, there are lots of kids in my extended familynearly thirteen! B. Wow! How old is the youngest kid? A. The youngest is just fourteen months old, and she is so cute! B. And the oldest? A. The oldest just turned seventeen. Hes a senior in high school. B. Wow! Thats quite an age range! A. Yeah. Can you believe that its only been a year since we were seniors in high school? B. Time sure flies! I remember being so excited my senior year because my grandpa turned eighty, so we had a really big party, and nearly thirty people came to our house to celebrate.