The Easiest Way to Teach Word Stress

Pronunciation is an area of language teaching that a lot of teachers feel nervous about – or just avoid, but here’s a great little technique to help learners visualise word stress and connected speech. It’s free, requires no preparation and the only tool you need, you carry around with you all the time. In the next few minutes, I’ll show you how to use this technique, give you some opportunity to practise with me along the way and throw in some important tips on making this work well, so stay to the end for them!

Hi- I’m Jo Gakonga, I’m a CELTA and MA tesol tutor and I’ve got a website at ELT-Training.com for English teachers like you. So if you find this helpful, like, subscribe and check it out.


Part 1: Word Stress (Going Backwards!)

OK. Are you ready?

Let’s start with word stress. In some languages, this is completely regular but not in English. There ARE rules, but there are a lot of them so learners can’t always predict how to stress a word and it makes a BIG difference to whether they can be understood.

Let me give you an example: Photograph – three syllables – so we can show it like this- PHotograph. Stress here.

Note that I hold up my hand like this - one finger for each syllable - but I start from this end. Why? Because we read left to right so I want my learners to see it from left to right (that’s starting on the right side for me). It’s a bit counter intuitive at first but you get used to it

Try another one:
Photography, 4 syllables - phoTOgraphy
Photographic, 4 syllables - photoGRAphic

It’s clear, visual and helps learners see the stress pattern.

OK- you have a go. I’ll put up the word and say it- you model with your fingers and then I’ll show you.
Electricity
Japanese
Station
Celebrity


Part 2: Connected Speech and Weak Forms

Another useful way to use this technique is for connected speech where words start running together and it’s difficult for learners to hear what’s going on.

There are a couple of ways this can be helpful: for contractions and weak forms.

We’ll start with contractions. That’s where words have a weak form that’s also a written form- like it is=it’s or you are = you’re.
Use your fingers again, but this time, one finger represents one word and you slide them together to show the contraction:
I will do it = I’ll do it.
She is going to town = She’s going to town.

They’ll usually know this but it’s a useful visual reminder.

The final thing I want to show you is probably the most useful because learners often don’t realise what’s happening and that’s using your fingers to show weak forms of auxiliaries, prepositions and pronouns when there’s no written form.

Where do you live?

• Say it slowly: Where – do – you – live? With separate fingers- showing the words that are stressed starting at YOUR right, remember.
• Then naturally showing the stress on the ‘where’ and ‘live’
• Now listen- is it ‘do’ and ‘you’? No- it’s /djə / - Where do you live?

You can show how sounds change and connect. It’s a great way to make the concept of weak forms and linking tangible.

Another example? – I could have gone - I could have gone

You try:
Why does he want it?

Let’s add in a contraction too:
She is going to go
One more:
Where will you go?

OK- final one:
I would have thought so


Just before we finish, I promised you some helpful tips to make this work well, and here they are:

1. Remember to start on your right and go this way. This gets easier with practice;
2. Each finger EITHER represents a syllable OR a word- don’t confuse the two things and try to do both at the same time; and
3. Don’t go too fast- especially with the first model. Keep things clear and obvious.

Have a go in your next lesson and let me know if it helps. It takes a bit of practice so try it out in front of a mirror before you try, but it’s worth it. It’s a great little teaching tool to have in your armoury.

If you liked this and you’re looking for more practical pronunciation teaching ideas, check out my Teaching Pronunciation Made Easy course.
If you want to stop avoiding pronunciation and start to make it a useful part of your teaching, this is the ticket and your learners will thank you!