Speech Work: Letter/ Dʒ/ and /ʒ/ – JSS2 English Lesson Note (Third Term)

/dʒ/ and /ʒ/ are two voiced consonant sounds in English: /dʒ/ is the first sound in “joke” and /ʒ/ is the middle sound in “vision”.

• Grammar: using despite and in spite of to show contrast.
• Speech work: the sounds /dʒ/ and /ʒ/.
• Writing and reading: letters to the press.
• Vocabulary: words to do with newspapers.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. use despite and in spite of to show contrast in sentences;
2. say and recognise words with the sounds /dʒ/ and /ʒ/;
3. study the guidelines for a letter to the press and write one;
4. read a formal letter to a newspaper and answer questions on it;
5. explain newspaper words such as editorial column, articles, headlines, layout and cartoons.

What are the sounds /dʒ/ and /ʒ/?

/dʒ/ and /ʒ/ are both voiced sounds made with the tongue near the roof of the mouth, but they are made in different ways.

The sound /dʒ/

• How it is made: the air is stopped for a moment, then released with friction, like d + zh joined together.
• Voiced: the vocal cords vibrate. Put a finger on your throat and you feel it.
• Common spellings: j (joke), g before e, i or y (gin, large), and dge (ridge).

The sound /ʒ/

• How it is made: the air flows out continuously with friction and is not stopped first. It is the “zh” sound.
• Voiced: the vocal cords vibrate.
• Common spellings: sion after a vowel (vision), sure (leisure), su in some words (casual) and ge in words from French (beige).

Which words have /dʒ/ and which have /ʒ/?

Listen and say these words.

How can we practise the two sounds?

1. Say the word list slowly, one column at a time.
2. Touch your throat and feel the vibration in both sounds.
3. Say “major” (/dʒ/) and “measure” (/ʒ/) one after the other and notice the difference.
4. Say each word in a short sentence, for example “The jeep climbed the ridge.”

How do we use despite and in spite of?

Despite and in spite of are expressions that show contrast, meaning something happens even though something else could have stopped it.

• Despite: one word, never followed by “of”.
• In spite of: three words, and “of” must be kept.
• Although: also shows contrast, but it is followed by a full clause (subject + verb).

What comes after despite and in spite of?

• A noun: in spite of the rain.
• A pronoun: despite it.
• An -ing form: despite having all the necessary qualifications.

Examples

1. We enjoyed our camping holiday in spite of the rain.
2. Despite the pain in his leg, he completed the marathon.
3. Despite having all the necessary qualifications, they didn’t offer me the job.
4. In spite of the bad weather, there was a large crowd at the match.

How do despite, in spite of and although differ?

How do we write a letter to the press?

A letter to the press is a formal letter written to a newspaper to give an opinion or raise a matter of public interest.

Study the guidelines on p. 241 and do the activity there.

What are the parts of a formal letter?

1. Writer’s address: written at the top right.
2. Date: written below the address.
3. Receiver’s address: the editor and the name of the newspaper house, on the left.
4. Salutation: for example, Dear Sir.
5. Subject heading: a short title that states what the letter is about.
6. Body: short paragraphs in formal language, giving the writer’s points clearly.
7. Ending: Yours faithfully, then the writer’s signature and full name.

What is the comprehension passage about?

The passage is a formal letter written to Newspaper House by Epana Taiwo.

• Read: read the letter silently, then aloud.
• Look for: the subject heading, the writer’s main point and the closing.
• Answer: do the questions on the passage (see Evaluation).

What are the words used in newspapers?

Newspaper vocabulary is the set of words used to describe the parts of a newspaper.

• Editorial column: the part of a newspaper where the editor or publisher expresses an opinion on a topic, item or piece of news.
• Articles: pieces of writing on subjects likely to interest readers.
• Headlines: titles of articles and stories printed in large letters.
• Layout: the arrangement of a printed page.
• Cartoons: funny drawings, usually intended to criticise.

Evaluation

1. Join the sentences using despite: “It rained heavily. We played the match.”
2. Rewrite the same sentences using in spite of, then using although.
3. List five words with /dʒ/ and five words with /ʒ/.
4. Say whether the underlined sound is /dʒ/ or /ʒ/: bridge, television, jungle, measure.
5. Explain in one line each: headlines, layout and editorial column.

Textbook practice

• Comprehension: page 234, Practice 2 (questions 1 to 9).
• Exam Focus: Revision Exercise, page 117 (questions 1 to 5).
• Study the words on p. 235 and attempt the questions on p. 236, Practice 4 (questions 1 to 7).

Assignment

Write a formal letter to the editor of a newspaper about a problem in your community. Use despite or in spite of at least twice.

Reading assignment

• Grammar: Effective English JSS 2, pages 240 and 243.
• Speech work: Effective English JSS 2, page 233.

Weekend assignment

• Effective English, pages 244 to 245, Practice 1 to 3.