Speech Work: Listening and Speaking The/əʊ/ Sound – JSS2 English Lesson Note (First Term)

The /əʊ/ sound is a diphthong, a glide from /ə/ to /ʊ/, heard in words such as go, blow, mow and know.

Behavioural objectives

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

1. describe how the /əʊ/ sound is produced and give examples of words that contain it;
2. define tense;
3. use the simple present, simple past and future tenses correctly in sentences;
4. name words associated with the police, such as gun, handcuffed, cell, jail, crime/offence, arrest and robbery with violence;
5. use words associated with the police correctly in sentences.

Speech work: what is the /əʊ/ sound?

The /əʊ/ sound is a diphthong, which is a vowel sound made by gliding from one vowel to another in one syllable.

• Starting point: the sound begins as /ə/, the weak vowel in “about”.
• Ending point: the sound glides towards /ʊ/, the vowel in “put”.
• Examples: go, blow, mow, know.

How is the /əʊ/ sound produced?

To produce /əʊ/, the tongue glides from /ə/ towards /ʊ/ while the lower jaw closes and the lips become rounded.

1. Start with the tongue at a point between the centre and the back of the mouth, in the /ə/ position.
2. Begin with the lips in a neutral (relaxed) shape.
3. Glide the tongue gradually towards /ʊ/.
4. Let the lower jaw make a closing movement as the tongue glides.
5. Round the lips as the glide ends.

• Tongue: moves from /ə/ to /ʊ/.
• Jaw: closes gradually, in step with the tongue glide.
• Lips: change from neutral to rounded.

What are the common spellings of /əʊ/?

The /əʊ/ sound is written in several ways, so spelling alone does not always show the sound.

• Caution: “ow” is not always /əʊ/. In “cow” and “now” it is a different sound, /aʊ/.

Practice sentences

• Joe knows the road home.
• The cold wind will blow the snow slowly.
• Tell Joe to go and mow the grass.

What is tense?

Tense is the change that takes place in the structure (that is, the form) of the verb to show time.

• Simple present tense: shows a regular action, a fact or an occupation.
• Simple past tense: shows an action that took place in the past.
• Future tense: shows an event that will take place in the future.

What is the simple present tense?

The simple present tense is used to show an action that happens regularly, or an occupation.

• Form: the base verb, with -s or -es added after he, she, it or a single noun.
• Time words: every day, always, often, usually.

Examples:

• I eat beans every day.
• He sells bread.
• They work hard.
• My father is a trader.
• The sun shines during the day.

What is the simple past tense?

The simple past tense is used for an action that took place in the past.

• Regular verbs: add -ed, as in work, worked.
• Irregular verbs: the word changes, as in eat, ate; sell, sold; spend, spent.
• Time words: yesterday, last year, a week ago.

Examples:

• Yesterday I ate rice.
• Last year, Badmus spent his holiday in Jos.
• They worked hard.
• She sold bread a week ago.

What is the future tense?

The future tense is used to show an event that will take place in the future.

• Form: shall or will, followed by the base verb.
• Shall: used mainly with I and we.
• Time words: tomorrow, next week, in the evening.

Examples:

• I shall write a letter to my father.
• They will attend the meeting.
• She will sell bread in the evening.
• She will meet the principal in his office.
• They will work hard next week.

How do the three tenses compare?

Reading and comprehension: what is the reading skill?

The reading skill for this lesson is to identify the meanings of words in various contexts.

• Reading skill: Unit 4, page 43.
• Reference: New Oxford Secondary English Course (2) for Junior Secondary Schools.
• Instruction: read the passage carefully and do the exercise on it.

What are words associated with the police?

Words associated with the police are the words used for law and order, and learning them increases your word power.

• Peace: a nation needs peace to make progress and development.
• Laws: laws are made to keep peace and orderliness in society.
• Agencies: the police and the judiciary are responsible for maintaining the laws.
• Police duty: the police make sure that laws are not broken.
• When laws are broken: the police apprehend (arrest) the lawbreakers and charge them, and then other agencies perform their functions.

Which words are associated with the police?

Literature-in-English: what is done in this lesson?

This lesson is based on a recommended prose text, studied in two stages.

1. Reading: students read the chosen part of the text.
2. Explanation: the teacher explains the part read.

Evaluation

1. Write four words that contain the /əʊ/ sound.
2. What happens to the lips and the lower jaw when we produce /əʊ/?
3. Define tense.
4. Write one sentence each in the simple present, simple past and future tenses.
5. List four words associated with the police.

Assignment

1. Rewrite these sentences in the simple past tense: I eat beans every day. He sells bread. They work hard.
2. Choose three words associated with the police and use each in a sentence.