Speech Work: Vowel Sound Contrast / U/and /u:/ – JSS2 English Lesson Note (Third Term)

/ʊ/ is a short vowel sound and /uː/ is a long vowel sound, and students must learn to tell them apart.

Behavioural objectives

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

1. say and tell apart the vowel sounds /ʊ/ and /uː/ in the word pairs given;
2. write words that contain each of the two sounds;
3. use the apostrophe (‘s and s’) to show ownership, and say when to use “of” instead;
4. state the main message of the poem “Dear Africa”;
5. underline noun phrases in sentences and state their grammatical functions.

What are the vowel sounds /ʊ/ and /uː/?

/ʊ/ and /uː/ are two English vowel sounds that are made with rounded lips but differ in length and tightness.

The sound /ʊ/

• Length: short and quick.
• Mouth: lips slightly rounded, tongue and lips relaxed.
• Examples: foot, could, full, pull, hood, wood.

The sound /uː/

• Length: long. The mark (ː) after the symbol shows that the sound is held longer.
• Mouth: lips tightly rounded and pushed forward.
• Examples: food, cooled, fool, pool, hewed, wooed.

What is the difference between /ʊ/ and /uː/?

/ʊ/ is the short, relaxed sound, while /uː/ is the long, tight sound, and a change of sound can change the word.

Practise these word pairs

Say each pair of words aloud and listen to the vowel sound.

Steps for practice

1. Listen to the teacher say a pair, such as full and fool.
2. Repeat the first word quickly and the second word slowly.
3. Round your lips more tightly for /uː/.
4. Say both words again without stopping, and keep the two sounds different.

More words with each sound

• /ʊ/: book, look, good, put, push, bush, cook, took, wool, woman.
• /uː/: moon, spoon, school, tool, soup, blue, true, group, shoe, boot.

Note: the spelling “oo” can stand for either sound, as in foot and food. Listen to the sound, not the spelling.

Practice

• Task: write ten words for each sound.

How do we use the apostrophe, s’ and “of”?

The apostrophe (‘s or s’) shows that a person or animal owns something, and “of” is used mainly with things.

Rules for the apostrophe

• Singular noun: add ‘s, as in brother’s, girl’s.
• Plural noun ending in s: add the apostrophe only, as in horses’, girls’.
• Plural noun not ending in s: add ‘s, as in children’s, men’s.

Study these sentences

1. This is my brother’s bicycle.
2. Horses’ hooves make exciting sounds.
3. Do you like the colour of new curtains?

• Example 1: it means the bicycle of my brother, that is, it belongs to him. The apostrophe comes before the ‘s’ because brother is singular.
• Example 2: it means the hooves of horses make an exciting sound. The apostrophe comes after the ‘s’ of horses because horses is plural.
• Example 3: “of” is used because curtains are things.

When do we use “of”?

“Of” is used in two main cases.

1. With things, such as curtains, tables and houses.
2. When the owner, or the thing that has the colour, is a fairly long phrase (for example, the colour of our new curtains).

• Rule of thumb: where possible, use ‘s or s’ rather than “of” for people.
• Example: we should not normally say “this is the bicycle of my brother”.

Practice

• Task: Practice 2 (1-10) p. 215, Effective English.

What is a noun phrase?

A noun phrase is a group of words built around a noun that does the work of a noun in a sentence.

Parts of a noun phrase

• Head noun: the main word, such as man, tutor, jewellery, shelf.
• Modifiers: words that describe or limit the noun, such as the, some, expensive, wooden.

What are the functions of a noun phrase?

• Subject: it tells who or what the sentence is about, as in “The wooden shelf is dusty.”
• Object: it receives the action of the verb, as in “I have some expensive jewellery.”
• Complement: it completes the verb, as in “He is a good teacher.”
• Object of a preposition: it follows words such as in, on, at, as in “She sat on the wooden bench.”

Worked example

What is the poem “Dear Africa” about?

“Dear Africa” is a poem that calls on the black race to love, admire and take care of Africa.

• Poet: Michael Du-Anag.
• Main message: the poem draws the attention of the black race to embrace and admire Africa.
• Call to action: it calls on Africans to show their love for Africa.
• Urgency: it stresses the need to recognise the beauty of the continent now.
• Wake-up call: Africans are urged to wake up from their slumber and see Africa as a beautiful place.
• Need: Africa needs the attention of the entire black race.

Practice

• Task: p. 183, Exam Focus, objective questions (1-5).

Vocabulary development and comprehension

Vocabulary development is the study of new words so that a passage is easier to understand.

1. Study the words relating to the passage on p. 206.
2. Read the passage carefully.
3. Do Practice 4 (1-5) p. 209.

Evaluation

1. Write ten words for each sound: /ʊ/ and /uː/.
2. Write the correct form of each phrase: (a) the bicycle of my sister, (b) the hooves of the horses, (c) the toys of the children.
3. Underline the noun phrase and state its function: (a) The man I saw is here. (b) The children’s tutor is tall. (c) I have some expensive jewellery. (d) The wooden shelf is dusty.
4. State the main message of the poem “Dear Africa”.
5. Choose the best option:
   1. One of my brothers ____ always round. A. were B. is C. am D. are
   2. The cook needs only ____ salt to make the food tasty. A. a pinch of B. a bowl of C. a spoonful of D. a cup of
   3. Yours is to command; ____ is to obey. A. their’s B. there’s C. there D. theirs
   4. He is always asking for more, ____. A. was he B. doesn’t he? C. wasn’t he? D. does he? E. isn’t he?
   5. I prefer drinking ____. A. then eating B. from eating C. to eat D. to eating E. like eat

Assignment

Exam Focus p. 69 (B) 1-10 and p. 70 (H) 1-15.