Pronunciation Exercise: The Dreaded "Short i" Sound

Hello Students!

Please follow this link, and make sure you are on a computer with speakers (and preferably one where you can speak into a microphone and record your own voice). Compare the sounds in these two links.

http://www.spokenskills.com/student-activities.cfm?section=studentpractice&practicepageID=404

http://www.spokenskills.com/student-activities.cfm?section=studentpractice&practicepageID=408

Play the recordings of the sounds and repeat what the speaker says to practice the pronunciation. Also, on the right side of the page you will see that you can record your own voice (painful but so helpful for you!!!) and listen to yourself. Pay close attention to the short i sound on the first link, as that seems to be one of the most troublesome for many students.

After you have listened to the examples, please post a comment telling us what you thought about the website, the assignment, and the sounds you were practicing. Did you record your own voice? Did that seem to help?

Thank you and have (or, hope you had) a good weekend!

Whitney

Questions for "Schools Kill Creativity" Talk

If you are new to the class, please explore TED.com and the various speakers, themes, and options you can select, such as subtitles, translations, and (interactive!) transcripts.

For everyone, please respond to the following questions with at least 1 paragraph per question. (Like the last time, I would like 5-7 sentences minimum per paragraph). Please answer thoughtfully and thoroughly.

1. How well did you understand the lecture? What did you think of the speed of his speaking and his accent? Did learning about the main ideas and some of the vocabulary help you understand it better? Why (or why not)?

2. Go to 7:40 (to about 9:50). What do you think about what he says?

3. Go to 11:00 (to about 12:15). What do you think about what he says?

4. What are your thoughts on the topic?

TED Talk: Schools Kill Creativity

Questions about TED talk

Please write at least 1 paragraph (with at least 5-7 sentences each) for each question. Respond thoughtfully and thoroughly.

1. Please explore the website. Look at the other talks, the topics, the options (subtitles/transcripts). What do you think about TED talks? Do they seem interesting to you? Do you think they could help with your English? How?

2. What did you think of Chimamanda Adichie's talk? What resonated with you? (=What did it make you think about and feel? What did you like/dislike? What did you learn?)

3. Do you agree that we often have "single stories" about countries, cultures, and people? Why is this the case? What do you think are some of the stories (stereotypes) about your country or culture?

Chimamanda Adichie: "The Danger of a Single Story"

Here is the link for the page for this talk (including the transcript) and for access to ted.com:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

"Even in English, a Language Gap"

Please write at least a paragraph for numbers 1 and 2, and number 3 if you can answer it.

1. What did you think of the article? Was it interesting? Challenging?

2. Can intercultural relationships work? What are some of the problems that can come up? Are there benefits? Are some cultures better suited for each other than others?

3. Have you ever dated someone outside of your culture or know anyone who has? How was your (or their) experience?

Welcome to 8B's super awesome blog! We are technology masters of the world!

We will be using this blog for listening and pronunciation practice, readings, posting and discussing writings, and general collaboration and fun.

Also, feel free to post anything interesting you find on the internet (such as articles or videos) that you feel would benefit the class' English learning experience.

Happy blogging!

Whitney