Extra English Practice (EEP)
Misha: Okay, let's talk about syllables. Larissa: woo!
Words in English are made up of syllables,
and a syllable contains one vowel sound.
So for example, my name, which is Misha,
has two syllables: Mi-sha [claps syllables]
and two vowel sounds: E - Mi, and A - sha.
Larissa: And my name -Larissa- has three vowel sounds: La - A, ri - I, and sa - A. La-ris-sa. [claps syllables]
Three syllables. Now when you're thinking about syllables,
each syllables has a vowel sound we said, not a vowel letter.
So some words have the same number of vowel sounds and vowel letters,
and some don't. For example: hat.
Hat has one vowel and one vowel sound. A - hat.
But heat has two vowels -E and A-, but one vowel sound - E
So heat only has one syllable.
Some more? Misha: mm-hmm, Let's hear some more.
Larissa: Here's a big word: turquoise. Misha: Ooo
Larissa: Turquoise - count up those vowels.
There are five vowel letters, but listen: tur-quoise. [claps syllables]
Only two syllables. Misha: yeah.
because there's only two vowel sounds: U(r) and OY.
OY is confusing because it's a diphthong.
Misha: yeah that's right. We'll talk about that in another video. Larissa: We promise.
One more thing I want to mention: college.
College has three vowel letters, but only 2 syllables.
Col-lege. [claps syllables] When a word ends in an E,
that E is not pronounced
unless it goes with an L. There's an exception: Little.
Lit-tle has two vowel letters and two syllables. Lit-tle [claps syllables]
But lan-guage or col-lege only have...uh...
The final E is silent. It's not a vowel sound.
Misha: Ok, so why why is it important?
Why do you want to know about syllables? Larissa: yeah
Misha: Right? Seems silly. Larissa: [being silly] Silly!
Because it's fun! [claps mockingly] Misha: Because it's fun. Woo woo!
Larissa: That's not the not the real reason. Misha: No.
The real reason is you need to be pronouncing the syllables correctly
in order for people to understand you. Larissa: yeah
Misha: Right? It's not just enough to have the right sounds, like, the right letter sounds,
but you need to have the syllables so people can understand your words.
If you add an extra syllable or you miss a syllable,
then people might not understand the word you're saying.
So this is stuff you need to know.
Larissa: And also, if you put the emphasis on the wrong syllable,
which is something we'll talk about again in another video,
then people may not understand you.
If I said, "Hey Mi - SHA!" Misha: I'd be like, "Who? Who? is that?"
Larissa: But "Hey, MI-sha!" Misha: She's talking to me!
"Hey, Larissa" [laughing and playing with the emphasis in Larissa's name]
Misha: So it makes a difference. It's important. Larissa: It does.
Larissa: So, another question: how do you know
how many syllables are in a word? Misha: Tell us.
Larissa: I have three ways. 1. You can know just by listening.
Listen and tap it out. Eng-lish. To-mor-row.
That will work with practice. Misha: Yeah, for sure.
Another way: you can look in your dictionary.
Dictionaries - good dictionaries - will always indicate where the syllables are in a word.
A third way is: you can ask someone.
Misha: yeah! Plus, then you get some conversation practice.
Larissa: and maybe you make a friend. Win-win-win.
Misha: Syllables lead to friends. [laughter] Larisa: If only that were true. Misha: if only...it were that easy.
Larisa: Let's play a game. Misha: Love it! I love games. What do you got?
Larissa: Today we have a game. It's called syllable pyramid. Misha: Oooo
Pyramid is a triangle and in this game we're going to listen for syllables -
listen for the number of syllables.
Count them up in your head and then move along the pyramid to the bottom. Misha: Got it.
Larissa: So for this game you're going to need a syllable pyramid which you can print off
and then follow along with your finger as we say the words.
So start at the beginning where it says begin - at the top where it says begin.
Misha: Straight forward. Larissa: So startat the top where it says begin
And then every time you hear a word, count the number of syllables
and move down to that number until you get to the bottom.
Misha: Okay, so one one level at a time. Larsisa: And when you get to the bottom,
see if the number and letter that you are on
is the same one that Misha is on. All right?
Misha: Hopefully I get it right! Larissa: I hope so, too.
We're going to start with some words that are about clothing.
So begin at the top. The the first word is t-shirt. Misha: t-shirt
Larissa: So you count it. If it's one syllable, move to the 1, if it's two, move to the 2.
T-shirt. Next word: head scarf. Misha: Head scarf. All right.
Larissa: Next: Bermuda shorts. Misha: Ooo. Ber-mu-da shorts. Got it.
Larissa: Dinner jacket. Misha: Dinner jacket. OK.
Larissa: And turtleneck sweater. Misha: Oof - long one! tur-tle-neck sweater. Ok.
Larissa: Ok, what do you got? Misha: I ended up at 5c.
Larissa: 5c! Did you get 5c?
Alright let's try another one.
Another set of clothing - more clothing words.
Ok, start the top - begin. First word: coat.
Misha: Ok. That's an easy one. Larissa: Belt buckle
Misha: Belt buckle. All right.
Larissa: Suspenders. Misha: Ok.
Larissa: Flannel pajamas. Misha: Another long one. Got it.
Larissa: Windbreaker jacket. Misha: Oh. Windbreaker jacket. Okay.
Larissa: What do you got? Misha: I got 5c again.
Misha: Woo! Larissa: The answer's not always going to be 5c, I promise.
Misha: Ths is a coincidence.
Misha: If you didn't get it, you can pause and rewind
the video and try again.
Larissa. Yeah. OK. Should we do some sports?
Misha: Yeah, let's do some sports.
Gosh, neither of us really like sports.
I can stand to hear the words. Larissa: Yeah.
We're not good at it, but we can count syllables!
Misha: We can count syllables. Larissa: Ok, so begin.
Misha: OK. Larissa: First, darts. Misha: Darts, got it.
Larissa: Darts - that's tricky. Misha: Is it a sport?
I thought that was just something people did in bars.
Larissa: It's a "game-sport." [laughter] Misha: We don't know.
Larissa: Ok, darts. Next: Cricket Misha: Cricket, got it.
I played cricket once on the beach.
I was awful.
Carry on!
Larissa: Mountain biking. Misha: There's a sport I could be excited about.
Larissa: How about beach volleyball? This one's tricky, too.
Beach volleyball. Misha: OK.
Larissa: And the last: Open water swimming. Misha: oof [mumbles] Okay.
Larissa: What do you got? Misha: 6b. Larissa: 6b! 6b?
Misha: Did you do it? Larissa: Maybe? 6b?
If not, try again. Keep trying. Misha: Keep trying.
Larissa: One more thing of sports. Misha: Yeah, one more.
Larissa: Begin. Misha: OK.
Larissa: Tennis Misha: mm-hmm
Larissa: Baseball Misha: OK.
Larissa: Archery. Misha: Archery. Got it.
Larissa: Water polo. Misha: Water polo. mm-hmm
Larissa: American football Misha: Ooo
Larissa: Not to be confused with real football. Misha: [laughs] Yeah, real. Ok. I got it.
Larissa: What do you got? Misha: 6b Larisa: 6b!
Misha: Woo hoo! Larissa: You're good! Misha: Thanks, thanks.
Larissa: I'd like to play. Misha: Yeah, you should play. Let's trade.
Misha: Ok. I'm going to do countries. Larissa: Ooo, I got good ones.
Misha: Yeah. OK, so start at the top. Begin. Here we go.
First word: France. Larissa: France, hmm.
Misha: Second, China. Larissa: China
Misha: Next, Venezuela. Larissa: Venezuela. got it.
Misha: And then Indonesia. Larissa: Indonesia, yep.
Misha: And last, a long one, Republic of Congo.
Larissa: Republic of Congo. 6b Misha: 6b! Perfect. [happy noises]
Larissa: Did you get 6b? Misha: Yeah.
Let's try another. Ready? Larissa: I'm ready.
Misha: Ok, here we go. This time we're going to do
words that start with the letter D. Larissa: Yes.
I love the letter D. Misha: It's a favourite.
Larissa: Why not? Misha: Yeah.
Misha: Al right. First word: dancer. Larissa: Dancer
Misha: Downtown Larissa: [singing] Downtown
Do you know that song?
Misha: I do. I'd like to hear a little more of it, though.
Larissa: [singing] When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can always go...
Misha: [singing] downtown. [embarrassed] I'm not...Why did you let me sing?
Next: Dangerous.
Larissa: Dangerous. I have a song for that, too.
[singing] You know she's a little bit dangerous... OK.
Misha: You can add your own songs too. It's part of the game. [laughter]
Next: disadvantage. Larissa: Disadvantage
Misha: It was a real disadvantage. Last: descriptive essay.
Larissa: Descriptive... you're a grammar teacher!
Misha: I love grammar and writing.
Larissa: Descriptive essay. I got 5b. Misha: You got it! 5b!
Misha: Good job! Larissa: And extra points for the songs?
Misha: Yeah, definitely extra points for the songs.
Larissa: What do you think - one more? Misha: I think one more.
Larissa: Ok, give me another letter. I like the letter ones.
Misha: Ok. Another letter one: M. That is my favourite letter.
Larissa: Misha! Misha: Mmm. Here we go.
First one: maybe. Larissa: Maybe. Maybe you get it,
maybe you don't. Misha: We're gonna find out!
Larissa: Maybe I wil! Misha: Next one: monkey.
Misha: Magic wand Larissa: Magic wand
Misha: un-hun. Then motorcycle. [makes motor cycle sound]
Larissa: I love when you make the sound effects.
Misha: I do it a lot in real life. I can't help it.
I can't help making sound effects
Larissa: Motorcycle, yeah, got it. Misha: And last one
Macaroni and cheese. Larissa: Whoo! Macaroni and cheese.
Macaroni and cheese. OK. 6b. Misha: 6b! Oh
maybe she is, and she did. Larissa: ...and she did!
To summarize, syllables are important because they
affect your pronunciation and they
affect the way people understand you
when you're speaking English.
Misha: How do you count the syllables? You think about
the vowels, right,
but not the vowel letter. You want
to focus on the sound. So which vowels
are making a sound. Then you can either
tap out the bead or snap it out or if
you're not sure, you can always look in
the dictionary.
Larissa: Or don't forget - ask a friend!
Misha: Ask a friend. Larissa: Or ask an almost friend, or
potential friend. Soon-to-be friend.
Soon-to-be friend. OK, have fun. You can
play the game at home . So try it with
your friends or your family. You can see
if you're pronouncing the words right to
them to understand. Larissa: That's right.
Ok, have fun!
Syllables lead to friends!