I understand that at first one does not notice the difference in IV and IVY and it is because our ears are not used to certain sounds. thank you very much for the video, as it says at the end everything is practical
That's exactly right, Mario! With the Color Vowel method, we aim to sensitize the learner's brain to the special use of stress in English. This video was made for teachers, and I'm glad to know that it made sense to you! Our learner videos can be found on the Blue Canoe Learning channel at th-cam.com/play/PL40At9EEsnl_zOZqOvkQhpppjHTtFCDwd.html
For example, some sounds that I am not able to understand are: Olive sock (I cannot get it if it's with "a" or "o") and A cup of mustard (For me it sounds with "a" I loved it).
Hello Teacher Karen! The color vowel chart is useful for our students, but at the same time a bit confusing. For example, Novice and Olive: It sounds me the stress like "o" and not "a" in "olive". The same happens in Missouri. It sounds for me like "rose boat" and not "purple shirt". So it would be better for me if it is possible that you share with us the phonetic symbols or a strategy to identify the sounds that are not easy to identify in Spanish. Thank you. Greetings from Colombia.
Thanks for your question, Ximena! Trying to correlate the vowel sounds of English to the vowel *letters* of English is problematic, as you've illustrated in your post. And I understand the desire for phonetic symbols, but I assure you that they only lead to more questions about the real question: How do these vowels SOUND? I recommend you watch tis video: th-cam.com/video/21XNGIefcR8/w-d-xo.html Also, please know that I teach a free live class for English learners and teachers around the world. In Pure English Practice, I demonstrate techniques and answer questions. You can join our community at: learn.colorvowel.com/communities/Q29tbXVuaXR5LTI3Mzc2
Hi @janicelarson57! Thanks for your question. The y, r, and w serve as consonant 'touch points' that facilitate teaching vowel-to-vowel linking (with y and w) and r-controlled vowels (with r). You should attend one of my next free webinars, where I answer these kinds of questions in detail :) Join our free teachers community at learn.colorvowel.com/products/communities/teachers-community
English is so funny language. I'm ESL student, not a doctor, had zero problem with understanding meaning of word IV by listening this video with screen turned off. Which appears to be a problem for native speakers. My first language is stress based, but I still understand IV word with stress on any letter. On the other hand, I always have a problem reliably distinguish a word by its vowel without relying on the context. For example, in fast speed speech or movie cup/cop/cap it is a context that tells we which word it is. While native speakers claim they hear difference absolutely clearly. Go figure.
These are great observations, Andrew. You're right that it's native English speakers, more than international English speakers, who are especially sensitive to stress location; for them, the stress difference between "ivy" and "IV" is significant. In this respect, stress location and timing is more important in settings where a mix of native and non-native/ international speakers of English are communicating (and less important when the conversation takes place entirely among non-monoligual international speakers of English). By contrast, the vowel distinction between MUSTARD (cup), OLIVE (cop) and BLACK (cap) is important for all speakers of English, since each vowel change results in a change of meaning. Context can certainly help, but mastering the categorical distinctions is also very important. We explore these kinds of topics in our Pure English Practice community, which you can join for free at learn.colorvowel.com/products/communities/pure-english-practice-community-events
I understand that at first one does not notice the difference in IV and IVY and it is because our ears are not used to certain sounds. thank you very much for the video, as it says at the end everything is practical
That's exactly right, Mario! With the Color Vowel method, we aim to sensitize the learner's brain to the special use of stress in English. This video was made for teachers, and I'm glad to know that it made sense to you!
Our learner videos can be found on the Blue Canoe Learning channel at th-cam.com/play/PL40At9EEsnl_zOZqOvkQhpppjHTtFCDwd.html
For example, some sounds that I am not able to understand are: Olive sock (I cannot get it if it's with "a" or "o") and A cup of mustard (For me it sounds with "a" I loved it).
Hi again Ximena! See my other reply -- I hope to see you soon at Pure English Practice!
learn.colorvowel.com/communities/Q29tbXVuaXR5LTI3Mzc2
Same here. I had to go to IPA of sock and olive to find out exact sound.
Still not quite clear how to use the chart to identify the stress on the word IV.
Hi, Jason. Sure -- that would be GREEN TEA IV (with stress on the "V"), which is different from WHITE TIE ivy (with stress on the fist syllable).
Hello Teacher Karen! The color vowel chart is useful for our students, but at the same time a bit confusing. For example, Novice and Olive: It sounds me the stress like "o" and not "a" in "olive". The same happens in Missouri. It sounds for me like "rose boat" and not "purple shirt". So it would be better for me if it is possible that you share with us the phonetic symbols or a strategy to identify the sounds that are not easy to identify in Spanish. Thank you. Greetings from Colombia.
Thanks for your question, Ximena!
Trying to correlate the vowel sounds of English to the vowel *letters* of English is problematic, as you've illustrated in your post. And I understand the desire for phonetic symbols, but I assure you that they only lead to more questions about the real question: How do these vowels SOUND? I recommend you watch tis video: th-cam.com/video/21XNGIefcR8/w-d-xo.html
Also, please know that I teach a free live class for English learners and teachers around the world. In Pure English Practice, I demonstrate techniques and answer questions.
You can join our community at:
learn.colorvowel.com/communities/Q29tbXVuaXR5LTI3Mzc2
How are the small letters "y", "w" and "r" used in teaching pronunciation?
Hi @janicelarson57! Thanks for your question. The y, r, and w serve as consonant 'touch points' that facilitate teaching vowel-to-vowel linking (with y and w) and r-controlled vowels (with r). You should attend one of my next free webinars, where I answer these kinds of questions in detail :) Join our free teachers community at learn.colorvowel.com/products/communities/teachers-community
Where are you from madam
English is so funny language. I'm ESL student, not a doctor, had zero problem with understanding meaning of word IV by listening this video with screen turned off. Which appears to be a problem for native speakers. My first language is stress based, but I still understand IV word with stress on any letter. On the other hand, I always have a problem reliably distinguish a word by its vowel without relying on the context. For example, in fast speed speech or movie cup/cop/cap it is a context that tells we which word it is. While native speakers claim they hear difference absolutely clearly. Go figure.
These are great observations, Andrew. You're right that it's native English speakers, more than international English speakers, who are especially sensitive to stress location; for them, the stress difference between "ivy" and "IV" is significant. In this respect, stress location and timing is more important in settings where a mix of native and non-native/ international speakers of English are communicating (and less important when the conversation takes place entirely among non-monoligual international speakers of English). By contrast, the vowel distinction between MUSTARD (cup), OLIVE (cop) and BLACK (cap) is important for all speakers of English, since each vowel change results in a change of meaning. Context can certainly help, but mastering the categorical distinctions is also very important.
We explore these kinds of topics in our Pure English Practice community, which you can join for free at
learn.colorvowel.com/products/communities/pure-english-practice-community-events
Not clear at all !!!
Hi, Kibret. I'm sorry if the video was confusing. You might find this video clearer. Let me know! th-cam.com/video/ywNSntb7Vek/w-d-xo.html