helping a student understand how to make the short u sound
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december612
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- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 2:58 am
helping a student understand how to make the short u sound
I am a tutor and have been working with an adult female over the past few months. She is originally from Poland, but has lived in the US for the past 25 years. She came to me to receive help to improve her pronunciation. Her concern is that when communicating with people at church, her sons' schools, etc., she is unable to be understood because she does not have a grasp on how to pronounce some vowels and blends. We have been working on many combinations such as "th" in thin and the, and she has been able to gain an understanding of most of the sounds. Although, we are stuck on short u and double L "jill". I have tried every way possible to help her understand how to form the short u sound. I have described the muscles used and how to breath when saying the vowel sound. I have used a tape recorder and recorded her voice and mine saying the sound. I have used a mirror so that she can mimic me and watch herself as she does. But, for some reason, her short u sounds like the short o sound. For example, if she were to say "I would like a hot pizza at Pizza Hut ", both hot and hut would sound like "hot". She also has trouble with "oo" as in book, look, cook, took. I am at a loss for what else I can do to help her. If anyone has ANY suggestions, please send me a response. Thank You!!!
You would get more responses by putting this on the Pronunciation Forum.
[edited to add: I'm assuming here that the student can actually tell the difference between the two sounds. Some of my previous students (Spanish speaking) could not hear the difference in vowel sounds between /bit/ and /beet/ and the same thing occurs here in Japan (/bit/, /beet/ but also /play/, /pray/). You might want to test first to see if she can tell the difference. Make up a card for short U (hut) and a card for short O (hot) and switch between minimal pair words like hot and hut. The student raises the card of the vowel sound she hears. If she cannot hear the difference then it is a very difficult thing to teach. After being in America for so long she can probably hear them as two different sounds, unless she actually lives most of her life in the Polish language (mostly Polish speaking friends, doesn't actually use English much etc.)]
The short U sound (Hut) (sorry no IPA right now) is pronounced almost the same as the short O sound (hot) except that the mouth is not opened as much for the short U (Hut) sound (in most North American dialects/accents).
Get her to really lengthen the short u sound in hut (like "Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut") (but of course it will sound like 'hot', "hooooooooooooot") and tell her to slowly close her mouth a little bit while pronouncing the vowel (but not too much) and you should hear it change to Hut (it should sound like 'hooooouuuut' (but with no gap betwen the sounds). Usually I find that it's easier to drop in articulation rather than raise, so if it doesn't seem to be working, then start at a rounded O sound and drop in articulation (boat->but->bot) (as in, slowly lower the jaw [booouuuuaaaaat]). Just make sure to lengthen each vowel a lot, and tell her when to stop. Then it's a matter of her practising until her mouth remembers where to go.
Here's a chart of vowel articulation.
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/vowels.html
The short U (hut) sound is the upside down V at the far right near the bottom. The short O (hot) sound is the lower case 'a' without the top part immediately below the upside down v (I'm imagining an American English accent which is similar to my own English, Canadian from Toronto, or to television or to people I know from the States).
BTW I wasn't sure what you meant by the "th" in "the" and "thin", they're two different sounds (one's voiced --the--, the other not --thin--). I think by double l you mean the L sound in which more than just the very tip of the tongue is pressed to the alveolar ridge (front part of the roof of your mouth). But I'm not sure. I somehow don't think that it would be a major problem for others to understand her spoken English, though.
The "oo" in "look, book, cook, took" (North American English) in the chart is the one that looks like a horseshoe (near the right, near the top). It's harder to explain than the short U. Maybe the easiest way is to say to close her mouth a bit from the long O in "Boat" and push her tongue a little bit farther forward. Sounds a bit easier than it really is, because with vowels the tongue doesn't touch another part of the mouth so it's hard to know where it is at any given time. It's sort of half way between the U sound in "boot" and the "Ow" sound in "Boat", but with the tongue a little bit closer to the front (articulated closer to the front).
For yourself, you may want to go out and get a book on phonetics, it should help (at least it has helped me). And keep in mind that many people never totally adopt a new accent (in this case an American one), and that there's nothing wrong with having 'an accent', especially if there's no problem for anyone understanding the language.
[edited to add: I'm assuming here that the student can actually tell the difference between the two sounds. Some of my previous students (Spanish speaking) could not hear the difference in vowel sounds between /bit/ and /beet/ and the same thing occurs here in Japan (/bit/, /beet/ but also /play/, /pray/). You might want to test first to see if she can tell the difference. Make up a card for short U (hut) and a card for short O (hot) and switch between minimal pair words like hot and hut. The student raises the card of the vowel sound she hears. If she cannot hear the difference then it is a very difficult thing to teach. After being in America for so long she can probably hear them as two different sounds, unless she actually lives most of her life in the Polish language (mostly Polish speaking friends, doesn't actually use English much etc.)]
The short U sound (Hut) (sorry no IPA right now) is pronounced almost the same as the short O sound (hot) except that the mouth is not opened as much for the short U (Hut) sound (in most North American dialects/accents).
Get her to really lengthen the short u sound in hut (like "Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut") (but of course it will sound like 'hot', "hooooooooooooot") and tell her to slowly close her mouth a little bit while pronouncing the vowel (but not too much) and you should hear it change to Hut (it should sound like 'hooooouuuut' (but with no gap betwen the sounds). Usually I find that it's easier to drop in articulation rather than raise, so if it doesn't seem to be working, then start at a rounded O sound and drop in articulation (boat->but->bot) (as in, slowly lower the jaw [booouuuuaaaaat]). Just make sure to lengthen each vowel a lot, and tell her when to stop. Then it's a matter of her practising until her mouth remembers where to go.
Here's a chart of vowel articulation.
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/vowels.html
The short U (hut) sound is the upside down V at the far right near the bottom. The short O (hot) sound is the lower case 'a' without the top part immediately below the upside down v (I'm imagining an American English accent which is similar to my own English, Canadian from Toronto, or to television or to people I know from the States).
BTW I wasn't sure what you meant by the "th" in "the" and "thin", they're two different sounds (one's voiced --the--, the other not --thin--). I think by double l you mean the L sound in which more than just the very tip of the tongue is pressed to the alveolar ridge (front part of the roof of your mouth). But I'm not sure. I somehow don't think that it would be a major problem for others to understand her spoken English, though.
The "oo" in "look, book, cook, took" (North American English) in the chart is the one that looks like a horseshoe (near the right, near the top). It's harder to explain than the short U. Maybe the easiest way is to say to close her mouth a bit from the long O in "Boat" and push her tongue a little bit farther forward. Sounds a bit easier than it really is, because with vowels the tongue doesn't touch another part of the mouth so it's hard to know where it is at any given time. It's sort of half way between the U sound in "boot" and the "Ow" sound in "Boat", but with the tongue a little bit closer to the front (articulated closer to the front).
For yourself, you may want to go out and get a book on phonetics, it should help (at least it has helped me). And keep in mind that many people never totally adopt a new accent (in this case an American one), and that there's nothing wrong with having 'an accent', especially if there's no problem for anyone understanding the language.
Last edited by Allan on Thu Apr 01, 2004 7:06 am, edited 2 times in total.
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december612
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 2:58 am
Thank you for your response Allan. I really appreciate the help you have given. I have worked with action phonics for 10 years and have tried every method I know to teach her the short "u" sound. We have used mirrors for modeling and tape recorders for differentiation. I have explained the mouth position to her and have shown her the position of the mouth; but she is still having trouble. I have told my student there is nothing wrong with having an accent, but she insists that others don't understand her when she is speaking. She says that people often mistake words like hot for hut and hut for hot etc. because she doesn't make 2 different sounds for those 2 words. Her short "o" is perfect. I demonstrated to her that when pronouncing the short "o" sound the chin drops down and the mouth forms what looks like an "o", if you exaggerate the sound. I also explained that when making the short "u" sound your stomach muscles tighten a little and the sound is pushed Up and out...the lips barely parting when the sound comes out. She can make the short "o" sound, but is still having a little trouble with the short "u". Her short "u" often sounds just like the short "o".
In response to your uncertainty as to what I was asking about the "th", I was looking for some way to explain the sound to her. I told her one sound is soft (thin) and the other is hard or more pronounced (that); but she was having a little trouble actually making the sound. So, I told her when pronouncing the word "that", for example, to use her voice and make her tongue vibrate between the teeth and for "thin" to simply stick her tongue between her teeth and blow air. She seems to have a grasp on the difference between the 2 "th" sounds now.
I really enjoy teaching her. She has definitely expanded my personal knowledge of the pronunciation of Americanized English. As many years as I've taught it, I never realised how much we use breathing and certain muscles etc. to speak every single word. It is truly a unique experience and has allowed me to better help my other students.
Once again, I thank you so much for your input.
In response to your uncertainty as to what I was asking about the "th", I was looking for some way to explain the sound to her. I told her one sound is soft (thin) and the other is hard or more pronounced (that); but she was having a little trouble actually making the sound. So, I told her when pronouncing the word "that", for example, to use her voice and make her tongue vibrate between the teeth and for "thin" to simply stick her tongue between her teeth and blow air. She seems to have a grasp on the difference between the 2 "th" sounds now.
I really enjoy teaching her. She has definitely expanded my personal knowledge of the pronunciation of Americanized English. As many years as I've taught it, I never realised how much we use breathing and certain muscles etc. to speak every single word. It is truly a unique experience and has allowed me to better help my other students.
Once again, I thank you so much for your input.
OH! I was editing my original post when the reply came in. So maybe the suggestion of starting at OW and going down might help.
I just found a page with Polish volwel phonemes listed,
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/sampa/pol-uni.htm
And there isn't the upside down 'v' sound. But maybe your student studied some German when she was younger? (I know a lot of people who speak Slavic languages learn German in school). The upside down V sound is the same as the German word "um".
Some of my students correctly pronounce the reduced form of "a" as in "a book" (usually written as a schwa). This is actually the same as the "u" sound in "cup" although not stressed. If they can say, "a hat" for example, I have them say the "a" and the put it in the context of a word, like "cup". Also, some practice in listening for the difference between the sounds can also help in learning to differentiate. I tell my students that they have to learn how to listen to themselves and self-correct. Some of them have started to do that.
In terms of voiced/voiceless, there are a lot of pairs of these in English. The ones that can be continued (I've seen them called fricatives, continuants, and who knows what else), like /f/ /v/ and /s/ /z/ and the sounds in "thin" and "the" are easier to catch, because you can put your hand on your throat and feel the vibration when you make the voiced one of the pair. Understanding voicing is a good thing, because the vowels before voiced consonants are longer than the ones before voiceless consonants. (At least in American English!)
In terms of voiced/voiceless, there are a lot of pairs of these in English. The ones that can be continued (I've seen them called fricatives, continuants, and who knows what else), like /f/ /v/ and /s/ /z/ and the sounds in "thin" and "the" are easier to catch, because you can put your hand on your throat and feel the vibration when you make the voiced one of the pair. Understanding voicing is a good thing, because the vowels before voiced consonants are longer than the ones before voiceless consonants. (At least in American English!)
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december612
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 2:58 am
***
quote from Lorikeet:
Some of my students correctly pronounce the reduced form of "a" as in "a book" (usually written as a schwa). This is actually the same as the "u" sound in "cup" although not stressed.
***
(my work computer won't let me use the "quote" button. )
Interesting. Where I'm from they are often two different sounds. Could be Canadian rising for the "a" (although that would suggest some fronting too, based on that IPA vowel chart).
side track: We do NOT say "ABOOT"!
We just normally start the "au" sound with the u from "cup" instead of the "a" sound.
December612:
There's a consonant chart for Polish on the same page as the vowel, and here's the IPA consonant chart
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/pulmonic.html
But like the IPA vowel chart, those sounds are not just for English.
I found this for English:
http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm
and this
http://umsis.miami.edu/~jthomas/index1.html
Here's where I found the IPA charts:
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/ipa.html
At the bottom, there's a section for More Links and then after clicking that, you should be able to scroll down to a heading "Phontetics, Speech and Hearing". The first link "A course in Phonetics: Vowels and Consonants" probably has a lot of really good information. My work computer won't let me onto the page though.
quote from Lorikeet:
Some of my students correctly pronounce the reduced form of "a" as in "a book" (usually written as a schwa). This is actually the same as the "u" sound in "cup" although not stressed.
***
(my work computer won't let me use the "quote" button. )
Interesting. Where I'm from they are often two different sounds. Could be Canadian rising for the "a" (although that would suggest some fronting too, based on that IPA vowel chart).
side track: We do NOT say "ABOOT"!
We just normally start the "au" sound with the u from "cup" instead of the "a" sound.December612:
There's a consonant chart for Polish on the same page as the vowel, and here's the IPA consonant chart
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/pulmonic.html
But like the IPA vowel chart, those sounds are not just for English.
I found this for English:
http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm
and this
http://umsis.miami.edu/~jthomas/index1.html
Here's where I found the IPA charts:
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/ipa.html
At the bottom, there's a section for More Links and then after clicking that, you should be able to scroll down to a heading "Phontetics, Speech and Hearing". The first link "A course in Phonetics: Vowels and Consonants" probably has a lot of really good information. My work computer won't let me onto the page though.
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december612
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 2:58 am
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coffeedecafe
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- Location: michigan
its possible your student is trying to vary these sounds by holding her mouth vertically more open or closed, when the tension of the cheeks and lips has more effect. if you have her say hot, then repeat the word with her fingers pressing in slightly on her cheeks, repeated again with her fingers pressing her skin firmly between her open teeth line, it may cause the word to move from hot to hut, to hoot. if so she will soon be able to match the sounds without finger support.
at least that is what happened a few minutes ago when i stood in front of a mirror feeling like an idiot and tried it. ..
at least that is what happened a few minutes ago when i stood in front of a mirror feeling like an idiot and tried it. ..