Think about these questions, or answer them aloud.
You do not need a perfect British or American accent. Examiners want speech that is easy to understand. Two things help most:
A minimal pair is two words that are the same except for one sound. Practising them trains your ear and your mouth.
The symbols between slashes are the ones you see in British learner dictionaries.
A stressed syllable is longer, louder and a little higher than the others. The other syllables are short and weak, and their vowel often becomes a quick uh sound (called schwa).
In this lesson, CAPITAL letters show the stressed syllable: PHO-to-graph, pho-TOG-ra-pher.
There are no perfect rules, but these patterns help with many words.
| Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|
| Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives: stress the first syllable | TA-ble, PROB-lem, HAP-py, MOR-ning |
| Many two-syllable verbs: stress the second syllable | be-GIN, de-CIDE, re-LAX, ex-PLAIN |
| Words ending in -tion and -sion: stress the syllable just before | ed-u-CA-tion, in-for-MA-tion, de-CI-sion |
| Words ending in -ic and -ity: stress the syllable just before | e-co-NOM-ic, sci-en-TIF-ic, u-ni-VER-si-ty |
| Numbers ending in -teen: stress -teen; tens: stress the first syllable | fif-TEEN / FIF-ty, thir-TEEN / THIR-ty |
Listen again and notice the stressed syllables in the long words:
Notice also that small words like a, and, to and of are short and weak, and so are the unstressed syllables: in British English, a pho-TOG-ra-pher sounds like uh-fuh-TOG-ruh-fuh. Sam also says live with a short sound and sea and people with a long sound, so every word is clear.
Say each word aloud a few times. Which version shows the correct stress? CAPITAL letters show the stressed syllable.
Listen to the eight sentences above. For each one, choose the word you hear. Both words make sense, so listen carefully to the sound.
Listen to each sentence, then record yourself saying it. Make the stressed syllables long and clear, and keep the difficult sounds different.
Listen to each sentence, then record yourself saying it the same way. Copy the rhythm, stress and intonation.
1.I'd like a cheap seat on the ship, please.
2.We wanted to leave, but we still live nearby.
3.The photographer took a photograph of the hotel.
4.Education is important for the economy.
5.Turn right at the traffic lights.
6.It costs fifteen pounds, not fifty.
7.I walk to work when the weather is nice.
Answer as you would in IELTS Speaking Part 1. There is no preparation time. Focus on clear word stress in longer words.
Let's talk about photos. Do you like taking photographs? Why or why not?
No preparation time · 0:30 speaking
Save words to review them later with flashcards.
“'Hotel' has two syllables: ho-tel.”
“In 'decide', the stress is on the second syllable.”
“'Ship' and 'sheep' have different vowel sounds.”
“The words 'light' and 'right' start with different consonants.”
“'Van' and 'fan' are a minimal pair.”
“How do you pronounce your surname?”
“I always mispronounce 'comfortable'.”
“She has a soft Scottish accent.”
“English has a rhythm of strong and weak syllables.”
“I didn't recognise the word because the stress was wrong.”
