| ew |
brew,
crew, stew |
| o |
do,
to |
| oe |
canoe,
shoe |
| oo |
food,
fool, noon,
pool |
| ou |
soup,
through, you |
| u |
rude |
| ue |
blue,
true |
| ui |
fruit,
juice |
|
|
|
Note: the red
letters all have the same sound |
|
|
|
Sound:
Voiced and Unvoiced
This is a VOICED sound which means Your Vocal Cords DO
vibrate when making this sound. |
 You CAN
LISTEN to your Vocal Cords vibrating if you cover
your ears with your hands.
Try covering your ears with your hands as Akiko is doing in
the picture.
Now make the sound of this lesson. Can you listen to your vocal cords vibrating?
VERY GOOD |
 You CAN
FEEL your Vocal Cords vibrating if
you place your hands on your neck.
Try placing your hands on your neck as Akiko is doing in the
picture.
Now make the sound of this lesson. Can you feel your vocal
cords vibrating?
VERY GOOD |
|
The following diagram shows the most important parts of your
head and mouth used for pronouncing the sounds of English.
It also shows the location of your Vocal Cords. |
 |
|
|
Mouth, lips,
and tongue
The following descriptions explain the proper mouth, lips,
and tongue position when you make this sound. |
Your
mouth should be slightly tense. |
Your lips should be rounded and in the same
position as when you kiss someone. |
The back part of your tongue should be in the upper part of your
mouth. |
|
|
Additional Lessons |
 About These
Lessons
The following classroom lessons are great for students
who want additional conversation, listening, and reading
practice. |
-
Conversation Lesson -
Beginner Level. Let's
Learn English conversation lesson
with a conversation video, a video script, audio
listening practice, video speaking practice, video
pronunciation practice, a new
words section, and a writing activity.
|
 Conversation Lesson
20 - What Can You Do?
(Beginner -
Conversation, Listening, Reading)
In this lesson Anna meets her friend Pete in a coffee
shop. Pete needs a job. Can Anna help him to find the
right job for him? |
Lesson Video
Watch the video and then do the activities on this page. |
Video Script
Anna: Hi, there! Washington, D.C. is a great place to work. Many people here
work in government and politics. But there are many other jobs. You can work at
a hospital; a university. You can work in a coffee shop. Wait a minute, I think
I see a friend of mine. Pete? Is that you?
Pete: Hi, Anna.
Anna: You look different. Your beard … is really big.
Pete: You don’t like it, do you?
Anna: No, no. You just look … different.
(To server) Thank you. So, what’s wrong? You look sad.
Pete: I don’t have a job.
Anna: Sorry, I can’t hear you.
Pete: I do not have a job!
Anna: Oh. I’m sorry to hear that, Pete.
Pete: I don’t have a skill.
Anna: Everyone has a skill. You need to find yours.
Pete: I don’t know, Anna.
Anna: Pete, I am good at asking questions. Let me ask you some.
Pete: Really, Anna? Can you help me?
Anna: Yes, I can. Let me help.
Pete: Sure, Anna. Maybe you can help.
Anna: Can you write code?
Pete: Sure, c-o-l-d. How is this going to help?
Anna: No, not “cold.” Code; you know, for making phone apps, or websites. You
can make tons of money writing code.
Pete: Tons of money? But I can’t code.
Anna: Next question. Can you drive?
Pete: Do you mean drive a race car? It’s really hard to be a race car driver.
First, you need a race car ...
Anna: No, I mean drive a taxi or drive a bus.
Pete: No, I always fall asleep when I drive.
Anna: Oh, that’s not good. Next question. Can you teach? You can be a teacher in
a school.
Pete: No, I cannot teach.
Anna: Can you cook? You can be a chef in a restaurant.
Pete: No, I can’t code! I can’t teach! I can’t cook! Anna, I can’t do anything.
This is sad. I’m gonna write about my feelings in my blog.
Anna: You write a blog?
Pete: Yeah, I write a blog.
Anna: How many followers do you have?
Pete: I don’t know … 59,538.
Anna: Pete, that's a lot of followers! You can make money writing!
Pete: Writing is easy. Everyone can write.
Anna: Not everyone can write well. You can be a writer!
Pete: I can be a writer. I can be a writer! I can be a writer! Thanks, Anna.
Marsha: Hi, Pete. Hi, Anna.
Pete: Hi, Marsha. Excuse me, I have to go.
Marsha: Where are you going?
Pete: I’m going to be a writer!
Marsha: Good luck, Pete!
(To Anna) He does know that it’s not easy to be a writer, doesn’t he?
Anna: There are many different jobs you can have in Washington, D.C. Pete wants
to be a writer. I wish him luck. Lots of luck. Until next time! |
Listening
Now practice listening to only the audio portion of the conversation. |
Speaking
In this video, you can practice saying the new words and learn how to ask
questions when you do not understand someone clearly. |
Pronunciation
This video teaches about the shortened form of cannot and the two ways to
pronounce can. |
|
New Words |
- app -
n. a computer program that performs a
particular task (such as word processing)
- beard –
n. the hair that grows on a man's cheeks and
chin
- blog -
n. a Web site on which someone writes about
personal opinions, activities, and experiences
- chef -
n. a professional cook who usually is in charge
of a kitchen in a restaurant
- code -
n. - a set of instructions for a computer
- code -
v. to change (information) into a set of
letters, numbers, or symbols that can be read by a computer
- drive -
v. to direct the movement of a vehicle such as
a car, truck, or bus
- easy -
adj. not hard to do
- follower -
n. a person who likes and admires (someone or
something) very much
- good luck -
expression. used to say that you hope someone
will succeed
- hard -
adj. physically or mentally difficult
- lot(s) or a lot (informal) lots
- n. a large amount
- hospital -
n. a place where sick or injured people are
given care or treatment and where children are often born
- school -
n. a place where children go to learn
- taxi -
n. a car that carries passengers to a place for
an amount of money
- teacher -
n. a person or thing that teaches something
- university -
n. a school that offers courses leading to a
degree and where research is done
- website -
n. a place on the World Wide Web that contains
information about a person, organization, etc., and that usually consists of
many Web pages joined by hyperlinks
- well -
adv. in a skillful way
|
 Activity
In this lesson, Anna is helping her friend Pete. He
needs to find a new job. How do you try to help your
friends? Write about the ways you help your friends.
Write in the Facebook Comments section below. Use the
Activity Sheet to practice talking about jobs and
skills.
Click
lesson activity to get the printable PDF version. The
page opens to a new window. |
|
|
Conversation
Lessons
Study all 52 English conversation lessons. Let's Learn
English conversation lessons each with a conversation
video, a video script, audio listening practice, video
speaking practice, video pronunciation practice, a new
words section, and a writing activity.
These
lessons are for beginners. |
|
Source:
Voice of America |
|
Mouth
Lips
Tongue
