Accurate Use of Schwa in British English

Abstract

This two-part video series aims to introduce students to the importance of unstressed sounds in English words and unstressed words in English sentences when practising British English. In the first part, students listen and identify the difference between the schwa sound and other vowel sounds and then repeat and produce the sound. In the second part, the schwa sound is presented in the context of full sentences and the difference between stressed and unstressed words in sentences is highlighted. After both video sessions, the learner may decide to produce audio output of their learning by uploading a recording of themselves producing the schwa sound in context to the corresponding Padlet page. This plug-and-play lesson activity is innovative in the way that it combines both visual and audio stimuli with student production of an audio output to demonstrate the importance of the schwa sound in English. The corresponding Padlet page also acts as an archive of different learners’ productions of the sound. The activity can be used by itself as an introduction to the schwa sound or in combination with textbook/in class content. It may also be utilised as a reference for teachers who are new to the teaching of pronunciation. The Padlet page can also be remade and remixed by other teachers who may want a separate archive for their own students.