Word Stress - TeachingEnglish - British Council - BBC

6/2/2017 Wordstress|TeachingEnglish|BritishCouncil|BBC
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Word stress
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A language learner needs to engage with a word many times,
preferably in different ways, in order to really learn it
identifying and practising word stress can provide one or two of
those engagements.
Why word stress is important
What word stress is
Some 'rules' of word stress
How I help my students
In the classroom
Conclusion
Why word stress is important
Mistakes in word stress are a common cause of misunderstanding in
English. Here are the reasons why:
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/wordstress 1/8
Stressing the wrong syllable in a word can make the word very difficult
to hear and understand for example, try saying the following words:
o O O o
b'tell hottle
And now in a sentence:
"I carried the b'tell to the hottle."
Now reverse the stress patterns for the two words and you should be
able to make sense of the sentence!
"I carried the bottle to the hotel."
Stressing a word differently can change the meaning or type of the
word:
"They will desert* the desert** by tomorrow."
o O O o
desert* desert**
Think about the grammatical difference between desert* and desert**.
I will look at this in more detail later.
Even if the speaker can be understood, mistakes with word stress can
make the listener feel irritated, or perhaps even amused, and could
prevent good communication from taking place.
These three reasons tell me that word stress is an important part of the
English language, and it is something I should help my students with.
What word stress is
When we stress syllables in words, we use a combination of different
features. Experiment now with the word 'computer'. Say it out loud.
Listen to yourself. The second syllable of the three is stressed. What are
you doing so that the listener can hear that stress?
A stressed syllable combines five features:

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It is longer com puter Yes,Iagree
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It is LOUDER comPUTer
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No,Iwanttofindoutmore
It has a change in pitch from the syllables coming before and
afterwards. The pitch of a stressed syllable is usually higher.
It is said more clearly The vowel sound is purer. Compare the first
and last vowel sounds with the stressed sound.
It uses larger facial movements Look in the mirror when you say
the word. Look at your jaw and lips in particular.
It is equally important to remember that the unstressed syllables of a
word have the opposite features of a stressed syllable!
Some 'rules' of word stress
There are patterns in word stress in English but, as a rule (!), it is
dangerous to say there are fixed rules. Exceptions can usually be found.
Here are some general tendencies for word stress in English:
Word Type of word Tendency Exceptions
apple stress on the first syllable

twosyllable nouns hotel
table O o
and adjectives lagoon
happy apple
the noun has stress on the
first syllable
O o
suspect words which can be
"You are the suspect!" respect
import used as both
the verb has stress on the witness
insult nouns and verbs
second syllable
o O
"I suspect you."
fairly equally balanced but
with stronger stress

hairbrush
compound nouns on the first part
football
O o
hairbrush
How I help my students
Students can be alarmed when they meet words which are similar but
have different stress patterns:
O o o O oo O o o o o o O o
equal equality equalise equalisation
A useful thing you can do is to help students see connections with other
word families. Patterns can usually be found, for example:

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O o final By continuing
o O oo finality
to browse O o site
the o finalise o o
we understand o O
this is o finalisation
neutral neutrality
acceptable neutralise
to you. Learn about neutralisation
managing cookies.
There are some recognised differences in word stress which depend on
the variety of English being used, for example:
o o O o Caribbean aluminium o O o o Caribbean aluminum
(British English) (American English)
These differences are noted in good learner dictionaries. If words like
these come up in class, point them out to students. Ask if there are
similar cases of differences in word stress in their own language this will
heighten awareness and interest.
In the classroom
Raise awareness & build confidence
You can use the same questions with your students that I have used in
this article. These will help to raise the students' awareness of word
stress and its importance. Some learners love to learn about the
'technical' side of language, while others like to 'feel' or 'see' the
language more, hearing the music of word stress or seeing the shapes
of the words. Try to use a variety of approaches: helping students to
engage with English in different ways will help them in their goal to
become more proficient users of the language. Build students'
confidence by drawing their attention to the tendencies and patterns
in word stress that do exist.
Mark the stress
Use a clear easytosee way of marking stress on the board and on
handouts for students. I use the big circle small circle (O o) method. It
is very easy to see and has the added advantage of identifying the
number of syllables in the word, as well as the stressed syllable.
Students also need to be aware of the way dictionaries usually mark
stress with a mark before the stressed syllable, e.g. 'apple. By
knowing this, students will be able to check word stress independently.
Cuisenaire rods
These different sized, small coloured blocks are great for helping
students to 'see' the word stress. The students build the words using
different blocks to represent stressed and unstressed syllables.
(Children's small building blocks are a good substitute!)
Integrate word stress into your lessons
You don't need to teach separate lessons on word stress. Instead, you
can integrate it into your normal lessons. The ideal time to focus
students' attention on it is when introducing vocabulary. Meaning and
spelling are usually clarified for students but the sound and stress of
the word can all too often be forgotten.
Quickly and simply

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useful to elicit
you. the stress pattern of the word from the
students (as you would the meaning) and mark it on the board. Drill it
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Students can use stress patterns as another way to organise and sort
their vocabulary. For example, in their vocabulary books they can have
a section for nouns with the pattern O o, and then a section for the
pattern o O. Three syllable words can be sorted into O o o (Saturday,
hospital) and o O o (computer, unhappy).
Remember what I noted before: The more times students mentally
engage with new vocabulary, the more they are likely to actually learn
it. Engaging students through word stress helps to reinforce the
learning of the words.
Troubleshooting
Initially, many students (and teachers!) find it difficult to hear word
stress. A useful strategy is to focus on one word putting the stress on
its different syllables in turn. For example:
o o 0 computer 0 o o computer o 0 o computer
Say the word in the different ways for the students, really exaggerating
the stressed syllable and compressing the unstressed ones. Ask the
students which version of the word sounds 'the best' or 'the most
natural'.
By hearing the word stressed incorrectly, students can more easily
pick out the correct version.
A personalised and effective way of getting students to hear the
importance of correct word stress is by using people's names as
examples. I introduce word stress with my name:
"How many parts/syllables are there in my name?"
"Which is the strongest the first or second?"
"Is it Emma or Emma?"
Then you can question students about their own names this will give
them a personalised connection to the issue of word stress, with a word
they will never forget!
Conclusion
Any work on aspects of pronunciation can take a long time to show
improvements and be challenging for both the students and the teacher,
but working on word stress can be fun and over time will help your
students to be better understood and more confident speakers.
Further reading
Sound Foundations by Adrian Underhill
This
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How to Teach to you.
Pronunciation by Gerald Kelly
Teaching English Pronunciation

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Comments
Umka replied on 14 February, 2011 13:58 PERMALINK
(/COMMENT/12881#COMMENT12881)
"IT IS IMPORTANT"
I've read your article. I completely agree with you.This
article is very important to the students who has problem
with pronunciation.You gave very good ways of stressing
correctly and interesting activities in the
classroom.Teachers can use your methods in each lesson
of them. I have learnt more information about word stress
which I didn't know before.Thanks for your interesting
article.
Louisalynx replied on 20 October, 2011 12:04 PERMALINK
WORD STRESS (/COMMENT/18279#COMMENT
18279)
This article was very helpful. Many thanks.

Yes,Iagree
useful to you.

Hamsa251 replied on 29 March, 2012 15:12 PERMALINK
AMAZING ARTICLE!
This article is really helpful. Thank you so much. God bless
you!
Bolotsoky replied on 31 October, 2012 10:40 PERMALINK
WHAT RULE FOR BLOOD, FLOOD?
Hi, I am following a prononciation course and I see
thatyour article is very helpful. I'd like to thank you for
that.What rule for blood, flood?I heard about alphabet
vowels and relative vowels. Could someone can explain
it?Thanks in advance.
radjaa replied on 16 September, 2016 20:07 PERMALINK
WHAT RULE FOR BLOOD, FLOOD?
blood, flood are one syllable words and stress is on
their only syllable.

Alphabet vowels are as follows: a, e, i, o, u but I've Yes,Iagree
useful to you.
never heard about relative vowels, do you mean semi
vowels???
sam7702000 replied on 1 January, 2016 09:01 PERMALINK
STRESS IN A WORD
great explanation, thank you
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6/2/2017 Wordstress|TeachingEnglish|BritishCouncil|BBC

Submitted 11 years 11 months ago by admin.

A language learner needs to engage with a word many times,

preferably in different ways, in order to really learn it

identifying and practising word stress can provide one or two of

Why word stress is important

What word stress is

Some 'rules' of word stress

How I help my students

Why word stress is important

Mistakes in word stress are a common cause of misunderstanding in

English. Here are the reasons why:

And now in a sentence:

"I carried the b'tell to the hottle."

able to make sense of the sentence!

"I carried the bottle to the hotel."

Stressing a word differently can change the meaning or type of the

"They will desert* the desert** by tomorrow."

Think about the grammatical difference between desert* and desert**.

I will look at this in more detail later.

prevent good communication from taking place.

English language, and it is something I should help my students with.

What word stress is

When we stress syllables in words, we use a combination of different

you doing so that the listener can hear that stress?

A stressed syllable combines five features:

acceptable to you. Learn about managing cookies.

afterwards. The pitch of a stressed syllable is usually higher.

and last vowel sounds with the stressed sound.

the word. Look at your jaw and lips in particular.

It is equally important to remember that the unstressed syllables of a

word have the opposite features of a stressed syllable!

Some 'rules' of word stress

There are patterns in word stress in English but, as a rule (!), it is

Here are some general tendencies for word stress in English:

Word Type of word Tendency Exceptions

apple stress on the first syllable

the noun has stress on the

"I suspect you."

fairly equally balanced but

with stronger stress

How I help my students

have different stress patterns:

equal equality equalise equalisation

word families. Patterns can usually be found, for example:

There are some recognised differences in word stress which depend on

the variety of English being used, for example:

o o O o Caribbean aluminium o O o o Caribbean aluminum

(British English) (American English)

These differences are noted in good learner dictionaries. If words like

heighten awareness and interest.

Raise awareness & build confidence

'technical' side of language, while others like to 'feel' or 'see' the

of the words. Try to use a variety of approaches: helping students to

become more proficient users of the language. Build students'

confidence by drawing their attention to the tendencies and patterns

in word stress that do exist.

Mark the stress

Use a clear easytosee way of marking stress on the board and on

number of syllables in the word, as well as the stressed syllable.

Students also need to be aware of the way dictionaries usually mark

stress with a mark before the stressed syllable, e.g. 'apple. By

knowing this, students will be able to check word stress independently.