Home > Lesson 1: Introduction > Unit 1.2 VC and friendly connections
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Presentation
Audio [03:11]
Quiz
#1. This is an example of a VC connection:
#2. Which sound connections are not easy for us to pronounce?
#3. True or false. Friendly consonant sounds are easy to pronounce.
#4. ________ are friendly consonant sounds.
#5. We use connected speech to change bad connections into ________ and ________ connections.
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Discussion
- What are content words and function words? Find out more here.
- Do you regularly use contractions in spoken English, e.g., ‘he’s’ instead of ‘he is’? If not, why not?
- Have you ever learned about VC and friendly connections before? If not, why not?
- Sometimes connected speech feels like a ‘best-kept secret’ in English. Why do you think that is?
Practice
- Write down 10 new phrases with VC connections, e.g. ‘go with’. Practice saying them out loud. Do you find them easy to pronounce?
- Write down 10 new phrases with friendly connections, e.g. ‘tall guy’. Practice saying them out loud. Do you find them easy to pronounce?
- Practice reading this list of contractions out loud. What other English contractions do you know?
- Find a short text in a magazine or online and identify 5 phrases with VC connections and 5 with friendly connections.
- What are ‘function words’ and ‘content words’ in English? Write down ten of each. What is their significance in English pronunciation?