Listening: Basic Auditory Perception & Discrimination A2 - Lesson 2: Identifying Stressed Syllables in Common Two-Syllable Words

🎧Auditory Perception: A2 - Word Stress

Learning Objectives: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Understand what a syllable and word stress are in English.
• Identify the stressed syllable in common two-syllable English words.
• Recognize how word stress affects a word's rhythm and pronunciation.
• Improve your ability to hear the "beat" of English words.

Key Concepts: The Beat of a Word

In English, some parts of a word are stronger than others. This is called word stress, and it's like the "beat" in music. Hover over (or tap) the cards to learn more.

Syllable

A single unit of sound in a word, usually with one vowel sound. "Book" has one syllable. "Tea-cher" has two syllables.

Word Stress

Making one syllable in a word louder, longer, or higher in pitch. Example: in "teacher", the stress is on TEAcher.

✍️ Practice Activities

Activity 1: Check the Rule

Answer the question about word stress.

1. In English, a stressed syllable usually sounds...

Softer and shorter

Louder, longer, or higher

The same as other syllables

Activity 2: Listen for the Stress

Listen to the word. Which syllable is stressed? Is it the first or the second?

Note: To help the audio, the stressed syllable is written in capitals for the text-to-speech engine (e.g., STUdent). Listen for the strongest part.

1. Word: "student"

First syllable (O o)

Second syllable (o O)

2. Word: "again"

First syllable (O o)

Second syllable (o O)

3. Word: "paper"

First syllable (O o)

Second syllable (o O)

4. Word: "invite"

First syllable (O o)

Second syllable (o O)

🚀 Listening Strategies

• Listen for the "beat" or the strongest part of the word.
• Try clapping the rhythm of the word as you hear it. You will naturally clap on the stressed syllable.
• Knowing common stress patterns (like TEAcher vs. hoTEL) helps you understand and pronounce new words.
• When in doubt, a good dictionary will show you where the stress is.

Summary: In this lesson, you practiced hearing word stress in two-syllable words. Understanding that one part of a word is stronger than the others is key to understanding the rhythm of English and pronouncing words correctly.