Shadowing Practice: L121 Foundations Spelling Analysis - Learn English Speaking with Video
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It's time for spelling analysis and this is spelling analysis for Foundations D.
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Now you can either use the page from your Foundations D workbook for spelling analysis to write your words.
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A great option is to have the whole workbook.
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Then you have every page you need or you can print off this page
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if you have the paid course
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or the other way you could do this is you could use a whiteboard
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if you're using the logic of english whiteboard you could write the words here
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or you could write them on the back
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and be able to write all eight of them on the back side
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so to get started you will either need that page
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or a whiteboard or you could just use a piece of paper
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so here's what we're going to do go ahead and set down your pencils or your markers.
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At first, I need you just to listen, and then we're going to be segmenting words out loud, and then you'll be writing,
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and then you'll segment them for me, and I will write them.
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We'll get the rhythm down really fast.
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All right, these words in foundations D are more advanced than they were in foundations A, B, or C.
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You know all of the phonograms now
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and you know many of the spelling rules
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so we will be applying all of the phonograms
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and rules you've learned to be able to spell and read
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and understand even more words
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so our first word is mother my mother is reading a book mother go ahead
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and say mother mother now how many syllables in mother.
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Remember, we've learned that we can hum the words to count the syllables.
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Hmm.
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Hmm.
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There are two hums.
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So that means there are two syllables.
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Hmm.
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Hmm.
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Two, two syllables.
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All right.
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Now, do you hear a vowel that might be saying it's lazy sound or it's schwa sound or sounding like a mother.
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I do too.
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So when we segment words, I'm going to say something called say to spell.
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When I say that, I'm going to give you the syllable breaks and I'm going to pronounce Schwad bowels very carefully.
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So that's your cue.
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Say to spell is your cue.
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Listen carefully.
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All right.
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We will say to spell moth -er.
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Now, what will we say to spell?
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Repeat after me moth -er.
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Do you got it?
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One more time.
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What will we say to spell moth -er?
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Now let's segment each syllable.
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The first syllable is moth.
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Let's sound it out.
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M -O -V.
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The second syllable is er.
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Er.
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Use the er of her.
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Go ahead and write moth -er.
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And as you write it, leave a space between the syllables.
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We will use that to see spelling rules.
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So go ahead and do that.
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And as you write it, sound it out.
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Sound it out very loud so I can hear you if I was in the same room as you.
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Good.
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You're sounding it out.
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Excellent.
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Now, I want you to say out loud the syllables with me and to sound it out with me.
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Why?
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Because as you sound it out, it's going to help you learn and master these words and to understand the reason for the spelling.
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The great thing about logic of English is you'll understand why you're not just memorizing bedrock alright
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so the first syllable is moth mmm ah mmm the second syllable is er er how will we mark
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this well you're right we'll underline the v
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and what sound of mmm do we hear mother the second one you're right and we'll underline the er
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Now, do you see that O is saying it's lazy sound?
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Why is that?
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That's right.
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O may say uh next to a W, T -H, M, N, or V.
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And here it is next to an M and a T -H.
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So as we learned, the monks, when they were transcribing, sometimes they wrote the O as an uh,
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the uh sound as an O to keep all those straight lines from being next together
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so we will say to spell mother and
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that will help our ears have a way to remember it it's just another way to remember the spelling
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so m -a -v -r
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and we say mother excellent the next word is penguin the penguin is black
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and white penguin go ahead
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and say penguin how many syllables in penguin hmm two
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we will say to spell pen -guin what will we say
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to spell pen -guin the first syllable is pen let's sound it out
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The second syllable is Gwyn.
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Gwa.
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Do you see that?
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Gwa, I, N.
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Go ahead and write Pen -Gwyn.
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And remember, I held up two fingers because Gwa is spelled with two letters.
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Pen -Gwyn.
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Good job sounding it out as you're writing it.
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Now help me to write it.
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The first syllable is pen.
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P -e -n.
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The second syllable is guin.
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Gu -i -n.
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How will we mark this?
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You're right we'll underline the guh
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and what sound of guh guh is this it's the second
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so we'll put a two over it let's sound it out
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penguin the next word is opposite the opposite of dark is
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light opposite how many syllables in opposite hmm hmm hmm three
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that's right we will say to spell op po sit what
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will we say to spell op po sit all right the
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first level is op ah the second syllable is po oh the third syllable is sit it go ahead
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and write op po sit sound it out as you write it that way you'll get every phonogram good job.
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That's right.
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All right, now help me write it.
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The first syllable is op, ah, p.
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The second syllable is po, p, o.
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The third syllable is sit, s, i, t.
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You know what?
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I forgot to tell you something.
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You need a silent final e.
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Can you add a silent final e to yours?
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All right, let's go ahead and talk about this word.
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So we will put a line over the o, y.
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A, e, o, u usually say their long sounds at the end of the syllable.
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And then we have this silent final e and we'll double underline it
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because we double underline the silent final e to show that it's silent.
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But why is it there?
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Why is it in the word opposite?
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That's right.
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This is an unseen reason.
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Once again, there are nine reasons for a silent final E
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and every now and then there's words that we just don't know why it's there.
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It just is.
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There aren't that many, but this is one example.
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Let's go ahead and read this.
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Op -p -o -s -i -t.
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Opposite.
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The next word is wear.
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Where is my coat?
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Wear.
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Go ahead and say wear.
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Let's sound it out.
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W -E -R, silent final E.
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That's right, I remembered it this time.
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Go ahead and write where.
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Good, now help me to write it.
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W -E -R, silent final E.
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How will we mark it?
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Well, underline the W, and why do we have a silent final E in where?
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You're right.
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Once again, this is an unseen reason.
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And one of the reasons there's two of them here is
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we want you to learn these words by me teaching them to you.
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Many of the words where there's silent final E's, you'll already know why they're there.
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So we'll teach some of these trickier words explicitly to help you.
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Let's go ahead and read it.
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W -E -R. Where.
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Excellent.
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The next word is how.
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How do you know how to spell words?
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You break them up into phonograms, right?
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Let's go ahead and say the word how.
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How.
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Let's sound it out.
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H -ow.
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This is an ow -o.
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Got it?
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Go ahead and write it.
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Sound it out nice and loud as you do. That was a relief.
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It was a short one.
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Let's write it together.
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Ow.
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And how will we mark it?
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That's right.
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Well, underline the ow.
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What sound of ow -o?
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The first one.
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Let's read it.
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Ow.
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How.
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The next word is polar.
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The polar bears live up in the Arctic.
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Go ahead and say polar.
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How many syllables in polar?
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Two.
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We will say to spell polar.
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What will we say to spell? po lar you got
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it let's sound it out first little is po oh second syllable is lar all are go ahead
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and write po lar good job sounding it out now help me to write it.
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First syllable is po, p, o.
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Second syllable is lar, l, r.
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How will we mark it?
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We'll put a line over the o.
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Why did the o say it's long sounds?
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A, E, O, U usually say they're long sounds at the end of the syllable.
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And we'll underline the r.
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Now, did you notice
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when you say polar it doesn't sound like polar well are this phonogram also has a schwa sound
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and that sound is er so when it's in an unstressed syllable
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that may say er let's read it oh are polar
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very good the next word is morning good morning everyone go ahead and say morning
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How many syllables in morning?
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Two.
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We will say to spell morning.
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Ready?
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Morning.
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Very good.
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The first syllable is more.
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The second syllable is ning.
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Got it?
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Go ahead and write morning.
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Very, very good.
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Alright, help me to write it.
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The first syllable is more.
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M, or.
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The second syllable is ning.
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N, i, n.
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How will we mark it?
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We'll underline the or.
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And we'll underline the n.
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Let's read it.
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M, or, n, i, n.
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Morning.
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Outstanding.
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The last word is different.
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I have a different idea for us to think about.
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Different.
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Go ahead and say different.
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How many syllables in different?
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Hmm, hmm, hmm.
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That's right, three.
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We will say to spell diff -fer -ent.
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What will we say to spell?
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Diff -fer -ent.
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First syllable is diff, d -i -f.
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Second syllable is fur, ff, er.
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Use the er of her.
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Third syllable is ent.
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E, n, t.
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Go ahead and write diff, fur, ent.
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Very good.
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Now help me to write it.
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The first syllable is diff, d, i, ff.
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The second syllable is fur, ff, er.
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The third syllable is ent.
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E -N -T.
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And how will we mark it?
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You're right.
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We'll underline the er.
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Let's read this together.
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D -I -F -F -R -E -N -T.
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Different.
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Wow.
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Look at these words that you can read and that you can spell now.
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Isn't it neat how all the phonograms and rules start to come together?
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Combining the science of reading with the joy of learning.
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Learn more at foundations .logicofenglish .com
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “L121 Foundations Spelling Analysis”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: syllable, sound, word, write, ahead. This video has 252 sentences and 1826 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:06. The speaker talks at a steady 129 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| spell noun | /spɛl/ | Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers. |
| silent adjective | /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ | Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. |
| polar adjective | /ˈpoʊlɚ/ | Of, relating to, measured from, or referred to a geographic pole (the North Pole or South Pole); within the Arctic or Antarctic circles. |
| spelling noun | /ˈspɛl.ɪŋ/ | The act, practice, ability, or subject of forming words with letters, or of reading the letters of words; orthography. |
| penguin noun | /ˈpɛŋ.ɡwɪn/ | Any of several flightless sea birds, of the family Spheniscidae within the order Sphenisciformes, found in the Southern Hemisphere, marked by their usual… |
| segment noun | /ˈsɛɡmɛnt/ | A length of some object. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| lazy adjective | /ˈleɪ̯zi(ː)/ | Unwilling to do work or make an effort; disinclined to exertion. |
| unseen adjective | /ʌnˈsiːn/ | Not seen or discovered; invisible. |
| finger noun | /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other… |
| ear noun | /ˈɪə̯/ | The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea. |
| coat noun | /ˈkoʊ̯t/ | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms. |
| combine verb | /kəmˈbaɪn/ | To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite. |
| rhythm noun | /ˈɹɪð.əm/ | The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter. |
| explicitly adverb | In an explicit manner. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| come together verb | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | To assemble; to congregate; to combine. |
| hold up verb | To wait or delay. | |
| print off verb | Synonym of print out. | |
| set down verb | To write. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What will we say to spell moth -er?
- How will we mark this?
- Can you add a silent final e to yours?
- How will we mark it?
- How do you know how to spell words?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've learned · we've learned |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might be · may say |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will either · you'll be · you'll segment |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | is spelling · you're using · is reading |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 39 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll, you're, you'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, moth /mɔθ/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like spell, silent, polar.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.