English Studies – Primary 6 Weekly Short Class Lesson Notes for Second Term
WEEK 1 – SPEECH WORK
AURAL DISCRIMINATION DIPHTHSONGS
MEANING OF DIPHTHSONGS
A diphthong is a sound made by combining two vowel sounds in one syllable. The sound glides from one vowel to another when pronounced.
Example:
boy – /ɔɪ/
house – /aʊ/
Common Diphthong Sounds
Example Words
/aɪ/ – time, kite, fly
/eɪ/ – day, rain, play
/ɔɪ/ – boy, toy, oil
/aʊ/ – house, cow, loud
/əʊ/ – go, road, boat
/ɪə/ – ear, fear, near
/eə/ – air, care, chair
/ʊə/ – pure, tour
AURAL DISCRIMINATION
Aural discrimination means the ability to listen carefully and identify differences in sounds, especially similar-sounding words.
Teacher’s Oral Practice (Listening Exercise)
Teacher pronounces the words clearly. Pupils listen and identify the diphthong sound they hear.
Example
Teacher says:
time → Pupils answer: /aɪ/
boy → Pupils answer: /ɔɪ/
Classroom Activities
Activity 1: Listen and Choose – Teacher reads two words. Pupils choose the word with a diphthong sound.
cat / kite
pen / rain
cow / cup
boy / ball
Answers: kite, rain, cow, boy
Activity 2: Odd One Out (Oral) – Teacher reads the words. Pupils say the odd one out.
play – day – pen
boy – toy – bat
house – cow – sun
Answers: pen, bat, sun
Activity 3: Sound Identification – Teacher reads a word. Pupils mention the diphthong.
fear → /ɪə/
road → /əʊ/
loud → /aʊ/
chair → /eə/
LESSON EVALUATION
SECTION A: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQs)
1. A diphthong is a sound made by
a) one vowel
b) two consonants
c) two vowel sounds in one syllable
d) one consonant
2. Which word contains the diphthong /aɪ/?
a) time
b) cat
c) pen
d) bed
3. The word boy contains the sound
a) /aʊ/
b) /eɪ/
c) /ɔɪ/
d) /əʊ/
4. Which of the following words contains the sound /aʊ/?
a) goat
b) cow
c) ear
d) rain
5. The diphthong in the word day is
a) /aɪ/
b) /ɪə/
c) /ɔɪ/
b) /eɪ/
SECTION B: FILL IN THE GAP QUESTIONS
6. A diphthong is a combination of two ______ sounds.
7. The sound in the word house is ______.
8..The word toy contains the diphthong ______.
9. The diphthong sound in road is ______.
10..Rain has the diphthong sound ______.
SECTION C – SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
11. What is a diphthong?
12. Give one word that contains the sound /aɪ/.
13. Mention one word that has the sound /aʊ/.
14. Write one word that contains the diphthong /ɔɪ/.
15. Why is aural discrimination important?
ANSWER KEY
1. C 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. D 6. vowel 7. /aʊ/ 8. /ɔɪ/ 9. /əʊ/ 10. /eɪ/
11. A diphthong is a sound made by two vowel sounds in one syllable.
12. time (or kite, fly)
13. cow (or house)
14. boy (or toy)
15. It helps pupils listen carefully and pronounce words correctly.