III.       Classroom applications

 

Sample materials and discussion:   /iy/ and /I/ again

            English has two high front vowels /iy/ and /I/,  while many languages have only one high front vowel.    As a result, when speakers of these languages learn English,  they must learn to distinguish two vowels where their first language has only one.

=== === ===

Work sheet:

                           milk            wine            coffee            tea

The butler brought a glass of milk, a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, and a cup of tea.

            What was each person served?

Teaching notes:  Using the Kits/Keats grid.   Once the grid has been given out,  read it together.  Make sure that the students know what a butler is.   Now, divide the students up into groups of three and then play the tape script of the story through once.  The first time the tape is played,  some of the students will figure out what the task is and will tell the others.    Play the tape as often as the students request you to.   

            The students have to hear the distinction to get information from the tape and they have to produce the distinction in order to discuss what they hear with others in their group.

Adaptation note:   The solution to this puzzle is not, of course, obvious.   For younger or for less capable students,  a simpler task involving the same four characters can be used.  For example,  the grid could simply list the four names at the top of the columns, and the students would have to listen to a straightforward script to find out who was wearing sandals, who had a red dress, and so on.  

Tape script for "Mr. and Mrs. Keats"

            On Thursday night, Mr. and Mrs. Kits had dinner at Mr. and Mrs. Keats' Berkeley Hills mansion.  After they were seated, the butler checked to see what each person wanted to drink.  One of the men said, "I only drink milk."   One of the women asked the other,  "Do you take cream in your coffee?"  Mrs. Keats said,  "Bob and I don't drink wine anymore."  One of the Kits said,  "I'd like a glass of milk, please."  The butler brought a glass of milk, a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, and a cup of tea.

            What did each person order?

[adapted: Carol Heard,  CATESOL Newsletter,  August 1981, page 11]