The neutral vowel sound /ә / (schwa) as in “banana”.

• Read the instruction to learn how to make the neutral sound /ә /.

In pronouncing the English / ә / the position of the tongue and lips resembles that of / 3: /, but the tongue is lower. The lips are neutral.

• Listen to the target sound and the words and repeat. Look at the mouth diagrams to help you position your lips, tongue and jaw for the target sound. Transcribe the words.

/ә ә ә /

Spelling variations for the /ә /sound.	Highlighted bold letters are pronounced as /ә /.
The first syllable unstressed The second syllable unstressed	away, agree, abuse, aboard, against, advice, attain, advance, canal, correct, police, support doctor, under, figure, colour, absent, constant, standard, oral, forward, upward, awkward

• Read the words with the sound /ә /.Transcribe them.

Weak A: away banana woman sugar about aroma collar

Weak E: garden paper under bigger worker agent patent

Weak O: police doctor correct today kingdom seldom ivory

Weak U: support figure August chorus ketchup treasure

Other: “re” litre metre theatre fibre; “ou” colour labour neighbour

• Listen to the following phrases and repeat. Pay attention to the pronunciation of letter “a” in different weak positions. Mind that schwa is the most used sound in English. Very often, unstressed syllables and words in a sentence are pronounced with a schwa.

and	a	an
Fish and chips Salt and pepper Pork and beans Ladies and gentlemen	Get a spoon Cut a piece Here’s a plate Lend a hand	Have an apple A question and an answer An aunt and an uncle Listen to an announcement

• Listen and repeat. Pay attention to the way the vowels, written in bold, are pronounced in stressed and unstressed positions.

Stressed position	Unstressed position, pronounced with /ә /.
What are you looking at? /æ/ What is it made of? / ס / Where do you come from? / ס / Who is it for? / o: / Wouldn’t you agree? / υ / Weren’t you there? /3:/ Wasn’t he there? / ס /	Look at him. It’s made of cotton. I come from Paris. It’s for you. I would say yes. We were absent. Yes, he was sitting next to me.

• Listen to the sentences and repeat. Read each sentence aloud slowly at first, then as if you were telling it to someone in a natural way.

1. What are you doing in London? We are looking for a hairdresser.

2. Is it made of glass? No, it’s made of plastic.

3. What can I do? What has she done? What have you done?

4. She had done it before she came here.

5. Amanda, phone call for you!

6. The conductor of the orchestra was amazed to see the viola player drink a scotch and soda.

7. Tell my sister Amanda to buy some better bananas as well as potatoes and tomatoes.

• Read the following sentences. Mind the right articulation of the sounds / ә /.

1. I ate an apple and a banana in a cinema in Canada.

2. Papa bought me a balloon at the circus.

3. Anna has another parasol.

4. She gave me some chocolate when I went away.

5. The pilot jumped from the balloon in a parachute.

6. A buffalo, a zebra and a gorilla escaped from the circus.

7. The famous attorney submitted an appeal.

8. He fell asleep on the sofa.

• Listen and copy the intonation and voice modulation on the CD.

My jealousy I can’t express,

Their love they openly confess;

Her shell-like ears she does not close

To their recital of their woes.

• Listen to the story several times, repeat phrase by phrase, and then read it aloud. The spelling has been changed to show you when to make the sound / ә /.

ә Dream Vәcation

Mәriә spent Satәrday aftәnoon looking әt ә beautiful book әbout South әmericә.

“I’d love tә go tә South әmericә,” she said tә hәself.

Thә next morning, Mәriә woke up әt six ә’clock. Hә brothә and sistә wә still әsleep. Mәriә looked әt thәm, and closed hәr eyes әgain.

Then she quiәtly got out әf bed әnd began tә pack hә suitcase.

She packed sәme comfәtәble clothes, ә pair әf binoculәs әnd hә sistә’s camәrә. She remembәd tә take hә hat fә thә sun. She also decided tә pack ә photәgraph әf hәself әnd ә pictә әf hә mothәr and fathә.

“I’d bettә not fәget tә have sәme breakfәst,” she said tә hәself. Bәt then she looked әt thә clock. It wәs ә quartә tә seven.

“I don’t wannә be late.” she said.

“I’ll jәst have ә glass әf watә now,” “ә glass әf watә,” she said softly, “watә,” she said әnd opened hәr eyes.

She wәs still in hә bed, әnd hә brothә әnd sistә wә laughing әt hә.

“Tell әs what you wә dreaming әbout,” they said tә hә.

Bәt Mәriә didn’t answә. She wәs thinking әbout hә wondәful trip tә South әmericә.

• Listen to the dialogues. Intone them. Learn and reproduce, paying attention to the pronunciation of the sound / ә /, intonation and tempo.

Dialogue 3

- I’m a Conservative, as a matter of fact.

- As a matter of fact, I’m a Conservative, too.

- There’re various varieties of Conservative, Mr Taylor. And I’m afraid my sort of Conservative and your sort are different.

- Yes, Mrs Carruthers, but…

- Not another word, Mr Taylor!

Dialogue 4

- Where were you at the time of the burglary?

- I was at the cinema, Officer. And my mother and father were at the cinema, too.

- Was your brother at the cinema, too?

- At the cinema, Officer… Yes.

- And your sister?

- Er… She wasn’t at the cinema. As a matter of fact I don’t have a sister.

- I see.

- But of course if I had one, Officer…

- Don’t tell me.

- Now which cinema was this?

Dialogue 5

- Where can I lock up my clock while I’m away?

- Why not lock it in your locker?

- I’m afraid my locker won’t lock.

- Oh.

- Can I lock it in your locker?

- No, I’m afraid you can’t.

- But surely you’ve got room for a small clock.

- Yes, plenty. But my locker won’t unlock.

- I see.

- That’s why I’ve been borrowing your clock.

• Listen to the words with sounds /ә /and /3:/ in contrast and repeat. Look at the mouth diagrams to help you position your lips.

/ә /	/3:/
slogan forward awkward standard upward backward	girl word third earn word work

• Listen to the word combinations with sounds /ә /and / ı / in contrast and repeat. Remember, that letter “e” in the article “the” is pronounced as / ı / and /ә /.

Letter “e” is pronounced as / ı / in “pit” when the next word begins with a vowel.	Letter “e” is pronounced as a schwa /ә / in “banana” when the next word begins with a consonant.
the instrument the only the Upper House the odd the enquiry the oak the elision the illness	the skill the pill the ship the pitch the kitchen the coffin the gymnast the kin

• Listen to the words with sounds /ә /, /e/ and /æ/ in contrast and repeat. Look at the mouth diagrams to help you position your lips.

/ә /	/e/	/æ/
moraine Beluga banana solution lament towards	mess bend bred set led together	mass band brand sat land gather

• Listen to the dialogues. Intone them. Learn and reproduce, paying attention to the pronunciation of the sounds / 3: / and / ۸ /, intonation and tempo.

Dialogue 6

- Something’s burning.

- Oh, my buns!

- Curse this… oven! Curse it!

- But I prefer burnt buns.

- It’s the worst… oven in the world!

- Wonderful! A perfect bun! Perfect!

- Well, there are thirty of them. Have another.

- Mm! Lovely!

Dialogue 7

- I work for your brother's company.

- Come and work for my company. How much money do you earn?

- Five hundred a month.

- You’re worth another thirty.

- I’m worth another hundred. But I mustn’t leave your brother.

- We’ll discuss it on Thursday.

- We have discussed it.

- Six hundred?

- Six hundred and thirty.1975

3. Learn the following graphical rules:

Vowel / ә / is represented in spelling by:

7. The letter “a” in prefixes (about)

8. In suffixes “er, or, ar, our, ous” (teacher, doctor, cellar, neighbour, famous)

9. “a, o, u” when non-accented (sofa, atom, column)