Pronunciation: Vhat do you vant?

Student: "Vhat do you vant?"
Teacher: "Do you mean, "What do you want?"

This student has problems with the consonant sound, /w/ and is using the /v/ sound. Luckily, consonant sounds are easy to correct. What's wrong?


What's the difference in the two sounds?

Let's start with the word, vet. A vet is short for veterinarian or animal doctor. Say vet. Where are your teeth when you start the word? Your top teeth should touch your bottom lip. That's how you make the /v/ sound.

Now, try the word, wet. If you go out in the rain, you will get wet. Say wet.

1. Where are your teeth when you start the word? To make the sound /w/, your teeth are inside your mouth.

2. What is the shape of your mouth? It should be round.

Do you understand how to make the sounds?

For a mental image, think of a rabbit when you pronounce /v/. When you do a /w/, think of blowing a kiss or you just ate a lemon. For a /w/ your lips are round and protruding. Watch the woman's mouth in this short video, V and W.



What languages have problems with the /w/?

Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, European languages such as Czech, German, Polish and Russian, Persian, Thai and Vietnamese.

How do I get better?

If you have this problem you must practise it. Exercise your mouth until it can form the sound correctly. Remember no teeth. Practise word and phrase exercises. When you speak, you will sometimes get it wrong because your 'mouth' will remember wrong. Keep correcting yourself and your mouth will form the correct shape over time.

Practice these words and sentences.

Practise Words.

wig.....wet.....want.....was.....walk......wire.....
awake.....sidewalk.....sandwich.....skyway.....reward.....freeway...........

Now, practice these word pairs.

watch notch..........week seek..........wet vet..........west best..........
wake rake..........west rest.......... wipe ripe..........wing ring..........

Try a sentence.

The women advised the visitor to walk on the sidewalk.

Try another sentence.

The vet wiped the very wet dog with a white cloth.

Final sentence.

We were invited to watch the television war movie.


Return to this post another day and repeat the exercises. In fact, repetition is the key to learning, so practise, practise and practise.




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Wanna be Wednesdays

I want to be environmental. Earth Hour is coming March 28.






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Obama or the Academy Awards

I had to make a decision. Should I blog about Barack Obama or the Academy Awards? Obama just completed his first visit to Canada on Thursday and the Academy Awards aired Sunday evening. Obama won out for two reasons. First, some ESL students are not familiar with the latest American movies though they often know the major movie stars. Secondly, everyone is a little bit curious about this new president who offers hope to the Americans. Besides doesn't he have that American star quality?

Many Canadians like the fact Obama's first official visit was to Canada. It's well understood that United States (USA) is not just Canada's neighbour. While Canada is larger in size than USA, it has a much smaller population and our economy in many ways depends on USA. There is a common saying here. If USA sneezes, Canada gets a cold. So, when Obama came to lunch with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, many people were watching closely.

What did they talk about? Well, there is always the three Es, economy, environment and energy. Harper was interviewed before Obama's arrival on CBC. He also added international affairs. After all, the Middle East is still a mess. Wouldn't it be great to end those wars?

We'll never know what they talked about but there was some talk about trade. There is a lot of movement of goods between the two countries and there's that ongoing crisis with the struggling car companies. It was a pretty tight schedule according to the Toronto Star. For example, the Governor General Michaelle Jean was given 15 minutes to meet Obama at the airport, and the leader of the liberal party got about half an hour.

Obama did manage to squeeze in some quick shopping at Byword Market,Ottawa where he got some maple treats for the girls. Maple syrup products are always popular with the tourists. I kind of like them myself especially the maple candies. The Canadians came out in big numbers to be a part of Obama's first visit to Canada. However, this was not Obama's first visit to Canada. His brother-in-law is a native of Burlington which is a small city west of Toronto.

Well, Obama has come and gone, but it seems he is trying to develop a workable relationship with the Canadian government. Now we have to wait and see what will develop in North America.

Time Prepositions

Your Result -

How well do you know your English prepositions? 1

A quiz on the use of "in," "on," and "at" in relation to time. Fill in the blanks.

1. Flowers bloom ___ May.

in

on

at

2. The game is ___ Wedenesday.

in

on

at

3. Snow fall in this city is quite heavy ___ winter.

in

on

at

4. William Shakespeare was born ___ the 16th century.

in

on

at

5. The meeting will start ___ 9:30.

in

on

at

6. Woodstock rocked the world ___ 1969.

in

on

at

7. My birthday is ___ June 14.

in

on

at

8. Disco was big ___ the '70s.

in

on

at

9. The packaged arrived ___ 7:00 PM last night.

in

on

at

10. We always have our family vacation ___ summer.

in

on

at

How did you do? Here are the basic time preposition rules.



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Places Along Lake Ontario

Ready for a walk? Sure you are if your dressed like this.



Maybe, a bit early for the beach? You will still need your sunglasses.


East of Toronto, there are many little towns and a few small cities along Lake Ontario. They were originally started when ports were important. The first mode of transportation was ships, and then the national railroad and the highway followed. Depending on the success of the commerce in the area, some towns have grown a lot and are full of modern subdivisions. In some of the smaller towns, less has changed and older houses surrounded by native trees create a charming view for both residents and visitors.

There is always an older area in most towns where people first started to settle usually with a church to complete the town setting. Canada has rural beginnings and many towns are still surrounded by farms that are many generations old. Unfortunately, most of the farms are gone that were in the Toronto area. The city has pushed the farming out and some of our homes and buildings sit on very fertile soil.

The homes close to the lake sit on sandy soil. Some of the homes closest to Lake Ontario started as cottages. An area in Toronto, the Beaches, started as an area for summer homes. People vacationed in this area and other areas along Lake Ontario. Middle class families enjoyed summer weeks and weekends near the sandy beach. Now people visit the parks in all the seasons.

The winter pictures were taken near Picton. Here's a map of Lake Ontario. How long do you think it takes to get from Toronto to Picton? About 2 1/2 hours.

For more history about the Beaches, check out these short stories



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A Love Story

Everyone enjoys a love story. Right? Do you know what Canadians think about sharing, caring or giving on Valentine's Day? The Retail Council of Canada and Pollara did a poll (or survey) just before Valentine's Day in 2007. Try this quiz based on the poll.

1. _____ of Canadians planned to show their spouses or partners they care on February 14.
a) 64%
b) 81%
c) 52%

2. The people from ______________ were more likely to give gifts to others.
a) Quebec
b) British Columbia
c) Prairie provinces and Ontario

3. The favourite gift was
a) cards
b) candy and chocolates
c) flowers

4. Canadians between the age of _______ planned to spend the most on gifts.
a) 18 to 24
b) 55 to 64
c) 35 to 44

5. _______ planned to go to a restaurant for a meal.
a) 27 %
b) 54 %
c) 34 %

The answers are at the end of this page.



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Answers: 1 a , 2 c, 3 a, 4 b, 5 a
These facts are based on the retail council news report from February 9, 2007.

Family Day

In the fall of 2007, Dalton McGuinty was re-elected as premier of Ontario. Soon after, McGuinty created Family Day. The third Monday in February became a new statutory holiday. Now the people of Ontario have 9 public holidays. It was announced October, 2007.

Family Day was created to support family values by giving busy working parents a day off to spend with their children. February 18, 2007 was our first Family Day. For everyone, it has become a much needed break between the Christmas/New Year holidays and the spring Easter holiday.

According to Wikipedia, only four provinces have family day. They are Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan. It is not an official Canadian holiday. Therefore, some Ontario employers do not have this holiday. If you work for the federal government, you do not have next Monday off.

Last year was the first Family Day. Many families in Toronto took advantage of the extra day off. Some went away for the weekend. I remember hearing a record number of skiers hit the slopes north of Toronto. There were lots to do in the city and I'm sure some just relaxed.

For ideas on what families can do on Family Day, check out the Toronto Star article, Things to do on Family Day. The author, Paola Lorriiggio, also has some good suggestions for things to do with no kids.

Have a good weekend! We have Valentine's Day on February 14th. Saturday this year and Family Day on February 16. Enjoy. I've already bought some sweets for the weekend. I just hope the rain stops and we see some sun soon.

I plan to be busy this weekend, but check out my Valentine post. It's coming soon.



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Valentine's Sweets on the Danforth.


Valentine's Day is coming. The weather is warming and I was actually able to get out and take pictures for about an hour before my fingers started to get cold. When I was snapping pictures, I could only wear a pair of thin leather gloves.

The candy store, Suckers, is from the Danforth which starts about Jones Avenue and goes to Broadview Avenue or from Donlands Subway to Broadview Subway. Do you see the people and snowy street behind the store sign?

The Danforth is known for its many Greek restaurants. In the summer, there is Taste of the Danforth. It's Toronto's Greek festival with live music, cultural dances and lots of places to try some food. Thousands of people walk the street. The cars are not allowed for the weekend.

There were many stores decorated for Valentine's Day. Take a look at the Danforth with this little slideshow.



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Groundhog Mound by Occozzaglia@Flickr



This photo was taken one year ago on February 2, 2008 in Toronto. It is called Groundhog Mound because February 2 is Groundhog Day in Canada and United States.

Groundhog Day is an annual holiday when a small animal, the groundhog, peaks out of its winter burrow. If it doesn't like the weather, it will return to its burrow for six more weeks.

Every year in Ontario, there is a morning celebration in the town, Wiarton. People gather to watch the groundhog, Willie. They want to see Willie emerge from his burrow. It is important whether the groundhog sees its shadow. Why?

1. If the weather is cloudy, the groundhog will not see its shadow. No shadow means winter will soon end and spring weather will soon arrive.

2. However, if the weather is sunny, the groundhog will see its shadow and return to its burrow because it knows winter is not over. A shadow means a long winter and spring will not arrive for another six weeks.

Can you guess what happened in the town, Wiarton today? Well, was it sunny today? Yes? Willie, the groundhog saw its shadow.

I agree with Willie. I think we are going to have a long winter and the snow will not melt yet. I hope you were able to get outside on Sunday. It was the last day of January, but it was a bright day above zero Celsius. I enjoyed a trip to the park with my dog, Lucy. There were other neighbours at the park and we all wished this was the start of warmer weather. Canadians know better! Get ready for the temperatures to dip or go down again.

Would you like to see a picture of a groundhog? Take a look at the groundhog on page two.


About the Photograph

The photo was taken in a downtown neighbourhood called the Annex. Go to the photographer's site to see The Annex, Toronto (pool of pictures).



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