i‑Learner Education Centre

Teacher Diaries

Teacher Diaries: Ms. Jaye – Love Speaking

When I was young, despite the fact that I was a good speller, I actually didn’t know how to pronounce most of the words that I could spell! Consequently, I used not to be a good speaker since I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth!

I didn’t understand how useful Phonics was until I first learnt it at university, as required by my major. Compared to the old days, many schools are teaching Phonics now. How lucky the students are nowadays!

However, as English doesn’t have a perfect letter-sound correspondence, there are some words that even using Phonics one cannot figure out their exact pronunciations. Let’s have a quiz to see if you can find out these tricky words in disguise!

  1. The ‘p’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. psychologist
    2. photosynthesis
  2. The ‘t’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. soften
    2. brighten
  3. The ‘h’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. hereditary
    2. heir
  4. The ‘l’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. folk
    2. fold
  5. The ‘d’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. handsome
    2. hedge
  6. The ‘k’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. knead
    2. kale
  7. The ‘w’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. western
    2. wrestle
  8. The ‘b’ in which word is silent and not pronounced?
    1. childbirth
    2. debt

Check the dictionary if you don’t know the answer!!!