Word Stress
I am trying to help someone who is learning Spanish and is having a lot of trouble stressing the correct syllable in each word, especially with 2-syllable words with the first syllable stressed (most present-tense conjugation in Spanish).
In trying to help her, it has become clear that she has the same trouble distinguishing, both in speaking and listening, between different types of word stresses in English as well. It is not a problem in English because she is a native speaker and just knows how to pronounce the words.
She recognizes that there is a difference between SUSpect (noun) and susPECT (verb), but she cannot consisntently discern which word has the first syllable stressed and which one has the last syllable stressed.
In Spanish, she cannot, for instance, consistently hear and reproduce the difference between the present tense first person HABlo and the past tense third person habLO.
So asking her to stress the first syllable when conjugating a verb doesn't really mean anything to her. She seems to understand the theory but is unable to recognize/reproduce consistently.
Any ideas?
Thanks
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