CELTA Pronunciation Teaching & Phonology

Question 1

What is a phoneme in English linguistics?

Accepted Answer

The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning

Answer

A written symbol representing a sound

Answer

A unit of grammar that changes verb tense

Answer

A category of vowel sounds only

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of a minimal pair?

Accepted Answer

'ship' and 'sheep'

Answer

'cat' and 'dog'

Answer

'run' and 'running'

Answer

'book' and 'library'

Question 3

What does the schwa /ə/ represent in English pronunciation?

Accepted Answer

The most common vowel sound, found in unstressed syllables

Answer

A stressed long vowel sound

Answer

A diphthong unique to British English

Answer

A consonant cluster in rapid speech

Question 4

In English, which syllable typically receives primary stress in the word 'photograph'?

Accepted Answer

pho- (first syllable)

Answer

-to- (second syllable)

Answer

-graph (third syllable)

Answer

All syllables are equally stressed

Question 5

What is the International Phonemic Alphabet (IPA) primarily used for in ELT?

Accepted Answer

Representing pronunciation of words in a consistent, language-independent system

Answer

Grading students' written grammar

Answer

Classifying sentence structures

Answer

Tracking reading fluency scores

Question 6

Which of the following best describes 'connected speech'?

Accepted Answer

The natural flow of speech where sounds link and change across word boundaries

Answer

Speaking slowly and clearly with pauses between each word

Answer

Using only high-frequency vocabulary

Answer

A technique for teaching reading aloud

Question 7

What is a weak form in English pronunciation?

Accepted Answer

The reduced, unstressed pronunciation of function words in natural speech

Answer

A mispronounced word that learners produce

Answer

A grammatically incorrect sentence structure

Answer

A low-frequency vocabulary item