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I came across this poem when I was looking for some material I needed for my classes.
For most of you, who speak English, this could be just a poem, for me it was nothing but a nightmare!!
I’ve tried hard to remember the wicked teacher who had us repeating this poem once and again, but I wasn’t lucky. Who was she?
Now, since I don’t want to be forgotten, I decided to make some adjustments in my following class planning, and instead of teaching some grammar I’ll be teaching pronunciation he he he. (This is a very evil laughing) …..
Oh! I have an idea!!! I’ll dictate it, and then I can assess spelling, too!
Planning is so good sometimes!!
Come on people; don’t think “that” about me, I’m just trying to do the best for my students! Wouldn’t you do the same thing for them?
The Poem (repeat after me LOL)
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead --
For goodness sake don't call it 'deed'!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear;
And then there's dose and rose and lose --
Just look them up -- and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart --
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I'd mastered it when I was five!
Anonymous
For most of you, who speak English, this could be just a poem, for me it was nothing but a nightmare!!
I’ve tried hard to remember the wicked teacher who had us repeating this poem once and again, but I wasn’t lucky. Who was she?
Now, since I don’t want to be forgotten, I decided to make some adjustments in my following class planning, and instead of teaching some grammar I’ll be teaching pronunciation he he he. (This is a very evil laughing) …..
Oh! I have an idea!!! I’ll dictate it, and then I can assess spelling, too!
Planning is so good sometimes!!
Come on people; don’t think “that” about me, I’m just trying to do the best for my students! Wouldn’t you do the same thing for them?
The Poem (repeat after me LOL)
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead --
For goodness sake don't call it 'deed'!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear;
And then there's dose and rose and lose --
Just look them up -- and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart --
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I'd mastered it when I was five!
Anonymous
7 thought(s):
English is very difficult isn't it? My 9 year old that I homeschool gets confused with words that sound the same but are spelled differently. I wonder why the English language was made to be so difficult?
Yes, my dear fiend, it's really hard to understand. I was born form a Spanish speaking family but my first schooling was made in English. I now live in a Spanish speaking environment and I see the difficulties people around me have to learn how to pronounce some english words... like making steak sound like freak and things like that... it must be hard to teach English; I hope you're able to deal with such a challenge. Besos,
V.
Ha-Ha! Poor thing you!
And yet how clever you are, Analia!
hugs
my tongue has a knot now!
Thanks for voting ANi!
lol Analia I love the poem, it must be soo difficult teaching this language and we enlish speakers are so lazy when it comes to learning other languages, I found I had to concentrate whilst reading this poem and got quite tongue tied myself, but then I speak scottish so Im bi-lingual after all...lol
Hugs to you x
Funny, Auds!
How lucky indeed we mother-tonguists are! It reminds me of myself driving my slaves through 1000 classes, giving them hell. The favourites were always the 'ough' collection. Actually, I wasn't that hard on them. I was always looking to devise clever tricks to simplify things for them.
Good fun though, innit?
Love,
Profesor SXXXXXXXX
the english...she's so confusing! :P.
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