Monologue: Wの発音練習
日本人が苦手な発音と言えば、l, r, th, f, v などがすぐに浮かぶと思います。
あまり知られていないのが、日本人にとってｗが結構発音しにくいという事。
過去・既存の生徒さんにもｗが上手くできなくて通じなかった経験をお持ちの方が多々いらっしゃいます。
心当たりがある方は、是非以下を使って練習してください。wの音（スペリングではない）が入っている単語を太字にしました。
When I went to Westminster Abbey on Thursday, the weather was so nice that I decided to stroll down to Buckingham Palace. As I walked into St James’s Park, I saw a lady selling waffles. They looked mouth-watering and I couldn’t resist having one. I ordered one with whipped cream and chocolate. It was so good.
I kept walking towards the Palace, eating my waffle. Then the weather suddenly changed. It started pouring and I got soaking wet. Luckily, my bag was waterproofed but my waffle was totally ruined. I really wished I had taken an umbrella with me.
By the time I got to the Palace, though, it’d cleared up. Typical English weather, I would say. I took a few photos just for the sake of it. I could tell the Queen wasn’t there as the Union Jack was flying above the Palace instead of the Royal Standard.
I nipped into Waitrose on the way home and got some red wine. I like having a glass or two on a lazy summer evening. And I love having cheese with my wine, so I got some Stilton as well.
As I was walking to the tube station, I saw WH Smith and that reminded me I needed to get a notebook for work. I went in and looked for notebooks. It was one of those bigger branches and they had all sorts of notebooks – different sizes and colours and everything. I only needed a small one… but which colour? ‘A light green’, I thought. But they didn’t have the type of green I like, so I settled for a violet one.
At the till point, the cashier asked me if I wanted a chocolate bar for 99p which was usually £1.50. They always seem to have offers like this and poor shop assistants have to mention it to every customer. ‘No, thank you. I don’t eat chocolate.’ I said to the lady at the till, and ‘liar!’ to myself. I could’ve said something more convincing, couldn’t I? I don’t think she was listening to me, though.
Just as I went through the ticket barrier at the station, I heard an announcement. A severe delay on the Piccadilly Line. Great. ‘I might as well walk home’, I said to myself. ‘It’s only two stations away’.
It was 6:30, but you know what the summer’s like here. The sun was still high in the sky and the weather was nice and sunny. It took me just under 40 minutes to get home.
When I got closer to my door, I saw Will and Wendy, my neighbours, having an argument with a traffic warden. Apparently, their friend parked his station wagon just for a few minutes but it was enough for him to get a ticket. Once a traffic warden writes a ticket in London, you can’t do much about it!
I said goodbye to them and went inside, feeling a bit tired. Then had a quick shower, poured my wine and watched telly. So, that was my day off last week. Exciting, eh?