Dear all,
thank you so much for your answers!
Alas
, Umsusu and Drummer, I am totally unable to speak English properly with the right stress at the right place! I am a hopeless case, I am afraid!
Usually, as soon as I open my mouth, after two or three sentences (if not just one!), people can guess my background.
I don’t mind too much, though I would certainly have preferred to be able to speak English properly.
I have at least the pleasure of finding English a very beautiful music to my ears, as we do not have such pattern of rhythm in French.
My incapability to speak properly English is certainly a reason why my DS has not his ears trained to hear the stressed and unstressed syllables yet as he hear too much of me speaking.
Even his accent is not a proper English one, though he has been living in England since he is one!!!
That do bother me! He doesn’t have the heavy French accent I have though, just an ‘anonymous’/’stateless’accent.
Having said that, I am sure he can slowly develop more or less his ability to hear the stress if he is provided with the right material.
Thanks fatbananas for your idea, it is really a great one!
Belinda, this forum is my little ‘bottle of oxygen’ to which I turn in case of need or to help others. I wouldn’t bother my DS’ English teacher with this type of questions.
She did tell her year 7 class it is very hard to write iambic pentameters and that she doesn’t expect her pupils to manage to write a sonnet following all the rules. Some children might manage to write a few correct lines but I imagine that many won’t be able to do so (of course, my DS is in the latter category. At the moment, he can just think in terms of rhymes and correct number of feet in his lines).
Mystery, so far, my DS just enjoyed listening to sonnet 130 read by Alan Rickman but I would have preferred it with the text and no pictures of the actor. It is beautifully read though!
I have found a nice website with Shakespeare sonnets and some comments/explanation on them. Here is the website:
http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
But they are not read.
At last, this morning, I found more what I am looking for (instead of buying a £22 DVD with Shakespeare sonnets). I can’t understand why it didn’t come up yesterday during my research on you tube:
Look for Shakespeare's Sonnets (1 of 2) on you tube (if it doesn’t come up, the end of the address after the usual beginning is watch?v=l3ElOceQUJ4
The sonnets are read and there are subtitles. (maybe these sonnets could be read even in a slower way and more beautiful one (with more stress?), but it is a good start).
l like the video with David Tennant reading the sonnets but no subtitles are there and again with pictures of the actor.
Now, on a lighter note, my DS had a good laugh with David Tennant
(who does read some sonnets in the DVD susmentioned) when it did a sketch with Catherine Tate for comic relief (sonnet 130 is told there at full speed!). Look for comic relief, David tenant and Catherine Tate. Very funny!
If anyone has any more ideas and suggestion, I am all ears... or all eyes I should say!
Thanks again