Intonation

Sounds

Content of teaching pronunciation

Pronunciation problems

The importance of correct pronunciation

Lecture 6 Teaching pronunciation

Objectives: SWBAT describe pronunciation problems; explain how to teach pronunciation using tasks and exercises for developing pronunciation habits

Plan

1. The importance of teaching correct pronunciation
2. Pronunciation problems
3. Content of teaching pronunciation
4. Main steps in teaching pronunciation
5. Tasks and exercises for developing pronunciation habits
6. Correction of pronunciation mistakes.

Work on pronunciation is important for two main reasons: to help the students understand the spoken English they hear, and to help them make their own speech more comprehensible and meaningful to others. Whenever possible pronunciation work should be integrated into the lessons and held throughout the whole period of language teaching and learning. In our schools students study English literary pronunciation which constitutes received (общепринятый) pronunciation. This is the language of radio, TV, theatres, Universities, schools. Literary pronunciation is characterized by: clear stress in all the rhythmic groups, clear pronunciation of the sounds, typical abbreviations in auxiliary words (can’t, doesn’t).

The teacher faces the following problems in teaching pronunciation to the students:

• discrimination - the students must be taught to hear differences between phonemes which are not distinguished or used in their native language, between falling and rising tones.
• articulation- students must be taught to learn to make proper lip and tongue movements to produce English sounds. Very often the students’ first language interferes with articulation. For example, p is aspirated in English, but not in Russian.
• intonation - students should be taught to make right stresses, pauses and use appropriate patterns.
• integration- students should learn to connect the sounds, for example in the, months
• automacity- students should learnto produce correct sounds without thinking.

The content of teachingpronunciation includes: teaching sounds, stress, intonation.

There are 44 English phonemes. Sounds differ depending on how they are formed in the mouth, throat and nose and whether they are “voiced” or “voiceless”. All vowels are voiced; some consonants are voiced and some are voiceless. The most common sound in English is / /- the “schwa” or “weak” sound. There are short and long vowels, diphthongs.

In spoken sentences or utterances some sounds change as words are said at normal speed and linked together to make connected speech:

• the “weak” forms of words are used: was becomes / w z/, not /w z/; of becomes / v/, not/ v/.
• some sounds are often not pronounced, for example the or in comfortable, the d in handkerchief; the t at the end of first in first thing. This is known as elision.
• when the missing letters are replaced by apostrophes they are known as contractions: for example, I’m, could’ve.
• in order to make linking of words easier sometimes another sound is inserted. For example, a banana / / and two / / apples and three / / oranges. These are called intrusive sounds.
• sometimes when words are linked one sound is changed into another sound. For example, Great Britain sounds like Grapebritain. This process is known as assimilation.

Stress

In words of two or more syllables, one syllable is stressed more than other(s). This is the primary stress. In utterances the stress is usually on the “content” words or those tha carry information(nouns and main verbs). For example, Throw the ball to Ben. However, sometimesthe speaker can choose to stress “non-content” words as in the utterance: Throw it to him, not at him.

Intonation is a pattern of rise and fall in the level(pitch) of the voice, which often adds meaning to what is being said. Rising tone is used in asking yes/no questions, expressing surprise, disbelief, etc. Falling tone is used in normal statements, commands and “wh” questions. Thee are two main techniques of showing intonation in class: by drawing arrows on the board, by arm and hand movement.