Teaching Pronunciation

Teaching pronunciation

Start

2- Prominence

5- Word stress

3- Intonation

6- Connected speech

1-Thought groups

4- Rhythm

Teaching pronunciation

8- Vowels

9- CONCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS

11-CONCLUSION

7- Consonants

10- CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS

it is pronounced...

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WHAT IS INVOLVED IN TEACHING PRONUNCIATION?

Pronunciation

How we teach it?

The sound system of English is broadly divided into two categories: consonant and vowel sounds (known as the segmental features) and more global aspects such as stress, rhythm, and intonation (known as the suprasegmental features, or prosody).Traditionally, the sound system has been described and taught in a building-block fashion:

• sounds syllables --> phrases —> extended discourse

01

Thought groups

Thought groups

Speakers use pauses to divide speech into meaningful chunks, called thought groups (also referred to as tone groups or intonation units). I was speaking to him / on the phone yesterday. I was speaking to / him on the / phone yesterday. Woman / without her man / is nothing Woman / without her / man is nothing Once learners understand the concept and importance of pauses, they can be asked to identify logical breaks in the spoken texts that are used for oral practice. Learning to package our speech in meaningful chunks is an essential part of intelligibility.

02

Prominence

Prominence

Within each thought group, there is generally one element that stands out from the rest, the prominent word or syllable. Other common terms for this element include sentence focus, tonic syllable, and nuclear stress. Speakers use prominence to:

• signal new information: Did you hear that John moved to ChiCAgo?
• highlight contrasting information: I don't think he MOVED to Chicago; I think he's just VISiting there.

• show emphasis: No, he DID move there—he's already bought a HOUSE!

Prominence can shift depending on context:

• What are you doing? I'm READing. (focus on the action)
• Who's reading? I'M reading (focus on the agent)
• Why aren't you reading? I AM reading' (contradict a mistaken assumption)

03

IntonatioN

Intonation

Intonation is rise or fall in pitch, that creates a melodic line. Intonation have several uses e.g. Request for information: When are you LEAVin ? Clarifying a mishearing or misunderstanding; double-checking: WHEN are you leaving? By offering learners continued exposure to authentic speech, we help them to develop an awareness of the contextual meaning of intonational choices. One challenge for L2 speakers is their lack of pitch variation, resulting in flat-sounding intonation

04

Word stress

Word stress

Each multisyllabic word in English exhibits a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, known as word stress. One syllable in the word receives the primary, or strongest, stress; other syllables receive either secondary or very weak stress.

Research has shown that correct word stress is crucial for intelligibility (Field, 2005). In addition, learning vocabulary involves more than knowing the definition, usage, and spelling of a word—learners also need oral repetition practiceto acquire its stress pattern.

05

Rhythm

Rhythm

The rhythm of English is created by the alternation of longer (stressed) syllables and shorter (unstressed) syllables, similar to meter in poetry.

English speech rhythm is usually referred to as stress-timed; that is, stresses or beats occur at semiregular intervals. This contrasts with what are often called syllable-timed languages, such as Spanish and Korean, in which each syllable receives roughly the same timing and length. Learners can practice rhythm patterns while clapping, tapping, or stretching a rubber band on stressed syllables.

06

Connected speech

Sections like this help you create order

Connected speech

In rapid English speech, a variety of modifications can occur, causing the boundaries between words to seem blurred:Syllables can be linked together by a sound:

• an egg (sounds like annegg)

A final consonant may shift to the next syllable:

• She logged off (sounds like log-doff)

Two sounds may blend together, creating a new sound:

• Can't you make it? (sounds like can-chu)

Sounds may disappear:

• I love -her a lot. (sounds like lovher)

Unstressed function words are reduced in multiple ways:

• That must have been fun. (sounds like must-of or musta)

Learners' repeating longer stretches of connected speech at a natural speed will help them improve their rhythm in spoken English as well as their listening comprehension

/d/ /s/ /z/ /l/ /r/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /tʃ/

/p/ /b/ /m/ /w/ /f/ /θ/ /ð/ /t/

/dʒ//r/ /y/ /k/ /g/ /ŋ/ /h/

07

Consonants

Consonants

Consonant sounds are characterized by place of articulation (where the sound is made), manner of articulation (how the sound is made), and voicing (whether the vocal cords are vibrating or not). Because English does not have a strict soundtospelling correspondence, symbols are used to represent sounds, usually a modified version of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

/ə/ /ɪ/ /iː/ /ʊ/ /uː/ /aɪ/ /aʊ/

08

/ʌ/ /aː/ /æ/ /ɒ/ /ɔː/ /ɜː/ /e/

/eə//əʊ/ /eɪ/ /ɪə/ /ʊə/ /ɔɪ/

Vowels

Vowels

Vowels are distinguished by tongue position (front/central/back), tongue and jaw height (high/mid/low), degree of lip rounding/ spreading, and the relative tension of the muscles involved (tense/lax vowels). For English language learners, this information is typically conveyed in a vowel chart that situates the vowels within the oral cavity

Learning to pronounce sounds accurately in isolation is not enough; learners need practice producing sounds in context using authentic materials.

09

CONCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS

Conceptual Underpinnings

Is it true that only children can learn to pronounce an L2 without an accent?

Some studies have shown that the younger learner begins learning an L2, the better one's accent will be. However, this may be due less to biological constraints than differences in the learning situation..

How is pronunciation influenced by a learner's L1?

Having a particular accent reveals the influence of the learners' L1 on their pronunciation in the L2. What is also true is that the L1 also influences perception skills.

How is accent related to identity?

Accent, in our first or second language, is tied to our perception of ourselves. It can indicate our ethnic affiliation or a sense of belonging to a particular reference group. However, Not all learners fear a loss of identity when using their L2, and many do express a desire for native-like pronunciation.

Conceptual Underpinnings

What does it mean to be intelligible?

If the goal of pronunciation instruction is successful communication, then it is essential to understand that being intelligible is not synonymous with being ccent-free. A. Brown (1991b) observes, "a speaker may be more intelligible or less intelligible to a listener, depending on who the particular listener is, rather than on the clarity of the speech itself' (p. 45).

Do all sounds carry an equal load in communication?

Teacher may spent a lot of time explaining the contrast on /d, z/ (as in road versus rose) distinguishes a large number of words and thus carries a high functional load, and may explain why discourage teachers from spending too much time on lowfunctional-load items like the two th sounds in thigh /0/ and thy /0/.

What role does gesture play in pronunciation?

AAs pronunciation teachers, we understand that speakers use vowel length and pitch to indicate stressed or prominent syllables. However, speakers also use hand gestures, head nods, and eyebrow movements to indicate stress.

Conceptual Underpinnings

Which aspects of L2 speech contribute most to a lack of intelligibility?

Specific features shown tocause a lack of intelligibility include:

• misplaced or missing prominence (Hahn, 2004)
• incorrect word stress (Field, 2005)
• insufficient differentiation in syllable duration between stressed and unstressed syllables, thereby creating an unnatural speech rhythm (Setter, 2006)
• lack of clearly articulated consonants, both in final position (Zielinski, 2006) and in stressed syllables (Zielinski, 2008)
• speaking too slowly and/or too fast (0. Kang, 2010; Munro & Derwing, 2001)
• too many pauses and/or pauses that are too long (0. Kang, 2010) too little variation in pitch (0. Kang, 2010)

Conceptual Underpinnings

Does instruction lead to pronunciation improvement?

Pronunciation instruction can be effective helping students to improve their pronunciation, and their ineligibility, some examples are:

• Computer-assisted instruction.
• Listening instruction.
• Contextualized instruction.
• Form-focused instruction.

Pronunciation instruction has been shown to be effective, particularly if it is contextualized, addresses both form and meaning, includes feedback, contains a strong listening Component, and makes effective use of technology.

10

CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS

Classroom Applications

Setting realistic goals

Morley (1999) outlines four important goals for pronunciation instruction: functional intelligibility, functional communicability, increased self-confidence, and speech monitoring abilities. Notice how the following aspects of verbal communication (Dalton & Seidlhofer, 1994) intersect with pronunciation:

• Prominence: how to make salient the important points we make
• Topic management: how to signal and recognize where one topic ends and another begins
• Information status: how to mark what we assume to be shared knowledge as opposed to something new
• Turn-taking: when to speak, and when to be silent, how (not) to yield the floor to somebody else

As learners gain communicative skill, they also need confidence in their ability to speak and be understood. Addressing learners' specific needs is the key to building their confidence. Finally, speech-monitoring activities help to focus learners' attention on their own speech as well as that of others making better use of the input they receive

Classroom Applications

Planning instruction

Pronunciation can and should be integrated not only with speaking instruction but also with listening, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. a general framework for planning pronunciation activities is:

• Description and analysis. Initially, the teacher presents a feature showing when and how it occurs, perhaps with the use of charts or diagrams.

• Listening discrimination. Pronunciation-focused listening activities involve both discrimination and identification. (e.g. minimal pairs)
• Controlled practice. At this stage, the learner's attention should be focused almost completely on form.

• Guided practice. In guided activities, the learner's attention is no longer entirely on form. The learner now begins to focus on meaning, grammar, and communicative intent as well as on pronunciation.

• Communicative practice. In this stage, activities strike a balance between form and meaning.

Classroom Applications

Techniques, tools, and technology

Traditional classroom techniques for teaching pronunciation include imitation ("Repeat after me"), articulatory explanations ("Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth"), minimal pair exercises (ship versus sheep), and reading-aloud activities. Ttechnology continues to enhance pronunciation instruction through access to models, opportunity for practice, and feedback for the learner.

Classroom Applications

Kinesthetic reinforcement

Learners can be made aware of the physical sensation associated with producing a sound Teachers can also employ gestures to represent a specific pronunciation feature and then make use of it later as a silent correction technique:

• Word stress. Hold up the number of fingers corresponding to the number of syllables in a word and point to the finger that corresponds to the stressed syllable.

• Word stress or rhythm. Open your palm for stressed syllables, and close it for unstressed ones.

• Linking. Make a circle with the thumb and forefinger of each hand. Join the circles together like links in a chain.

• Intonation. Hold the hand flat with palm down making a sweeping upward movement for rising pitch and a downward movement for falling.

• Articulatory position. Use one hand cupped, palm down, to represent the roof of the mouth and the other underneath it to show the position of the tongue.

Classroom Applications

Drama and imitation techniques

Drama is an effective tool for pronunciation teaching because various components of communicative competence (discourse intonation, pragmatic awareness, and nonverbal .communication) can be practiced in an integrated way. Imitation techniques include shadowing, where learners speak along with or slightly after a speaker model, and mirroring, in which learners not only repeat the lines but also imitate the body movements, gestures, and facial expressions of the speaker,

Tools for teaching pronunciation

Pronunciation practitioners make use of a variety of objects to enhance student learning. Thera several aids that help both teacher and students when dealing with pronunciation clases:

• Pocket mirrors
• Rubber bands
• Cartoons and comic strips
• Songs
• Games (bingo)

Classroom Applications

Technology

Some Instructional technology, consisting of audio, video, software, and Internet resources, provides valuable support to the pronunciation classroom.

• Audio. Audio-recordings, essential tools in teaching pronunciation, allow learners to: (1) listen to multiple pronunciation models; (2) monitor their own speech; (3) receive individual feedback; and (4) control the pace, amount, and type of practice.
• Video. Video-recordings for teaching pronunciation are available through DVDs, video podcasts, speech analysis displays, and video-sharing websites such as YouTube.
• Pronunciation software. Many pronunciation software programs function much like a traditional language lab.
• Internet. The Internet provides access to sound, video, and sophisticated graphics.

Classroom Applications

Assessing pronunciation

Ongoing feedback. Feedback during instruction gives learners a sense of their progress and indicates where they need to focus their attention for improvement. Awareness raising and self-monitoring. One way to guide learners to self-correct is to point out their errors silently . Gestures. Hand gestures can represent different aspects of pronunciation, Pronunciation correction signs. Signs can be placed around the room, displaying the features that have been taught. Charts. If a vowel chart has been introduced and a large version of it is hanging in the classroom, teachers can use it to guide learners on how to produce sounds. Peer feedback. Learning from someone who is only a little further along than you can be an effective alternative to instructor feedback alone. Teacher feedback. During class, the teacher can use gestures or pronunciation correction signs to provide feedback silently. Classroom achievement tests evaluate learners' progress according to what has been taught, and they are consequently more focused than diagnostic assessment.

11

CONCLUSION

Future Trends

The important trends ideally include an increased focus on teacher preparation, additional research that is useful and accessible to teachers, and software that provides better feedback to users.

Conclusion

Effective pronunciation teaching is measured by wha.t the learners are able to achieve: the ability to understand and be understood in the communicative situations they face, the confidence to enter these communicative situations with ease, and the ability to monitor their speech to make adjustments and improvements based on input from the environment.

Authors and Sources

Castrejón Hernández Khalil

Hernández Castañeda Miguel.

Martínez Maldonado Alfonso Enrique

Celce-Murcia, M. (1991). Teaching English as a Second Or Foreign Language. Addison-Wesley Longman.

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