Listening to connected speech

Aims
• to learn about the pronunciation of connected speech and how this can make listening
more difficult for learners
• to learn about techniques for helping learners to understand connected speech

Materials required
None

Appropriate for
Experienced teachers

Learners often find it difficult to recognise words and expressions when listening. One reason
for this is that words often change their pronunciation in fast, natural connected speech. Here
are some examples:

Problem Examples
1. Many grammar words have two possible • I’m a teacher. a = /ǝ/
pronunciations: ‘strong’ and ‘weak’. The
• Are you ready? are = /ǝ/, you = /jǝ/
weak forms are much more common in
• a cup of tea a = /ǝ/, of = /ǝv/ or /ǝ/
everyday speech and they usually use a /ǝ/

sound (like the first sound in about) which

As you can see from these examples, a, you
can be difficult to hear.
and of can all be pronounced in the same

2. Speakers often join words together to
make new syllables. This often happens
when one word ends in a consonant and
the next words starts with a vowel. This is
called linking.
3. Speakers sometimes add sounds
between words to make them easier to say. •
This often happens when one word ends in
a vowel and the next word starts with a
vowel. This is called intrusion.
4. Speakers sometimes leave out sounds,
in particular /t/ and /d/, when they’re
between two other consonants. This is
called elision.
5. Speakers sometimes change sounds at
the ends of words to make it easier to
move from one word to the next. This is
called assimilation.
way, /ǝ/.
• went in /wen.tɪn/ sounds like when tin.
• make up /meɪ.kʌp/ sounds like may
cup.
• baked apple /beɪk.dæpl/ sounds like
bake dapple.
• the_/j/_opera
area_/r/_office
• no_/w/_idea
• looked nice is pronounced without the
/t/ at the end of looked (so it sounds
the same as look).
• can’t see is pronounced without the /t/
at the end of can’t.
• oldest friend is pronounced without the
/t/ at the end of oldest.
As you can see from these examples, elision
can make it difficult to hear past simple
forms, negatives and superlatives.
• In red pepper, red sounds like reb.
• In white bread, white sounds like whipe.
• In brown paper, brown sounds like
browm.
Task
Design a short listening task to help your learners understand connected speech and try it out
in class. Here are two ideas.

1. Gap-fill (for focus on weak forms)

• Find an extract from a listening text in your course book which includes a number of weak
forms. Give learners a copy of the extract with gaps in place of the weak forms.
• Play the extract. Learners listen and try to fill in the gaps.
• Go through the answers as a class. Write the whole extract on the board or give learners a
copy of the extract with the gaps filled in.
• Play the extract again. Point out how the words in the gaps are pronounced with weak

forms. For example, when we say of, we don’t say /ov/ , we say /ǝv/ or /ǝ/.

• If you want, you can ask learners to practise reading the extract aloud with weak forms –
but remember, the most important thing is for learners to be aware of weak forms so that
they can hear them more easily when listening in future.

2. Dictation (for focus on weak forms, linking, intrusion, elision or assimilation)

• Choose one of the five areas of connected speech above which you would like to work on
with your learners.
• Make up five or six simple sentences which include your chosen area. For example, for
assimilation, you could have: We need to buy some red (reb) pepper.
• Play a recording of the sentences or read them aloud. Make sure you read them quickly and
naturally, including the connected speech. Ask your learners to write down the sentences
they hear.
• Go through the sentences as a class, writing them on the board.
• Play or read aloud the sentences again. Point out the features of connected speech. For
example, we don’t say red pepper, we say reb pepper.
• If you want, you can ask learners to practise saying the sentences with connected speech –
but remember, the most important thing is for learners to be aware of connected speech so
that they can identify words and expressions more easily when listening in future.

Further reading
Brown, G., (1990), Listening to Spoken English (second edition), Pearson Education – chapter 4.
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D.M., Goodwin, J.M., (2010) Teaching Pronunciation, Cambridge
University Press – chapters 5, 7.
Dalton, C., Seidlhofer, B., (1994) Pronunciation, Oxford University Press, chapters 3, 9.
Field, J., (2008) Listening in the Language Classroom, Cambridge University Press – chapters 9,
10.