Think about what “Phonology”

studies?
 Segmentals Supra- Segmentals

Vowel phonemes Word stress

Consonant Prominence
phonemes

Rhythm

Connected speech

Intonation
What practical ideas can I use to
get started?
 Pronunciation Ideas
(not requiring technical background)

• Model new words in context

• Modeling intonation
• Recognize the feeling
• Use dialogues
• Chants
• Shadow reading
• Voice settings
 Which Pronunciation?
What country?
US, UK, Australia, Canada,
South Africa…

Standard or Non-standard?
Received Pronunciation (RP)
General American English (GA)

What style?
Casual, Academic?
What are realistic pronunciation
goals we should aim at?
Think about what is posible in your context

Native or • English as an International

Native-like language (EIL)
(traditional) • Intelligibility (current)
 Starting points for Pronunciation
• It may be very hard to teach an accent that is not
one you can naturally use yourself
• Students need to learn pronunciation that will allow
them to be understood in the contexts where they
are most likely to need to use the language
• It is often appropriate and honest to:
(a) teach the pronunciation you speak yourself
(b) draw attention to local variations you are aware of
(c) highlight differences in accent that appear in course
material
What do I need to know?
 Some important concepts about sounds
• Phonetic symbols are used to represent sounds as conventional
letters are not enough to represent sounds.
E.g: Caught How many letters are there?
How many sounds are represented in symbols?

• Phonemes are the sounds in a language that distinguish meaning. If

mispronounced, they can change meaning.
E.g: How can the (sum/sun) be so large?

• Phonemes are divided into two major groups: Vowel phonemes and
consonant phonemes. These may vary from language to language.
• Variations in pronunciation of phonemes are called “allophones.”
Allophones do not affect meaning.
How can I help learners with
phonemes (segmentals)?
 Phonemes in English
Standard British Standard American
(Received Pronunciation) (General American)

Are the phonemes in your language the same or

different?
 About phonemic symbols…
• For teaching purposes, phonemic charts
help to organize sounds in a concrete
visual manner.
• Becoming familiar with sound
transcriptions is an important step
towards autonomous learning (E.g: looking
up pronunciation in dictionaries).
• The use of phonemic symbols will be
useful for learners as long as they know
which sounds they refer to.
 The Speech Organs (articulators)
• Charts showing speech
organs are an Palate Nasal cavity

important tool for

learners to become Alveolar
ridge

better aware of sound Velum

articulation. Lips

• However, it is wise to Vocal cords

remember that these

charts do not
necessarily translate Teeth Tongue

into automatic “good

pronunciation”.
Pronunciation Grames to Familiarize Ss
with Phonemic Symbols

Category words

Phoneme Anagrams
Bingo
 General Ideas for working with
Phonemes
• Integrate phonemic work into all your teaching of grammar and lexis
• You can encourage your Ss to make a record of the phonemic transcription
as well as the spelling of new items
• Observation of mechanics: let students watch how you produce sounds
• Ear-training: get Ss to distinguish sounds in words
• Tongue twisters: to work on particular sounds or to contrast them
• Transliteration: get Ss to write out word(s) or sentence in phonemic script
• Train learners in using a dictionary to find pronunciation as well as spelling
• Keep a phonemic chart on the wall of your classroom
• Tap out words on the chart and ask Ss to say the words
• Use the chart for pointing out correct sounds when students pronounce
something wrong
• Try a phonemic crossword
 Phonemic Crossword

Across Down
1. Past of 1 Down 1. “_____your time!”
3. Some teachers do this too much! 2. No movement; still.
5. Soldiers work for this organization 3. A clock makes this noise.
6. Past of 7 Across 4. You use this to make your hair tidy.
7. ‘______ here!
How can I help learners with word
stress, prominence, rhythm,
intonation (supra-segmentals)?
 Word Stress
• Word stress is basically the emphasized syllable in a word.
E.g: Teacher
• Getting the stress wrong can seriously damage your
chances of being understood
• Words have their own stress pattern. They are fixed with
very few exceptions.
• A stressed syllable in a word is usually noticeable by being
slightly louder, longer and higher in pitch (tone levels) than
the syllables next to it
• If you check a dictionary, you will usually find at least two
types of word stress; namely, primary and secondary.

Check your book/dictionaries and look at the different

ways word stress is marked
Prominence (sentence stress)
• Prominence refers to the main syllables emphasized in a tone
group
• Stress is also an important feature of sentences, when it is
known as prominence or, less accurately sentence stress.
• Prominence is show in terms of tone units (sections of speech
with one main stress).
• The main stress is known as the tonic syllable (or nucleus);
there may also be one or more secondary stresses. Changes in
prominence make substantial differences to meaning.
E.g: Did you buy the green car? (not something else)
Did you buy the green car? (not another color)
Did you buy the green car? (not sell)
Did you buy the green car? (you, not somebody else)
Connected Speech: Fluent speech in which words are not pronounced
separately. A number of recognizable pronunciation changes occur,
including weak forms and elision.

What are you going to do?

What differences do you notice?

Elision (elimination), assimilation (change), intrusive
sounds (insertion)?
 The Schwa
• The most common weak form (unstressed) vowel
sound in English.
• It is the only sound to be given its own name.
• Ss will take a lot of convincing that words are really
pronounced with schwa weak forms in natural
English; instead, they may feel that using “full vowel
sounds must be ‘correct’ English.
• Because the schwa is a short and unassertive
sound, there is a danger that in focusing on it in
classroom sentences, it might lose its natural weak
character.
Awareness-raising and practice ideas

De-schwaed Stress and

texts unstress

Count the Learn a

words limerick
 Intonation

Try saying common phrases such as hello

or thank you (even in your language) with
different intonation patterns. Think about
how you feel
 Intonation
• Sometimes referred to as the ‘music’ of language
• We use it as a kind of equivalent of written punctuation
• It is closely connected with prominence, for the main
movement of intonation begins at the tonic syllable
• The movement can be upwards (a rise), downwards (a
fall), a rise with a fall (a rise-fall), a fall with a rise (a fall-
rise) or flat. The movement is usually marked with
arrows.
• Intonation has a definite effect on meaning and also
gives us information about the speaker’s attitude
• Using unintended intonation may cause
misunderstandings. If wrong intonation is used, a learner
may sound bored or even offensive
 Practical Ideas for working on
“intonation”
• Work with a function grid
• Get students to mark intonation patterns on dialogues
• Get students to say the same single word with different intonation
to convey completely different meanings
• Use these differences to prepare and practice some one-word
conversations
• Hum, whistle, sing the sentence without words before you say it
• Indicate intonation with hand gestures, waves, etc.
• Exaggerate intonation (this can be funny)
• Exaggerate lack of intonation
• Encourage students to ‘feel’ the emotion as they speak. Emotions
of anger, interest, surprise, boredom, etc. can naturally power the
intonation