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i,ANE
BOOK
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VOWEL
SYMBOLS EXAMPLE
CONSONANT
SYMBOLS EXAMPLE
tiyl
hl
leyl
lel
lal
lal
lol
luwl
["]
lowl
lrl
layl
la*l
loyl
see, prece
sit, give
say, break
rest, head
map, laugh
shut, ago
hot, father
boot, shoe
book, could
go, road
bought, Iaw
buy, side
house, now
toy, voice
lpl
tbl
ttl
tdl
tkl
lsl
lel
t6l
tfl
lvl
lsl
[z]
tJl
l:l
thl
ItJ]
tdrl
lml
lnl
tll
Id
trl
tyl
lwl
past, pepper
box, number
time, most
date, hard
king, come
get, dig
think, author
this, other
fair, rough
vote, ever
same, nice
zoo, reason
shop, nation
pleasure, beige
hear'y, ahead
check, watch
joke,
age
mail, summer
now, know
sing, tongue
rent, borrow
Iast, collect
year, young
west, away
Contents
t
About
the
Series
English lan[iuagc teachers alwa)'s appreciare and enjov professional
reference books with
prnctical classroonl approaches that are firmlv grouncled
in current peclagogical
r.escarcl.r.
Tips
for:Ie.ching
is a responsc to this demancl in the form of a series of books on a varicty
of topics of pmctical
classroom-centcred
interest.
Designed for teachers of ESL in nativc Engrish speakinlr countries as welr as teacrrers
of EFL in non-native English-speaking
countries, z?sfar r Teacbrng acrdresses aucliences in
secondarl' schools, colreges, and aclult education courses with students at var).ing levels
of prolicicncy.
Each book in the series is a pftrctical m:rnual that provicles teachers with
clearly conceived firethodological
ideas, approaches, tasks, activitics, anal,/or techniques to
better accomplish their pedagogical goals. tlsers may be novice teachers seeking pr;ctical
guidelines
for instfuction in a specilled area, or cxperiencetl teachers in need of
relicshing new ideas.
Each book in the series is committed to offering soundli. conceived, realisric
approaches to classroon instruction. There is some treatment of r-lndedl,inla pedagogical
principles of language learning and teaching in clearr), comprehensible terms.These treat-
ments arc brief and concise but not rrivial.The metho dology of rips
I()r
Teachitlg is based,
on communicative
ancl/or. task-based language teaching foundations. Sftrclent centered,
interactive classroom activities fecciye primary fbcus, but not at the expense of appro_
priate tercher-cente|ed
approaches or tasks fbr indi\-idual in class or homework :rctivit\r
We're very pleased to present the most reccnt vohrfire in this series, this time on pro_
nunciatiur.In Tips
for
Teaching
pronu.ncicttion.
.nuthor Lincla Lanc l.ras provicled rcaders
$'ith the best of cuttini edgc r.escarch on tlte acquisition of phonology,
along with prac_
tical teclx qucs for inproving rearners' pronunciation. c)nc of the first things y'ti will
notice is that the sequencing of chapters does n ot begin witl] the more traditionxl con-
sonants lnd vowels. Recent research ancl practice have shown that adult learners of
English find significanrl-y greater
bcnelit in a primary fbcus on the prosodic
elements of
phonology.
As thc author notes in hcr text, most misunderstendings
of learners. speech
production stem from $ord stress, rlr{hln, and intonation.
Anothcr imporrant feature of rips
for
Tbaclsing
pronunciation
is its focus on intel-
ligibilit\', comprelicnsibiliq',
acccnt, and voice quality. Recognizing that achieving a ffue
"nativelike"
accent is an unrealistic goal for adult students, Lanc offers a common-scnse
Vi
AboLt! the Se es
approach that encoumges teachers to work $'ith their students on the many aspects of
pronunciation that inpede a listener's clear understanding
of the learner's speech
A third refreshing perspective provicled by thc author is her recognition of a myriad
of variables that can affect a learner's oral production, not al$'ays in sJ'stematic or pre-
clictxble ways. It is now well known that age, personaliq', motivation, learning style,
amount of exposure, native language background,
and other factors can all affect a
learner's success in clifferent r.a_vs. ancl therefore eech inclividual may present a uniquc
set of circumstances for the teacher to address. The author provides readers with an
abunrlance of practical options to approach sr-rch variabiliry
Finalll', teachers will be pleased to see in Tips
for
Teqcbing Pronunciation an
emphasis on helping learners to become responsible for theif own linguistic der-elop-
ment, so that they can eYentually wean themselves from the teacher and classroom'
Exercises on selimonitorini range from the segmental leatures of speech to global char-
acteristics of speech in a context of natural discourse
And, recognizing that teachers
cannot always be available for correction of student errors, Lane provides the feader with
options for self- and peef-corre(:lion.
Teachers who use this volume not only
gain acccss to a multitude of pfactic:rl tech-
niques for teaching pronunciation, but also acquire awarencss of the rationale behind
such techniques. This unclerlying knowledge enables teachers to adapt techniques to
their own cofltexts. Teachers will also find Tips.for TeaclJing Pronunciation to be an
invaluable hamlbook of information that is easily accessed through chaptef headings, an
index, and a u\ehrl bibliogr:rPh1.
Best wishes as
)'ou
usc the tips in this book to help
-vour
learners achieve their
goals'
Dr H. Douglas l3rown
Professor Elneritus, San Francisco State Uniuersity
Series Edilor
I NTRO D U CTIO N
TEACHING
NUNCIATION
Reccnt
lears hare scen I rcncwecl rccolaritioll that pronuncietion
js
:r cnlcial
clement of effccti!,.e contml'llticati(nt and that proltunciation teachhg belor]gs in
nlainstrc:rm. conrn ll'ri.rtiv. I:SI-
classlooms ESL students pl:rcc a l-righ pfiorit\ on
irst^rction in pronunciation. At the sarlc time. EsL tcacbcrs'rav fecl urcasv ab'ut
teaching pronunciation becausc the) lack training in phoncti!^s or linguistics or
cxperiencc in texching pronunciatiou.
As a rcsult, in spitc of its rccognizccl importance
to comrrunication. pronunciation is still a natginalized skill in manr ESL progruls.
It should not be. Pronunciation is inti'rarcl,v linked to other oral,/;r.ml sklls, both
inllucncing an<l influenced b\'listcning co',prchension a'd fl.e'cr,. Gilbcrt describcs
thc rclatioflshi1t betn ccn promutciation al]d listcning comprehcnsion ils a
..speech
loop betrveen spcaker and listcncr" (1987.
-lJ):
instruction in onc intpro\es
pcdbrmancc in thc olher. for c\amplc. the reductjons that nativc speakers use in both
frrrmal and infornral spcakiig arc in sl.raq) contrast to their word list pronunciati(xrs:
comparc thc pronllltciation
of czl promruncecl alone encl its prorunciatioll
in Bed
cdtt ligbt tbe bc.{con ligl.rt (/bivkat
laYt 6r bi,vkan laytl). The rvord list pr(nrLrnciation.
ho$.e\.er. is thc one that ntost stuclents learn first ancl the one the] expcct to hear ir.l
spcaki|rg. "Xlicroieyel'
listening tasks can make studcnts awarc of ltow grammar
wofds like cdl/ sour]al in conltected speech ald thus il]lprol e corlprehensiotl (Choi
19f38. Murph,v 1991.). In addition, Xlichaud and l{eed nainrain thar pronunciation
irNtruction can lead to inproYelnent in \\,riti1lg b_v naking students morc aw:rre of
er()rs thilt occuf in borh sPcaking ancl $riting, like nissing $()rd endings (2(X)8).
In this Inlroductioll. we discuss the goals of pronunciation
teaching. f-actofs
that aft'ect lcarning a new pronunciation. pronunciation s\.llabi, gcncral
tyl)cs ol'
pronunci;rtior.l
excrcises and actiYities. scll-monitoring, and fccclback.
C.OAIS OF PRONLINCIATION TEACHING
Studcnts who lcarn Enlilish as aclnlts Or $'h0 are adults wtcn significant
exposure to English begins \['ill probabll'never speak
jt
\1,irh a nati\.e acccnt
(br.tt
sec Bonlaacrts et al. 1997). A natiYelike accent is not a realistic goal
ii)r studcnts. t.tor
t{
Icr. hrn,g fr',nunci.rtion
is it a necessaq' one for effcctive commlrnication in English More fealistic
pronunciation go: s afe intelligibilit\'. confidence in speakinl], an(l a reduction of
accent features that distract the listener's attention fiom intelligible mcss:rlacs
(Modey 1994, Gilbert 1980,
(lelce-Murcii
et al. 1996). A gcntlc accent, together with
accuracy in other areas of English
(grammar', word choice), can even be an
advxntage, conferring on thc speaker positil'e qualities like sophistication and
irtclligence. While these are not modest
goals and not all students achieYe them,
most stlrdents can (and do) learn to speak lnore clearl)'and conlidently
Intelligibility, Cornprehensibility,
Accent, and Yoice
Quality
Intettigibitity refers to the dellrcc to $'hich a listener can recognize words,
phrascs. and utterances
(smith and Nelson 1985, smith 1992, Derwing alld Munro
1997).In research, it is rtsuallJr measured by asking listcners to tmnscribc nonnativc
spech ancl comparing thc worcls listeners recognize with the words speakers
intend. Another term, comprehensibili4,', descrlbcs the easc with which listeners
can understand a nonnative speaker
(llerwing and Munro 2005).
"Confortable
intelligibility" is also usecl in this sense
(Abercrombie 1949, Kenworthv 1987, 16).
Accent refers to noticeable differences betwccn native and nonnative
pronunciations. Wlile htelligibilit)', compre hensibiliq', and accent are interwoven,
they are also, to a certain extent, indePendent lt is possible, fbf example, fbr even
heavily accented spcech to be intelligible. Vrtice quality refers to pronunciatiol.)
features that arc gcnerall,v present in nativc speech, like averagc level of'Pitch
The goal of inte lligibilit.Y is uncontroYersial: Without intclligibilit t',
conlnlunication is impossible. Considering all areas of language, errors s-ith
pronunciation and worcl choicc
(the choice of an inappropriate word to exprcss a
speakcr's meaning) afe the rwo t,vpcs of errors most likely to nake a student
incompre hensible (Gass ancl Sclinkcr 2001, 266). Grammatical errors, such :rs
omitting tlre past tense in a selltence
(c.g
,I'ast
nlght I go to d lnof ie) rarel-v lead
to unintelligibiliry althoulh a ltrrge number of grammatical errors, togethcr witl.I
pronunciation cffors, can reduce comprehensibilitv
(Varonis ancl Gass 1982), as can
ronpronunciation discortrse etrors
('Nler 1992)
Research on the contribution of pronturciation to intelligibilit]' has asked
which t'catures of pronunciation havc the greatest impact Accurate use of
suprasegmentals
(stress, rhlthm, and intonatiort appears to have a grcater impact
on intellilibility assessments b)' rrative listencrs than accruate promrnciation of
consonanis and vorvels
(see, for example, Anclerson Hsieh et al. 1992, Derwing,
Munro and Wicbe 1998. Hahn 2004). Tllese strtdies havc inYestigated the
pronuncietion of primarily intefnediate ancl athanced ESL learners, and it is tlot
clear whether the same finclings wor'rld hold lbr studcnts at lowcr levels of
proficienc)'. In addition, experjirental conditions can be far removcd from real
situations in which two per)ple try to unclerstand each othcr
Assessmcnts of illtelligibilitv also dePcnd on w-ho the Listeucrs ere Most research
on intelligibiliq' hes usecl mtive Englisll listel]ers When nonnative listeners
iudge
thc
Teaching Pronunciation
3
intelligibility of norxratiye speakers, their assessments are sometimes based on aspects
of pronunciation that are not importanr to native listeners
Oenkins
2000, 2002; Field
2005).I'he familiarity of the listener with nonnati\,e speech in gene ral, with a particular
foreign accent, and with a particr- ar nomative speaker also ailbcts ;rssessments of
intelligibility: Thc greater the familiarity, the more intelligible the speech (Gass and
Varonis 1984). Because of this, ESL teachcrs may not be the best
judges
of their
students' intelligibility. Kenworth,v suggests that teachers sct higher standards for
intelligibilit!' than what they themselves actually require in the classroom (1987).Much
as our students like us, they are probabl_v not taking English so that they can ralk to us.
Stuclies of comprebensibility (easc of untlerstanding) show that listcners'
judgments
depend on both segmental (consonants and vowels) and supfascgmental
(stfess, drythm, and intonation) errofs (Dcrwing and Munro 1997). In addition to
efrors in pronunciation, many other factors have an effilct
(nr
compre he nsibility:
Speaking rate, effors in granmaq word choice, cliscourse markers, the age at which
English is learned, the amount of exposure the learner has had to natively spoken
English, the extent to wltich learners use English, and the listenef's familiariw with
the topic of conversation have all bcen shown to affect comprehensibility (Hinfotis
anti Bailey 1981, Anclerson-Hsieh and Koehler l988,Varonis and Gass 1982. Gass and
Selinker 2001, cass and Varonis 1984, Flege et al. 1995).
Accent tefefs to djffefences between native and nonnative pronunciations
that
are noticed by native listeners (Derwing,
Munro, andWiebe 1998,396). The degree
of accent is xssociated
y/ith
segmental, supr.rseimental, and
yoicc
quality features.r
Although accented pronunciations do not necessarily intedere with inre lligibiliqr,
distracting, stigmatized, or stereofi?ed pronunciations should be addressed by
pronunciation teachers. Even fu y htelligible pronunciations can be evaluated
negatively by native speakers because of accent (?ermington 1998, Levis 2005, Riney
et aI.2000). For example. the substitution of /d/ for /6/ iJ.:,ttle word tbem (e .g.,Bring
dem lserc),whtle tnderstandable, is stigmatized (for native Enlllish listeners) because it
is a dialect feature of nonstandard English. The substitution of
/z/
for
/6/ in tbem
G.g.,
Bring zent beA, on the other ltand, simply marks the speaker as nonnative .
Distracting or stereotyped pronunciations can affect intelligibiliry by dmwing
the listener's attention away from the message to the mispronunciation itseli
Examples of distracting or stcrcotyped pronunciations inclucle the confusion of /n/
and /l/ by speakers of some Cantonese dialects (e.g., He nooked at tbe uoman
instezd, of He looked at tbe u)ornan); conftrsion of
/r/
^fld
/l/
(tbe
sterectLyped,
flie.l
Iice fot
fried
rice) forJapanese ESL students; and the confusion of
/y/
^nd
/d3/
(jess
for
!es,
jesterda! for
lesterda!)
for Spanish ESL students. These are pronunciation
problems that can and should be addressed. The pronunciation of the vowels in
beach, sbeet, and
Jbcu'
words which have caused corntless ESL students
embarrassment. should also be addressed.
listeneii do not
(Rine,v
et al 1005) .
4
Teachinp, Pronunciation
Voice quality settll1gs are pronllnciatioll features that are present most of the
time in the speech of native spelll<ers some languages, for example, are tlpically
spoken at lower levels of pitch (e.g., Dutch) and others at higher lcYels of pitch (e g
,
Japanese)
relative to a particular Lurguagc
(e g.' English) In one language, words may
be spoken with greater ovenll musclllar tension and witll less in another language;the
lips may be more olten spread
(or roundcd), or speech may havc a generzlly "creat<yl'
"breathll'or modal (neutral) sound
(see, for example' I'aver 1980, Esling and wong
1983, EsLing 1994, Keating and Esposito 2007). Esling a]1d Wonl suggest thxt ESL
studcnts become familiar with a broad model of voice quality settinls for Nofih
American Englisl.r
(NAE), but note that not all dialects shxre these characteristics: spfead
hps, open
jaw, palatalized (fronted) tongue body position, retrof'lex articulation
(the
tong.,. tlp ftrrns up and back), nasal voice
,
lowerecl larynx (lower o\'-erall pitclt, and
cfeakyVoice(1983,91)'The)'offbfsevel?lwaysinwhichStudentscanbecomeaware
of voice qriality settinlis;for exrmple, students speaking differert native languages can
say a shon phnsc in their native language and <lifferences can be conpared
(19a3,94)'
Although there is Iittle doubt that Yoice
quali$ plays a role in accent, more
Stud-Yisneeded.Notonlyarethefedi-fferencesintheVojceqllalitySettingsof
speakers of the same language, there is also not alwa-vs agreement about which
pafriculaf settings are pfesent or absent
(Keating and Esposito 2007). Mofe fesearch
using larger numbers of speakers is neecled befbre teachers can confidently apply
these findings in the classroom
FACTORS THAT AFFECT PRONI-NCIATION
LEARNING
The degree of success that learners achieve in adopdng a ncw pronunciati')n is
influenced by many elements, irlcluding age and social-psychological
factors' amount
of exposurc to the second language
(L2), amount of use of the L2, the native language
tolether with univcrsals, ancl personaliry Many of these factors
(such as age and
native language) are beyond the control of the classroom teecher and the learner
Age and Social-Psychological
Factors
Lenneberg
(1967) proposed thlt there is a
"critical period" for learning a
language natively, which exten.ls up to puberty: Neurobiological chanlaes in the
bfaintl]atculmiflateatpubert-vblocktl]enativc.llLngualieleafningability
thereafter.2 In the area of grammatical learning,
.Iohnson
and Newpoft found
evidenceforagraclualcleclineinlanguageleafningabilitiesduringthecfitical
period rather than an abrupt fall off at the end
(1989)'
social'psychologicaldiffbrerrcesbetweenadultsandchilclrcnhavealsobeen
ollerccl to explain the effect of age Aclults are assumcd to have a deeper and
stfonger attachrnent to their natiYe culture than children, which ma,v consciousb' or
'Tliis
clllln is.Luestioned Lrr
(r:rsltert,
l9li.
Tead)ing Pr()nuncialian
5
unconsciously prevent the adults from fully adopting the norms of a new language
:rnd culture (catbontin,
Trofimovich, and Majid 2oo5,Jenkins 2005, Leyis 2005). One
of my students was very conscious of the conflict between English anct his native
language (culture)
and stated that he did not want to sound like a.fake American.,,
Another explanation of the age effect may be that adults'greater cognitive abilities
(cspecially
anah.tic abilities) are less effective in learning a new pronunciation
tltan
the mofe natural abilities found in young cl.rildren.
Exposure and Use
Pfonunciation learninti is also affected by tlte amount of exposure lcafners
have to the new language and the extent to which they use it (see Trofimovicl.r and
Baker 2006 for a review of research on these factors). It is not surprising that
students who have spent three years in the United Srates typicalli, pronounce
English bcttef than those who have spent three months. Similafly, students who use
English a great deal in drcir daily actiYities are likely to pronounce the language
better than tltose who rarely use it.
Native-I-anguage Backgfound arrd Linguistic Universals
The ability of natiye speakers to recognize specific foreign accents once they
have expefience with them attests to the influence of the native language on
pronunciation of a new language. The native-language sound q/stem (consonants,
vowels, stress, rhlthm, intonation, and voice quality) affects not only how learners
pronounce English but how they hear it. For example, the two vowels in the English
words sceze and slz correspond to a single vowel in Spanish. Bcginning ancl low-
intermediate Spanish-speaking stndenrs arc likel,v to haye difficulfl hearinE! the
difference between sc?n e and sl, and may transfer their native{anguage vowel into
the pronunciation
of these words. As proficiency increases, students becomc better
able to hear differences and notice pfonunciations that are not present in their
native languages.
Similafities between a natiye language and English can either facilitate or
hindcr learning. Lee, Guion, and Harada (2006) for-lnd that
Japanese
ESL learners
were better able to lengthen stressed English \.owels and shorten unstressed vowels
than Korean ESL learners. They attributed this result to the fact that, while neither
language is similar to English in terms of word stress,Japanese uses long and shoft
vowcls to contrast some words (e.g., stt
-"vinegar"
and szzr-,,numbef,,) while
Korean does not.3 Because vowel length is impodant in
Japanese,
the
Japanese
learners may have been prirned to notice diJlerences in vowel length in English. On
the othef hand, if learners interpret a similafity as an equivalence, tlte,v may be
unable to noticc the differences between sin lat but not identical, pronunciations
i
Sone dialecLs of Korean conlr?Lst long end shofl vo,xLs, but l leatu$ in lhei,ee et al. stud\ werr: not sprkeN 0f dtos dixlecll
(2006.
49r.
$
wra.toucnaN TeachingPrcnunciation
Glege
1987). The persistent mispronunciation of the vo$'els in sreet and beacb may
be the resnlt of classifying English
/iyl
(the \.owel it sheet alf.d beach) tl:le same as
the natiyelanguaEie pure vo$,'el
/i/
(seeVowels, page 169). Classroom work can help
to make students aware of differences they might otherwise not notice.
Universals are features of language that afe in some sense easier, more natural,
more common in languages, or typical of children leaming their first language (L1).
The terms /ess marked and more marked are also u sed to descfibe the relatir.e ease
or clifticulty of rclated features of pronunciation. For example, open syllables-
syllebles that end in vowels (e.9., so, me, sta!)-^re easier (i.e., morc universal, less
marked) than closed syllables that end in a single consonant (e.9., dog, top, miss).
Closed syllables that end in one consonant
(.e.g.,
dog, top, miss) are easier
(less
marked) than closed syllables that end in a consonant cluster (e.9., beh, ask,
stoppe.l). Open syllables are found in every language, whereas closed syllables are
not; and both 1,7 and L2 learners have more difficulty pronouncing the final
consonants of closed syllables (Broselow and Finer 1991, Eckman 1991). For a
comprehensive review of natiyeLanguagc transfer and the fole of uniyersals, see
Eckman (200,i).
The native-language background(s) of students should influence the choice
of pronunciation topics addressed in the classroom. Difficulty with specific
consonants, for example, depends heavily on native language. Arabic students
confuse
/p/
and /b/, sour]ds that do not contrast in Arabic. Spanish students haYc
problems with ,/b/ and /v/,
which do not contrast in Spanish, while cantonese,
German, Russian, and Turkish students have problems with /v/ and /w/
.
Difficulties with English vowels, on the other hand, are widespread, and
difficr- ties v/ith stress, intonation, and drythm are even more widespread.
Appendix B summarizes typical pronrinciation problems of students from a
variety of native-language backgrounds.
Personality
Research has not shown a clcar link between personality characteristics and
sLlccess in L2 learning. Neyertheless, it is reasonable to suppose that outgoing,
sociable learners should have an adyantage over introverted, shy leafnefs in
acquiring oral-aural skills, including pronunciation. Outgoing students are more
likely to participate in conversations with native speakers and will therefore have
more opportunities to practice and to hear English.
A relaxed classroom atmosphere should also foster pronunciation learning. In
an oft-cited experiment on lowering inhibitiot]s, Guiora et al. found that learners'
pronunciation improved after drinking moderate amounts of alcohol (1972).
Fossilization
Vrith adult L2 leamers, pronunciation :rnd grammar learning seems to plateau,
perhaps pemanentl)', after a number of years. Selinker first described the cessation of
leaming as fossiLization (1972): it is also referred to as stabilization (Gass
and Selinker
/NrfOUU( r/ON Teaching
pnuutjci,lti()n
7
2008)." Once fossilization (stabilizatiorD
has ser i,', substantial improyemenrs
in
pronunciation (and grammar)
in spontaneous speech mav not be possible. Althougdt
vafious causes of fossilization
havc been proposed.
including Ll intcfblcnce.
motil?tion, leamers' goals
or needs, and alae . the process is not well unclerstood. and
more resea.rch is needed on both why antl when fossilizetion occurs (sce. for example,
knneberg 1967, Gardner 1988, i_ong 1990, Nakuma 199u).
Acton describes a prollram to change the intelliiibility
of fossilized
pfofessionals
who have spent many
veafs in an English_speakinpl
coulttrv ancl
reached high lcvels of fluencv (198,i).
Thc program requires a substantial
commitment of time both in and our of class and a native_English
.,infbrnrant,,on
the
.iob
who assists the student witlt pfoblem words and provides
natural pronunciation
models. Students learn not only about pronunciarion
but also about body language
used bv native speakers of English. About half of the shjclents who beiin thc
program afe able to devote the time needed to show progress.
My own experience,
which has ilcluded lrany students of the type Acto11
describes, confiflns that very fer wurkitrg pr,,fessionals
lre rble to make the time
commitment
that might lead to significant improvements
in intelligibilitY of
spontaneous
speech. Howel'ef, it is possible fof thcse students to lcafn to self coffec^t
and to speak more intelligibl,v in some situations. Fossilizecl learners. fbr cxample, can
learn to pronounce
English nore accuratel-v in controlled classro.m acti.,,ities ancl to
apply this knowledge when they deliver a rehcarsed presentation.
However when
they mo!'e from plarmed
into unplanned speecl], thc old errors are likely to recrjr.
Phonological learning may be most rapid in the eafhr stages of lcarning (Flege
1988, Flege, Munro, and Skelton 1992), suggesting that ir is imporrant to srart
pfonunciation
wofk with beginning learners. Chela_Flores recommends
that
pronunciatiorl
be a regular part of coursework with beginncrs, like vocabulary or
grammar
teaching (2001).
SYLLABUS
Pronunciation shour(l be taught to a revcls of strrtlenrs as tonla as intelligibiritll
distracting pronunciations,
and lack of confidencc in speaking are issues.
Pronunciation improvements,
like improvemcnts in grammatical
accuracl,, occur
slowly (Trofimovich
et al. 2007). According to wong, dramatic changes in stude'rts,
speech in
3 to 6 montlts arc rare', (l!g7,
g).
Because inprovcments are graclual ancl
often piecemeal,
students benefit from reviewil.tg or recycling olcl topics.
Given that there are over fofty consonants and I,owels (segmcntals)
and at
least as nany features of word stfess, rhtthn, and intonation (suprasegmcnhls),
curriculum planners,
textbook writers, and cl;rssroorn teachers have a lurge number
of potential pronunciation
topics trom which to choosc. The audiolingual approach
focused more heavily on the teaching of segmentals, r-Nin!! acti\.ities like nir.f'ral
$
t^-rroo,:rcaov TcachinEPranunciation
pair drills, sentence repetitions, anci dialogues. communicative approaches have
focusccl more on suprascllmcntals, moving stuclents bc1'ond the level of single
words. Totllrl', a more "txrlancecl' approach, inchtcling important consonants and
vowels as well as sr.rpnscgme ntals, is fecommended
((lelce-Murcia
et al. 1996, 10;
Derwing, Mr.rnro. andWiebe 1998. Dauer 2005).
Because rhlthm and intonation aflect mcanin!! in discourse profounclll',
teaching them promotes intelligibility as well as flucncy.Word stress (lexical stress)
is also impoftant since misplaced
stress
caJl make a word unrecognizable.
Problem consonants and vowels drat are liequent or have a higl] ftu]ctional load
strould atso be taught (Catfbr.l 1987,Browl 1988, Nh.nro and Dcrwing 2006).Thc vowel
coutrdst leaue-lil,e has a hi!fi functionad loacl because there are rnany p:tirs of wotds that
contr:$t these two sounds
(e.g.,
seat-sit, sleep-slip, least-list). C)n the other hand, the
vowel contmst in Iuke-look, whiclr occurs in fb$' word pairs, has a low linctioral load.
From a pedagogical standpoint, thc \owels iu the pair /ea.,e-l/./e arc more impoftant lbr
students to leam than those it Lukc-look. As discussed eadier it is also irnpoftant to
aclclrcss mispronunciations that are distracting, stilmatized, or stereot!?ed.
Pronunciation textbooks providc rcad,y-made
q'llabi
from wltich teachers can
pick and choose. A course syllabus that includcs problem pronunciation topics
cor,'ering vowels, consonants, stress, rlrythm, and intonation is approprilte lbr all
levels of studcnts. The teacher can alternate topics, starting, for e'xample, with a topic
on intonatiol, next addressing a problem consor.]ant or consonant cortrast, and then
prescntinli a topic on word stress. arld so o1]. This approach provicles variety arld
interest and also reflects the fact that in speaking, all aspects of pronunciation occur
sirnultalreously; a two-syllable word like uisit ot drugstorc, for exanplc, has both
consonants and vowels, differcnt le\.els of stress, and diffcrent lcYels of pitcll.
In choosing topics for a particular class, the teacher can eithcr stafi with a
diaEinostic tcst to idcntiq,' problem areas or cltoose topics which
Posc
pfl)blems for
lnost studcnts, regaralless of native-language backpgouncl (sce Conlmolt P()mrnciatioll
Problcms, bclow). A good diagnostic tool is a one minutc recording of unrehearsed
(:nd unwritten) speecl], such as a descriptiotl of a picture stor,v or caftoon. A short
sample of spontaneous spccch provides a
liood
snapsltot of a strtdertt's pronunciation
problems. Problems with rhlthm (choppy or staccato clelivery unclear wortl grortps,
ditliculty linking w<rrds), with ir.Itonation
(inappropriate dses/falls in pitch, lack of
discourse foctts, general levcl of expressi\-cness), and segmentals (consonants and
r.owcls) will be evident. A sample diagnostic test is provided in Appenclix D.
The cl]oice of pronunciation topics should also fef'lect students' necds and
goals. In a life-skills class for immigrant parents of school-aged children, for instance,
the pronunciation syllabus night centcr on topics required fcrr giving personal
information: the letters ol the alphabet fbr spelling names; numbers and thcir
app()priate grouping for giving telcphone ancl address information; and irltonation
and rhlthm in questions. Work $'ith these pronunciation topics will also improve
students' comprehension of inlbrmation reqlrests.
International teach rg assistants
(ITAS)
in thc scienccs must be able to clearly
pronor-rnce technical terms that may contain many s-vllables and difficult sounds
(c.g.,
geothermal energi). Levis and Grant st rgElest basing plonutciation work on errors that
/NIROLrL,a r/oN Tcaching Pronunciation
!
occur in student prescntatiolts (2003). ITAS ffLlst also be able to use appropriate
rhythm and intonation pattefns to ask qucstions of their stuclents. to group
wofds, to
hipdrlight kc1'w.ords, and to signal topic changcs in their presentations of material.
'lhe
sl,llabus fbr a short-term tlltorial f(,r a professional
who is preparing a
pfesentati(,n can include the pfoltunciation problcms that occur in th presentatioll
itself. To prepare for the q Llestion-and-answer session that fbllows nlany
pfesent:itiurs, classwork can irlclude topics such as highlighting key words (see
Intol.ration, pag 96), which will Irelp stuclents understand the direction of questions
and make their answers ciearcr to an auclience.
Alrother factor thirt sho! d ilJlucnce the choice of pronunciation topic is the
teacher's level of comfort in tcaching it. Duri|tli classwork on pronunciation (of any
topic), students pa,v attentioll to how thc,v sot-urcl. As long as pr.lctice includes the use
of connected speech, other aspccts of pronunciation not dircctly addtessed in the
lesson are likely to bencfit from this incrc;rsed arrenrion (Hardison
200.1). F'or example,
a teacher ma-y not fcel cor.nfortable teaching some aspects of intonation but may feel
corafident about teaching the t, sounds (e.g.,tlxink, t/rrt, sornds tltat are casy to reach
and learn end important to leerncrs (Tirdt 1992). In a conlmullicative acti.r'ity focused
on btlhdays (or personaLity characterisrics related ro birth order), not only are //,
sounds in words like birtbdar- hkclv to be pronounced mofe accumtel)', but the
grouping of words (e.g.,May 41 mal' b e clearer and intonation more natunl sounding.
Vhen students pa). attention to how they sound during speaking, many featufes of their
pfonunciation souncl better Attcntion to pronunciation druing speaking, then, may be
as impoftant as the particr ar point of pronllnciation beinla focused on during a lesson.
Institutional or program goals and assigneal curricula may determinc the
sl.llabus, rather tl.ran the teachcr In some progmms, for example
r
pronunciation
work
is narrowly focused, covering all the vowels in one semester all the consonants in
anothct and so on. Even though this
ry..pe
ol syllabris does nor pro\.ide a balanccd
coveragc of sormds and suprasegrnentals, otltef lbatures of pronunciation, such as
fhlthm and intonation, can still be addresseci as long as clxss materials include
oppoftunities to practice connected spccch (e.9., di"k)gues).
The Lingua Franca Core
Jcnkins
(2000, 2002) proposes a pared-down pronunciation syllabus, the
Lingua Franca Corc (I-FC), fbr. stu(lents who will be using English with otl]cr
nonnative speakcrs (rather thalt native speakers).
Jenkins's
clata sulllicst that
commulication breakdowns betrveen nonnative spcakers are usnally the fesult of
mispronoulccd consonants or
yo$'cls,
rather than inappfopriate suprasegmentals.
In contr:Lst, inappropriate usc of suprascgmentals appears to hal.e a greater effect
on inte lligibilit_y with native listencrs
(see
Intelligibilit]' on page 2). The LFC s.vllabus,
which focuses on teachable ;rnd leernablc p(,ints of pronunciation that promote
intelligibility bctween nonrati\'-c spcakers, inclucles primarily consonants, some
!o\4iels. and onc suprasegmental (highlighting of kcy words).
Jenkins's
proposals have inspired he:rlthy debare on which areas of
pronunciation should be taught and who the arbitefs of intelligjbility shor cl be
10
Teach i ng Pran unci at i on
(see, for example, Dauer 2005, Levis 2005). Given that more research is needed and
that teachers cannot know for ceftain wl]ether their students' future inteflocutefs
will be native or nonnative Englisl] speakers, a syllabus that includes important
pfoblem sounds as well as suprasegmentals will serve students' needs better than
one that focuses on only one area of pronunciation. A balalced syllabus is also likely
to be nore appealing to teachers and more interesting for students.
Comrnon Pronunciation Problems
The following chart shows pronunciation topics that are useftll for most
students, regardless of native-language background.
Vowel length in stressed and unstressed syllables See pages 2L-27
Vowel :eduction in unstressed syllables See pages 25-27
S:ress patterns of classes of words See pages 28-38
Highlighting important words with stress and pitch See page
96
Tlought groups
Grouping
words into meaningful phnses) Sec page 52
Linking adjacent words See page
54
Intonation to mark utterance boundaries See page 100
/, sounds ln thinh and then See page 126
Conffasls involving the first souflds in
per,
bet,
fbte,
uet, afid uet See page 124
R:etoflexed.
/r/:
red, driue See pages 141, 146
Ftral consonants and consolant clusterc: bed, belt See pages 151- 162
cmmmatical endings See page 159
The vowels in leaue-Iiue (/iy/-/ID See page 16P
The vowels k7 net-Nat-nut-not
uE/-/r/-/e/-/oD
See pages 176-183
r-colored vowels in heorcl, hard, and board See page 192
Teaching Pronunciation'll
PROIIIINCIAIION DGRCISES AND ACTNTTIES
Pronunciation work call be integrated with other coursewolt, providin!!
reinlbrcement of vocabularl', content, and structures dtat students are alfeady
learning. \)(r'ork with word stress is easily added to a reading or vocabulary lesson
(see page 23). Dialogues in course books can be used to practice grouping words or
intonation. A key word in a reading/discussiolt activitF may include a problem
sound that can be a point of focus. Grammatical structures pfovide many
opportunities fof pronunciatiolt wofk: practice with comparatives, for example, can
also incorporate practice with the /-colored vowel in bigger, with tl]e //, sound in
than, or with contrasti!.e stress (e.g., It's BIGget not BETter). In tlte sections
co\IerinE! specific leatures of pronunciation, links with othef types of coursework
are pointed out.
In pronunciation textbooks, lessor]s typically includc an int{oduction,
contfolled acti.llities. and communicative activities. Some textbooks also include
homework rcti\ ities.
The introduction devclops awareness of the topic, sometilnes indr.rctivell',
sometimes deductively. For example, after hearing a number of two-syllable nouns
(e.g., table, kitchen, sanda'icb), even beginning students can induce rhe rule that
most two-syllable nouns are stressed on the first syllable. On the other hand,
students are not likely to induce the articulation of r-colored vowels (e.g.,
bird,
bqrd, LUqr) simply by hearing examples. In the latter case, articulation must be
expiicitly taught.
Controlled exerciscs allow students to de\.elop skill in perception andlor
pfoduction witl.r a fe ature of pronunciation: exxmples include repetition of words
(addressing
sounds or word strcss p;rtterns) or phrases (acldressing
rhlthm and
intonation), minimal paifs (pairs of words diffbfing in only one sound, fof
example, bid-liead), dialogues, and so on. Exercises may progress from highly
controlled (repetition of words, for example) to less controlled activities (creating
dialogues and some types of games). The teacher can spend more or less time on
controlled activities, depcnding on the difficulty students experience with a
pronunciatiol.t point.
Many students learn to pronouncc a feature of pronunciatioll accurately in
controlled exercises (reading a list of words, for example) but are unable to apply
their ncw skills in cofirmunicatiye spcakinla. In communicatiye speech, where the
focus is on meaning, and processing demands are high, pronunciation often seems
to"fall apart" (Dickerson
and Dickerson 1977, tune)'et al.2O00, Lin 2001,I-in 2003).
'l'he
leafner must fincl words to express his meanini, make grammatical decisions,
and, at the same time, manage ditficnlt articulations and unfamiliar pfosodic
patterns (stress, rhlthm, and intonation). Thc fact that pronunciation gains in
controlled activities may not carr_y o\rf in communication does not mean thet
controlled activities haye no value; on the contrarl', they provide practice
opportunities that can graduall_v lcac1 to more automatic use of the new
pronunciation as well as to skills for self-correcting. However, contfolled activities
12 Teach i ng P ro n u nc I ati an
should not be the end of the lesson. C)ur students are nor studying English to
become proficient readers of word lists.
Communicative actiyities push students to apply their new learning in more
normal speaking tasks and to deyelop self-monitoring skills. Thc_y establish a
context in which a particular feature of pronunciatioll is called fbr ancl allow
students to create their own language in that context. Al example of a
con nlrnicative ncti\Iit] involving contrastive stress is a compafison of two cell
phone plans presented in chart form (Plan A is CHEAPCT, but Plan ts has more
ANYTIME minutes).
Homework activities can take almost any form. In a pronunciation/speaking
course, homcwork can include short recordings of eithcr spontaneous speech or a
controlled warm-up exercise followecl by a freer speakini task. If str-ldents have
acccss to a compute! an inexpensive microphone, and the Internet, their recordings
can bc e mailed to the teacher xs atteched sould files.t The teachef can
give
live of
recofded feedback. Student recordings can also be used in class in peer feedback
activities (see Self-monitoring and Feedback, below). Instructions for recording and
sending a sound file are provide.l in Appendix E.
Homework in ESL settillgs can also include real-world speaking and listening
tasks, such as calling an 800 number to inquire about a product or seryice (1br
examplc, ayailability on a llight to San Francisco) or
lioing
into a store to get
information about a particular product. In these assilinments. the teacher can
instruct studcnts to pay attention to their use of a particular t'eatufe of
pronunciation (for example, question intonation) or simpl_v to speak as cleady as
possible. In tlre lbllowing class, students report on thc experience they had.
Listeninla tasks can also be used as homewofk. Students can listcn to a recorcling and
note how many times a reducecl w<)rtl llke can is used and how it is prurounced.
SELF-MONITORING AND FEEDBACK
Because pronunciation improven.rcnts are gradual ,md piecemeal, spreading
from a more limitcd use of a new pronunciation to a wialer Llse, it is important thnt
students develop self-monitoring and self-correction skills.6 A student who
consistently uses an s-like soud fot the"tl1" iJ1 tbing, th.tnks,
^nd
tbink is li1(.ely f[st
to pronounce the l/: sountl correctl,v when it begins a common word like tbanks but
continue to use
/s/
in other words. With time, the correct pronunciation spreads to
othef wofds and other positions. C)sburne's stud.v of pronunciation seiicorrections
fbuncl that a common stratel'used by advanced learners involrcd focusing on
spccific worcls as units and thinking about how they shor. d sound (2003).
t
lne4ensir,e r crophones fie prlerxble sinc thel
lick
ul less ambiert noisc. Built in micro loncs nrin ormal olprolideclear
enough sound.
and onh later i stxtile
(rr)
and lLctility
(rurlr)
lerbs (Budoli Hdig ard Re|noLtls l99i).
TeachingPronunciation
l]
Monitoring for Specific Pronunciation Features; Carryover Words
This technique reflects the piecemeal nature of pronunciation
changes, which
often start in common words or phmses. ln this tcchnique, a carrl-or,rr word or
phrase containing a targeted pronunciation feature is selected by the stuclent of
teacher for self-monitoring and self-correction.
Continuing wirh the example of tr, the teacher can assilan the word, tbink as
a catryover word. Thc students goal is to pronounce thc caffyover word correctly
whenever they use it. Tlte cafryover worcl/phrase should be semantically cleaf,
grammaticall)'
easy. communicatively important, and frelluent enouih tltat
students harr opportunities to use it in x variety of contexts. The phrases I think
and I don't think, used to introduce opinions, rncct all of these rcquiremeflts. A
commlrniclLtivc activity cenrered on givin!! opinions v,ith I tbink/I futn't think
can serye as a watn-t-up for carf,yover Studcnts can also select thcir.o!r-n earryoycr
words; an ITA doing rcsearch in geothermal energv migl]t select geothermql as a
crrr)
(
'\
cr u ord for /h.
While the carryoyer technique is particularl.t' srdted ro rvords (and
the
problem souncls tltey contain). it can also be extended to common phfases: the
phrase i7t
q
minute can serve as a cafryoYer phrasc for tlte rhlthm pattern of
prepositional phrases (see Rhy'thm, page 60) or for
joining
final consonants to
vo\\.'els (c.g., in d minutq see Rhlthm. pagc
56). Greetings can be uscd for
intonation carryover with beginning leafners
(see
xlso Chela-Florcs 20Ol).
Monitoring for Global Characteristics of Clear Speech
The carryoyer technique focuses monitorinli on specific worcls or phrases.
Studcnts should also learn to nonitor thcir spcech fcrr more general (global)
charactcristics tltat affect clarity.
'l'lrese
include specch fate, spcaking volume.
attention to the ends of s.'ords, and speaking expressivcl)'.
Researcl.r on speaking rate shows that nonnati\,-e speakers spcak English more
slowly than native speakers, a reflection of their incornplete knowlcdge of the L2
(Guion, Flege, Liu, and Yeni Komshian 2000).'Ihere is some e\.idence that slower
speaking rates contfibute to accentedness ancl reduced comprchensibility (Munro
and Derwini 199u). tlowever, asking most students to speed up is likely to be
cor.lnterpfoductive
,
intfoducin[i crrors that would not occur if students ga\.e
themselves more time. In the expcricnce of many teachers, when fast talkers
(students whose speaking rate outpaces their abilitv to spcak accurately) slow
down, their pronunciation and contprchcl.tsibilitv improve, cven though the_v may
--/Mo\
Gaad n ing
I
--l
*\
See
you
ter
I
"14
Tfithing hanutu iJltnn
not be speaking as quickl-y as nadve speakers. In contrast to fast talkers, other
students may seem to speak too slowl_v, pausing too often. for too k)ng, or in
inappropriate places. Inappropriate pausing often reflects a lack of fluenc-y
It is not easy lbr students to change their speaking mte. Fast talkers need
frequent rerninders to slow down ancl ma-v also feel that speaking more slowly will
make then sound less fluent.Inappropriate pausing may disappear as students gain
fluency; it can also be addressed by pronunciation work on thought groups and
linking adjacent words (see Rh)'thm, pages 52 ancl 51).
Speech that is not lor.rd enough to hear (in my experience
,more
cotrrmon with
female students than with males) ma-y result from a lack of conficlence or cultural
gender roles. Like speaking rate, it is difficult to change.I am sure that I am not the
only teacher who has repcatedly reminded a student to speak up in class only to
hear the same student booming fofth in her native language in the hall during a
break. A technique that is usually effectivc is to ask the student to address her
comments to a classmate on the opposite side of the room.
Many students have problems pronouncing consonants at the ends of words
(e.g.,pick,
ask, belt). Pronunciation wolt with fu]al consonants and frequent error
correction are effective in improying this area of pronunciation.
Some students use a flat, monotone delivery when thev speak Enilish, possibly
because they lack confidence or because the)' are using natiYe lartguage intonation
patterns or both. They need to understand that a flat delivery can make thcm sound
disiflteiested and to be reminded to use their voices more (use a $/ider range of
pitch). This is a difficult pronunciation problem to correct, especially if a wider
range of pitch sounds unnatuml or silly in tlte student's native language.
To help students monitor the general clarity of their speech,I keep this short
list of reminders in the upper left corner of the blackboard and point to them
when necessary:
Slow down
Speak u p
Final sounds
Spea k expressive y
Error Correction by Teachefs and Peefs
Little research has treen donc on thc effect of ertor correction on
pronunciation. Research on error cofrectiolt of gnmmar, l]orveve! indicates that it
is effective in promoting accuracy in communicatiYe contexts when it can be done
qr.rickly and when students are familiar with the technique and the types of errors
to be corrected (Lightbown and Spada 1999). These finclings would seem to appl-Y
equally well to efror correction of pronunciation.
Teachers should always draw attention to unintelligible speech, asking the
student to repeat or rephrase more carefulll'
(and often more slowll). It is only
TeaLhing Pronuncrton
I J
possible to coftect efrofs when the teacher knows what the student is trying to say.
'iyhen
a whole discourse is unintelligible, the teacher must work with the student,
often using spelling and repetitions, first to determine what the student is trying to
say and then to identily the errors.
Teachers cannot possibly correct evefy pfonunciation effof, or even most of
them. Error correction during most class activities should be selective and directed
at unintelligible or odd sounding pronunciatiolls. During pronunciation activities,
feedback should also be provided on the topic at hand. The teacher should choose
a cue to signal pfonunciation errofs and explain it to students. The cue should be
as general as possible (for example, sa_ying "Pronunciation"
or "Be clearer" a-fter an
error). The general cue allows a student to appb-his pronunciation learning and
helps develop self correction and monitoring skills. Sometimes students are
unaware of what the pronunciation erfor is and may need to hear both the incorrect
and coffect pronunciations to notice the error.
Peer feedback on student recordings is also effective and gives the
nonspeaking peef additional monitoring practice. Celce-Murcia rccommends that
peers listen for a particular feature of pronunciatlon (1996,352).
The next five chapters deal with pronunciation topics from word stfess,
rhythm, intonation, consonants, and vowels. Each chapter presents useful
background information and research, general teaching tips, and suggested
classroom acdyities for specific features of pfonunciation.
CHAPTER
WORD STRTSS
A consrunefs' politician? M]. student intendcd to sa,y 'a
consummatc politician.,,
He gucsseci *rong when hc stressed "c6nsummate," a word he hacl ncver heard
befbre. placing strcss on the second slllable rather than thc first. As a result. his
sentence (He's
ct c()nsttl|ttnate politician)
sounded like
.,Hes
a col]sumcrs,
politicitrn.
'lhe
student's gucss tliat corstt rtl.tctlc was strcssed on tlte seconcl
slllable rvas probabll based on words likc contro| consurnet; connectj or
confession, all strcssed on thc second s,yllable. It was a good guess-which
happcnecl to be wrong.
For native English listeners, the most important syllablc in a word is the
stressed s)'llable, the primary cue for identi4'ing the word (Grosjean
and cee 1987,
Benratrah iggT, Boncl 1999). This mlkes strcss J \ crt- important p(ongnciation
topic. ln xddition. because tlte chamcteristics of stressed ancl unstressetl sl Uables in
single words are mirrored in rhltl]m, tcachinli word stre ss primes students for work
with suprase gmentals. Dalton altd Seidlhofcr describe worcl stress as a
comnunicativcly impoftant and teachable pronunciation ropic, bridging the
continuum between segmcntals (consonants and vorvels), which are considered
rclatively easy to teach. and suprasegmentals (rhythm and intonation). rvhich arc
consiclcrccl more difficult to reach
(199,1.7J).
LE\rEI"S OF STRNSS IN WORDS
In every Enilish worcl Of more than
()nc
svllable, One s,vllable, the stressed
s)llable, is the most prominent. This promincncc is also callcd pdrnar_v stress, major
stress, heaq'strcss, of simpl_y the stfesscd s,yllable/\,.owel. (Thc
tetms (ul1)strcssetl
uou'el and
(utl)stlessed
syllable are otten used interchangeabh'.) 1he remaininj
s,vllables may be unstressed or have secondary (niinoo stress. ln the woral sJlfa, tlnc
lifst syllable (so-) has prirnarl stress and the second (-y'l) is rntstfesscd.In the word
Japdnesa,
the last syllable has primlrrv stress, rhe lirst syllable has secondary stress,
and the midclle syllablc is unstrcssed.
'17
1B
olAPftR I w.nd stess
In languages, stressecl atrd unstressed syllables
diffcrences in length, pitch, loudness, or vowel clualiryr
English makes use of all these distjnctions.
can be distinguished b_v
As the chart below shows.
STRESS PI-A.CEMENT
Learning to lengthcn stressed vorl-els and shorten/reduce unstressed vowels
is challenging for most students. EquallY challenging is knowing which s-Yllable to
stress in a word.'fi'lte n lcarners are f:rced witll a ncw word they have never heard
befbre, they basc strcss placcment on many of tlle same strategies that native
'
speakefs do: analogv to phonologically sitrrilar words. strcss patterns associated
witl1 classes of words or cndings, or s,vllable structurc
(DaYis and Kelly l997,Guion
et aI.200J.
(;uion
ef aI.2004).
Misplacccl stress-stfessing the wrotlg sYllable-can make a wrlrd
nnrecognizable and co[rplctel,v clisftrpt the speakcr's message
(Benrabal] 1997,
Fieltl 2005). Not all errors inYoh'ing misplaced stress arc equally serious. Field
(2005) reports that rightward misplacements of strcss in two-s-Yllablc worcls
(c
!a.,
stre ssinli the se cond syllable of a,ozrdr: I\'oMAN) impaire d intelliSibility morc than
leftward misplacemcnts
(c.g., stressing the first svllable of enlof'ENjo)-). My
stndcnt's n.rispronunciation of consumln(Ite, descriLted at the beginninti of this
chapter, is an e'x:rmple o1 riglrtward strcss misplacement
The rules for English stress placement are con.tplex becar.rse English has
borrowed many words from other languages, cspecially Frcnch, Latin' Spanish, and
Grcek, with clifferent rules for assigning strcss
(Jufis l99O) There arc, hower.cq
some general, teachablc principles which help students at all lcvels to predict the
stressed syllable. Teachcrs can also help students avoid misplaccd stless by working
with stress in reading and vocabnlar-v lessons.
t
Nol all l"uguages use str.ss to s\slntdicitllt dilleruntiaft dre slllebles lf x \rold
/l/ is rhc lo{'el ir /l Scc dso \b\\els. CenLml\brtls. /a/ lLIrd/l/. |r)llL \b{'cls.
t.HAPTER I Wor.l Slress
19
NOTATIONS FOR STRESS AND SYLIABLES
There are
yarious
notations for stress, cach witl] advantages and disadvantages
(Celce-Murcia
et el. 1996).
Vls t
VIS it
visit
v sit
vtsit
dthlete
'ath, ete
Capitals and bold letters are
yisuall_y
strong and can be easily added by a
computef. It is difficult, however, to show mofe than two levels of stfess without
either changing tlpe size or combining bold ancl caps (tbr
example, bold c:rps
coulcl be used lbr pfimary
stress, plain caps for second:rry stfess and lower case fbr
unstressed). Cifcles afe also
yisuallv
strong but not as eas), to acld by computef.
Underlining is visually strong and exsy ro do bl. compute! but in some
pronunciation
s'ork the teachef ma,\- want to use undedincs to show linking of
words of to indicate syllables. dcute and g.ave marks and verticals can be visually
strong when handwritten but are less notice:rblc when adclecl by conputer. The
teacher should not feel bound ro oltc tr?e of notation.When
the meaning of the
notation is made clear, students are not tl.ouble d by mixecl notations. In my own
teaching, I choose the notatior which will nake the stressed s_vllablc mosr salient
to m)' students. In typed mater.ials, for example, I use capital lettcrs for tlte stressed
syllable because they are visually more salient than a typed acute mark; on the
board,I usually place a large acute mark over the stressed syllable, since switchinli
between capit:rls and lower case within a word slows clown my writing.
Curved undedincs are uselul f<rr showing the syllables in a word. They are
preferzble
to slashes or hyphens within words (e.g., vilsit, vi sit) because they don,t
commit the teaclter to exact locations of syllable bounclaries, which are sometimes
difficult to determine.
Stressed sy lable in capita s
Circles above syllables
Stressed sylla ble bo ded
Stressed sy labie u nderlined
Line over stressed syllable
Acute marks
(')
over stressed sy lables;
grave
marks (')
over secondary stress
Vert ca s
(dictionary
markings)
visit
UU
listened
In addition, dictionaries do not alwa,ys agfee on syllable b
()tlndafics.
American
Heritage Dictionar!, for example, scgments .sofl,-)., as,.sof-eJ,' wltilc lte&stert has
"sor-re."
It is more important tltat students know how many syllables a word has
rhln t xactly $ herc , )nc s1 llablc ends lntl r he ncrr hegins.
20
]HAPTER 1 ward stress
STI]DENT PROBLEMS WITTI WORD STRESS
Students ha\.e two general difficulties with English word stress. C)ne involves
learning how different le\,-els of word st|ess are realized in English, in particular the
length of stressed r.owcls and thc shortness and reduction of unsressed vowels.
There is considerable evidence that the length distinction betwecn stressed and
unstressed syllables can bc lcarned, thefe is less evidence tltat vowel reduction is
learned (Flege and Bohn 1989. Anderson Hsich and venkataiiri 199'1, Ngul'cn ;urd
Ingran 2005, Lee et al. 2006).
The second difficult,v inyoh'cs kno$'ini which syllable to stress in a word.
Althougli there are no simple, general rules that will allow students to predict
which syllable is stressed, there are classes of words, such as compound nouns
(.e.g.,
airPort).with regular stress patterns that can be taugllt. As students become
more proficient, they also becone better able to predict which s.vllable in a $.ord
is stressed.
TIPS FOR TEACHING WORD STRESS
The sk tips listed below ptovide some general suggestions for helping
students to create clear diif'erences between stressed and unstressed vowcls and to
better predict which s-vllable is stressed. The tips are based on the characteristics of
English word stress and on problems students haYe with word stress.
r, 1. Emphasize the leflgth of stressed vowels.
2. Presenl sets of words with the same stress patterns.
3.
Pfonounce new vocabulary so studerts call hear which syllables are stressed.
4. Use pronunciation spellings to develop stlrdents' awareness of how unstresscd
vowels are pronounced.
5.
Point out that unstressed ]rowels have a short, indistinct sound regardless of
spellirg.
5. Teach classes of words ahat have predictable stress patterns.
The remainder of this chrpter presents specific features of worcl stfess as
listed below'
'l-he
tips are further explained in thc context of these leaturcs
ffi
rrps
CHAPTER I Word Stress
21
@FWoRDsTREss
1. Primaf),/Hea\T stress
2. Unstresscd svllables and
yowel
rcduction
3. Secondary stress
4. Stfess with two-syllable nouns antl verbs
5. Stress witlt compounds
6. Stress with verbs ancl nouns with prepositional prefixes
7. Stress with abbreviations
8. Stress with sulfi-\es
9,
More on unstressed s)-llablcs
10. Stress switching
\ffe
discuss I'hat the teachef should know about each of these topics and
provide sulillestions fbr teaching them.
ffi
r*narylHearT stress
What the Teachef Should Know
Vowels with primary stress are longer and louder than unstressed vowels. In
citation fbrm (the
word pronounced in isolation), the stressed
yowel
is also
pronounced on a higher pitch; in connected speech, high pirch may be down-
stepped (lowered) if the word dos not present new or important information in a
message. Because the long duration of English stressed vowels is ufl[amiliar to many
students, it is this aspect of stress that should be emphasized in the classroom (see
also Rhlthm, page
50).
In a stud)' con.lparing the length of stressed and unstressed vowels, it was
found that natiye-English speakers' stressed syllables were about four rimes longer
than their unstressed slllables, a large difference (Anderson
Hsieh and Venkatagiri,
199'1,809). High-pfoficienq. Chinese speakefs of English sho\a'ed the same fatio as
the nativc spcakers, but intermediate learners' stressed and unstresscd syllables did
not differ
lireatly
in lenlith. Research involving leafners from other natiye-language
backgrounds also supports the claim tltat lengtlt of stresscd syllables is learned
graduallv (Flege ancl Bohn 1989, Ngul'cn and Ingram 2005, Lee et aI.2006).
Matclring or comparing the stress-s).l1ablc pattcrns of words
(e.g..SepTEMbef
OcTObe4 NoVEMbeti DeCEMber) is effecti\.c for building sensitiviq' to patterns of
stfessed and unstresscd s.l/llables. Field descfibes thesc analogy cxercises as haying
"stroni psychological validit,v" (2OO5, 42O). Kenworthy (1987,
60,63) also
recomrlends "odd one out" exercises. in which students decide which of sevcrel
words lras a diffefent srcss pattern (e.g.,repeat, trauel, explqin, belieue).
22
C/tAPrtR 1 \4/dd sttcss
Activity 1.1 P nary stress: fravel season trivia
level Low lntermed iate
Worksheet Page 202
Tips Emphasize the length of stressed vowels,
Present sets of words with the same stress
patterns.
Descr:ption This activity practices the stress
patterns in the names of months
and seasons and in travel-related terms.
1 Brlng rubber bands to class to demonstrate the length of stressed vowels.
2. Elicit from students the months of the
year and the names of the seasons
Write the words on the board. Use a rubber band to demonstrate the length of
the stressed sy lable as you model the words: Stretch the rubber band as
you
say the stressed syllable. Pass the rubber bands out to students. lr4odel the
words again, us ng the rubber band. Students repeat the words and stretch the
rubber band to reinforce vowel length.
3. Elicit the number of syllables n each month, tapping out the syllables.
Underline the syllables on the board. Students may misidentify "January" and
"February" as three-syllable words, mistaking the vowel-vowel sequence
(the
sounds represented by the letters ua in both month names) as one syllable
Explain that these are really two sy lables, separated by an unwritten /w/
("wa")
sound. Add a smal Lv between the two vowe s to show their
pronunciation
("Janu*ary,
Febru*ary"). Underline the syl ables n all the words. Then elicit
the stressed syllab e from students and mark lt on the board.
Jdnuary Fdbluary Mdlch April Mriy Jrine
ug uqt :eeeg
g'gg
useg STeg
ugly trys
s:ltg
u/u'g
4. Ask studentsl
.
Which words have a stress
pattern like September?
(answet
I October,
November, December)
.
Which word has a stress
pattern l!ke January?
(answer:
February\
.
Which words have a stress
pattern like April?
(answer:
August, Winter,
Summer, Autumn)
.
How many words have a stress pattern l)ke July?
(answer: just
July)
.
Which words have only one syllable? \answer
March, May, June, Spring, Fall)
5. Erase the words on the board. lVodel the month names again, stretching the
rubber band as you say the stressed vowels. Have the class say the names of
the months in order and in reverse order, student by student.
CHAPITR 1 Worcl Stress
23
ALllDity l.l cantin cd
@
6. Travel Trivia quiz. Pass the trivia quiz out to the class. Explain the meaning of
"trivia" if necessary, unimportant facts or pieces of information that most
people don't know. Most people guess
the answers to trivia questions.
Ask
students to read the trivia quiz. Answer questions about vocabulary.
play
the aud io.
7. Studenis work in pairs to complete the activity as if traveling from the Unjted
States. Tell students to guess when they don't know the answer. When the pa rs
have finished, ask them about their answers. Remind them to make the
stressed voweis long.
8. Write some questions
about trave on the board:
r
Where would you like to travel?
o
When would you like to go?
.
What's the best time to travel? Why?
In pairs,
students ask and answer these questions.
9. When the pair work is finrshed, ask individuals to report their answers to the
class. lVonitor the pronunclation
of stressed vowels.
Activity 1,2 Pfinary stress: lntegating sttess, vocabulary, and rcading
level All levels
Worksheet Page 203
Tip Pronounce new vocabulary so students can hear which syllable
is stressed.
Descliption This activity focuses students' attention on the stress patterns
of new
vocabulary. The vocabulary sample is from "Imeline of Lindbergh's
Life" in Northstar Reading and Witing: lntroducto,:y (Beaumont
2009,
135), a reading text for beginning students. The procedure
described
below can be used at any level to integrate stress with any reading.
1. Before class, follow this procedure:
a. Select several polysyllabic words from the reading
(or
vocabulary exercise) to
target for stress/syllable work.
welcome president
receive kidnap invent
artiticial protect
media factory cancer
animal environmentalist
(..tttinued
on n$;t paRe)
24 ]HAPTER 1 worcl strcss
A ctiui ty l. 2 cotttinue.l
b. Count the syl ables in the selected words and mark the stressed syllable; ignore
secondary stress, Determine the syllable-stress
patterns (the
number of syllables
and the location of the stressed syllable) in the selected words. lt does not matter
if some stress-syllable
patterns
are represented by only one word. In the words
below, syllables are underlined and stress is marked with an acute accent
(').
{9{re eryg{gI
ggv
Ss ury
?,tilis4 Qryg regs egu s's
Stress
patterns:
r.l_ 2.
t__
3.
_l
4.
*l-
5.
---l--
welcome
president
'
receive artilicial environmentalist
kidnap media invent
cancer factory
animal
2. tn class, make sure students understand the new words before they read Write
the
preselected words on the board. Write the sy lable patterns as column
headings on the board and number them. Ask students to copy the words and
syllable
patterns onto a piece of paper. Explain the notatlon:
/
represents a
stressed syllable;
-
represents a syllab e without heavy stress.
3. IVlodel the words, lengthening stressed syllables.
(To
reinforce vowel length, use
the rubber band technique described in the Activity 1.1.) Students repeat
4. Draw students'attention to the first word on the list and model it again. Ask
students to count syllables in the word. Underline the syllables on the board. Ask
students which syllable is stressed and mark it on the board
(e.g.,
w6lcome)
5. Ask students which pattern the first word should be written under and write lt
under that pattern. Repeat with another word.
6. Students continue the activity in pairs, underlining syllables, marking the
stressed syllable, and writing each word under one of the patterns. Circulate,
modeling words and helping students count syllables, as necessary.
7, When the class has finished, elicit from students the words that belong in each
column and add them to the board.
8. When all the words are in their appropriate columns, students practice saying
them, column by column. Students should notlce that words in the same
column have the same stress pattern.
6nimal environm6ntalist
\JW\-/\-',\'/\-',
CHAPTER 1 Word Stress
25
Actlxity 1.2 @ntlnued
9. To practice
these words in context, the teacher can ask students to make
sentences about the reading from which the words were taken.
ffi
tt"o."""d
Syllables and
yowel
Reduction
\Xhat
the Teacher Should Know
Unstressed vowels are shortet softer (less
loud), and pronounced
at a lower
pitch than stressed vowels. Most vowels in unsressed syrlabres are reduced to a
centralized^vowel,
usually
/a,/
(the
underlined vowel in qgo; fot
/a/,see also Vowels,
page 180).3 For example, the undedined vovrels in qgai, natian, and euidence ate
unstressed and pronounced
the same. Because of its role in unstressed syllables,
7a,l
is the most common vowel sound in English (Avery
and Ehrlich 1992,31).
Jenftins
(2002)
maintains rhat students who will communicate primarily
with
nonnative speakers need not learn vowel reduction (or
reduced words; see Rhythm,
page
72). Dauer, on the other hand, argues that it is dificult to speak English at a natural
speed without reducing either the length or quality of unstressed
yowels
(2005).
There is eyidence that ESL learners gradually
learn to pfonounce
more English-
like unstressed vowels, with shorter lengths,lower levels of pitch,
and less loudness.
vowel reduction, however, seems to be more difficult. The ability to reduce vowels
may depend on the presence
of vowel reduction in the native language and/or on
an early age of learning Engish (Flege
and Bohn 1989, Nguyen and Ingram 2005, Lee
et al.2OO6, Zuraiq and Sereno 2007). Flege and Bohn suggest that learning to make
a length difference between stressed and unstressed vowels is
"
,ra".rrury
precursor
to \'owel reduction (1999).
Students whose native languages lack vowel reduction, spell worcls
phonetically
and share many cognate words with English (for
example, Spanish or
Italian) may haye an especiany difficult time reducing unstressed vowers.It is usefur
to emphasize and remind them that unstressed vowels can be spelled with any
letter in English but are still prono\nced
/a/ ot
/r/.
Research has not investigated the effect of teaching students to reduce vowel
qualit)4
My own experience suggests that some intermediate and advanced students
can and do learn to reduce unstressecl
yowels
to
/a/ in normal speaking, although
perhaps on a word-by-word
basis.
rJ(/hen
I began teaching promrnciation,
I was on a
"crusade"
against the pronunciati<in
of todLtl, tonigtJt and, tomotrou) as
,,tooday,,,
"toonight," and "toomoffow.',
In my first attempt at teaching vowel reduction, after
I
The vowevt (lhe
!'owel in /1/) may also be used in unstressed syliables, s!cially those spelled with the let tes e
(u
in clectle) or i
(u
in di,uide) rheprctise qrality
of rcducd vowels is inlluencerl by tlie sunouniiing soundr (Biownan
and Gol*t"in iD2l ftr .naing"?
and -0,, in words likep,'el4'atird lrintlau) e ;iitsir.es$ed but not reduceri to /a/. ihe vorvel in the -r'zg
ending is uruAiy p.noun..O
ir.'
26
]HAPTER 1 worcl stress
explaining it and modeling reduced vowels in several words, I wrote the word
totnoffot! on the board and told my stuclents I would pronounce it itl two different
ways. Tlrey were to tcll me which wa-v was coffect. I pronounced totrTonou flrst ls
"toolnorrow" and then with thc vowel correctly reduced When I asked the class
which pronunciation was correct. no one said ar])'thing. I repeated the dcmonstmtion
ancl agnin got no response.I triecl once lnorc, extremely nervous by this time, ,!rld was
relicved to see one student timidl-l/ raise her hancl. She said,
"'ifas
the /f/
different?" I
learned two thinlas that day: first, that nl-v studcnts were very conccrned with the
pronunciation of
/r/;
;!nd second, that students do not rlotice reduced vowels, even
when they are constantly modeled in the native English spoken around them. This
lack of awareness should not, pedraps, havc been surprising to me
(although it was),
gi\.en the fact that reduced vowels are short, indistinct, and not reflected in spefling.
A fust step to learning to pronouncc reduced vowels, then, may be to devebp an
aw;Lreness for how they sound. Awareness is addfessed in the san.Iple actiYity below'
Activity 1.3
Level
Worksheet
Tips
lJnstressed vowels and vowel reduction: Ioday, tonight, and tomorlow
I ntermed late/Advanced
Page 204
Use
pronunciation spellings to develop students'awareness of how
unstressed vowe s are
Pronounced.
Point out that unstressed vowels have a short, indistinct sound
regardless of spelling.
This activity uses pronunciatlon spelllngs to direct students' attention
to the reduction of unstressed vowels, The second part of the activity,
an information
gap,
uses TV schedules to
praciice the reduced vowels
in today, tonight, and tomorrow. Other types of schedules
(e g., train
schedules, movie schedules) can be substituted for the TV schedules
Description
1. Present vowel reduction. On the board, wrlte words in which unstressed vowels
are spelled with each of the vowel letters
(a,
e, i, a, u, y), underlining the
unstressed vowels. Below the normal spelling of the words' write the
pronunciatlon spelling
(respellings
of words that reflect
pronunciation better
than the normal spellings do). lvlark the stress on each word.
?C6
5vldgnce bScqn f5rtqne
ac6 6vadans b6kan l6rchan
physician
lazishan
2. Direct students' attention to the under ined vowels. N4odel each word,
pronouncing the underllned vowel letters as /a/ Be sure to reduce the unstressed
vowels to /a/; when you read words from a list,
you rnay give more prominence to
unstressed vowels than
you would in norrnal speaking lmagine how each word
CHAPTTR 1 Word Strcss
27
Actiultr t.3 Lontinuc.t
sounds toward the end of a sentence, spoken naturally
(e.g.,
Ior physician,
"There's
a
job
available as a physician,s
assjstant.,') Use this pronunciation
when
you
model the words. Djrect students, attention to the pronunciation
spellings
below the words and model them again. Have students repeat.
3. Ask the following questions:
.
What letters in the normal spellings are underlined?
.
Are these vowels stressed or unstressed?
.
Do the underlined letters have different pronunciations?
Explain that unstressed vowels are pronounced
/ai, regardless of spelling.
point
out that the underlined letters represent all the vowel letters used in English,
but they are all pronounced
the same, as /a/.
4. Add pronunciation
spellings of several familiar words to the board. with a blank
below eac6 word. lvlodel the words.
tantr6l
mash6en fdshan prafdshanal
pal6es palitakal
ddnjaras s6kand
Ask volunteers to come to the board and write the
in the blanks. Students practice
saying the words,
spellings as gu
ides.
lnformation gap.
On the board write today, followed
normal spelling of the words
using the pron
u nciation
by its pronunclation
spelling:
8.
9.
6.
7.
5.
today taday
Say the word twjce, once correctly, using a reduced vowel
(taday),
and again
incorrectly, using a full vowel
(tooday)
in the first syllable. Ask students
whether your first or sejcond pronunciation
was correct.
Add tonight and tomorrow Io the board, with their respellings: tanEht,
tamorrow. lvlodel the words, reducing the first vowels. Ask each student to say
today, tomorrow, tonight, reducing the first vowel.
Put students in pairs, giving
each member of the pair
a different TV schedule.
Tell students not to show each other their schedules.
Students complete the information missing in their schedules by asking
questions
like What's on today at 1:00? Remind students to reduce the first
syllable of today, tonight, and tomorrow.
10.
28
cHAPrtR 1 watd stress
lFl
secondary stress
what the Teacher Should Know
In the word rlmocriit. the last Yowel has secondar-Y stress Volvels in s-Yllables
$'ith secondary stress
(markecl with
'
)
haYe ful| vowels (i e
,
not reduced)' length'
ancl loutlness. The major cliftbrence bet*-een
secondary stress and primar,Y/lleav-Y
stress is pitcll:Vowcls with seconclary
sress are pronounced at a lower pitch than
vowels with primary stre ss. Say ddm o.ru)l slowt-Y and liste n to how the
Pitch
of Your
voice changes; it starts high ovcr the first s1'llablc
(with primar-v strcss)' then falls
over the seconcl unstressed syllablc ancl remains low t>ver thc last syllable with
secondarv stress.
Secondary stress is often predictable:
Compounds.
Seconclary stress occurs on the second word of compounds:
5 irpdrt
office biilding
Numbers: "teefls"'
N'.rtive speakers use t\\() pattefns of stress with numbers
endin!! in -teen. Beforc a pause' ancl without special empllasis on dle number
(e .g., He\ sixtden),
primarv stress usually falls ot7-teen ancl secondary stress on the
number
(s/D. Sefore a worcl whose flrst syllable is stressed
(e g
'
t'l/tien cdndles)'
the reverse pattern is used;-/ee, receives secondarl' stress' and tlle number' primary
stfess. The number, rather f:nan -teen' also fecei]'es
pfimary stress in counting:
thirtCen,
J6urfuen, flftden,
and so on
Numbers: "tens". With
-ttl nun]bers,
primary stress is always on the number
(e g
'
s/xfy) and the
-/if ending is unstressecl Another difference bet$'een
-tee
^nd
-ty
,-r.,-b..l' is thc pronunciation of the lctter t In
-ry numbers' t is a flap
(1
fast d'' see
Consonants,
page 129): sixD! In -teet? numbers, I is a /t/:
sixteen
Studentsaresometimesmisrrnderstoodwhentheyuse-teenaf'd.t!numbers;
intcndecl
-teen numbefs are heard as Jt flumbers, and vice versa lf students stfess
-leer numbers on the second slllable' there *'ill bc less confusion as to whether
they have said, sixtden or slxty
Verbs with Prepositionaf
Prefixes. Seconclar-v
stress occurs on the preposition
in most verbs witll
prepositional prefixes:
dvell6ok
ilnderst6nd
Suffixes. Seconclary stress ,Llso occurs on some suffi-res: r4alize' cblldhdod'
atltititde,
pictuftsque. when worcls ending with
-'7te are used as Yerbs' the
-ale
encling has secondary stress and a full \'1)wel
(/e-Yt,f :'o grdduiite
rwhenthese
words
"a..rr".l
as flouns or adjectives, the
-tJle ending is unsffesse(l
and the vowel is
rcclnced:
/zJLr ass'cidle /at/,
grdduate /at/
students
CHAPTER I WoId Stress
29
Polysyllabic
Words with
prirna"ry
Stress tovrard. the End of the Word.
Polysyllabic words with primary
stress toward the end of the word often have
secondary stress two syllables in front of the primary stress. This use of secondary
stress creates a more even alternadon of stresses:
e4ft
As a pronunciation
topic, secondary stfess is less important than pfimary
stress. Fof beginning students, the teaching of secondary stfess can be limired to
certain types of words, like compounds anr| -teen worcls.
If a beginning student's lack of secondary stress makes a word difficult to
understand (this
sometimes happens withpdlitlcian, wlnere secondary stress is on
the first syllable), the teacher can address the error by instructing the student to
lengthen the first syllable of the word.
$i/ith intemediate and advanced str.ldents, secondary stress can be addressed
when working with the stress pattfns of compounds, verbs with prepositional
prefixes,
or suffixed words (see below).
,
Activity 1.4 Secondary stress in nunberc; How nany people
tive at
/t4
Main S|rleet?
level Beginn ing
Worksheet Page 2O5
lip Teach classes of words that have predictable
stress patterns,
Description This information gap provides practice with -teen and -fy numbers.
Students have a map with boxes representing apartment buildings at
different locations. Each student has the number of occupants in
half of ihe bu itdings.
1 On the board, write all the -teen numbers in one column and the -fy numbers
in
a second colu m n:
13 30
14 40
15 50
16 60
17 70
l8 80
19 90
2, lVodel the tee, words first, stressing
-teen.
Students repeat. Ask students
which syllable is stressed. Repeat with the -fy words.
(continuetl
o next page)
cbntribition
30
IHAPTLR I word stress
Actittly 1.4 t:ontin ed
3. Ask students to listen again, this time
paying attention to how the fs in sixteen
and sixty sound
(the
f in sxteen will be a true l; the i in s/xiy will be a flapped l)'
You can explain the flapped fas a "fast d'
(see
Flapped lIl and ldl, page 129)
4. lVodel the numbers across the rows Students repeat'
5, Say one of the numbers on the board. Ask students to write the number
you
said and check their answers with
partners Then select students to choose a
number and say it to the class. The class writes the number they heard and
then checks with the speaker'
6. lnformation
gap. lVlodel the information
gap Draw a box on the board to
represent a OuitOlng on a local street Write the address below the box Below
the address write the
question "How many
people live at 232 lvlain Street?"
tl
232 lvlain Street
How many
people liue aI 232 Main Street?
Ask the
question and choose a student to guess the answer, using a -ty or -teen
number. ilave the student write the number in the box, Repeat
with a different
student and a different address
7. Put students in pairs and hand out a different rnap to each member of the
pair'
Read the instructions on the maps to the class During the
pair work, monitor
pronunciarton of the nu'nbers.
8. After the
pair work, ask students how many
people live in the buildings at
the various addresses.
Provide feedback on the
pronunciation of -feen and
ty n umbers.
K
tat."" with Two-Syllable
Nouns and Verbs
V/hat the Teacher Should Know
O\.er 90
percent of two-syllable nouns are stressed on the first,llable' motbe\
kitcben'husbdncl'tdble.About60percentoftwo-syllableverbsarestressedonthe
second syllable: repeat, occLff' ct(lmit, announce
(Avery anrl Eh ich 1992 67)
1
As
1lho
sylLable edjectnes $'hich are Geflnmic \Lot&
(e
E l'eltau
h ngJ', l/,itstl) ae strcssed on the ii$t s'\'ilable of fie loot;hvo
(,
lrhle ,rlrectrves lronowed fic,n other Lanlua::,es
(e.g.', patite. tfnirl,' ttwf1 raay be slrcssed on either the lirst oL second s,vlLabLe
i'i.i.. ,i""i".iri. i,,gol. inr"'
'iLr"lr,
uorr]..,.,,iualli sireiserLon the fint or sccond syLlable 6Ttrar[t, 6Jiict't
pisible
.lr't)
AJtrl.," uttrtr,rr,.Ltr the lirsi s,rllabLe. lbl/0. ag irnettl ttptirhwnl tuid t?'/'i'b]r 1tle slrcssed ol thc second svll$Le
CHA?TER I Word Stress
31
the percentages
suggest, stfess placement is far more reglrlaf for two_syllable nouns
than for two-syllable
yerbs.
Dauer presents ari altemative de for two-syllable verbs and adjectives: Stress
is placed
on the root syllabte (1993,6D.
This is a useftrl rule proyided
thar students
can recognize the foot. syllable structure also influences stfess on two-syllable verbs
and may help students identis' the root. The last syllable of the verb is stressed if it
contains a long vowel (e.g.,repe.1t,
decide, contain) or ends in a consonant clustef
(two
or more consonants; e.g., elect, disturb). These
rypes
of syllables are hear,y
syllables, which attfact stress.While students cannot be expected to anatyze syllable
structure, hear.y syllables are olten graphically
longer (i.e.,
have more letters) than
light syllables.
Noun-Vefb Pairs: a REcord-to feCORD. Noun-yerb pairs
are two-syllable words
whose grammatical
function determines stress.r#/hen sfessed on the f[.st syllable,
the word functions as a noun (e.g.,
a pdrmit)iwhen
sttessed on the second syllable,
the word functions as a verb (e.g.,
to permit). These word pairs reflect the general
tendency for two-syllable nouns to be stressed on the first syllable and two-sdlable
verbs on the second.
Depending on both the speaker and the word, the stress slijt is not always
mandatory Some speakers, for example, pronounce lly'crease with the noun pattenl
whethef it is used as a noun or verb.
Group Ar Different stress patterns
for nouns and verbs are mandatory for
most speakers.
record, conduct, addict, progress, perrnit,
conflict, desert, object, convict, present,
produce,
rebel, project,
suspect
Group B: The noun pattern
can be used for nouns or verbs.
increase, contract
(business/legal
agreement), protest, research, subiect, detail,
defect, insult
Group C; Nouns and verbs are stressed only on the first syllable.
ACcent, COMfort, PURchase, PROm se, REscue
Group D: Nouns and verbs are stressed only on the second syllable
(many
words
with the prefixes
de-, dis-, and re- fall into this group).
conTROL, surPRlSE, deSlRE, deMAND, aRREST, reVlEW
When used as nouns,the words in Groups A and B often have secondary stress
on the second syllable;the verb forms have reduced vowels in the fust syllable: tbe
Pr6jact,
to projdct
/pfejtkt/ .
Because of the anount of new
yocabulary
this topic is better suited to
intemediate and advanced students.
32
aH \PrE^ / l4ordsre(r
Activity 1.5 Stress with two-syllahle nouns: Classroon obiects
Level Begin ners
Worksheet None
Tip Teach classes of words that have
predictable stress patterns'
Description This activity familiarizes students with stress in two-syllable nouns. It
ends with pair work in which each member of the pair tries to
guess
five items that the
partner has in her backpack
(purse,
bag)'
1. On the board, write three column headings: Things in the room, Things in your
pocket, and Things in your backpack or
purse Explain
"pocket" and
"purse"
if necessary.
2. Ask students to work together and wrlte down as many things as they can for
each column. Help students by
p0inting at obiects and by taking things out
of your pocket or backpack/purse. Examples of things !n the room include a
table, a chair, a blackboard, chalk, eraser, a door, a computer, a window, and
books. Examples of things in your pockets lnclude a wallet, keys, a cell
phone, tissues, and change. Examples of things n backpacks or purses
include books,
papers, pencils, pens' iPods, laptops, water, sandwiches,
and notebooks.
3. When the lists are finished, ask students to volunteer words Write the words
on the board, circling two-syllable nouns Ask students to count the syllables in
the circled words. Ask students if the circled words are nouns
(names
of
things) or verbs
(names
of actions). lvlodel the words, exaggerating the length
of the stressed vowel
(ignore
secondary stress in words ltke backpack or
blackboard). Students repeat. lvlodel the words again Ask students what
syllable is stressed and mark stress. Ask students if most two-syllable nouns
are stressed on the first syllable or the second syllable'
4. Add some unfamiliar, two syllable nouns to the board which can be easily
polnted out. Point to the objects without saying them Examples might include
(depending on the room or the contents of your pockets or bag):
ceiling outlet carpet
scrss0ls
Tell students the words are nouns Ask students what syllables they think are
stressed and add stress marks N4odel the words Students repeat'
5. lvlodel the
pair work, Choose five ltems from the coLumn Things in your
backpack, including some two-syLlable
words Choose a student and ask her'
"Sue, do you have a
-
in
Your
backPack?"
6. Put students in pairs. Explain that each student will guess five things that his
partner has in his backpack, using the
quest on "Do you have a
-
in
loldel
]HAPTER 1 Word Sttess
33
AdlDiA 1.5 .ontinued
your
backpack?" The students can choose words from the board or words for
other things they know.
7. After the pair
work, ask several students to report on the contents of thejr
partners'
backpacks. Provide feedback on word stress.
IF
s*."" with Cornpounds
What the Teacher Should Kmrw
Compour.rd nouns and adiective-noun compounds have primary
stress on the
frst word and secofldary stress on the second: air:pdtt, grdduate
st dents, tbe
IYV:ite Hduse.'fhe first word is pronoutced on a higher pitch:
This is a topic appropriate for beginning through adyanced students and is covered
in most pronunciation
textbooks.
Mispronunciations
of compounds usually occur because students have used a
higher pitch on the second word or on both words. Most intemediate and
advanced students use the correct stress-pitch pattern on compounds Bke airport
ot subu)ay, written as one word (although Spanish students often misstress
boyfriend and girlfriend). They have more difficulty with compounds written as
two words, which are harder to fecognize (e.g., graduate students, post
ofrice,
oflice bailding).Nouns and adiectives fomed from phrasal verbs (e.g.,tbe
tAke\fr
my mdkeiq), have the same stress-pitch pattefn as compounds.
phrasal
\'erbs are
discussed in Rhlthm, page 69.
Activity 1.6 Conpounds: Which came figt?
Level lntermeQiate/Advanced
\
Worksheet Page ?06
Teach classes of words that have predictable
stress patterns.
This activity practices
compounds in the context of a trivia activity
and can be integrated with other work on discoveries/inve?tions
or
technolo$/. Students see pairs
of compounds
(e.g.,
cell
phones,
iPods) and decide which came first.
L
dog
"tL
road
(continue.l
on next page)
34
cHAPtR 1 \\lorcl strcss
Actll,iry t.6 continucd
1. D rect students'attentlon to the compound
pairs. Go over meaning lf
necessary.
2. Select 0ne of the compounds and wrlte it on the board. Write the f rst word
higher than the second, to illustrate the
pitch pattern. IVodel the compound
and the isolated stress pltch pattern
(DA
da). Ask the class whether the flrst or
second word is pronounced on a higher
pitch.
phones
@
3. Students listen to the compounds and repeat them.
4.
5.
In pairs, students decide which came first,
guessing as needed. For example,
cell phones were in use before iPods.
After the
pair work, ask students to report wh ch came first Provide feedback
on the stress pitch pattern of the compounds-make sLlre students
pronounce
the first word on a higher pitch.
Fl
so.tt with Verbs and Nouns with Prepositional Prefixes
What the Teacher Should Know
Most verbs with
trlrepositiollal
pretixcs have prinary stress on the Yerb and
scconclary stress on the prcfix: dtttliue, dueridL inderstdnd, ilps't Atew arc morc
often stressccl on the prepositio n: 6uer ddse, a)utage, 6u ALu. Thcse are not fixed
rules, horvel-er, aud speakers nlay strcss either the prcposition or the Yerb in ordef
to mnintain a more equal alternation of strcsses:
You rea
y upsdt Mary. or You rea y 0pset [/]ary.
Ilecausc of the new r.ocabulary involvecl with these I'erbs. this topic is bctter suitcd
to intermediate and advancetl students.
Nouns and acljcctives can be formed frottt some verbs with prepositionxl
prefixes. These constructions are stressed on the preposition, following the general
pattern for two-syllable nouns: 4
Positirc
6utldok' an psrLting in
prices' 4n
6utbriqk of
Jtu.The
adjective outstanding can bc stressed either on the prefk or
on the root: vrhen the mcaning is
'exceptionally good," outstandirlS usually has
primary strcss on sland;when the meaning is
"unpaidi' as h an outstanding bill'
stress is usu:rlly on out Note that witll outdoor(s), indoor(s)' outside' a\d inside,
stress can be on either syllable.
Activity 1.7 Verbs and nouns with prcpositional prefixes:
Why do wonen
outlive nen?
level Advanced/intermed iate
Worksheet Page 206
Tip Teach classes of words that have predjctable
stress patterns.
oescliption This activity uses paired
dictations to practice
the stress patterns
of
nouns and verbs with prepositional prefixes, in the context of gender
differences. The activiiy can be integrated with work on longevity,
aging, or gender
issues. This is also an opportunjty to
practice
the
pronunciation
of the plural women, using the vowel hl
(h/
is lhe
vowel in drd; see Front Vowels, page 169).
1. On the board, write some verbs with prepositional prefixes.
Go over meaning if
necessary. Students may ask whether whelm is a verb. Explain that it comes
from a verb meaning "capsize"
used in Old and lViddle English
(it
is listed by
itself in the American Heritage Dictionary with the meaning,,overwhelm',).
outlive oveldo undertake overtake
withhold overwhelm outweigh withdraw
2. Model the words, stressing the verb. Students repeat. Ask students whether the
words are nouns or verbs and which part of the word is stressed
(verb
or
preposition).
l\4ark stress on the words. Explain that most verbs with
prepositional prefixes
are stressed on the verb.
3. Add nouns with prepositional prefixes to the board.
income outgo 0vervtew outline
]HAPTER 1 Wotd Stress
35
l\4odel the words, stressing the prepositions.
Students repeat. Ask students
which part
of the words is stressed. Explain that nouns with preposittonal
prefixes
are stressed on the preposition.
Paired dictations. Model the activity. Dictate the sentence below to the class.
Tell students to mark the stress on the word with the prepositional prefix.
Elderly women outnumber elderly men.
Put students in pairs
and give each member of the pair
a different set of
sentences for dictation. Students decide where stress should fall in the
underlined words in their sentences and drctate the sentences to a partner who
writes them. Students should speak as clearly as possible and not show the
dictation sentences to the partner until the activity is finished.
After the activity, ask individuals to read the sentences. Ask the class to
comment on the dictation statements: Are the statements true, false, or
par y
true? Ask students if they think there are other reasons that women ou|ive men.
4.
5.
7.
6.
36
:HAPTER 1 word Stress
Hh
Abbreviations
V/hat the Teacher Should Know
The last letter of an abbreviation has heaviest stress and highest pitch:e.g.,
ATI\4
(automated
teller machlne).
Activity 1.8
Ievel
Worksheet
Tip
Description
Ahhreviations: Integruti ng
pnnunciation antl
grannar
lntermedlate
Page 207
Teach classes of words that have
predictable stress
patterns.
This activity combines
practice with the stress
pattern of common
abbreviations and the use of premodifiers
(articles
and
possessives)
with abbreviations. Students maich abbreviations 1o definitions and
supply a modifier in front of the abbreviation.
5,
6.
&
1. Students listen to the abbreviations on Worksheet 1.8 and repeat them
2. Ask students which letter of the abbreviation has the heaviest stress and which
has the highest pitch. (The
last letter has the heaviest stress and the highest
pitch, which then falls.) Ask individuals to read some of the abbreviations.
Provide feedback on stress and pitch.
3. Explain the use of articles and
possessive adjective
premodifiers if necessary
5
4. Students work in pairs to match the abbreviations with definitions and write a
modifier in the blank before the abbreviation.
After the pair work, ask students to explain what each abbreviation stands for
(e.g,,
the U/V stands for the United Nations), monitoring stress on the
abbreviation, as weli as premodifier use.
Abbreviated
phrases such as IGIF
(thank
God it's Friday), AS,4P
(as
soon as
possible), and FYI
(for your information), and texting abbreviations such as BFF
(best
friend foidver), IOL
(lots
of laughs or laughjng out loud, also little old
lady), and /DK
(l
don't know) can also be presented. These abbreviations are
used more in writing than speaking.
t
The artlcLe /re is used when the abbreviation refels tc a specific
(or kno$n) rcferenl
(e g.,lbe Ul\), a\d4 a is usedwith a
nonspeclfic
(or
unknown) relercnt
(e.g.,
an ATlti): no article is used when lhe abbrevialion is a prcler nalne
(e.g.,
IBtr{). Possessives arc
used when re rcferent
"be1ongs" to an individual
(e.g., ll'r D0B, date of bitlh)
aHAPTER 1 Ward Stress 37
Actiuiry 1.8 continued
7. Group work
(3
4 students). Instruct each student to give
additional
information about one of the places
or organizations in the matchjng activity:
US, UK, UN, FBl, ClA. The informatlon can be of anytype: an opinion, a fact,
or a personal
experience. Remind students to stress the abbreviation correc|y
and to use modif iers.
8. After the group
work, ask students what other abbreviations they are familiar
with
(e.g.,
local abbreviations).
ffi
to."" with suffixes
Vhat the Teacher Should Know
Some suffixes require that stress fall on a particular syllable in a word and may
cause stress to shift from its regular
bosition
in the base word,.For exafiple, define
is stressed on the second syllable; when -tion/-sion is added, stress shifts to the
syllable before the suffix definltion (also
uacAtion, conuersdtion, communicAfion.
identificAtion, decision, profession).
WittL -eer, on the other hand, pfimary stress
shi.fts to the suffix ltsef, the last syllable: enginder, uoluntAet; pionder
FamiliaritF
q/ith
the stress pattems associated with suffixes takes some of the
guesswork out of stress assignment, especially in longer words where most
misplacements of stress occur (Fokes
and
Bond 1989). Since advanced students will
have picked up the stress pattems associated with some of these suffixes, the topic
can also be used to work with vowel reduction. a feature of stress which is not
acquired quickly.
Because of the level of vocabulary, this topic is not suited to beginning
students. There are, however, some
yery
common stress-changing sufflres, such as
-tion/-sion, that occur in words appropriate to a high beginner's lr'o cab\l^ry..nation,
decision, information, professlon.
Stress on word forms inyolvingpDoto shoultl als<r
be taught to beginners:These words are misstressed by many students ar all leyels:
phr6to phot6grapher phot6graphy photogriiphic
Many suffixes do not cause stress to change from its position in the base
wor<l: -zess
OrAppiness-bAppy),
-! (sldepiness-srcel4l), -ment (g6uernment-
g6uern, tndasurement mdasure), -ful (bau
ful-bdau4),
mAsterfut-mAster). See
Appendix C for a more complete list of suffixes with associated srress patterns
and exceptions.
3B
CHAPTER 1
Activity 1.9 Strcss with suffixes: What's
presidential?
Level Advanced/intermediate
Worksheet Page 208
Tip Teach classes of words that have predictable stress patterns.
Desclipt:on This activity
practices stress associated with suffixes used in words
that describe leadersh ip qualities.
@
1. Students listen to the words on Worksheet 1.9 and repeat them. Ask students
to identify the stressed syl ables and mark them
(for
all of these suffixes,
primary
stress is on the syllable before the suffix: presid6ntial, intell6ctual,
controv6rsial,
politician, muslcian, academician, l6gical, identical, ecol6gical,
idealistic, realistic, energetic, responsibllity, integrity, passivity, luxirlous,
ambitious, couriigeous).
2. Students volunteer other words they know with these endings. Add the words to
the board, marking the stressed syllables.
5.
0n the board, write the
question "What's presidential?"
Group work
(3-4
students). Ask students to discuss the qualities ihat a good
president or leader should have. Students can use words from the board or
choose other words.
After the
group work, ask a member of each
group to report t0 the class.
Provide feedback on word stress.
3.
4.
Fk
to"" on Unstressed Syllables
what the Teacher Should Know
Native speakefs drop internal unstressed vowels in some common words:
Famil!, f$ example, is pronounced "farnly," and erery is pronounced "evry." The
dropped vowel is often followed by
/r/
ot /l/.
Loss of the unsressed vowel has the effect of making the word one syllable
shorter than its written form suggests. It also has the effect of bringing consonants
together and creatinfa more closed
(and difficult) syllables: Fa-mi-l!, with rhtee
open syllables, becomes
fam-ly,
with a closed and open syllable (closed syllables
cncl in consonants; open syllables end in vowels; see Consonants, page 118).While
thcse reductions are charactefistic of fluenl American speech, they are not a high
priority pronunciation topic. With advanced students, who have covered word
stress but still neecl more work, these worcls can add a new element, though
students may already be using reduced pronunciations in some of them
(e
9.,
"intresting" for interesting).
CHAPTER 1 Wotd Stess
39
All students
should
be aware_of
one word from this gtoup,
comJbr.table,
stjrce
:l:,
word is:ommon
and rhe spelling does ,ro, ..p...*i.oTrrnciadon
well. Most
native speakers pronounced
this word
Zfamfiar_SalZ.'ifre
pronunciarion
of
com'fortabre
shourd
be taught
when the word t nrst in*oouc!-o
to students.
In the asterisked
words below, the dropped syllable almost
atways,,disappears.,,
accidentally
*aspirin
awfu lly
beverage
*chocolate
*comfonable
deliberate (adiective)
different
elementary
*evening
*every
*family
favolite,
favorable
*federal
general,
*generally
*interest,
interesting
*laboratory
miserable
naturally
*practically
restaurant
*separate
(adjective)
*several
*temperature
*vegetable
(accidently)
(asprin)
(awfly)
(bevrage)
(choclate)
/kamftarbay
-
notice that the o.tlet ol M and ht is
switched
in spelling and pronunciation,
(delibrate)
(diffrent)
(elementry)
(evning)
(evry)
(famly)
(favrite,
lavrable)
(fedral)
(genral,
genrally)
(intrest,
intresting)
(labratory)
(misrable)
(natchra
y)
(practicly)
(restrant)
(seprate)
(sevral)
(temprature)
(vegtabte)
40
]HAPTER I word Strcss
Incorrectly Dropped Syllables
(ex'cise for exercise). Although many
students pronounce unstressed syllables with too much pfominence, some
students, especially Chinese students, may drop them or pronounce them too
wc.LkJy Exercise, for example, $/hich is a three-syllable word, may sound like
"excise;' a two-syllable wotd; actiuitl, a four-syllable word, may sound like "acti\ty."
The unstressed syllables that are commonly dropped are internal -er- syllables
(together with r-dropping, see Vowels, page 192), internal syllables spelled with
-i- (e.9., euidence may sound like
"evdence"), and final -y endings (e.9., uery gootl
may sound like
"ver' good"). These are reductiye errors, errors in which phonetic
material that should be present is missing; they are distracting and can have a
negative impact on comprehensibility.
The words below are ones in which my Chinese international teaching
assistants (ITAS) frequently drop syllables.
art c e pronounced like "a(r)tko(l)"6
c ass cai pronounced like
"clasko(l)"
economics pronounced like
"ecnorn
ics"
exerclse-pronounced like "excise"
energy pronounced Ike "engy"
tec h n ologica l-pronou nced like "tech(n) og co(l)"
understanding
pronounced Like
"u
nstanding"
un iversity-pronou nced like "unvast(y)"
opportun ty-pronounced like "optunty"
evldence pronounced like "evdence"
activity-pronounced like "aktivt(y)"
In classrooms with mlxed native languages, this error is best dealt with
thfough effor coffection.
5
Parentheses arcund a letter for exampLe, a(r)tko(l)-indicate fiat the sound corrcspondirg to lhe lettr mal not be prcnounced or
ma-v be pronounced very weakly
|:ItAPTER 1 Word Sttess
4"1
Activity 1.1 0 Disappea ng syllables: Gane
level Advanced/intermed iate
Worksheets Pages208,209
Tip Use pronunciation
spellings to develop students' awareness of how
unstressed vowels are pronounced.
Description Thls activity presents
dr0pped syllables in the c0ntext of a
guessing game.
1. Give each student a copy of the list of words on Worksheet 1.10A. Explain ihat
native speakers of English often drop one of the unstressed syllab es in these
words.
@2.
Students listen and draw a line through the unpronounced vowel. Then they
and repeat.
asp/tin
temp/rature
int/rest
laby'ratory
nat/rally
chocy'late
vegfable
5.
Collect the handouts.
Divide the class into two teams. Give Team I the
questions in Set 1 and Team
2 the questions in Set 2 of Worksheet 1.108.
Explain the game. Each team has a d fferent set of questions;
the two teams
take iurns asking the opposing team their questlons. First, a member from
Team 1 asks a member from Team 2 a question. Encourage readers to say the
questions as clearly as possible
so the opposing tearn understands what's being
asked. The Team 2 player must answer with a dropped syllable word. Then
Team 2 asks Team l a question.
listen again
lAnswers:
m is/ra ble
bevfrages
pracric/lly
ev/ning tur/ly
led/ral gen/ral
sep/rate
(adj)
eufry
lavfrite comlort/ble
accident/lly awt/ltyl
3.
4.
El
t,"."" switching
What the Teacher Should Know
The strcsscd syllable is fixed in most worcls. Howeveq in some rvords where
secondary stress is followccl b-v rvord-final primar'!' stre ss, the two stresses can
switch syllables. For example, in citation form (the word in isolation), TdnneS.9EE
has primxr_y stress on the last s)'llable and scconclary stress on the first syllable.
42
]HAPTER I word strcss
Howevet in TEnnessAe RIae4 native speakers switch primary and secondary stress
on knnessee in order to avoid the two adiacent, heavily stressed syllables that
would result in TbnnessEE Rlrer (a stress clash). Stress switching creates a more
eyen alternation of stresses and a more eurhythmic (rhlthmically pleasant) phrase
(Liberman and Prince 1977, Selkirk 1984). Stress switching also occurs in the
pl.rases on the right, below.T
Primary stress on lasi sy lable
l'm slxTEEN.
Ndw YORK
Primary stress shifts back
in 1610
(Slxtden
TEN)
NEW York Clty
Natiye speakers may also adtust timing or lengthen final sounds to separate
adjacent stressed syllables (Selkirk i984). For example, the rhlthm of 'Jine sings
w6ll" sounds slower than the rh)'thm of
"The w6man is singing beautifully.'In both
sentences there are three stressed s]4lables. However, in the first sentence, all three
stressed syllables are adjacent, causing speakers to slow down to put space between
the stresses. In the second sentence, there are unstfessed syllables which prevent
adjacent stresses, and therefore there is no need to slow down.
Stress switching is not a high-priority pronunciation topic but can be added to
work on stress with advanced students as something new
Activity 1.1 1 Stess switching: What happened in the l99h?
level Advanced
Worksheet Page 210
fip Teach classes ol words that have
predictable
stress
patterns.
Bescription This trivia activiiy practices the stress
patterns in -teen numbers
used in years. lt can also be used to reinforce the use of the and
plurals
with names of decades
(e.g.,
the 1990s). Students
guess
the decade in which historical events occurred-
On the board, write:
He was 19
(nineteen)
in the 1990s
(nineteen
nineties).
l\4odel the sentence. For the two occurrences of 19, stress -feen when it refers
to age; stress the number nine-when it refers to the century. Elicit from
students the stress on the two -teen words
(or
explain it): feen numbers are
'
slre$ s$jfhing is onl,! a bacxw-ards" process: a finaL primary strcss exchdges pLace with x preceding scondary stress. T]rus, lor
exenple, stress s$jtchirg does not occlr r $ith compound! a conpound like /i/Rphre
(wllh pdmary slRss on lhe lint noun) never
bccoms,ri?l4rw Strcss s\\'lrhing ls ar oflionaL rule and occum mo$ hequen
)
in "lightlr bound" phm-\es Like 761r. Sxtie. TEN,
at NllW 1l), Cij,
(.Li'betman
md Pince l
gl7,
320).
2.
1.
1HAPTER 1 Wotd Sttess 43
stressed on the number in years (this
is a more general
tendency which occurs
when the next word is stressed on the first syllable). Otherwise, students
should stress -teen.8
Elicit from students the names of the decades of the twentieth century.
(There
is no agreed on name for the decade 1900 1909; it is sometimes called the
nineteen aughts or the 19-lowzl; the decade 1910-1919 is called the nineteen
tens.) Write the names on the board, including the article fhe and the plural
ending. Model the decade names. Students repeat.
Pass out Worksheet 1.11. Students work in pairs to identify the decade when
the event occurred. Ask students to
guess
if necessary.
Following the pair
work, ask students when they think the events occurred.
Provide feedback on their pronunciation
of numbers and the use of fhe and the
plural
with decade names
(e.g.,.
the 1920s\.
CONCLUSION
When students leam to lengthen vowels in stressed syllables and shorten
vowels in unstressed syllables, they not only pronounce individual words more
cleafly, but also are primed for one of the keys to natural English rhythm-the
altemation of long (stressed) and short
(unsffessed)
words.
In addition, appfoaching the teaching of word stress through specific classes
of words like compor:nds, where stress is predictuble, helps students avoid one of
the single most serious pronunciation effors-misplaced wofd stress.
8
Natilr speaken may also stres the number (rather than -/aara), even when fhe number is followed by a pause, ai in 1 rz
19
(ninetren).
CHAPTER
I ovefheard the following col.tvcfsatioll bctween thc owncr of x local
ne\vsstand (a Pakistani who speaks verv good English) and a Kofe'tlt cLlstomcr who
was I less pfoficient English speaker. The Korean man had dropped off a roll of film
to bc devek)pcd iu]d wanted to know $.hcn to pick it up. The
pakistani
owner
ans!\.'ered that it would be ready "two
da)'s later, (thar
is, on Saturclay). The Kofean
man wasn t sufe srhethcr the Pakistani ltaal said
,,todal',
later,,or.,two days later.'.
Korea n: Today later, right?
Owner: Two days later.
Korean
(po
nt ng with his index f nger to the counter): Todav ater?
Owner: No, two days ater.
l\4e: Proba lt y
Saturday.
This misunderstanding rel]ects a problcm with both rl]1.thm and word stfess.
two closcll' relatcd areas of English pronuncialion. English rhlthm is characterized
b.v an eltcrnation of meaningful words (like
lu)o ot tlq.!),wt.\ch are long in dlu.ation
and stresscd, and grammatical
words (likc the preposition to, or the lrtrticlc ttJe),
which ale short and unstressed. The same altcrnation of long-stressed :rnd short
unstressed is found within words; f<rr example. the sccond s,vllable of todaJ), the
stfessed syllable, is lol.rger than the first syllable
(tocl.q),111e
unstressed svllable..l.he
Kofean customer was apparently unaware of the diffcrcnce berween strcssed and
Lnstressed rvords and si4lablcs.In Enlilish, the first svllablc of today does not sound
like lz,o; becausc it is unstressed, the \.owel is reduced and pronounced likc the first
von'el in
algo.
In the Korcan's speech, todat- sovnded like tun cla1t. The Korean
appilfently also did not notice the Pakistani's use of the plurul da-trs. The fact that the
ncsrsstand owner was not a native speakef of English may also have contributed to
thc conftrsion, although the Pakistani's Englislt was vcry good. Ir is inpossible to
kno$- wltether the Korean was generall]. unaware of thc clift'efent pfonunciations
of
lod.t)t ancl tun daJ,6), or n4tether he clidn't expect anotltef nonnative speakef to
make this distinction.
45
46 cHAt'rLR 2 Rhythnl
Natural English rh,vthm requires the use of length and loudness to distilrluish
morc promincnt worcls liom lcss prominent wortls, as wcll as thc abilitv to link
words together smoothly and pronounce thcn in meatingftll units.\tronli calls thc
length-loudness distinction "the ke,v to the rhlthnic s)stem of English" (19U7, 2l);
the ability to link words together and group thcm effectivel_y into units of meaning
is no lcss ifilpoftant.
PROFICIENCY AND RIIYTHM
Knowlcdgc of vocabuletl anci grammtr has an inpact on rhlthm.A student
whose speech is halting because she is scarching lor words is unlikel,v to hxve the
planning time to link the final end beginnin[a sounds of adjacent wotds
(e.9.. dot
com) app()piatcly; the abilit]' to group words into appropriate phrases dso
requires quick access to lexicnl items and grammar. Lt a comparison of the cffcct
of prosodic (intonational) features and fluenc,v
(pausing) features on accentedness,
fluenc-v-bascd problems like frequent, long. or inappropriate pauses were more
important contributors to accent than intonation (ltofimovich and Bakef 2006).
Lower-proficiency learners tend to pausc more liequently and inappr-opriate ly than
l.righ-proficie nc-v lcarners (Anderson-Hsieh and Venkatagiri, 1994).'lhese findings
do not mean that tcachers should avoid tcaching rh,vthm to beginning stt-tdents. on
the contrar]', rhlthm should be taught. but the topics and approach shottld be
linked to students'proliciency Chel:r-Flores, for example. rccommends that
begil.ming students learn the rhlthmic patterns of tlte language they are able to
use, suclr as the lalrliualac of
lareetings
ancl infortnatjon questions like WJat\
)nlrr
nculle?
(20O1,).
Students are better ible to hear thc fhlthm pattern of a sentence or phrase
rvhen the pattern is isolatcd. For example, the rhvthnr of a phrase like ut IIOME or
in SCHOOL is casicr for stlrdents to hear s.hetr tlte phrase ar.rcl its isolatecl rhlthm
patterr are modclcd togethef: at HOME-da DA.
Students also find it easier to hcar the rhl-thm of a phrase or short sentence
when it is paired with a familiar wor.l that has thc snme pattern (for example.
engineer and Ann uvts here). A relaled technique can be used to teach awarcncss
of reduced pronunciations. Students notice thc |ecluced pronunciations of be ancl
ber in WlJat did he do or
'lvhctt's
ber nante when the) see the questions re spclled
as "what diddy do?" and "\Whatscr name?'
One of the clifficr-rlties studcnts and tc'.rchers fhce $'hen workin! \i'ith rhlthm
in longer uttcrances is rhxt there are as mtny dilfcrcnt rh,\tl]m pattcrns xs there are
difTerent utterenccs. The fhythm of a giYen lltterance dcPcnds on the stfess patterns
of lexical items, their ordering, and the relation of the utterance to the larger
discourse;when lexical content. orclcr, and discourse contcxt differ, r'lrythm dift-ers.
'Working
with shorter phr:rses with relativel]' predictable pattcrns sinplilies the
pronunciation task for teachets ancl students. Chela-Florcs atlvoctttcs a similar
CHAPTER 2 tlllvthn 47
appfoach, basing pronunciation work for beginning students on,,chunks,, of speech
that students can process as units of meaning and rh\thm (2O01).
Rh1tl]m churks are granmatical phfases with a predictable corc rhythm
pattern.'lhey exprcss Llnits of meaning and ma,y constitutc thought groups (see
pagc 52). The corc rhythm partern of a pfeposition?rl phrase, for cxamplc, is a weak
bcat (short, unstrcssed), thc preposition, followed b1. a strong bear
(lonla,
stressed),
thc tlolln at HOMF
The core rhl.thm pattcrn of a phrase type, for cxanplc, the weak-strong
pattcrn of prepositional phrases, ma_l' be idcntical to tlre rhlthm of an xctual phrase
(e.9.,
at HOXIE) or part of the fhlthm of an actual phrase.A k)nger prepositional
phrasc (e.g., dt the IJLINking RED LIGHT) may h;rvc additional bears (s]4lables),
both strong and weak.
TTPS FOR TEACHING RITYTHNT
The seven tips listed below proviclc some gcneral sulagcstions for helping
students to speak English with a clearer, nore natural rhlthm. The tips are based
on the characteristics of Englislt dtythm and on the problems
studcnts encountcr
with rh\-thm.
tnps
'1.
?.
3.
4.
5.
6.
.7
Model phrases using nonsense syllables to make rhe dlthm partern easier to hear
Teach beginning students the rh).tltm patterns of communicatively uscftll
language at their level.
To help students distinguish meaningful groups of words, teach them to
lelgthen the end of one group before saying the following group.
Teach students to link the final consonant ofa word smoothly to the beginning
sound of the next word.
Teach stlrdents predictable rhltlxn patterns of phrases.
Teach students lo recognize the reduced pronunciations
of gramrrrar wor<ls.
Teach the reduced pronunciltion of can to help studerts pronounce the
difference between can and. can't,
Thc rcmaindef of this chaptcr prcscnts spe cific featt-tres of rh_\-thm. l'he seven
tips above are explained lifiher in the contcxr of the followinla fcarures.
48
.HAPrtR 2 Rhvthm
It
sprctrtc
rrnrunrs or nnYrnvt
1. Stress-timed rhlthm
2. Content and fuilction words
3.
Thought groups
4. l-inking adiacent words
5.
Prepositional
phrases and infinitives
6. Articlc + noun
7. Pcrsonal
Pronouns
8. Pltrasal verbs
9.
Coniunctions
10. Reductions of ftinction words
11. Fast-speech recluctions of function rvords
we disclrss what the teacher shoul.l know about each of these topics and
pfovide suggestions for teaching them ln some cases, the sullgestion is a classroom
-activinr
In other cases, it is efror correctioll.
Suggestions for error corrcction are
short enor,rgh to use when studen$ are engaged in nonpronunciation
actiYities'
They are also useflil fbr adclressing
pronunciadon
problems that only one or two
students in a class experience
Fh
stress-Tirned Rhlthn
What the Teacher Should Know
English rhlthm is described as stress-timed rh)-thm, one of several broad
types oidrl-thm. Other stress-timecl
languages includc I)utch, German' Mandarin'
ancl Arabic. The cllaracteristics
found in languages with stress-timed rhlthm
include the presence of a large Yariety of syllable
qvpes-both open syllables
(encling in vowels) and closed syllables of various types
(syllables endiflg in
consonants). Stress-timed languages may also have hean- and light syllables;healy
syllables, which attract stress, are those that have long vowels andlor end in
consonant clusters. In aclclition, in stress-timed
languages' unstressed syllables are
shorter than stressed syllables, and vowels in unstressed syllables may be reduced'
The more of these characteristics
a langualle has' tlle nlore stress'timed
its rhlthm
(Ramus et al. 1999).
Strcsstimed
rh)-thm contrasts with sf/llable-timed
rh)-tlm, forurd in tanguages like
Spanish, Ita[an, Korean anct Cantonese ln syllable-tined languages stressed and
cHAprER 2 Rhythm
49
unstressed syllables axe of approximately equal length; the variety of syllable types
is more limited; and vowel reduction in unstressed syllables is unlikely.
r
Lloyd
James
likens stress-timed rhlthm to Morse code signals (long
dashes and short dots) and
sfllable-timed rhlthm to
"machine gun" or staccato pattems (1940).
Learners whose
native language is syllable-timed have difficulty learning English rh)'thm, but with
exposure and increasing proficiency, they will acquire some of the characteristics of
stress timing.
Infomation about the stress-timed nature of English rhlthm is included in
many pronunciation textbooks and helps students understand and become aware of
the genefal nature of English rhlthm. It is presented here in a similar spirit, as
"rh1'thm appreciation" and as an introduction to more focused work on specific
fe atures of rhlthm.
Activity 2.1 Prcsenting stessi/ined rhythn: Linericks
level lntermed iate and Advanced
Worksheet See
page
211.
lip
2,
1. Direct students' attention to the pictures
of the two tree lines on Worksheet 2.1.
Ask students to compare the tree size and spacing of the two tree lines.
Model the sentences below the tree lines. Ask students which words are longer
and louder. Ask students if the rhythm of English is more like the natural tree
line or the apple orchard.
lvlodel the sentences again, following each with its isolated rhythm pattern: Ihe
birds abandoned the forestAa DA da DA da da DA da; They built their nests
in the orchard 4a DA da DA da da DA da, Students repeat the sentences and
rhythm patterns.
(continued
on next page)
I
inslrumenlal bsdng hrs failed to confinn some of lie perceptuai charactristics of strcss-ti.oed languages (Dauer
1983, Ramus et al.
:
ll9)
. In $rcss timed languags, slrcsses arc heard as occuring at equal inlNals in lime
(isochrony)
;
in syllable{imed larguages, the
=e
befteen $resses is more variable. llowever, instrumental measurments rcveal that stre$ses in English (e
$ress-tined language)
=
n0 more rcgular than those in syllable{imed Languages (Dauer
1983).
J.
50
]HAPTER 2 Rhythm
ActiuiU' 2.1 conttnued
4. Ask students to read the limerick silently and then
go over questions
about vocabu lary.
@
5. StuCents listen to the limerick and repeat. Ask students which words are
stressed
(i,e.,
longer, louder). lStressed
words: once, man, beard; said,
just,
feared; owls, hen; larks, wren; build(tng), nests, beardl
6. In pairs, students
practice the limerick. Then, on the bottom half of the
handout, the pairs write a new third and fourth line; lines 3 and 4 need nOt
rhyme but the rhythm
(i.e.,
the number of syllables and location of stressed
syllables) should be the same as in the 0riginal. Each
pair presents its limerick
to the class, alternating the lines.
Etl
con..n and Function words
What the Teacher Should Know
Content words are words with clear meaning
(e.g.,run, coffe4 bot) Fl]nctiott
words lrave abstract or
grammatical meantrlg
(e.g.,tbe, to, at).In connected speech,
content words are usually stressed and function words are usually unstressed.
Content words: Stlessed
Function Words: Unstressed
Nouns
(table,
dog)
Atticles
(a,
an, the)
Ueths
(watk,
eat) Auxiliary verbs
(an,
is, has, can, will)
Adiectives
(big,
beautifut) Short
preposilions (to,
at, in, for, with)3
AdueJbs
(quickty,
vety) Coniunctions
(and,
ot, that, when, if)
Demonstratives
(this,
those)2 Relative
pronouns (who,
wnon, that, which)
ouestion words
(Who?
How?) Personal
pronouns and
possessive adjectives
Negatives
(inctuding
contractions)
0'
you' he' them' our' their)
(not,
don't, isn't)
2
Inng prepositions Like d&?e/t or undemeath h,we cleNer mexning
(comp'lred to /0 or d/) and
,.lre
often strcssed
3
Celce ]lurciaet al. list demonstrative adjectiles
(e.g
,
that nan, lhue bctohs) ts functior Notds alid denorstrative
Ponouns
aj
content words
(e
g
,
lDr, r/ /rpre)
0 996,
I 53) .
)HAPTER 2 Rhythm
51
Activity 2.2 Content and lunction wods: Shopping
level Beginn ing
Worksheet None
Tips Model phrases
using nonsense syllables io make the rhythm pattern
easier to hear.
Teach beginning students the rhythm patterns
of communicatively
useful language at their level.
Description This activity links the stress patterns
of familiar words to the rhythm
pattern
of phrases"
The sample is a short dialogue about shoppjng.
Reprinted lrom Top Notch: English for Today's World, Fundamentals
by Joan Saslow and Allen Ascher, Pearson Longman, page
49.
Used with permission.
The activity in Top Notch taryets shopping
language, including clothing and color vocabulary.
Q
1. Students listen to the dialogue oir the Audio CD, track 8, and repeat the lines.
T, LET'S GO S HOpping.
H: OK. WHAT do you
NEED?
T: I NEED a TIE and a NEW SUIT.
H: IS THAT ALL?
T: YES,
jt
lS. OH, Actually, I NEED SHOES, T0Ol
2. Copy the dialogue on the board, capitaiizing the stressed syllables of content
words. Below each line, write the isolated rhythm
pattern,
T: LET'S G0 SHopping.
DA DA DA da
H: OK WHAT do you NEED?
DAda DA da da DA
T: I NEED a TIE and a NEW SUIT.
da DA da DA da da DA DA
H: IS THAT ALL?
da DA DA
T: YES, it lS. OH, Actually, I NEED SH0ES, T0O!
DA da DA. DA, DAdada, da DA DA DA
(c()ntinued
on next
l)age)
52
]HAPTER 2 Rhytl)m
Actiri
Dt
2. 2 co, ttinaed
3. lVode each line, followed by its isolated rhythrn pattern. Emphasize the
stressed syllables. Students repeat the dralogue lines and the rhythm patterns.
4. Ask students which words are longest and loudest
(the
cap talized words).
5. Select pairs of students to perform the dialogue for the class. Provtde feedback
on rhythm: The capitalized words should be long and loud.
6. 0n the board, list related
questions from the textbook un t
(or
from units
previously covered) n one column and possible answers in another column,
with whlch students can create new dialogues. Capitalize the stressed syllab es
of content words.
Ft]
rhought croups
what the Teachr Should Know
Vords within an uttemnce are broken into shorter, meaningflil groups of
words called thought groups. A thought group includes at least one content
(stresse(D word and often corresponds to a gfammatical stfuctufe (e.g., a verb
phrase, prepositional phrase, or short clausc).In the sentence below,thonght groups
ale underlined.
It's not too late to f nd a r6om at a natjona
park this season.
Most students understand the notion of a thought group and arc able to dividc
a written sentencc into appropriate
liroups.
They may not, however, know how the
yoice
conveys this information. In English, both rhlthm and intonation provide cues
for the Lstener The rhlthmic cue is a lengtlleninti or holding of the end of a thongltt
group betbre the ncxt begins
(Selkirk 1984,Wightman et al. 1992).The lengthenir.rg
may be heard as a pause, although within an utterance, the !-oice "lingers" rather
than stops irt a thought group boundary In addition, words within a thought group
are linked more closely than words across thouliht
gror-lp boundaries.
Thought groups also have thcir own intonation patterns.* At thc cnd of an
internal
(nonJinal) thought
liror-lp,
intonation usually rises a little, a signal that the
speaker has more to sa)', but may also fall a little. The sentence above is repeated
below, showit.tg the drlthmic and intonational cues that mark its thought groups.
It's not toitate to f nd a ro66 at a nationa
6il
tni. .*--)n
loo,"rg
.1
tO'O e18 ^
OO
o drLat
a
Thought groqts are dso cxLled inlor)ation units
(Gilhefl
1981, Cclce NlrLcie et el 1996). int0nnti(Dal
lhrdes
or inteDnedilte
intoretional phm-ses (Pierehun )efi 19t0, Picrchlmbert xlld HiNchbeql 1990). and k)lle Lrnils
(Bnzil
1994a)
.H^prrR 2 Rhvthn
53
Because thcse nonfind intonirtion changes are difficult for students and teachers to
hea! the main tcacltinla focus should be on the rhrthmic cues, the lengtheninla or
palrsinli at the encl of a thought group.
'l'hcre
are no fixed rules for determining in adyance what tlte thougltt groups
in a given sentence should be. Me:rninli is a factor, but so, too, are rate of speakinli
(ftwcr thought groups ;uc used in fastcr speech) and stvle of speaking (morc
thoulaht gfoups are used in public speakin!). The senrcnce above, for example,
coultl also be broken into two of thfee thought
laroups:
It's not too late to f nd a room at a fattona oarkthsseason
Appropriate thought groupinll bcnefits the student in two wa,vs. Organized
into sl.rofter, meaningful units, thc student's message is more comprehensible. In
addition, the brief pause or holcling of the end of a thought
tiroup
slows the student
down, gir.ing him more time to make lexical,
larammatical,
and pronunciation
choices (Gilbcrt
1994, Lcvis and Grant 2001).
Thought groups arc both teachable and learnable. Anderson-Hsich and
Venkatagiri found that ntore proficient Chinese learners used pausing more
appropriatel_y than less proficient learners (1994).
Ueyama lbund that aclrancccl
Japanese
learncrs lengthened the ends of thought groups more eppropriately than
bcginning learners (1996).In
this book, thoulaht
laroups
are atldressed below as I'ell
as in activities that focus on rhe rh,vthm patterns of specific phflrse tvpes (c.g.,
prepositional phrases).
Activity 2.3
Ievel
Worksheel
Tip
Description
Thoaght groups:
Exercise
High Beginning/Low Intermed iate
N one
To help students distinguish meaningful groups
of words, teach them
to iengthen the end of one group
before saying the following group.
This activity practices
thought groups in the context of exercise and
fitness and can be iniegrated with topics on health, nutrition or
sports and with the grammar
of the present
tense third-person sin-
gular ending. Students interview their classmates about a) how often
they exercise, b) what they do, c) where they exercise, and d) with
whom they exercise. Each piece of information is a potential
thought
group. Once the information is gathered, each student reports to the
class about another classmaie, using the
present
tense.
It's not too ate to flnd a room at a nationa oark this season
(coittilllecl
ot1 1rci page)
54
otAPrF.R 2 Rhythm
Actixily 2.3 continue.l
1. Introduce the activity by asking students what kind of exercise they do. lvlake a
list on the board
(e.g.,
walk, run, work out at the gym, play soccer).
2. Wrile a sentence about yourself on the board, including frequency
(e.g.,
once
in a blue moon), the activity
(e.9.,
I walk), place (e.g.,
around the block), and
with whom
(e.9.,
wlth my dog).
Once in a blue moon, I walk around the block wrth my dog.
3. l\4odel the sentence, ho ding/lengthening the ends 0f thought
groups. With your
hand, rnake sweeplng underlines corresponding to your thought groups (move
your hand from right to left, which will be your students' left to right).
4. Ask students which words
you grouped together. Underline the groups. I\4odel
the sentence again, holding/lengthenlng the end of each thought
group.
Students repeat. Explain that the end of a thought
group is held briefly and
lengthened a little before the next group starts.
5. On the board, write four headings:
"How
often," "What," "Where," and "Wlth
whom." Ask one or two students to describe their exercises, providing the four
pleces of information.
6. Elicit from the class questions for each of the four pieces of information, and
write the
questions on the board
("How
often do you exercise?" "What do you
do?" "Where do
you exercise?" and "Who do
you exercise with?").
7. Elicit expressions for each iype of information
(e.g.,
for "How often," ellcit
"every
day," "once a week," "occasionaLly,"
"maybe
once a month," and so
on). For the last category,
"With
whom," add "by myself" if students don't
know the expression.
8. Students interview another classmate, take notes, and then report to the class
about their partners. Instruct students to
group words clearly and provide
feedback on
grouping.
E
rinkins eo;acent words
What the Teacher Should Know
In connected speech, sounds at word boundaries
join
closely togethe! in some
cases creating blends;this linking of words is also referred to as word-to-word timing
(Zsiga 2003,
,i00).
Inappropriate linking of words contributes to accentedness and
unintelligibility and can disrupt rhlthm as sh.rdents struggle with final sounds. Many
problems with word-to-word linking occur when a word ending in a consonant is
followed by a word beginning with a consonant
(e.g.,Web slte). Depending on the
natiye language of the learneq these difficulties ma] reflect difficulty with final
C//,lfrER 2 Rhydrrr
55
consonants in
laeneral
(that
is, with English sl'llable fi,pes), difficulty with rhe wa,\.s
in which wofd final consonants are linked to following words. or with both.
Learners whose natiye langualies limit of do not allow final consonants use
several strategies to deal with them (see also Final Consonants, page 153). The final
consonant may be deleted (e.g., "re
color" for
"red
cokrr',); it may be changed (e.g.,
''pockctboot"
lbr "pocketbook");
or a vowel may be adclcd to separate it fi.onl the
following word (e.g., "redr colof) (Weinbergef
1987; Maior 1987, 1996; Hansen
2001). Chinese learners may substitute a glorral stop (phonetic
s),mbol
,/?/,
a sound
found in the warning Uh Oh
/?a?ow/ and in Cockney English): too& a ualk, for
example, ma1, sountl like "too?
a walk."
Specific final consonants mav also have distracting, odd-sounding
pronunciations.
One example is the pronunciation by Korcan students of linal
/4/ es
in ubich).
/(13/ @s
ln agg),
[/
(as
in catlO, a1:.d
B/
(^s tn Derge). In connected speech,
these wofds may sound as though the bpe.Jker hlLs rrd.led r short
J/
ending to the
word: nhichy one. a1cy limit. r.ashr pa1 nrenr.
r
Difficulties may also arise because English and tl.re learncr's natir.e language link
words in different ways. In English, final consonimts are not strongly rcleased unless
the following word begins with a vowel (Catfbrd 1987, Ladefoged 1993). The lack of
release makes final consonants less audible than when the)r occur a1 the beginning
of a word or syllable. In contrasr, in Russian, a langualae wl]ich also allows a large
number of Rnal consonants and final consonant clusters, final consonants are audibly
released, and Russian ESL learners carry this pattern into English (Zsiga, Z0Ol). An
English listener may hear the released llnal consonant as an added vowel or.syllablc.
The way in which worcls are linked in English depends on the nature of the final
and beginning sounds. The information below describcs dilferent tlpes of linting.
Linking Final Consonants to Beghrniflg Vowels. The final consonant joins
closely to the following r-owel, almost as if it were part of the following s,'ord.ln this
context, the final consonant is easily hcard.
both_apples fix it black out other animals
Linking Final Consonants to Different Beginning Coflsonants.
1. Final Stop Consonant + Ditferent Consonanr
When a word ending in a stop consonant (/p, b, t, d. k, g,f is fbllowcd by a word
beginning with a different consonant. the final stop is pronounced but not audibly
released
Oronounced
strongly), and the nc'xt word is said immediarelv. In the
examples bclow, the superscripted right parcnthesis indicates the unrelcasecl sto1.r.
keep)trying big)storm black)bird
cold)spell
job)lair
white) coat
':
c atLc]ltion 0l a Koreen studelL, he srid he $?s not xddirg x ro\cl
56
(HAPTER
2 Rhythnl
Unreleased stop consonallts are short, altd students have ditTiculty ltearing them.A
cue to their presence is the cutoff sound of the Yowel preceding the final stop.
Consider the differcnce betwe en tl.te vowels in rzaAe and rla./ in the phrctses make
dinners and May dinnersBxamples like this help
"convince" students that the hard-
to-hear final consonant is inded present.
2. Other Final Consonants + Different Consonant
In general, other final consonants are kept short when fbllowed by a diffetent
consonant. Ilecause the air is not completely cut olf with n()nstop consonants, they
are easier fbr students to hear even though they are short.6
beige)
pants both) cars give) money
watch) Tv
nose)
job
some)
people one) day mail)man
Linking Final Consoflants to the Same Consonant.
rwhen
a word ends in a
final consonant and the next word bcgins with the same consonant, one long
consonant links the words.T The consonant is not pronounced twice Linking is
represented as
_.
hottl_ihings
0n e_nepn ew
\Vlren
a word e nd ing it1
/L[/
(e .g., u)bi94 uatg!4 cburcb) is folktwed by a word
beginning with
[/
(e .g., shop, sboe, sheeqt), tl1e words
ioin
together as if the final
and beginning consonants were tlle samet Luhlcb s/:oe. This occurs because the last
part of
/I[/
nfid the sound /t
are the same sounds.
Linking Final Vowels to Beginnirrg Vowels.
ri/hen
words ending with the
vowels ,/iy,
eyr ow, uw aw, av, o1',/ are followed by a word beginning with a vowel
(e.g.. see Ann, sa! it, go in, ckt ouer, bout eas\, my uncle, to! engine). the glide
ending
(/)'/ or
/w,/)
of the final vowel links to the following vowel, creating the next
syllable
(see also pages 170, 183, and 191). The glide souncl is not always written.
blac(_ca r
smal0amps
live-_vans
lresh shellfish
c{!n
do
"over
toy_engine
a following \.owel occurs inside words:
seetlAnn
how_easy
say_it
my_un c le
The same hlking of a glide cnding to
uide
ro,
ponetr!.
and voiceLess ftlcalives requires uoLe knowledge ofphonetrcs fian studerrls hal'c or need ?urd s|orld nolbe laught.
7
Slntilar final and begin|ing consonants aft dso linked as onc long sormd: Drg.?r The tonguc p0sition 0i the bold consonants in &tg
./l/ h fie sanlei tlle hvo soulds dillr in ioicifg
(see
Consonants,
f4e
1i9).
cHAprER 2 Rhythm
57
When a word ends in a vowel without a glicle
endjng (e.g.,l.tto,
sp.t, sof., and.
the next word begins with a vowel, the two vos/els link smootl y togither-
law_of nature
spa_entrance
sofa_arrangement
Pronunciation
work on the linking of words in connected speech is impoftant
at all levels. The topic can be divided into two lessons, a lesson on linking
consonants to consonants (e.9.,
dot com), whete many effors occut and one on
linking consonants to vowels (e.g.,
fresb
4lr). Vowel-ro-\.owel
linking is discussed
on page 191. Unking can also be addressed in pronunciation
of the past tense
endings (see
Consonants, page 159). Simplifications of final consonants made by
native speakers iLre covered in Final Consonants, page 155.
Pfesefrting Linktng Rules to Students. The rules above are too complex to
present to students. The following rules are simpler alternatives.
1. A word ends in a consonant; the llext word begits s/ith a vowe l:fresb .tir
Join
the consonant clearly to lhe vowel:fresb a.h pickJtp.
2. A word ends in a consonant;the next word starts with a different consonant:
cloN
9om.
Say the final consonant but keep it \-ery short. Say the next word inmediately:
doP com, Wel) site.
3. A word ends in a consonant; the next word starts with the same consonanr:
big_girl.
Say one long consonant. Do not say the consonant twice: bi{girt, nic{'smile.
Fast-Speech Blends. Word blends result from rhe very close
ioining
of final and
beginning sounds in adiacent sounds.
thisheer (this year)
lascheer (last year)
wouldja
(would
you)
They won't letcheMlhey won't letcha
0et
you).
impart
(in part)
I dombelieve it.
(l
don't belleve it)
58 IHAPTER 2 RhYthm
Blends like tbislreer
(this year) and dMia
(did you) xe palatalizations,
assimilations of one sound to a following palatal sound. In the examples aboYe, the
palatal sound is /y/.8
The palatal soutTd /y/
i7
lear
attacts the final /s,/ of tbis to the
/y/
position, producing
/[/
(the first sound of sl:zp).
s +
/-
becomes
4/
-l + y- becomes /t/
-fs+/ becomes /t/
-d+ybecomes/d3l
I /grJa/
(guess you) know.
Nice to meetchew
(meet you).
I wancha
(want you) to know.
Thatcher book.
(That's your book.)
Whatcher name?
(What's your name?)
Didla?
(D
d
you?) Wouldja?
(Would you?)
The nasal consonant ,/n/
also assimilates to the place of articulation of some
following consonants
(Avery and EhrlicF. 1992,4-D.
I I karl I go. (l
can
go.)
I camp believe you.
(l
can't believe
you.)
Many students learn words in their citation
(word list) pronunciation and
expect to hear them pronounced in the same wa1'. They need to be aware of how
words sound when blended together, especially blends involving pllatalizatiorrs,
which are common.
It is not necessary to teach blends for production (i.e., for students to use in
ordinary speaking). Like fast-speech reductions of function words (discussed
below), blends are associated with high levels of fluency and accur:rcy
(i e., with
native English). Less proficient students may sound less clear if they use these
blends than they would if they had used the unblended forms. For a recognition
actiyity involving blentls, see the Activity section for Fast-Speech Reductions of
Function words, page 84.
3
Palanl sounds, such as the lirsl sounds in j,01l end srf, arc produced $ hen the frcnt of the ton
il
e approachs the h ard
laLate
Mosl
palataLizations involve assimilations of aheolarsounds likc /yor/s/ to the palatalsound
(for
alveolar consonants, see page 129)
.HAPTER 2 Rhythm
59
level Intermediate
Wo*sheet Page 272.
Tp Teach students to link the final consonant of a word to ihe beginning
sound of the next word smoothly.
Description This activity reviews compounds and practices
linking final conso-
nants to words starting with different consonants. The activity can
provide
a
pronunciation
focus for other lessons on
jobs
or employ-
ment. ln the sample matching exercise on page
212, all of the final
consonants are stop consonants
(/p;
b, t, d, k,
el),
a
group
of conso-
nants that is among the most difficult for students to link in con-
nected speech. This pronunciation
topic can also be added to an
activity on the stress patterns
of compounds (see page
33).
1. lntroduce linking. On the board, write a work-related compound (e.g.,
work
place, job
seekers,
job
growth, job
benefits, unemployment /lnes), underlining
the final consonant of the first word.
wort place
iob
seekers
2. Model the compounds. Students repeat. Direct students, attention to the final
underlined consonants. Explain that final consonants must be pronounced
but
they are short. The next word follows immediately.
@
3. Students listen to the compounds in the matching exercise on Worksheet 2.4
and repeat them, paytng
attention to the pronunciation
of the final consonant.
Select several students to say one or two of the compounds individually, and
provide feedback on the fjnal consonant; make sure that students pronounce
the final consonants but keep them short. lf students separate the words with a
vowel sound, tell them to say the second word immediately after the first.
lVlodel the correct and incorrect pronunciations.
ln pairs, students match the phrases
to the definitions. Then they create short
dialogues using the model below.
4.
6.
7.
5.
A: What's a
B: IS
ln pairs
or small groups,
students answer the discussion questions
on the
handout. Students should focus on pronouncing
final consonants but keep
them short
(not
release them strongly).
After the pairlgroup
work, ask several students to report on their group,s
discussion. Provide feedback on final consonants.
60
aHAPTER 2 Rhvtllnl
ffi
Prepositional Phrases and rnfinitives
What the Teacher Should Know
The core rhl.thm pattern of a prepositional phrase is a weak
(unstressed) beat
on the preposition (e g., to, dt, in, on,.l-ot u'ith,
ht,
of,
from)
followed b-v a strong
(stfessecl) beat on the noun. Infinitives havc the same pattern: unstressed ,o is
follo$'ed by a stressed ve|b. The phrases below illustrxte the core
Pattern.
The
rhythm pattern is isolated below each phrase.
to scHoot at HoME in t0vE for JoHN from SPAIN
dA DA dA DA dA DA dA DA dA DA
The noun object of the preposition may be separatcd from tlle preposition by
other words, some stressed (strong), some unstressed
(weak).
in JUST a Mlnute on a Sultry, SUMmer DAY
Although n.)alry prepositional phrases are themseh-es thought groups, short
prepositional phrases like at bome might be part of a larier thought
8roup,
and long
prepositional phrases like on a sultry, summer da!- mzy consist of more than one
thought group.
Prepositio al phrases consistin[i of a preposition followed by a personal
pronoun, (e.g., to her) have no content words ln such cases, one of the two
constituents receives more stress tllan the other
(though neither receives healry
stress); alternati\''el)', one constituent is reduced while tlle other is not. The decision
to stress the pfeposition or pronoun more heavily may clepend on the speaker's
meanin! or on the overall rhythm pattefn of the sentence.
gave the book to her.
lluwarl : to rece ves rnore stress than her
'gd/p h6 boo. Lo I
-
.
/tahar/ : her rece ves nlore stress than 10
\vhen pfepositions have clear meaning
(e g, behteen, undenleatb, ouer),
both the preposition and the noun rcceive sress:
beTWEEN the LINES underNEATH the TAble
Some sholt plepositions are reduced as well as unstressecl in connected speech:
C tation
pronunc ation Reduced
pronunc atjon
aI lall /aV I think he's /aV home.
for lforl /farl John bought the ring /far/ N4ary.
Tlre prepositions in /h't/?Lnd
on /on/
arc sometines reduced to
/arl/
(Celce-Murcia
er al. t996.177).
:HAPTER 2 Rhythm
61
The prepositions
of e;nd, to have two promrnciations,
depending on whether
the following word begins with a
yowel
or consonant. Students sometimes notice
and ask about tlte two pronunciations
of to. If the word following of or to beglns
with a vowel, the final consonanr (the final
/y/ of of /e-"/, the fin l
/w/ of to /t\wf)
links the two words togethef:
a bag /avlapples
(of
apptes) nuM a movie
(to
1-,a
movie)
'When
the following word begins with a consonant, ojf is pronounced
/eyl or
/a,/:
a cup /av/ coflee a /kaper' coflee
Before a consonant, to is pronounced
/la/
(or
may eyenbe reduced to an aspirated
[th]:e
Today l'm driving /ta/ school.
When prepositions
end a sentence (or are
,'stranded,,'not
followed by a noun),
they are unstressed but not reduced:
Whar are you loo,rrng /el,/?
The store I took my cornputer /tuM is on 4th Street.
'When
teaching the rhl.thm pattern of prepositional phrases,
choose phrases
with short prepositions (e.g., to, at, in, on, ol by,
fot
uitlr,
fron)
followed by nouns
(rather
than pronouns).
This pronunciation topic can be taught at all levels and
included with the grammar of prepositions. The pedagogical
focus should be the
lack of stress ofl the preposition. The consonant and vowel reductions of
prepositions
can be taught for recognition.
I
Aclivity 2.5
level
Wotksheet
Iip
Description
Prc p
os iti o n a I
ph
ras es ; Sh o
plp
i n g
High Begin ning
N one
I
Teach students predictable
rhythm patterns
of phrases.
This activity practices
the rhythm pattern
of prepositional phrases,
in
the context of shopping. The activity can be easily changed to review
other kinds of vocabulary and to reflect local businesses and shop-
ping habits
(e.g.,
on QVC, at Amazon.com, onLlNE, on Ebay).
(contlnued
on nact
page)
'\atiye spalre$ sometimes use the morc ftduceilfom s ol of
Va\/)
Md to
(hel)
even when fie following word begjns witli a
yowel.
62
CHAPTER 2 Rhythm
Actiai4) 2.5 contlnued
1. 0n the board, write a list of items the students in your class might need io buy
and businesses where they can buy them. Write the preposition for in front of
each item. Write the preposition to in front of the businesses, The items should
be ones that fit naturally in the sentence f'ame l'm looking for a. . . . Head the
list of items with "l'm looking . . ."; head the list of stores with "Go . . . ."
2. Add to the board a short dialogue, capitalizing the stressed syllables of
mean ingfu I words.
A: WHERE are you Going?
B: SHOpping. l'm Looking for a DlCtionary.
(l
NEED to BUY some GROceries)
A. GO to BARNES and NObIe.
3. Ask students to volunteer things they buy and stores where they shop and add
them to the board. Write fot in front of items that fit naturally in the model
dialogue frame l'm looking for . . .
,
capilaLzing the stressed syllable
(these
are
usually singular count nouns). Your students may volunteer items that do noi
sound natural in the sentence frame I'm looking for. . . in the model dialogue
For example, I'm looking for food. fhe teacher can add a more natural-
sounding sentence frame for these items
(l
need to buy [someJ
food. Your
students may also volunteer things that are not found in shops, such as a
doctor or apartment. You can add other phrases to the board like Look on the
lnternet, Look in the newspaper, and Ask the teacher, as these arise.
l'm looking... l needtobuy... Go...
for a SWEAter some FOOD to BARNES and NOBLE
for a Dlctionary some FuRniture to BEST Buy
for a comPUter some GRoceries to MAcy's
for SHOES to lKEa
for a TAble
for JEANS
for a JAcket
for
to
Model the lists on the board. Students repeat. Ask students whether the noun
or preposition is stressed strongly in the forand lo
phrases. Ask students what
each store sells.
4.
:HAPTER 2 Rhythn
63
Actiuity 2.5 conttnued
5. lVodel the dialogue on the board, lengthening stressed words and grouping
words. Students repeat and then practjce the dialogues in pairs.
6. ln pairs,
students create their own dialogues, replacing the underlined words
on the handout with other words. Students read their dialogues to the class.
Activity 2.6 Prepositional phrases:
Good nanners
level lntermediate/Advanced
Worksheet Page 2I3
tip Teach students predictable
rh!.thm patterns
of phrases"
Descripfion This activity practjces
the rhythm pattern
of prepositional phrases
.
and infinitives in
the contexl of manners and courtesy.
1. Establish the context. Ask students to read the paragraph
on table manners on
Worksheet 2.6 to themselves and underline prepositronal phrases
and
infinitives. Students check their underlining with a classmate and then with
the teacher,
I2.
Students listen to the paragraph, paying attention to the pronunciation
of the
prepositional phrases
and infinitives.
3. Elicit from students and/or explain the pronunciation:
The preposition
is not
stressed; the followrng noun
(verb
in infinitives) is stressed. The words in the
phrase
are grouped
together.
84.
Students listen to the prepositional phrases
in the matchjng activity on
Worksheel 2.6 and repeat them.
Ask students how they learned table manners-who taught them, how old they
were. Ask students to give
some examples of table manners that they learned
(e.g.,
don't talk with your
mouth full).
Paired matching activity. Direct students' attention to the matching activity on
the worksheet. ln pairs,
students create a list of table manners by matching
do's/don'ts with an appropriate prepositional phrase.
Ask individual students to report some of the tabie manners to the class, giving
feedback on prepositions
that are pronounced
too strongly.
To extend the activity, the class can also discuss which manners they think are
universal and which are specifrc to a particular country or culture.
5.
6.
:
I
:
|
7.
8.
64
:HAPTER 2 Rhythm
ffi
a"ti.r.
+
No'n
What th Teacher Should Know
The core rhlthm pattern of an article + noun is identical to that of a
prepositional phrase:a weak beat
(the article) followed by a strong beat
(the noun)
The article and noun are
grouped together
an EGG
da DA
The definite afiicle tbe has two pronunciations, depending on the first sound
of the following word. It is usually pronounced /6V
before a vowel, and the glide
en<hng /y/
linki the article closely to the following word lt is pronounced
/da/
before a consonant.l
o
a B00K
da 0A
thE GIFT
da DA
6iy_air 6iy authol 6a3log 6a sun
The indefinite article 4, pronounced /a/,
is used before words beg rning with
a consonant so lfird an, pronounced /3n/,
is used before words beginning with a
vowel sound.
Students may choose the wrong form of the indefinite article before words
beginning with the letter 4 or lr. In unit, unique, uniuersity,
^nd
union, fot
example, the first letter of ttre wotd is a Yowel, but the first so'lnl is the consoflant
tyt G.5.,
unit /\'uwnetD.
The article a is used before these words because they
begin with a consonant sound Strldents need to understand that the choice
betweenaandazdependsonthefirstsorrldoftheword,nottfi.]firstletterThe
opposite problem occurs with words that begin with silent lJ
(e g,honest, bono4
niir hour). Students often choose the article 4 rather than
'7'?
because the first
letter of the word is a consonant tetter
(b). The correct ?rticle, however, is at',
because the first sound of the word is a vowel
(e.g., honor /onet/)'
Teaching the rh''thm pattern of articles not only addresses rhlthm and
reviews a very difficult area of English
grammar, it is also an opportunity to reYiew
the rlJ pronunciation
(as in tbe)
^nd
ttle
joining of final consonants to Yowels
(e g
'
an-appIe).
r0
Native speakers sometimes use /de/ bforc words bgiiningwith voweLs ot consonants'
CHAPTER 2 Rhythn
65
Activity 2.7 Atticles: Food
Level Beginn ing
Worksheet Pages2l4-ZI5
Tip Teach students predictable
rhythm patterns
of phrases.
Description This information gap
reviews food vocabulary and the use of the
1. 0n the board, draw two numbered boxes. Wrjte the question
,,What,s
jn
Box
1
?" on the board.
A
Mft v
2.
"What's
in Box
1
?
Choose a student to ask you
about Box 1. Answer the question
with ',an
apple," and write the answer on the board, underlining the
joining
between
"an" and "apple";
mark stress on
,,apple."
Students repeat.
aLiippte
Ask a student to come to the board and draw an apple in Box 1.
Cioose another student to ask you about Box 2. Answer the question
with
"There's
a c6rton of milk on the left. There's a p6ar
on the right.,, Write the
answer on the board, underlining noun phrases
with a and marking the
stressed syllables of "cadon" and
,,milk.',
Elicit
(or
explain) pron
unciation:
.
The article is unstressed and the noun is stressed.
.
,4n is used before a vowel sound. ,4n
joins
closely to the noun. 4 is used
before a consonant.
article a with first-mentioned
singular count nouns. The activity
reviews countable food nouns, container expressions (e-g.,
a box of\
and utensil/d ish ware nouns (e.g.,
a gtass
of). Students should be
familiar with this vocabulary as well as with the expressions on the
right and on the left.
3.
4.
5.
(continued
on next page)
66
]HAPTER 2 Rhythn
AcIiriA 2.7 conlinue.l
6. Put students in pairs. Give one member of each
pair Grid A and the other
member Grid B of Worksheet 2.7. Students ask each other about their empty
boxes and draw the missing
pictures. When their
grids are complete, they
compare them
(and
laugh at each other's drawings).
7. After the
pair work, choose students to describe the pictures in the grid. Give
leedback on p'onunc,ation.
8. Alternate versions. For high beginners or low intermediates,
prepare two
completely filled in grids, with some cells identical in both grids and some
different
(e.g., five identical cells and five different cells) For example, in Grid
A, the first cell might have a banana on the righi and an apple on the left; in
Grid B's first cell, the banana is on the left and the apple on the right.
Students describe their
grids to each other to find the different cells.
E]
r.tsontl rronouns
what the Teacher Should Know
Personal pronouns
(1,
mq
J/ou,
be, sbe, it, bim' beti ute' us, tbe!, tbem) alf'd
possessive adiectives
(?tl.Jt,
louf
IJis, hef its, ou4 their) are usually unstressed in
connected speech.
vrb
+ Obiect Pronoun. Verbs and obiect pronouns are almost always grouped
together. The verb is stressed, and the object pronoun is unstressed Native speakers
link pronouns very closely to the Yerb, pronouncing them as if they were an ending
to the Yerb.
!!ADj EtLIg
UlgDth'ry
Reductions of b Pronouns and Possessives. In connected speech, native
speakers often drop f]ne /h/
of be, him, bis, and her ancl closely link wlrat remains
of the pronoun to the preceding word.
Whatser name?
(What's
her name?)
Thatsrz otfice/ Thatsaz office.
(That's
his offlce )
I toldrm.
(l
told him.)
What diddy do?
(What
did he do?)
The same type of reduction occurs in the auxiliary verb s haue, IJas, and had
(see
pagc /b ).
Jackad
(lack
had) already
gone home.
]HAPTER 2 Rhythm
67
rJfhen
, pfonouns begin a sentence or afe pfeceded by a pause, the /h/ is
not dropped.
He carne.
(nol 'E
came)
Her sister is in Dallas.
(not'Er
sister is in Dal as)
Reduction of Them. In connected speech, native speakers reduce tbem to either
/6am/ or /am/.
Let's ask /dam/.
(Let's
ask them.)
l'lsendam the papers
tomorrow.
(l'll
send them the papers
tomorrow.)
Reduction of fou. In connecte d speech, you is often pronounced
/ya,/.
Seeye tomorrow.
(See you
tomorrow.)
Areya free tonight?
(Are you
free tonight?)
V/tren common words encling in
/t/
or
/d/
(e.g.,
ubat, did) are followed by
J)ou,
the final
/t/
or
,/d/ combines with the
/y/
of you to produce a blended sound
/t[/ ot /d3/
(.see
also Fast-speech Reductions of Funcrion words, below).
I'll leiJa know.
(l'll
lei you
know)
Did3a see the movie last night?
(Did you see the movie last night?)
Reductions of Pronoun Vowels befote 're and'll The contractions 're arrd 'll can
alter the vowel quality of I
/^y/, be /f]jii/, she /
jy/,
lou
/]ruw/,ue /wiy/, and ttrey
/6ey/.
All of these pronouns end in a glide somd
(/w/
ot
/yD. When
'/e
or 7/ follows these
pfonouns, they weaken the glide ending and the vowel (see
also pages ss, tt, and uu).
I think l'l go. (/7i
sounds very close to
"all.")
We'll call you
when we're ready.
(14le7l
sounds very close to
"will"
or
/wall: we're sourds like /Mr/ or
lwar/.)
Pronoun vowel weakening before 're and
'll
i.s of minor pedagogical
importance,
but native-English-speaking teachers should be aware that they may be using these
reduced pronouns.
Students should be aware of the reductions of 11 pronouns
because they will
encountef them in the connected speech of native speakers. Even beginners enjoy
leaming about these reductions in common, leyel-appropriate contexts, for
example, in questions like "What diddy (did he) do?" or "Where
diddy (did he) go?"
Indeed, through exposure to English, some students pick up these reductions in
high-frequency expressions.
Because the
joining
of ,less pronouns (lge, lsim, +is, +er) to the preceding
word is mandatory, studcnts who lack the proficiency to join
words together easily
and smoothly are unlikely to be able to use these reductions in spontaneous speech.
68
cuAPr[R 2 Rhythm
The teaching focus should be the de-sressing of pronouns, not their ,-less
pronunciations. Taylor found that nonnatiYe speakers
judged to have good
pronunciation and rhlthm made appropriate length and stress distinctions between
stressed and unstressed words but used few redr.rced pronunciations (1981).
Activity 2.8 Verb +
qbject
Prcnouns: Spofts
Level Low lntermediate
Worksheet None
Tip Teach students
predictable rh)'thm
paiterns of
phrases
Description This activity
praciices the rhythm
pattern of verbs followed by ll in
the context of sports. Student
pairs lalk about what players are allowed
to do with a ball in different sports
(e.9.,
kick it, pass it, dribble it'
head it, carry it). The activity can also be used to review the reduction
'
of canj What can
you do with a ball in basketball? You can
pass it or
dribble it, but you can't carry it. 0ptional: Before class,
gather pictures
from the lnternet of the sports
you include in this activity.
1. On the board
(or
in a handout), write the
question "What can you do with a
ball?" Elicit answers from students, write them on the board, and add other
verbs. Verbs like pitch or bounce are likely to be new vocabulary but are easily
demonstrated. The verbs bel0w cover ball handling ln baseball, soccer,
basketball, and American football. Write the
pronoun ltafter the verb, mark
stress on the verb, and underline the
joining
of the verb and lf. Ask the class if
they know how to play any of these sports. Those who do can help demonstrate
new vocabulary and serve as experts on the rules.
Whai can you do wilh a ball?
rhr6w lt
c6rry it
kick it
p6ss it
ciitch it h6ad it
hit it dribble it
sh6oi it bfnt it
h6ld it br6unce it dl6pkick ii dlink it
pitch it
Basketball Baseball Soccer Amelican lootball
3. Add the
phrase "in ?" to the question on the board.
?
What can
you do with a ball in
2. Explain or demonstrate new vocabulary
(pictures
can help; so can students who
know the sports). Ivlodel the verb phrases, lengthening the stressed syllables of the
verbs and
pronouncing lias an endlng to the verbs. Siudents repeat Tell students
that
pronouns like lt are unstressed and are pronounced like endings to the verbs.
Explain the use of "you" to mean "people" if necessary
:HAPTER 2 Rhythn
69
Tctioi\t 2.8 coninued
4. Demonstrate the activity. Choose two students. One selects a sport, and asks
the other the question
on the board. Repeat with another pair
of students.
5. Students work in pairs.
Each student chooses a sport and asks,
,,What
can you
do with a ball in
(sport)?"
The partner answers the question
with one of the
verb phrases. The partners
should make a list of legal and illegal ball actions
for the sport. Note that for some sports a ball action might be illegal for some
players,
but not for others. For example, in soccer, the goalie
can carry the
ball, but other players
can't. Circulate around the room and make sure the
questjon
includes the word "ball" so that the student answering the question
can use it. Give feedback on pronunciation
and help students with vocabulary.
ffi
rhrasal verbs
What the Teacher Should Know
In phrasal verbs like come on,
figure
out, ot pick r4A the preposition (also
called the particle) has adverbial meanini and receives either primary of secondary
stress (Celce-Murcia
et
^1.
1996,112).
Phrasal verbs can be transitiye (separable),
as lnpick it up, tut"n it on, and. try
tbem on, or intransitive (inseparable),
as in come on, utatcb out, and get in.l
t
When
separable verbs have pronoun objects and end a sentence, the preposition/particle
is usually more heavily stressed than the verb. The same is true for intransilive
phrasal verbs.
try them 6n look it fp Watch 6ut! get
in
Native speakers link the words in phrasal verb phrases ll1tre pick
it up closely.
In many cases, the linking is between a final consonant and a beginning vowel.
Pfonunciation wofk with phrasal verbs then also provides practice with consonant-
yowel
linking.
picak i!_up try them on ask herJut
(askef
out)
Phrasal verbs are grammatically
more complex than single-word sy,nonyms and
may not be semantically transparent (e.g., the meaning of put off as,,postpone ', of
figure
out as "sol\.e"). Several studies have shown that students avoid plrrasal verbs
in favor of simpler and clearer one-word synonyms (e.g.,
leaae instead of go
out/aua!; enter instead. of come in; confuse instead of mix up). Howe\ler, natiye
speakers in large numbers pfefer phfasal
yerbs
over their one-wofd synonyms
@agut
and Laufer 1985, Hulstiin and Marchena 1989).
pronunciation
practice of
phfasal verbs, therefore, also promotes the use of more natural, idiomatic English.
rl
Trarlsil.ilt !t$s hale dircct ohjects; spxrable !rbs arc trlursitilc phra5alve s Intrensitive vebs do not have dircct obiecb.
70 ]HAPTER 2 Rhythm
Phrasal Verbs
+
Prepositions: Get au)aJ) lritb. Some phflsal Yerbs are followed
by a true preposition that is unstressed. The true preposition has a noun obiect.
He gr6t awSy with murdel! G6t 6ut of the taxi.
Nouns Formed from Phrasal Verbs: a takeoff' Nouns and adjectives formed
from phrasal verbs have primary stress on the flrst word and secondary stress on the
second, the same stress-pitch
pattem as compounds
(e.g.,tlre tAkedfr, my md.keiQ).
They can be included in a lesson on the word stress of compounds or as a contrast
to phrasal verbs in a lesson on rhlthm.
Activity 2,9 Phrasal verhs: Don't
put
off until tonortow what you can do today
Level Advanced/High lntermed iate
Worksheet Page 216
Tip Teach students predictable rhythm
patterns of
phrases.
Description This activity
practices phrasal verbs in the context of procrastination,
1. Direct students' attention to the dialogue on Worksheet 2 9. Ask students to
first read the dialogue silently. Then
go over vocabulary as needed.
&2.
Students listen to the dialogue,
paying attention to the pronunciation of the
-
underlined
phrasal verbs. Elicit
pronunciation from students or explain it:
Words in phrasal verbs are grouped together;
prepositions receive stress.
Students listen to the dialogue again and repeat it.
3. ln pairs, students practice the dialogue.
4. Write the
phrasal verbs from the dialogue on the board. Tell the class
something that
you put off, the reason you put it off, and what the
consequences arelwere; for example, "l put off calling my parents because I
don't have time. Then I end up/wind up feeling
guilty." Choose two or three
students and ask them what they put off, why they put those things off, and
what the consequences arelwere. Encourage students to use phrasal verbs. Add
other phrasal verbs to the board to describe the situations.
5. In small groups, students talk about things they put off, using phrasal verbs.
6. Afier the group work, ask several students to report on what their group said
Provide feedback on stress and grouping words in phrasal verbs.
cHAPrtR 2 Rhvthn 71
ffi
conjunctions
What the Teacher Should Know
In connected speech, conjunctions are not stressed, and some are also reduced.
The coninnctions and
^nd
or arc discussed below in Reductions of Function W'ords,
page 72. Conrunctions are usually grouped with the words they introduce.
Ca
I
me w'en t-e package
arr ves.
Lee said that he's sick.
._7->
We'll reschedule if it rains.
.---->-
Exercise rs as impodant as a healthy d et.
Exerclse is more mportant than a healthy d et.
Students may not group coniunctions in the same way that native speakers do.
Bada found that Turkish ESL students gtouped tlrat more closely with the words
preceding the coniunction than with the words following it, whereas the pattern for
native speakers was the reverse (2006).
Reduced
(connected
speech)
/wan/ Did someone come /wan/ you calLed?
(someone
and come when rhyme)
l6all, l6aDl12 | don't belreve /6aV Tom would do that. I
don'i belreve /daD/ Alan would do that.
lfl(lafl) | don't know /lfl
(/af/)
I can go.
lazl )o^n.
'azl
h Jng(y lazl a bear.
/6an/ The subway rs faster /6an/ a bus.
Like other reductions, reduced conjunctions must be linked closely to
surrounding words in order to sound natural. Students should be aware of these
reductions but should not be expected to use them in speaking. Learning to group
and de-stress conjunctions propedy is more important.
Since some conjunctions represent more advanced grammatical
strllctures
(e.g.,
conditionals, some noun clauses with tbat), the lcvel of grammar that students
are able to use in connected speech should affect which con,unctions are chosen
as pronunciation topics.
rr
The svmboi D represents the flapped sound of / in z,4ler flapjng of a final I belbrc r,o$eh occuN in comnon \\,ords like a.'/ial and
u| as in trlhuddt thel uant?
(Whdl
da lhel tlant?). See page 129 lor flals.
Citation form
when /wrn/
lhal l6eIl
if hft
as l7zl
lhan l6anl
72
1HAPTER 2 Rhythm
Activity 2.10 Noticing unstessed conjunctionst Medical ethics
level Advanced/lntermediate
Worksheet Page 277
Tip Teach students to recognize the reduced
pronunciations
of
grammar words.
Description This activity
provides practice noticing unstressed conjunctions. ln
the example below, students listen to a passage on medical ethics,
fill in blanks with conjunctions, and then answer the
questions posed
in the passage.
$
1. Pass out Worksheet 2.10 to students. Students listen to the passage once or
twice and fill in the blanks. They check their answers with classmates and then
with the teacher.
2. Elicit or explain the pronunciation 0f conjunctions by modeling one of the
sentences from the passage and directing students' attention to the
conjunction. ls the conjunction grouped with preceding or following words? ls it
stressed or unstressed?
3. Ask students to read the
passage again, breaking longer sentences into
thought groups.
4. Students read the passage to a partner. The
partner checks for unstressed
conjunctions and clear grouping of words.
5. The discussion
questions can be answered as a whole class activity or in
groups.
Students'
pronunciation focus for the discussion should be speaking as
clearly as possible and
grouping words together clearly and smoothly. lt ts
difficult
(if
not impossible) for the teacher
(or
students) to monitor
pronunciation of a potentially large sei of words like conjunctions. lf the
teacher notices a heavily stressed or inappropriately
grouped
conjunction, she
can give feedback on that. But she should explain that sometimes a speaker's
meaning requires that a conjunction be stressed
(for
example, "l think ihe
doctor should tell the patient-lF the patient's family agrees").
ffi
n"d.r.ttons of Function words
what the Teachr Should Know
In natively spoken English, function words
Grammar
words lile t/re or at) arc
unstressed. Some function words are also reduced: The function word Yowel is
pfonounced
/a/,
and consonants may be lost. In the sentence 1 cdn slrim, said as a
neutral statement about abilittl, can is pronounced
/ken/ ,
so that I can rhymes with
liken.Because of teductions of z/lll and he4 your logic u)ill persuade ber can sound
almost the same 7s
lour
logical persuader
clIAPTER 2 Rhythm
73
The reductions covercd in this section are not colloquial; they are used in
formal as well as inlbrmal speaking. Reductions r4rich are more colloqui.al or
informal (e.g., pfonouncing the question Wbat did
lou
do?
^s
,WhaJe
do?',) are
discussed below, in Fast-Speech Rcducriol.ts of Function Words.
When students learn about the reductions and blen(ls used by native speakers,
they may try to speak faster than they are able to in order to sound more English
like (Rine)', Takegi, and Inutsuka 2005). Teachers should advise sh.rdents not to race
throuih the weak words, but rather to
iroup
words and lengthen the stressed
s)4lables of the strong word(s) in each group.
There haye been few studies of nonnative speakers' abilities to reduce
function words. They suggest that while proficient learners are able to pronounce
ftrnction words with shorter length than content words (Trofimoyich
and Baker
2006, Setter 2006), they rarely use reduced
yowels
in function words (Taflor 1981,
Setter 2006).
Studies of the reduction of unstressed vowels within words reveal similar
findings. Proficient lcarners are able to make an appropriatc length distinction
betwecn stressed and unstressed vowels, but vowel reduction to schwa is unlikely,
especially for those who haYe learned English as adults and whose natiye language
does not have vowel reduction (Tlege and Bohn 1989;Lee, Guion, and Handa 2006).
Although these studies have not looked at the effect that pronunciation teaching
miiht l.lave on students' abilities to pronounce rcductions, they suggest that
function word reductions should be talrght primarily for recognition, as an aid to
understanding natively spoken English, mther than as a goal for pronunciation.
ESL teachers, however, would disagree with this conclusion for at least some
function words.
rwhen
students fail to pronounce can with a reduced
yowel,
they
are often misunderstood as having said "can't " In addition, some students "pick
up"
reductions of ancl and o/ in l.fgh-frequency phrases (such as "milk'n
sugar," and
"onear
two," for one or h.uo
,
evcn at low le\.cls of proficienc_v13
'When
new grammar is taught, function words are introduced in their citation
form (fcw teachefs will introduce a grammar lesson on czrx by saying,"Today we
're
going to stud)'
/kn/"). Thus, the first prollunciation rhat classroom students hear is
the full, unrecluced fbrm. It is understandable that tltis is the pronunciation they
continue to usc.
In addition, although thc reduced form is modeled in the speech of native
speakefs, it is difficult for students to notice how these short, unstressed words are
pronounced.v4ren Iistenirrli to English, students pl'ocess speech semantically; they
pick out the mcaningful (content) words,which are also acousticnlly salient because
they are stressed (Swain 1!85). Using these words, they are able to undersand the
message without attending to tlte le ss meaningful, less clear ftlnction words, which
are difficr t to notice (Van Patten 1990). At lower levels of proficiency,
understanding is effortftll, and students have little time to notice the subtler
meanings and modalities that function words carry when listening for meaning.As
rr
Thcsc urightbe learned er |hythm idio[]s, $herc dre pronunci^tim ol th phmse as a \r,hole is hx red
74
]HAPTER 2 Rhythm
proficiency increases, understanding becomes easief, and more adyanced students
are better able to notice some of the
"details" they missed earlier
Special efforts are often necessary to help students notice reductions. Pairing
single words that students can pronounce (for example, bacon) with a phrase
contaifliflg the reduced flrnction word (for example, Mr Bay can cook bacon) is an
effective way of helping students notice how the reduction sounds. Lane refers to
pairs like Bea can ligbt 'ttrd bedcon liglrt as "l.romophrases" and uses them in
awareness actiyities (2005b, 2005c).
The sections below discuss the reduced pronunciations ot and, or:, alfd can,
followed by contractions and reductions of auxiliary verbs. Reductions of
prepositions, pronouns, and some conjunctions are coYered on pages 60,66, and 71.
And, or Reductions of and and or can be taught to beginning level students for
comprehension. Some students may already be using them in common phrases.
Reduced lorm Noticing
lanl black 'n white
(blacken
white)
larl
-el endings
(big
or small
=
bigger small)
Cary C&n't. In connected speech, can is reduced to Aanl when a verb follows.
Sue can /kan/ come.
It is not reduced when a verb does not follow.
Yes, I can /kan/.
f can / kan/, I'l come.
The negative can't, like other negatives, is stressed and pronounced with a full
vowel: /krnt/.
I can't /kanv come.
The reduction of can should be taught at the beginning level, simply because
there is so much confusion as to whether a student has said can ot cdn't.The natiYe
listener's most important cue for detemining whether the positive or negatiYe has
been said is the vowel. lf the vowel is reducetl
Ua/),lhe
listener hears can; tf the
yowel
is
,/r/,
the listener hears can 7 Thus, when students pronounce caz with the
full vowel
/rl
the listener is likely to hear can't; the negatiYe Ycrb, however, doesn't
make sense in the context, and the listener may ask,"Did you satt can ot can't?"-a
question all too familiar to students. Because of this con{ilsion, students sometimes
use the lrncontracted cannot
]l]-f'te
dof can't. The use of cannot does not solve the
problem, howe!'er, because the problem lies with the pronunciation of &zz.
Aftef teaching the reduction of can, students may not be able to use it at first
in connected speech, but they will be better able to understand sentences where it
Citation lorm
AND lendl
lo OR
,
d \t tt R 2 Rh,,thrr'
75
is reduced, the teacher will have an easier time drawing attention to confusing
pronunciations, and students will be better able to self-cofrect.
Citation form Connected speech form Noticing
CAN lkanl /kan/,
(even
/kn,
CAN'T lkanv lkanV
(no
reduction)
May can cook
!A!!!.
Cofltractions and Reductions of Auxiliary Vertrs. Contractions are extreme
cases of feductions and are especially common after pronouns. Contracted verbs
are reduced to a consonant (e g., I'm, He's, WdD. Contractions of not (n't) Te
pronounced as a final consonant cluster (e.g., don't, uon'' aren't) or a.s a
separate syllable
/ent/
(e.9., doesn't, basn't, sbouldn't).In negatiye auxiliaries,
the anxiliary
yerb
is stressed (e.g., [sn't, bAsn't), caftylng the stress that the
negative normally does.
Students should be encouraged to use contractions after pronouns in the
tenses they know and are accustomed to using. Contractions may be avoided
because they creaie difficult final consonant clusters, or because students think they
will sound clearer if the full forms are used (and sometimes they do). Students who
have been taught not to use contractions in writing may extend this admonition to
speaking. Howeve! contractions are important in casual spoken English. Native
speakers may fesort to uncontracted fofms when they want to cfeate clistance in a
convefsation, to asseft authoriry of to show displeasure. Considef the diffefence in
tone between the two sentences below. The use of uncontracted r/o ,1ot sounds like
an order or warning.
Don't come late.
Do not come late.
After nouns, some auxiliary verbs lose their initial consonants and are reduced
to a syllable, which is pronounced like an ending on the preceding noun. For
exarnple, tn I think Nick tuill go, the underlincd words are likely to be pronounced
like "nickel." The auxiliary u)ill has lost the initial
/W,
its
yowel
has been reduced to
/a/,
and what remains
ioins
closely to the preceding word, like the -el ending in
nickelIn Tbe land bad been used as a
park, the \nde ined words are likely to be
pronounced like "Ianded":
bad loses the i tial
/h/
and is pronouncecl like zn -ed
enrJing on land.
Be
I'm He'YShe's lt's You're
layml lhiyzll[iyzl fttY lyvrl
We're They're
lwhl l6trl
The contractions I'm and be's/she's,/it's are used eady by students, including
beginning level students. Contractions of are
(you're, Lue're, thq)'re) are avoided,
possibly
because /r/
is a difficult sound.
76
.HAt'rtR 2 Rhythm
Native speakers contfact ls after nouns,
just as they do after pronouns. If a
noun ends in a sibilant (see page 131),like/osr, rose, or
judge,
r's is pronounced like
a long plural:
Josh's here. The rose is beautiful. The
judge
is wise.
Joshaz roses
judges
After nouns ending in consonants, ,1re is pronounced like an -er ending.
Hate
He's She's lt's I've
lhiyzl
ftyzt
lxsl layYl
Studcnts avoid contracting the present perfect auxiliary verbs baue and has.
This may reflect the grammatical difficulty of the present pcrfect tense as well as its
relative infrequency, compared to the pfesent tenses. Howevef, students should be
encouraged to use the contracted forms of baue ?.nd rds witll pronouns.
Natiye speakers contract r,rs after nouns
iust
as they do after pronouns After
nouns ending in sibilants
(s-like sounds, see Coflsonants) like
Josb,
rotgr or
judge,
,ds is pronounced like a long plural:The initial /h,/
is dropped, the vowel is reduced
to
/a/,
and what remains
joins to the preceding noun:
You've We've They've
lyuwvl lwiyvl lleyul
Josh has
gone. The
rcSg-h3!
glown a lot.
Joshaz ]osez
Tbe a\xiliary baue is also reduced after nouns: The iflitial
/h/
is dropped, the
vowel is reduced to
/a,/,
and what remains
joins closely to the preceding word. The
reduced
pronunc iatiot]' of baue sounds identical to the
Pronunciation
of of /aY/.
Bill and John are here.
"Johner"
The students have linished.
"studentsav"
Some
!!U&l!S_aIC
absent.
"studentser"
The
iudge
has left.
judgaz
Stndents should be aware of the reduced pronunciltlon of baue after nouns
In modal perfect constructions, natiYe speakers almost never prono\tace baue
in its full form. It is re duced to /av/
and
ioins
Yery closely to the preceding word.
Where have you been?
"wherav"
You could have come.
"couldav"
I
gh!U[L!i!g known.
"shouldav"
The reduction of baae may be caffied even ftlrther with the loss of fi|Lal /v/.
This pronunciation is sometimes written, " shoulda, coulda, wouldal'
lshould have known.
"shoulda known"
You could have come.
"could3
come"
4"Ptt.R 2 Rh\|hm
77
Because the reduced pronunciation is virtually always used in speaking, it is
the only natural pronunciatiott
of haue in this construction. Furthermore, with
modal perfects,
students can linl< the reduced pronunciation
of baue to a small
number of preceding words-tDould, could, sbould, ,nustr and might-Lnd, ttre
reduction can be learned as a unit with the modal Learning to reduce ,l, aue after this
small set of words is easier than learning to reduce it in the present perfect, whete
the possible
number of words preceding baue is
yast.
Advanced students who use
modal perfects spontaneously and have practiced the reduction are able ro use the
reduced pronunciation spontaneously with some modals, especially in sbould baue
(possibly
because sbould haue is practiced extcnsively, in the context of regrets or
seconcl thoughts).
The same feductiofi of baae occurs aftef negative modals.
Students should be aware of the reduction of baue after negative modals but should
not be expected to use it in spontaneous speaking.
Hacl, Would The past perfect auxiliary rad and the modal ulould are contracted
to
^
fin l
/d./
^ft.ff
pronouns:
I'd already done it. I'd like coffee. You'd better study.
Because the past perfect is a difficult and advanced terise, students do not make
much use of it and rafely use contfactions when they do. ln the expression ,I:ad
bette4 which is used spontaneously by some students
,lr.td
Is also ruely contractecl.
Part of the reluctance to contmct ,a d in bad better may be the difficr t cluster that
arises at the boundary of the rwo wotds (baAl^effer). Alrhough this cluster will
be present whether bad is contracted or not, students might feel their speech will
be clearer if they use the full form of bad.
In the expression utould. like, common at all levels, students also avoid
contfacting uould. Again, as with. bad betteli a difficult cluster arises at the
boundary of uoukl and, like
(/d/
+
M.
I3ecause uould like is a cofirmon
conyefsational form, students should be encouraged to use the contraction with 1
in Id like, for example. Students will need practice linking the final
/d/
to the
following word.
The negative contractions lJadn't and xuouldn't are not used frequently by
students. Higher priority should be giyen to the contmction of utould, especially
after the pronoun 1, than to hadn't ancl, ttouldn't.
After nouns ending in consonants, Edd is pronounced as a syllable,like the
,ed
ending in started. The if:'iti^l
th/
is dropped, the vowel is reduced to
/a/,
and what
reo]' ins of bad joins
closely to the preceding word:
Rick had already graduated.
"Rickad already graduated"
lshouldn't have done it.
"sh6uldantev"
He couldn't have seen it.
"c6uldantav"
Ed had edited it.
"Edad" edited it.
78 )HAPTER 2 Rhythm
Students should be aware of this reduction but not expected to use it in
spontaneous speaking.
wiry Won't Students are reluctant to use contracted //, perhaps because they do
not hear it cleady. In English,t}j'e frnal A/
of 1rll/ is a "dark
l" (see page 741) an<l may
sound unfamiliar to students. In connected speech, the dark I of contllcted u)ill
alters the vowel of the preceding pronoun, weakening the glide ending of the
vowels in pronouns. Consider the pronunciation of the contractions in the following
sentences, spoken normally:
Cal me and
ljl
come.
(sounds
close to "all")
Te I me if he'l be there.
(sounds
close to "hii ")
Let me know when they ll come.
'
(rhymes
with
"shell")
It is not necessary to teach these pronoun alterations to students.
The contraction taon't is also avoided by students. Students may use a Yery
similar pfonunciarion for uon't and u)ant, which can be confrrsing to a listener
Students should be taught to round their lips tightly fot uon't and to use the vowel
i7
fatber
fot uant.
It is important for students to use the contractions of ll
^fld
uon'L because of
the forceful meaning that uncontracted uill and u.till nol can haYe. Consider the two
sentences below;the second sentence has the feel of an emphatic refusal.
I won't
go. I will not go.
Students should be aware that they may sound imperious or rude when they use
uncontracted forms of loill a1J.d uill not.
After nouns endiflg in consonants, z/i// is reduced to the syllable /ay,
$/hich
joins
closely to the preceding word; it is pronounced like an -al, -le, or -el ending on
the preceding wofd. Native speakers pronounce the two sentences below neady
the same.
The cat will drink water.
=
The cattle drink water.
Students should be aware ofthe reduced pronunciation of ?r/// after nouns, but
should not be expected to use it in spontaneous speaking.
Like other negatiyes, the negative contractions d6n't, d6esn't, and dldn't are
stressed. The contracted forms don't and didn't are more common in student
speech than doesn
'/, perhaps because ofthe third-person singular present -s ending,
which is frequently omitted by students. Students shottld be encouraged to use
negative contractions of the simple present and past tenses.
cHAPrtR 2 Rhythm
79
Activily 2. 1 1 Reduction of and: Foods that go
together
level H igh Beginning/Low lntermediate
Worksheet None
Tip Teach students to recognize the reduced pronunciations
of
grammar
words.
Descriplion This activity is from Focus on
pronunciation
I
(Lane
2OO5a,
12L-122).lt provides practice
noiicing and pronouncing
the reduced
pronunciation
of and
1. Read aloud these words for some foods that often go
together. Repeat the
phrases. Pronounce and as [an]. Join it to the first word.
a. surf and turf f. salt and pepper
b. turkey_and stuffing g. cake and ice cream
c. cookjes_and mjik h. chipq,and dip
d. bacon and eggs i. fish and chips
e. bread_and water j.
rice and beans
2. Choose three phrases
from Part 1 and write them on the lines.
Your phrases:
3. Work with a partner.
Read your phrases to your partner.
your
partner
will write
what you say. Then listen to your partner's phrases.
Wrjte them on the lines.
Partner's phrases:
4. Work in small groups.
The foods in Part 1 are eaten by different groups
of people
or in different situations. Complete the sentences with ihe foods in
part
l.
a. ln the caribbean, it's
rice and beans
b. For breakfast, it's
..
In priso4
ir
tl-e o'o days, il was
d. At beach restaurants, it's
e. For a children's snack, it's
f. For dessert, it's
g. At a party, it's
(cortinue.l
on next page)
B0 cHAPr[R 2 Rhythnl
Actiuit! 2.1 1 cuttinued
h. For Thanksgiving, it's
i. These spices make food taste better:
1.
ln England, it's
5. Write down other foods that go together. Then te I your group about foods thai
often go together ln your country.
We eat a lot of shrimp and vegetables.
Activity 2.12 Can and can'|. What difference can an individaal nake?
level Intermed iale/Advanced
Worksheet None
Tip Teach the reduced pronunciation of can to help students pronounce
the difference between can and can't.
Descliption This activity can be integrated with other materials on environmental
problems. lt praciices the unstressed
pronunciation of can and the
stressed
pronuncialion ot can't, in the coniext of how an individual
can help the environment.
1. Introduce the topic of environmental
problems. Ask students what
environmental
problems they are concerned about. l\4ake a list on the board.
2. lntroduce the pronunciation oI can and can't. Wrile the J.EK. quote, beiow, on
the board, leavlng out can.1a Read the quote and ask students to listen to how
the words in the blanks are pronounced. Ask students whether can is stressed
or unstressed.
lVy fellow Americans, ask not what your country do for you.
Ask what you do for your coLntry.
3, Show the reduced pronunciation of canon the board: Dlrectly after "country"
and "you," write "kan," in the blanks, leaving no space between "kan" and the
preceding word
(this
shows that can is pronounced like an ending). lvlark the
stressed syllable of "country," and put a stress mark over "you." Model
cduntrykan and y1ukan seuen tlmes. Students repeat,
4. Ask several students to read the J.F.K.
quote. Give feedback on the
pronunciation of can. Ask students to paraphrase J.F.K.'s quote,
ra
lhis quote is fron
John
n Kennedl s iraugural add.css ir
Jarllrari
i961.
CHAPTER 2 Rhythn
81
ActiuiU' 2. I 2 co.ntinued
5. Write the sentence below on the board. Ask students how they think J.F.K.
would complete this quote.
Ask students how they would complete the quote.
Each student should say the quote
so that it reflects his own opjnjon. Explain
that the negattve can'f is always stressed.
An Individual
do a lot to help the envjronment.
(can/"an
l)
6. Ask students what an individuai can do to help the environment. Elicit a few
answers with can and monitor pronunciation (e.g., you
can walk to school or
work, you can use a fan instead of an air conditioner). Write the suggestions on
the board as verb phrases (e.g.,
walk to work, use a fan instead of an air
cond itioner).
7. Students work in pairs,
continuing the list of things a person
can do to help
the environment. Ask students to write sentences starting with
,,you
can.,,
Circulate among the pairs,
helping them with vocabulary or giving
suggestions
(e.g.,
recycle, vote for "green"
candidates, reuse empty coniainers).
8. When students have written several sentences on their lists, ask the pairs
to
read their sentences and add new ones io the list on the board. Help students
with pronunciation, grammar,
and vocabulary.
9. Choose a suggestion from the list on the board
(e.g.,
,,walk
to school") and ask
a student, "Sonia,
can you walk to school?,' Sonia should answer for herse'f,
"No I can't because I live too far away.,'
provjde
feedback on the pronunciation
of can and can't. lf students use short positjve
answers
(e.g.,
,,yes,
I can',),
write the short answer on the board and tell students that can isn,t reduced in
short answers.
ERROR C0RRECTI0I{: Your sJudents pfonorLrce
can $ke canl.
After students have learned the feduced promrnciation
of can, provide feedback on
mispronutciations:
Ask,,Can or Can't?,,
ffi
n^t-sp"ech Reductions of Function words
What the Teacher Should Know
The reductions described aboye reflect pfonunciations
that occur in fofmal as
well as infomal speech. Other reductions,like
Wy'rajd do? for wbat did you do? or
Wbatcba been doing? fot WlJat baue you been doing? are associated with fast,
casual speech. A natiye speaker deliyering a fomal presentation
at a conference
would be unlikely to use these forms. Since native speakers speak informally far
82
.HAPTLR 2 Rhythm
more often than they do formally, our students should be aware of the informal
reductions they will undoubtedly hear.
Fast-speech reductions should be taught for recognition rather than
production. Indeed, there may be a "style clash" if students attemPt to use fast-
speech reductions when they lack fluency: The use of gor1r1a, for example, by a
student with little fluency, can sound incongruous. In addition, less proficient
students who use gonna m?y 2:dd to
(.e
.g.,I'm gonna to do it) or \rse utanna when
the subiect is rels be/it (e.g.,She utanna do /t), errors that heighten the style clash.
On the other hand, through exposure to spoken English, some students do pick up
some fast-speech reductions on their own and use them accumtely. If the reduction
sounds natural, the student should not be discouraged from using it.
Some fast-speech reductions should probably be viewecl as a continuum of
reductions, rather than as discrete fixed forms; the continuum involves a blending
together of more and ntore wotds and a loss of phonetic material that can be
extreme. Reductio trs of be
Soing
to are an example Years ago, my father planted the
seeds that later set me to listening for these reductions when he chided me for
saying
"Imanal"'Imana?" he asked."Whafs Imane?l" Since then,I have heard the full
range of reductions shown below, in my own speech, in my father's speech, and in
the speech of other native speakers.
l'm
going to go to the bookstore after class today.
I'm gonna go to the bookstore after class today.
lmana go to the bookstore after class today.
lrnna go to the bookstore after class today.
lma
go to the bookstore after class today.
Althougtr native speakers may not be aware tllat they are making these extreme
reductions, they all occur in the informal English of educated native spcakers
The following fast-speech reducdons are presented in many pronunciation
textbooks (Dauer 1993, Hewings and Goldstein 1998, Lane 2005c).\feinstein
(2000),
1n wlJaful.aya sd.l1r, has developed nonstandard spellings of these reductions, which
also appear in dialogue in novels and plays. Although the first two entries in the list
below, baue tonJas to afld used to, are usually presented as fast-speech reductions'
the reducecl or blended pronunciation is used in formal as well as informal English.
Citation form Fast-speech spellings and
pronunciation
hafta lhaftal, hasta Aastey'
/yuwsta /yuwstuMl5
gonna /ganJ
have to, has to
used to
going
to
lt
The last vo$el ol mel lo
(/a/
or /u\t), depends on the iint sound of the following $ord. Thc /ury' pronunciation occuN beforc
\o\\, d
^eo
to pnjq ,'"'
lrp 0
'.
.s'.010. r ahu
'
pag'
(l
1HAPTER 2 Rhythn
83
have got
to
want to
ought to
don't know
out of
could have
would have
should have
must iave
gotta
/goDe/6
wanna /tvoney'
ought to 6Der'
dunno /den6v
outta /awDd
coulda /kuDey'
woulda AvuDey'
shoulda
4uDoy'
musta /mesta/
The reduction of going to to goww occurs only when going to is used as the
futufe auxiliary, not s/hen it is the main verb of a sentence alrd to is follov/ed by a noun.
l'm gonna
study.
(l'm going
to study.)
NOT: l'm gonna
school.
(l'm going
to school.)
The reduction zr)anna. is
.used,
with the subject pronouns I, you, ue, ot tbq) rc
repl ce uant to or uant a, b1ot not u,ant tbe,
I wanna study.
(l
want to study.)
I wanna book.
(l
want a book.)
NOT: I wanna book(s).
(l
want the bookls].)
Other fast-speech feductions arise when certain sounds come in contact,
producing
blended sounds (e.g.,"Whaia" for "What did you"). Fast-speech blends are
discussed in Linking Adiacent Words, above.
The auxiliaries d.o md d.id. and the pronoun
Wu
undergo some extfeme
reductions, especially in questions. The vowel in da is ofien feduced to
/a/
Z;nd |dre
nitial
/d/
naybe flapped (phonetic symbolD) aftet Wbat? (see
Consonaffs,page 129).
Whaddaya /waDaya/ think?
(What
do you think?)
Howdaya /hawDaya/ know?
(How
do you know?)
The atx:hary did may be reduced to a single consonant
/d/
.lI you follows did.,
the sing]e consonant is
/dy.
Wherd they
go? (Where
did they
go?)
Whaja do?
(What
did you do?)
16'lhe
synrbol D repruents the flapped sound of /, ,s i n water
(w page 129).
84
LHAPTER 2 Rhvthm
Aclivity 2.13
Level
Worksheet
Tip
0escription
Reductions, Recognizing do and did
I ntermed iate/Advanced
Page 218
Teach students lo recognize the reduced
pronunciations of
grammar
words.
This activity helps students recognize da, did, and you in their fast-
speech
pronunciations. Students listen to sentences and wriie ihe
full forms of the sentences in the blanks.
3.
G
1. Students listen to the sentences on the handout.
2. Students work together to write the standard spellings of the questions
and sentences.
4.
Tell students that they do not need to use these reductions ln their own
speaking but ihey shou d be abLe to recognize them.
Ask students to share their experiences with "fast English" other reductlons
they've heard or difficulties they have had understandlng colloquial or
dialectal English.
CONCLUSION
Most classroom topics involving Englisli dlthm larget the linking or grouping
of worcls or the dillerence in length and loudness between stressed
(content) words
and unstressed
(function) words. Research shows that these aspects of English
pronunciation can be learned by students. It also sl]ows that native listeners of
English rely as heavil]', and possibly morc heavil]', on rhlthmic cues as they do on
appropriately pronounced consonants and vowcls Therefbre, as students gain skill
with the lbatures of r\thm, they inProve thc conlpre he nsibiliry of their own
speech.At the same time, their comprehension of native speakers impfoves as the]-
gain familiarity with how words are altcrcd or emphasized in connected speech.
CHAPTER
INTONATION
Ncar the cnd of class, in response to lny request fol a par;rphrase
of what a
speakcr
hacl just
said in an inte fview. mv Kore an stuclent ans'we red..He said that,,
He se emed to bc finishe d:His voice rose on lldr, which was stresse d. anal then fell
to a low note. I asked (too
soon. I now believc),,,yes.
but u)b.tt didhc say? In r_our
owlt $.ords." The srudent looked
anno;.ed at my question.
After[.,ards
i thor-lghr
about the cxchange
and his reaction.I concluded
that his intonation
had led me tcr
belicve his answer was finishcd-rltat
he had said,.He
saicl that.,, rather rhan
,,lle
said that ...'
Intonatiot],
the meaningf].
use ofpitch on a word or phrase,
contributes
to the
interpretation
of discoursc mcaning, grammatical
meanini,
,,rnd
affectir.e
meaning.
In discourse. intonation
identifies
intportant infbrmation
fbr tlte Iistencr.
shoI!.s ltow
ditlerent picces
of informati.n
rclxte ro cach othcr,
est,rblislres
a levcl of
engagement
betwcen the speaker and listener ancl manages conversattonal
tuLns.In
granmal particular
intonation patterns
are common with particular
structurcs,
hclping to distinlauish
statements (e.g..
1t,s ralnirg.) from questions (e.g.,
Z:r
raining)
or direcr obiecr nouns (e.g.,I
knou) Uat1,.) trom direcr adclress nouns
(c g
'
I knotu' Mqry.) rn its afitctive ftlnctior.r, into.ation
r-eflects the attitudes and
cmotiol-ls 0f speakers.
DEFINITIONS
Pitch on a word. Ever1. s,vllablc is spoken with a particular
leyel of pllcD (a
note).
I)ut onh. pitches
thar are noticeably
highcl or lox.cr than o,fr... ir= in
for,r"r.
'fhese
occur on dte stre.ssed
sy,llables of w.or.tls that the speaker wants to meke
prominent
and highliglrt
l
In the dialog'e berorq most speakirs
wourcr highright thc
wo(l "doctor"
as the most import;rnt
information in a stiaightf<rrward
answer to the
it cfut^/ltde.
sttt!.t. tt)ttic st lloble. .tenlet tLi slras aid tr;lrzr'.vr,,i
B5
86
]HAPTER 3 lntonation
question "If/hat's your day Like?" High pitch,length, and loudness combine to draw
the listener's attention to this word.
Ar What's your day I ke?
B: L'm
going
to the DOQtor this afternoon.
In the example aboye, pitch "steps down" from the srressed syllable of
"doctor" to the following unstressed syllable. Pitch "glides down" on single-syllable
stressed words and in words stressed on the last syllable. Glide patterns are more
difficult for learners to hear than step
patterns because the pitch change occurs
over a single syllable.
aGREE.
Low pitch on an important word is also sometimes used to make it salient
In the exchange below,
"don't" is pronounced with low pitch. In this case, the
speakef is correcting or contradicting preYious information (Pierrehumberl and
Hirschberg 1990).
Ar I thought
you wanted steak.
B: I DON'T want stdak.
\_ ,,---'/
English intonation is traditionally
presented as having three or four levels of
pitch: low, mid, high, and a fourth level of extra high pitch, used to shoY/ strong
emotions such as disbelief or
'oy
(?ike 1972, Prator and Robinett 1985,]ifong 1987'
Beisbier 1995, Celce-Murcia et al. 1996). Following Levis's suggestion
(.1999),
a
simpler two-term system for describing pitch leYel, ltiglt/higber or lou,4oLuer' is
recornrnended.z In pmctice, classroom teachers often end up with a two-level
system an)'way, using terms like /,her or lou)er eYen if the textbook presents thfee
or four levels of pitch.
Ifltoflation cofltoufs.
(]tterances
are stretches of speech set off by silence. In a
quick exchange, they can be as short as a word; in extended discourse, they can be
several sentences long. Longer utterances are broken into shorter units of
information
(thought groups), each of which has its own intonation contour
(melody or tune). Most speakers would break the sentence below into two thought
groups, shown by underlines.
ryTIgAfrorn
the start
2
The two-tenn
rysten
also rcflch llnguistic descdltions olinlonation
(Pienchumbert 1980,0ha1a 1983, Bolingr 1998, Cusshoven
2004) . In addition, higli or Low pitch is not a lixed level A pitch is heard ,i h
jgh
or low onlr in rclation t0 local adjdcent pitches, not in
rcLation to ,rn xbsoiute.
It's H0T.
CHA?TER 3 lltonati)n
87
These units of information are referred to by vafious n ames.. intonation units,
intonational pbrases,
inteftnediate phfases,
tone group' tone units, tlJougbt
groups, cbunks, and,pbrase groups.3 In this book the term',thought groups,,is
us;d.
Each unit contains at least one prominent word, has its own intonation contour, and
often constitutes a grammatical pl
"se
(for example, a short clause or prepositional
phrase).
In the dialogue below, the sentence',I think it went well,,' consists of two
thought groups, each with its own intonation contour, At the end of the fust clause,
intonation does not fall to a low note, signaling that,,I think,, is not the end of the
utterance and should be understood with \shat follows. In the second thought
goup, pitch rises o\'er the highlighted word "well"
and then falls to the bottom of
the speaker's range, showing that the utterance is complete.
A: How was your interview?
=- _
=4
B:
In rot sL,e. athink ,1 6n, *"N
RESEARCH ON INTONAIION
Final Intonation Patterns and Pitch
Final falling and final rising intonation patterns in English are traditionally
linked with diflerent
rypes
of sentences: Declamtive sentences and information
questions tlpically end with falling intonation, yes-no questions end with rising
intonation. The dialogue below illustrates the three sentence types and their
typical intonations.
A: What are you
doing tonight?
(information question,
fall ng intonatlon)
(dec
arative statrnent, falling intonation)
(yes
no question,
ristng intonation)
The same intonation patterns are used with the same sentence types in most
languages (Cruttenden
1986). Because of this similariry Kenworthy maintains that
"teachers
can assume faidy safely that in many cases learners will use intonation in
English appropriately" (1987, 85). The use of salient pitch to make information
prominent is also found in many languages.
J
In Pienehumbefi and Hi$chberg, mtonational phrdJes corcspond rou$ll to sentence length ultermces; thought groups
$ithin the
intonational phrases arc refeffed t0 as "intennediate phrases' (1!!0,277).
B: I thlnk l'll
just
watch TV.
---',.
Do you want to see a movie?
88
aHAPTER 3 lntonation
On the other hand, languages also djffer in the ways in which pitch and
intonation are used, ancl these differences can be difficult fof students to learn. For
example, although both English and Portugnese use pitcl.t to highlight important
information, in Portuguese, the prominent word occupies the fi11al position in an
intonation phrase. In English, the prominent word is usually the last content word
(stressed word) in an intonation phrase but can also occupy nonlinal positions, as
in the following example (Cruz-Ferreim l9tl7, 105):
(She gave dog brscuits to someone.)
(She gave brscuits to her dog.)
In Portuguese, the differcnce between tltese two sentences would not be
expressed through pitch but through difTerent grammatical constructions or lex-
ical items.
Gumperz reports on a misunderstanding befween Inclian cafeteria workers
and their British customers that involvcd intonatior.r patterns with
Ps-n
o questions
(1982).Vhen the Indian workers oflered grary to their customers, they used falling
intonation, their native language pattern, rathef than the risini intonation expected
in English.
Gravy?
Their British customers interpreted this intonation as rudeness, an indication that
the workers didn't care if the customers wanted gravy or not.
Pitch Range and Ievel
Range of
Pitclr,
the difference between the highest and lowest notes produced
in ilrl lrttennce, can also dillbr from language to language. Stlrdies of l)utch and Spanish
learners of English showed tl.nt the lezLrnels used a narrower pitch range compared to
native English speakers, closer to that of thejr native languages
@ackman
1979,
Willems 1982). The transfer of a narrower pitch range into Eng.lish could contribute to
the "flat" intonation used by many ESL students
(as could lack of confidence).
It is not always easy to convince students to use a wider range of pitch. In my
own classrooms. when I ask
"flat talkers" to
"use their voices more," the results
usually sound good to me (sometimes students use a range of intonation tllat is oYel
the top and we all have a good laugh). Some students welcome my comments and
make clear efforts to apply them in speaking. Other students, howevet say they feel
foolish or silly. While textbooks that encourage students to sound "enthusiastic" in
English have been criticized (Ranalli 2002), we owe it to students who use patterns
that make them sound rude or uninterested to inform them of the impression they
She
gave
her dog
a HApIER 3 tntonation
89
may be creating The fact that some students $ ill not take our advice does not mcan
that we shor d not make tlte effort.
In othcr cases, speakers of languages \vith a wider pitch range than En1;lish, tor
example, Sweclish learners, ma1. speak English with a sinEi_song intonarion (Cclcc_
Murcie et al. 1996, 185).
Languaies differ not oni. in rnnie of pitch bur also in average leuet
(t
pitch.
Natiyc Geman speakcrs of English, for exaLmple. arc regartlccl as speaking wirh a
rather low flat intonation that mal' souncl ot erly serious or pedantic
to a Nortl.l
American English listener; the rangc of pitch in German is also nafrower than in
English (Trinrm
1988, as quoted in Mennen 2006). A study of the level ancl range of
pitch used bv aclvancecl Gernnn spcakers of Englisl] showed that while most
'sed
a
higher average level of pitch in Engrisl] (closer
to the Engrish nomr), rhey continued
to use a narrower rxnge of pitch, (closer
to the nom for Gernun), sufiElesting that
level ofpitch ma)' be more casily learned than range ofpitch (Mennen
2006).
Studies of Second Language (L2)
Learners, Intonation
Therc haye been few stlldies of how L2 learncfs t-lse it.rtonation in Enlalish. Most
have looked at the intonation of intemecliate to aclr'ancccl learners and show that. as
with other areas of pronunciation,
intonation is inf'luenced b,y tlte nadve language
system. They :rlso reveal problcnntic areas of English intonation lbf learners: the usc
of pitch to make important words pronlinent, in pafticulaf,
the use of contrastive
stress (e.9.,
This is YOtlRS. not MINE); a difficuln usinli rising intonarion with
uttefances othef than
:le.s-r?o
questions, antl a corresponding oYeruse of fallinl
intonatioll. Most studies that include lcarners at dirlerent proficiency
le,,els report
that morc proficient learners use intonation more accurately than less,proficient
learners, evidencc that featurcs of intonation are learnable
Cruz-Ferreira strr(lie.l h()q/
Poftuliuese learners of English interpreted English
intonation, ancl how English learners of
portuguese
interprctecl
portuguese
intonation (1987).
Shc found that whcn both languagcs used rhe same inronation
pattcrn to expfess the same meaning, the lcarners intelpreted intonation tlte same
way that nntive listeners do. \Vhen both lang,ages usccl the same intonation feature
but used it to express diflerent rncanings, learners intcrpretcd intonation as the.I.
would in their nati\.e languages. Finallv, when a target language intonation pattern
did not have a counterpart in the nati\.e language, learners either ignorccl
intonation,
basing interpretations on the lexical content of the Lltterance. or
intcrpreted mcaninla randomly.
Pennington and Ellis studied the ability of aclr.anced Cantonese EFL learners to
distinguish pairs of sentences which diflbrecl only in prosody (rh1,thm
ancl
intonation): for examplc,ls be driuing tbe BUS vs.Is HE
(lriulng
tlre bus;TtJe
fight
is ouer lired vs. Tlte
fight
is oter Fred (2000). Thel fbund that with explicir traininti,
learners were bener able to notice prosodic difTerences, especially diffcrences in
the placement of highlighted words.'Ihcy conclutlecl that there is a need for cxplicit
instftrction in thc form of intonational features and their functions.
90
]HAPTER 3
,Intonation
ln a study of intermediatc Spanish,
Japanese,
and Thai ESI- learners,
wennerstrom
(1994) found that learners did i.Iot always use pitch to signal contrasts
where native speakers would.
wennerstrom
(1998) compared the use of four intonational features b-v
Mandarin Chinese international teaching assistants
(I'IAs) and native-Enlilish
teaching assistants
(TAs).'I'he ITAs ranged from intermediate to low-adYanced levels
of proficiency. Ms.Irennerstrom found dlat all learners, including those with lower
proficiency, were able to use hitaher pitch with new content words
(stressed words)
ancl lower pitch with function words
(unstressed words; '
Lower-proticiency
learners had difficulty
producing an appropriate contrast between words
presenting new information ancl words referring to old information She also tbund
that ITAS unclerused paratone, the wiclening of pitch range when a new topic is
introcluced. In general, her study showed that hillher-proficiency ITAS usecl
intonation more lppfopriately thnn lower-proficiency
ITAS. Since all ofthe iTAs had
had some instrlrction in pronunciation, she concludetl that at least some aspects of
intonation can be taught and learned, although, as in most stLldies of pronunciadon
learning, there was indiviclual variation
Pickering studied the use of falling and risirlg intonation by Chinese lTAs
(2001). She found that rhe ITAS undefuscd fising intonation at utterance boundaries
comparecl to natiye-English TAs. The preponderance of falling and level intonation
usedbythelTAscreated..aflatmonotonicpitchstructufeunfamiliartoflative
hearers"
(2001,249).
Ueyama andJun studied the intonation of;les-zo questions in E1.Iilish by native
speakers of Korean and
Japanese
(1998) In all three langualies' intonation typically
rises at the end of
7es-n
o questions. However, in English, the rise :rfter the focus
(highlighted) worcl is continuoLts, whereas in Korean and
Japanese,
it is not The
intonation used by the more-pfoficient
lelfncfs was nlofe Englishlike than that of
less-proficient learncrs.
CONCERNS
ABOUT TT,ACHING INTONATION
Dalton and Seidlhofer describe intonation as the
"problem child" of
pronurciation teaching
(1994,73). Teachers cxpress a variety of concerns about
teaching intonation: One concern is that intonetion is hard to
"pin down"; a giYen
sentence can be pronounced with different intonation patterns, sometimes,
but not always, creating a clear diflerence in meaning' This problen can usually
be avoicled by presenting and practicing intonation in context, rather than
in isolated sentences
(Bolinger, 199{3). Context sharply redlrces the number of
intonation choices.
slftrss el]clitics
(unstressed
larticles
thet
join closelr to surtoutlding
'ronls).
(HA?TER
3 lntonation
9"1
Another difficutty is that intonation is hard to hear, and even trained
transcribers disagree on how certain examples should be transcdbed (Brazil
1994a,
6). This difficulty can be avoide<l by focusing classroom work on features of
intonation like the use of pitch to make information prominent
or the use of pitch
at the ends of utterances (final intonation patterns).
prominent
words are not
difficult to hear, and the pause at the end of an utterance makes final intonation
easier to hear Minimal dialogues (one-word
exchanges), lite the one below, are
useftil for focusing students' attention on final intonation patterns (.\(/ong 19g7,62).
Minimal dialogues are also natural: In casual conversations especially, we do not
always speak in complete sentences.
'''.-
A: Finished?
A: Five m inutes?
B: No.
A: When?
B: Later.
The difficulty of hearing whether the
yoice
is rising or falling can also be
reduced by replacing words with nonsense syllables to isolate the tune. For
example, in the dialogue above, students may have difficulty hearing the falling
intonation on "When?" because the fall is rapid, occurring over a single syllable.
(Students
may also be confused by the question mark.) However, when a nonsense
sllable is used in place of"When?" the fall in inronation is much easier to hear.
Speech visualization technology can also be an aid to teaching intonation (Chun
1998, Levis and Pickering 200|. The technology allows learners to see their orlm
intonation and tlnt of models, displayed as a waye pattern, which helps compensate
for some of the difficulty in hearing intonation. Some speech
yisualization
proglirms
can be downloaded ftee: WASP (Iluckvale
2OO7)
.and
PR4,4T (Boersma
and Weenick
2009). Others are available commercially: for example
,
Visi-pitclJ 1Il (KayElemetfics
2004). Both Chun and I.el.is and Pickering fecofirmend using visual clisplays of
B: Almost.
H
92
]HAPTER 3 lntonatian
authentic discourse as models, wl.rich are a better feflection of actual intonation use
than scripted, isolated sentences.
To reduce the complexity of intonation, teachers can combine both geneml
and specific approaches. Ta-vlor suggests that teachers shoultl focus on "broad
geneml principles, mastery of which will have a high pay-off for leerners and
teachers"
(7993, 2). For example, a general rneaning of final rising intonation is
uncertainty or lack of finality or completeness. This explains its common lrse in
JLle.t-
no questions (uncertainty), its use in "holding the floor" in conversation
(lack of
finality-the speaker is not finished yet), its use in lists of infomation (lack of
finality-there's more to follow in the list;see Listing Intonetion, below), and its use
in discourse to signal that what came before is to be interpreted with what follows
(the preceding is unfinished).' Each of these rtses of final rising intonation can be
practiced in separate lessons with a specific communicative fuflction.
APPROACHES TO TEACHING INTONAIION
Traditional
In many textbooks, intonation patterns are linked to different types of
sentences or phrases.
yes-zo
questions, for example, end in risin!! intonation, while
declarative statements and inforrnation questions end in falling intonation.
A: Did yo- wa., h lto 1ci{ tor
gnll (},es
no qJesl o.li
B: I wasn't hoib.
(declarativel
wfrat r,fien-dl
(inforrnat
on question)
Another rule states that items occurrinfa in the beginning of a list are
pronounced with rising intonation;the last item ofthe list is pronounced with falling
intonation if the list is complete, or with rising intonation if the list could continue.
---'/J
red, white, and b ue
.-'-/._--...-/._-/
red, wh te, b ue,
green (.
. .)
General meanings ofintonation patterns are usually presented. Rising intonation, for
example, indicates uncertalltF or lack of finality/completeness.
The association of intonation patterns with grammatical structllres (sentence
types, phrase rypes) is both teachable and learnable. The intonation-structure
associations reflect the intuitions of natiYe speakers and may also reflect the most
frequent intonation pattern used with a particulaf structure
(e.g
,
falling intonation
with declaratives).
The traditional approach to teaching intonation, however, has been criticized
as overly simplistic and inadequate because the rules it presents are not always
5
The nreanings of "uncefainq and
" lack ol cotnplcteness are xrgueblv rclabd. Il a spelker ols a co rvorket lor extuDpl, 'tut the
(HAprER
3 tntonation
93
reflected in natural speech (see,
for example, Cauldwell and Hewings 1996, Levis
and Pickering 20o1)-rn addition, the use of isolated sentences does not reveal the
coffmunicatiye
role that intonation plavs in connected speech. Levis and
pickering
conpared natiye speakers' intonation on sentences fead first in isolation. ordered so
the sentences were unrelated to each other (200,1). The final intonation on these
sentences, mostly declamtives, was falling, conforminli to the tmditional rules (i.c.,
most declaratives end in falling intonation). Howevef, wlten the same scntences
were reordercd to cfeate a coherent paragraph, the native speakers used more rising
intonation, even where the rules would predict falling intonation.
pickering
(2001,
cliscussed above) found sinflar results in her comparison of the intonation used by
natiye-English TAs and ITAS when deliverinFi a lecture.
pickering
sugiests that rhe
native-English lAs'use of rising intonation when deliyering new inlbrmation (where
the expected pattem would be falling intonation) allowed them to ayoid sounding
as if they were alwa)'s infofming rheir students (2001).
Discourse Intoflatiofr
A more recent alternadve for teachin[i intonation is discourse intonation.
Discourse intonation has irs roots in the work of Halliday (1973)
and, as a
pedaliogical
approach, is most associated with the work of Brazil (1991a,7994b).
Brazil's framework was developed to introduce advancecl students to the role of
intonation in structuring discourse. The outline that follows is a simpliJication of
discourse intonation; interested readers should see Brazil 1994a,1991b.
The basic building block of discourse is rhe ton unit (an intonational phrase
or thought group). There are three malor features ofintonation that speakers choose
within tone units: prominence, proclaiming/referring
tones (final intonation
patterns), and high and low key (changes
in pitch level at tlte first pfominent word
of a tone unit).6 In the example below the tone units of a message are indicated by
thc s) mbol
//.
//the bus stopped//we'd got
to the termlnus//and everyone got
ouvl
Tone units have at least one ptomineitt word (shown
below in capitals), and
the last prominent word (underlined)
is defined as having tonic stress. Speakers
decide which words to highlighr (make prominent) as a means of guiding
the
listener to the most important information.
//WC'd GOT tO thE TERN4INUS/i
Intonation patterns (tones)
that end a rone unit (thought gror-rp) are chosen
accordinli to wherher the speaker believes the information in the tone unit is new
or shared.T When tlte speaker believes the information is shared, a rising tone
' rredke$ nlake lrolher piLh leveL choice, cnlled tennin ation. at the begin njn g
or e d ol a tone Llnit wh ich rcLafts t0 ke! choices ol
-...1r.''np
ib,ro \,al llo, D-r/ ,cou^pLou(coerlrorco,pt
tr't. i .,rt.o D.. l(\(.rl^r a
-
lrliels about shared information rlepend on sharerJ a$arcr\s,rj t rc Jng!age, nf$hxi hxs bcensaidbefore, antlolprll and locaL
: .rrs
(Chapman
2001).
94
.HAPTER 3 lntonation
(referring tone) is used
s
Rising tones also indicate
that the speaker holds the
.to-ir,*i
position in tl.re discoiirse
(has more to say) or is offering help to the
listener Speakers
choose falling tones
(proclaiming tones) to introduce
new
information
into cliscourse.In
thi example
below, B uses a falling tone on the new
infofmation.,,bills.
" The intonation
change occurs
on the last prominent word in the
tone unit and extends to the end of the tone unit'
A: Was there
B, //a LOT of
any mall?
BILLS//
Leyel tones are used when the speaker is using language
that is formulaic
or needs
to
!!ive
himself time to think
(fbr exarnple'
lelt see
)'
--
'-
fn. ,p.ut . also chooses a level ofpitch'the
key
Qrigh'
miLl' or low)'for the tone
unit, which occurs on the tirst prominent
word of a tor]e unit The pitch on this word
indicates
whether the speaker feeb the information
in the tone unit is expected
(a fall
a
fn.nl
o. r,.r."pectecl
(a rise in pitch) In the sentence-'Our
last class' next Friday'
*iil U.
"
p""y,' shQwn below,
the irst prominent
word of.the tone unit "next Friday"
irln
":t]ift.
,p.uker's
pitch fa11s ot.t "ltt*t" to show that the information
in this tone
,,r-rit l, ."p..t.a 6recause
the listencrs know
that the last class is next Friday)'
Our last class//NEXT
FRIDAY//wlll
be a
party
---
l--L-
In the example below, B's correction
of A' the first prominent
word in the tone
uflit is"fifth" B savs tllis tone
liroup
on a higher-than-usual
level ofpitch
(a high key)
to show thxt this infofmation
is inexpectecl.
High key is comflron when the tone
group presents a contrast or coffection'
A: The fourth daY?
B: //the FIFTH of MAY//
Bnzil's
approach to teaching
discourse
intonation
involves listening
to and
repeadng
authentic
sptech s"mflt";
identirying
tone units'
prominent words'
and pitch changes; discussing
why speakers
made the irtonation
choices
drey did;
and preclicting
intonation
'Although
there is wide agreement
dlat discourse
intonation
offers Yaluable
insights
in; Ilow rtonation
is usecl
in
(liscourse'
studies of
classroom
use sulgest that iniorporatirg
the full fi'amework
is challenging
(Hadley
1996,Ranx
i 2002,Cnapman
2ottil Participants
in these studies reportecl
difficulty
in
hearing
whether a tone was rising or falling and indcciding-whether
hformation
was
sharecl or new. cauldweu
and Heiings
(1t9(') and Ranelli
(2002) suggest
that' mther
than adopting
a complete
cliscourse
intonadon
orientation'
teachers supplement
raditional
materials fbr teaching
intonation
with elements
from discourse
intonatiofl
that are easily taught ancl serve iclear communicative
funcdon
Examples include
the
s
Then: are hvo othet comple{ tones:The lall Lise tone is efolher rclrdng toneilhe
rist hlLlone is xiothr
lloclainillg
tone'
aHAPTER 3 lntonation
95
use of rishg intonation on comprehension checks (e.g.,Rigtnn
and the use of rising
intonation to hold the floor some of these are addressed in nondiscourse intonation
textbooks. chapman also recorimends that students listen for tone units (thought
groups)
and prominent
words in recordinlas of natural discourse in order to develop
a "realistic and generalized
view', of the communicative use of intonation (2OO7,
rct.
TIPS FOR TEACHING INTONATION
The tips described in this chapter are listed below They provide
some specific
suggestions for how to help students improve their intonation.
ffi
rtps
The remainder of this chapter presents specific features of intonation. The tips
are further explained in the context of these features and activities suggested to
practice them.
SPECIFIC FEATURES OF INTONATION
1. Highlighting
2. Contrastiye stress
3. Final intonation patterns
4. Comprehension checks and tag questions
5. Intonation with lists, choice questions, nonfinal intonation pattems
6. Appositives and parentheticals
7. Intonation, emotions, and attitudes
We discuss what the teacher should know about each of these topics and
proyide suEigestions for teaching them.
96
cIAPTER 3 lntonation
El
"isr'righ.i"g
V/hat the Teacher Should Know
The following conversation between my claughter and me took place in our
living room, as I was reading the newspaper:
Son a
(walkine
n, exasperated, accusing): can't find my GLASSeS.
lvlom
(not
I stening, still reading), What about
your g asses?
Sonia
(bitterly,
since t's l\4orn's fau t): 've LOST them.
Even though I wasn't paying attentioll to what my daughter said,I was able to
pick out the word "glasses" because shc made that word prominent. She replied to
my abscntminded question, highlighting
"lost," the information she wanted me to
know about her glasses. After tl.rat, wc got up, did a searcll of the apartment, and, as
usual, I found her glasses.
Highliglrting involves the use of salient pitch (usually high, but not always),
together with length and loudness (drlthmic prominence), on the stressed syllable of
a word that the speaker considers to be more important than surroLrnding words.
Highl.ighting is also referred to as informatioll tbcus, sentence stress, primary stress,
pitch accent, nuclear stress, and toric stress.'l'his usc of pitch (as well as length and
loudness) provides "a funning conmentary on the newswofthiness of the various
items of infomation" (Maidme nt 1990,22).Daltofl and Seidlhofer describe prominence
(highlighting) as "the most important function of intonation, and alnost certainly the
most teachable one" (1994, 81; see also W'ennerstrom 1998,Jenkins 2000, Hahn 2004).
Highlighted words are often the last content word of a sentence, where new
information is wpically
pfi: I bougbt a neut CAR, I'd like some COFFEE. In
discourse, highlighted words prcsent new, foregroundcd, or contrasting information
Ttre example below shows the role of
Prominence
in signaling new information.
Speaker B first gives prominence to
"partlt'new information that answers speaker
A s question. In the seconcl part of speaker B's answe! the new information is
"loud";
"party" is now olcl information and is pronounced with a lowered pitch
A: Why do you look so tired?
B: There was a PARTY in the bu dlng last nlght, a very LOUD parly.
Highlighted words also presertt information that contrasts with previously
mentioned information. In the following dialogue, speaker B is contrasting
information about his new car (see ContrastiYe stress, below):
A' How do you like your new car?
B: lt
gets better GAS mileage, but it's not as FAST.
The fact that highlighted words are often the last content worcl in a phrase
provides a straightforward approach to teaching this intonation lbature to beginning
students. There are also general, teachable exceptions to the last-content-word rule
CH^prER 3 Intonatian
97
(Cruttenden
1990). Nouns tend to be focused more often than verbs, acliectives, or
advefbs. In presentational
sentences, the noun following tbere is/are tencls to be
focused eyen if there arc otlter following nouns which also present new infomation.
There was a PARTY in my bui/ding.
Final adverbs are not usually focused, unless they present contfasting information or
the speaker wants to emphasize the specific meaning of the aclverb.
I'm going
to B0ST0N, fortunatety.
I finished the BOOK yesterday.
The tendency for highlighted words to be the last content word of an
utterance is not a rule, nor clo all exceptions fall into the general
exceptions
described above. Intermediate and ndvanced sttrdents need to be aware that the
speaker can focus potentially any word, regardless of its position. In the first line of
the dialogue belov', the word "pictures,', the last content word of the sentence and
the new Lformation, is highligl.lted. In the second line,,,back,,is highlighted, while
"yet;'an
adyerb, is de-emphasized, one of the general exceptions to the last_content_
word rule.In the third line,"yesterda)." and "today"
are cortrasted and so are fbcused.
In the fourth line, the manager highlights the words
,,who,,
and
,,I,llr.,,
words in
contfast, but also "have;'
to emphasize the lack of ',existence,,
of the particulaf
service. The highlighting of"have" neither follows the last-content-word rule, nor is
it one of the general exceptions to the rule, described above.
Customer
(handing
a slip to the store ernployee): I want to p
ck up some PICTURES.
Employee
(checks
and returns empty handed): Sorry. They're not BACK yet.
Customer: I brought them ln YESTERDAY. I was told they'd be ready TODAy.
Employee: Sorry. I don't know WHO you spoke to. l'M the manager and we don't
HAVE next day service.
Activity 3.1
Level
Wolksheet
Tip
Description
Highlighting: Breakfast in the rcal world
Beginning, ESL Settings
Page 2I9
Teach highlighting of key words to help students make their
meaning clearer.
Students practice
ordering breakfast in a restaurant, highlighting new
information (the
breakfast choices they order). This activity can also be
integrated with other work centering on the topic of food
(count
and
mass nounsr for example, are often presented
with food vocabulary).
Classroom practice can be followed by a t.ip to a restaurant.
(continLla.al
on ne$ page)
98
]HAPTER 3 lntonation
Actlulry
3.1
continued
1. Before class, plan t0
go with your students to a local restaurant for breakfast,
lunch, or dinner. Bring copies of the menu to class and go over them.
2. In class, after explaining the restaurant trip,
pass out menus to students and
ask them to choose what they will order. Go over vocabulary as necessary. lf
the menu is long or includes a
great deal of new vocabulary, ask students to
go over it as homework, choosing the items they will order. In this way, class
time can be used for speaking and pronunciation praciice raiher than
vocabulary development.
3. Write the students' choices on the board. lvlodel the pronunciation
and ask students to repeat. IVake sure students can pronounce their
choices u nderstandab ly.
4. Write a dialogue on the board, using one student's choices, or use the sample
dialogue on Worksheet 3.1. To keep the practice natural, do not insist that
students always use complete sentences. Capitalize highlighted words and
mark intonation.
@
s. oirect students' atteniion to the capitaiized words. Students listen to the
dialogue and repeat the lines. Explain that the capitalized words have the most
important mean ing.
6. Students
practice the dialogue in pairs, taklng both parts.
7. After
practicing
the dialogue, students use the model on the board to practice
their own choices, in groups of two
(waiter
and customer) or three
(one
waiter
and two customers), before
going to the restaurant.
[F]
contrastive stress
V/hat the Teacher Should Know
Contrastive stress is like highlighting, except that two words are pronounced
with salient pitch and stress. ContmstiYe stress tells the listener that two pieces of
information afe being contrasted or compared.
The lecture wil be in HA[/lLTON Hall, not LEWISOHN Hai .
Pierrehumbert and Hirschberg describe tlle pitch accent on contlirsting
information as a sharp rise (from a low note) to a high note (1990,296).
CH^PIFR 3 lntonatian
99
Act;vity 3.2 Conttastive strcss: Which apartnent is bettet?
level lntermed iate/Advanced
Worksheet Page 22O
Iip
Teach highlighting of key words to help students make
meanings clear.
Description In this inforrnation gap,
students complete information
missing from
descriptjons of two apartment shares and then decide which is
preferable.
This activity can be adapted to many other comparisons,
such as two schools, two cars, two cell phone
service plans,
or two
bus routes. lt can also be used to integrate pronunciation
with
grammar practice
of comparatives.
1. lntroduce the topic of housing. Ask the class what is irnportant when they look
for a place
to llve. List thelr answers on the board, recasting them as much as
possible
as nouns (e.g.,
location, size, rent/price, privacy,
noise).
2. lntroduce pronunciatlon.
Check two of the items on the board and contrast
them in a sentence Iike "For me, loCAtion is more irnportant ihan SIZE.',
3. Ask students which words you contrasted and how your
voice shows the
contrast
(the
contrast words are heavlly stressed, pitch is higher on these
words). Repeat your
sentence and ask students to repeat, using their voices to
h ghlight
the contrast words.
4. Ask a student to choose two items on the list and compare them for
importance. Provide feedback 0n pronunciatlon
of the contrasted words.
Choose several other students to do the same.
5. Find out if anyone tn class is living tn an apartment share. Ask the class why
people
choose apartment shares.
7.
6. Put students rn pairs, giving
one member Chart A, and the other Chart B. Tell
the class that each student has half of the information about two apartment
shares. Each member of the pair
tells
(not
shows) her partner
the information
on ihe chart, stressing words that contrast
(not
all of the information on the
sample charts contrasts). The listener writes the missing informatron
to
complete his chart. When the charts are complete, the pair
discusses which
apartment share is more desirable.
After the pair
work, ask students which apartment share they preferred
and
why. Provide feedback on the pronuncia
on of contrasting words.
100 :HAPTER 3 lntanation
ffi
ua"t rntonation Patterrx
what the Teacher Should Karow
As discussed aboyc, specific intonation patterns are often linked to sentence
types'. Yes'no questior.ls, for example
,
end in rising intonation. The link, however, is a
loose one. Bolinger, for example, reports that
J,es-no
questions end with falling
intonation almost as oflen as they end with rising intonation (1998). Research on
the role of gender and intonation in yes-no questions shows that women are more
likely to use rising intonation than men (Svrdal and
Jilka
2003).
lfli questions can end with either falling or rising intonation. When the
question is a true information question, intonation falls. When the lVH question
is used to ask for a repetition or clarification, it rises. The example below
illustrates both.
A: I know somebody at the UN that you should contact.
---'--''-----..-
B: Great. What's hls narne?
(asking
for informat on)
A: A. Chandaha nathan
B: What was that?
(asking
for a repet tion/c arification)
A: C'H-A-N-D-A-H-A-N-A-T-H-A-N.
Thl] use of rising intonation with 1f11 questions is a useful one for ESL
students, who frequently need to ask for repetitions or clarifications, and is also
addressed in a number of textbooks.
In discourse intonation, fisinE! intonation at the end of a tone unit (thought
group) signals that information in the tone unit is shared between speaker and
hearer It can also be an invitation for the listener to make a conment (i.e.,
indicating the end of a turn). Brazil explains yes-n o questions plonounced with
risin!! tones (e.g., Is tbat tlre titleX as
"making sure" questions, questions whose
answers the hearer knows and the speaker assumes to be true (1994a,20).
Flral Falling Intonation
Declaratives, Comrnands, Iflformation
Questions.
Final lalling intonation
(also called rising-falling) is t)'pical with declarative sentences, commands, and
information qr.restiol.rs. The genefal meaning of falling itttonation, certainty or
finality, is consistent with the typical meanings of declaratives and commancls. Ifl the
first statement below ("I saw
John
yesterda)'l'), the speaker is not expressing doubt
cHAprER 3 Intonation
1O1
about seeing
John
yestefday. Similarty, commands do not reflect doubt about what
the speaker wants to happen.
Although information questions are not statements of fact, they
neyertheless reflect a good deal of certaintF. For example, when we ask the
question Wbere did sbe go yesterd.ay? we believe that she went somes/here-we
iust
don't know where.
In discourse, speakers use final falling intonation when they are informing
listeners of something new (of
something the speaker believes the listener was not
aware of). Final faling intonation is also used to signal that a discourse or
conyersational tum is finished. For ottrer uses of falling intonation, see also
Comprehension Checks and Tag
Questions,
page 104.
Yes-No
Questlons.
Thompson describes yes-no qtestions with falling intonation
as conducive questions, questions to which the speaker already knows the
answers (1995).
Teacher
(going
over a student's essay that is very repetitive):
Are these two sentences really dfferent?
. )
Bolinger gives the follov/ing example of a yes-no question with falling
intonation, spoken with a steadily falling pitch by an exasperated mother to a child:
Are yolr going
to pick
up
your
toys?
----=-'=-
Final Risfurg Intonation
I.es-No
Questlons.
A final fising intonation can mean that the speaker is
unceftain. This final pattern is cofltmon in yesao questions and intonation
questions (declaratives
used as questions).Btaztl calls yes-no questions with rising
intonation "making sure" questions
<1994b,
2O).In the question
below, intonation
rises on the prominent word ("Sonia") and stays high to the end of the question
(righ
rising).
ls Sonia here?
1 saw John yesterday.
Open the window.
102
IHAPTER 3 lntonation
A low-rising iJrtonation, where pitch is low on the prominent word and then
rises to a high note, is also used and appears to differ little in meaning from the high-
risirg t ontour Oevis 2002).
tl'
ls\r9fiere?
Low-rising intonation is common in polite requests for information from
stmngers. We might use this intonation to stop someone on the street to ask for
the time .
WU
Questions
Asking for a Repetition or Clarification. When 1tr41 questions
are used to ask for a repetition or clarification, intonation rises on the question
word, remains high, and rises a little at the end of the question.
B:
A more exaggerated use of this rising pattern with lFI1 questions can indicate
disbelief or increduliry
A: A taxi hit my blke today.
B: What?
Holding the Floor
A final falling intonation indicates a speaker has fiiished speaking. To show the
opposite, that the speaker is not finished and has more to say, final intonation
doesn't fall ro the bottom of the speaker's ranfie, but remains at a higher ler.el.
Consider the two pronunciations of "I know" below.In the first, spoken with falling
intonation, the speaker signals to the listefler that she is finished.In the second, final
intonation remains faidy high, a signal that the speaker is not finished or needs time
to think.
Let's go
to a movie.
What did
you
say?
I know .
Excuse me. Do you have
O
1. Students listen to the djalogue and practice
jt
in pairs.
2. Students write their own mjnimal dialogues and perform
them for the class.
Activity 3,4 Finat intonation: Fanous people
Leyel Beginn ing
Worksheet None
]lps Teach intonation patterns
that occur at the ends of utterances.
Practice the intonation of communicatively useful language ihat your
students know how to use.
lsolate intonation patterns
usjng nonsense syllables to make them
easier to hear.
Description
ln thjs activity, students practice
the rhythm and intonatjon
paiterns
of common questions
used for asking about names and
spellings in order to discover the name of a famous person.
The
spelling questions
also provide practice
with the pronunciation
of
letter names.
1. Before class, prepare
cards with the names of famous people your
students
will recognize (actors,
poljtlcians,
musicians, school officials).'prepare
as many
cards as there are students.
cnaprrn 3 lntonatictn
"lf)f,.
Activity 3.3 final intonation:
Mininat diatogues
Level Most Levels
Worksheet
Iips
Descriptior
Page 221
Use short utterances to illustrate
jntonation
patterns.
Teach inionation patterns
that occur at the ends of utterances.
This activity provides practice
with final intonation patterns
associated with declarative sentences (falling),
information questions
(falling),
and yes-no questions (rising).
As students practice
ihe
dialogues,
the teacher can
glve
feedback on whether the range of
intonatjon is wide enough.
(continLted
on next page)
1O4 :HAPTER 3 lntonation
ActtuiA
3.1
continue.l
2. ln class, write the following questions on the board, varying the size of the
words to show their relative prominence. Draw intonation lines.
(Do
not write
the isolated rhythm patterns shown in parentheses on the board.)
wHAT',S your FIRST NAtVtE?
(On
ou
DA
Dn)
HOW do you sPELL it?
(DA
oa oa
DA
oa)
WHAT'S your LAST NAM E?
(on
au
DA
On)
How do you SPELL it?
(DA
o, ou
DA
ou)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
l\lodel each question, followed by its isolated rhythm-intonation pattern,
Students repeat both the question and the isolated pattern.
As a demonstration, choose a student to ask another ciassmate the four
questions. Provide feedback on rhythm-intonation and pronunciation. Repeat
the process, choosing another student to demonstrate the questions.
ln pairs, students ask each other the four questions. (Although
many students
will know each other's first names, they may not know last names and spelling
may be even more mysterious, especially in classes where students speak
different native languages. )
Famous people. Put students in new pairs and give each student a different
card
(see
step 1, above). Students ask each other the four quesiions on ihe
board and write their partners' answers. When pairs finish thelr cards, they
pass them to another pair and repeat the activity with cards from another
pair.
Repeat the card passing and questions two more times.
Following the pair work, ask several students to ask a classmate
(not
their
partners) the same questions about the names on the classmate's current card.
Provide feedback on rhythm and intonation.
@!
comp"ehension Checks and Tag
Questions
What the Teacher Should Know
Comprelrension checks, tags like OK? ot Rigrrt? Me appropriate for all levels of
students. Comprehension checks are added to the ends of statements and
pronounced with risinla intonation.
So I twist the white wires together, right?
. A?TER 3 tntonation
"l0s
::s\e expressions are easy for students to use and afe communicarively usefi-d, as
--.11.
Pickering suggests that ITAS include comprehension checks in their lectures in
:iier to break up the preponderance
of falling and level tones that haye been
:.::rn-ed (20O1).
Tag questions llke isn't be? or can
!ou?
end in either falling or rising
::Dnation.When the speaker is asking for confimation, the falling pattern is used.
-:-rn
the speaker is expressing rincertainry rising intonation is used.
Ihls is a nice party, isn't it.
(requesting
conf rmation)
_
''-,
You're from Mexico, aren't you? (expressing
uncerta nty)
A tag question alone with falling intonation can also be used to express
.rgreement.
A: lt's cold outside.
B: lsn't it.
Tag questions are among the last question types to be used accurately by
students. They are granxmatically
difficult, requiring mastery of the verb system as
well as subjcct-verb inversion (Lightbown
and Spada 1999, 79). Because they occur
with either rising or falling intonarion, tlteA pronunciation is also difficr t. In
addition, they are pragmatically
difficult. Levis suggests that before students are
taught how to pronounce tali questions, they lear-n the situations in which they are
used appropriately (1999,52).
As an example, he imagines e help room situation in
which an ITA is working through problems witlt an undergraduate student who
seems to be having difficulry Levis asks how the I'I'A knows whether to ask about
the difficulty with a direct question or a tag question. He presents several possible
questions, shown below, and concludes that only thc first is cleady appropriate
(1999,53).
Student: Oh, I'm
just
not getting
these problems.
ITA: This is real y hard for you, isn't it?
This isn't really hard for you,
s it?
ls this real y hard for you?
This is really hard for you?
Because of the difficulties with tag questions, they are better left as a
pronunciation topic for high intemediate and advanced students.
106
(HAP\IR
i tntanatian
ln class, give the sandwich recipe to a student who will read the instructions
while you write them on the bOard. Tell the student to read at a normal pace.
As the student gets
ahead of your writing, stop him. Repeat the last part
0f the
instructions he read, ending with the comprehension check rghtZ
Ask the class what word you added to check your understanding. Ask whether
your voice rose or fell over that word
(i.e.,
rightn. lf necessary, repeat the last
part
of the instructions with the comprehension check.
The student continues to read the recipe instructi0ns and you continue writing
them on the board, stopping the reader from time to time to check your
understandl ng, using rteht?
Activity 3.5 Conryehension checks; My favo te sandwich
Level Most
Worksheet None
:ip Practice the intonation of communicatively useful language that your
students know how to use.
Description Students write a recipe for their favorite sandwich. The recipe should
be simple and easy to make. In pairs students listen to each other's
recipes and take notes. The listener checks his understanding by
reading back his notes and adding the confirmation check right?
with rising intonation.
(Alternatively,
students can
give
each other
directions to their homes, a favorite restaurant, park,
movie theater,
or library. lTAs can define a term or concept from their field to
someone who isn't in their field.)
1. Before class, prepare
simple lnstructions for making a sandwich to use as a
demonstration, The example below is for a garlic-and-cheese
sandwich. Only
one copy of the recipe is needed.
ngred ents, a slice of good bread, I c ove of garl c, ol ve oil, salt and pepper,
your favorite cheese
1. Peel the garlic clove and cut it in half.
2. Toast the bread.
3. Rub the cut sjde of the garlic over one side of the bread.
4. Sprinkle a little olive oil over the bread.
5. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the oil.
6. Add cheese to the bread and eat,
2.
3.
4.
5.
.HAPTER
3 lntanation
"l07
Ytilnr)
3.5 continued
5. Students
write their own slmple recjpes
for a sandwjch (or
some other food).
Provjde
help with vocabulary.
7. Pai work, One student reads
her recjpe
to her partner,
who takes notes on the
steps. The partner
then checks
his understandilg
ov-r!.oire
back the notes
and using the comprehensjon
check right.z
witf, i.ing ,tonu'tion.
IStoTlior,rfyith
I
jsts,
Choice
euestions,
and
Non-Final-Thought
Groups
(b)
And r want to prck
up things rir" p*.trnt-----ron
uno ituti..iiltlil-J
i. g"t
ro.t.
S/hat the Teacher
Should
Know
Listing
Intonation.
The first items in a lisr are usually pronounced
with rising
intonation,
especia.lly
when they a-re single woros or strort ptrrases.
The last item is
pronounced
with falling intonation
to indicate that the list is complete.
-.''''/---\
We v'sited Beijirg.
Sharghsi.
and Horg4oig.
If the speaker wants to show that the list is not complete
and that she could
add more to it, the last item is also pronounced
*itt ,lrirrg irriorration.
The raised
final pirch
indicates
that the list is nor finished. Th e word1nd is ofren omitted
in
"open" lists.
----''/--''''/
We visrted Beijing, Shanghai,
Ho-ng Kong. . .
,
cauldwelr
and Hewings point out that this intonation
rule,like all others,is
not
always observ-e<l
in natural speech (1996)
and that ,fr" ,.rf., should
not be
presented
as "hard and fast.,'They
cite an example from an introduction
to a radio
prog?m
g:
th: poetry
of Phillip La&in (1996,3]8).In
describing
his poetry,
Larkin
uses two lists;the
first (a)
follows
the pattern
clescribe.l
above while the second (b)
does not.
(a)
| tike to see at a gtance
,-,.-1"-ngt'.
tniGilo,^,u
no ,* *--===J;nuru.
One, two, three. . .
Cauldwell
and Hewings,
working in a discourse intonation
framework (see page
93), suggest that Larkin chose ro use falling into nurion un prnriuation,
ruther tlr^n
rising, because punctuation
is not something
the radio listiners
would expect to be
important
in poetry (i.e.,lookini
at punctuation
is new information).In
a discourse
intonation
model, falling intonation
is used to sign"t new into.mafiorr.
108
:HAPTLR 3 tntonation
Choice
Questions
and
Questions
with o/. Choice questions are often phrased
with or: They look tike
-lLlesr?o
qllestions, but the speaker expccts them to be
answered with one of the choices, rather than with./es or zo.
'l'he
choices are in
different thought groups;pitch rises on the first choice(s) and lalls on the last.
'-'-,'-'--'-
A. Do you want to go on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?
B. Saturday.
Some
J,es-no
questions with or are trucJes-/lo questions, qr,restions that can be
appropriatel) answefed with
Js
o!: ,?o. In this case, both items in the or phrasc arc
in the same thought group, ancl intonati(.,n fises as with other
l.,es-7?(/
questions.
A: Can you corne on Saturday or Sunday?
(the
speaker doesn't care wh ch day)
B. No, sorry. I'm busy.
Non-Final-Thought Groups. Non-final-thought
groups (phrases or clauscs) can
encl with a slight rise
or
fall. Pitcll cloes not rise or fall to the level it docs at the end
of an uttcraficc. This slight chanl;c in pitch is one of the rvays the boundaly of a
thought group is markcd (Avcry and Ehdich 1992). Th intonation on the second
clause often starts at a lower note. These changes in intonation at internel thought
grc-r4r bounclaries are difficult to hc:r.
lforgot my keys, and now I'm locked out.
lf h s score is good, he'll app y to law schoo s.
--''--.--..--
You can't come n because it's ate.
,-=------^--,-- ___--,,-..--_
When the phone rang, I didn't answer it.
In a discourse intonation fi?mework, final and nonfinal phrases (tone units) afe
not differentiated from eaclr other tbrmall_\.. A risin! tone at the end of a phr.rse
inclicates that the inlbrmation in thc phflse is slrared betn'een the speaker and
hearer'. A falling tone shorvs that the speakcr believes the informetion is new (or
chooses to speak as if it were new). In Pierrehumbert and Hitschberg's framervort,
nonfinal phrases and clanses are callcd intermediate pluascs.
'\
high tone at the encl
of rln intcrmcdiatc phrasc indicates that it is to be interpreted $,-ith what follows. A
low tone is used to show that the phrase is independent of $.'hat follows ( 1990, 287).
Neither explanation of the differencc in meaning bet$-een nonfinal rising and
falling intonation is concrete or clear enough to appll in the classroom. Cllxssroom
studies ha\.e shown that the shared-ne$' distinction is frequcntly unclear to tcachcrs
and students. It seems likely that the distinction bet$ een informrtion that is to be
interpreted with $'hat fbllows and information that is indepefldent of s.'hat follows
cHAprER 3 lntonation
1Og
will be as unclear, leaving the teacher with no ready explanation for why intonation
on one nonfinal clause falls but rises on anothef. In my own teaching, I address the
pronunciation of nonfinal clauses (phrases) as part of rhlthm (thought groups) and
do not focus on the co-occuffinfi intonational changes, which are especially difficult
for students to notice.
Acaivity 3.6 Listing intonation: eobrs, aninals, fanily wotds , , ,
level Beginn ing
Worksheet None
Tip lntegrate intonation work wilh classroom work on other English skills.
Description Students practice
listing intonation in the context of a game.
After
presenting
the intonation patterns
associated wiih lists, students
play the game
in
groups
of three. The
group
chooses a vocabulary
category that your students have learned
(for
example, family
words). One student starts by naming two types of family members,
using listing intonation
(e.g.,
mother and father). The next student
repeats the two items and adds a new one
(mother,
father, and
sister). The third student repeats the three items of the second
student and adds a fourth
(mother,
father, sister, and brother).
'
When the
group
can't think of any new words in that category
(or
remember all the words that have been said before), the last
contributor to the list chooses a new category
(e.g.,
colors, animals,
rooms in a house, or means of transportation).
1. On the board, write category headings. Choose familiar categories that students
can expand
(e,9.,
animals, colors, family words, months). Ask students for
words that belong in each category and add them to the board.
2. Demonstrate listing intonation when the lists are complete. Ask the question
What are the first three
(colors)
in the list? Choose a student to answer.
3. Write the answer on the board, adding intonati0n lines, and model the answer,
Students repeat.
-----/.'''/
\
red, blue
(and)
yellow
4. Then ask What are the first four
(animals)
on the listT
\Nrite
the answer on the
board, showing the intonation lines. Students repeat.
5. Elicit intonaiion: l\4odel each item on the lists and ask students whether your
voice goes up or down.
(Alternatively,
explain intonation: 0n the first words,
your voice goes
up. When the list is f nished, your voice goes
down.)
(c xinued on next page)
1 10 I LAPTER 3 lntonation
Actiuitt 3.6 dlntlnued
6. Erase the words in the categories, leaving only the category headings on the
board. Choose two students to demonstrate the game with you.
7. Choose one of the categories on the board-for example, colors. Ask a student
from your "group" to say two colors. Give feedback on intonation. Ask the other
student in your group to repeat the first student's colors and add a third.
v,ou
repeat the three colors and add a fourth. The student who chose the first two
colors repeats your four and adds a fifth, and so on. When someone forgets a
color word or can't think of a new one, a new category is chosen. The student
who is the last to add to a category
(i.e.,
has produced the longest list), gets
to
start the new category.
8. Students work in groups
of three and repeat the demonstration.
Kl
Appositives and Parentheticals
V{hat the Teacher Should Know
Appositives. Appositives are phrases that follow a noun and provide additional
fufofmation about the noun. They are pronounced in a group by themselves, set off
from the rest of the sentence.
When an appositive occurs insidc an utterance, intonation also sets it off from
the rest of the sentence. At the beginning of the appositiye, pitch drops to a low
note, rises a little on the impofiant word in the appositive and falls again to a low
level.
I\4r. Johnson, rny boss, s coming to d nner.
._?,--..\
Yakima, "The Frult Bowl of the Nation," rs my hometown.
tr---l ft
When appositives end a sentence, intonation usually starts low, rises, and
then falls.
I inviled l\4 . Johr:on. mv boss.
-
-/--'\.-
l\4y hometown is Yakima, "The Fruit Bow of the Nation."
_r-- __
Pai:entheticals. Parentheticals are expressions that are set apart from the main
utterance . Examples include direct address forms (e.g.,Mr
Smitb, can I ask
lou
a
question?), comments thnt exprcss how the speaker feels about the message (e.9.,
He's late ag.in, I suppose), politeness expressions (e.9.,I'd like an application,
please),
of final reporting expressions, (e.g., I'm la4t, be said). Parenthetical
CH^prF,R 3 tntonation
111
information is pronounced
in its own thought group,e
with low pitch
and low
volume. This rather monotone delivery sets the parenthetical
information off from
the "livelier" intonation ofthe main message.weaker le,,els of stress are also involved
in parenthericals (Dickerson
2003).
The intonation on sentence initial parentheticals
can end in either a rise or
a fall.
lVr. Smith, can I ask you
a question?
lVary.
c6" lash you a questior.
In the middlc of a sentence or at the encl, parentheticals
are pronounced
v/ith
lower levels of pitch; intonation rises slightly on the prominent
wofcl (Celce_Murcia
et al. 1996, 191).
I was waiting, I guess,
for an hour.
That's rny book, I think.
Students use parenthetical
expressions, but they may not use appropriate
stress, grouping,
and intonation to set the expression off from the rest of the
utterance effectiyely. If students give a parenthetical
word too much prominence,
that word may be interpreted as part of the main Lrtterance rather than as a
pafenthetical,
leading to a possible confusion between Ilozr,.s
J,,
our
(Jncle
Cha es?
lbr example, and Aou.t's
lour
uncle, Cba es?
Activity 3.7
Level
Worksheets
Tip
llescription
Parcntheticals:
Yau look ptetty
happy, Iuke.
Advanced
Pages 222-223.
Practice the intonation of communicatively useful language that your
students know how to use.
This activity provides practice
listening to final parentheticals
in
dialogues, and noticing the pronunciation
that marks them as
parenthetica
ls.1o For pronunciation practice,
students add final
parentheticals
to a d ialogue.
(continued
on nefi page)
'l
long pa1nthetical may consist olmore than one thought group:for example, lo ur uark. ln
facl,
all the aot h
)nu'ue
darl thit
eek b.$bee letific ln lhis sentence, the parenthelic l is long
(ii1.bct,
aitlhe aork
la
'rc t1atrc tbis zr,ee*) altl would likelv be
:.onounced in firce thoughl gto.lps o/l.t'act/all the aorhl,ou l,p 76r, 6i, ,,rrU, Regirilles of Length. a lou"pitched, monoton'e
-lirry
\I'ould chffecteria the entiN p tnthetical
l0l
his a.tivitvls nodcled after Dicke$on (2003)
112 ]HAPTER 3 tntonatian
Actiuit!
3.7 conunuecl
@
1. Students listen to the dialogue. Direct students' aitention to how the
underlined parentheticals
are
pronou nced.
2. Elicit the pronunciation, using these
questions:
.
ls the parenthetical
separated from the main sentence?
o
ls the voice loud or soft?
.
ls heavy stress used on the
parenthetical?
.
ls the voice low or high?
Alternatively, explain the pronunciation of parentheticals: There's a slight pause
before the parenthetical expression; the volume of the voice is low; the stresses
are not as strong; and the pitch 0f the voice is low.
Students listen to the dialogue again and repeat the lines.
Students practice the first dialogue in pairs and then do a class reading. Give
feedback on pronunciation of the parentheticals.
ln pairs, students add parenthetlcal expressions to the second dialogue. They
can use examples from the table of parentheticals given on Worksheet 3.7B, or
other expressions they know, Tell students to use parentheticals
that are
appropriate to the meaning of the dialogue and not to overuse specific
parentheticals. Students practice ihe dialogues in pairs.
After the pair work, choose palrs of students to present their dialogues to the
class. Provide feedback when parentheticals are not clearly set off from the
main sentence.
3.
4.
5.
6.
ffi
ntonation, Emotions, and Attitudes
What the Teacher Should Know
Intonation plays an important role in the expression of emotion and attitude.
Gussenhoyen (2004) distinguishes between informational interpretations of
intonation and affective interpretations. An example of an informational
interpretation of falling intonation is "finished" or "ceftain." As cliscussetl above,
languages show considerable similarity in how they interpret the informational
meaning of final intonation. Affective interpretations includc e'mluations of whether
a speaker is angr)', fiiendly, conlident, or sacl.
There is evidence that languages associate similar affective intefpretations with
particular chamcteristics of pitch and intonation (Bezooijen 1984, Scherer 2000,
Scherer et al. 2001), ns well as evidence of sorne differences (Graham, Hamblin and
Feldstein 2001, Chen and Gusshoven 2003). The universal interpretations
CttAPtER I lntanation
113
(infomational
and affecti\.c) of
jr]tonarbn
are belieyed to clerive from biological codes
(Ohala 1983, Gusshor''en 2(X)4). One biological cocle, rhe ficc1uenc1. code, associates
conrotatioos of "small"
with high pitches xnd "big"
with low pitches.
.Ihcse
associations come from the fact that larger vocal cords and
yocal
tmcts, such as those
of men (or large animals), ploduce lo\rer pitclted sounds;smallcr r,'ocal corcls ancl \,ocal
facts procluce higher pitchcd sounds, slrch as those of childrcn (of small animals).
Afltcti\,'e interpretntions of intonation arc believcd to havc developed from thc
big-small meirnings of low and high pitch. Low pitch is assorliatcd wirh
assertivcness, confidence, dominance, aggression, finalitl', and thrcatl hilh pitch is
associated with lack of certainq', fricncllir.tcss, lack of confidence, politeness,
vulncrabiliq', and submissivcness (Ohala 1!t3J, Gusscnhoven 2004).
Another code, the effort code, maintxins thxt
lireatef
articulatory efloft results
in clearer, more explicit speech contfirsts. In intooation, greatcr
ellbrt produces a
wider ranlle of pitch, wliile less effort produccs a narrower rarlle of pitch. Affective
interpretations of a widcf range of pitch include surprise, enthusiasn, authority, and
helpftrlness. Interprctations of a narrowef fange of pitch (less effort) ir.rclude lack of
interest, lack of commitment, less surprise, ancl so on.
ln intcrpreting others' emotional states, we r.ely not olly on vocal cues (level
or range of pitch), but also on r.isnal cues (facial gestur.es, posturc, or body
language); on context cues (the situation in which a particular conversatiolt takes
place or the felationship between speaker and listener); and on linguistic cues (the
specific wolds used ancl their connotations). An emplo,vee who takes offensc at l.ris
boss's criticism, for example
,
mav say nothirg but srill rcveal his rlnlier in a stiffening
of the lace ancl body. An onlooker to the exchange rnight latcr sa,.\r, "I know he was
angry I conld sec it in his face."
Research on nativc speakers' abilitr,' to recognize ernotions in audio recordings.
where there are no visual cues;rnd therc may be no context cues, shows agrcement
as to what emotion is being portrayed, alrbougb there afe diff'efences in rhe degree
of agreement. When listeners arc asked to choose among a small numbef of
"prinary" emotions (anger,
fear, sadness, jolD, agreement is highef than when
"secondafy"
cmotions (hate, nervolrsness, or timidity) arc also included among the
choices.r
1
Disaireements usuallv inyoh-e distinctions between closely r.elatecl
emotions such as sadness and depression.r2
Graham et al. (2001) studic.l the abilit]- of lrati\.e and nonnatiye speakers of
Englisl] to idcntify emotions portm,yed in English in an ar-rclio recording of fbur
professional actors. The nativc English listencrs $,'ere Alnerican college students;the
nonnative listeners werc
Japa[ese
and Spanish ESL studcnts at different levels of
ilor extnple. leer leads to flighl) Scondan cmolions nll'be mo|e culture specilic. \lOst
firchologists flace
rngc1 1iu, sadness,
io
hapliness xnrurg lhe
frrnaN
e.roLions but nto' not aqLe 0n lhe lull set Stc l0r criLNllc. ElnDm
(1999)
rccitations ol ihe iLlphabet |ead with diliercnt emotiors (Deurz
lnd DlriL 1959) t0 te\ts rcad bl actors.
114
(H^PIER
3 lntonatiott
proficiency. They found that although the ESL learners identified emotions at better-
than-chance le\.els, they identfied them less accuratell than natir e EngLish listeners.
A rnore surprising finding was that the more-proficient ESL srudents wefe not bctter
able to identify the emotions than the less-proficieflt students. Gmham et al. suggest
several possiblc explanations fbr their results, including the tact that students are
not likely to be exposed to certain types of emotion in the classroom. Indeed, the
clzssroom is not an appropriate place for tlte expression of man] strong emotions;
neither teachers nor chssmates welcome the
genuine expression of erupting ra!e,
deep despaif, of scathing sarcasm.
The attitudes and emotions we want our students to express more
appropriately are tamer: confidence, interest, ffiendliness, and so on. These are
positive attitudes that are likely to extend conYefsation, create more opportunities
for practice, and, ultimately, lead to greater learning. We can expose our students to
the expression of more extreme emotions and attitudes vicariously by bfinging
emotion into the classroom through Yideos and movies. Because the affbctive
interpretation of intonation is highly dependent on context, it is difflcr t to make
teachable, generalizable statements about its use (LeYis 1999) As a result, intonation
teaching should focus preclominantly on features of intonation that ha\.e broad
informational value in discourse
(e.g., making words prominent or turn taking)
father than on the expression of emotions.
Students can, howeYer, without explicit irlstruction on the use of specific pitch
levels or pattems of intonation, be given the opportunity to "stretch their Yoices" in
role plays and skits, where they ffy expressing different feelinp;s and attitudes and
try on different persoflae.
Activity 3.8 Attitudes and emotions: Anbiguous dialogues
level l\4ost
Worksheet Page 224
Tip Encourage monotone speakers to use their voices more
Description This activity can be used as a voice warm-up. The teacher or
students describe different situations in which a short exchange
between two
people might take
place. Pairs of students act out the
exchanges. The differing relationsh:ps and situations require the
expression of different attitudes and emotions.
1. Students read the dia ogue and the situations on Worksheet 3.8.
2. The teacher explains that the class wlll use the dialogue to act out the
situations in the handout. Since the words in the dialogue do not change,
students must use their voices to show the different situatlons.
CHAPTLR 3 lntonati.)n
115
Actit) y
3.8 mnttnued
3. The teacher and an outgoing student perform
the dialogue,
acting out one of
the situations
on the handout.
4. ln pairs,
students perform
the diarogue three times, to refrect
each of the three
situations.
5, After the pair
work, the teacher chooses different pairs
of students to act out
one of the sit_uations. The pair
should not tell the class whjch situation they are
acting out After ristening, the crass wiI decide which of the three situations
was demonstrated.
Actiyity 3.9 lnprovs; The Chaser
level
High lntermed iate/Advanced
Wolksheet
None
Tips
Encourage monotone
speakers to use their voices more.
lntegrate intonation work with classroom work on other English skills.
Description
lmprovisations
are useful in the classroom and give
students an
opportunity
to take on other personae.
I use the short story
,,The
Chaser" by John Collier
(1940)
for improvs. ln
,,The
Chaser,,, a
young
man purchases
a love potion
very inexpensively
from a shrewd
shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper first tells the young
man about another
potion
he sells, a
,,life
cleaner," which is far more expensive
than the
love potion.
The shopkeeper knows that the love potion
will produce
such suffocating devotjon from the woman who drinks it that the
young
man will return to the shop, later in life when he is well_off. to
purchase
the life cleaner and rid himself of the woman. The improv
scene takes place
either iwenty days or twenty years (students
choose) after the purchase
of the love potjon
and uses two to three
actors. lnstead of basing the improv on a short story the teacher can
choose a different situation for students to enact*ior.
example, a
first date, breaking up, or lost :uggage at the airport.
1. The teacher or teacher and students choose a situation to act out in a
five-minute
scene. Objects in the classroom can be used as props.
2. Two students are chosen initially as actors and one as director. The director
decides what props
should be used and blocks the scene (decides
where the
actors and props
should be, where actors should enter and exit the set, etc.).
The two actors and director come to the front of the class.
(coittinued
on next page)
"116
cHAprER 3 lntanation
Actil'io,
3.9 continued
3, The class creates the script, which the teacher writes on the board and
students copy at their desks. New characters and actors are added as
necessary. As the scene is being written, the teacher provtdes
needed language,
gives
feedback on grammar
and word choice, makes suggesttons about the
direction in which the scnpt is going,
and decides when the scene is finished.
4. The script is rehearsed by the actors and the class as it is being written. The
director and audience provide feedback to the actors to make them more
expressive. For examp/e, they might say, "that doesn't sound angry enough" or
"that sounds too angry" or "say that louder."
5. Once the script is written and on the board, the actors rehearse again,
receiving direction from the ciass and director,
6. Then the script rs erased. The actors act out the scene, improv sing as necessary.
7. After the performance,
the actors and director stay in character. The rest of the
class asks probing questi0ns
about the characters.
CONCLUSION
The role of intonation in both structuring and interpreting a speaker's meaning
makes it a crucial component of pronunciation. It is also the most colrmunicative
aspect of pronunciation:
Alone
,
withot-lt words, it can communicate meaning. Native
speakers, for example
,
may "hum" common utterances lilFie I don't knott) ot
yes,
A: ls l\4ax ready?
(l
don't know.)
A: Are you ready?
Fr
B: ff ['l (Yes.
)
Teachers should focus intonation work on communicatively useful ancl easy-
to-hear intonation features such as highlighting or comprehension checks,
presented and practiced with sufficient context to make meaning clear Dialogues
and other materials from nonpronunciation class work can provide an excellent
source fbr intonation practice and at the same time reinfofce the sructures ancl
vocabulary taf[ieted in those materials.
C HAPTE
R
Cowboy tongs? This is how one of n]y stuclents pronounced.cowboy
towns.,,
Given the context, I understood
what thc student wantecl to say, but 1:he
pfonunciation
was odd enough to make fi]e turn it over and oycf in m.,, he.rd
missing whatever the student said next.
part
of the problem
was a mispronunciation
of the I'inal consonant
in tozlr?z
Pronunciation
difliculties
with consonants are highly dcpendent
on the
student's native language,
in contrast to vowel cliflicr tics, which are more
widespread (McNerney
and Menclelsohn
1992). There are 24 consonants in Noffh
American English.
There are only a few Engrish consonzurts v/hich afc difficr t for most studcnts
(e.g.
the first sounds in thing and tDlO. Since many English consonants
ha\'e close
counterpafis
in other languages, studcnts may fi.rd consonants.
at least at the
heginnings ('l
w(,rd\. easi(.r to lcffn lhrtn vowcls.
Ted(.herr
-r1
,f.,n iUlO.on.rnrn,r
easier to tcach than vowels (Daucr
2005). corsonrnt contmsts are not as clitlicult
perceptually
as vowel contmsrs (Tench
2003), ancl the spelling of consonants is nore
consisteflt than the spelling of vowels. ln addition, because consonants involve
touching one part of the mouth to zu.lother (or moving one part of tlte mouth close to
anothcr part), the studcnt has fixed refefence points, which are often easy to visu;tiize
and control;instructinli
a student ro touch the rop teeth to the bottom lip, for example,
is usually sufficient to enable l.ler to pronounce
tlte first sounds in
,s/J
ancl uan.
Pronouncing
consonants at the cnds of words or sylleblcs, on the other hancl, is
challenging for most students, even when the same consonants pose no problems
at
1'17
118
cuAPrtR l Cansanants
the beg rnings of words. A student who has no difficulq' pronounclitg th.e
/t/
'1l].
time
may nevertheless have a great deal of difficulty pronouncing tbe
/t/
it migbt.
Consonants that occrr in consonant clusters
Groups
ofconsonants, as in train or test)
are also rnore difficult than consonants which occur singly (Hancin-Bhatt and Bhatt
199D. A student, for example, may be able to pronounce
/r/
in rou), but not in grozl
Problems with consonant clusters and with finxl consonants generally are tied
to the dilferences between syllable structure in the learner's native language and
in English.
SYII-{BLE STRUCTT]RE
A syllable is a "beat" in a word. For example, dog has one syllable, urslt has two
s_yllables, and u)onderful has three syllables. The center (nucleus) of a syllable is a
r'owel. In English syllables, vowels may be preceded and/or followed by one or more
consonants. Every language places restrictions on the type and location of
consonants that can occur in syllables. The word tlack, for example, is not a
permissible English word because /tll
is not a permitted cluster (although it is in
some languages). Trlrs4 which doesn't happen to occur in English, is a permissible
word because it does not violate English s_vllablc strucLrre
(the
beginning cluster in
the nonword t /rst occurs in tbree altrd tbrift).
Syllables are either open or closed. Open syllables end in a vowel;for example,
the word see is an open syllable, and soJn? contains two open syllables ("so" and
"fa").
Closed syllables end in one or more consonants; r/og for example, is a closed
syllable,
^nd
pictule.s (pic-tures) contains two closed syllables.
Open syllabtes, found in every language, are simpler oi more ufliyersal than
closecl syllables (Jakobsen and Halle 1956, Greenberg 1965, Tarone 1980). Students
whose natiye languages are predominantly open-sllable languages
Oapanese,
Cantonese, Portuguese) often have difficr.rlty pronouncing the final consonants and
consonant clusters of English s-vllables, like those in dog,
felt,
or utaltz.
Thus, the teacher can assume that pronunciation work with a few generally
"difficult" consonants. with consonant clusters. and with final consonants $'ill
benefit most students, regardless of nativc-lanlauage background. For other
consonants, howe\.er, the teacher will need to cliagnose the speech of his students
and base additional consonant work on those assessments.
ARTICIIIATION OF CONSONANTS
When two parts ofthe vocal tract (the areas where souncls are produced) move
close enough toiether to obstruct the air streem, consonants arc produced. For
example, the fust sounds ln path llnd batb in'.r'olve a brief closure of the lips, an
obstruction that completely stops thc airflow. If snrdents cannot pronounce a
CtlAprER 4 Consonants
_i,19
consonant alter seeing and hearing it cleady modeletl,
they may need information
about how the consonant
is articulated (pronounced).
Consonant
articulation
involyes
three factors:the place
ofarticulation,
the marut*
"f ""i.rl"*rr,
r".f,.f.i"g.
Place of aftianlatioz
refers to the place
where the ai_r steam is obstructecl
in the
vocal tract. For the fust sotnds
of pati
and bath, this occurs ,i ,n. lpr, which are
pressed
together
/b/ and
/p/ are called bilabial (,,rwo
lips,,) sounds becausc
the
obstruction
occurs at the lips. If you prepare
to say time and dime, lToldjllg
the first
souncls of these words and concentmting
on the tip of the tongue, you should feel the
tip of the tongue touching
behind the top teeth. The rop of the mouth just
behind the
teeth is_ called the alveolar ridge or tooth ndge.
/t/ and
/A/ are both alvcolar consonants.
.
The consonants
of English_ are produced
at seven places
in the vocal tract,
shown in the diagram
below The place
of articulatlon
of specllic consonants
is
shown in the charr.
Nasal Cavity
Palate
Velum
Tongue
Vocal cords/
glotis
Bilabial consonants
@oth
lips)
p, b, m,w
I-abio-dentat
consonants
(teeth
and lips)
Interdental
consonants
Getweefl the teeth)
0 (thought),
6 (though)
AlYeolat consonants
Gehind the rop
teeth)
t, d, s, z, n,l, r
Palatal consonants
(front
roof of the
mouth)
J
("hip),
g (pleasure),
tf (chair),
q
CazT-)
y (ves)
Velaf consonants
(soft palate)
k (cow),
c Go)
!
(sing)
Glottal consonant
(vocal
cords)
120
:HAPT:R 4 Consonants
Manner of articulation refers to the wa-Ir iI Fhich the air stream is
obstructed.Ifith stop consonants, the air stream is brieflr but completely stopped.
Tty p6th and bath again and holcl the first sound-do not release it. If you now
try to breathe through your mouth, you will find
,vou
cannot: The closure of the
lips completely stops the airflow. Now say the first sounds of
ls,
ard uan,
prolonging the consonants. You will notice two differences betryeen
/p,b/
nnd
/f,
v/. First, with
/f/
^nd
/v/,rhe
air continues to flow through the mouth. Second,
/f/ and /v/ are
"noisier"
than /p/
or
/b/-there
is a hissy sound when they are
pronounced.
/f/
an(l
/v/
are fricati!-es, a second manner of articulation. With
fricatiyes, the air stfeam is obstructed enough to create turbulence and a noisy
sound, but not completely stopped.
Affficate sounds represent a third manner of articulation. There are two
affricates in English: the first sounds in cbeck /tl/
and
jazz
/Q,/.
An affricate is a
complex sound that combines a stop consonant
Ut/
or
/d/
in English) with a
fricatiye:
[/
(^s in sbip) or /s/ 6s
in pk..sure). s^y mucb
^nd
edge very slowly,
prolonging the end of the words. There is a brief silence that
"cuts
off" the vowel
before the final consonant is produced; this is the "stop" part of the affricate (the
/t/
of
/t[/
and tl]'e
/d/
ot
/qD.when
the stop is rcleased, the noisy fricatiye part of the
affricate is heard.
In all, there are six manners of articulation.
rvhen
important, manner of
articulation is covered below in Specfic Consonants.
Stops (air is stopped)
p,b,t,d,k,g
Fricatives
(afu is obstacted but not
stopped)
{
\. 0, 6, s, z,
f
(ship),
S
(pleasure),
h (hearT)
Affricates
(stop + fricative)
tf
tchairr,
Q
tjazzl
Nasals (air comes out tlrough the
noso
m. n.
!
(sin9
Liquids
(A/ and
/rDl
l,r
Glidts
(Jw/
and
/yD
w,y
The final factor that determines the sound of a particular consonant is
uoicing-whether the vocal cords are
yibrating
as the consonant is produced.
'When
the vocal cords vibrate,
yoiced
sounds
(e.g.,
/b/
'and
/v/)
are produced.
'When
the vocal cords do not
yibrate,
r'oiceless sounds are produced (e.g.,
/P/
and /f[).
I
The tem'Ljquid" is a perceptual ternr
'lhe
c0ns0nanls // and/l/ heve a liquid sornd.
]HA?TER 4 Consonants
121
You can test voicing by placing your fingertips alongside the
yocal
cords (the
Adam's apple) nnd pressing gently while
1'ou
alternate between a long
/y/
arrd a
long
/f/:
wvrrffflfi'vwffffff
'When
you say A'l'v\.v/,
)'ou
should be able to feel the vibration ifi
)'our
fingertips.
When yotr say
/ffff/, th.e
yibration
"switches
off." It is difficult to feel rhe difference
in voicing between
/p/ and
/b/
n ttls way, because these sounds can't be prolonged
^s/f/
and
/y/
can. Howerze! if you close youf e;rrs with your fingers and then say"pa"
and
"ba,"
keeping the vowels as short as possible, you can hear the vibration in your
head with "ba" but not with "pal'
WIIAT DO STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW?
Although eyery consonant has a place of afticulation and a manner of
articulation and is either \.oiced of voiceless, teachers rarely need to refer to all
three parameters (place, manner, and voicing). For example, if students
pronounce other as"ozzer:'the error involves place of articulation, not
yoicing
or
manner of articulation. For the middle sound in ot e4 the tip of the tongue should
be between the teeth;when students say "ozzer," the tip of the tongue is behind
the top teeth.
In addition, teachers should avoid technical terms like uelum or alueolar
ridge or
fricatiues
in the classroom.lwhen it is necessary to refer to features of
consooant afticulation, diagrams afe effective, and most technical tefms have easy-
to-understand, ordinary English paraphrases.
Voiceless sounds
(vocal
cords do
vibrate)
p, r, k, 0 (think), f, s,
J
(ship), tf (cheap),
h
sounds (vocal
cords vibrate) b, d, g, Y, 6
(then),
z,
5
(pleasure),
&
(jazz),n,m,D (sin9,
r
l, rv, y
122
(1lAPttR
I C(ntlonants
AIJTRRNATTVES TO TECHNICAI TERMS
Bilabial Both lips
Labio-dcntal Top tceth an.l bottorl lip
Alveolar ridge Td)th ridgc;flat part behind the top teeth (this can be felt with
the tongue)
Palate Front part of the top/roof of the mouth
(this can be felr with the
tonglre)
Vchul Back part of the top/roof of the mouth (this cannot be felt with
the tongue)
Vocal cords No substilute
,
but tl.le teacher can point to tlle Adam's apple
ry
Stop Stop: the air is completely stopped
Fricative A noisy sound; the air isn't completcly stopped
Affricate
/t/
+
/J/
prcnounced together
(4/ is lirst soturd in s/rrp). Students
will not hear the two parts as separate sounds
(see Sibilants,
below);
/d/
+ /3/
ptonouncecl together
(/3/ is the middle sound in
pleasure).
Students will not hear the two parts as separate sounds
Nasal Nasal;lhe eir comes out thc nosc; 1/, tn, or
"en[a"
Liquid
rorl
Retroflexion The tip of thc tongue poil.rts/cu s I'rp
Lareral l; air passes over the sides of tl.tc tongue (refetence to this term
is rarely necessarl,
Glide &,
V\\-an
or j/
VYan
Voiceless Voiceless; r'ocal cords do not Yibrate
voiced Voiced; vocal cords \.ibrute; morc
"sound" than voiceless consonants
cHApT[R,i Consonants
"l2i
TIPS FOR TEACHING
CONSONANTS
The six tips listed below provide some general suggestions for helping sfi.tdents
improve their pronunciation
of consonants. The tips nre based on how consonants
are pronounced
in English and on how they are learned by nonnative speakers.
ffirps
improve their
W'e discuss what the teacher shor d know about each of these topics and provicle
suggestions for te;Lching ttrem. In some cases, the suEigestion is a classfoom activity.In
other cases, it is effor coffection. Suggestions for error correction are shon enough to
use when sh.rdents rre engaged in nonpronunciation actiyities. They are also usefij for
addressing pronunciation problems that only one or two of your students experience.
The remainder of this chapter presents the following consonants and lbatures
of consonant ptonunciation. The slx tips aboye are explained further and reflected
in the context of specific consonants.
7. Labials: pe'
bet, jfeet, uet, net
2. th so].]lJ'ds: tbink, this
3. Srops
/r/
and
/d/:
tie, die;Fla[rs: tuefting, zaed.ding; Glottaljzed
/t/: xuritten
4. Sibilants: see, zoo, sboe, pleasur?,
cheap, jazz
5. Nasals: sz4 somq sung
6. Stops /k/ and
/g/:
coat, goat;'lhe lettef x
7. Glottxl
/h/ lzand
8. Illltial
/r/ . rigbt
9.
Initial
A/: Ugbt; Final
A/: all; Contrasting
/l/
^nd
/n/: ligbt,night
124
(
HAPILR I Cotisonants
10. Contmsting /r/ afld /l/:
rigbt-Ught
lI. Glides:/)/J"l xnd /\\/ tttt)'
12. Initial
yoiceless
stops. pea, tea, ke!
13. Initial consonant cllusters'. probletl
14. Final consonants:plecq asft
15.
-ed and -s endings
ffi
ruriur.,
p"
t, bet,
feet,
aet, uet
what the Teacher Should Know
Articulation of the labial consonants /p, b, f, v, w/ involves the lips.Vith /p/ ancl
A/,
the lips firnrly close;/p,/ is voicclcss
^nd
/b/
]s voiced.With
/f/
a'nd
/v/,tlre
top
teeth touch the lower lip; /
is
yoiceless
^nd
/v/
is voiccd. with
/w/,
the lips are
rounded. The diagram'below shows the mouth shapes for these consonents.
pandb fandv
Coflsonants nnde with the lips, the labial sounds /p, b, f, v, w/, are the source
of a variety of pronuncintion problems. The protrlems clepentl on the native
language of the student end usually involve specific pairs of souncls:
.
/p,
b/: These sounds are problems for Arabic students. The problem is onc of
voicing. In Arabic,
/p/
and
/b/
are variants of the same sound.
.
/p,
f/: These souncls are confused by Koreart-speaking students
.
/i
v/:These sounds are problems lbr
Japanese-spenking
students
.
,/b, v,/:These souncls are problems for Spanish-speaking studcnts
.
/y,
w/: These sounds are problems for native speakers of a wide rangc of lan-
guages: Chinese, Vietnamcse, Thai, German and other Germanic languages,
l'urkish, and Russian and other Slavic latlguages
.
Consonant clusters with
/w/,
especially /kw/
(e.g., question, quiet, Ian-
guryq hoin):These words are problems for Korean sttrdents, who often omit
/w/
(or fail to round the lips enough to make ,/w/ cleady heard;scc also Initial
Consonant Clusters, bekrw).
.
The sequence /wo/
(e .g., uroman, uoulD:
'Ihis
is a pfoblem for natiye
speakers ofJapanese especiall)', as wcll as Korean. See Glides, page 148.
CHA?|ER,4 Consonants
125
Few students ha\'e problems
with the articulation of all five labial sounds (/p,
b, f, v, wD. In classes where students speak a varietF of native languages, the ftrll set
of sounds can be presented,
and the teacher can be confidenr that the lesson will
address problems
that each student has. Because labial consonants are pronounced
at the front of the mouth and ctifferences between them are easy to see, students
have good control and awareness of articulation. These souncls are easv to teach and
eas) lLr letrn.
In a classroom where all students speak the same natiye language, the teacher
can focus the lesson on a specific pail (or pairs) of problem
souncls. For example,
with a class of Spanish studenrs,the teacher can fbcus on
/b/ and
/y/.In Spanish, the
stop pronunciation
[bl
occurs at the beginning of a word; a bilabial fricative
[p],
which sourlds very close to English
,/y/, occurs after vowels.2 Thus, in Span ish bebir,
"to
drink", the first "b" will probably
be pronounced
[b],
brjt the middle consoflant
will be
tpl.3
Followin!! the Spanish pattern, Spanish students may pronounce
Englislr words Iike aery as "berry,"while words like rob arrd, table mav sound like
-
rop and
-
t:rvcl.'
Activity 4.1 /b/ and /v/
(Spanish):
A very big
problem
level lntermediate
Worksheet None
Tips Direct students' attention to the visible clues of
consonant pronunciation.
Teach the pronunciation
of communicatively useful words.
Desctiplion Students discuss problems (personal, job,
local, environmental,
world, etc.) and practice
the pronunciation
of beginning /v/ in com_
mun icatively important words.
1. On the board, write phrases
containing words with lvl andlu /b/ that can be
used to d iscuss problems.
very important
a very big problem
not very important
valuable (tesources)
very serious
family values
iob
opportunities
joh
security
volunieel
(conti
aect on next page)
'z
Square brackes (l
])
aLe used to indicate that the sound in bmckets is a va anl
frununciation
of anothff sound, rather than a
diflerent sound. lror example, natile speake$
lronoxnc
the / rn ,r e/a dlfferertlf ham thc t i.t mehic. rhe t tt nieta, aflzp, is a
va anl
|ronunclalion
ol /L/
(se
fla|s, /t/ llnd /d./, beloq,).
r
A [i]rbial frcJtrre t[p] r rs made $hn lhp air
l.L$es
thLough the lips, rfiich an alnost, but not quitr, closed. The labiodental
lricali\ '
\
l
i.
-r...1'
,\' .I
hF
,o
t"prh t.. , . t
p
buLlo.n
rrl.
g
tt
:X
K
126
IHAPTER 1 consonants
Actiuit:y 4. 1 contlnuecl
2. lvlodel the phrases. Exaggerate the visible articuiation of /v/ and explain
articulation if necessary
(the
top teeth touch the bottom lip). Students repeat.
Provide feedback on /v/.
3, Brainstorming. Elicit from students specific
problems from a particular area
(e.g.,
adjusting to life in a new country,
job problems, school
problems, world
problems), Write the problems on the board.
4. Group work
(4-5
students
per group). Each student in the group chooses two
or three problems that he or she thinks are very important and explains them to
the
group. Remind students to
pronounce lul carelrlly in words like rery.
During
group work,
provide feedback on
pronunciation
5. After the group work, ask several students which problems they chose and why.
Provide feedback on pron unciation.
ERR0R C0RRECTIONi
Westion
Solor;'ds Llke "Kestion"
(Korean)
V/hen a Korean student mispronounc es question
^s"kestion"
ot language as"latgidgel'
rpeat the mispronunciation as a question:"Kestion?" If the student has difficulty self-
correcting, model the word, exaggerating the lip rounding of
/kw/
E
rr sonnos tbink, tttis
What the Teacher Should Know
The flrst consonants n think
(/eD a:nd, this
(/6D
are interdental fricatives
The tip of the tongue protrudes slightly between the teeth These sounds can also
be produced by placing the tip of the tongue lightly against the back of the top
teeth (a dental place of articulation). Teaching the dental articulation is not as
effective as teaching the interdental articulation
(tongrle tip between the teeth). /O/
is voiceless and
/6/
is voiced.
Common substitutions fot tlre tlJ sounds are
/s/
or
/z/,
as in "ze man sir rs
about zis probleml'or
/t/
and
/d/,
as in
"de man tinks about dis problem]A r.rrer
substitution is an /-like sound
(for
/d/)
by some Chinese students, which produces
"lat man" for
"that man." students from the same natiYe-language background often
prefer the same substitutions, although there is some Yariation; most Spanish
students, for example, substitute /t/
ar'd /d/
for the t sounds, while
Japanese
students prefer
/s/ an(l /z/.
Because of the widespreacl difficutqv with these sounds,Jenkins suggest that
they be taught only receptively to students who use English primarily with
nonflatiye speakers
(2002). However, the t sounds are teachable and learnable,
and, as many pronunciation teachers can attest, students are concerned about
them. In addition, we cannot predict with whom our snrdents will use English in
the future. If students ha\.e professional or academic goals that bring them into
.HAPTiR 4 Cansonants
"127
contact with native speakers, the)' shor-lld be aware that some substitutions for ,J
sounds (for exarnple, "wif,
for
.,with.' ,,dem,'
for
.them,',
and
,,tink,'for .think,,)
are
stitimatized and associated with nonstandard,
'neducated
English. Students can and
do learn to pronounce these sot-lnds accurately, so they should be adclressed in
pfonunciation
wofk.
Students usually learn quickly to percei\.e the clifference between the ,/,
sonnds and their common substitutions (as in think-ti11k_sink,
tben_den_Zen),
dtltough preceding sounds can influence rhe degree of perceptual
similarity
bctween the tl, sounds and natiye,language substitutions.i
The intetdental articulation of these sounds is the most.lifficult tbature of
their pronunciation.
Students need to be taught that the tip of the tongue protrudes
a bit between dte teeth and d1e aif passes out o]/er thc tongue. The sounds are
easiest to pronounce
at the beginnings of worcls (e.g., tbanks, tbink, thing, tbis,
tbat)
,
morc dlfficLt lt when t is in me dial positi on (e .g.
.
otlzef ueather, autt\or)
,
and
most difficult when t ends a word
(.e.g.,
utitb, batb, breatlJe,
fourtb).
In fin I
position, students may have less difficrjlty with voicele ss
/e/ eB
in uitb) than with
voicecl
/6,r
(as
it1 breatbe) (see
also Final Voiced and Voiceless Sounds).
Native speakers sometimes simplify final t sounds when an
_s
ending follows.
This is very common in the word clothes, which most Americans pronounce like
the
yerb
"(to) close," and ln months, which most Americans pronounce
as
,,munts,,
Umants/).
These simplfications in common words should be taught to students.
(See also -s endings and Native Simplifications of Final Consonants).
Students may express embarrassment about pronouncing
t/, sounds as
interdentals, worrying rhat they will look rucle if they.stick out,,their tongues. The
teachef should addfess this reluctance. With stuclcnts in academic programs, it is
often enough to explain that incorrcct pronunciations of tD sounds may lead native
listenefs to conclude that the student is not wcll educated.5 Teachers can also take
the "gafden
path" appfoach and ask students to clescribe what the q,pical
American
or Canadian tongue looks like-is it long or short, fat or skinny? What color is it?
Since native speakers use the t sounds very frequently (jfi the, tbis, tbat, thing,
etc.), students should have a cleaf picture of how thc tongue looks if it really is
"hanging
out" of the mouth. In fact, the tip of the tongue protrudes only a little, and
it doesn't "hang around" outside. Students will not look rucle if they pronounce
,/,
coffectly, but they may sound uneducirted if rhey don,t.
Pronunciation of tb citn be included with the teaching of the fbllowin[i
grammatical poiltts:
arltcle: the
demonstratives: th i s/that/th ese/th ose
ntrod ucer: there i s/a re/was/we re
a
Trciinovich, Gatbontin, alrd Segelowiu
(2007)
report that the /d/ oi 1re wits casicst for frcnch canedian ESL lexnrexj to her{,hen it
wrs preceded by a
yojced
fticatjre
(e.g.,rutds
the barr) or l,otced affricate
(1lr\t.t
iudge
the man).
t
onll the I 1 slLbstitution is stigm.tized Th J-.; sub\h tu tior | \ | [,c hc.r I d Js romrlt| e. not noutandard.
128 cH^PrER 1 Consanant
compa ratlves: wtln than
noun clauses: with fhaf
adjective clauses: wlth that
functional language:
giving opinions wrlh l think . ot I don t think
Activity 4.2 Th soundsr When's
yow birthday?
level Beginn ing
wo.ksheet None
Tips Teach consonants that are difficult for
your students.
Direct students'attention to the visible clues of
consonant
pronunciation.
lntegrate
pronunciation with work on functional language,
grammar'
or otner coursework.
Bescription This activity integrates
pronunciaiion of final TH in ordinal numbers
(fourth,
fifth, etc,). Students ask each other when their birthdays are
and answer, using the rnonth and an ordinal number for the date
(e.g.,
May 30th).
L Elicit from students the ordinal numbers from 1-20 as well as 30 and 31'
Write the ordinals on the board, using their standard abbreviations
(1st,
2nd,
3rd, 4th). Provide feedback on the
pronunclation of th Model all the ordinals
from 1-31. Students rePeat.
2. Elicit the months of the year and write them 0n the board. Model each month
name. Students repeat.
3. On the board, write "When is
your birthday?" lVodel the question. Students
repeat. Provide feedback on the
pronunciation of "th" in birthday'
4. Students copy the months of the year as a ist on a piece of paper, leaving
enough room after each rnonth to write classmates' names and birth dates
Students circulate and ask each other about ihelr birth dates, wr ting the
information on the
paper (in
a room too smallto move around in, interviewing
can be restricted to smaller
groups).
5. When the interviews are finished, ask students about their classmates' birth
dates. Provide feedback on
pronunciation. In a class of 23 students, for
example, there is over a 50 percent probability that two will have the same
b irthday
(month
and date).
cHAprER 4 Consonants
129
Itges l1/
a-tl
/!/
(e.g.,
tie, die);Flapst (e.g.,
uetting, ueddins);
Glottalized
/t/
(e.9.,
utritten)
What the Teacher Should Know
The stop consonants
/t/
"td
/d/
are produced by touching the tip of the
tongue to the alveolar ridge, just
behind tl.re top teeth;
/t/ is
yoiceless,
and
/d/ is
voiced. In some languages (e.g.,
the Romance languages),
/t/ and
/d/ are dental
stops; the tip of the tongue makes contact with the back of the top teeth.
Substitutions of dental
/t/
and,
/d/
for alveolar (Enghsh)
/t/ arld
/d/
^re
acceptable.
tie, die
V/hile the pronunciation
of
/t/
and,
/d/
in words like tie afld. die is
'?lely
difficult, both
/r/ and
/d/ har.e variant pfonunciations (for
example, the t in
uater), which can make words hard for students to undefstand. Variants are
discussed below
Flap* uetting, uedding. The middle consonanF in u.)etting aruI wedding are
pronounced
as flaps in North American English (NAE). The tip of the rongue
quickly "slaps" the top of the mouth behind the teeth; the
yocal
cords
yibrate.
Inside words, flaps occur when
/f/ ot
/(l/
follows a stressed vowel (or a stressed
vowel plus
/r/, as in party)
ard then is followed by an unstressed vowel.Inpotdto,
for example, there are two
,/t/ sounds; the lirst "t" is not flapped because it does
not follow the stressed
yowel;
the second
/t,/
is a flap (phonetic
symbol
[D])
because it follows the stressed vowel. Compare the flapped prol.lijnciation
of /t/
and
/d/
In column A below (where stress precedes) with the sound in column B
(v/here
stress follows) :
A
Attic taDtw
(an)
Addicr /aDlkv
FAtal feyDay
Adding lal.lqt
c
aTTACK latav
(to)
aDDiCT /adlkY
laT Alily ltelateciyt
aD0ition /adfan/
130 cHAPrtR I Consonants
Sincc flapped
/t/
and
/d,/
are both
yoicecl,
homorryms occur in \\ ords llke latter and
lqddet; putting
^nd.
pudding, and u)etling xnd ueddings
Fittal
/t/
car. bc flapped in common words when the ne\t \l'ord begifls with:r
vowel (even if the vowel precedinti thc flap is not stressed):
at a movie /aDa/ movie
What is he doing? /waDr/ he doing?
Get out ol here. /gDawDa(v)/ here.
The flapped pronunciation oflt/ and /d/ is charactcristic ofNorth American Enilish
(NAE) but does not occur iil British English, thc dialect that man)' ESL students
learned when they lirst studied English. Bccause flaps can make worcls clifficult for
students to understand, they sl.rould be taught for recoflnition. Teachers whose stu-
dents are living in the United States or Canacla may want to teach f'laps lbr pronun-
ciation in some comtlon words or expressions, such
^s
u)ater and What's the
,ncttter? h1 thesc words, thc unfhpped pronunciations can be difficult for natiye
speakefs to undefstand. For most words, however, substitutions of"regular",/t/ and
/d,/ are acceptable, and the flap need not be ta'.iliht for pronunciation.
Glottalized t: urirten. When ft/
is followed by an unstressed syllable containing
/n/.as
in mountain or u'ritten, it is pronounce d as a glotalized
/t/
(s-vmbol
td])
or
as a
llbttal
stop (sirmbol
/? D.1
A glotttrl stop is used in the warning Ub-otr.lt is ttle
"creak" in the voice (thc
yocal
cords briefly closinla) that precedes eacl] of the two
syllables: ub-oh is pronounced
/?a?oV.8
As
/t/
is pronouncecl, thc vocal cords
(glottis) close briefly, cutting off the air. Say the following pairs of words end listen
to the differcncc in the underlired
/t/s:
mounlain /maunt?er/
Salan /seyt?an/
button /hat?an/
]'he fitst word in each pair is pronounced with a glottalizcd
/t/;the
secoml word is
pronouncecl with a "regulaf" l.
Glottalized
/t/
]s not a high priority pronunciation topic. Native spcakers' use
of glottalizeci / cloes not make worcls unrecognizable to students, xnd students'use
of"regular"
/t/
does not make words unrecognizable to natiyc listeners.
i
In these \\'ords. /i,/ is
Uonour.ed
N 1 slllabic nNxL (see \asah page I 36)
.
in Cockne) lhglish, Dr1ltu is
fuurnced
b0?1." \{ost NAfl spexkeN llxf the /y ln ,0/l1e hoDl '
or
"boDal.
'
mainlain /meynteyn/
satanic /satanak/
baton
^aton/
CHAPTIR 4 Consonants
131
Aclivity 4.3 Recognizing flaps
level lntermed iate
Worksheet Page 225
Tip Teach students to recognize reduced pronunciations
to
jmprove
their
listening comprehension.
Description This activity focuses on recognition of flapped pronunciations
of /t/.
L Write matter and material on the board, underlining t's. lvlodel the words,
asking students to listen to how the t's are pronounced.
Ask student if the I's
in the two words sound the same.
2. Explain that the I in matter is pronounced like a fast d. Ask students to say
matter, pronouncing
the underlined consonants as a fast d. Explain that in the
United States and Canada, f's and d's have this pronunciation
when the
preceding
vowel is stressed. Students can use regular lll and ldl in their own
speaking, but should be able to recognize the flaps.
3. Add other cornmon words wtth flaps to the board, capltalizing stressed syllables
and underlining flaps. l\4odel the words.
WAler WRIling
pRElly
tEACer
(
!er)
tomAlo
4. Ask students to volunteer words they have heard where t or d has an
unexpected pronunciatlon.
@
5. Oirect students' attention to the dialogue on the worksheet. Students ljsten to
the dialogue and write the missing words in the blank. ln pairs,
students
practice
the d ia logue.
R
Sibilu.rt", see, zoo, sboe, pleasure,
cheap, jazz
What the Teacher Should Know
Sibilants have an s-likc sound. Students, problems
in\,olving sibilants vary
according to natiye language and usually involve pronunciation
rathef than
perception difticulties. Spelling is also a source of confusion.
Pronunciation
work with sibilants can be added to glammar
lessons on
_.s
endinis (Simplc
Presenr -s Ending, Plurals,
possessives),
count-mass (how much,
how man)), and questions and adjective clauses witlt zrrlc/r.
"132
.HAPrrR 4 Consonants
/s/ a'rd /z/. The sibilants
/s/
and
/z/ are tiicatives ("hissr"
sounds), produced by
bringing the tip of the tongue close to the alyeolar ridge
Oehind
thc top reeth).
/s/
js
voiceless and
/z/
is
yoiced.
Sue! Zou
The consonant
/s/ occurs in maq'languages ancl is a familiar sound for students.Its
voiced counterpart
/z/
i,s less common.Vietnamese, Thai, Korean. and most dialects
of Chinese lack
/z/; in Spanish,
/z/ occurs only before voiced consonants (e.g.,
misrnr.t) ,tncl, even in this context, may be weakene d in some dialects. Voiceless
/s/
is a common substitute for
,/z/, althoLtgtr
/l'/
or
/dz/
may also be substituted.Japanese
and Korean students may pronotnce
/s/ as /[/ in words like see, sit, sue, and pursue
(that is, before higlt vowels; see Vowels); /s/ does not occur before these \.owels in
Japanese
or Korean.e
/l/ s}ei:p and
ft1
pleasure. The boldface sounds rn sbip and pteasure ([/ and
/3/)
are plonolrnced by pulling the tongue back f.rom the
/s/ /z/
positiot] (ro the palate)
and rounding the lips slightly. The boldface sound in sbrp is voiceless; in pleasure,
it is voiccd.
.
pleasure
With the exception of a few l-rench words (e.g., gen rc').
B/
does nor occur at the
i)rgirln ing ol English word..
The specific problems involving
/l/
^nd
B/
clepcncl on the student's native
language. Chincse students may pronounce the bold consonants in usualll or
measnre
(BD
too weakll', 5s that tltev sound like "uwlally" or "mayor" Greck
studcnts may substitute
/s/
for
[/
before high front vowels;sbaep for example, may
sound like "seep," and garage like "p;araz.'
/tJ/ Gheck)
and /q /
(jeep).
The lip diagrams for the affiicates
/t/
(as in clreck')
encl
/4/ @s
1n
jeep)
^rc
iclcntical to those for /[/ a]nd /3/ ahovc.
/tl/ is voiceless and
/Q/
is voiced. The affricates
/tl/
(.^s
it1 mucb) and, /Q,/
(.as
in major) e complex
'Korqu
sludenb mar suhstitllt /torl
3
/ for /s/ or /z/ bcforc nrid-io\rcls irs $ellllor cvnrple. r'r,r'rz1l ntal sound like rezhult.'
w7;4
Y2
Y_-4r-^{//
ship
m
Y2
CtAprER.tr Consonants
133
sounds which start as stops (/t/
or /dD and arc released as fricatives (/t or
/3D.The
stop is not heard as a separate sound but must be articulated lbr the affficate to be
pronouncecl
coffectl)'. In words witl.r flr]al
/tJ/ and
/S/
(for
examplc. muclJ aIILl
age), tl.e stop can be heard as a brief silence before the last sound. say tnuch vew
slowly and notice that the vowel sounds "cut
off" and is followed bv a Lrief silence.
Tl.ris Occurs becluse the
/t/
(.of
/t[D briefly stops the airflow (ancl ihus rhe vowelJ.
'Vtith
musb, the vowcl is not cut off because
[/
is
.d
fricati.ve (the air flow is
obstructed but nor stopped). The same is true for
/e/ and
B/,
as in tnajor afld.
measure. Pronounced slowl),, the first \.owel in tnajor sounds ',cut
off,,; the first
vowel in ,neasure does not.
Many students confuse pairs like much afl(l mush or major and mea.sure.
The phonetic symbols
/tl and
/Q/
are uscful reJchi|g ajds since they show both
pxrts
of the sounds. which ordinary spellings sometimes fail to do. A Spanish or
Victnamcse Student is less likely to n spronounce matclz as r?as, because, iS
part of the spelling of tnatcb. It words like mucb, u,lticb, and ectcb, hower.ef, it
is not.
Korean stndents nny add a vowel souncl :rfter final
[/
(as
tn u,ist'),
B/ @s itr
b.eige),,/t[/ (4s
in uthiclt), a;nd
/$/
(as
in e d.ge). Vt:]ich ma! sound like
.witciy,,'edge
like "edgyi'lisD
like "fish).i' and Derge likc
,,beig ,
g
ss, c (followed
by / or e), -se
latter
a consonanq-r'zgl[Effi.,sr,
Exceptions:
.ss is pronounced
/z/ in dessert, scissors, and possess.
z, -se, -$ (s between vowels), -es (e.nding):
zero, dizzy, rcsi, caus.,
Exceptions: -se is pronounced
/s/ ,
as in dose, clJctse, bouse, and erase
sb, 1i-, -ci-, -ssion, -ssure:
sboe, u)asb, patient,
natioiStryr4ian,
special, mission, discussion, pressure
Unusual spellings: ocean, suga4 sure, Cbicago, macbine, clicbe
-sure, -sion, -zurc: pleasure,
Tneasure, decision, teletision, uisi<tn,
seizure
Unusual spellings: regime, beige, garage, equ.ttion
cb, tcb, -tu- (xnstlessed):
church, catcb, nature, centuty, picture
Unusual spellings'. cello, amateur
j.
clj, g (Defore
i and e), dge, z/r- (unstressed): judge,
edge, Geor.qe,
gene. gradual, educa lio,t, sdJ..lule
Unusual spellings'. sold.ier, ex&ggerate
134 :HAPTIR 4 Consonants
Activity 4.4 Sihilants: How nuch oil?
Level lntermed iate
Worksheet Pages 226 227
Tips Integrate pronunciation work wiih work on funciional language
0r
grammar.
Encourage students to pronounce final consonants to improve com-
prehensibility
and grammatical accuracy,
Description This information gap practices final ltll in How much questions
about countries that import and export oil. The substitution of
f/
tor ltl is a problem ior Spanish, Vietnamese, and Thaj siudents;
Korean students sometimes add a short vowel sound after hY
(e.g.,
"muchy," "wh ichy").
1. On the board, write minimal pairs contrasting lll and ll. Underline the target
sounds. lvlodel the words, Students repeat,
watch-wash much-mush
catch-cash which-wish
2. Explarn pronunciation: The last sound in the frrst word of each pa r begins
wlth a /t/ sound. In watch and catch |he /t/ is written. ln much and which iI rs
not written, but it must be pronounced. Students wil not hear the /t/ as a
separate sou nd.
3. On the board, write questions about the price of oil, using Haw much.
.
How much is a gallon (4
llters) of gaso ine
(in
the United States/in
you r country)?
.
How much was a gal on of gas two years ago?
4. lVode the questions. Students repeat. Provide feedback on the pronunciation
of much.
5. Choose one or two students to ask classrnates the questions
on the board.
Provide feedback on pronunc ation.
6. Eljcit from students the names of oil exporting countries and wrlte them on the
board. Ask students if their countries are o I importers or exporters.
7. Put students in pairs. Give each member of the pa r a differeni chart of oil
importers and exporters. Students complete the nformation missing from their
charts by asking "How much oil does import/export a day?"
B. When the pair work is finrshed, review the information with the class. Provide
feed back on pron u nciation.
CH^PIER 4 Consonants
135
ERR0R C0RRECTI0NT Your student sa'.s "race" whn he wants to say
,.raise,,'
or
uwass"
when he wants to say'kas."
"lell
the student to lengthen the vowel in "raise" and keep the last sound shoft (see also
FinalVoiced andVoiceless Consonants, page 155).
YoufJapanese student says "she" whefl he wants to say
"see," and,,shoe"
when he wants to say "Sue." Youf Korean student says "pefshuade' instead of
"persuade," "rezhult" lnstead of "result," and "muzheum" ilstead of
"museum."
Model the incoffect and correct pronunciations, exaggerating the sibilant sounds. Telt
the students to move the tongue dp forward in the mouth (behind the top teeth) and
repeat the words.
Youa Spanish, Yietnamese, and Thai students say "mush" when they want to
say
"much,"
and
"sheep" when they want to say
"cheap."
Introduce the phonetic symbol for "cln"t /tl/.E\plai'f,
that "t" is paft of the
pronunciation even wheil it is not shown in spelling (though it is written in matclJ aj:'d
ccttch, fot example). Students
y/ill
not heat
/t/
as
"
sepanate sound, but it must be
pronounced. Encoffage students to make "mental" respellings of"ch" as "tch."
Your Chinese student says
"uv/ally" when she wants to say "usually."
Tell the srudent to keep the tip of the tongue up in the mouth. The tongue lighrly
touches the top of the mouth. Contrast "uwally" and "usualry Direct students' adention
to th "noisier" middle sound in "usually'
Your students say
"cheap" when they want to say
"sheep."
Tell your students that the tongue does not make firm (strong) contact with the top of
the mouth for the fust sound in sreep. Students should be able to prolong (exhale
through) the first sound.
Your Korean student says
"whichy" or "edgy" whn he wants to say '.which"
or "edge."
Tell your student to keep the last sound of these words very short. Work with the
pronunciation of final consonants (see Final Consonants,
page
153).
136
(
HAPrtR,+ Cansonanrs
I:L
rf
l
N-.It, su rt. sorrre. su,,g
What the Teacher Should Know
There are three nasal consonants in English:/n/ as in sun. /m/ as in some, and
/l/asin sazg. With
/n/,the tip of the tongue touches behind rhe top teeth; with
/m,/, the lips close;and with
/1,/,
the back of the toniue rises to touch thc vclum (the
back of the roof of the mouth) and the tip of the tor.rgue rests behind the bottom
teeth.With all three consonants, the air is released throulah rhe nose rather than tlre
mouth.
/rJl occlrrs only in the middle or at the ends of words
le.g.,
singing).
Students have few problems with
,h/
and
/m/
at th.e beginnings of words or
s)'llables (e.9.,fl /ce, dinnet; mice,
^nd
dimmer).The Chinese conftrsion of beginning
/n/ and
/l/
(pronouncing
ligbt as "right" and vice versa) is discussed ]D
A/
"Dd
/t/-
/l/,below.
nll
may be mispronounced as
/r)gl
or
/lk/
by Polish or Russian students or as
/n/ by Spanish students.lr) This problem can reflect a difficulty pronouncinli
/!/ or
a spelling confusion, since the r?g spellitg represents both /\/
(as in slrrgel) and
/\g
(.as
n s/ngle). Students should be made aware of the spelling pattcrns of the
fwo pronunciations.
10
The pronurciation ol /4/Ls /q g/ also occuni in son netile EngLish didects in fic lofihestelr United States, especixLl! $hen the
nexl word begi$ wth e vo\\'el Long ls[and rtty be prL\rounced l,oncu\'land.
suflg
n8 is pronounced
,i
rll nS is pronounced
/!il
1. fnal ng: long, young
1. Con.lparatives and supedatives of -/
^djectivel
longer,
loungesL
stronger
?.tbe -ing efudirg 2. zgle spellings: single, tingle, ,ningle
3. most othe xg spellings
3.finger
cHAprtR I Consonants
"137
At the ends of wofds, two
Wpes of problems occur. Spanish speakefs may
substitute one nasal for anotheq prono\lncing someone, for example, as,,sungwung',
(Avery ancl Ehrlich 1992). These stLrdents should be instructed to pronounce nasal
consonants as the). are written. Final nasal consonants may also be
.dropped,,
by
Chinese and Portuguese stt-rdents and realized as a nasalization of the prececling
vowel
CJuffs
1990, Averl and Ehrlich 1992). the Chinesc student who pronounces
solrleone as/s3w;/ (- indicates a nasalized vowel) needs to le,J'In to lengthen iinal
nasals oL pronounce them as consonants rathef than as vowel nasalization.
Although Spanish and Chincse students mispronounce final nasal conson,rLnts
in cliflbrent ways, the Spanish problem of nasal substitutions ard the Chinese (or
Portuguese) problem of vowel nasalization can be dealt with in the same lesson.
Correcting both problems involves getting students to pronounce
worcl or syllable-
final nasals as they are writtefl:the lips close for
/m/,
the ton[luc tip touches behind
thc top teeth for
/n/, and, the back of the tongue rises fbr
/rll. Spelling is alnost
always a reliable cue for promnciation
of linal nasals.r
i
In unstressed syllables,like the last syll^bl.e of taken,
/n,/ may be prolongecl and
pronounced as a syllabic nasal-(symbol
[n]).
The vowel virtually disappears and the
nasal i$elf is the last syllable.12 In connected speech,and is usually pronounced as
a syllabic nasal black and utlr/te (pronounced
"black 'n
white;,,see also Reductions
of Function Words, Rh]'thm). This is not a topic that needs to be coyered in class.
Activity 4,5 /q /: Present continuous and -ing
level Beginn ing
Worksheet Page 228
Tips Integrate pronunciation
work with work on functional language
or grammar.
Encourage students to pronounce
final consonants to improve com-
prehensibility
and
grammaiical
accuracy.
Bescription This activity adds pronunciation
work with /1/ to course materials for
the present
contin uous.
1. Before class, choose a picture (or
cartoon or picture story) from course
materials showing people
engaged in a variety of activities.
2. ln class, on the board, write the progressive form of two or three verbs which
can be used to describe the picture(s) (e.9.,
walking, studytng, sleeping).
l\4odel the words. Students reDeat.
(continue.l
olt nexl page)
l'?
0ther consonanh ae also p|onounced i]s srllabics: in ,11r1c forere ple,Lhel t$lllablcisprcnoltncedir.sxs,vliabic'1,"widttry
littLe voncL (slnbol
lll)r
rn ,r1lr,r. for exalnple. fie lrt srlhble is a sllLabic
frtll.
1 3B . HAPrtR
:4
Consanants
Act irit! 4. 5 conti nae.l
3. Present the articulation of /n/ and /q/ on Worksheet 4.5. Explain that with /n/,
the tip of the tongue is up, behind the top teeth. With /q/, the tip of the tongue
is down, behind the bottom teeth.
4. Using the textbook picture (or
cartoon or picture story), ask students to describe
what is happening. Provide feedback on the pronunciatton
of lnland lql.
Activity 4.6 Final nasals: I'm thinking of someone who . . .
Level lntermediate
(Spanish,
Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Polish)
Worksheet None
Tip fncourage students to pronounce final consonants to improve
com prehensibility
and grammatical accuracy.
Description This activity practices
a variety of final nasals: lml and ln/ in
someone and /11 in thinking. Students provide
clues about someone
until their classmates can
guess
the ideniity of the person.
1. On the board, write "l'm thinklng of someone . . . ." Underline the nasals.
lModel the sentence. Ask each student to say the sentence, pronouncing
the
underlined sounds carefully.
2. l\4odel the activity. Tell students they are going to use the sentence on the
board to play
a
game
about famous peopJe. Choosing a famous person
that
everyone 1n class knows, give a hint
(e.g.,
"l'm thinking of someone who lives
in Venezuela"). Classmates guess the person's name
(e.g.,
Hugo Chavez) or
ask questions
to get more informatlon until they can guess
the person.
lnstruct students to begin their questions with "Does/ls the person you're
thinkingof...?"
3. Ask a student to choose a person whom everybody in class knows and give
a
hint about that person, starting with "l'm thinking of someone. . . ." The rest
of the class asks questions until they can
guess the person's identity. The
student who guesses the person's identity chooses a new person.
Provide
feedback on the pronunciation of nasal consonants in the phrase I'm thinking
af sameone.
I
I
CHAPTER I Consonants
139
K
stop"
/ld arrd
/g/t coat, goat; theletter r
What the Tacher Should Know
Few students have problems pronouncing the stop consonants
/k/ aJrd
/g/
when they begin a word or syllable,as n coat arrd gort Ifith both .orr.o,rurrtr, th.
back of the tongue rises to touch the velum.,/V is voiceless and,/g/ is voiced.
coat, goat
Most problems involving
/k/ and
/g/ occur when the consonants end words,
and they can be addressed in a lesson on final consonants or on final voiced and
voiceless sounds. In Spanish,
/g/ is pronounced weakly (as a fricatiye) at the ends of
words and between vowels; Spanish stlrdents may tfansfef this weakened
pronunciation
into English words like beginning (which
may sound like
"behinning") or dog Korean students haye difficulty pronouncing
/wil
(or
pronouncing it strongly enough) in the consonant clusters
/kw/ and
,/gV; question
(/kfl)
often sounds like "kestion" and language
egwD
Lke,,langidge', (see
Beginning Clusters, below).
The letter x inyolves difficult clusfers with
/k/
or
/g/.The
pronunciations
of r
are largely predictable
and should be taught to students.
Activity 4.7 Ptonunciation otx: Spelling and sounds
Level lntermed iate/Advanced
Worksheets Pages 228-229
lip Encourage students to pronounce
the consonants in consonant cluslers.
Descripti0n This activity practices
the pronunciation
of words with x.
(continue.l
on next page)
1 40
. H)FTE!' I aan'onants
1ctilit l.: contin ed
1. On the board, write ta4, e4am, and
4ytophone,
underlining the letter x in each
word. Explain Ihat xylophone is a musical instrurnent'
2.|Vode]thewordsontheboard.AskstudentsWheihertheletterXispronounced
the same or differently in the three words.
3. Explain that the letter x has three
pronunciations
(ks, gz' and z) and write them
on the board.
4. Pass out the first handout and
go over new vocabulary'
65. Students listen to the words on the handout and repeat them. They listen again
and write each word under the appropriate
pronunciation column'
6. ln pairs, siudenis check their work. Ask the
pairs to figure out ihe
pronunciation rules for x. lnstruct them to consider the position of x in the
words, whether a stressed vowel precedes or follows x, and whether a
consonant follows x. Pass out Worksheet 4.7B
7, Elicit from students other words spelled with x. Ask students how x is
pronou nced.
ffil
oo...t' /t:./
(band)
V/hat the Teacher Should Know
The consonant /h/
is a voiceless fricative created by pushing air throlrgh the
glottis (vocal corcls). It is d1e sound of panting or breathing after exercise'
/h/
is a weak sound in English and may be dropped when it is inside a word
or sentence and not followed by a stressecl vowel ln history, for example'
'&/
is
always pronounced because the ibllowing vowel is stressed
'
ln bist'rical' A1/
is
followed by an unstressecl Yowel. It is always
pronounced when it begins an
utterance
(e.g., Historical
figures
are. .
)
However, w]ner historical is inside a
sentence, some speakers say
"nn historical fact"
(omitting
/hD
ancl others
"a
historical fact" (pronouncing /hD
There are two pronunciation
problems involving /h'l
The first is an incorrect
place of articulation. Chinese and Spanish stuclents may pronounce /h/ at the back
of th. mo.,th
(rather than the
glottis) so thal At/
sounds like the German
pronunciation of cb in Bacb
(lite a throat-clearing
sound)
13
Spelling can also be a source of mispronunciation
ln most words with D like
beauy, abeacl, han(l, beart, bartl, /h/
is always pronounced
Tn other words'
mostly borrowings from French, /h/
is never
pronounced, as in
'on
est' bonor' and
bour: Frenct and Italian students may "drop" /h/
when it should be pronounced
15
'l
he misprollrncialion is a leLer
frciunciatjon
ol /l/
CHA?TER I Consonants
141
(.e.9.,
bead is pronounced "ead")
and add it when it should not be pronounced
(.e.9.,
air is"haij").
In function words that are typically unstressed (such as he, bim, lsis, lse4 l:aue,
lsas, and baD. native speakers pronounce
/b/ afler a pause (e
.g.,
,,He ,s
tall,,), but
frequently
omit it inside a sentence (e.g.,
Is be tall? is us:ual]ry pronounced
.Izzy
tall?"). Students should be taught when
/h/ is always pronounced
and when it is
never pronounced.
They should also be able to recognize the /:-less pronunciation
of function words (see
Pronouns and Reductions of Function Words, Rhlthm).
ERROR C0RRECTI0N;
Mispronunclatio n of /b/ as a Velar Souad (a
,,Idieatry
h)
1. Explain that
A/ has a soft sound in English, like the sound of breathing. Demonstrate
the sound, using bfearhs of a4 as if you were panting. Contrast the incoffect (the
hea\,'!' or thfoatdearing pfonunciation)
and the correct pronunciation.
2. Ask students to think of words for parts
of the body that start with
/h/
(e.g.,t
ear,
lJead, lrand,
foretread,
afud, trair).ptovide feedback on pronunciarion.
3. Write a tongue twister sentence on the board that includes several,/h/ words (see
example below). Model the sentence and ask students to repeat it-
Harry heard Harrjet had heart
problems.
Whtitial/t/t
Rigtrt
What the Teacher Should Know
The articulation of
/r/
ya.res
considerably from language to language. In
English,
/r/ is a retroflexed consonant: The tip of the tongue turns or cuds up and
back.ra At the beginning of a word or sy able (e.g.,
riglt, arriue), the tip of the
tongue starts turned up and slightly back (the retroflexed position)
and then lowers
or uncuds, without touching the top of the mouth.15
righr
W'v.r^
Wffi
W
r4
The body ofthe tongue a1s0 moles b11!k. som narive spea[elx do not rehofler //, but insllad "bunch" the longue. rorFdagogical
purposes, explalning articuiation as rclrcflexion, atuniing up and back of the tongue, wiliprobabl,v produce th b;t resuli, (A;riand
Ehrlhh 1992,23).
15lhe
lips xre also sllghtly rcunded for //. Howver,
jnstructing
students to rcund their lips sometimes produces misprcnunciations llke
"whjte"
for " ght ' In ny own teaching, I ignorc lip mundjng.
142
:HAPfER I Consonants
Pronunciation
Problems
associated
with beginfling /r/
('as
in rigbt) xe
different from those associated with frn l ft/
(h/
^ftet
\o$ els. as in car) a1ld should
beaddressedh<lifferentpronunciationlessons(forlr,/aftervorlels'seeR-Colored
Vowels in chapter 5).The movement of the tongue also differs; At the beginning of
a word, the tongue moves out of the retroflexed
position (uncurls); after a vowel'
the tongue moves into the fetfoflexed
position (cuds back)'
Student mispronunciations
of beiinning /r/
include substitutions of native
language /r/
or interrnediate sounds
(Bcebe 1980) At the end of a word' students
m"y eiift.r dr,rp /r/
or substitute a different sound
Japanese
problems with /r/
and
/l/
are discussed in the following sections Onitial
/l/,
and Contmsting /r/-/l/)'
Retroflexionofthetonguetakesplaceinsidethemouth,anditsexternalvisual
cues are minimal. Although some students are able to pick up the retroflexed
pronunciation through exposure to spoken Eflglish, many will need to be explicitly
taught how to make /t/.
Activity 4.8 Beginning h/: The R
gane
Level lntermediate
Worksheet Page 230
lip Use hand
gestures to reinforce the articulation of /r/'
Desc]:ption Students learn the articulation ot hl and
practice it in a
guessing
game featuring
questions that can be answered with common /r/
words. By choosing /r/ words suitable to the vocabulary level of
students, the teacher can tailor this
game to any level ln addition'
the
game can also be a means of
practicing question formation if the
teacher asks students to write their own questions'
1. Present the diagram of /r/ on Worksheet
4.8. Model the words right and wrong'
Explain that the tip of the tongue starts up and back and ihen lowers The tip
of ihe tongue does not touch the iop of the mouth' Use the hand
gesture below
to reinforcle articulation and for feedback.
ln the
gesture, the hand represents
the tongue; the fingertips represent the tip of the tongue'
\
(
HA?TER I Consonants
143
ActiuiA 4.a conhnued
2. Model right and wrong again. Students repeat together and then individually.
Provide feedback on articulation (Japanese,
Arabic, and Spanish students may
ircorrectly touch the tip of the tongue to the top of the mouth; French and
German students may use ihe back of the tongue, rather than the tip).
3. On the board, add other words containing beginning /r/ for practice.
lnclude
some of the answers to the guessing game questions.
Ask students to volunteer
other words with beg nning /r/. l\4odel the words, using the hand gesture
to
reinforce articulation. Students repeat.
right wr0ng
like
roof
5.
6.
4.
round road Jetrigerator
The guessing game.
Divide the class into two teams. Team members should sit
together, facing the opposite team. Give the teams different sets of questions.
Team members first decide the answers to their questions.
Play the game.
Team A starts, wjth each member in turn choosing a player
on
the opposite team to answer one of Team A,s questions.
The team member
asking the question
must pronounce
it clearly enough for the opposing team
member to understand (this
is the most challenging part
of the game,
and
several repetitions of a question
are often necessary). The Team B player
answers the question
with a word containing /r/. The answering team earns a
point
for a correct answer, with a correc|y pronounced
/r/.
lnttlal
/U
(ligbt);
Filn l /V
(att);
Cotftrastjflg
/l/ and
/n/
Qigbt
and nigl:t)
What the Teacher Should Know
/1,/ is produced by toucltinfa the tip of the tongue to the top of the mouth just
behind the teeth; the air passes out latenlly oyer the sides of the tongue. Since it is
difficr t for students to feel the lateral passage
of air, articulatory information abour
the placement
of the tip of the t()ngue is more useful pe dagogically.
144 ;HAPTER 4 Consonants
Light and Dark /V. English
/l/ has two pronunciations. depending on its position
in a word. "Light,"
or "clear,"
/1/ occurs at the beginninE! of a word or syllable, as in
like, loue,
^nd.
aliue."Dark"
A/ occufs at the end of a word or s,yllable
,
as inatl, cold,
andll. With light
,/l/, the back of the rongue is relaxed and down;with dark
/I/,rhe
back of the tongue is nised. Perceprually, dark /V sounds as if it is preceded by a
short
/a/
sound (e.g., coalr/).
Lis,ht
/1/ D^tk
/1/
Different pronunciation problems occur with beginning (light)
/l/
and final (dark)
/U, and the two types of
/l/s
should be addressed in separate lessons. Native
speakers of
Japanese,
Korean, and Mandarin may conftlse beginning
/r/ wirh
/l/.
These two sounds may be both difficult to hear (especially
for
Japanese
students)
and difficult to pronounce. funeJ', Takada, and Ota suggest that teachers point out to
Japanese
sb,rdents that they are more likely to mispronounce
A/ thafi
/r/
^nd
t]:rat
pronunciation work with
/l/ be addressed bcfore work with
/r/
(2OOO,731,).
Howeye! the
/r/ l/ contrast should also be addressed, since students for whom it is
difficult invariably ask about both sounds.
A common substitution for final (dark)
/l/
is
"
clear
Oeginning) /l/.
This
substitution does not interfere with inrelligibiliry and does not need to be corrected.
A more serious problem is the pronunciation of dark
/1/
^s
/o/, /u/, or /w/
(vocallT,ation
of
/1/);old
l)eople,lbr
instance, sounds like "ocle peopo,"
^nd,
beautiful
sounds like "beautifo." This mispronnnciarion is common with native speakefs of
Brazilian Portuguese and Chinese, but may occur with other students, as well.16 The
most impoftant goal fof students wh<t
yocahze
A/
is to pronounce it as a consonant
(light or dark), rather than as a vowel.
/U and. /rt/
(Ctrtnese).
In some Cantonese dialects
/l/
ancl
/n/ can be substituted for
each other at the beginning of a word, and Cantonese studcnts may make the samc
substitutions in English words: /as, may be pronounced lil<e "nast" or n lglr, like "light"
16ln
Br^zilian Po uguese, final/y is Iocxlized 10 a /$y' 0r /u/ sound. ln Chinese, /1/ dos not occur ln find
losjtion.
\bcalizeuon of/y
isalso common.nrong chiidrcn leallrirgEnglish aJ aliNtl guagc
(who
ln a,v s,ry
'lilto peopo" instead of littie people') andh2l
occuned as asoundchange in other lalguages.
CH^prER I Consanants
145
(Avery
and Ehdicl.r 1992, 1 15).
t -
Mosr students are not aw2lre that they are making this
substitlrtion. Even if the conirsion of
/1t/ and
A/ does nor fesult in uninteligibilitl
it is
odd sounding to listeners (nati.!.e
and nonnadve) and draws attention away iiom what
the student is saying. This is a persistent
but impor-tant problem,
since there afe manv
minimal pairs in English involving
,i nl .Lnd
A/
(-Atfotd
1987).
ERR0R C0RRECTI0N : Peopte is
pfonounced ,.peopo,'
1. Explain to students dlat they are not pronouncing
/l/ at ttre end of a word (or
after
a vowel) strongly enough. Model the mispronunciation and tlt correct pfonuncia-
tion' exaggerating the final
/1,/. Ask students to listen to thc difference
between the
inco[ect ancl correct pronunciations
of the word (e.g.,',peopo,,
and.peopte,,).
2. Instruct students to touch the tip of the tongue behind the top teeth when a
word is spellcd widr / (there
are, howel.er, silent /'s in wolds like ualk, salmon,
nd calm).
3. Ifrite some commonly mispronounced pfuases with final
,4/ and ask students to
repeat them. The plrases
below are some that I have colected from m', students-
old
people
snalt children
a helpful article
a lit e bit
useful results
meanwhile
Zrgrt is Pronounced
.,Ntglt"
ot Nigbt is
pronounced ,.Light,,
1. Tell student that they arc sa,ving
// instead of
/n/
(or vice versa). Students are
usually unaware that they are confusing the two sounds. Model the mispronuncia-
tion and thc correct pronunciation,
exaggerating
both the
/fl/ and
/y
(e.g.,,,night,,
and "light").
2. Explain that if the wor<l is spelled with n, air comes out the nose.l)irect
the stu-
dent to touch her nose as she says
,'nighrt,
If the word is spelled with /, the air
comes out the mouth. Direct rhe student to lightly touch her lower lip as she
says "light."
3. For intermediate
and aclvanced students, writc this short poem on the board
fof pmctice :
You've no need to lrght a night-lieht
On a ntght like tonight,
For a night-light's light's a s ight light,
And tonight's a night that's light.rs
t7
Aldlough ,/-1l subsuluti0ns afir relofed t0 be
uoblens
l0r cantoncse stu.lerb. I har, had studeDb tl,ho idertif, then]sei\es es
natir, sFake.s of l\{xndarin u'ho hare the samc problem.
13
This is the llNt half of a tongue t$isler
foem
thal cm be folrnd on htDi//$$'$i.dfs org and other tonglre hvisier \feb sites.
146 :HAPTER I Consanants
ffi
aon .u", ing /t/ and /l/: Rigltt-Ligltt
\Iahat the Teacher Should Know
The contrast of
/ and /l/
(^s in right afld /rgrt) is notoriously difficult for
riative speakers of
Japanese.
It is also djfficult for native speakers of Korean,
Mandarin, and Vietnamese. The
Japanese
/r/ is a flap (the tip of the tongue "slaps"
the top of the mouth) but can be pronounced like
/l/ in some contexts.
Research on the perception elfid pronunciation of the
/t/-/l/
confta:st by
Japanese
ESL leaxners shows that even good pronouncers of /r/ and
/l/
may h^ve
difficulty hearing the difference between these two sounds (Goto 1971, Sl.reldon
and Strange 1982, Riney et al. 2005). In addition, English
/r/ may be perceptually
more different from
Japanese /r/
than English
/l/
and, therefore, easier for students
to hear and pronoulce (Flege, Takagi, and Mann 1995; see also Riney et al. 2000).It
is important forJapanese students to leafn to pronounce
/t/ and /V lccurately since
their mispronunciations are stereotyped (e.g., "flied
lice" for "fried
rice") and are
strongly related to a heary accent (Riney et a1.2005).
In spite of lingefing pefceptual difficulty, students can learn to pronounce
/r/
and
/y,
likely basing pronunciation on how the sounds feel when they are correctly
pronounced. It is helpful to point out that with
/r/,
the tip of the tongue does not
touch the top ofthe mouth, and with /l/,
it does;substantial practice of these sounds
is impoftant and helptul.
Activity 4.9
Level
Worksheet
Tip
Description
light
W----
/*-\
u?7a-d
rc t/2
:
\zt</1
right
Practicing the /r/-/U contrast. How do
you
spe tight?
Low lntermed iate/lntermed iate
Page 231
Use hand gestures to reinforce the articulation of /r/.
This activity focuses on the perception and pronunciation
ol lrl and
/l/ in minimal pairs.
:HAPTER 4 Consonants
147
ActiolA 4.9 continued
1. Direct students' attentjon to the djagrams on Worksheet 4.9. Model
2.
6.
"right"
and
4.
" light, " and explain articulation:
.
"L" is a contact
(touch)
sound. The tip of the tongue touches behind the
top teeth.
.
Use the hand gesture
below to show the articulation oI Al. fhe upper hand
represents the top of the mouth. The tips of the fingers of the upper hand
represent the teeth. The lower hand represents the tongue.
point
out to
students that the tongue tip touches behind the teeth.
.
"R" is not a contact
(touch)
sound_ The tip of the tongue does nof touch
the top of the mouth.
.
Use the hand gesture
illustrated on page
142 and explain:
The tip of the tongue starts up and back.
The tip of the tongue lowers without touchlng the top of the mouth.
.
Write two sentences on the board, one containing only words beginning with
/l/
(e.g.,
"Lovely
Lisa loves Luke") and one containing only words beginning
wilh lrl
(e.g.,
"Ray Rivers reached Rome"). Ask students to say the
sentences slowly, focusing on the different articulations.
Minimal pairs.
lvlodel the /l/ words. Students repeat. Ask each student to choose
three /l/ words and say them out loud.
provide
feedback on pronunciation.
Repeat
with the /r/ words. Then model the rows. Students repeat. Ask each student to
choose three pairs
and say them out loud.
provrde
feedback on pronunciatjon.
Read one word from each pair.
Students circle the words they hear.
Go over each word on the card, asking the class whether you read that word
and how ii sounds.
0n the board, write a model dialogue for pair practice
of the minimal pairs.
A: How do you
spel
right
?
B: R-l-G-H-T
In pairs,
students take turns choosing one member of a minjmal pair from the
second part of the handout and asking their partners
how to spell the words.
5.
148 cltAPrtR I Consonant
uffdcs: /y/ ,et
^nd,
/w/ VA.v
What the Teacher Should Know
The glides (dso called semivowels)
/y/ and /w/ are consonants when they
begin a word or syllable, as in
1,eq
young, uineyard, u.ny, and auoke. After a. vowe|
they function as part of the vowel, xs in boy and nou.
\fith
/y/
(e .9.,:rc.t, the body of the tonlaue pushes up through an
/iyl
posirion
(,/iyl is the vowel sound in see).The lips may be spread.Wtrh
/w/
(e .g.,ulr?),the lips
start rounded and then unround ro the vowel that fbllows.le The back of the tongue
is raised witll
/w/, but tltis infomation is not pedagogically important.
]'es
way
The glides pose few difficulries for students generally, although students from
certain native-language backgfounds malr experience pfoblems with some wofds.20
Spanish students mal,' pronounce
let
and
J,tolk
like "jet"
and "jokej" a srereot\ped
pfonunciation which shoulcl be addressed in class.
Japanese
and Korcan srudents
have difficult]. pronouncing
/
,v/
in year and
J,,edst
when the following
.i.owel
is
/I/
or /iy/;
year
ma.v sor.rnd like "ear" 2Jtd
least
like "east."
There are very few words
with this sequence
Q)i.eld
is nnotlj'ff example). Since the onl1. comrnon problem
word is
leaI,
its mispronunciation can be addressed through error corrcction.
A similar problem ifl.olves the pronunciation ot
/w/
in uould/uoo4 u.nman,
uo$ and uool.This is a problem primarily for
Japanese
and Korean speakers, who
find it difficult to say
/w/ when the vowel
/u/
follows, pronoun cing ruoman and
Loould llkc"'omarl" and "'ould."
Again, since there are
yery
fbw Entilish words where
this difficult sequence occurs. the problem can be dealt wirh through error
coffection. The confusion oflw// and /v/
(pronouncing ,e?, as "wiuy"), cliscussed in
Labial Consonants, eadier, is more widespread.
(as
in zzr1)
'0
!'or Chiiese studentr prorunciation ofrir?simil,llto lbnt, sec liphthongs, page ]90.
CHA?TER 4 Consonants
"l49
For Spanish students, the pronunciation of /y/ in yesterday a:nd, yet can be
added to work on the past tense or present perfect.
ERR0R C0RRECTI0N: Mispronourclflg
"Yet/
as
"Jet"
(Spantsh
Speakers)
1, On the board, write the mispronolnced wold with its normal spelling, and below
it, a pronunciation spelling in which the double lttefs r7 are substituted fof/ and
the following stressed vowel is written in lar8e ltters. Model the coffect pronuncia-
tion, spreading your lips for
/y/.
Tetl tlle student to pronounce
?
as a long
/V Gn
the
pfonunciation spellings, the letter / has the same
yalue
that it does in Spanish),
stressing the second r.owel. The student repeats.
yesterday young
ii6sterday iiSng
.
Add some other words beginning with
/y/
to the board, writi.rg pro{mnciation
spellirigs below the words. Ask the student to say them, stretching out the fust
sound and spreading the [ips.
yes
ii5s
year you
ii6ar ii6u
Mispronouncing ''O:dd"
Oapanese
and Kofean Students)
1. On the boa.fd, write the mispronounced wotd with its nofmal spelling, and below
the wofd, a pfonunciation spelling in which the double lelters ut are substituted
Jor zu. Tell the student to start tlle word tl,oman with a long
/u/ sound that moves
into the following stressed vowel.
would
u u 6uld
2. Alternative feedback:
.
Tell the student to imagine he is stretching a rubber band as he says the first
sont\d of uould.
.
?ell the student to prepare to say u,ould wil}] the lips tightly rounded. As he says
tlle word, he unrounds his lips.
3. Add these words for practice:
would woman wool wolf wooden
Mispfonounclng
"Yeaf"
as
"Eaf" Oapanese
and Korean Speakers)
On the board, write the mispronounced word with its normal spelling. Below it, write a
proflunciation spelling in which the double letters ll are substituted fot
!.
Contt^st
)Ear
alfd eatt prolo/lg;tflg tl'.e
/y/ of year'leU the student to statt
lear
wilt' a long
/i,/ sound
that mo\'es into the following stressed vowel.
year
ii6ar
150
:HAPTER 4 Consonants
ffi
t*,trt
.lroiceless
stops:
p ea, tea, key
What the Teacher Should Know
when the
yoiceless
stops /p/, /t/,
ot
/k/
are followed b}' a stressed vowel,
the stop is pronounced with a puff of ai! aspiration. In textbooks, this may be
represented as a small stlperscript "h" after the consonant or by a small
superscript
"<" after the consonant
(e .g.,
pt'ea, f ea, kh e1t, ot p<ea, t<ea, k'e!).
Aspiration occurs when the buildup of air behind the stop is released suddenly.
ln pan, fot example, the treginning /p/
is held while air builds up behind the lips.
When the lips open, the air is suddenly released.In a language like Spanish, stops
are unaspirated;the stop closure is not helcl as long as it is in English and less air
builds up.
If
/p,t,k/
are insufficiently aspirated, native listeners may hear them as
their voiced counterparts,
/b,
d, g,/;prg may sound like"big," tie like "die," and coat
like "goat."
Aspiration of
/p,t,k/
occurs only when a stressed Yo,wel follows.ln apb^
,
atfAck,
^nd
decb6.y, fot example, the consonants are aspirated because a
stressed \.owel follows. In dpple, 6ttic, and ddcadent, the bold consonants are
not aspirated because a stressed vowel does not follow2t Voiceless stops are also
unaspirated in
/s/
clusters, such as spot, stop,
^nd
scrool Because of the role of
stress, the rule for aspiration is complex and students do not have time to apply
it when they are dealing with stops inside a worcl
(for example, decbdy versus
(lecad.ent).If your students' pronunciation of
Pig,
tie, and cold sounds like
"big,"
"die," and "gold," address aspiration in monosyllabic words beginning with these
consonants. The vowel that follows is ?rlways stressed in this context, simplifying
the rule.
ERROR CORREBTI0N: Pie sounds rjke Buy
1 On the board, write the mispronounced word together with monosyllabic words
begnning with other voiceless stops.Write a small superscript "h" after the Yoice-
less stop to fepfesent aspiration.
Model the words. students repeat. Explain that dle ffist sounds are pronounced
with an e-xplosion or puff of air
Demonstrate aspiration. llold a sheet of paper or a tissue so that the bottom edge is
iusa
a tittle below your mouth and about 2 inches a$/ay from the mou:h. Turn side-
ways to your studnts and say each word in tum. The bottom edge of the paper
should blow out when you say the words. Students may notice that the papef
mo\.es fafthest for
/p/
"nd
less for
/t/
and /k/.
This occurs because with
,/p/,
the
21
The /t in rd. diffe$ fmm lhe /V tn atta& \r al\alhet way: Illdtlic, /tJ \sirPped bccause stres precedes
jl
The flapped
flonuncixtion
of/y is dscussed in /t/ and/d/ l1eps, abolc
kney thie pnie
2-
3.
cHAPr[R 1 Consanants 151
4.
buildup of air is closest to the paper;with
/t/
^1td
/W,tlae
buildup occurs farther
back in the mouth.
students repeat ttre demonstration in pairs. Remind students to hold the sheet of
paper up, about 2 inches away from the mouth, so that the bottom edge is
just
below the mouth (if the lower edge of the paper is at neck level, aspiration is not
sroog enough to move it). One student watches for movement of the paper as the
other student says the words. If the paper doesn't move, the speaker has not aspi-
ratd the consonants sufficiently.
on the board, add minimal pairs that contr.rst voiceless and
yoiced
sounds. Explain
that there is no aspiration v/ith the second word in the pais. Studnts repeal the
words, strongly aspirating the flrst word of each pair
).
pay-bay
too-do
pill-bill
tie-die
pack-back
town-down
coat-goat
c0me-gum
card"guard
ffi
trrnr.t Consonant Clusters: Pxtbkm
Vihat the Teacher Should Know
The worcl pl"oblem contains two initial consonant clusters: /prl
begins the
word (and the first syllable) nnd
All
begins the second syllable. English allows a
large number of two-member begiruing clusters
(for example, s'zake, sIoP, ploud,
glass
ln
n, tbree, txuin, and music). Three-mcmber clusters are more restricted; all
begin with /s/
followedby
/p/, /t/, or /k/,
followed by /r/, /l/, /y/, or /u,/,as
in string,
square, and speut (/sJlutr/).
Most students are able to recognize pefmissible and impefmissible clusters in
English (e.g.,
/ml/, /bn/,
ancl
/pt/
are impcrmissible). Altenberg reports that
beginning to advanced students had a good sense of permissible and impcrmissible
English clusters, though they could not alw,tys pronounce the pemissible clllsters
accurately
(2005).
Difficulty with a specfic consonant cluster depends ot.t what is permitted in
the native language.22 Spanish, for example, does not permit cluster sequences of
/s/+
Consonant (as in scbool). Spanish students often add a vowel before these
22
Dive6al facto$ also ir luence difficuLn. Broselou and Fincri tr'lininaLSonodft lli$ance model (199i) pledicts that sto| + liquid
clu$e6
(e.g,
4r4
eill be morc difficuit than fricatilc + liquid clu$ers
(e g.,tr.?i. H rcin Bhatt end Bhatt's slud! oi]apanese xnd
Sfanish ESi. ljstrne$ pxrti,llh corllflned this prediction (1991,
341).
"152
:HAPTFR I Consonants
words (e.g., "eschool") so that they conform to Spanish patterns. Some languages
Oapanese,
Cantonese, and Vietnamese, lbr example) do not permit any beiinning
consonant clusters.
Adding a vowel to separ4te the consonants in a cluster or deleting one of the
consonants also occurs.
Japanese
students may pronounce
s/,tss
like
"tiurassl'
Egyptian Ar':rbic students may pronouncefZoor as
"filoor'."Vietnamese
students may
pronounce problem vs /pabam/
ot
Sreet
'd:s "geetl' As mentioned above, Korean
students have difficulty with
/kw/
and /glw/
in words like cluestion
^nd
language,
pronouncing
,/w,/
too weakly of not at 2ll.
There afe a
yariety
of techniques that can be used to correct beginning
consonant cluster effors, depending on the type of error, but none works in all
cases. Students who add vowels in front of clusters (e.g., "eschool" for "school") can
be instructed to prolong the flrst consonant of the cluster ("ssschool"); this helps
them avoid starting the word with a
.\rowel.
This tecl-mique does not work when the
first consonant is a stop (/p, b, t, d, k, g/) because stops cannot be prolonged.
When studei.lts separate the consonants in a clustef (e.g., "filoor" fot
flootr
"gurass" for grass) or delete a consonant fiom the cluster (e.g.,"geen" for green),the
first technique to attempt is tbe simplest. Students who pronouncefloor as "flloor"
should be instructed to pronounce both consonants close together Students who
pronounce green as "geen" should be instructed to prorloullce
/r/.
The simple
approach sometimes works.
If the simple technique tails, teachers c2!r1 tell students to prepare to say the
second consonant in the clustcr (n/ ir
floor
or /r/
n
Sreen)
?'nd then say the whole
word. This technique works well in words like grc?r?,
Jloot
pla!, break, afld cloud.
In these clusters, the tip of the tongue is inYolved in pronoLrncing the second
consonant (A/ or
/r/) but not in the first consonant
(/p, b, f, k, g/). The vocal organs
can therefore be in position for the second cor.rsonant as the first is pronounced. This
technique, howe\.e! does not work when both the fust and second members of the
cluster involl,.e the tip of the tongue
(in words like tee, clriue, three, snou,
^
d sleet).
Activily 4.10 Extrene weather
level lntermediate
Worksheet None
Tip Encourage students to pronounce the consonants in consonant clusters.
Description This activity
provides practice with beginning consonant clusters in
the context of weather and can be added to the topic of climate
change or
global warming.
1. Elicit from students words or phrases used to describe the weather or effects of
ihe weather and write them on the board
(not
all of the words need to contain
beginning consonant clusters). Underline beginnlng ciusters. Add a few new
CIIAPTER 4 Consonants
153
Actiuit! 4. I 0 continaed
words, The words below cover a range of weather conditions; the teacher
should choose vocabulary that is appropriate for the studenis' level as well as
for the types of weather they are lrkely to talk about.
Weather Words
!!ow
sleet
extreme weather hlizzaft
hazy sunshine
drought
blistering heat tornado
spreading tires
slush
st0tms
cloudy
hunicane
Eeeze
climate
thunderstorms
bright sunshine
cyclone
drizzle
sprinkles
2. Go over new vocabulary. lvlodel the words. Students repeat.
provide
pronunciation
feedback on consonant clusters.
3. Students work in pairs
and make two lists, one for words describing extreme
weather (or
weather effects) and the other for words describing mild weather
(effects).
4. Following the pair work, ask students to volunteer words from their lists.
Provide feedback on pronunciation
of consonant clusters.
5. ln small groups,
students use the words to discuss questions
about weather.
.
Have you
ever experienced extreme weather? Explain.
.
Has the weather in your
country changed with global
warmjng? How?
.
What type of climate do you prefer?
6. Following the group
work, ask several students to answer the questions.
provide
feed back on consonant clusters.
ffi
taut consonants: p
iece, ask
What the Teacher Should Know
Consonants at the ends of words and syllables are more difficult to pronounce
than those in bellinning position.In
English, all consonants except
A/ can occur in
final position (e.g.,rob,
lip, bead, bat, dog, pick,
kiss, rose, eaclr, eclge, laugb, loue).2.
Tri'Gmember final consonant clusters are common (e .g.,ask, barut, heaft, betp, l.efD,
as arc three-member cluslers. especialJy when grammarir.al
ending,
"."
,at.t.O, u, i'
text (/kstD,
uorks (/rkst),
oJld launcbed (/ntftf.
Becar.rse many languages place
'?3lfhen 4y'
aud 4t occur in iiialposition, the! arc considered pert
olfie vowel.
154
(H^PILR4
Cansanants
gfeeter restrictiolts on fi]lal consonants than English does. errors;rre widespreacl and
less depcndcnt on the stlldent's native language than those il]|olyinla bcgifliing
consonants (and
beginning clusters).
Japanese,
for example. permits only
/n,/
in final
position; Sparish permits or.rly /d, s, n, r. l/. Languages F'hich do permit a Lu.ger r4nge
of final consonants ((icrman, Russian, and Polish, for examplc) ma| not allow the final
\.oiced stops and fricatives that are :rllowed in English: (e.Ei..
rr1re, lJafld, rttb, dog).
Universal factors ancl narkedness (linguistic naturalness) interact with and
feinlbrce natiyelangu:rge festrictions (see krtroductior], page 5). Final voiced
obstruents (stops and fricatives, ns rn dog or bate) are more clilficult than final
voiceless obstruents (as in dock antl half). They occur less tiequently in the
$'orlcl's languages, and in langurges where they do occur', like English, thcy are
acquired later by cl.rildren learning their lirst lan1 uage.
Most errors involving final consonants have the eflect of making English words
and syllables more like thosc in the speaker's native languagc, thereby simplifiiing
pronnnciation for the leaflrer
'l'wo
common rypes of errors afe delction (e.9.,
big
pronounced as "bi") and cpenthcsis (thc addition of a vowel; e.g., rrg pronounced
as "bigo").2t
.Pronouncing
final voiced stops ;mal fiicatives as their
yoiccless
collnteryafts
(i.c., clcvoicing) is another comrnon error (e.g., Drg sounds like "bickl' lsr.tue sounds
litri:e "half'and
u6ts sounds like "wass"). Less fiquently, final consonants may be
changed to other consonants (e.9., pocketbook pronounccd as "pocke(t)boor").
The tvpe of efrof studcnts make depends on native language, the level of
formality in speaking. the learner's level of proficiencl', the specilic final consonant
or cluster. and the soun':ls preceding or folk)wing it (Tarone l980,Weinberger 1987,
Hansen 2001, Hansen 200.1).weinberger found that his Mnndarin EsL lcarners r\.ere
more likely to pronounce lrlt as "bit)" (adding an epenthetic vowel) when they
were feading wofds in a list, out of context (1987). When thc same words were
used in context (such as in paragraph reading or speakiflg), both deletion (c.1.,"bi"
for bit)
^nd
epenthcsis (c.9., "bit'") occurred. In list readinli, clcletion of the final
consonant introduces ambiguity-is
"bi"
big, bit, or bid?
'flre
addition of the
yowel
(as in "bita") allows the listener to
"rccor,'cr" the $'ord more easily than deletion of
the final consonant.
Both types of errors
(deletion and epenthesis) shoulcl be a.ldfessed in
pfonrnciation work. Whilc deletion cxr difectly lower intelligibility of a word
(because part of the wold is missing), cpenthesis
(addition
of a linal vowel) can
lowcr it inclirectl_v, by creating an unnatural rh1-thm; sl.llablcs that should not be
present are pfesent. Epenthesis efrors can be addressed by teaching the
pronunciation of final consonarts as part of linking (scc Linking Words Togethe!
Rhythm). Deletion can be addressed throulh error corrcction by focusing students'
attention on missing final consonants, and in lessons on -el and -s endings.
consoliadls, lle unrcle.Lsed ir nixnr contc s in llnglish
(scc
Linking [rords lbged]er Rh\1hln).
cHl\pfti I ConsDnants
1Ss
Native English simplifications
of Final consonants. Not an deretions of final
consonants are effors. Natiye English speakers do not always pronounce
all the
consonants in final clustefs. Some simplifications are specilic enough to teach to
students (for
example, simplification of f\n I tb souncls before an
_s
encling). Others
follow rules which are too complex
to be of much use to stuclents. Howevet if
students use the same simplfications
that natiye speakers clo, they should not be
corfected and required to produce
consonants that the teacher himself does not.
ZII Simplifications
before an -s Endiarg. h nonths
/mens/ and clotlres
/klowz/, common plurats,
the /, sounds are rzrely pronounced
by native NAE
speakers, even in citation word pronunciations.
since the tr, sounds ar.e difficult,
students will be grateftll
to leam this.
In other words, interdental //: is often dropped and the
_s
endin| mav be
lengthened ("holding
the place,'of
/r).
two fifths f lfs/
She bathes /beyzl the baby.
earth's /ars/ orbit
Sequences of Consoflant+Stop+Consonant.
Nati\'e speakers often delete the
middle stop consonant in sequences of consonant + stop + consonant,
as long as
the stop is not a grammatical
encling (e .g., aske.l
/ast/,
facts
,,fa_x,,)
(Avery
and
Ehrlich 1992, 87).25
kindness /kaynaY
softness /sofnev
textbook /tksbuk/
next month /nks meno/
past policies
/pas polasiyz/
left side /ll sayd/
Middle stops are not omitted when rhe next wor{l begins wirh
/h/
(.e
.?,..left
b ande d, not " lef h^nd,e(|,,
).
The simplilication
of consonant + stop + consonant clusters should not be
taught to students. Most students have at best only a vague nodon of what a stop is
and would not be able to apply this rule in actual speaking. In addition. because
students do not pronormce
many final cons()ltants thdt should be pronounced.
it is
unlikely that teachers would feer comfortable presenting a .- e which cannot be
applied in real speaking and whiclt might encourage more inappropriate
simplification offinal consonants.It
is, however, appropriate to reach simplifications
of common words like "ast',
for as&ed and
,,gifs"
for gqflg on a word_by_wofcl
basis.
Final Voiced afrd Voiceless Consonants. Students may clevoice final voiced
stops and fricatiyes, pronouncing
them with theif voiceless counterpafts;
for
example bag may sound like
,,back,,'
and peas may souncl like
,,peaci.,,
Some
?t
Temperley cites some crses $herc th slof is oj)litted even $hen it i, a
grammdicaL
etding 0987. 80).
156 cH.\PrtR I Consonatlts
languages, like German or Russian, do not permit voiced obstruents (stops 'ind
fiicatives) in final position; in these langualacs, devoicing is r rule. Cliltlren leaflring
their first language also have more difficulqv with final \ oiced obstruents. Stampe
describes the de\.oicing of final obstrucnts as a natural process of language (1979).
Eckman describes linal voiced obstruents as more marked
(diJ}icr-rlt)
than final
voiceless obstruents (1981).Thus,there can be both universal and language-specfic
reasons lbr a stuclent's pronunciatioll of Drzg as
'back"
or /:al e as
-halJ.
"
Researchers have invcstigatecl several issues involving tinal voiccd :urd
voicclcss obstments. Yivas reports that his Portuguese,
.Japanese.
:rnd Mandafin
learners werc more likely to devoice final
/<I/
and /g/ than linal /b/, bid antl big
were more likel]-to lle pronounced as "hit" and "bick," and r/1, s?s less likely to be
pronouncecl like rip
(1997).2';
M.rgcn rrl')rtcd thxt devoicitrg errors did not appear
to bc an impoftant contfibutor to accent
(1998).
Tcxcling students to voice final obstruents is diilicult tbr r$o reasons. First,
students have little awareness or control over the articulator responsible for
voicing the vocal cortls. In general, articulatory awrrcncss is higher with
articulators closcr to the front of the mouth (for example, the lips, the teeth, the tip
of the tontiue); thc vocal cords, howe\rr, arc the articulators lArthest fiom the tiot]t
of thc nouth. Sccond, devoicing errors are rnost cornrl1on when the obstruent
occurs in fiml position, an already difficnlt position fbr consonant pronunciation.
A pedagogical stratclay thet sidesteps these dilliculties is teaclting the vowcl
iength clift'erencc that occurs betbte final voiced and voiceless cousonants, rathef
than Voicing
(or
together with \.oicing).Vowels before voiccd cOnsonants are longe;'
than vowels bcfbre voiceless consor]ants. In thc mininal pairs beloq the vorvels in
the first column (coming before voicecl sounds) are longer than the vowels in thc
seconcl column
(coming before voiceless stLtnds).
Vowel + Voiced Consonant
raise
vowel + Voiceless Consonant
race
feed
pig pick
When studcnts learn to lengthen
gowcls
befbre voiced consonants, the finxl con-
sonant sounds mofe \-oiced, even if it is not.
feet
26
l)clolcing 0l linrl /d/ flrd /g/ w,r\ nost Likely whn dre consonlnt \rr
lteceded
b! high r o$'eh
CHAPTER I Cansonants
157
Activity 4,11 Recognition and production
of final consonants, finat cons.,nant
clusterc, and final voiced consonants
level Intermed;ate
Worksheet Page 23I
Tip fncourage students to pronounce
final consonants to improve com_
prehensibility
and grammatical
accuracy.
Description This activity targets deretion errors with finar consonants
and vower
Iength differences before voiced and voiceless sounds.
@
t. StuOents listen to the pairs in
part
1 and repeat them.
@
2. Students ljsten to the pairs
in
part
2 and repeat them.
0f
you
model the
words live, exaggerate
the length of the vowel in the first member of each
pair and pronounce
the final consonants normally_do not overpronounce
the final consonants.) Ask students to describe the difference
jn
vowel
length in these pairs.
Explain that the fjrst words in
part
2 end in voiced
sounds
(the
vocal cords vibrate), and the vowels are longer. The last words in
Part 2 end in voiceless sounds
(the
vocal cords do not vibrate), and the
voweJs are shorter.
@
3. Students iisieil to one word from each of the pairs in
part
2 again and circJe
the word they hear.
4. ln pairs,
students practice
the words in
parl
2. Then each student reads a word
from each pair
and the partner
identifies the word.
5. After the pair
work, ask each student to select a pair
and say one of the words.
The class will decide which word was said.
6. Ask each student to choose a pair of words from the handout and write a
sentence containing both words. Students read their sentences to a partner.
158 ]HAPTER I Consonants
l\4odel the words. Students repeat. Explain that the vowels in the first word
of each pair (i.e.,
before voiced consonants) are longer than those in the
second word.
Distribute Worksheet 4.I2. Make sure students understand the categories.
Ask students to describe how federal tax dollars were used in 2007. Encourage
the use of use as a verb. Provjde feedback on final consonants
(lengthening
the
vowel in use).
Ask one or two students how they would advise the government to spend
tax dollars. Encourage students to use advise and use. Provide feedback
on pronunclation.
In srnall groups, students advise the government where to spend more or less
money. Remind students to pay attention to final consonants.
After the
group
work, ask a representative from each
group to report on their
decisions. Provide feedback on final consonants.
Ask students whether the federal government spent more or less money
than it took in
(since
the percentages add up to more than 100 percent,
the governrnent spent more money than it collected). Ask the class how
the government should close the budget gap. Try to elicil raise taxes as
one
possibility.
Activity 4.12 How woultl
you
use 2.7 tti ion dollars?
Level Advanced
Worksheet Page 232
Tip Encourage students to pronounce final consonants to improve com-
prehensibi lity and grammatical accuracy.
Description This activity targets final voiced consonants, such as in advise,
(to)
use, and raise
(faxes).
Students work in small groups io decide how
best to use money in a budget. The sample shows how U.S. tax dol-
lars
($2.7
killion) in 2OO7 were spent
(and
overspent). Any budget,
however, could be used, such as a typical lamily's yearly income,
your school's budget, or your city's budget. The budgets of many
organ izations are available online.
1. On the board, write minimal pairs ihat contrast final voiced and voiceless
consonants. The words below are useful for discussing budgets.
advise-advice
(to)
use-a use raise-race halve-half
(to)close-close(adi")
4.
2.
5.
6.
7.
8.
CHAPTER 4 Consonants
159
ffi
-rrf
.na -s Endings
V{hat the Teacher Should Know
Pronunciation
work with -ed and, -s endings reinforces gmmmar
and focuses
attention on final consonants.
-ed
endings. The pronunciation
of the regular past tense -ect ending <Iepends on
the last sound of the
yerb.If
the last so];tr;rdis
/t/ ot
/d/,the
-e,/ ending is pronounced
as a syllable
Uad/
or
/tdD.
ended
ledl
If the last sound of the verb is voiceless (as in
/p,
k, 0, t,s,l,t[D,the -ed ending is also
voiceless and pronounced as a single final consonant,
/t/.
invited
ladl
laughed
lltl
With these verbs, the -ed ending always creates a final consonant cluster. If the
student simplifies the cluster by dropping f:trjlal
/t/,
ttre pronunciation
error will
sound like a grammar
errof.
If the last sound of the verb is a vowel or a voiced consonant (such as
,/b,
g, 6,
f
z,
3,q,
n, m,
l, f V),the
-ed ending is pronounced as a single final consonant,
/d/.
robbed showgd saved planned
lbdl ldl luU tnd!
When the base verb ends in a consonant, the ending creates a cluster (e.g.,
planned
/ndD.
With most adiectives ending in -e4 the pronunciation of rhe ending follows
the rules for regular verbs above.
interestqdstudents
scarqdchildren a lockgd dool
N
ladl
In some adjectives, the -ed ending is pronounced as an extra syllable (/ad/)
even when the sound preceding it is rrot
/t/
ot
/d/.
kicked
tkv
the wicked witch
/3dt
reminded
ledl
washed
tfi
a thlee-legged dog
ledl
tdt
a learngd genlleman
ladl
Including these adiectiyes in a pronunciation lesson for advanced students can
add interest to the topic (other
similaf adjectives are xaretcbed, naked, and, rugge^.
In some -ed adjecri]',es, the ending has two pronunciations (for
example, beloued
/btlevad/ and
/btlal"df).\n learned, the two pronunciations ha.t'e different meanings:
160 :HAPTIR
'1
Consonants
learned
/latnd,/ bcbctuior a:nd
q
learned
/larna(l/
gentletlt4,t (Celce-Mufcia
et al.
1996). The -eri ending is also pfonounced
/a.l/
jn
aclverbs fi)rmcd from ed adiecrives
(e.9,.,
sul )posedl.|, allegedly).
-.s Endings. -s endings include plurals, third-person singular present endings,
possessives, and contractions of bas antl l'.s. Likc the ed endings, thc pronllnciation
of an -s endin[i depends on the last sound of the word to which thc cndir]g is added.
wlren the word encls in a sibilant (slike sounds, see Sibilants. above), the ending is
pronounced as an extra svllable,
/az/ or /t7/.
After other words. it is pronounced as
r firal conson.rnt. /s/
tt
/L/:
Thc -s ending is pronoundcccl
/az/
ot
/tz/
when the last sound of the word is
a sibilant (/s, z,l,3.tf, d3D.
wi![-wishes
age-ages
The -.s e nding is pronouncccl as r'-oicclcss
,/s/
whe n the last sound of thc word
is voiceless.
writes /tY The lock's /ks/ broken. lips /pV
The -.r ending is pronouncecl as voiced
/z/
when the last sound of the worcl is
a vowcl or voiced consonant.
Sue's /z/ sister pigs lgzl John's /nzl here.
Vhen -s endinpls are added to words encling in t/, sounds, nxtive speakers ma1'
simplify or delete thc t sound; the -.! ending may be lengtltened to "hold the plece"
of the th sound.'l'his is a simplification that can be taugl]t to students (sce Final
cor.rsonants. Native Spcakcr Simplifications of Finxl
(i)nsonants,
page 155).
The rules fbr when
-ed
or -s cndings arc pronounced :rs sin[ilc consonants (/t/
or /d/,/s/ ot /z/)
^re
peclagogicall_v complex. nr apply the rules, students must know
the invcntory of voiced and r-oiceless sounds in English, an unrealistic expectation.
Further, evcn if students have this knowle.lge . it is r-[rlikely that thev wjll have time
to apply it in normal speakilrg. A pedagogically si|tpler approach is 1o focus on
['hen the ending is pronouncecl as a separate svllatrlc (,/ad/ or
/azl.).With
the past,
the ending is a syllable wben the verb encls in
/t/ ot
/d/,
otherwisc, it is a final
consonant (/t/ or /dD. For the -s endings, the ending is a s1.llable when the word
ends in a sibilant sound: otherwise, it is a final consonam
Us/
ot
/zD.
'this
simplified approach also focuscs students attention on thc most
noticeable mispronunciation of the er./ endiflg-the inappropriate use of
,/ad/
with
r,-erbs like listened. The simplificd n-rle does not capture YOicing distinctions; tltat
is. it does not speciti'when -ed, for exanple. is pfonounced
/t/
or
/d/.yoicrng of
the cnding mav be either left to
yoicing
assimilation (a natural ten.lenc-y for a
following sound to takc on thc voicinli of the prcccding sound) or resolved
through errof cofrection.
ki99-kisses
garagg-garages
r0!g-r0ses
match-matches
CHA?TER 4 Consonants
161
Research on final consonants suggests that when a grammatical
ending is the
only final consonant in a word, as in bols or shoue4 it is tess likely to be cleleted
than single final consonants that are not endings, as in lose or zrke (Saunders
19g7,
Hansen 2001). In addirion, the deleti(xt of -, endings scems to depend on the
function of the -s ending, with verb enclings (e.g., pay)
more likely to be delered
than noun endings (c.g.,
daJLls). The larger number of errors witlt the present tense
ending (compared
to plural or possessive) may reflect the fact tltat the meaning
addecl by the
yerb
ending is alnost always redundant: Mandarory
subyect nouns oi
pronouns clcarly iodicxte the person
and nurnber ofthe subiect (,lhrone
and
pafrish
1988).' Lightbown and Spacla suigest that vigilant error coffection
may be
necessary fbr accurate use of the present -s cnding (1999,
151).
Pronunciation
of grammatical
endings is especially important for students who
will use English in academic or pr,,fessional
settings. Mf,ny grammar
ancl course
books for beginning and intermedinte
students cover prorr.rrii"tion
of the
_ed
nnd
-s endings; thesc exercises have the bcnefit of using vocabulary
and topics that
studenb afe aheady co\.ering in class.
Course and grammar
books for advanced students, on the other ltand, may not
address the pronunciation
ofendings. Teachers should not assume that their advanced
students know these pronunciation
mles. Deleted endinlls may indicate only the
general
diffic.lty with final consonants and can bc dealt with as such. Howeyer.
pronunciations
like listen-ed, as a three-svllable wor.1, or toatclt-ed, as a two_s),llable
word, probabl,v mean that the sh.rdent does not know hos/ to pronounce the enclings.
Activity 4,13 Past endings: Montlay noming wam-ups
Level Beginn ing/lniermed iate
Worksheet None
Tip Encourage students to pronounce
final consonants to imorove com_
prehensibility
and grammatical
accuracy.
Desctiption As a regular part of Monday morning classes
(once
the past
tense has
been taught), ask students to describe what they did on the
weekend, using the past
tense.
1. Ask students to describe what they did on the weekend, using the past
tense.
Provide feed back on pronunciation.
2. List all past
tense verbs on the board.
(continued
on next page)
2t
Vith some irrcgulat plural sirbjects, the J ending is not rcduJr{lant In rc lollorving senlences, onlvthe ve$ending (orlackoiit)
identifis re subjct as pluttl at sit.rg\tlxt:7he [hee\ llohs sick,,Jl)e sheel) llak sick.
162 cHAPrtR 1 Consanang
ActiuitJ' 4.I3 contin ed
3. Ask students to divide the past verbs into three categories: verbs where the
-ed ending is a syllable, verbs where the -ed ending is a stngle sound, and
irregu lar verbs.
4. Students check their lists and ask questions if necessary. Ask individual
students to read the verbs from one of the categories. Provide feedback on
pron u nc iation.
CONCLUSION
Pefhaps mofe than any othef afea of pfonunciation, stereotyped
pronunciations involve mispronunciations of consonants. For this reason, as well as
to improve comprehensibility, it is important to address them. Teachers can often
pro\'ide visual clues to the pronunciations of consonants by exaggerating the shape
of the mouth, using hand
llestures,
or providing simple diagrams.
The most pervasive and persistent errors with consonants occur when they
are in final position. Errors with final consonants can lower students'
comprehensibility as well as their grammatical accuracy. Teachers can use both
pronunciation actiyities and frequent error correction to help students pronounce
consonar"iis in this difncult position.
Although controlled practice of consonants is important for students to gain
skill, they also need the opportuniry to use their new skills in connected speech,
in activities that mo.t'e them bevond the domain of the word.
In a discussion of TV shows and entertairlers, a low_intermediate
French
student said that he likecl
Joe
pardee.
I asked who
Joe
pardee
\fas, ancl he said,
.No,
Joe
Pardee." I was puzzled
and wrore
,Joe
par<lee,'
on the board. He said no. the
show
.Joe
Pardee.
'I'he
student meant the game show
Jeopar(ty.
Although my
misunderstanding
involved more than rhe effof in the first vowel, I might have
understood the intended word if that vowel had been closer to its English
pronunciation (of I might have guessed
,Jay
parclee').
Pronunciation
difficr tics with English vowels are widespread, in part because
English has a relatively large number of
yowels.
The diagrim below shows the
vowels of North American English (NAI.
spokcn in the Unired States and Canada)
and their relative positions
in the mouth.r Bebw the diagmm are the three
diplrthongs (complex
vowels):
,/aV
(as
il.t houD,
/ay/
(as in bigb),
.and
/oy/
(ds
jn
&oJLl). Because of dialect
yariation,
some native speakers, vowels may differ
somewhat from those shown below
CHAPTER
Diphthongs
lawl how /ay/ high loyl boy
In contrast to consonants, vowels are procluced
with little obstfuction
of the
airflow.Vowcls
also havc longer durations than consonants (Mehler
et al.1996).
English vowel differences are procluced
by varying the height of the body
of the tongue (high,
mid, or low); the frontness or. backness of the tongue (froni,
t
These positions dfti altered sont\|h at bl adj accnt consonants
1 63
[:]
bought
164
(HAt'rER
5 Votlels
central, back);the degree of muscular tension
(tense or lax): antl the rounding of
the lips (rountlecl or unrounded). The grid imposed o\er the mouth in the
diagram above shows how vowel height, frontness,/backness. and tension/laxness
are reflected in NAE \.ow(jls. All English b;rck vowels are rounded, xs they are in
most languages.
VOWEL PERCEPTION AND PRONUNCIATION
BY ENGLISH I.EARNERS
Like most unfamiliar features of a ner' language. vowels and vowel contrasts
that do not occur in the student's nativc languale are likely to be difficult. However,
both perception and pronunciation of English vowels improve as proficiency,
exposlrre to English, and use of English increase (Bohn ancl Flegc 1992,Ingram and
Park 1997, Flege and MecK:ry 2004).
Cenoz and Lecumberri report that practice with listening ancl discriminatiofl
improyes the accuracy with whicll students hear unfarniliar vowel contrasts (1999).
lVhen
vowels and vowel contrasts are heard more cleadl', students haYe more
accurate
"perceptual models" on rvltich to base pronunciation (Flege, Ilohn, and
Jang
1997,Ing$m and Park 1997).The /il/'/r/
conrrlst (as in lealte'liue) is a new and
difficult contrast for many students.If a student is unsure of how the vowel in /lae
sounds (e.g.,1/lre in NeuY('rk),he fiq- substiture his closcst native-langlrage vowel
(especially if he is a beginner) or pronounce the vowel ofle Na) orl ollc occdsion
and another way on another.Itrithout a clear perceptual model of the Yowel. he will
not have a clear tafget for pronunciation. An example from onc of my students is the
pronunciation of the last
yowel
in democrctt
(/a/).The student, ;r native speaker of
Mandarin, was talking about the two-party system in the llnited States. He used the
word clemocrctt six times in two minutes, and pronouncecl the tlird Yowel in that
word in five different w.rys: "democrease" (once, also nispronouncing the final
consonant),
"dcmocrit" (once), "dcmocrate"
(twice), "dcmocrais" (once), and
"den.rocr.rt'
(once, with the third vowel pronounced correctll). Almost all of his
substitLrtions were frot.tt vowels
(like English /a/).
One explanation for his variable
pronunciation is that he wasn't sure llow /e/
sounds and thereforc didn't have a
clcar pe|ceptual target at v/hich to aim his pronunciations.
Since accumte perception of vowels is linked to more accurate
Pr,)nunciJtion,
work with vowel perception is important. Ilowever, vowcl perception develops
llraduall,v. 'i9ork
with pronunciation can still be cffcctiYe cven when the vowel
(contmsl) is not clexd)' perceived. Many students who cannot hear a vowel
particularly well can nevertheless lexrn to pronounce it more accurately once tbey
understand how it is made, ancl more accurate pronunciation may lead to more
accurate pefception.2
']
Perceltion lna-r aho lag production $ith consonxnl\
(see
Colronalb
f4e
146).
CHAtrtR 5 Vo\,\/els
165
Vowel Pronufrciation
In general,
front ]/owels (/iyl
beat,
/r/ liue,
/ey/ bait,
// bet,
/E/ bat) and
central vowels (/a/
bltt,
/o/ potr r are peclagogic;rlly
more important
than most
back vowels (/Dw/
boot,
/u/ book,
/ow/ t:ia|,
/Ji bought),
since many of the
front and central rrowel contrasts are both clifTicult foi students ;rnd liequent
in English words.
Tense-ktx
aoluel contrLtsts are also
pronunciation
of lax vowels.a
Tense
Lax
/lyl leave
hl five
ley/ lale
kl bt
/uw/ Luke
lu/ toak
diflicult for students,
in particular
the
The terms tense afld lax tefet to the muscular tension fequifed to produce
the vowels. With tense vowels, the tongue is positioned
farther fiom the center of
the mouth (the
center is the rest or relaxecl position
for the tongue),
thus
requiring more muscular tension to reach and maintain these positions.When
the
tension is relaxed a little, the tongue mo\.es toward a more central position
in
the mouth, producing
the lax \.owel counterpatt. For example,
with
/iy,/
(as in
leaue),the
body of the tongue is high ancl front in the
-or.,h.
wh.r, rhe tongue
drops down and back a lirtle (more
toward the center of the mouth), the lax
\owel
/
r/ (Lts
iit liue) is produced.
Differences in lip shapes are also present
with
tense-lax pairs. The lips are generally
more relaxed
lless spread or lcss roundecl)
for lax vowels.
(
@rcaYe/i,/
@''"""
i.,---------,-_
Wr;,
;
@tarc/ev/
@*,n,
r""u,
/
$eluke/uv
@
bok/u/
I
Ir sone dialecl!. /q/
0ol)
is a Lrack or centmlback \,0$r1 (rte$,and
lhrlich 1992, J0).
{relc"\1.
ii !t
.i ,t,r
Jp ir,-'d\\o*el. t,,,U, rl
166
IHAPTER 5 Vowels
Vowel Spellings
The sound-spelling correspondence of Entilish vowels adG a ler-el of difficr ty to
pronunciation. My student's mispromurciation of the first \-o\\ el
i-fr.leopard!
was
probably the result of its unusual spelling in that word (i.e.. a
-spelling
pronunciation)
Sound-spelling correspondences are complex partlv because there are only
slx vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u, y'\ used to spell more than a dozen vowel sounds. In
addition, English has "borrowed" many words from other languages along with
their spellings (suite, for example, is a French borro\r'ing). Finally, linguistic
changes in the vowel system, most notably the Great Vox'el Shift, produced new
pronunciations. bul old spellings were relained.i
Students should be aware of both the common spellings of !-owels and the
exceptions to the conrmon patterns; spelling is coYered in many textbooks,
especially at the beginning and intermecliate levels.6 Intermediate and advanced
students who hn\'e learned the comlnon spelling patterns ma still need work with
the exceptions.
Phonetic Symbols
Phonetic symbols are used in pronunciation tertbooks and in ESL dictionaries.
Thcy proyide a means fo| representing sounds unambiguously and are especially
useftll when teaching vowel pronunciation (because of the complex spelling rules
for vowcls).7 It is not necessary for students to memorize a phonetic alphabet. Most
textbooks do not assume or require memorization of a phonetic alphabet, and
symbols are always accompanied by sample words.
Different phonetic conventions sometimes
give rise to diffefefit symbols for the
same sound. Some textbooks, for example, use ,/ayl
to represent the boldface vos/els
in time or iron; ot]l'erc use
/ail.
rvith
,/ayl,
the second part of the vowel
(the glide
ending) is represented with the consonant symbol /y/; wilh /ai/,
it is represented
with the vowel symbol
/i/.
For some pronunciation problems, one sltnbol is
pedagogically more useful than another. In helping Chinese students correct
mispronunciations of time as
"Tom," the symbol /ail
is more useful because the
second part of the vowel iri tlnxe sounds like
/i,/.
HoweYer, the symbol /ay/
is rnore
nseftrl when showini the pronunciation of iron,,/ayarn/, because the second part of
the vowel sounds more consonantal.In this book, alternate symbols (to those shown
in the diagnm on page 163) are explained and suggested when pedagogically
appropriate. A comprehensive list of phonetic symbols and their alternates is
provided inside the front cover of this book.
5
The lowel aLlemafons in sane satll\,, u'lie Lidlh,lt]ld metetmehic, ior ti^mple, arc resuliJ 0l the Crcal \b$l Shift.
6l,rator
and Robinelt
(1985)
inclLrde ayery cornplete |st ofWelLings for $ressed vowels. The rules are aLranged br lclte4 rathet than by
sound.
1
In the Silent val lovels are ilrsocieFd wifi pafiicular colon to represent theni unamblguousL,v; sce Gattegno
(1912).
cHAprER 5 Vowels
167
Dialects and
yarieties
of English
English dialects r'ary more in pronunciation
than they do in grammar
or
vocabulary,
and vowels show more dialect variation than consonants (Ayerv
and
Ehdich 1992). Spoken English includes many
yarieties,
some natiye
lOiatectj anO
others nonnative (fofeign
accents). EsL teachers whose stuclents speak different
natiye languages
are faniliar with the difficulty students
have understanding
classmates from other language backgrounds, especially at the beginning of thi
tefm; as the semestef progresses,
mutual undefstanding improves, even though
accents remain (see also Gass and Varonis 19f14 for the role that familiarity ptays;
intelligibility). since many of our students will use E'glish to communicate
with
other nonnative speakers, it is impoftant to expose tltem to clifferent
yarieties
of
English.Thcre are a number of web sites that provide recordings
of different dialects
and accents; see, for example, the American Dialect Society,s
.Web
site,
www.ameficandialect.org
or the University of Kansas,s International
Dialects of
English Archiye, http:/
/web.ku.edufid,ea/.
Bringing dialect infotmation into the classroom not only adds variety and
intefest, but sometimes provicles
stuclents with "dialect
altematives',
that make
pronunciation
easier. For cxample, many speakers of NAE use the sane
yov/el
(/o/)
in pairs like caugbt-cot. The pronunciarion
of cougbt with
/o/
(as
opposed to
n,/, a
vcwel used by native speakers in the Northeast) is acceptable
and often easier fof
Students to learn than,6,/. It does no harm for stuclents to speak English with
features from different dialects of \.arieties as long as thc features are intelligible and
n()f stigmatizr(l
Natiye English reachers should teach their ow1.r dialects, pointing
out
differences between their vowels and textbook \.owels. Nonnative English teachers
will probably
not pronounce
all English vowels like a native speaker and ma,v prefer
to focus on vowel contrzsts they feel confoftable teaching. In addition, tapes and
other recordings should be used in class.
Interactiofl of Vowels and Other Areas of
pronunciation
Vowel pronunciation
can be affected by neighboring sounds as well as bv
stress. R- ancl /-colored l.owels, discussed bektw, are examples of how a following
consonant can affect vowel pronunciation.
Voiced and voiceless consonants can alter the length of preceding stressed
vowels. A following voiced consonant (as in peas ot bad) lengttrens the vowel; a
following voiceless consonant (as
In peace
or Z2at) shortens the vowel (see
Final
Voiced and Voiceless Consonants, page 155).
The vowels in some words (e .g., and, can, or) are reducecl to
/a/
in connected
speech unless the speaker giyes them special emphasis. The conjunction
arz4 for
example, is pronounced
/an,/ in normal speaking: I'll hatte bacon
,n
eggs (see
Reductions, page
72).
168 :HAPTER 5 vowels
TIPS FOR TEACHING VO\VELS
The si-x tips listed below provide some general suggestions for helping
students improye their pronunciation of vowels.The tips are based on how
yowels
afe pfonounced and on how they are learned by nonnative speakers.
The remainder of this chapter presents the specific vo$/els and vor',sel
contrasts listed below. The six tips above are further explained and reflected in the
context of specific Yowels.
[]
sprctrtc vow+s
Front
yowels:/iyl
an(l
/r/
(leaueJiue)
Front vowels:
,/e1y' afld /e/
(Jaait-u)et)
Front vowels: /a/
(bad),
/a/
^nd
/E/
(had-bead)
Front and centnl vowels:/e
/, /E/, /a/,and /o/
(kept-cap-cup-cop)
Central vowels:
/3 /
a'nd
/o/
(not-nut)
Back vowels:/u\V,/
^nd
/u/
(boot-book)
Back vowel:,/ofl (go)
Back vowel:
A/
(cauglit)
Diphthongs:/ayl
1tigb), /a'gg/
(hotr), dnd
/oy/
(boy)
R-colored vowels and /-colored vowels
'We
discuss what the teacher should know about each of these topics and
provide suggestions for teaching most of them. In some cases, the suggestion is a
classroom activiry In other cases, it is error correction. Suggestions for error
t.
t
J.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
cHAprER 5 Vowels
"l69
correction are short enough to use when students are engaged in nonpronunciation
actiyities.They are also useful for addressing pronunciation problems that only one
or two of your Students experience.
ffi
u"on, Vo*.ls:
/iy/ atd
/r/
(I.eaue-kae)
\Xlhat the Teacher Should Know
The vowel conrrast in leaue-liue is difficult fbr most students to hear ancl
pronounce. Since there are nany minimal pairs like leaue_liue, and each vowel
occurs in many words, the vowels and the contrast afe pedagogically
important.
Perception of /iy/ alrd h/. ln many languages a single pure vowel
,/i/
(e.g., the
vowel in Spanish s/, "yes") corresponds to English
/iy/ and
/ . Many students
identiry the tense \.owel
/iyl as
,,similar,,
to their natiye-language vowel. Some
students report that //re sounds llke lectue, suggesting that
/iy,/ and,/r/ are heard as
the same vowel (like
the native language vowel). Other students say that liae and,
leaue sonnd. diffbrent, but rhat they are nor sure v/hat the difference is. st l orher
students say that sometimes
/r/ sounds similar to,/i)y' and sometimes different.
Although most students feel that
/r/ is more difficult than
/Iy/,
improyements in pefception and production may be greatef
with,/r,/ than with
/iy/
(Lax.e
1994), perhaps reflecting diflerent amounts of attention paid to rhe two
vowels by learners. Str-rdents are likely to direct learning efforts toward a vowel
they perceive
as new or different from their native-language vowel (hence.
something to learn); a vowel like
/iy/, ss'hich is often pefceiyed
as similaf to the
native-laniuage vowel, may receiye less attcntion, since the student feels she
already "knows"
it (Flege 1987).
The lax vowel
/r/ is easier to hear when it is followed by a
yoiced
sound (as in
kicl and is), which adds length to the vowel. Following
yoiceless
stops and nasals
make the
yowel
more difficult to hear (Lane 1994).8
Easier io hear: his, live, fish, big
Harder to hear: sit, quick,
th n, I p
Pronunciation of /t/ and
/ry/. Tbe diagram on page 170 shov/s the relative
heights of the body of the rongue for
/iyl
and
/t/.The rdised part of the tongue is a
little higher and farther front for the tense vowel
/iy/
(teaue)
rlT n for
/t/
(.liue).For
,/r,/ the tongue is a litrle lower (i.e., the mouth opcns a little) and more central than
for
/iy/.'fhe lips
^re
rclaxed for
/t/ and spread (requiring
muscular tension) for
/iy,/.
The difference in lip shapes for
/iyl and
/r/
is a secondary difference. Many students
3
lbiceless stops are /p, I, v. the iiIxt sounds in
l/e,
/ra */e. Engl ish nasals ilclude /li. n, rl /, the last soLrnds in .ro4 Jrrre, and
srrg \bwels lollo$d by I'oiceless stops (as
inpaltl1 p/i*) .rn r rnder tlrrn thosr to loued bv rorced stops (ar
)npeas
pig);see
also
C0n'onan6. n
!"
1 .
170
IHAPTER 5 Vowels
afe able to rclax their lips and produce a tense vowel. (This is not difficult. Try
keeping
)'our
lips relaxed and say eat; then spread your lips afld say /t) The glide
ending ol /iy/ Uy/)
is created by a short front gliding motion ofthe tongue and
iaw
A pure (steady state)
/i,/
lacks this front gliding motion.
EFL students may be taught to pronounce
/I/
as a short version of /iyl.
Although /i)y' is sornewhat longer than /I/,
native listeners pay more attention to the
difference in vowel quality (the sound of the vowel) than to vowel length;
/I/
is not
just
a short l'ersion of /iyl
(Flege, Bohfl, and
Jang
1997, Escudero and Boersma 2004,
Cebrian 2006).The difference in tongue position for /iy/ and /r/ is what creates the
difference in \.owel quality, and students must learn the tongue positions for the two
vowels in order to pronounce pairs like liue-leaue correctly.
Because the
/iy/Jr/
contast is important and difficult, it should be taught to
students at all leyels and usually needs to be reviewed. with beginning and
intermediate students. classroom work should focus on /I/. the "new" vowel.
Beginning and intermediate students are concerned about this vowel and ready to
work on it. Adyanced students who pronounce
/I/
accurately in common words like
big ot kitcben benefit from practice with words like indiuidual or ambiguous,
where stressed /r/
is not the flrst r'owel in the word.These words may also have
cognates in the natiye language
pronounced with the pure vowel /i/.9
Most advanced students need work on the glide endlng (/y/) of
/iy/.
Perhaps because /iyl is heard as a "similar" vowel, students often substitute their
native-language pure vowel /i/.The
use of a pure vowel in words Iike beacb and
sreet creates the embarrassin! pronunciations that many students are familiar
with. The glide cncling of ,/iyl
is also important when /iyl is followed by another
vowel, as in uideo or pis.no.In these words, the glide ending
joins
to the next
vowel, creating a new syllable and functioning as a linking sound:videvo, pivano.
This also occurs across word boundaries
(as in see
vit),
and therefore has an
impact on word-to-word linking, which is part of rhythm (se e Linking Adiacent
rwords,
page
54).
li]ie
/r/
@
leave
/ly/
/---:\
(*i#t,7
'
Cognates are pain ol *'ods lrcm diftircnt lengueges that have similar soun& and meanings
(e.g.,
English
4aa1d,
and,lrench tluahq
CtlAtrcR 5 Vo\\,els
171
Spellings of /iy/ and /t/. The spelling of
/r/ is consistent ancl a good
clue
pronunciation
of the vowel, althougl.r there are somc important
exceptions.
/i]y' is spelled in a varieqv of ways:
Activity 5,l /iy/-/ : Presenting pronunciation
level Low lntermediate
Worksheet Page 232
fip Direct students, attention to vowel characterislics that they can see.
Description Students use diagrams showing both lip shape differences and
tongue height differences. Since differences in lip shape are
secondary pronunciation
differences, students may still
mispronounce the vowels even though they use appropriate lip
shapes. The procedure
ou tned below focuses more on hl lhan hyl.
1. Model the words live and leave, lengthening both vowels, exaggeratrng ljp
relaxation with live, and spreadjng the lips with leave. Ask siudents to describe
the d
jfference
they see.
2. Ask students individually
lo say live and leave.
3. Direct students' attentjon to the cross,sectjonal diagram showing the two
vowels on Worksheet 5.1. Ask them whether the tongue is higher for /r/ or
tor liyl.
4. Tell students to start with liyl and leI their tongues drop a lit e to pronounce
/r/.
Exceptions:
busy, business, buil<l, guilry gym, women, pretty
Exceptions: key, people, techniqr-le, medium
172
.H^PIER 5 vowels
Activily 5.2 /iy/-/r/: How Do You Spe Live?
Level All
Worksheet Page 233
Tip Provide students with controlled
praciice to develop skills with vowels.
Description This spelling activity practices both /iyl and h/ and the pronunciation
of letter names, necessary for spelling.
1. From the ist on Worksheet 5.2, select minimal
palrs involving /iyl and /r/
which are appropriate for your students' level of vocabulary.
2. Present the pronunciaiion ol liyl and A/
(see page 171).
3. Write the selected minima pairs on the board in two columns; number the
coLumns "1" and "2." The samples below are appropr ate for beginning to
low lntermed iate students.
1
eat
seat
leave
reach
4.
5.
6.
]\4odel the / y/ words. Students repeat. Then model the /i/ words. Students repeat.
Say a word from each palr and ask students to tell you the column number of
the word you said. Repeat if students have difficu ty.
Ask each student t0 choose a word for the c ass to identify. Provide feedback
on pronLrnciatlon. For errors with /]yl, wr te "r i" on the board and tell students
to say /i/ twice without break ng the voice and stressing the flrst /i/
(see page
1.73 Ior beach and sheet). For errors w th /r/, tel students to lower the tongue;
reinforce the verbal instructions by lower ng your hand.
lvlodel the pa r work. Choose a word from one of the pairs and ask a student
"How do you spe I nch?"
(For
low level students, write the questlon on the
board: How do you spell-?) The student should spe I the word he heard.
Choosing a different word, ask another student the same quest on.
Pair work. lf possible, pair students who speak different nat ve anguages.
Students who speak the same nat ve language can sometlmes recogn ze the
ntended word even if it ls mispronounced. Students take turns asklng about
the spelling of words on the board. Instruct thern to pronounce the words
carefully so their partners know whlch words to spell. Circu ate among the pa rs
and prov de feedback on pronunciation.
After ihe pair work, review the activity with the whole class. Provide feedback
on pronunciation of the vowels.
7.
B.
2
ir
sit
live
rich
g
cllAPrER 5 Vowels
173
Activity 5.3 Ptoblen words: Beach ard sheet.
Level lntermed iate/Advanced
Tp Base communicative practice
with problem
vowels on words or
groups
of words which contain the vowels.
Worksheet None
Description This activity focuses on pronouncing
/iyl tn beach and sheef, two
words of concern to ESL students. When students use a pure
vowel
(/i/)
in these words, English listeners are likely to hear the lax vowel
h/
(and
the lax vowel counterparls ot beach and sheef). For these
words, which end in consonants, the symbol /iil, with stress marked
on the first "i," is more helpful than /iyl.
7. Wrile beach and sheefon the board and pronunciation
spellings below the
VOWEIS:
beach sheet
ll
2. lVodel the words, lengthening the vowels. Explain that in English, /iyl is not a
single sound. Students should pronounce
this vowel with two /i/ sounds,
stressing the first. The voice does not break between the two vowels.
3. Ask each student to say the two words.
4, Ask students to volunteer expressions involving beach or sreef
(for
example,
beach blanket, beach party,
beach ball, a sheet of paper,
spreadsheets, and
sheet music).
5. ln groups,
students plan
a beach party, describing the place, food, games,
and
other activities thai will create a good
beach party.
6. After the group
work, ask selected students to report on their beach party.
Provide feedback on the pronunciation
ol beach.
ffi
nront Vo*e lsz /ey/ and /e/
eoait-u;et)
What the Teacher Should Know
The vowel contrast in u,ait-uet (/ey/-/e/)
is a new contrast for many students.
The native language vowel corresponding to English
/eyl may also be a pure vowel
/e/
(as in Spanish pe.so).
For most students, tr.e
/ey/-/E/ contrast (as trit u,ait-uet) is
easief to hear and pronounce
tban the
/iy/-/r/ contrast. The glide
/y/
in
/ey/
(as
tn
Laait) is also easier for students to hear than the glide ending in /iyl
(as
in ubeat).
/eyl is a tense vowel and
/e/
is a lax
yowel.
The body of the tongue is higher
and farther front for
/ey/ than for
/x/.In addition, the lips for
/eyl are more spread
(requiring
more muscular tension) th'ln for
/E/.
174 cuAPr[R 5 vawels
With Spxnish students, the symbol ,/ci,/
(rather than
/evl)
should be used since
el is the nomal spclling of this vowcl ir Spanish.
Chinese students have persistent problems pronouncing the glide ending of
/ey,/ wlren it occurs beforc
/n/
or
/m/,
prollouncini errplain and ndmq for example,
like "explen" and "nem" (see also Diphthongs bclow).
Spellings of /ey/ ajnd /e/. There is ovcdap in the spellings of
/cy/
and
/x/,wlricl]
can be a source of mispronr.lncirltion. Tbe letter sequence ed, lbr example, is a
spclling for
/e1y' Qts
in break) as well as /e/
(as iD breakfast).
babl', papcq fatnous, table, vacatior]
(word ends in sitent e) late, take, mistake, plane, strange
tr41n, rain, wait, afraid
play, say, today, maybe
glght, vqin, nqlghbor
the-v, convey
break, great
Exceptions: gauge, b4ss
(low note)
e (followed by a consonant)
h4!{, ak, f4i!, chair
breakfast, he a\,y, wcather
Excepdons: many,4ny, says, again, friend, guess
(
HAprtR
S t/owels
"l7S
Aclivity
5.4 /iy/-/ey/-/tl
Sotting
sound
and spetting
level
lntermediate
Worksheet page
233
Tip
reach
exceptional
or confusing
spellings
associated
with vower
sounds,
Description
This
activity
focuses
on overlapping
spellings
of /iyl, ley/,
and k/.
1. Direct
str.tdents'attention
to the tist of words on Worksheet
5.4.
@2.
Students
listen
to the words
and repeat
them.
3. ln pajrs,
students
decide whFther
t.he underjined
letters
are pronounced
/iyl, tey/, or /tt and write
each word
rn tnu
"pp.p,iui
,o;;i;;;r;i,
rhe
teacher circulates
and
models
words
as needed.
-
Wj;T:ir;[
i."|,,i],Jj:lsd1"0,
add the pronuncjatjon
corumn
headings
from
5. Ask a volunteer
to come
to the^board..Classmates
w/ll tell the volunteer
which words
beJong
in the columns
When all the-worJuru
* i,'l.'OJuro,
UrO"nU practice
saying
the words, pronouncrng
each
word in a corumn
with the
same vowel.
H
uron,
Vowels;
/r/ and
/e/ (tticl_heatl)
\I/hat
the
Teacher
Should
Know
When
students
first lc,
conruse
ir \\.ith
/t/,,,;
;1,',i;:i;';,.liffi,,j':",",:l:l#,:'i.glil,:t:";ffi
$::t'6'h,l',:*::
i'i*,I",.
:1:l 1*
t-u t
","
;.'
r'v'jl si tion
l
see
/,. 1. 1 1 1 o n
7.l rn"
"r,',.,.i.1i:;;
ff #:-::n#:*i'l1ll,
;l',:.:X,1.::iil,
jll:,,ilX*;i
ERR0R
C0RRECTt0N
| /iy/ -/r/_/e/
Problem: your
student pronounces
beqt l.ll<e
b/t LNtruct
],oul
student
ro sar.ftro /r/
\ounJj'
irr succcssion
{s(,c
prrtbtcrn
*"r0'.
o--
r,,u'il).
li
or*.
,_r,
i::ffi:::H:tudent
pronounces
Dir like beat. rasttuctthe
student
to lower
llJ#fi,.T""
"tudent
pronounces
6rlr like ,er. Instruct
the student
to raise the
l;J.ltfi*},,"
"tudent
pronounces
,er like br?. Instruct
the snrdent
ro lower
the
ffLm:1ru:HTj-|?:iil:es
!,,e'rike
u''tit' rnsttuctthe
student
to drop
"176
:HAPTER 5 Vowels
the problem is one of pronunciation and does not persisr long. Natiye speakers of
Arabic may produce a vowel that is midway between the Yo\l'els of / an(l
/E/.
[R
n"orrt Vo*"lsz /a/
(tcad),
/e/ and /e/
(batl-head)
\T/hat the Teacher Should Know
The vowel in bad,
/a/,
is the lowest front vowel in English.The body of the
tongue is low and front in the mouth. and the lips are spread.The tip of the tonLue
rests behind the bottom teeth and pushes down and fors'ard. For most students, /a/
is a new vowel. It may be confisecl in perception and pronunciation
with //
(as in
bed) ot /o/
(as in body), <lepending on the nati1'e language of the student. Native
speakers of Hindi,Vietname se
,
Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, and Polish, for example,
may pronounce bad with a vowel closer to that in Zred Native speakers of French,
Japanese,
Spanish, and Greek, on the other hand, may pronounce words like &ad
with a vowel closer to th^t n bod!
Uo/)
ot buddy
Ua/).
Students who haye been taught British English may use the British
pronunciation
/o/
in words like laugh or can't, a \owel that sounds closer to NAI
/o/.
This pronunciatiofl should be corrected if it makes the word harder to
recognize (which may occur when there are other errors in addition to the
unexpected British pronnnciation).
Spellings of /e/. The spelling of
/a/
is very consistent. Once students are familiar
with the common pattern, spelling is rarely a source of mispronunciation.
Activity 5.5 /E/-/E/; Presenting /a/had and /e/nead
levels All
Worksheet Page 234
Tip Djrect students' atlention to vowel characteristics that they can
0escription Guided by mouth shapes for the two vowels, students learn to
pronounce
the difference between /ai and //.
1. Present the diagrams ol lal and // on Worksheet 5.5.
a
(followed
by a consonant)
Exceptions: laugh, plaid, auntlo
r0ln
some dralects arzl is prcnounced bny.
|HAPIER 5 Vowets l//
Actiuitf 5.5 contnued
2. lVodel had slowly, exaggerating the openness of the mouth and the spreading of
the lips. Ask students whether the mouth is more open or closed Ior had. Ask
students whether the lips are spread or relaxed.
3. lVodel head,Iollowed by the same questions:
Are the ltps morc open or closed?
Are the lips more relaxed or spread?
4. Ask each student to say the pair
had,head. Provide feedback on pronuncjation:
.
had lel sounds like head ltl: Open your mouth more.
.
cap lal sounds like cop lolt Push your tongue front. Spread your lips.
.
cap lel sounds like cup lalt Open your mouth more and spread your lips.
Push your
tongue down and front.
Activity 5.6 /a/-/th Staying healthy
level High lntermediate/Advanced
Worksheel None
Tip Base communicative practice with problem vowels on words or
groups
of words which contain the vowels.
Description The sample activity is taken from Focus on Pronunciation 3
(Lane
2005c, 20) and provides
communicative practice
with words related to
health issues, containjng the vowels /a/ and /e/. After studenls have
practiced
the two vowels in conirolled activities, they discuss possible
causes for becoming overweight or obese, using words like fat, calories,
fast food, exercise, and
genetic propensity, which contain these vowels.
1. The list shows some of the causes cited for overweight and obesity. Check the
three that you think are most responsible for these problems. The bold leiters
are [a] or [].
a. eating too much fat g. lack of information
b. taking in too many calories
_
h. genetic propensity
c. eating too much sugar i. poverty
d. eating too much fast food
l.
wealth
e. lack of exercise Other
f. watching too much TV
2. Compare the causes you
checked with your classmates, Do you
agree? Talk
about your choices and listen while others explain their opinions. Look at the
list again, Would you check the same three causes now?
178 cHAPr[R 5 vowels
Front and Central Vowels. /e/
,
/e/
,
/a/, atd
/a/
(kept-cap-cup-cop)
l*/hat the Teacher Should Know
The vowels 1n kept-cap-cup-cort are pronounced in the lower front-central
region of the mouth.'lhe vowels in kept
UE/)
and cap (/e/) are fror]t vowels (see
/E/-/E/
on p|rge 176), and the votvels in cup (/a/) and cop
(/a/)
are central vowels.r
I
Diaflrams of the lip shapes associated with these vowels are very ellbctive in
teaching their pronunciation. Most students who can duplicate thc lip shapes can
usually pronounce the \.owels accumtel)'.
Some combination of these four vowels is a problem for most students. The
quartet of vowels can be presented as a review alter coverinp; specific pairs, snch as
/t/-/a/
(bed-bad) aJrd
/a/-/o/
(.^s
it7 nut-not).
Activity 5.7 /zl /al /al and /o/
(kepl-cap-cup-cop):
What hugs
you?
Level Adva nced/l nterm ed iate
Worksheet Page 234
Tips Direct students' attention to vowel characteristics that they can see.
Base communicative practice wlth problem vowels on words or
groups
of words which contain the vowels.
Description This activiiy can be used to review
pairs of vowels already practiced.
lf you prefer to use three rather than four vowels, choose the three
that calse your students the most difficulty. In many classes, these
are lel
(as
in cap\, lal
(as
in cup), and /o/
(as
in cop). In groups,
students discuss things that "bug" them.
1. Prepare a llst of
phrases
of bothersome behavrors
(e.g.,
stand ng in l ne).
Choose phrases that include words wiih some of the vowels
(/:/,
lal,lal, or /o/).
The examples below are common complaints.
What bugs you ?
ltl Words: kept lal Words: cap /a/ Words: cup lal Words: cop
cell phones
stqnding in line muggy weather hot weather
tests iraffic
Jams
studying my boss12
telemarketers my landlord rny brqther rny
jqb
Lr
The vovrl in .ol /o/ is also dcscribcd ru a central-bxck r,orcl
(Avc[
rnd lihrlich 1992)
t'Sonre
speaken pronounce the vo\reLtrr rr.$ as b/
.HAPTER 5 Vov/els 179
Actiri1' 5.7 contlnued
2. In class, present the dragram of the four vowels on Worksheet 5./. Dernonstraie
ihe vowels, starting wiih kept and cap. Far kept, keep the opening of the
mouth small and spread the lips a little. For cap, exaggerate the lip spreading
and openness of the mouth, Students repeat. l\4odel cup and cop, keeping the
lips very relaxed. Students repeat. Explain that the lips are relatively spread for
kl and lal; for /a/ and /o/, the llps are relaxed.
3. Demonstrate djfferences in the openness of the mouth. l\lodel cup and kept,
keeping the opening of the mouih small. Students repeat. lvlodel cap and cop,
exaggerating the openness of the moLth. Students repeat. Explain that for /e/
and /e/, the mouth is relatively closed. For lal and lal, the mouth ls open.
4. ln addition to the lip diagrams, you can
present the dlfferences using a grid.
5. Ask each student to say the four words: kepi, cap, cup, and cop. Provide
feed back on pronunciation:
.
Cop sounds too close to cupi Open your mouth more for cop.
.
Cap sounds too close to copi Spread
your lips more for cap. lVove your
tongue front.
.
Cap sounds too close to kept; Open your mouth more Ior cap.
.
Cop sounds too close to cap: Move your tongue back for cop.
On the board, write "What bugs you?" Below that, make four columns
conesponding to the four vowels. Then write the preselecied phrases containing
the target vowels
(or
use the phrases above) in the columns, underlining the
targei vowels. Explain vocabulary
(e.g., "bug" is slang for "bother"). Tell the
class that the phrases on the board describe things that bug people.
lVodel the words and phrases in each column. Students repeat. Provjde
feed back on the vowels.
Students list on a piece of paper three things that bug them. Encourage them
to use words and
phrases
frorn the board or add their own pet peeves (whether
they contain the target vowels or not).
Students work in small groups and compare the things that bug them.
After the group work, ask several students what bugs them, Provide feedback
on
pronunciation
of the target vowels.
6,
7.
8.
9.
10.
180 cHcPrER s vo\^els
[6]
C.nt"ul vo*.lsz /a/ and /a/
(nut-not)
What the Teacher Should Know
/e/ nut. Thc vowel ln nut
(/a/,"sc]n:wa")
is a mid-central r.'orvel.The tongue is in the
center of the mouth, neithef high nor low, front nor back.The lips are sLightly open
and relaxed.The tongue position for ,/a,/ is close to the rest position
of the tongue.
This vowel occurs as a stressed vowel in words like nut and nrtmber and, as
the
yowel
of most unstressed s)4lables, as in "ag6" (ago)
and, "jlz,las"
Cjealous),
makinEi it the most cofirmon
yowel
in English (see
Unstressed Vowels, Word
Stress).1l It is also the pronunciation of the English hesitation word rzl:, used when
speakers need time to think.
In this book, the symbol
/e/
is used for both the stressed vo\rel in number an(I
the unstressed
yowel
in cfgo (see also I)auer 1993), Other authors use the symbol
/A/ for tbe stressed vowel (as
j.n
n mbet m6ther) and
/a/ for unstressed vowels (as
rn
!!Eo,
jealous).In
some NAE dialects, the tongue may be slightly lower for the
stressed version /A/ and slightly higher for the unstressed version
,/a/.
These
differences are unimportant for ESL students.
For many students,
/a/
is a new vowel.Japanese, French, and Spanish students
may conflise lt with
/o/
(as in not). Polish students may confttse it with
//
(as in
net). Greek students may confuse it with /a/ ot /o/.
/o/ not. The l'owel in not
^nd,
father
(/o/)
is a low central or lorn back-central
vowel (Avery
and Ehdich 1992,30).The tongue is in the center or back center of
the mouth;the mouth is open, and the lips are relaxed.
nu.t
/a/
-=.-\
(H{
\ ,-/
not /o/
(
HAprER 5 Vov,tels
"lB1
Students who haye first learned British English may pronounce
/o/ with an
"o"
sound, especially in words where the
.!.owel
is also spelled with the letter
,,o,,
(^s
in poL
lock, sbot, bot, possible,
and, moclern). Native speakers of languages
like Spanish or Polish, which are spelled phonetically,
ma1, use rhe
,,o,,
pronunciation
because of spelling. Students may also confuse the
yowcls
in pol
|
/0/ ) rnd bought \ /J/ t.
Iyhen native speakers ofromance langualaes lenrn that the vowel in worcls like
po'
lock, and moclern is
/o/, they may substirute their native_language
vowel,
producing
a sound that is close ro English
,/a/
(a vowel that is farther forward in the
mouth than English
/o/), so thatpot sounds close to pat.
Spelling of /a/ arrd
/o /
Spelling is a sonrce of mispronunciation
fof
,/a,/, which is spellecl in nanv ways. as
well as for
,/o/.
mother, brolher, monel', love
182
.HqPIER 5 Yore/s
Aetivity 5,8 /a/ and /o/: Prcsenting /a/ and /o/(nut'noo
Levels All
Worksheet Page 234
fip Direct students' attention to vowel characteristics that they can see.
Description Guided by mouth shapes lor lal and /o/, students learn to
pronounce
the difference between the two vowels.
1. Direct students' attention to the mouth shapes of the two vowels on
Worksheet 5.8.
2. l\4odel nut, keeping
your mouth almost closed and your {ips relaxed Students
repeat. Ask students whether
your mouth is more open or closed.
3. lVodel not, exaggeratlng the openness of the mouth and keeping the lips relaxed.
Students repeat. Ask students whether your mouth is more open or closed
4. Ask each student to say nut and noi. Provide feedback on their pronunciationsr
.
ivut sounds too close to nof: Close
your mouth.
(Or,
keep the inside of your
mouth small.)
.
Not sounds too close to nutr Open
your mouth
Activity 5.9 /a/: Luck or skill?
Level lntermediate/Advanced
Worksheet Page 235
Tip Base communicative
practice wiih
problem vowels on words or
groups of words which contain the vowels.
Description This activity
practices the
pronunciation of /a/ in the word luck.
1. lVlake sure students can
pronounce the vowel in /uck
(see
Presenting /a/ and
/o/, above).
2. Write s0me expressions that include the word /uck on the board. lVodel
the expressions.
good luck lots of luck try
your luck down on
your luck
3. Ask students to volunteer other expressions that include the word /ack, and
add them to the board.
CHAPTER 5 Vowels 183
Actiuw 5.9 continued
4. Read the quotations on Worksheet 5.9 to students. Go over vocabulary, but do not
paraphrase the quotes.
Students will do thjs in small groups. Ask each student to
choose a quotation and read it. Provide feedback on the pronunciation
oI luck.
5. ln groups,
each student chooses one or two quotations to paraphrase.
The
group discusses the quotation
and students agree or disagree with it. Students
also d iscuss this
questionl
.
Do you think you are a lucky person, an unlucky person, or that luck isn't
very important in your life? Explain.
6. When the group work has finished, ask individual students to explain the role
luck plays in their lives. Provide feedback on the pronunciation
oI luck.
lffi
Back vowelst /rw/ arld /o/
(boot-book)
V{hat the Teacher Should Know
/rtw/ booL The vowel in boot
/u.w/
is a high, back-tense
yowel.
The body of the
tongue rises up ;Lnd back; the lips round for the beginning of the
yowel
and
continue rounding to the
glide
ending (/w/).
boot
/uw/
Many languages have a pure vowel
/u/
that sounds similar to English
/uw/
(as
in bool).The glide ending of
/uw,/
is difficult for students to hear, and they are likely
to substitute the native-language pure vowel /u,/
(as in French tort meaning "a11").
In vowel-vowel sequences in which,/uw,/ is the first vowel (as in ruin),Ihe
glide ending (/w,/) links to the follov/ing voweL (ru*in) and is easier to hear than
when a consonant follows
/us/
(as in root)-The glide ending is important when a
vowel follows because it creates a new syllable.This occurs both within words (as
'1n
ruin) and acrcss word boundaries as in do- i/).The glide ending of
/uw/
is rarely
reflected in spelling.
ruwin Do" ii.
184
.HAPTER 5 Vo$'els
/u/ book. The vowel n book
(/u/) is a ncw vowel for most students
'/u/
does not
occru in many English words but does occur in some very common words' such as
uctukl. cottltl, sltttuld,
good, book' look, ar'(l lL'otnan'
/u/
is a high back lax vowel Comparecl
to /uw'/'
the tongue is more cenftalized
with /u/,
dropping slightly down ancl forwarcl
from its
Position
for /uw/;
the lips are
less roundecl than thcy are for /uw/
(^s rt]. boot)'
book /u/
Although students may Lrse a pure tcnse
vowel
'/u'l
for both /u/ and /u
'
making
little difference
befween
pairs ltkc Luke ttnd lortk' therc are few minimal
pairs
a""f"i"g ,f-tata two vowels, and the contrast is a low-priority
pronuflciation
topic'
On the other hand, there are some odd-soundiflg
Pronunciations
of /c/
lhat
should be acldress
.cd.In
uromdn' lttoul(l, lttld uvol' vvhere the consoniu.rt /w/
precedes
/u/,
natiYe speakers of
JaP:mese
espcciall-v
and sometimes Korsm' may om.it the inidal
/w/,
pronorncinli uotnalt
^s
'oion ftut is a distracting mispronunciation'
which
stroirt'O t e adciresied
(see Glicles,
page 149, fbr error correction of tllis problem)'
There is native English diatect variation
involving /ww/
antl /u/
In some
clialects,
natiYe speakers
pronounce
rooJ; hoof' ancl rootn with the /uw/
vowel'
while others
pronounce some or all of these worcls with /u/
There is also dialect
yariation
in /u/:
in the word s.fu
,
plt
'
and bull
'
fbr cxample' some native speakers
rrse a vowel close to /a/.
h.tw/
music. IL music, cute, bedut!.
'
union'
unit'
,^nd
uniaersit!' the Yowel
spelle.t with ,r is pronouncecl /yuw'/
ti
Students
who hale learned British English
iluy pr.rno,ln.. nins
^nd
tune
^s
/nyo\vz/
and /t)'uwn/
(instead of the NAE /nuwz/
and /tuwn/).
The British
pronunciation
is acceptable as long as the word is
lecognizable.
Integrating
Gramrnar and Pronunciation'
A common
problem associated
with
the letteru involves
gramntar an'l pronunciation
stu'leflts
may use the afticle an
befofe
words like unitn' uniuersit\'
LtTtit' arrd unique becanse
the words start with
x vowel leffef. Students need to learn that arz is usecl before words beginning
with
a vowel sound
(regardless of the beginning
lctter) Since the first sound in words
like union ot urliuersity
is /y /
(v consonant)'
the article a must be used
(see Articles'
page 61).
li
Although the seluence /lLl\y' is a consonxnl
plLrs vorelscqlrerlce
(/]y' + /u\t) il is includcd herc becal$c its qtlling oltcn leads
sLudenlrj lo co use is pr)nLlncidion witll /u$y'
() \'i'1' versll
cH^prER S Vowels
"lBs
Spelllngs of /tuw/ (boot),
/u/
(book), alad /lrrtw/ (music)
A common spellir.rg of both
/U/
and,
/uw/ is the letter sequence oo (as in book
and boot). This oveflap in spellin!! makes it difficr t for students to predict
pronunciation.
boot, shoot, root, noon, food, school, soon, too
oo (word
ends in silent e) choose, loose, soothe
student, truth,
iunior
u (word
ends in silent e)
June ,
rule, true
,
include
do, who, movie
,
whose
,
lose, move
you,
ItqUp,
through
lev/, grew, threw, flew
sg!t, juice,
frqit
book, look, foot, good
push, fr.rll. put. sugar
would, coulcl, should
cute
,
pure
,
confuse, music
beaury beautituI
186
(H^PIFR
5 vowels
Activity 5.10 Integrating Gammat and Pronunciation: lndetinite Articles beforc u
Level lntermed iate/Advanced
Worksheet None
Tip lntegrate vowel pronunciation with
grammar practice.
Descr:ption This activity can be added to
grammar work on indefinite articles. lt
provides practice choosing between a and an with words beginning
with the letter u.
1. 0n the board, write nouns or noun phrases in which the first word begins with
the letter u. lnclude words where u is pronounced /yuw/
(e.g.,
unit, union)
and words where u represents a vowel
(e.9.,
umbrella, uncle). Before each
noun phrase leave a blank for the indefinite article. Sample words are
provided be low.
umbrella
-
unique idea
-
unit useful tool
university
-
unusual day
-
usual day
-
uncle
2. Ask students to say the words on the board. Write the pronoun you on the board.
Ask a volunteer to come to the board. The volunteer will record the class's
answers to questions 1 and 3 below. Ask the class the following questions:
.
Look at the words beginning with the Ietter u. Circle words where the letter
u sounds like the pronoun you.
.
ls the first sound of the pronoun you and the circled words a consonant
or vowel?
.
When the circled words require an indefinite article, should it be a or an?
Write an indefinite artlcle before each phrase.
.
What is the rule for choosing between a and an? Does it depend on the first
sound of The word or ihe Ii\I lettet?
ffi
Back vow el: /ow/
(go)
what the Teacher Should Knoqr'
The vowel in go (/ow/) is a mid-back tense vowel. The body of the tongue
pushes back and up a little and the lips are rounded; the lips continue rounding
through the vowel to create the glide ending /w,/.
CHAPTR 5 Votyels
187
go
/ow/
+
In many languages, the vowel corresponding to
/oIv/ is a pure vowel,
/o/
(as in
the Spanishpo.4 meaning "little"),
$'hich lacks the glide ending
/w/. Substitutions
of /o/ fot
/ow/ arc a maior source of mispronunciation of this vowel.r5 In words like
folk
and
focus,
the pure-yowel proriunciation produces pronunciations
that can
embarrass students.
Most students do not have difficulty hearing or pronouncing
the glide ending
of
/ow/, once it has been pointed out. They may have difficulty, however,
remembering to pronounce
it since it is rarely reflected in spelling. Spanish students
may be better able to notice the glide ending if the symbol
/ou/
(rather
than
,/ow,/)
is used to represent the
yowel.The
glide ending of
/ow/ is important to teach.
Students may confuse the vowels in boat (/ow/),pot (/o/),
anrJ bougltt (h/),
pronouncing
all three words with a similar vowel. This niay occur because of
spelling (the letter o can represent all three vowels, as in home
/ow/, sbot
/a/,
afld
/oss
D/) or because they have learned British pronunciations ofthese vowels, which
have a more "o"-like
sound thafl the NAI versions. If the
,,o,:like
pronunciation
of
/o/ words (such
as lrot, k)ck, sbop) is not distmcting and does not reduce
intelligibiliry students do not need to "unlearn,'
the British pronunciations.
Some students, however, do use conftlsing pronunciations
with specific pairs
of vrords involvin g
/o/ UJ/)
and
/ow/,like uant and uon ? When both words sound
the same, pronunciation
should be addressed.
15
The pure Iowel/o/ does nol exist in NA! xcepl in ,r few erpresions. such as d rc fi$tpaft al0h oh /a'tau/. This warning is also
writttn 'Uh-oh," and
"uh"
is pnnounced with /e/.
188
IHAPTER 5 Vo\rels
Activity 5.'!1 /ow/ or /o/;
"o"
Spellings
level lntermediate/Advanced
Worksheet None
Tip Teach exceptional or confusing spellings associated with vowel
sounds.
Descript:on This activity targets words where ihe letter o is pronounced /ow/ or
/o/. Students sort the words according to the
pronunciation of the
vowel. Teachers should look through
past
readings or vocabulary that
studenis have covered and select words where the stressed vowel is
spelled with o
(as
in possible, stolen) and pronounced either /ow/ or
/o/. The activity can be made more challenging by including words in
which the letter o is pronounced lal
(as
in moneD.
1. Prepare a list of words where the stressed vowel is spel ed with o and
pronounced either /ow/ or /o/. The sample words below, where the o spelling
is pronounced /o/, are ones my students often mispronounce.
possible
cold
potent
folk
gr0celres
nqtice
gone
modern bone
bother
shop
problem
rotten
a lone
lost
m0nster
college
stole
most hold
2. Write the words on the board or
present them ln a handout. Add two column
heads to the board that corresponds to the two
pronunciat ons.
/oM
(go)
/o/
(father)
cuAPrER 5 Vowels
189
Actiui1t
5. 1 I continue/l
lAnswers: /a/ wordsr p6ssible,
m6dern, shop, gone,
bother, pr6blem,
r6tten,
lost, m6nster, college; /ow/ words: cold, p6tent,
folk, most, n6tice, groceries,
hold, bone, a lone, stolel
3. IVodel the words. Students repeat.
4, Using the handout (or
copying the column headings onto a piece
of paper),
students write each word under one of the columns, according to the
pronunciation
of the vowel. This can be done singly or in
patrs.
5, Ask a volunteer to come to the board, The class tells the volunteer which words
belong in the two columns.
6. Elicit from the class other words spelled with o and clarify questions
about
pronunciation.
Your students may volunteer words that are pronounced
with
vowels other than /ow/ or /o/. ln that case, model the pronunciation
and
explajn that lowl and lol are common pronunciations
of this spelljng but not
the on ly ones.
ffi
BackVowelt
/t/
(caugttt)
Y/hat the Teacher Should Know
The vowel
/r/
(as in caught, bought, and lala) is a low, back, slightlv rouncled
vowel.There is a great deal of dixlect variation in how native speakers pronounce
this
yowel,
what words thcy pronounce it in, and whether they pronounce
it at all.
Many native speakers do not use
/1,/ at alljinstead, they use the
yowel
in cot (/o/).
These speakers do not make a pronunciation distinction between paks Like caught_
cot and lctn-la (the
musical note). In NAI dialects that distinguish caugbt and cot,
h/ m y have more or less of an ',o,' sound. In addition, speakers who contrast
D/
,Ind
/o/
(as
in cauglJt-cot) do not alwa_vs pronounce
/J/ in the same words; some
speakers, for example, use
/J/
(as in dog)
y/hile
others use
/o,/.
Students who have learned British English may pronounce
this vowel so that
it sounds close to
/ow/
(i.e.,
lau sounds like
*low").
if this pronunciation
is
confusing, instruct students to
liil/e
this
yowel
more of an
.,ah,'
sound.
Teachers whose dialects do not include
,/J/ need not teach this vowel. Students,
however, shor:ld bc aware of its use in dialects in the Northeast and in other pafts of
the United States and Canada. Reco(lings of dialects can be fourd on the American
Dialect Society's Web site, www.americandialect.orfa, or on the University of Kansas's
International Diale cts of English A-rchi\.e Web site, http://web.ku .eclu/ideal .
E
E
190 cH^PrER 5 vowels
Spellings of /r/
ERR0R C0RRECTION: zarz sounds like
"low"i
bougltt sounds like
"boat"'
Instruct students to pronounce lau
(or bougllt) with an "ah" sound instruct them not
to round their lips too much when they say words like bougbL lalu, ot
Pquse
ffi
otnn norrgs, /ay/
(bigtr), /aw/
(hont), and /oy/
(boy)
v/trat the Teacher Should Know
The vowets in rrgh /^v/,hou /alv/,
and boy /oy/
are diphihongs;these
vowels
are also known as the pain Yowels-Ay! ow! oyl
Although both diphthongs
(/ay/,/'dw/,/oy/) and glide vowels (,/iyl
[see],
/ey/
tstryl, /ow/ [so],
xnd
/\w/ [sue])
encl in glides' the glide ending in diphthongs is
easier for students to hear than in glide vowels.The distance the tongue travels in
moying between the two pafts of 2 diplrthong
(for example
,
between /^/
and /y/
in
,/a,y/)
is greater thari the clistxnce involYed with
glide vowels
(for example, between
/i)
and /y/
in /i)'/).
The greater distance creates a larller perceptlral difference,
making the two patts of a diphthong easy to hear'
Diphthongs /ay,
aw, oy,/ clide Yowrls /iy.
ey. ow. ttw/
(
Lvi\
rY"
pause, author, caution, llqndry
law,
jaw, dawn, draw
coffee, off, on, song, cost
t4!k, always, salt, call
t5
The consonalls /s, z, r,/ arc eraltplcs 0l contln,lan$. \iifi conti ltutls. thc ,rir is obstructed but nol comllerly blocked
cH^prrR S Vowels
19'l
There are some dialect differences in the pronunciation
of diphthongs. Some
Southemers pronounce the glide ending of diphthongs weakly in informal speech;for
example, o/ may sound similar to "ole"
or
,,all,',
and time may x]iltnd a little Iike
.Tom.,,
Few students have problems
hearing or pronouncing
English diphthongs.
Chinese students may weaken the glide ending of
,/ay,/
(and to a lesser extent
/aV)
when these vowels are followed by nasd consonzurts, as in time or count. Ther-
pronnnciation
of time, fot example, may soru]d close to Tont (similar
to the
Southerners' pronunciation).
The phonetic symbol
,rai,/ is more effective than
/avl ir.r
efrof coffection of this problem.
Diphthongs pfoyide an oppoftunitF ro pfactice r'owel-r'owel sequences and
the correct s]4labification of words liirie science (sci|ence).
The
lilicle
ending of the
diphthong acts as a linking sound, joining
to the following vowel to create the next
svllable'. scilence.
Activity 5,12 Vowel-vowel sequences: Fields of Etudy
level lntermediate/Advanced
Worksheet None
Tip Base communicative practice
with problem vowels on words or
groups
of words that contain those vowels.
Description This activity practices joining
diphthongs
Uay, aw, oyl) or glide
vowels
(/iy,
ey, ow, uw/) to a following vowel
(vowel-vowel
sequences) in ihe
context of fields of study: biology, psychiatry,
meteorology. Because
of its connection with science, this topic is appropriate for lTAs or
students in academic English programs.
1. 0n the board, write words containing a diphthong or glide
vowel fo lowed by
another vowel: soctety, psychiatry,
zoology.
2. l\4odel the words and ask students how many syllables are in each word
(there
are four syllables in socivety, zo*ology, and psychlatry).
Students rnay
erroneously identify soclety a foursyllable word, as a three-syllable word because
they fail to hear or pronounce
the glide /y/ which creates the additronal syl/able:
socttety. lxplain that when two adjacent vowel letters represent different vowel
sounds, the two vowels are in different syllables and the syllables are joined wjth
an unwritten lyl
(e.9.,
socivety,
rylr!9u
or twt
(e.g.,
e-ggCI
3. Write a superscript y or ry between the vowel-vowel sequences on the board and
model the words again, emphasizing the dtfferent syllables. Students repeat.
4. Elicit from students names of other scientific fields and/or terms
(for
example,
meteorology, geology,
nuclear medicine, sociology, political
science, radiology)
and add them to the board. Not aIl words must have vowel vowel sequences.
5. In pairs, students discuss which fields are lrkely to have the hlghest paying
1obs.
192
:HAPTER 5 Vowels
ERR0R C0RRECTI0N: Chinese students pronounce tirne like "Tor ,"
arrd explain
as 'explen."
1. Chinese students are unaware that they are weakening
glide endings befofe /n/
or
/n/
("s in time, explqin\.
2. Write the mispronounced word on the board, underlining the problem Yowel
( e.g
,
tlme,
fi,nd,
exptglln, trqln).under the Yowel write the phonetic symbol /ail
(for
time an<lfinD or
/ei/
(fot exptain ?;nd train).^lelJ the student that she is not pro-
flouncing dre second part of the vowel sound strongly enough whef' /m/
ot
/,/
fol'
lows. Model the correct and incorrect pronunciations.
3. Alternatively, model the word without the final nasal consonant; say "tie" instead of
"dme," "tray" instead of "tlain," and "explay" instead of "explain." Ask the student
to repeat the shortened word seYeral times,
iust
as you said it.Then ask the student
to say the shortened word (e.g., "tie") and add,/na/ or /
.
ffi
"-aoto..d
Vowels and z-colored vowels
strat the Teacher Should Know
,R-Colored Vowels. R-colored vowels ere Yowels followed by /r/
(e
8.,
are, or, ber)'
The tip of the tongue cuds up and slightly back
(retroflexiofl) at the end of the
vowel and alters (colors) the sound ofthe vowel These vowels are difficult and their
mispronunciation can make wortls unclearThey should be taught at all levels
There are clialect differences in the pfonunciation of some r-colored vowels'
Some speakers from the Noftheast pfonounce merry and Maryl with the same
vowel
(/meriy/) btt many with a different Yowel
(/meriy/) A sm2tller number of
speakers nake a three-way clistinction:J44ry /meyrry/
'
merry /meriy/'
and marry
/meriy/.
Most spezLkers of NAE, however, pronounce all three words the same, with
the vowel of merry.
Teachers may wonder whether retroflexion with these Yowels must be taught,
since there are r.less dialects of Engtish
(British English ancl some dialects of NAI)'
Howeyer, native speakers of these dialects do not simply "drop" /r/'so
that
four
atTd
.HAprcR S Vowels
193
ifog
for example
,
sound the same. The vowel which remains in r-less dialects is
different from its counterpart before other sounds.Thus, to achieve an accurare /-
less pronunciation
of thc vowels ii hear
/ft/,
bait
/Er/, trer
/ar/. haftt
/o ,
more
/or/,a'17d tour
/ur/,
tlte student needs to alter her pronunciation
of six vowel sounds
(the r-colored versions of
/r, r, a, o, o, u,/). Learnin!! to pronounce a following
/r,/ is
an easier task itnd produces the reqrdred "cok)ring"
of tlte l.owel. In addition. even
in rless dialects, final
/r/ is pronounced as a linkir]g consonant when a vowel
follows, as rn heq_ansuter.
.lenkins
(2002)
irlso recornmends teaching the
pfonunciation
of
/r/ aftcJ these six vowel sour]ds, rather than their r-less
cor-lnterparts (see Lingua Franca Cofe, page
9).
Pedaliogicall,v, the three mosr important and difficult r-colored vowels are
/ar/
(.as
in lser),
/or/
(as in bard), and,
/or/
(^s in rzore). Mispronunciations
of these
vowel sounds are especially distorting. For many students, the vowel in lter is the
most difficult.This \,.owel is really a unitary
yowel
eyen tlroulah it is represented wirh
two phonetic symbols (,/arl).r7 The spellings ot
/ar/, /or/,and, /arl also o\Iedap and
afe anotlrer source of mispronunciation. R{css pfonunciations of thc vowels in t,eat,
bair, and tour (/n/,
/tr/, /ur/ )
are not as difficult to understand.
Certain sounds following
/r/, especiallv
/n/ and /1/, can make the r-colored
vowels more difficult. Students who ltave learned to pronolmce the r-colorecl
\.owels in words like lJurt and
first
may still ha\.c difliculty
q/ith
learn, burn, and
turn. One of the most difficr t sequences of sounds is that in u'ort(l and girl.'Ihe
pronunciation of these words is learned morc easily when thel/ a1e presented as
two-syllable words:
,/warald,/ and
,/garal/.
'the
word squirrel, with the same
sequence, is spelled as a two-syllable word. Pronouncing u.torld ,,nLl gid as t:wo
syllable words gives
students more time to m'tke the articrjlxtory chanlle from/r,/ to
/l/. Early has a similar sequence, but is easier to pronounce because
,/l/ begins the
last syllable.
Spellings of /a
,
/ar/, and
/ot/.
Spellings of /arl.
rt
Other slnbols for this rowel lnclude 4-/ $,hen the lo\rcI rs
gressed
({s
in ,?)2, and /a-l \rhen fie vo$,el is unstrssed (as
in ,1qqa).
her, were
,
serve. alelt
hurt, turn, mulder, chqlch
filst, circle, dirty, birrhday
194
:HAPTER 5 vowels
SpellJngs of /crl.
Spellings of /orl.
The r-colordd vowels /at/, /a ,^nd /or,/
are acqlrired gradually They warrant a
fllll pronunciation lesson, in addition to error correction and review. R-colored
vowels should not be taught as part of a lesson on beginning ,/f/
(for example, the
13
Sonre speaken pronoun ce Ihe
'tawel
n loumtlnent ?s lat/ .
com, store, wore, moming
dgq1, floor
four, mourn
cHAprER S Vowels
195
/f/ in rou, red, and correct).Teaching
approaches for,/r/ alter vowels (i.e.,
r-colored
vowels) and
/r/ in beginning position (as
in rou) atf. different. and the
pronunciation
problems
associated with the two positions
of
h/ arc also different
(for
teaching beginning
^/,
see Consonants, page 1.i1).1e
Z-colored Vowels. Vowels that occur before
,4/ at the end of a wo rd, (as
it all) ot
syllable (as
ln allaays) are /-colored vowels. The vowel is pronounced
with a short
glide
ending,
/a/.2o
feel
sell
cold
/kow.ld/
Z-coloring of vowels is a topic for accent reduction and polishing,
and does
not have to be covered in most classes. Howeye! students may notice that a vowel
before
/l/ sounds different from irs
.rcgular,'
pronunciation
before other
consonants.
When working with minimal palrs like
feet_Jill,
where
yowels
occur
before
,/l/, students may comment that the vowels sound different from the vowels
in leaue-liue. The teacher can explain that the vowels sound a little different
because of the
/l/ sorurct. In some textbooks,
/l/ coloring may be part of a lesson
on "diltk
/l/"
(see
/l/,page 144).
Activity 5.13 R-Colored vowel*
presenting
r-colorcd vowels /ot/
(arc),
/at/
(he.),
and /or/
(o.)
fiifv
lseeV
level Ail
Worksbeet Page 235
Tip Use hand gestures
to reinforce the pronunciation
of /r/ after vowels.
Description Students learn to pronounce
/r/ after vowels by using a combination
of diagrams showing articulation and hand gestures
that mimic
retroflexion of the tongue"
1. Using the diagram on the worksheet, direct siudents,attention
to the cross-
sectional diagram of /r/. N4odel are. Explain the pronunciation
of /r/: The tip of
the tongue turns up and back a lit e.
(continued
on fiext page)
19ltaching
rchoflexion h-ihe pedagogical locus for the /-colorcd vowels. for beginring //, rchof]exion and the absence ofconta.t
betwen the tongue tip and the top of the mouth arc both impoftnt.
'zo
A1temativel11 tlrc /a/ glide can be consjdercd part of the
,'dark
/,,
(see
/l/, Consonants).
196 :HAPTER 5 vowels
Actiuit! 5. 1 3 continued
2. Use hand gestures to reinforce the retroflexed movement
(up
and back) of the
tip of the tongue. This gesture is also useful for feedback and error correction.
As you say are, start with your hand flat, palm facing up, and curl your
fingertips up. Tell students that
your hand represents the tongue.21
3. Tell siudents to make a long "ahhhh" sound and then slowly turn the tip of the
tongue up and back
(this
is the
pronunciation of are). Use the hand gesture as
a visual model. Students may be able to pronounce /r/ more easily if they close
their eyes and visualize the tongue tip turning up and back,
4. Ask each student to say are. Use the hand
gesture to re nforce pronunciation.
5.
6,
Direct students' attention to the diagrams of the mouth shapes for lorl
(are),
larl
(her),
and lorl
(or).
Remind students that inside the mouth, the tongue tlp
turns up and back a little.
IVodel are again. Explain that the rnouth is open. Inside, the tip of the tongue
turns up and back. Students repeat. Use the hand gesture to reinforce
pronunciation of /r/.
7. IModel her. Explain that the mouth is nearly closed. lnside, the tip of the
tongue turns up and back. Students repeat, Use the hand gesture to reinforce
pronunciation of /r/.
8. l\4odel or. Explain that the lips are rounded, Inside, the tip of the tongue turns
up and back. Students repeat. Use the hand gesture to reinforce pronunciation
oI lrl .
9. Ask each student to say are, her, and or. Provide feedback on pronunciation.
214
n:riewer suggests thalneadng a rcd milten adds an eLement oifun lo the prcscntxtlon.
CH \PIER 5 V,,$els
197
Activity 5.14 fhe Herc and Now
level Eegjnning
Wotksheet None
fip Use hand gestures
to reinforce the pronunciation
of /r/ after vowels.
Description This activity practjces
/r/ after vowels in words referring to classroom
objects. The act,vity should follow presentation
of /ar/,larl, and lorl
but
js
not restricted to words containing only these vowel sounds.
1. Ask students to look around the room and volunteer words for the things
they see.
2. Write the words on the board and circle those that have /r/ after a vowel;
examples include door, floor, blackboad, purse, paper,
shirt, skirt, chair, and
water
(bottle).
Students practice
the words.
3. Provide feedback on pronunciation
of /r/, using the hand gesture
described
on p. 196.
CONCLUSION
The pronunciation
ofyowels is difficr t for students partly
because English has
a relatively large number of vowels.Teachers should focus on high-frequency vowels
and vowel contrasts, such as the front and central vowels. Among those, nonnative
Engish-speaking teachers should select vowels that they pronounce
accurately and
feel comfoftable teaching. English vowels are also diflicult because of confusing ancl
inconsistent spellings.
\We
have provided some examples of actiyities which help
eliminate "spelling mispronunciations,', by focusing students on exceptional
spellings. Finally, vowel articulation is difficult for teachers to describe and for
students to
yisualize.We
haye proyided some vowel presentation activities in which
teachers provide visual clues to vowel pronunciation. Hand
Flestures
that mimic the
pfonunciation
of ,/r/ after vowels are effective in presenting and giving
feedback on
these clifficult vowels. The distinctiye mouth shapes associated with some
yowels
also simpli8. the task of presenting pronunciation.
In the classroom, students shoulcl have enough opportunity to gain skill with
a particular
vowel (or yowel
contmst) in controlled activities. Once students are able
to pronounce
a vowel reasonablv accurately in contfolled practice, the teacher can
mo\.e to mofe communicatiye practice by selecting a key word or set of words
containing the vowel to establish a context fof less-scripted speaking.
ACTIVITY WORKSHEETS
The following pages provide directions for
using the worksheets with the activities
suggested in Tips
for
Teaching
Pronunciation. The x/orksheet numbers
match the activity numbers; if an activity is
not listed below. no worksheet is needed
for that activity. If a worksheet has
qustions
for students to answer, th
answers follow the directions. In order to
save pape! teachers may elect to use the
blackboard, slides, or transparencies to
present worksheets intended for the entife
class. Materials intended for only one
member of a pair (or
one team of students)
should be provided as paper handouts.
Activity l.L Make a copy of Worksheet 1.1
for each student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to the paragraph
on the audio CD (trdck
2). Then have
students complete the trivia quiz.
Ans.oers: 1. a; 2. c:
3.
d;4. c; 5. b; 6. a: 7. c: B. d.
Activity 1.2: Make a copy of Worksheet 1.2
for each student in the class.
Actiyity 1.3: Make half as many copies of
each schedule as there are students in the
class. Give half the students Schedule A and
half Schedr e B. Pair up students with
different schedules. If
]'ou
choose, you can
substitute different programs for those on
the schedule to reflect TV shows vour
students like to watch.
Activity 1.4: Make half as many copies of
each map as there are students in the class.
Give half the students Map A and half Map
B. Pair up students with ditTerent maps.
Activity 1.6: Make a copy of !trorksheet 1.6
for each stuclent in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to the audio CD
(track
3). Have students work
jn
pairs to
decide which came first.
Arasuters: cell pbones, coml.)utcr games, desktops,
e-mail, bard dir.Jes, searclr engines, confbtence
calk, liuer tu'anspl"1nts,
ftnperprinting.
Activity 1.7: Make enough copies of
Worksheet 1.7 for half the studeltts. Cut the
sets apart and distdbute Set I to half the
class and Set 2 t() the other half'
Activity 1.8: Make a copy of Worksheet 1.ll
for every student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to tlte audio CD
(track.1).
Ansuters: 1.f
(tbe);2.
c (tbe);.).
b (the);4..1 (the);
i.b
(the):6..i (notbing):7.k (the);8.I (Jout);9. g
(your); 10.d (an); 11.e (an); 12.i (a).
Actiyity 1.9: Make a copy of W'orkshet 1.9
for every student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to the words on
the audio CD (track
5).
Activity 1.10: Make enough copies of
\Vorksheet 1.10A for evcry student. Have
students read along as they listen to the
audio CD (track 6). Nlake enough copies of
Worksheet 1.10B for half the studeqts. Cut
1.108 ir half so every student gets one set
of questions. The answers are part of the
worksheet.
Actiyiry 1.11: Make a copy of Worksheer
1.11 for cveq. student. Students work in
pairs to answers the questio[s.
Ans.4)ers: L the I95Os;2.tbe 193Os:3.tbelate
192os and earl! 193Os;1. the 1910s; i. tbe
1960s;6. the 1930s and 191Os;7. tlre 199Os;
B. tbe 196Os;9. tbe 198Os: lO.tlte 1970s: 11.tbe
l92Os:12.the 1950s.
Activity 2.1: Make a cop_v of Worksheet 2. I
for each student in the class. Haye students
read alonEi as they listen to the audio CD
(trdck
7).
Activity 2.4: Make a copy of Worksheet 2.4
for each sudent in the class. Have students
read along as thy listen to the audio CI)
(track
9).
A su)ets: 1. h;2. c;
3..l;4.f;5. e;6. a;7. b; a. g.
Activity 2.6: Make a copy of Worksheet 2.6
for every student in the class. Have students
"199
200
AppENDtx A Activity worksheets
read along as they listen to Part A of the
audio CD track 10. Pause the audio, then
continue listening to Part B (track 1 1)
when ready.
Activity 2.7, Marke enough copies of
Worksheet 2.7 for half the class. Give half
the students Grid A and half the students
Grid B. Students with different grids will
pair up and work together
Activity 2.9t Make a copy of \trorksheet 2.9
for each student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to the audio CD
(track 12).
Actlvity 2.10: Make a copy of worksheet
2.10 for every sudent in the class. Have
students read along as they listen to the
audio CD (track 13).
Ansuers: 1. utben;2. and;
3. Or;4. if;5. that;
6. tbat 7. hut; B. than;9. as; lO. as; I 1. wben;
12. wben.
Actiyity 2.13r Make a copy of Worksheet
2.13 for each student in the class. Hayc
students read along as they listn to th
audio CD (track 14).
Actiyity 3.1: Make a copy of Worksheet 3.1
for each student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to the audio CD
(track 15).
Activiry J.2: Prepare half rs mdn] copie\
of each chart as there are students in the
class. The categories of comparison in the
charts can be changed to reflect
)'our
students' situations. For example, if most of
your students work, the information under
"Location" might be specified as closeness
to work rather than closeness to school.
cive half the students Chart A and half the
students Chaft B. Students with different
charts will pair up and work together
Activity 3.3: Make a copy of \t9orksheet 3.3
for each student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen the dialogue on
the audio CD (track 16).
Activity
3.7:
Make a copy of Worksheets
3.7A and 3.7B
for each student in the class.
Students will read along as they listen to
the dialogue on the audio CD (rack l7).
Actiyity 3.8r Make a copl' of Vorksheet 3.8
for each student in the class
Activity 4.3: Make a copl of Wo*sheet 4.3
for each student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to the audio CD
(track 18).
Answers: pretU)
;
ma tter: rneeting; inrlted: Wbat
A
geftinll; later; betler;W)at do.
Activity 4.4: Make half as many copies of
Vorksheet 4.4 as there are students in the
class. Give Chart A to hall the class and
Chart B to the other half. Students with
different charts will pair up and work
together.
Actiyity 4.5: Make one copy of Worksheet
4.5 for each student in the class.
Activity 4.7: Make a copy of worksheets
4.7A. J.n(I1t.7B for each student in the class.
Distribute Workslleet 4.7,4. before the
activity; have students read along as they
listen to the audio CD (track 19). Distribute
\trorksheet 4.78 at the conclusion of the
activity. Explain that students may want to
keep the rules where they can easily refer
to them.
4nsrrers.' r=ft\ t uo rd s.
fi.(
e.\pe n si ue. m k.
Xerox, expdnd, tdxes, experl, dxiom,
tttd.ximuln, context; x=gz uords: exhibit,
evtminq eltist, exbibition, execLrtiue,
exhausted, exdtn, execute; x=z uords: Xerox.
Activity 4.8: Make half as many copies of
Vorksheet 4.8 as there are students in the
class. Give half the class
'Itam
A questions
and half the class Team B
questions.
Tedm A Ansuters: L relnember: 2. rwle:
3.
fural; 1. red; 5. ra.lio; 6. riuers; 7. rug;8. utritu.
Tearn B arrswers: L rlgbt; 2. relatiues;
3.
repdif;
1. (d) ring: 5.
(a)
rcoJ;
().
roses;7. retunx;8. to
Actiyity 4.9. Make a copy of worksheet
.{.9
for each student in the class.
Activity 4.11: Make a copy of Worksheet
4.11 for eaclr student in the class. Hav
students read along as they listen to the
audio CD
(track 20).
P.t t 2 Anstuers: 9. aduise; 10. pig; I 1. rice;
12.peas; 13. b.1ck; 11. (a)
use; 1 5. haqe; 16. set.
lr(fivity 4.12r Ma.ke a copy of Worksheet
4.12 for ezch student in the class.
Actlylty
5.1:
Make a copy of Vorksheet 5.1
for each student iri the class-
Activity 5.2: Make a copy of \forksheet 5.2
for each student in the class, or simply
pfesent minimal pairs relevant to
students'leyel.
Lcttulty
5.4r
Make a copy of Worksheet 5.4
for each student in the class. Have students
read along as they listen to the audio CD
(track 21).
Arrswers:
/A/ uords: bead, steal, kq,, cheap,
receiue, people, beliew; /eJ// utor*: break,
W
tbq, take, eigbt, baw stays; /e/ unds: brcakflst
instead, medl.lne, says, /tta/rJ), egain,
frierul.
AppENDtx A Activity worksheets
201
Activity 5.5: Make a copy of Worksheet 5.5
for each student in the class.
Activiry
5.72
Make a copy of Vorksheet 5.7
for each student in the class.
Actiyity 5.8: Make a copy of Worksheet 5.8
for each student in the class.
Activity 5.9:
Make a copy of \forksheet 5.9
for each student in the class.
Acttvtty 5.13: Make a copy of !florksheet
5.13 for each student in the class.
202
AppENDtx A Activity wotksheets
($
wonrsrnnt r.r PRTMARY sTRESS: Travel season Trlvla
Shoulder Season
The cost of traveling depends on when you trayel and where you travel. High season is
the most expensive time to travel. Low season is the least expensive time to travel. Shoulder
season is in between.
If you don't want to spend a lot of money, shouldet season is the best time to travel.
Airfares and hotels aj:e not so expensive, and the weather is not usually too hot or too
cold. Fof example, if you'rc tfaveling to
Japan
from the United States, the shoulder season is
in winter
1. You want to go to South Africa. v/hen is the shoulder seasofl?
a.
January
to April
b. Summef
c. October and November
d. $finter
2, You want to
go
to Australia. When is the shoulder season?
a. Summef
b. May to
July
3. You want to go to Turkey. when is th shor der season?
a. Winter c.
July
and August
b. March d. Fall
4. You want to go to Rio de
Janeirc
in Brazil. when is the shoulder season?
c. Summe r
d. September to December
5. You want to go to Italy. When is the shoulder season?
c.
June
and
July
d.
January
to March
6. You want to go to Mexico. Vtrefr is the shoulder season?
a.
June
and
July
c. Fall
b. February to April d. Winter
go on a safari* in Kenya. When is the shoulder season?
a. February
b. Winter
a. Summef
b. Fall
c. Spring
d. Octobef
c.
June
to Septembr
d. Wintef
7. You want to
a. Spring
b. February and March
8. You want to go to Costa Rica. When is the shoulder season?
a. Srunmef
b.
July
and August
c. Winter
d. Mid-october to mid-December
*
A trip to see wild animals lik elephants and lions.
Reprinted from rvorthstal 1, Rea.liltg
qndr
ritil?g b,v
Joho
tseaunont, Pcarson Longllran,
20Oc). pagc I
ti.
Uretl with pcrmi.iion.
lind[ergn Did It!
WORI(SHF,F,T
-I.2
Paris Exprcss Ng'ys-May 27, 1927
t PARIS, FRANCI, One week ago,
Charles Lindbergh was just a handsome,
zs-year-old ainnail pilot from a small
town in the United States.
"Ibday
he is the
most famous man in the world and the
most importart man in the history of
flying.
: Last week, Lindbergh flew solo iiom
New York to France. He i4'as the first
pe$on to Ily non-stop across tbe Atlantic
Ocean alone. He also set the record for
the longest non-stop flight.
.l Lindbergh took offon his historic flight
on May 20th at 7152 A.M. People called
him "'lhe Flying Fool." On that day, other
pilots in the contest waited in New York
because the weather was bad. Lindbergh
did not wait. He took flve sandwiches, a
bottle of water, a notebook, a pen, and a
compass. He didn't even have a radio. All
App[Nr?/\ A A.tiyit!, tyL]rlsh.r/s
203
PRIMARY STRESS: Integrating Stress,
Vocabulary, and Reading
he heard was the sound of the wind and
the noise flom the engine of thc plane.
He was in the air all alone \,\'ilh his
thoughts, his hopes, and his fears.
; After 3,610 miies, 33 hours and 30
minutes, and no slcep, Lindbergh landcd
in Paris on May 21st. At that mornent, his
life changed forever. Thcre wele 15U,000
excited people waiting to greet him. The
international media wcre also there.
Photographers and newspaper reporters
wanled lo be the flrst to tell the story
about l-indbergh. When he got out of h:s
plane and saw all the excjtemcnt, hc
kneh' that his life $'ould never be the
same again.
5 When he beSan lhis dangerous tlight,
he was a quiet young man from a quiet
town. Thjs mo.ning, "Luck,v l-ilid\"' letl
I)arls as an international hero.
204 ApptNDtx A Acriv/tt' vvorl-sheets
WORI$HEET 1.3 L]I\ISTRTSSED VO\I'EI-S AIID VOWEL REDUCTION:
Today, Tonigltt, and Tomor"rou
TONIGHT TOMORROW NIGHT
8:00 Ios, 8:00 l'r'ler2d.,i (rerun)
g:OO
Ameican ldol 9:OO
5:O0 Live coverage of 10:00
the presideflt's addrss
TOMGHT TOMORROW NIGHT
1:O0 lron Man
(novie)
8:00
3:00 Enro Cup Firals:
9:00
Germany vs. Spain
10:00 NBA Play-of1s: 1O:OO 2O/2O
Nets versus Suns
WORKSHEET 1.4
AppENDrx A Activity Wotksheets
205
SECOI\DARY STRESS IN 1\[[]MBERST How Many
People Live at 44Maifl. Street?
lAll StudentA map
The map shows apaitnent buildings on Mdn Stret, Park Ilne and First Street.The numbers in rhe
buildtng shov how mary popl live ln tlat buildtng. If a building is empty, ask
lour
prrlner the
qusdon below aid wite the answer on the map.
tr
n
E
E
How many people liv at
tr
tr
EI
@
n
(address)
44 Mah Stret
42 Main Strt
36 Main Street
35 Main Street
46Pal*Lane
32 Pr* Ilne
30 PaIt Irne
24 Pffk Iln
43 First Stret
37 Flrst Stieet
33 Fkst Street
22 First Street
!:1
Et
F
z
n
tr
E
n
n
H
z
rl
ll
F
'4
e
FT
F
*
tr
IA2l
Studot B map
The mrp shows aparunnt buildings on Mah Stet, Palt Ilne ard l1lst Shet.The numbers in the
buildiry show how tuy people li! Ln that builalha. IJ a buildiig is mptt ark your partner the
questton blow and mite the ans*,er on the map.
n
@
n
n
Hoq/ many people live at
tr
tr
tr
tl
@
(address)
44 Main Stret
42 Main StrEet
36 Maln Stret
35 Main Stret
20 Mdn Street
46 P,rk lr
32 ?arklane
30 Park Iae
43 Fist Sheet
37 Fist Stret
33 First St eet
22 First Street
2l First Street
F
Fl
Fl
&
F
z
tr
n
E
tr
E
z
I
I
&
F
Fi
H
F
!r
206
Appr:NDix A Activity worksheets
@
womsrmrr r.6 coMporlllDS: v4rich came Flrst?
which came first?
.
cell phones-iPods
.
computer games-Web sites
.
laptops-desktops
.
e-mail-podcasts
.
hard drives-flash drives
.
YouTube-search engines
.
conference calls-webcams
.
heart transplants-live r transplants
.
Ilingerprinting- blood typing
WORKSHEET 1.7 \'ERBS AND NOTTNS WITH PREPOSITIONAL
PREFD(ES: Why Do Women Outlive Men?
women outlive men because thy experience less work-related strss than men.
rfomen
have a more positive outlook and more practical goals than man
Men are more likely than women to underestimate the dangers of risla behavior
In most societis. men oute?rn women and are the main source of farnily income .
(f womsnnnr r.s
1. US is
UK is
3. FBI is
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
CIA is
IRS is
IBM is
UN is
EIA is
DOB is
MO is
ATM is
\{P is
AppENDtx A Activity Wotksheets
2O7
ABBREVIATIONS: Integfating
Pronunciation and Grammar
a. "modus operandi," a Latin tefm used in police work fof
the method a particular criminal uses in his crimes.
b. the tax collecting agency of the United States
goYefirment.
c. a sovereign state that includes England, Scotland,lvales,
and Northern Ireland.
d. the intelligence gathering agency of the United Stares
goYernment.
e. a machine that giYes cash.
f. the country located between Canada and Mexico.
g. the date and year a person was bom.
h. the police force of the United Stats govefllmenr.
i. a "Yery important person."
i.
a large producer of computefs and other technology.
k. an international organization that aims to maintain
wodd peace and solve wodd problems.
l. the time a flighr is expecled to arrive.
2.
208
AppENDtx A Activity wotksheets
@
womsunnr r.9 srREss wlfir suFFD(ES: wtrat's Presidential?
-iaU-wal
1. presidential
2. intellectual
3. controversial
-ian
4. politician
5. musician
6. academician
chocolate
Yegetable
miserable
beverages
practically
-ical
T.logical
8. identical
9. ecological
-ic
10. idalistic
11. realistic
12. energetic
evening
federal
separate
(adj)
favorite
accidentally
-lty
1 3 . responsibility
14. integdty
1 5 . passivity
-ious/eous
16.luxurious
17. iunbitious
18. courageous
farnily
general
every
cornfortable
awtully
@
womsrmnT 1.104 DrsAppEARrNG SvLLABLES: came
aspfin
tempefature
interest
laboratory
naturally
I
1. What are coffee, tea, sodas, and
iuice?
2. What's a singular adiective that means "all"?
3. What do you take to get fid of a headache?
4. $fhere do scietrtists work?
5. What's a word for "early night'?
6. Your mother, fathef, bfothers, and sisters-what are they?
7.
Iphat's
a word tha: means "the thing you like best"?
8. Bfoccoli, peas, carrots-what are they?
9.
ll(&at's
a wofd that means "very"?
1O. What's a word that means "almost"?
AppENDtx A Activity worksheets
2O9
WORIGHEET 1.108 DISAPPEARING SYLI-{BLES: came
lAnss'ers:
1. bevreges; 2. evry;
3. aspran; 4. (in) labr3tories; 5. e\.ning;
6.
(youf)
fafi y; 7. favret; 8. vegtables;9. awfly; 10. practaklyl
1. State government
is one leyel of govffrment. What's rhe highest ievel?
2. $fha:'s a s/o:d that means "very unhappy"?
3. What's a word for the money you earn on your sayings?
4. What's an adiective that means the opposite of"together"?
5. What's a word that means the opposite of 'on purpose"?
6. The weather report tells you about this.
7. What's the opposite of"artificia1ly"?
8. What's th opposite of"specific"?
9. This is ahe traditional candy ofvalentine's Day.
10. This is how your favorite chaif feels.
lAnswers:
1. (the) fedral (level); 2. misreblet 3. intrast;
.1.
seprat;
5. accadently; 6. (th) temprature; 7. natchraly; 8. genral;
9.
choclat;
10. comftarbal
21O
A?pENDIX A Activity Worksheets
WORKSHEET 1.11 STRESS SWTTCHING: What Happened in
the 199Os?
The 1900s: Name the decade when these events occurred:
1. The Soviet Union launched the first spacecraft
(Sputnik 1)-
2. The fiIst Wodd Cup
3. The Grat Depression
4. The fust mas$produced automobiles
5. The fust time man walked on the moon
6. v'odd war II
7. Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa.
8. The first successfirl human-to-human heart transplant
9. The first diagnosed case of AIDS in the United states
10. The Oil Producing afld Exporting Countries
(OPEC) embargo on oil shipmeflts to
the
'West
11. The word robot was first used.
12. The plastic bag was inYented.
ApptNDtx A Activity Worksheets
211
PRESENTING STRESS-TIMED RIIyTTIM: Limericks
($
womsrunr z.r
Natural tree line
Apple orchard
The BIRDS aBANdoned the FORest.
They BUIIjI their NESTS in the ORchard.
There once was a man with a beaxd,
Who said,"It is
just
as I feared!
Some owlsr and a hen,
Some larks2 and a wren,
Are building their nests in my beard!"3
towl:
a large night bird with big eyes
'I-arks and wrenst r''pes of birds
rlimerick
bv Edqrard I err
There once was a man with a beard.
Who said,"It is
iust
as I feared!
and
da DA d^
NNNN
da DA
da da DA
da DA
Are building their nests in my beard!"
2"12
AppENDtx A Activity Warksheets
@
womsurnr 2.4
Matchlng
1. dotrom
2. Web site
3. outsourcing
4. cuttluoat
(adj)
5.
job market
6.
job
fair
7. headhunter
8.
pink slip
LII\IKING ADJACENT WORDS:
JObS
a. an event where businesses looking for new employees can
meet people lookng for
iobs
b. an employment agency (usually for well-paid
jobs)
c. cyberspace location
d. the practice of hiring employees located in other countries
e. available
jobs
i very competitive
g. a notice that youte been laid off
h. technology business
Discusslon
1. What kird of work do you do or are you interested in doirg? How do people find
jobs in that area? Do they go to
job fairs? Web sites? Headhunters? What's the
iob
rnarket like in that area?
2. V/hat do you think of outsourcilg? Is outsourcing an issue in your country? How
can it hurt a country? How can it help a country?
Part A: Table Manners
There aren't as many opportunities to practice table manners as there used to be. In the
United States, most families at meals together only once or twice a week. Howel'e! on
holidays or at dinner pafties, families afld friends still gather rogetfier at the same table to
share a meal. These are occasions when we can show off our table manners-if we can
remembef them.
Part B: The Do's and Don'ts of Table Manners
Match pbrases
on tbe
W
ultlr plrra;tes
on tlJe liglrt.
@
wonxsuErr 2.6
Don't fight
Don't play
Don't talk
Don't lean
Don't shoot peas
Chew
Put your napkin
Keep your elbows
Don't eat
AppENDtx A Activity Worksheets
213
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES: Good Manners
with your hands
on your lap
with your mouth firll
at your brother
at the table
on the table
- with your food
with your mouth closed
off the table
214 ,rr/'rNrrr A Activifl, ltbllsheets
WORKSHEET 2.7 ARTICLES: Food
)
1o
-r--.-
X
t-_;)
(
)
I.
,t:l
Lr
lU
ldD
,i.
5i
.t
\,i
6.
13
14
t5
s]L- /-l
lZ.$$\ l--l
u,...:.:,:l [/
\:,tr'
(
8.
16.
Appf t'iDtx A Aclivity Warkshects
215
'f,
.D?
'gg
14.
tw,'
IE
__'1
ti
216
AppENDtx A Activity Worksheets
S
womsrnnr2.9 PHRASAI !'ERBS: Don't Put irff Until Tomorrow
What You Can Do Today
l
I
Ai
B:
A:
B:
\?hat are you reading?
An article about chronic procrastinators.
That sounds like me. I put evertthing ofi
No. Cfuonic procrastination is more serious. Chronic procrastinators put off filing
income taxes, cashing checks, even using gift certificates.
That's like throwjng money away. That's not me.
Yeah. They wind up losing their
iobs
because no one can put up with them. They
let down their friends and family-
Speaking about putting things gq, have you made up your mind about going back
to school?
No.I'm still up in the air about that.I don't know if I want to trade my
iob
in for
student life.
A:
B:
@
womsnrrr 2.10 NorrcrNcuNsrrnssED co{fuNCfioNS:
Medical Etlrlcs
Hov/ truth.frI should doctors be (1)
they know a patient
is dying, (2)
there's no cure? Should they tell the patient
iust
his family? What (4)
you'd
iust
heard
your eldedy father had teminal cancer? Would
you
tell him?
Imagine (6)
two people need heart transplants to li.t.e,
there's only one heart a ilable. One person
is a father of
three young children;the other is a conyicted criminal. The convict is a tjttle higher
on the transplant list (8)
the father. But is the convict
worthy (10)
the father? Who should get
the heart? Who should decide?
How long should patients remain on Iife support (11)
Little hope fof recoyery? In the United States, the parient, thfough his instrucdons or his
family usually determines (12)
should make this decision?
the "plug should be pulled:'Who
Dlscusslon
How would you answer these questions? In your country who makes these decisions?
AppENDlx A Activity worksheets
217
(3)
(5)
(7)
(9)
there is
218
AppENDIx A Activity worksheets
1. v4mddaya see?
\I4lerja
go?
3.
Whatcher name?
4. \Vherdaya wanna go?
5. I'll letcha know rqhen I can come.
6. vftadia see?
7. V4ratcher
phone flumber?
8. Whydy ,/waydiy/
come?
9.
I wantcha to
go.
10. I can readjer mind.
6
womsnnrr3.r
AppENDtx A Activity worksheets
219
HIGHIIGIITING:
Breakfast ln the ReaI Wodd
Ordering Breakfast
Waiter: What would you IIKE?,
)C I'll have EGGS.
Waiter: How would you LIKE them?
X: SCRAMBLED, please.
Waiterr Anlrhing ELSE?
X:
Just
COFFEE, with MILK.
*The
waiter might also say,'Are you ready to ORDER?".CaI I iake your ORDER?,,,Ar. you READY?,,
220
/\PP.Ntr,\ A Activiry la/orksheets
WORI$HEET 3.2
CONTR4.STI\'aE STRESS: Wtrich Apartment is Better?
s750/month
$)\U/mt'ntn
5-min. walk to campus
20-min. bus ride to campus
AppENDtx A Activitv Worksheets 221
FINAI INTONATIONT Minimal Dialogues
(9 womsrmnr
t.:
Ar Finished?
B: Yes.
,4,: Dinner?
B: Sure.
Ar Italian?
B: No.
Ac Sushi?
B: Yeah.
A,: Where?
B: Tomo's?
A,: OK.
S
womsrrnnr 3.7A
PARENTHETTCATS: You r.ook Pretty Happy, Luke.
Dialogue 1:
Julian:
Luke:
Julian:
Luke:
Jullan:
Luke:
Dialogae 2z
Julianr
Luke:
Julian:
Luke:
Julianr
Luke:
Jullan:
Luke:
Julian:
222
APPEND:r A Activity Wotkheets
You look pretty happy, Luk. What happened?
This is from the law school. I got accepted, it says.
Congratulations.
Tharks. Now I'ye got to find a way to pay for it, though.
You'll be up to your eyeballs in debt, you know.
Yeah, but I'll be able to pay it back, I hop.
How's law school,
It's OK,
It's a lot of work,
I'm not suq)rised,
The f1lst yeaf's the worst,
All I do is read and memorize,
Have you decided what kind of law you vant to go into?
Public interest law:
But I haYen't had time to think
about it,
. what brings you arorurd here?
I wondered if I could borrow your car this weekend,
Sure. Where are you going?
Well, Sue loves to hike so we're going hjking. It's an easy hjke,
l
.WORKSHEET
3.7B
NAMES AND FORMS OF A,DDRESS
names
sir, miss
mal-l
EXPRESSIONS TIIAT SHOW YOTIR
EVALUATION
I think
I'm aftaid
I guess
I'm sure
You
know
it seems
^PPrNDil
A A.lA,/Iv l4/ork-sheels 223
PARENTHETICALS:
YOrl LOOK PfCttY
Happy, Luke.
REPORTING E)PRESSIONS
it says
they said
she says
they say
DGNXSSIONS OF EXAMPLE
for instancc
lbr example
ancl so on
POLITE E)GRESSIONS
plcasc
thank
)'ou
if you could
if rhat's oK
ADVERBS
actually
luckil-v, fortunately
unfortunately
thoutih
in fact
224 AppENDtx A Activitv wotksheets
WORKSHEET
3.8
ATTITT]DES A]i[D EMOfiONS:
Amblguous Dialogues
Dialogue
A: Let's go for a dfiye.
B: OK, but I have to do something fust.
Situatlons
1. It's an extremely hot and humid sumner day, and A and B, husband and wife, don't
have air conditioning in their apartment or car. They're both exhausted from the
heat. They think that maybe the breeze coming in the car windows will make them
feel bette! but they re not very hopeful.
2. B is As motherfather B is teaching A to dfiye. B beliyes that A is a terrible driver
and always dreads helping A practice. A loyes to driye and nevq refuses an
opportunity to practice.
3.
A and B are newll.weds, very much in love. They're going to one of their favorite
spots, a secluded lake whefe they fifst met and fll in [oye.
AppENDrx A Activity Worksheets
225
A
B:
woffied. What's the
Alex's parerits tomoffow. They
me to dinner-to their house.
don't like me?
A: V/hy would you thinl tlnt? You and Alex have been talking about
married.You'fe going to have to meet his parents sooner
B! I suppose so.I guess I'd bring a present.
you thifk, some flowefs?
they
(9 woRKsrfiET 4.3 REcocr\[zrNc FrAps
You look
I'rn
226
/\PPEND:r A
'1ctir,if
l,Vork5heers
WORIGHEET 4.4 SIBIIANTS: How Much OiI?
''
I hc clxlx on oil impor'ts comcs lroln the I J.S. Enerll.i lnfornatiolr Administration for 200.1: the export
intornxti(n reflects 2005 dxle (source: $.\\.$..eia.doe.go\').
..
IMPORTERS MILLIONS OF
BARRELS PER DAY
E)(PORTERS MILLIONS OF
BARRELS PER DAY
1. The tlnited
States
1. Saudi A-rabia
2. Japan t.l 2. Russia 6.7
J. Cl.fna
J. Norw.rv
/r.
Gefmany 2_5
.i.
Iran
'2.6
5. Sonth Korea 5. Vnezuela
(r-
France 2.O 6. The United
Arnb Emirates
2.3
7. Ital\' 7. Kuwait
8. Spain r.6 8. Nigeria 2.2
9. Inclia
9. Mexico
'IO. "laiwan
1.0 10. Algctia 1.7
APTEND/.\A A.tiyit!'|l/crrksheefs
227
IMPORTERS MILLIONS OF
BARREIS PER DAY
E)(PORTERS MIIIIONS OF
BARREI,S PRR DAY
1. The United
States
11.8 1. Saudi Arabia 8.7
2.
Jap^,
2. Russia
3. China 2.9 3. Norway 2.9
4. Germanv 4. Iran
5. South Korea 2.t 5. Venezuela 2.1
6. France 6. The United
Arab Emirates
7. llu'ly t.7 7. Kuwait 2.2
8. Spain 8. Ni{aeria
f. india 1.5 9.
Mexico l.B
I O- Taiwan 10. Algeria
*'fhe
data on oil imports concs fiom thc U.S. Efleryt Informatior Adn]inistratio[ lbr 200'1; llle cxporr
infolmation rcflects 2005 data
(sourcer
www.eja.doe.go\').
228
AppENDtx A Activity worksheets
WORKSHEET 4,5 /4/: Present Continuous a'ral -ing
sung
l
S
wonxsrrnrf 4.7A
pRoNrNcrAfioN
oF x..spelling and sounds
Decide how "x" is pronounced in the words below. Write each word under the first, second,
or third column below the words.
fL'( expensiye exhibit examine mix exist
Ierox
exhibition executive exhausted exam expand
taxes expect execute axiom maximum context
r-&s t4=gz
AppitiDtx A At tivtt'/ Workshee'
229
WORI$HEET 4.78 PRONf]NCIATION OF r.'Spelling and Sounds
1. li. at the beginniflg of a word is prono'rnced
/z/
(there are vcry 1ew of these words
in Bnglish).
xrox xenotl
2. X at the end of a word is pronounced
/ks/.
box tax
l.
X preceded by a stressed vowel and followcd by another vowel is pronounccd
/ks/.1
exercise (eksercise) raxi (taksi)
4. x followed by a stressed vowel is pronounced
/gzl.
exemple(egzample) exdggemte(eg:zaggerntc) ex,ct(egzact)
5. X is pronounced
,/ks/
before most consonants.
explain (eksplair) extinct (ekstinct)
lsome
speakers pronounce exl, as "eksitt" while othcrs pronourcc it as 'clzit." Some speakers usc
both pronuncilrtions.
230
rpprND/.! ,1 ,l.tir,/r| i1.'orlrheets
WORISHEET 4.8 BEGINNING
/t/: The R Game
Diagtatn of /t/
Questiofls
for Team A:
l What s th opposite of./oryet?
2. V4nt's the opposite of polite?
3. \I{ut's the opposite of urb(Ln?
4. Mix blue with this color to get purple.
5. Befbre TV, pcople listenecl to lhe
6. Wlar are thc Mississippi and rlte Nile?
7. lgl.lat's a synonyrn fot cqrpet?
3. fise a pencil or pen to do this.
Diagran of /r/
Questions
for Team B:
1. What s the opposite
()f
a,ror?g?
2. \'ouf lrncles. cousins, grandparents, and nephew are yoru
_.
3. This is a \\''old that neans "fix."
,1.
X)u wear this on your lcft hand when
)'ou
get married.
i. Thls is the top of a building.
6. These flowers are a sign of love.
7.
'l'his yerb
means "!ao back."
8. \{&at's th.. oltpositc of to
J.tlll
WORKSHEET 4.9
APPENDI{ A Activity Worksheets
231
PRACTICING THE
/V-lV CONTRAST: How
Do You Spell Right?
Diagtarn of
/U Diagan of /t/
Iight
right
Minimal Pairs
light-right
late-rate
long-wrong
low-row
list-wrist
led-red
glass-grass
fly-fry
alive-arrive
play-pray
$
womsrrunr 4.11 RECocMrroN Ar\rD
pRoDucrroN
oF FrNAL
CONSONANTS, FINAI CONSONANT
CLUSTERS, AND FINAI VOICED CONSONANTS
P?.rt
^l
A
1. beU
3. fax
5. pick
7. thant
9. advise
11. rise
13. bag
15. have
B
belt
faxed
picked
thanked
advice
rice
back
half
A
2. shore
1. dog
6. watch
8. plan
10. pig
12. peas
14. (to) use
16. said
B
short
dogs
watched
plant
pick
piece
(a) use
set
P^rt 2
232
AppENDtx A Activity worksheets
WORIGHEET 4.12 HOW WOT]LD YOU USE 2.7 TRILLION
DOLIARS?
How U.S. Taxpayers' Money was Used tn 2oo7
Social Security payments to current retirees 2O'/.
Medicare (health care for the eldedy) l9o/.
Aid to the poor (Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidies, etc.) 16%
National debt (interest payments) lo'/o
Military Hometand security 30%
Other
(federal highways, medical resarch, FBI, etc,) a'
This sample shows the fedeial budget for 2007.
VORKSHEET 5.1 /iy/-/t/z Presentlng Pro unclatlon
Diagram of /1y/ ard /r/
@
leave /iy/
llve
/t/
AppENDtx A Activity Wotksheets
233
WORKSHEET
5.2 /ty/-/r/. How Do
you
Spell Liae?
Choose minimal pairs for this actiyity that are appropriate for your students'level
(B
=
beginning level; LI
=
low-intermediat;I
=
intemediate; HI
=
high-interme diate;
A
=
advanced).
"/
eat (B)-it (B)
,,/ seat (Ll)-sit (B)
/
leaye (B)-liye (B)
reach (Ll)-rich
@)
feet (B)-fit (LI)
v/
sleep (B)-slip (I)
green (B)-grin (I)
reason (B)-risen (I)
each (B)-itch (HI)
cheap (B)-chip (I/HI)
steal
GD-still
(LI)
/least
(lD-list (LI)
field (I)-filled (Il)
heat (I)-hit (B)
beaten (I)-bitten (I)
heaL/heel (I)-hi[ (LI)
seek (I)-sick (B)
beater (I)-birter (I)
relieve (I)-relive (I)
Pete (I)-pit (HI)
asleep (I)-a slip (HI)
meal (I)-mill (A)
dep (I)-dip (A)
feast (Hl)-fisr (HI)
seed
(Hl)-gdd (A)
peel (A)-pill (LI)
st94
kgy
rhgr
ch94p
m4ny
take
a94n
/,/
words
feceiYe
eight
b4bv
p99ple
stllS
friend
believe
/eyl
]trords
@
wonxsnrnf
S.< /iy/-/ey/-/e/z Sorting Sound And Spelling
brg4k
b94d
breakfast
instead
medicine
says
say
/iyl Words
234
APPENDIr A Activity worksheets
\VORI$HEET 5.5 /e/'/e/;
Presenting /e/
(IIad) and
/e/
(Ilead)
Diagram
of /r/
had artd /e/
head
bad /r./
he^d /E/
WORI$HEET 5'7 /e/, /e/, /a/,
AND /o'/
(KEPT'CAP-CUP-CoP):
What Bugs You?
Diagram
of /e/, /n/, /a/,
a'Jld /o/
kept-cap-cup'cop
kept /E/
cap /r/
cnp /a/
cop /o /
WORKSHEET 5.8 /e/
AND /o/:
Presenting /a/
a'Jid /o/
(Nut-Not)
Diagram
of /a/
arl'd /o/
nut, t ot
fi
/e/
not /o/
.
AppENDtx A Activity WorksheeE
235
WORKSHEET
5.9 /a/: Luck or Sk l?
Quotations
about Luck
1. "People always call it luck when you'ye
acted more sensibly than they have."
(Anne
Tyler)
2. "I'm a great
believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it:,
Cfhomas Jefferson)
3. "1 say luck is when an opportunity comes along, and youte prepared
for it.,, (Denzel
\vashington)
4. "The only thing that orr'ercomes hard luck is hard work:, (Harry
Golden)
5.
"Luck
always seems to be against the man who depends on it." (authof
unlmown)
Sou/cei www.quotationspage.com
WORI$HEET
5.13 R-COLORXD VOWEIS:
presenthrg
R-Colored vowels /st/
(Are),
/at/
(Her),
and /oil
(Or)
Diagram of r
Iip Shapes
her
E
npPENDtx
B
PROBLEMS OF SELECTED LANGUAGES
On page 10, we list features of English pronunciation
thxt are difficult for most students,
:egardless of natir,'e-language background. In this appenclix, we describe problems that are
]pical of stuclents from sclected nativeLanguage backgrorxlds: Ajabic, Chinese, Irrench,
Haitian Creole,
Japanesc,
Korean, Poftuguese, Russian, South Asian languages, Spanish, Thai,
lnd victnamese. Togethcr with the list of common problems on page 10, the information in
Ihis section car.r be usecl by teachers who want to anticipate the types of pronunciation
problems
their students are likely to have. The teacher should also bc awa.re that the
problems described below are q?ical
but are not experienced by every native speaker of
rhat language.
ARABIC
Anbic belongs to the Semitic family of languages, which also includes Hebrew, Ammaic,
and Assydan.It is spoken in Algcria, Bahrain, Chad, Diibouti, Eg)-pt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel,
.lordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, C)man,
palestinian
territories,
eataq
Saudi Afibia, Somalia, Sudan, S,yria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, and
.l?mert.
aS well as in smitllef communities
in othef countries aS a native or second language
(L2).
Because Arabic is the language of the Koran, many Muslims around the world are
fxmili'Jr s\ ith \omc
Arabic worcls and phrases.
Moclern Standard Arabic is a "pan Arabic,,dialect used in schools, by journalists,
and for
ollicial purposes (swan and smith 2001, 19i). h addition, there are marry colloquial \.arietics
of spoken Anbic, which can differ substautiau,v from each other.
'l'he
problems
describecl
below are comrton to most varieties of A1?bic.
Word Stress
Since stress placement in Arabic is regular anal predictable, Anbic students may be
unfamiliar with the varied stress placement in Enlalish and misplace stress when the,y speak.
Arabic students should be taught predicrable stress associated with clir.sses of English words
(begiming
on page
30), and new vocabulary of more than one syllable shoul<1 be presented
orally. Arabic str.rdcnts may also be unfarniliaf with tlte English use of stress ro disringuish
meaning ir pairs like a rdcorcl-to rec1rd or Appb-aI)pdll.
Although Arabic and English are both stress-timed languages, unstressed syllables in
Arabic arc not as shofi relative to stressed syllables as they arc in English, and vo\lel qualiq.,
in unstesscd sfllables is not as reduced as it is in English
@enrabeh
199j . Zutalq and,
serrcno 2007). studerlts should be encouraged to n.rake a greater length distinction bern'een
strcs.etl rnJ UnstrcsscLl \owcl:
(.(c
page ,25).
Rhlthm and Ifltonation
ln connected speech, Arabic students may insefi a glottal stop (the
sound separating
the two parts of uboh) trelbre words beliinning with a vowel, creat tg a choppy soundhg
rhlthm. Students should prnctice linking final consonants to beginning voweG (see
page 55). Students may also stress more words in uttennces than native speakers would,
resulting in oyedy emphatic speech. Students should work with highlighting, focusing
emphasis on just
one or fwo words in an uttennce (sce page
96). Likewise, students should
wolk on givinEi less prominence to ftlnction words (see page
!0).
237
238
rrrrND/,\ B Prtl:lens ti Stlcctcd lang,uagc's
Consonants
1. /p/. h/:Tb,ere
is no /p/
in nrost dialccts of Al'abic, so students ma) substitutc
^/
for
/p/.
pronouncing wor.ls like
I)eople
as
'beoble.'
Teach stLldenls to pronounce \l'ords
beginning with the letterr' wilh a puff of xir
(aspiration. see page 150)
2.
/ . /v/tThese
arc variaDts of the sanrc sotlnd in Arabic. Focus on Ay'
.tt tlle
bcginnings or i1l the miclclle of$'ords
(see palie l21r)
l. /ll,/:
,\mbic has no /!/.
so studcots maY substitute /n/ or /\g/
fttt
/\/
(.see
page 136).
1. /r/:1he /r/
in Artbic is a flaPPcd /1/
ancl students ma\-substitutc this sound for the
/r/
of Erglish. Teach the retroflexed articulation of English /r,/
(see page 141)
5. Consonant clustcrs: In ntost dialects of A1'abic. consooaot clusters do not occuf at
the beginnings of $.(]rds. Studcnts lnay ioscrt vo$'els bcfore or betwccn beginning
Elrglish cltlstcrs.
Pron()uncing
a wortl likefToor as if]oor' or "Iiloor" (sce page 15I)
Final two membel consonant clusters tlre permittcd. Sttldents should work with
past ancl prcsent el-Idings to practice tjnal chlsters with two of nrore meflbcrs
(sce page 159).
6 l/r sounds: These sounds occur in Modetn Standatd Anbic bu1 not in some of thc
colbquial languagcs. SOme students havc no problem pronolrncinla the tJ sounds,
br.rt others may substitute /t/
or /.1/
fot lhese sounds. a stilimatized pronLrnciation
(see pagc 126).
Vowels
\. /I/ . /E/: k1\b:1c students mit\' conftlsc these two vowels, prononncilf'g becl llke bid or
vice Yersa
lsee
pagc 175).
'2.
/x/ , /T/ , /a/. /o/:
Arabic has only one lo$' 1'owcl. so all of thesc Yowcls ma.v be
difficult fbr stuclenls to pcrccive:rnd prorlollllce
(scc palie 178)
orthography
'Ihcre
is [o similarirr._ bet$-een thc Elrglish ancl Ar.rbic \t'ritinl] systcms, Arabic is written
liom rillht to leli ancl flequeutll omits vowels. E\rn aclvancecl Al'abic stuclents have
difficulty reading aloucl, often halting rtnnaturalh- and transposing letters;these studcnts
should practicc reading aloud.
CHINESE
Chinesc is ;t collcction
()f
languages ard dialccts trnificd b]' a comnon $'riting s1's1c11
The sharetl \vriting s,vstcm allows written Chinese to be understoocl b,v Iitefatc speakers of
all varietics, cven s'hen the spoken varicties are mutualh' uDintelligible
(lhincsc
is spoken in
the People's Rcpublic of China
(Clrina), the Republic ol Chira
(Tai$'an), Hong Kong,
Singaporc. \{ala}-sia. Macau, thc Philippincs, Australix. tndonesia, Maurititrs. Peftr, Ciurada, the
Ilnited St:rtcs, and othcr reliions $'ith Chinesc communities.
There are substanti,tl linguistic clifterenccs betwcen Chinesc, a Sino-'libctan langtlage,
'rnd English, an Indo Elrropcan languag;e. one of the most important
Phonological
dillerences betwccn Enlilish and Chincse is the trsc of pitch Chilcse is a tonc language:
an essential part of the pronunciation ol a par(icular worcl is a particuliu lcrel of pitch
(or dircction of pitch). Pitch, thcreforc, clistingttishes worcls liom each other' Ilrr
examplc. Chjnese r1li. spoken on a high-level pitch (tonc), means "to hang over
something;" spoken on a pitch that irlls sharplJ', r/.r mcxns
"big.' (Stress iD Elglish
pertbrrus tlris frnction in the pair (a) r'cud (to) tec6rel, for e-\arnple.) In English, pitch
AppENDtx B Prcblems of Selected Languages
239
patterns (intonation patterns)
occur ovef phrases and utterances, structruing and adding
discourse meaning.
In this section we focus on two varieties of Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese. Mandarit
is the standard form of spoken Chinese, used in journalism,
education, and government.
Cantonese is the ofticial language of I-Iong Kong and the mother tongue of many Chinese
speakers overseas. A major phonolotiic;rl difference between Mandarin and Cantonese is
rhlthm. Mandarin is a stress-timed language
,
like English, while Cantoncse is a syllable-timed
language. Thc rhltl.rmic dissimilarity betweer.r Cantonese and English makes Englislt rhlthm
mofe dilTicult fof Cantoncse speakers than for Mandarin speakers. Most of the other
problems described below are comnon to both Mandarin and Cantonese.
Word Stress
Most Chinese words are monosyllabic;as a result, Chinese speakers are likely to lrave
difficulty with stress placement in polysyllabic words (see page
37).
Rhythm
Because Cantonese has syllable timed rhlthm, Cantonese snldents may pronounce every
English q'llable with equal length and shess, creating a staccato or choppy eftitct (see
Chapter
2). Mandafir-speaking srudents have less difliculry with this aspect of English rh).thm.
Linking Adjacent Words
Most Chinese students have difficulty linking adjacent words appropriately. They may add
a vowel after a word that ends in a consonant to separate it from the next word or add an
extra sound beforc words that begin with vowels. These
,,separation',
strategies make their
English sound choppy (see page
54).
Intonation
Because Chinese is a tone lanfauage, where pitch is an integral pa.rt of each word, Chinese
students may have difficulq'with the English use of pitch and intonation to structure the
meanings of phrases, utterances, and discourse.
problems
with intonation are varied: Students
may use high pitch at unexpected places in a discourse, their. intonation mav sounci ovcdy
flat, they may overuse falling intonation, or thcy may sound singsong (see
Chapter
3).
Consonants
1. t sounds: See page
126.
2.
/v/, /w/: Chiaese students may sub stitrte
/w/
for
/v/,
pronouncinla
rrer1, like.wery',
(see page 124).
3. /3/: Chinese students may pronowce
/S/ so that LLsuall! sottDds like
,'us'ally',
or
meqsure llke ?nayor (see
Wge
112).
4.
/r/, /w/, /l/:
Chinse students may pronounce riglJt llke u)bite or ligbt. Instruct
students who substitute
/w/ for /r/ not to round their lips when they say
/r/.
t
(Tor
/r/-/l/, seE page 116.)
5. /l/-/rt/:Some Cantonese speakers substitlrte
h/ fot
/l/,
creating odd,sounding
pronunciations like night fot ligllt and vice versa (see page
1441.
tl-ip
rounding crcates
/w/. Although many narir-e speake$ prcnounce
/r/
$,ith lip rounding, a1.l
acceptable
/r/ can be produced withour lip rounding. Alter learning ro rerroflex Englisll
/t/
(see page
141), students who substitute
/W for
/r/ shoutd be instructed to.keep their lips flat,'when they iay
/r/.
24O
APTFNDIr B Problems ol Seleclccl I atlgua1es
6. ,4l/:
(lhinese
studcnts lnav substitutc a Yelar /h/
for Erglish gbttal
/h/,
prolouncing
/h/
with a noisy sound
(like the Gernan pronurciation of c,b in Bdcl,) Explain that
English,/h,i is a soft sound,like the sound of heav) bretrthing
(see page 140)
7. C(xrsonant clusters:
(ihinese
cloes not allow collsonant clusters at thc beginnings or
cnds of words. Studcnts ma]- simplif,v clusters b)' dcletin!! a consonant
(.e.9
'problem
sounds like "poblem" or eve[ /poban]/)
or bY separating consonants
(e
!a
.2/e4.se
sounds like'palease')
(see page 151).
8. Final consonants: Chinese allo$,'s a
yery
linitccl number rlf finlrl consoralts Final
consonants may bc dcleted, or a vo$'el 1nay be added fter the consonant
(see
page 153).
9. Irinal Voicecl stops ancl fricativcs:In addition to the general problelns posed bY final
consonants, Chinese students ma,v
"dcvoice final voicecl conson rtrts pronouncing
bag ljke b6ck, or lJ like "iss"(see pagc 155)
10. Final ,/1/:
Chincsc students often clrop /1,/
xt the end of a word or s)'llable, or
pronounce it like /w/ ot /o/
(e.g..
r'rld souncls like ode, ?-nd /lttle sounds like "litto")
(sec page 1'14).
11. Final nasals
(/n
/, /m/, /l / ):
("bfiese
stuclents ma-Y omit linal res,ll consonants ancl
ftrsalize preceding vowels (e .g.. uirerr /go rna-r'' sor.lnd like
/wJ,/
1go)
(see page 136)'
Vowels
1. Frcnt vowels
(/r,\'/ rneat, /l/
\llitl, /eJ-/
lltote, /E/
fiet,
/E/
/,7171): Chinesc students
confuse most of these vowels and r1eed extensive practice with them They
nray pron()unce
st?at
as greet
(or rice versa) and el'en s4ld as seerl
(sec
pages 169- 179).
2.,R,coloreclvowcls:chineseEsLstudenrs$4rofirstlearnedanr-lessvafict-YofEnglish
l]aYe a great deal of dillicultv with /r/
colored l'o$'els
(sce pale 192)
3. /ey/,/^w/,ar.1 /a:'/
before /n/
or /fl7/:
Chiftese students may omit the
lalide
erclings
(/w/ or
/y,D
of tllese voq,'els whe n the-v occlu be fore
/n/
or /r1/
(e.g.,
train mav sound like
"tren." toz{.", likc /ton/
(ot
/t\/),and
tlme llke Tou)
(sec palie 192).
FRENCH
French is a Romance language, rclated to SPanish, It,rlian, Poltuguesc. Catalan, and
Romanian. Because English has bornlwed man) s''ords from French, rnany English words
look si iler to French words,which sometimes leads students to use their Frcnch
pronunciation in English.
French is spoken iativcly in Francc, Bclgium, S['itzedand. I-uxembourg, tbe
\Vest
Indies,
Haiti. anal
(lar.rada,
and as an L2 in man-Y of thc f<rrmer colonies of France The problems
described bekrw are common to lnost varieties of French
wof d Stress
A major differcncc betw-een Frcnch ancl English lies with $-orcl stless and fhythm. Ffench
words
(and
phmses) are usually stressecl on the last syllable, wlrich is also p'o'o'nced with
a rising pitch;stress placement in English $''ords is much rnore varied Frencl] students
sl.roulJbe taught predictabte places of strcss associated witll classcs of English words
(beginning on page
30), and iew vocabulary of morc than one slllable should be
Prescnted
u."iiy. fr.,
"aaitior.r,
because Frcnch is a s_yllable timed language. where the lcngths of stressed
AppENDiX B Problems of Selectec| Languages
241
and unstressed syllables are approximately the same, French-speaking students need to learn
to lengthen stresscd syllables (see page 21). Because the qualit_v
of unstressed vowels in
French is not reduced, Ftench students may have difficr ty hearing the short, reduced
vowels of unstressed s,vllables in English.
Rhlthm and Intonation
French-speaking students need to learn to make sfessLength distinctions between
content and frmction words (see page
50). They also have dilficulty recognizirg the reduced
pronunciations of fttnction words.
Consonants
1. t sounds:These sounds do not exist in Frencll. French-speaking students may
substitute several sounds for the th so:und,st /s/ or
/z/
(preferred
by students from
Fmnce), and
/t/ or /d/
(preferred by French Canadians). Swan and Smith (2OOl)
report that
/f/-/v/ slrbstitutions also occur (sce page 126).
2.
/t[/, /d3/:'lhese consonants do not cxist in lrench. French-speaking students may
substitute
/t ior /tf,
pronouncing
che.tp llke sheep. for example, and
/3/
for
/d3/,
pronouncingJu./ge
like "zhuzh" (see page 132).
3. frt/:-lLle letter/, is nct-er pronounced in French. French-speaking students may drop
English
/h/ when it should be pronounced (for example. pronouncing DearrT as
"'eaq'"). Ol1ce they leafn that
A,/
is pronounced in English, they may add
/h/ to
words beginning with vowels (for example, pronouncing aluays ltke bqllu'als).
4.
/r/:French /t/,pronounced witl.r the back of thc tongue, may be substitutd for
English retroflexed
/r/, which is pronounced wirh th front of the tongue (see
Page
711L).
Vowels
1. /iy/, /l/.See
page 169.
2.
/a/, /o/, /a/tFrcnch-speaking students often confuse these vowels (sec page l7g).
HAITIAN CREOII
Haitian Creole is an official languagc of Haiti (together
with French) and is also spoken by
Haitian emigrants living in the Ilnited States, Canacla, and otl]er Caribbean. Central
American, and South American countries. Haitian Creole is a mixtlue primarily of French
and West Afiican lanlllrages, but also has influences liom Central African lanliuages,
Portuguese, Spanish, and English.
Word Stress
In Haitian Creole, as in French, the last svllable of a wofd or. phrase is stfessed, a pattern
which can interfere with irtelligibility and be disrracting to listeners (pclez-Applc
2001).
Teachers should point out the differcnt stress patterns of English word classes (beginning
on page
30) and introduce new vocabulary orally, emphasizing the sffessed syllables. Haitian
Creole speakers sl]ould also be instructed to lengthen stressed vowels.
Rh]-thm and Intonation
Haitian Creole speakers may transfer their native language pattern of stresshg the last
syllable of a phrase and pronouncing it on a higher pitch into English. This pattern
disrupts
expected English rh]-thm and intonation patterns. Haitian Creole spcakcrs should work with
highlighting (see page
96) and with final intonation patrerns (sce page lO0).
242
ApprNir/,\ B Prohlcns ai sele(led t anguaies
Consonants
1. t sounds: Scc page 126.
2.
/t/.ln
Haitiai
(lreole,
thc letter / is prollonDced
/\ry'
before back vo$'els (for
cxalnple, /uw/
an<1 /ow, and elsewhere like a French /r/
(see Frcnch.
Page
240).
Stuclcnts should lbcus on the retroflcxed plomnlciation of English /r/
(sce page 141)
J. /n/rln
final position,
/n/
rua] be olrittccl and pronotrllced as a nasalization of the
lrrc<rrling
\o\\'cl {\cc
P.lgc
lto'
Vowels
l. /i\'/. /\/:
Sec
Page
169.
2. /e/, /J/, /o/:Tbcse
arc new Yo\lrels tbr Haitiao Creolc speakers
(see pagc 178)
JAPANESE
Japallesc
may be related to Korc.rn and lllso to Mongolian. Manchurian, and'I'urkish lt
diflers liom English in almost all linguistic irspects.
Word Stress
Japancse
js
a pitch accent language:pitch placemcnt, rather than stress as in English, can
diiltrcntiate one word fiom anotherJapanesc stLrdents need to learn to lengthen stressecl
vowels. Ilnaccented syllables in
Japanese
worcls are not s'eakencd as the,Y are in Englislt
(by
shortcning thc sylhble and reducing the
yowel),
and
Japanesc
students need practice in
hearing and proclucing the short, redtrced s-vllables of English
(see page 25)
Rhlthm and Intonatiofl
J;ipanese
studcnts tend to prollounce all words $'ith equal prominencc and necd practice
using pitch to highlight ne$'or important information
(sce pagc 96) Ttre)-may also haye
difliculty recognizinll tlte reduced pronullciatiolls of nrnction worcls like cdn of at
(see
pagc 72).
Because D)ost sl'llables in.Japanese crcl in vo$'cls,Japanese students have difficulry
linking Enlilish words that clrd in consonants to fbllo$'il]l words (see pagc 5'1).
Japarcse
students also have di1ncult]' learning English intonation; thcir pitch range
sometines souncls too flat, and pitch changes fla,v scen too abrupt They maY also be
unfamiliar s'ith the use of intonatiol-r to strtlcturc meaninla and discolrrse in English; in
Japanse.
particles and adverbials
Perfornl
some of the discourse ftuctions (e.9
,
distinguishinEi ne$'frorn gil'en ifformation) that intonation does in English
Japanese
students should ltave ample pr.rctice listening to English inlonation as it occufs in autllentic
spcccb to
gain a better understandinll of its discoursc functions
(see Chapter l)
Consoflants
l. /t/. /l/:Th.. Dnglish /r,/-/l/
contrasl is one of the most clifficult firrJapancse speakers
to learn. Their mispronunciiltions of /t/
aliLd
/l/
are stereotl'pecl
(e g
."flied lice")' and
.lapanese
students are
yeflr
concerl]ed abolrt leiuilin!l to prollollnce the two sounds'
The.Japarcse coLrlltcrpart to tsnglish /t/
an(l /V
is describcd as a flap collsonalrt'
similar to the North American English (NAE) pronunciation of t in zrrrlel
Perceptually, English /r/
may sound more dilTerent from its.Japanese counterpart
than /1/.leachers
shollld tcach the articulation ol
/r/
and
/l/
and
Provide
ample
practice with botll sounds
(See pagcs 1/+l-117).
2. /D sounds: See page 126.
AppENDtx B Problems of Selected Lanfluages
243
3. /wu/:Japanese students have difficulry pronouncing the,/w/ in /wu/,as in uould
rnd uoman (see the error correction techoiques on page 149).
1t.
/v/:Jap^nese does not have a /v/ sound. Students ma], substitute
/b/ or a voiced
bilabial fricative (,ip, where the lips are almost closcd as the air passes between
them). (See page 12.i.)
5. /s/, /[/, /7,/: ln
Japanese, /s/ is pronounced
/l/ before /i/, and learners may transfer
this pronunciation into English words, pronouncing see lile ,!re for example; with
the word c/41 this pfonunciation can be very embarmssing (see pages 132 and 135).
Japanese /7./ is pronounced like
/dzl before /i/, ancl
Japancse
students may transfer
this pronunciation into words like museutt or zlppex A similar phenomenon
occurs with
Japanese /t/ before
/t/,which
is pronounced
/{/
(like
the clr 1.n cheap).
In ESI- settings, the mispfonunciadon of /ti/ as /tfi/ d:\s ppears quickly, while
problems with words like sce are more persistent.
6.
/y/:In the word
lcar;
where
/]y'
is followed by a high front vowel,Japanese studenrs
may omit
/y/,
pronouncing
J.,ea,,
like ear
(.see
pa.ge 149).
7. /h/ before h/tJapanese stude nts may substitute an
/f/-like
sound for
/h/ when it
occurs before the vo\r'el
/u/,
so tlrLJt ubo. for ex,.ntple. sounds like "foo."
8. Consonant clustefs:Japanes allows very few consonant clustefs. Beginning students
may add separating vowels between tl-re consonants in a clustef, pronouncing grrrst
for example, lile "gurass" (see page i51).
9. Final consonants. Final consonants (except for a nasal) are not permifted in
Japancse.
Students may drop filal consonants or adcl a short vowel alter a final
consonant (see paie 15J).
Vowels
1.
/er/:Japanese
str.rclents have persistent problems pronouncing
/arl, often
pronouncing zr.,o/ft, for example,like ualk td vlce versa. They should work both
on /ar/ and on the contrast of /a/ ard /o/
(ot
/a/ and /J/, depending on the
teacher's dialect). (See page 192.)
2.
/a/, /o/, /E/:Jrtpanesc students confuse
,/a,/
and
/o/,
using almost the same
pronunciation for words like n,/t and l?ot Tl]ey may also confuse
/e/ with /a/ or
/e/ with /o/.
KORNAN
Korean may be an isolate (not linguistically related to any other language), part of
the Ural-Altaic family (Tr.rrkish, Mongolian, and others), or related to
Japanese.
Most
Korean speakers live on the Korean pcninsula or surrounding islands, or in smaller
communities abroad.
vord Stress
Korean does not have word stress. The tirst syllable of a wotd in a phrase is often
pfonounced on a higher pitch, to function as a phrase boundary markef, but otherwise,
syllables are more nearly equal in length, loudness, and pitch. Korean-speakinli students,
thefefore, nccd to learn to lengthen stressed s1'llables il English (see page 21).
Rhythm and Intoflation
The use of supraseimentals in Korean and English is very different. Korean students
benefit from practice with English rhlthm and intonatiolt.
244
App[Nu/{ B Pft)blems al selected Lanluages
Korean is usuall] classified as a sl'lhble-timed language, ancl Korean srudents shoulcl be
taught to make lergth distirctions between contcnt and function $'ords in English
(sec
pagc 50).
Korean students may need instruction on th use of pitcll to highlight inportant words in
discourse, a ftrnction which is accomplished in Korean b-y adding x suffl\ or ending. Thc,Y
may also use high pitch on the first word of a phrasc, creating an odd-sounding intonation.
Korean students may also speak Enlilish with an overlv narroN'pitch ranlie. naking then1
sound uninterested or botecl.
Consonants
1. tD sounds:See page 126.
2. /p/,/
-,
/v/:There
is no /b/,/f/,orlv/in
K(xean Korean students need to lcarn the
articulation of these sounds
(see page 12.1).
3. Voiced stops:Kore;Ln has voiceless aspirated stops and voiceless ur.Iaspirated stops
Korean learners ma1-have problcms producing and llearing tlle loiced stoPs of
English, especially ir1 the middle or at thc ends of rvords (see page 155).
1.
/s/,[/:lnKore
\./s/ af'd
/f/
arc
yariants
of the same sound.4,/ occurs bcfore higl)
and mid-front vowels
(as in se and sa1), ?:nd /s/
occuts elscwhere. Korean students
may pronounce words lik see as -sre and need practice pronouncing
/s/
belbre
these vowels (see page 135).
5. /7,/:voiced, /z/
(as
In zoo) aloes not occru in Korean. Korean students may substitute
/dz/,/d3/,ot B/
for /z/
in words lLke museutn ald result
(see page 131).
6. h/, /l/:Thesc
two English sounds are variants of the same sound in Kore,rn. Korean
students may substitute /1,/
fbr beginnjnla /r/,
pronouncirg rigbl. for example, like
ligtJl, and, h/ for /l/ btween vowels, pronouncing collectillg, tbr example. like
correcliug
(:ee
!)agc
l4t)).
7. Fhal /t[/, /d3/,4'/,and /3/:Kore^n
stlrdents may add a sh()rt
/i/
vowel whcn these
consonants end words, pronOunci:ng uhich, for example
,
Iike
"whicl4 " or.larlge like
"iuclg_y" (see page 131).
Vowels
1. /iy/, /IL See page 169.
2.
/at/:
Korean students have
persistent problems
Pronouncing
/Jrl, olien pronouncing
ttork likc ualk i\tLI vice versa. The)' should work both on the /arl and on tllc
contrast ofla/ and /c/
(ot
/e/
^nd
/J/,
depending on the teacher's dialect). (See
pages 192 ancl 180.)
3. //, /e/tKorc^n
lacks
/a/,
so students tcnd to sobstitute /E/
for this vowel,
pronouncing bod so tbat it sounds close to bed, for example. Sttldents should
be instructed to open their nouths more when the,Y say words with
/ze/
(see
pJge 1 lr ).
PORTUGI.,IESE
Portr.rguesc is a Rornance language closely related to Spanish. There are two major
varieties of Portuguese: European Portuguese
(EP) and Brazilian Portuguese (BP)
European Poftuguese has stress-timed rhythm, like English, while Brazilian Portlrguese
bas syllable-timed rh)'thm.
AppENDtX B
prablems
oi Selected Languales
245
Word Stress
Stress placement
in
portuguese
is very regulat so str.ldents may have difficulty with the
\-aried placement
of stress in English. students should become familiar
with word classes
Ihat have predictable
stress, and new vocabulary should be presented
orally, with thc
stressed syllables emphasized (see pages
30-3g).
Because BP is a syllable-timed
language, Bp students may pronounce
unstressed syllables
$,'ith too much length. Ep students may pronounce
unstfessed syllables too weakly and may
nced to gi\c
them more prominence.
Ithlthrn and Intonation
tsP stud-ents may have difficulty perceiying the reduced function words of English and
may give function words too muclt prominence
in spaking (see page
72).
In Portuguese, fbcus words (highlighred
words) teld to be ptaied at the end of a
sentence, so Portuguese students may harve difficulty perceiving and producing
higltlighted
words in non-final positions (see page
96).
Consonaflts
1. Final
,/l/: Portuglrese
students may pronounce
/4/ after vowels as
/w/ or
/u/; for
example,people
may sound like
,,peopu"
(see page 144).
2. Final nasal consonants
/m, n, r]l: Final nasal consonants in words like soz e an(l sun
may be omitted and the preceding
vowel nasalized;soze may be pronounced
/se/
(sce page 138).
3. /tl/, /d3/:Ep lacks rhese consonants.
/tfl may be pro noltnced,
[/
(.e.g.,
che4p sourds
bke sbeep), a.nd.
/d3l may be proflou
niecl
13/ G.g-iust
n.ny bd pron-ouncei,,zhust,,).
(See page 135.)
4. t sounds: See page 126.
5. /s/ + consonant clusters:
portuguese
speakers may add a vowel befbre,/s/ +
consonant clusters, pronouncing
steam, for example, like esteem (see
p^ge 151.).
6. Final consonants: Fewer nnal consonants are permitted
in
portuguse
than in
English. Portuguese studer.rts may drop final consonants or weakin them. making
them hard to heal or they may add a vowel after final consonanrs (see page
1i3).
Vowels
I .
/iy/ , A/
. See page
169 .
2.
/E/, /e/,/a/,/o/:See page 178.
3. Unstressed final vowels: Unstressed final vowels may be prono'nced
so *.eakh-that
thel secm to hc omiltcd.
RUSSIAN
_
Russian is a Slavic language, part of the family of Indo_European languages,
of which
English is also a member.
Word Stress
Stress placement
in Russian is varied, as it is in English. Russian students mav nor
sufficiently lengthen Engrish stressed syllabres and shourd work on trre English length
distinction between stressed and unstressed vowels (see pages 21_27). Thiy shoLrl-d also
learn to pronounce
vowels with secondary stress with morJ length.
246
AppLi'it)tx B Pft)blems oi Sele( t--d L,lnguagcs
Rhlrhm and Intonation
Russian students appear to givc ncarl,v equal stress to content 1lnd ftlnction words. They
should \\.()rk on lengthening the stressed syllablcs of content \\,ords and shortening thosc of
ftrnction words (see page 50).
In Russian. final consonants are morc forcefull,v articulated than they are in Enfilish. wllen
this is ca1-ricd over into English. Russian speakers may sccm to be aclclitrg a short vowel to
the ends of \\'ofds cndirlll io consonants, especialll stop consonants. Russian speaking
studcnts benetit frorl $rork on linking adjaceDt wo|ds and kecping final consonants short
(sce prge 5,1).
In lltrssi:rn,Jre.r-ro qucstioDs end with a sharp rise fbllos'ed bl' a stecp fall. Thc use of
falling illtonation on jrcs"/ro questions can sound ulfricndl,v or rucle?
(see
Page
101).
Consonants
1. tJ soun(lsi See page 1 26.
2. /w /. /v/:'lhcse
l rc not separate sounds in Russian, so Russi.rn students have
clifficulq' distinguishing between them; ,rr"l, 1'or example, ma) be pronounced .,et
and \'ice versa
(sec page 12,1).
a. /\/: /\/
(the final sound in arltg) clees not occur in Russian. Russian students may
substitutc
/n/
(pror]oLl1lcin!! ?.r,/rg like uii?t). /lg/
(pronoLtncing
sl[g with a "hard g"
at thc end), or even
/g/
(pronouncing u'itlg llke arrg). (Sce page 116.)
l.
(lonsonants
beforc front vowels (/i]', I. cl', ,8/) a\\d /ar/
(as in./ir'.st): Russian
cortmsts "palatalizcd" or "soft" consonants \\'ith unpalatalizeal or "hard"
consonants
($'ith palatalized consonants, the middle part of the tongue rises
toward the hard palate). When speaking Englisb, Russiltn students may
palatalizc Erlglish consonants which occur before front vowels. Sometimes this
pronunciatior sounds xs though a
/!y'
sound has been added aftcr the consonant
(c.g.,
dee\ ma,v sound like
'd-vcep"),
in other cases, the consonant ma,v souncl like
a diffcrent sou]nd (deep n]a-y sound like "dzeep" or cvcr'
Jeep).
Students are often
unaware that they are palatalizing English consonants and thc error shor.rld be
pointed out to the!n.Instruct students to use the "hard" Russian equivalents when
pronouncin!! Englislt consonants.
5. /h/;Russian
students may substitute a velar /h/
for English glottal
/h/,
pronouncing
/h/
with a noisy souncl like the
(ierman
pronunciation of c/:, in Baclr. Explain that
Elrlilish ,/h/
is a soft sound.like thc sound of hcavy breathing (see page 140).
6. /r/:
Rnssians ma), substitutc a rollecl /r/
for English retrol'lex,/r/ (scc page l'il).
Vowels
1. Russian lacks tlrc tense-lax vos,'el conffast of Englisl]: /iy/-fi/, /ct'/'/e/
xnd
/v"\/-/1J/.
Russian stlrdcnts' pronunciation of the tensc vowels maY sound too short or
clil)pccl. Students should focLrs on pronolrncinla thc glidc cnding of thesc vo\r'els
(see pages 169-17i and lti3):rnd o{r lengthening sttessed vowels generall)'.
/Jrl:
'l
his vo\r'el sound is particularl] difficult fbr liussian students, who
mx)' pronounce
rff
ltke
flur
or.feqr
(see page 192). English v-ords spclled
rIt
should be notcd that 1lative'Eoglish spexkcrs use fal'ing intonation F'ith some types ofJ]e.s-ro
questiors (see pagc 101).
AppE.\Dtx B Ptoblems of Selected Lanlua+es
247
u,o/ + consonant (e.9., uord, uork, worlcl, worth) are particularly difficult (see
page
194).
3. /t/, /e/:Rttssiar
lacks
/a/,so
students tend to substitute ,/t/
1br tlis vowel,
pronouncing Zra4 1br example, so that it sounds close to bed (see page 176).
SOI]TH ASIAN IA.NGUAGES: HINDI, URDU, BENGALI' PLIryABI
Hirdi, Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi are languages spoken in lndia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and
other areas of south Asia. They are members of the kldo-Aryan family of Indo-Eulopean
languages. A characteristic accent feature for speakcrs of these languages is the retroflexed
pronunciation of English
/t/
ard
/d/
(the tip of the tongue turns up and back when
pronouncing
/t/
and
/dD.
Another source of accent is intonation. which has a singsong
effect when transfirrrcd into Entilish.
Indian English is a dialct of English spoken mostl,v as an L2 in South Asia but b)' sonle as
a first language
(L1).
The dialect developed durirg the tsritish colonial period, and its
pronunciation has been influenced by the indigenous languages of the ;Lrea. Teachers should
be sensitive to the fact that Indian English speakers may feel that their pronunciation
reflects a different dialect of English rather than a foreign accent.
Given the largc areas in which thcse languages are spoken, tltere is a great deal of dialect
variation in each of these lan{auages, as well as across languages.
Word Stress
In English the stressed s]'llable of a word is usually pronounced on a high pitch.In Hindi
and Urdu, the stressed syllable bcgins on a low note and then rises. Carricd oYer into
English, this pattern may sound as though stress has been misplaced and will also contribute
to a singsong effect. \Vord stress in Hindi, tlrdu. tsengali, and Punjabi is not contnstive as it is
in English, so students may be unianiliar with the use of stress to distinguish pairs like (a)
rdcord-(to) reca.,rd. ln H\r.di, a.nd Urdu, word stress is regulaq which creates difficulty with
correct stress placement in En[ilish. Students should be taught the placement of stress in
different classes of English words
(see pages
30-3{J),
and new vocabulary of more than one
syllable shoulcl be presented orall-v. Students should also learn to pronouncc stressed
syllables with greater length tlnn unstressed sl'llables (sce page 21).
Rhythm and Intoflation
Hindi, tlrdu, Bengali, and Punjabi are syllable-timed languages, so students ma-Y have
difficulty recognizing the reduced pronunciations of furtction words (see page 72). ln
llengali,les-no question end with tallhg intonation; the use of falling intonation with
English
iues-zo
questions may make the speaker seem mde
(see page 101).
Consonants
'1.
/t/, /d/:Hindi,Urdu,
Bengali, and Punjabi have si-x to eight t/d sounds, whercas
English has two. Native speakers of these languages often substitute their
retroflexed /t/ and ,/d,/ for English alveolar /t/
^t'td
/d/
(.for
a retroflexed
/t/,
the tip of
the tongue turns up and back and the underside of the tongue makes contact with
the top of the mouth).
2. /,1: sounds. See page 126.
3. /p/, /t/, /k/:Native
speakers of Hindi, urdu, Bengali and Puniabi nlay not pronounce
/p/, /t/,or /k/
with enough aspiration beforc stressed vowels;for example,ptg may
sourld like big, tie like .lie, and come like g&t ? (see page 150).
248
APPENDII B Problems oi Selectecl Languages
).
6.
/w/. /v/:Tilere
is only one consonant that corresponds
to English
'/w/
and /v/
in
HinJl, ttrdu, eengali, and Puniabi, so students often confttse pairs like uet and aet
(see pagc 124).
Consonant clusters; Students may insert vowels to make unfamiliar consonant
llusters easier to manalie; for example ,.sllp
may be pronounced
"silip" or "islip"
(see
page 151).
Final consonant clustefs: Students may omit the final consonant of a clllste\ mixed
for example, may be pronounced mlJr
(see page 153)'
Vowels
1 . // , /e /
: Sludents may substitute //
for /a/,
Pronoun
cirrg bdd llke bed' fot example
(see page 176).
2. /eyl:
Students may pronounce this as a pure vowcl /e/
(see page 173)
SPANISH
Spanish is a Romance language, closet)-rel3tcd
to Portugues Spanisll is spoken in many
corirtrics ancl thcre is substantial diatecr l ariJtion. Tht problems described below are
coflrmo1l to speakers of most varieties of SPanish
word Stress
'
ifta fngfith, Sp^nish uses worcl stress to contrast meanings
(e'g
'
amo /emol'
meaning "I
lovc" versr.rs am6 /ffi6/,
meaning
"he loved") However' stress placement in Spanish is much
iore .egular than in English, ancl irregulirr stress
Placemcnt
is marked orthogmphicall-v'
;;;;-t"rd";,.
;"y
-is.t..ss
th. second worcl ol compounds
llke
Siruriend
xnd
bolfriend
(see
P
ge
33).
iit. rnori syliable-timed
languages, Spanish stressed and unstressed vowels do not differ
gr.",ly ii; length, as they do in En;lish ln lddition,
Sp;rnish does not rcduc th r'owel
[""ri(
"rr.ttiit.*etl
vowels, so Sfanish studelts nmy bxse their pronunciation of
Joriii"r.a lto*.rt on spanish spilling-sound
correspondences
(see page 25)
Rh]-thrn and Intonation
lianish-speaking
students may not pronounc highlighted words with enough
prominence and may pronounce ftlnc'tion words with too much prominence They may also
ilave difficulty highligirting
content words that occur toe'ard the beginning of a sentence
(see pages 96, 98
and 72).
'
if]'. io. of iinal rising ancl falling intonation with sntence
rypes
is very similar in Spanish
and fnglish. The range
-of
intonation in Spanish, however, is narrower than in EngLish' ancl
the traisfer of Spaniih
pitch range into cnglish nlay make Spanish
srlrdenis sound bored
or disinterested.
Coflsonants
1. t sounds:The
Preferrecl
substitution
for thcse English sounds is /t/ ot /d/'a
stigmatized
pr;unciation in English
(see page 126)'
2. /b/, /v/:ln
Spanish ,/b/
and /v,/
are variants of the same sound' so Spanish students
-
-"y'
p..r,1o.t,r." l)er! ltke bert'J) afrd hobbr- a little like
"howy" (see page 124')'
3. /t[/, /l/:
Stu<]enrs may
pronounce muclt
(/tl/) like mush
(4D This is a stereotypd
'
pion ,-n.i"tiotl
-hicir
shoultl be ad<lressed
(see page 131). tugentinean
students may
ir.rake the rel'erse substitution,
p{onouncin!!
'tl'eep
like cheap'
AppENDtx B Problerns of Selected Languages 249
4. /y/, /d3/:
Sp"\'tish-speaking students may substitute /d3/
tbr /y/,
pronouncing.llLles like
/ess',
a stereotyped promrnciation (see pag 149).
5. /s/, /z/.Ifi
most varieties of Spanish,,/2,/ is a l'ariant of /s/,
occurring only before
voicecl consonants. spanish students rnay pronounce Ia4/ like loc! or He is a
student hke "lf.e iss a student." Speakers of Castilian Spanish may pronounce the
letter z as
,/e/
(see page 155).
6. /f/: Spanish stuclents may substitute a tapped or trilled /r/
for English retroflex,/r/
This iubstitution disappears rather quickl-v in ESL settings
(see page 141).
7. /s/
+ consonant clusters: Consonant clusters be[iinning with /s/, as in stdte or special,
are not permitted in Spanish. Students oftcn add a short /e/
vowel at the beginning of
the clustet pronouncing st lle like estdte, and special lite "especial" (se page 151)'
8. Final consonants: Because Spanish permits few final consonants and consonant
clusters, Spanish students may drop final consonants in English words (see page 153)'
9.
Final nasal consonarlts /n/, /m/, and /r)l:
Students may substitute final nasals for each
other. Final /m/
especially may be replaced with final /n/
or /!/,
or even vowel
flasalization
(e.g.,someone sotLncls lite "sungwung") (see page 1]6
)
10. Regular past tense:spanish stuclents may ovcrgcneralize the
/ad/
pronunciation of
the -ed endlng in verbs, pronouncing words like listened a\d ansu)e7'ed as "listen-ed"
and "answer-ed"
(see page 159).
Vowels and Spelling
Because of the spelling irregularities of English vowels, spanish stlrdents need 1(] be aware
of both the reg'lai sound-spelling corfespondences in English and the unusual spellings of
vowels (see Chapter 5).
THAI
Thai, a member of the Tai family of languages, is the national language of Tl.Eiland
Althor.rgh thre are important regional varieties of Thai, Central Thai (also the language
spoken by most people in tsangkok) is considered the standard \?riety
Word Stress
Misplaccd word stress is an important source of efrors for Thai-speaking students who
tenci tb stress the last syllable of English words. Teachers should
present classes of words
whre stress is predictable and present new vocabulary orall]', emphasizin!! the stressed
sytlables. Thai si'dents, wh' tend to pfonounce stressed and unstressed syllables with equal
length and stress, should also practice lengthening stressed vowels (see Chapter 1)'
Rhlthm and Intonation
Tirai students olten insert a glottal stop
(the sounal separating the two parts of uh-ob)
before rvords beginning with aYowel, creating a choppy sounding rhlthm Students should
practice linking words enciing in final consonants to words beginning with vowels
(see
bage
55). Stuclents sho.ld also practice lengthening the stressed syllables of content words.
'
in Thai, a tone lang'age witli mostly monosyllabic words, the
'.rain
function of pitch is to
distinguish one s/ofd liom anothef. Thai uses sentence linal particles to express politeness
and iiieractional functions which are oftcn conveyed in English by intonation. Beca.se they
are unfamiliar with the use and meanillg of English intonation, Tl.ni students sometimes
sound abrupt.
'Ieachers
should provide students with opportunities to listen to English in
context and call attention to its functions
(see Chapter 3).
250
AppENDtx B Ptoblems of Selected Languagcs
Consonants
1. tl, sounds: Thai students often substitute /t/
ot
/d/
fot tlTese sounds. which are
stigmatized pronunciations (see page 126).
2.
/l/, /(B/:These consonants do not exist in Thai. At tlte beginninll of a word,
'I'hai
students nray substitute /tl/ fot
/l/
and
,/dsl,
pronouncing srlp like chip or
Jeep
Llke
cheap. At the end ofa word,[/ and
/d3/
may be pronounced
/t/
(e.g.,
rr.,rs, sounds
li]de ui\ and age sounds likc dte).
(See
crror correction techniques fbr sibllants on
pag 135.)
3. /gJ:yoiced /gJ
ls not a Thai consonant and may be pronounced as /k/
(e.g.,g4me
sounds lite c,7nx e). Students should practice voiced voiceless minimal pairs likc
game-came, goat-coa, and gum-con1e (see page 155).
.{.
A'l:Thai students often substitute /v{/
for
/v/.
prono\ncing r]st like u)est (see
page 124).
5. /r/, /l/:In spoken Thal, h/ is being replaced by /l/ ,
ttn<1 stlrdents may substittfte
/l/
fot
,/r/
in English (see pages 141-147).
6. /s/+coosonant clusters:Thai students nlay add a vowel to separate the consonants,
pronouncing .s/eep, for example, as sdleep
(sce page 151).
7. Beginninla clusters: Thai students may deletc the second consonant in the clustcr;
p/at sounds like
2
ay, antJ glass sounds like gas (see page 151).
8. Final consonants: Thai students may drop or change final consonants. f'hey necd
both focused pronunciation work on prol.rouncing final consonants and frequent
correction of linal consonant errors. fhc,v should also work on final consonants in
the context of linking adjacent words (see pages 54 and 153).
Vowels
L
/ey/
."fhai students often substitute a pure 1'owel
/e/
or
//
for
/eyl,
proneuncing
bait like bet. Enphasize the
Eilide
ending of,/e)y' (see page i73).
2.
/e/:This
is anew vowel for Thai students, who often substitute
/s/,e.g.,bad
sounds
like Z2ed (see page 176).
3. ,?-colored vowels:See page 192.
\IIETNAMESE
Vietnamese is a member of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken primarily in Vietnam
but also within communities in the tJnited States, Australia, xnd other countries.
wofd Stress
Most Vietnamese words are rnonos,vllables. As a result, Vietnamese students haI'e clifficult_y
with stress placement in polysyllabic words.In addition to learning about word classes
where English stress is predictable, new vocabulary should be presented orallv
(see pages
3o- 38).
Vietnamese students should also be taught to make length distinctions bet$-een
stressed and unstressed syllables (see pages 21 27).
Rhlthrn and Intonation
Because Vietnamese stlrdents often gi\''e equal prominencc to all syllables, their English
rhlthm may sound staccato. They should be instructed to make length distinctions betrveeil
stressed content words and unstressed function words (see page
50).
ApptNDtx B Problens ol Selected Lanluages
251
Vietnamese students should also practice linking words ending in final consonants to
both following vowels and following consonants (see page 54).
A primary function of pitch in Vietnamese, a tone language, is to differentiate words,
rather than to structure discourse meanin!1. As a result, students need pmctice listening to
English intonation in contextualized speech to learn the discourse meanings structured by
pitch. Students should work with highlighting imporrant words (see page
96) and final
intonation patterns (see page 100).
Consonants
1. Final consonants: English final consonants are a majer source of pronunciation
errors forVietnamese students. A linited number offinal consonants (/p,t,k/)
are
permitted in Vietnamese, but they tend to be pronounced very weakly. Final
fricatives (e.g.,
/f/
and
/s, are not permitted inVietnamese. When speaking English,
Vietnamese students often appeaf to omit final consonants
(.e.g.,bank
card may
sound like "bah kah"). Both focused promrnciation work on final consonants and
frequent error correction are useful (see page 153).
2. Final voiced and
yoiceless
stops: Final voiced stops
(^,
d, g, are not permitted in
Vietnamese. Sh.ldents should practice lengthening the vowels prececling Englisl.r
voiced stops (see page 155).
3. Final sibilants /s,l tf:These consonants in final position are a source of many
problems. Students may substitute
/t
for final
/tt,
prono djacing catclr L]ldie casb, for
example. Sometimes
/t
is substituted for finaI
/s/
(e.g., krss sounds like "kish")
(see page 131).
4. Beginfling
/p/: /p/ does not occur in begtuning position inVietnamese
Q)et,
for
example, may sound like ,er). Students should be instructcd to pronounce words
spelled $.ith beginningp with a puff of air (see page 150).
5. t sounds:Vietnamese studenrs usually substitute /t/
or
/d/
for the t/? sounds, a
stigmatized pronunciation (see page 12ar).
6. Consonant clusters: Consonant clustefs afe not pefmitted invitnamese, so students
may omit one or more members of a clusterj for example, green may sound like
"geen;'and
street may sound like "seat" or "steat" (see page 151).
7. Letter Jc.'Vietnamese uses a modified Roman alphabet and the letter r in is
pronounced as
/s/.Vietnamese students' pronunciation of words like expldin as
"esplain" or "espain" may reflect both transfer of the Vietnamese letter-sound
correspondence of tr and difficulty with consonant clusters (see page 139).
Vowels
2.
I Tenselax vowels: Although Vietnamese has a complex vowel system, it does not
distinguish vowels on the basis of tenseness, so pairs like sedt-.r/, are difficult for
studcnts to pronounce (see pages 169, 173, and 183).
/e/, /E/: /e/
is not a vowel inVictnamese, so students may substittte
/e/
for
/E/,
pronouncing b.td, for example, so that it sounds like bed (see page 176).
SUFFIXES AND ASSOCIATED STRESS PATTERNS
-ee
employee, trainee, en{aineer, career, volunteer
Exception: cornmittee
,
c6ffe
Chirese,
Japanese,
Portuguese
-ain (uerbs
onb)) enteftain, maintain, obtain
cassette, kitchenette
Excef) tion.
'tiqLtette
-esque/ique: picturesque.grotesque,antique,unique,techniquc
millionaire, doctrinaire, billionaire
-i?'U-cia'l/'sial/
-tiav-ual
trivial, presidentlal, artificial, commercial, contro!'ersial.
confidential, substantial, individual, intcllectual, factual
-ian/-cian/-si^n pedestdan, sectarian, agrarian, musician, politician, physicjan,
{sian. lndone\ian
companio11, opinior.r, production, deceptior.r. occasion. cohesion,
possession, pef mission
Exception: t'tevision
-ious/-cious/-eous/ cufious,mysterious,deliciol"ls,superstitious,ambitious,
-gious/-eous/ prestigious, couragous, outrageous
-geous/-uous
effi cient, omniscient, ilnpatient
-ic/-ical comdic, geognphic, psychological, technological
Exceptions: p()litics, linatic. -Arabic,
rh6toric
abiliqv, opportuniq', originaliry
solidi$., identify, disquali4
impressive, possessive, obsessiYe
fepetitive, sensitive, competitiv
attitude, multitude, rectitude
geology,
astrology, archeology
-graphy photogaphy, ofthogaphy, telegraphy
254
AppENDtx C sut'fixes and Associated slress Prtlerns
-ale
Uett/
?pith uerbs, duplicate, associate, appreciate
/aV xattlr nouns/adjectiues)
apologize, rationalize, recogflize
-ary
Q)ronounced
/efiy/ secretary vocabulary scol1dary
or /ariyD
Exceptions: elem'ntary supplem6ntary
accuracy, intimacy. legitimacy
category, allegory, salutaf
Y
adaptable
(adapt), defensible (defense)
ExcePtions: c6mparablc
(comPare), dem6nstrable
(demonstrate), idmirable (admire), pr6femble (prefer)
sleepiness
(sleepy), politeness (polite)
goyemment (govern), amusement
(amuse)
beautiful
(beauty), mastrtuI (master)
merciless
(mercy), mothedess (mother)
Cotnnxon sulfixes like
-y,-ly,er/o{are and uerb endings do nol cbqnge stress.
DIAGNOSTIC TEST
Students should record a one-minute description of the picture story below Students should
tell the story in their own words.
The fofm on the next page can be used to make a broad valuation of pronunciation,
256
APPENDI{ D DiagnosticTest
Name :
GENERAL CI.{RITY
_
Mostly clear
Unclear in parts
_
Mostly unclear
RIIrIIIM AND FLUENCY
SPEAKING RATE
Too fast
Natural sounding: clear phqses
and clear linking of words
Some unnatural pausing/choppiness
sounds choppy, halting
Appropriate
Too many pauses
INTONAflON
Natural sounding
Flat sounding
Some uflnatural
rises/falls in pitch
Other problems (errors with word suess, errors with sounds, mispronounced words):
INSTRUCTI
SENDING A
ONS FOR RECORDING AND
SOUND FILE
RECORDING
1. Plug in the microphone.
2. START J ALL PROGRN.MS -+ ENTERTAINMENT J SOUND RECORDER,
3. with the microphone plugged into the computer, click dre red RBCORI) butto[ ,mcl speak
intothemicrcphone.'fherccorderrecordsoneminuteofspeech.ClicktheredRECORI)
button again to continue rccording-
SA\TNG
4. Open rhe FILE menu and cllck SAVE AS. Compress the file if it is large: On the SAVI AS
window. click the CFIANCE button.In the SOUND SELECTION window urder FORMAT,
select MPegla).er 3
(MP3). Close the SOUND SELEC'IION wiidos'. Nane the file and save it.
SENDING
5.The file can now be attached in an email and sent.
RECORDING AND SAI'ING
l. Plug in the microphone.
2. Sli\RT --+ AIL PROORAMS
-r
ACCESSORIES J SOUND RECORDIR
3. Click the red START RECORDING button arid speak into the microphonc.
4. Click the STOP RECORDING buttor when you firish. A Sal-e box \!'ill appear. Name the file
and save it-
COMPRESSING AND SENDING
l Right click on the saved souod ile. SEND TO J COMPRtsSSHD
(ZIPPED)
2. A,ttach the comprcs$ed file to an email and send it.
1. Open any existing Sound Recording applicafion on your NIac. If
you
do not have a Sound
Rccording application installed, dovnload and install the ftee version of Audacit)'lM sound
recorder (httpr//audacitlsourccforge.net/dowdoadr. lt is very easy to use.
2. After the iastallation of Audacity, open the application liom
)'our
desktop and then use the
recording tools to Record, Stop, Rewind, Pause, or Fast'forward.
3. To save the recorded file, click on the FILE mellu and then c]ick on ExPoRT AS MP3.
.1.
Choose the location to saye the file and then click on SAIE.
257
Affricate consonants
dveolar consonants
Alveolar ridge
Appositives
A.fticulation
Aspiration
Assirnilations
Audiolingual
approach
Back rzowels
Bilabid
Blends
Centfal vowels
Citation fof(n
Cleat /V
Closed syllables
Cognate words
complex
consonants consisting of a stop consonant and
fricativejin
English, the first sounds in ihair and jazz
consonants produced
when the tongue appfoaches
of touches
the alveolar ridie (rhe
top of the mouth just
behind the top
teeth); in English,
/t/ and,
/s/ are alveolar sounds
the top of the mouth just
behind the top teeth, before the loof
of the moutlt rises
phrases
fbllon'ing a noun providing
additional information: for
exanple, in the se\tence Rudy GiutianL one_time nqlor of
Neu York CitJt, ran unsuccessfullJt.for
president
in ZfiOS. ti,re
plTrase
one-time mayor of Neu
york
Cit! is an appositive
movements of the vocal organs that produce
consonants
and vowels
audible puff
of aif that accompanies pronunciation
of some
consonants;in
English
/p, t, k/ are aspirated wlten a stressed
vowel follows
modification of soulds so they become more similar to adjacent
sounds;for examplc, in the phfase ,/ aa n't belieae
!ou,
ma;y
speakers assimilate rhe last sounds of can't (/nt/)io
the
/bf of
belieue ("I camp believe you,,), modf(ing
/rt/ so rhat botl.r
souncls are pronounced
with the lips (like
,4ril)
method for teaching language based on behaviorist vic,w of
language learning as habit formation; strong rliancc on pattcrn
drills and dialofis
Vowels produced
with the body of the tongue pulled
back in the
mouth;in Engtish, these inchtde the vowels rn i,uke, took, boat,
cougb, and in some dialects,lot
Consonants
made by moving the lips togetherj in English,
/p. h. m. w,/
ovedappinti pronunciation
of the encl of a word and the
beginning of a lbllowirlg word; for example,,,didj
a.' for
(lid
!ou.
vowels pronounced
with the body of the tongue in tlte center of
the mouth, rdther front or back;in English these include the
vowels in crr, and, in some dialects. the vowel in cot
pronunciation
of a word in isolation
pfonunciation
of
/1/ at the beginning of a word (toue)
syllables that end in one o[ more consonants;for
example, the
words
4og
and
4uck
consist of one closed syllable
wofds from tx.o different languages with a com]Iron ancestfy; for
cxample, English
4ualit!
^ttd,
Sp nish cati.tqd are cognares
259
260 ck,ssarv
Communicative
approach
Cornpounds
Consonant clusters
Consonants
Content wofds
Continualrts
Contrastive stress
Da,tk /V
Deductive rule
learning
f)evoicing
Diphthongs
Discourse markers
Epenthesis
Flap
Fricati\.e coflsonaflts
Front Yowels
Full
yow-el
Function words
approach to thc teaching of second languages that emphasizcs
me,rningftrl language use as both thc means and goal of
languagc learning
worcls conrposecl of two words; the rneaning of compounds
often differs from the meaning \a.hcn the two \41)rcls do not
ftrnction as compounds
((r greenlJouse \s.6 green ltouse,
groups ol c<rnsonanls
(bclt,
speqk)
sounds like /p/ or /s/ that are produced b,v obstnrctinli the flow
of air
worcls with cle1Ir lne aning, usuall,v nouns, r'crbs, adjective s
ancl adr.'erbs
(.table,
run. big, sloul!): cofilent $'ords are
usuall) stressed and contrast with functioll words (usuall)
grammar words) w'ith more abstract meanings
(.the,
lo) alf'd
without stress
consonarts tlut can be prolonged (non-stops)
use of stress and pitch to contrast t$'o words
(ls
it BIG or
SM4LLh
pronunciation of
/l/
at llrc end of a word or s'vllable (c.9., rrell,
o/d); tlre back of the tonliue rises to creatc this pronunciatiur
learninli general rules ar.rd then applying thcD to
Particular
cases
pronouncing
yoiced
sounds as !'oiceless sounds
(.c.g.,
b.rue \s
prononnced like bu[)
complex vo\r,elsj in English, /aw/, /ay/
a]nd
/oy/,the
vowels in
how, biglJ, and Do:).! respectiyely
linguistic expressions showing thc rclatio0ships of differcnt
parts of discourse to each othcr; linking words like Bat or Well
Jrc c\!ntPlcs uf discottrsc ntrtrlcrs
insertion of a vorvel
North American pronunciation of
/t/
and
/d/
in $'ords like
uctter irttd ladde\ flaps have thc sound of a /d/
prorouncccl
rcry quickJl-
consorants producecl by obstructina the air but not completely
stopping it, examples of linglish ftrcatives arc
/s/
afld
/z/
Yowels procluced with the b(xh of the tonllue pushed fror.It in
the mouth;in English, thes includc the vo$'els in leqLe. liue,
late, Iet, utd cat.
an unrcduced rro\\'cl;lbr txample, the volvel in con in thc word
consul.ult ts a ftlll vowel: in thc $ofd col1t1rl tl is rcduced
words with abstftrct
lirammatical
mcaning, Iikc articlcs
(a,
on,
llle) and short prepositions (4-t to): function words are usuall-v
unstresscd ancl coDtfirst with contcrt worcls that have clcar
meanini (e.9., t/rle, rttn, big, sktu,ly)
Gtossary
261
Functional load the frequency of linguistic features in a language;for example,
the vowel contrast in liue-leaue h^s x higher functional load than
the
yowel
conttast rL Luke-look because there are many more
word pairs like liueJeaue in English than pairs like luke-look
Glide vowels vowels ending in
/w/ or /y/
Glides
/w,/ and
/y/ in English
Glottal consonants consonants produced at the vocal cords;in English,,zh,/
Glottal stop the sound separating the two parts of ub-olt
Glottaltzed /t/ the sound oflt/ in ,nountain
Glottis the space between the vocal cords
Heary syllables syllables that are often stressed;in English, closed syllables
ending in two of more consonants; syllables with long vowels
High vowels vowels produced with the body of the tongue high in the
mouthiin English, the vowels it1 leaue, Iiue, Luke, and look
Highlighting use of pitch,length, and/or loudness to make a word more
salient to listeners
Inductive rule infefring general rules from particular cases
learning
Intefdentah consonants produced with the tongue between the teth;in
English, the "th" sounds of tbink
^n(l
tben
Inteflocutef conversational partner;person with whom one speaks
Intonation meaningful use ofmelody in speech
Intonatlon contour melody or tune of a phrase
Isolated fh)'thm English phrases whose syllables are replaced by nonsense
patterns syllables (e.g.,
daDA is the isolated rhlthm pattern of at home),
rhl'thm patterns are easier for students to hear when both the
phrase and its isolated rhlthm pattern are nodeled together
IIAS international teachini assistants
Labial consonants consonant articr ation than involves the lip(s); in English,
/p, b,
I
v,m,w/
Labiodentals Consonants made by contact of the teeth and lips;Lr English,
/i v/
Larynx cartilage structures containing the
yocal
cords (Adam's
apple)
I-ateral consonant air passes out over the sides of the tongue;in Englisli,
/1,/
Lax vowels Vowels produced with less muscula! tension causing them to be
slightly centralized compared to their tense counterparts; in
Engllsh, the lax vowels include the vowels in liae, let, afld look.
l-colored vowels vowels followed by s1'llable final /l/
(e.g.,uell)
kxlcal pertaining to words (vocabulary)
Lxical stress Stress within words
Light /U pronunciation of /1/ at the beginnini of a word (/ore)
262
clossary
Liquid consonants /l/ and h/ in English
Low vowels vowels produced with the bod,v of the tongue low in the mouth;
in English, these include the vowels ir.r cat, cot, and cough
Major stress syllable with hcaviest stress
Marked, less rnarked, pairs of linguistic firatures that differ in ease of learning or
more marked natrfalnesst
"more
marked" rnexns 'morc dificult/4ess natural"i
for example, a consonant at the end of a word (oat) is more
difficult to prononflce (or learned later by first language
learners) than the same consonant at the be[iinnini of a word
(roe), making word-final position for consonants more marked
than word-initial position
Mid vowels r.orvels produccd with the bod,v of the tongue in the middle of
the mor.rth, neither high nor low;jn English, these include the
\owels in mate, ntet, cttt, l'j].d boat
Minirnal pairs pairs of worcls that differ in or
y
one sound (fot example,go4,
a$d co.tt ?rc a mininal
Pair)
Mfuror stfess vowel that is stressed but not the most heavily stressed (pitch is
low on vol\'els with secondary stress); secondary stress
Monosyllables words consisting of one s,vllable
(.e.g.,man)
Nasal consonants consonants prodlrccd with air going out through the nose rather
than mouthjin Enilish, the last sounds ir some, son, ancl sung
Nasalization air passes through the nose as a sound
(often
a vowel) is
prolouncecl, crcating a "nasal" solrnd
Non-final ifltonation intonation ovcr a phrase which does not cnd an utterance
Obstruents in English, stop, tiicative and atfricatc consonants
Opefl syllables s_yllables that end in \-owels;for example, both syllables in .so;fa
are open svllables
Ordinal numbers numbers inclicating ordcr (t/.st, second, tlrird, etc.)
Pvl^t^\, pa,latallzed consonants pronollnced with the bod,v of the tongre near the palate
Palate, hard palate the bonl, front part of the roof of the mouth
Paratone widning of pitcll range at thc bcginning of a new discourse topic
Pafefltheticals expressions set apart f1'om thc rest of a scntence; in the sentencc
that follows,l gres-r is a parenthetic^l: It's time to start uorkinS,
/ g//css.
Phonetic symbols symbols usecl to represent one and onl,v onc sound (e.g.,
/iyl
represents thc v()wel so:ufld in lneet, brief, and key
Phonology study of the sound s-Ystem of a language, languages
Pitch a notc (hiih pitch,lo{' pitch)
Pitch leYel average pitch
Pitch range dilferencc bcts'cen the highest and lowest notes in an uttrance
Polysyllabic words with nlore than one syllable
Pfilrrary stfess
Pronunciation
spellings
Prosody, prosodic
Pure
yowel
r-colored vowels
r-dropping
Reduced voweV
syllable
Reduced words
Retroflex
Rhy.thm
Schwa
Secondary stress
Seglnentals
Sibilants
Spelling
pronunciations
Stop consonant
Stf ess-tirned languages
Suprasegmentals
Syllable structure
Syllables
Syllable-tirned
languages
Tense vowels
Clossary
263
prominence given
to a syllable/vowel by length, loudness and
sometimes high pitch; healy stress
respellings of words to mak their pronunciation
clearer; .g.
respelllng pbilosopr:l as "filosofy"
rhlthm or intonation
vowel produced withour a glide ending
Uw/
ot
/yt)
vowels followed by /r/
(c..r;
four)
not pronouncirg
/r/
after vowels
unstressed vowel that has an indistinct sound (often
/a,O;
for
example
,
the vowel in con in the word control h rcd\ced;in the
wotd consonan' it Ls not
words pronounced with less prominence (with less stress andlor
length, with low pitch, with reduced vowels);grammar words
like a ot the typically have reduced pronunciations
the front of the tongue turns up and back; in English,
/r/ is a
retroflexed consonant
alternation of strong and weak syllables/words in connected
speech; pausing; linking of wof ds
reduced vowel sound
/J/
(e.g., the pronunciation
of the bold
letters in ago, Iesson, jealous)
vo$/el that is sttessed but not the most heavily stressed (pitch
is
low on vowels with secondary stress); minor stress
consonants and vowels
"s" like sounds; the bold sounds in the following words are
sibilants:so, zoo, sltoe, tneasure, chair, jazz
mispronunciations of words because of confusing spellings;
pronunciations
based on spellilg
consonants produced by a complet stoppage of ah; English stop
consonants are
/p, b, t, d, k, g/
languages with a large variety of sllable rypes; stressed syllables
are usually longer than unstressed syllables; vowel reduction in
unstressed syllables may also occur
pronunciation features involving stress, rh]'thm, or intonation
types of syllables (e.9., open syllables, closed syllables) that are
permitted in a language
units of spoken language that consist of a vowel, possibly
surrounded by consonants; ?lslt has two syllables
languages with few closed syllables; syllables are often neady
equal in length, regardless of sifess
vowels produced with greater muscular tension; in English, these
include the vowels in leaue, late and sr?on.
264 clossaty
Thought groups meaninllful groups of words pronounced together (phrases)
Tone languages languages which associate a particular pitch or pitch pattern
with individual words; i11 tone languages pitch is an integral
element of each word; Chinese is a tone language
Universals features of language that are found in many languages and are
learned early or morc easily [r]- first-language learners
Unstressed vowels/ in English, vowels/syllables that ar short and often indistinct;for
syllables example, the iirst \.owel in ago is rn.rstresscd
Uttera{rce speech prececlecl and followed by pauscs
Uttefance boundaries beginning or end of an utterance
Velars consonants produced by moving tlte back of tlte tongue up
toward the soft palate;in English, the first sounds in oo4t and
8o4t
ltld t]|re last sound in s/l?g
velum soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth
Vocal ofgafls structrJres used to produce speech sounds (fo[ example, the
tongue, thc vocal cords)
Yocal tract nouth ancl upper throat
Voic quality features pronunciation features that are generally present in native
speech, such as average level of pitch (some languages are
spoken with a relati\''ely higher overall level of pitch, others with
a relatively lowcr ovemll level of pitch)
Voiced sounds sounds produced with vibration of the vocal cords;/z/ is a
voiced sound
Voiceless sounds sounds producecl without vibration of the vocal cords;/s/ is a
voiceless sound
Yowel quality sound of a vowel;in this book vowel quality rcfers to whether a
vowel is reduced or not
vowels sounds like
/o,/
produced with very little obstruction of the
air flow
Vowel-vowel sequencc of two adjacent vowel sounds (e.g., the bold vowels
sequences i\.t rideA
Word list pronrurciation of a $'ord in isolationi citation forn
pfonuflciatiofl
word stfess prominence given to one or lllore syllables in a word, realized in
English as length, loudncss, levcl of pitch, or quality of the vowel
\Yord-to-word linking the way in which final sounds and beginning sounds of adjacent
words are pronounced
Abercrombie, D. (1949).Teaching prom lciarion.
E tglisb Language Teacbtng,
3,
713-122.
Acron,\it: (198.1). Changing fossilized pronunciarion.
TESOI quarterbr,
1A,71 85.
Altenberg, E. (200i).The judgment, perception and
prodllclion of consonent\ clu\tcr< in :t
second ianguage. lrternational Ret)iexa of
Applied Lingubtics, 13, 53-80.
American Dialect Sociery http t//$/ww:
americandialect.oig
Anderson'Hsieh,J.,Johnson, R., & Koehler, K.
(1992).The relationship berween narive
speaker judgments
of non native pronuncia
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