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01 English Pronunciation and Listening to spoken English o Priorities and materials for phonology and phonetics o English vowel

sounds - the 12 monophthongs o Presentation and practice of the 8 English diphthongs o Materials to practise inal !onsonant !lusters in English o "pecifying the priorities for pronunciation teaching o #eaching intonation$ rhythm and stress o "peech versus written English o Listening to spoken English% techni&ues for L2 learners o "hould spoken English 'e the principal o'(ective in language learning) o idiom$ clich*$ (argon$ slang$ motto$ phoneme$ allophone$ redundancy 02 "ynta+ , "emantics o -ays of presenting grammar o "hort #e+ts for production and grammar presentation o .ialogues for grammar-presentation or conversation-facilitation o unction , orm% uses of the Present Perfect #ense o /rammar content of !E as covered in leading e+am course 'ooks 1010-1081 o 2ey developments in the teaching of English voca'ulary during the mid 20th century o #he importance of concordancers and corpuses in voca'ulary learning and teaching today o !hoosing a dictionary for English language learning o unctional and linguistic analysis of occupational varieties of English o "pecialist English dictionaries and companion work'ooks to develop voca'ulary 03 4istory and Practice of #E"L 5#E L methods , approaches o 6udiolingualism 7drilling as ha'it formation8 o !ognitive #heory 7awareness of the rules8 Mentalism o 9otional : unctional approach i;e; setting 7topic areas8 : speech acts 7social purpose of utterance8 o #he !ommunicative 6pproach - the theoretical 'ackground o !ommunicative Language #eaching and task-'ased learning o .efinitions of learning 0< Language 6c&uisition orum on current methods , approaches and the role of the teacher o =#he appeal , poverty of !L#= 7>o'ert ?@9eill% March 20008 o =#he limits of functional5notional sylla'uses= 7>o'ert ?@9eill% 10018 o =!rucial differences 'etween L1 and L2 6c&uisition= 7>o'ert ?@9eill% 10088 o =.ogmas and .elusions in !urrent E L Methodology= 7>o'ert ?@9eill% 10008 o =#he Myth of the "ilent #eacher= 7>o'ert ?@9eill% 6pril 100<8 o Aer'al characteristics of good teacher-talk; 4ow to 'e a good teacher% the most common tips; o -hat makes a good teacher) Bse marketing clichs$ catch-phrases and (argon in your answers; 0C Principles "ylla'us and !ourse .esign o "election and /rading of "tructural items o Duestions to consider when designing a sylla'us 7>on -hite8 o 6 criti&ue of Ereen@s Process "ylla'us 7#ed Power8 o Motivating large classes of captive language learners in poorly resourced ML# environments o Planning a visit with captive 12-13 year-old B2 learners of rench to Eoulogne$ rance o 6 list of criteria for evaluating the Main !ourse Eook 0F Methods of #esting and 6ssessment o G9.EH% to Language #esting ?'(ectives

01

08

00

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?'(ectives of test types% a8 aptitude '8 placement c8 diagnostic d8 achievement e8 proficiency o -hat are a8 discrete point tests '8 tests of integrative skills) o "u'(ective and o'(ective testing techni&ues o "tandardiIed tests 7=psychometric o'(ective= , =linguistic realistic=8 o #he main re&uirements of an efficient test - the pro'lem of =test ru'ric= o Gtem analysis - the facility value of an item and its discrimination inde+ o #he pro'lems of assessing communication in a second language L2 o -hat are a8 norm-referenced tests and '8 criterion-referenced tests) o #est relia'ility and validity% the most important aspects of 'oth for the teacher 5 tester) .eveloping a Placement #est o /etting started , types of test to avoid o !ontent specification o #he Placement #est o Marking instructions and 6nswer 2ey o Gtem 6nalysis for selective deletion Placement #ests set on an incline of difficulty o #esting the test 1% Gtem analysis% facility value and discrimination inde+ o #esting the test 2% "tatistical measures of the Mean$ "tandard .eviation and >elia'ility o >elia'ility versus Aalidity o 6ccommodating =complete 'eginners= during a F0-minute Placement #est and Ei'liography on Language #esting 6 Multiple !hoice Placement #est designed for &uick marking and optimum validity o Part 1 /rammar o Part 2 Aoca'ulary o Part 3 >eading !omprehension o Part < Listening !omprehension o #ape "cript for Part < Listening !omprehension 7cassette$ minidisk or teacher can read aloud8 o Protecting #E"# DBE"#G?9 P6PE>" for re-use 'y su'se&uent intakes of students o 69"-E> "4EE#" -G#4 />G." and ?AE>L6J" for easy marking o Bsing computers or computer la's with or without Gnternet to administer and mark the test English Language #eaching songs and games o olk songs listed 'y Level and fre&uency of pro'lematic English Aowel , !onsonant "ounds o English Phoneme !hart% 2ey to pro'lematic Aowel , !onsonant "ounds o olk songs listed 'y a8 #heme '8 .iscussion #opic and c8 Level o /ames for English Language Learning colour-coded 'y Level >eading in the "econd Language !lass o >eading is not the same as #e+t "tudy o !lassroom activities and "kills for >eading o L2 >eading o'(ectives for English for "pecific Purposes 7Eusiness and E"P8 o L2 >eading o'(ectives for English for 6cademic Purposes 7E6P8 !andidates for English medium universities -riting in the "econd Language !lass o 18 E+ercise-types for teaching writing in the second language class; 28 Gs writing an e+tension of speaking) o 6d(usting lesson content to the conte+ts in which writing is needed o !oherence and cohesion in esl student writing

!orrection techni&ues% 'ehaviourist 7steering round errors8 v cognitive 7earmarking the fault8 o Link to 6dult Literacy Materials for Iero 'eginners with no knowledge of our alpha'et o Link to EE! "killwise% writing - a community we' site$ offering general writing tips and practice for learners at lower levels o Link to >oyal Literary und - help with essay writing for advanced learners hoping to attend B2 universities o Link to Letter writing guide - 718 advice 728 samples of letters written for different purposes 12 Learner GndependenceK Learner 6utonomy and the -e'K "elf-access !entres and Practice #ime o "elf-access !entres% the rationale o Bsing (avascript templates on other sites to make your computer la' teaching , testing material interactive o .ownloading freeware from the we' to run (avascript interactive teach5test templates and how to create your own 13 Particular challenges for English language teachers% real communicationK very low or very high level learners o #he =authenticity argument= as applied to learners at different levels o #eaching 'eginners - goals and strategiesK 2 different methods 7>o'ert ?@9eill% 10808 o #eaching advanced learners

G am inde'ted to >o'ert ?@9eill for giving me permission to use his e+cellent articles on Language 6c&uisition; RSS webfeeds 1; -- Easy 6ccess to the key parts of English language learning and teaching 2; -- Pu'lished resources for English language learning and teaching 7#ed Power@s recommendations8% #his feed is intended for learners5teachers5.irectors of "tudies wishing to review or select 'ooks5!.s5!.->?Ms on English language learning and teaching including areas such as teacher training$ pronunciation$ listening to spoken English$ oral fluency$ grammar$ voca'ulary$ reading and writing 7including handwriting , 'asic literacy8; 3; -- English pronunciation for L1s% 6ra'ic$ !hinese$ !roatian$ .utch$ arsi$ innish$ rench$ /erman$ /reek or 4ungarian <; -- English pronunciation for L1s% Gtalian$ Lapanese$ 2orean$ "panish$ Portuguese$ >ussian$ "wedish$ #aiwanese$ #hai or #urkish >eturn to the #?P of this page or go to Eooks for English Language #eachers

Teaching English sounds


#E6!4G9/ G9.EH : !?MM?9 MG"#62E" in P>?9B9!G6#G?9 : 9EH#

Priorities for phonology in the pronunciation class


4ere are some of the main criteria% 1; Comprehensible% are learners a'le to identify the sounds and are their articulations understood 'y native speakers)

2; 3; <; C;

Social Acceptability% are learners producing sounds that are aesthetically accepta'le to the ears of native speakers) Ease of Production% do learners have a good chance of successfully learning to produce the sounds) Number of familiar words (functional load)% do the sounds occur fre&uently in essential ,5or very useful words) i!ely to be a bad habit affecting other sounds % are errors getting in the way of other important targets)

"unctional load# fre$uency and meaning


!onfusing 5 M 5 and 5 N 5 will rarely lead to misunderstanding$ 'ut confusing 5s5 and 5 M 5 $ 5 N 5 or 5I5 can; #his is likely to affect learners of English from rench$ /erman$ Gtalian$ !hinese$ Lapanese or >ussian language 'ackgrounds; "peakers of these languages do not have separate phonemes for these English consonant sound contrasts; #he consonant contrasts affect many common English words$ so poor production of these sounds will 'e noticea'le; #eaching should focus on 'oth recognition and production; .ifficulty of production should not 'e too great$ 'ecause the a'ove consonant sounds are produced at the front of the mouth i;e; this motor skill is not too difficult to learn;

%ow much phonetics and phonology do teachers and learners of English language need to !now and use&
Language is a means of communication; .ifferences in sound systems have a phonological 'asis% they depend on variation in speech organ positions or 'reath control; #eachers must understand the physical aspects of sound production; #eachers will not necessarily teach these to students$ 'ut this knowledge will provide a 'asis for teachers to identify the physical reasons for inaccurate appro+imations of foreign language sounds$ ena'ling them to give precise instructions which will help students correct faulty pronunciation; Bnless teachers understand how students are using their speech organs in producing a native language sound and what they should 'e doing to reproduce the foreign language sound accepta'ly$ teachers will not 'e a'le to help students 'eyond a certain stage of earnest 'ut inaccurate imitation; Gncorrectly articulated consonants will affect the production of vowels$ as vowels will affect consonants; "tudents therefore re&uire steady practice and muscle training; Pronunciation is a motor skill that needs practice; Phonology lessons will centre on% 1. 4earing% physical demonstration; .iscrimination e+ercises e;g; ship or sheep) 5 5 or 5 i% 5 ) -hich vowel sounds occur in% =it=$ ='it=$ =eat=$ =fit=$ =feet=$ =seat=$ =sit= ) Production; Physically making sounds; E+panded conte+ts; Phrases and sentences as well as phonemes 'etween closed consonants;

2; 3;

!lick 4E>E for lists of !?MM?9 E9/LG"4 P>?9B9!G6#G?9 MG"#62E" EJ L69/B6/E E6!2/>?B9. and suggestions for learners and teachers;

Recommended materials for English phonology practice

OL1P-OL2P #ree or #hree) % "tudent Eook 72nd Edition8 and 3 audio !.s - 'y 6nn Eaker$ Leslie Marshall OQQQQP OL2P-OL<P "hip or "heep) "tudent Eook 7third edition8 and < audio !.s - 'y 6nn Eaker OQQQQQP OL2P-OL<P English Pronunciation in Bse Elementary Eook with 6nswers$ C 6udio !.s , !.->?M 'y "ylvie .onna and Lonathan Mark OL3P-OLCP English Pronunciation Gllustrated% "tudent Eook Lohn #rim$ Peter 2nee'one OQQQQQP Oe+cellent collection of minimal pairsP OL3P-OLCP English Pronunciation Gllustrated% !assette OL3P-OLCP English Pronunciation in Bse Gntermediate Eook with 6nswers$ 6udio !.s and !.>?M 'y Mark 4ancock OL3P-OLCP Elements of Pronunciation !olin Mortimer OQQQQQP Ocovers consonant clusters$ link up$ contractions$ weak forms$ stress patternsP OL3P-OLCP Elements of Pronunciation "et of < !assettes OL<P-OLFP English Pronunciation in Bse 6dvanced Eook with 6nswers$ C 6udio !.s and !.->?M 'y Martin 4ewings

Phonetics and phonology' resources for teacher de(elopment


Learner English Michael "wan 7Ed;8$ Eernard "mith 7Ed;8 OQQQQQP Ocovers common phonological , grammatical errors 'y language 'ackgroundP Learner English% 6udio !assette Learner English% 6udio !. Phonetics for Learners of English Pronunciation 7'ook and audio !.8 'y Marianne Lordan Longman Pronunciation .ictionary 'y L; !; -ells OQQQQQP O'y an e+pert in the fieldP Opu'lished 2000P !am'ridge English Pronouncing .ictionary 711th Edition8 with !.->?M 'y .aniel Lones$ Peter >oach$ Lames 4artman and Lane "etter OQQQQQP #he !ommunicative Aalue of Gntonation in English .avid EraIil 7Ed;8 et al OEraIil@s system for descri'ing how intonation worksP #eaching English Pronunciation Loanne 2enworthy O /ood for language teachers em'arking on the theory and practice P English Phonetics and Phonology Peter >oach O6 Practical !ourse% good for higher level learners as well as teachers; 6ccompanying audio recording also availa'le P 6 !ourse in Phonetics 'y Peter Ladefoget O 0th 6ugust 2000 P #his 'ook O originally pu'lished in 101C P has also 'een through several editions and is still acknowledged as the 'est course for university undergraduates seriously interested in articulatory phonetics; Like the a'ove title$ it is offered as a =course=$ though it sufficienty comprehensive to satisfy the needs of students of linguistics; =Phonetics= focuses on =the production of sounds=$ while =Phonology= e+tends to the =study of sounds within a language system=; "tudents whose practical and linguistic interests relate directly to the English language$ should consider an easy practice 'ook from the section a'ove or the ne+t title in this section 'y 6; !; /imson; /imson@s Pronunciation of English O 2nd March$ 2001 P ?riginally pu'lished in 10F2 as =6n introduction to the pronunciation of English=$ there has 'een nothing to 'etter this course$ which covers the production of speech$ sounds in a language$ the English vowel sounds and the English consonant sounds as well as social 7e;g; >eceived Pronunciation8$ geographical 7e;g; >egional Aariations8 and historical perspectives; English 6ccents and .ialects% 6n Gntroduction #o "ocial 6nd >egional Aarieties ?f English Gn #he Eritish Gsles 'y 6rthur 4ughes and Peter #rudgill

#his 'ook is most suited to students of sociolinguistics who wish to sample variations from =received pronunciation= within the geographical regions specified in the title; #he level of analysis is for people with a 'ackground in linguistics; 4owever$ an actor or actress wishing to perfect their Lowland "cots$ .evon or .u'lin accent and to pick up some of the le+ical items in a particular dialect$ may find this a valua'le source; #here is an accompanying audio cassette; Gnternational English% 6 /uide to Aarieties of "tandard English 'y Peter #rudgill and Lean 4annah #his study takes English 'eyond the Eritish Gsles; 4ere the analysis focuses on variations from =received pronunciation= across !ontinents; =Gnternational English= covers the distinctive features of English in England$ 6ustralia$ 9ew Realand$ "outh 6frica$ -ales$ the B"6$ !anada$ Greland$ the -est Gndies$ -est 6frica and Gndia; 6gain$ the work is pro'a'ly most likely to appeal to students of sociolinguistics 7language and society8 at university level; 4owever$ this and the previous title make e+cellent 'ackground reading for any student undertaking stylistic analysis of any regional$ social or occupational variety of English; "i+th formers in B2 "econdary "chools are now continuously assessed on pro(ect work$ which may include a study of the language of (ournalism 7news reports8$ advertising$ pop music$ fashion$ teenagers or other social groups; #hese pro(ects are usually functionally 'ased and ade&uate attention is usually given to language function and le+is; urther consideration could pro'a'ly 'e e+tended to how phonetic , phonological features help to recognise the functions of professional and5or social registers; "ome 'ackground in phonetics or phonology is really needed to get the most out of these works; 4and'ook of the Gnternational Phonetic 6ssociation% 6 /uide to the use of the Gnternational Phonetic 6lpha'et #he head&uarters of GP6 is in Bniversity !ollege London$ which has 'een graced 'y the presence of many of the B2@s 'est linguists$ especially those specialising in phonetics and phonology; Gf you are looking towards a recognised &ualification in 'oth the practice and theory of phonetics$ then the hand'ook will allow you to see the GP6 !hart and will give you some idea of the num'er of sounds you will have to cover$ including the 'ila'ial click 7a kissing sound which e+ists in several 6frican languages$ though not in EnglishS8; Likely candidates for the recognised pu'lic e+amination include linguists who are e+pected to 'e a'le to transcri'e speech or speech therapists who are e+pected to have a thorough knowledge of speech organs and the methods of articulation; Linguists such as .avid !rystal have made valua'le contri'utions 'oth to language teaching theory and to description of language disa'ility; #here are careers for good phoneticians 'oth in education and the health service at levels ranging from classroom teacher or practical therapist to senior researcher;

Academic research
Educational resources for phonetics and phonology from )ni(ersity College ondon* People from various fields 7higher education$ language disa'ility$ drama8 who wish to pursue an interest in phonology 7e;g; for doctoral research8 should take this link for a description of the M6 in Phonology offered at Bniversity !ollege London - the home of the Gnternational Phonetic 6lpha'et; Gf you want to sample a te+t 'ook for the study of speech pathology and audiology 7which you may well use on a B!L course8$ take the link to a "peech "cience Primer% Physiology$ 6coustics$ and Perception of "peech;

Pronunciation

Common +ista!es in English by anguage ,ac!ground


Arabic All languages Chinese Croatian

-utch

"innish

"rench

.erman

.ree!

%ungarian Persian

/talian

0apanese

1orean

Portuguese

Russian

Spanish

Swedish

Taiwanese

Thai

O Assimilation P Tur!ish

O Phonemic transcription P

O English Phoneme Chart P

=Bnless the teacher understands how the student is using his speech organs in producing a native language sound and what he should 'e doing to reproduce the foreign language sound accepta'ly$ he cannot help the student 'eyond a certain stage of earnest 'ut inaccurate imitation;= O-ilga >ivers - #eaching oreign Language "killsP !an your teacher tell you how many phonemes there are in the English language and how to use your organs of articulation to produce these sounds) #eachers who have studied the sound system of your language will also 'e in a 'etter position to help you with common mistakes; Practice materials referred to in the lists222222222222222222222222222222222Practice e3ercises' minimal pairs

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
8;

English Pronunciation Gllustrated% "tudent@s Eook and !assette "hip or "heep)% "tudent@s Eook and !assettes 9ote% there is now a revised "tudent@s Eook which comes together with < audio !.s 4eadway% Bpper-intermediate% Pronunciation% Eook and !assettes 4eadway% Gntermediate% Pronunciation% Eook and !assettes 4eadway% Pre-intermediate% Pronunciation% Eook and !assette 4eadway Pronunciation% Elementary% Eook and !assette Pronunciation #asks% "tudent@s Eook$ !assette "et and #eacher@s Eook 4ow 9ow$ Erown !ow)% "tudent@s Eook and !assettes

Clic! here for the published materials / would now recommend for teachers and learners of English pronunciation*

RSS Webfeeds
-- Pu'lished resources for English language learning and teaching 7#ed Power@s recommendations8% #his >"" feed is intended for learners5teachers5.irectors of "tudies

wishing to review or select 'ooks5!.s5!.->?Ms on English Language #eaching including areas such as teacher training$ pronunciation$ listening to spoken English$ oral fluency$ grammar$ voca'ulary$ reading and writing 7including handwriting , 'asic literacy8; -- English pronunciation for L1s% 6ra'ic$ !hinese$ !roatian$ .utch$ arsi$ innish$ rench$ /erman$ /reek or 4ungarian -- English pronunciation for L1s% Gtalian$ Lapanese$ 2orean$ "panish$ Portuguese$ >ussian$ "wedish$ #aiwanese$ #hai or #urkish

The 20 English Vowel Sounds: 12 monophthongs (5 long & 7 sho t! "nd # diphthongs
G have added pages on the 12 English Monophthongs and the 8 English .iphthongs; #he page on monophthongs shows the fi+ed tongue positions 7the height of the front or the 'ack of the tongue and the degree of retraction8 for producing these sounds in >eceived Pronunciation; #he tongue travels 'etween some of these fi+ed positions to produce the diphthongs; Learners often find the C long English vowel sounds and the diphthongs difficult to produce$ since learners@ native languages more commonly feature most of the short English vowel sounds; 4ord lists to practise English diphthongs% introduction : 13 : 1< : 1C : 1F : 11 : 18 : 10 : 20 :

$ew m"te i"l on %onson"nt %luste s


5&issing %onson"nts5 Ted Power 6778222222222/ntroduction -hen there are three or more consonants together$ native speakers do not always produce as many consonant sounds; or e+ample$ the final consonant cluster in the word =fifths= is usually reduced to the last two consonant phonemes; /ood pronunciation materials need to include practice of elision 7missing phonemes out8 and assimilation 7a change in the &uality of the phoneme - perhaps to a different phoneme altogetherS8; =KISSING CONSONANTS= practises final consonant clusters$ since lists of initial consonant clusters can easily 'e found in a dictionary$ and consonant strings at the 'eginnings of words generally cause fewer difficulties; "ull word lists 7each link is a separate page8-------for consonant clusters beginning with' 5m5 5l5 5p5 5r5 5'5 55 5f5 5v5 55 5M5 55 5N5 55 5n5 5(5 5t5 5T5 5d5 5s5 5k5 5I5 5g5

'ssimil"tion
"ome English consonant sounds$ including many al(eolar ones$ change into 7or towards8 different phonemes when followed 'y certain other sounds; "peakers "ssimil"te to avoid awkward sound com'inations which would lead to loss of oral fluency with utterances sounding 'roken up and clumsy; "ome native English speakers$ including those who have 'een to top schools$ are ignorant of the differences 'etween written and spoken English and attempt to spe"( "s the) w ite; #he remedy is Assimilation Practice; #he links 'elow provide learners with short phrases where assimilation occurs%

1; 2; 3; <; C; F; 7. 8. 0;

9 t 9 changes to 9 p 9 before 9 m 9 9 b 9 or 9 p 9 9 d 9 changes to 9 b 9 before 9 m 9 9 b 9 or 9 p 9 9 n 9 changes to 9 m 9 before 9 m 9 9 b 9 or 9 p 9 9 t 9 changes to 9 ! 9 before 9 ! 9 or 9g9 9 d 9 changes to 9 g 9 before 9 ! 9 or 9 g 9 9 n 9 changes to 9:9 before 9 ! 9 or 9 g 9 9 s 9 changes to 9 9 before 9 9 or 9 ; 9 9 < 9 changes to 9 9 before 9 9 or 9 ; 9 9=9 changes to 9 s 9 before 9 s 9

Teaching English intonation and stress patterns


#E6!4G9/ G9.EH : 9EH#

Te"*hing inton"tion + the theo ies behind inton"tion ,efinitions


>* Tone - the rise and fall of the voice; Tune9Pitch (ariation; 6n oscilloscope will give an oscillograph of speech; #he fre&uency will 'e shown 'y the closeness of the waves 7high fre&uency will 'e shown 'y waves which are closer together8; 6* The (olume 7strength of signal8 will 'e shown 'y the height of the waves; #he height of the note depends on the speed of opening and closing of the vocal cords; More vi'rations of the laryn+ 7up to 800 per sec8 show up more compact waves; #he first thing that people 7.aniel Lones$ 2indom$ Pike8 looked at was pitch (ariation* !rude rules 7-h Ds fallK Jes59o Ds rise8 'ased on introspection 7what do G say)8 rather than data; #hose who have collected data come up with interesting findings%

,oes inton"tion tell us wh"t spee*h fun*tion isMany authors of intonation practice 'ooks O e;g; ?@!onnor and 6rnold in =Gntonation of !ollo&uial English= or !ook in =6ctive Gntonation= and =Bsing Gntonation= P provide e+ercises where speech functions such as polite re&uests or confirmation &uestions dictate the intonation patterns which listeners should e+pect or speakers should employ; 4owever$ the findings of some research pro(ects - most nota'ly the "cottish Gntonation Pro(ect - are that the relationships 'etween intonation patterns Osuch as the tones categoriIed 'y ?@!onnor , 6rnoldP and speech functions are not so predicta'le; !lear instances of rising tune 1; Echo &uestions e;g; you what) 2; !hallenging e;g; on Monday) 3; !onciliation% ?h really) ATT/T)-E' ?@!onnor , 6rnold 'elieve that intonation goes with attitude; #hey list C00 different attitudes; #hey have < Main #unes; 6ttitude is not conveyed 'y pitch alone;There?s more to conte3t than ;ust pitch*

9ote% Paralinguistic features identified 'y .illian ,rown; Aaria'les include% pitch span, placing in voice range, tempo, loudness, voice setting (unmarked, breath , creak ! articulator setting (unmarked"tense!, articulator precision (precise"slurred"unmarked!, lip setting (pursed"smiling!, direction o# pitch (rise"unmarked!, timing (unmarked"e$tended!, %ause (unmarked"pause!; #hese features are correlated with descriptions from no(els' replied"said, retorted"e$claimed, important"pompous"responsible, dadl "depressed"miserable, e$cited, an$ious"&orried"nervous, shrill"shriek"scream, &arml , coldl , thought#ull , se$il , crossl "angril , 'ueried"echoed( /illian Erown uses feature analysis (@ 2 or 9) to make the connections; #he idea of 5Para2 anguage5 is from Abacrombie; .esmond Morris has written a popular 'ook on the su'(ect - English people converse at 2< inches apart;

The impo t"n*e of inton"tion in so*i"l inte "*tion


T)RN2TA1/N.% /iving the floor to another person or taking your turn in a conversation% rise and fall are used as a signal for when to speak and when not; >emain at a high pitch if you want to continue talking; 6 fall shows completion; 7"ee EraIil8 /N"AR+AT/AN STR)CT)RE 7"ee ?@!onnor8% +a;or stress items pick out the most important words in the sentence% they point to the new9un!nown information in the sentence; Michael 4alliday has done most work on this; 9ote that one function of intonation is stress* The tonic (stressed item) is the item which has the greatest amount of pitch mo(ement on it;

.mpli*"tions fo te"*hing English p onun*i"tion


Many linguists and teachers suggest that teachers should focus on teaching STRESS rather than R/SE B "A since there is a massive difference 'etween how one person and another perceives an utterance; Jou need a machine to determine whether it@s a rise or a fall; 6t higher levels - for e+ample$ pronunciation sessions for learners involved in the language of negotiation or presentation in fields such as 'usiness or education$ emphasis should also 'e given to TAP/C STR)CT)RE - also related to turn2ta!ing* Topic Switching' "tart high; -hen people switch tack$ they mark it with their voice; OaP CANC )S/AN' #eacha'le items are 1; 2; "entence "#>E"" !ontrastive "#>E"";

O'P .istinguish 'etween production and comprehension in your teaching; OcP Teach intonation in conte3t* e;g; 'eing angry - use model dialogues to represent particular functions of the voice; "ome practice in linking intonation patterns to attitude will pro'a'ly help in clearer communication of meaning in spite of the findings of the "cottish Gntonation Pro(ect;

/se of 0di"logues0 "s English p onun*i"tion te"*hing m"te i"ls


!ould a prose te+t have 'een used to e&ual effect or does the target depend heavily on face to face communication)

Many dialogues in English course'ooks are written specifically for grammar demonstration on the one hand and conversation-facilitation on the other; Gn each case$ useful voca'ulary is also demonstrated; !olin Mortimer@s dialogues in #he !am'ridge Elements of 1 onun*i"tion series 7e;g; =Stress Time5# 54ea! "orms5# 5 in! )p5 and 5Clusters58 include single le+ical items and conversational phrases i;e; some very essential features of speaker5listener interaction;

The impo t"n*e of me"ningful *onte2ts "nd the ele3"n*e of inton"tion p "*ti*e
4ow important is it to memoriIe dialogues incorporating these different o'(ectives) >emem'er Monsieur le "urveillant@s son in 6lgeria who memoriIed the whole 'ook; 6sk him where he lives and he@s very puIIledS >emem'er 4asdru'el in an English Primary "chool; 4is family has moved from "pain; 4e has mastered phonics and look and say and his reading appears to 'e fluent$ though he has a total lack of intonation , stress; 4e has no idea what the words meanS >emem'er the gentleman who can impress us 'y instantly recalling sporting facts; #ry him on international politics; 4is memory training permits him to recall every date associated with countless events - some trivial and some important; -hat he is almost totally una'le to do is to link information and to evaluate what is trivial and important in relation to a further goal or greater purpose; #he a'ility to select according to priority and to com'ine information in other than a chronological se&uence appears to 'e missing;

4in(ing inton"tion p "*ti*e to p "*ti*e in g "mm"ti*"l "**u "*)


6lthough 'ooks for practising English synta+ in written form such as /ntermediate English .rammar have their purpose$ we are failing as teachers if we do not provide learners with the phonological rehearsal and memory training needed to achieve accuracy in oral English; Many important opportunities were lost to learners when language la'oratory pattern drills 7of the more meaningful variety8 went out of fashion; !oupled with practice in stress and intonation$ these drills can contri'ute far more effectively to communication skills than li'raries of materials descri'ed as =authentic= - which often do not re&uire learners to produce any sounds or syntactic forms at all; "chools and "elf 6ccess !entres which really provide language practice opportunities will possess materials providing simultaneous rehearsal of synta+ and pronunciation; #he 'est of these are% 1ernel essons Plus aboratory -rills and 1ernel essons /ntermediate -rills 'y >o'ert ?@9eill; >o'ert@s drills provide rehearsal in repetition$ su'stitution 7simple$ varia'le or progressive8$ transformation 7e;g; Duestion , 6nswerK #ense to #ense8$ com'ination 7e;g; collocation e+ercises8; 4owever$ phonology$ stress and intonation is 'eing rehearsed all the time; Moreover$ >o'ert@s skill in relating synta+ 7e;g; structural forms in different ver' tenses8 to meaning and situation$ escapes the shortcomings of drills that teach =structure speech= and offers the rehearsal and production opportunities that must 'e present in the curriculum if we are to have any chance of teaching oral communication; Meaningful conte+ts and naturalistic settings are present throughout; Learners and teachers should 'e suspicious of any theory related to communicative language which ignores the essential need for active rehearsal and production of phonology 7vowel , consonant sounds8$ stress and intonation patterns 7signalling meaning and attitude8 and

synta+ 7also related to meaning via concepts such as time and completion8; Phonetics is defined as the study of sounds$ while Phonology e+tends to the study of sounds within a language system; 6ll spoken and written languages are systems; #o deny learners rehearsal in the recognition and production of English phonemes and syntactic forms in the name of some theory of !ommunicative Language #eaching dependent on =authentic materials= is a'solute madness and has nothing to do with teaching communication; Gt also portrays a mistaken notion of authenticity; 9early all speeches and te+ts that can 'e found in the world are produced with some purpose in mind; #here is nothing culpa'le a'out creating written or spoken material designed especially to help people learn English; Gf material developed to practise phonology ,5or synta+ completely ignores function$ attitude and meaning$ then it is pro'a'ly not very good material; 6uthenticity is not an issue; #e+ts or dialogues tailored to the phonology or grammar pro'lems of learners from specific language 'ackgrounds can 'e perfectly authentic as teaching material; -hy choose te+ts designed to help or appeal to people with needs and interests which 'ear no relevance to learners@ pro'lems and goals)

.nton"tion h"s 3" ious fun*tions in diffe ent wo ld l"ngu"ges


?n this page$ we have 'een concerned with the functions of intonation in spoken English; Gn world languages$ intonation is used to mark% 1; 2; 3; <; C; F; 1; 8; 0; gender num'er &uantity tense or time modality pace 7in some languages8 word order punctuation and 'oundary features

Te"*hing English h)thm "nd st ess p"tte ns + use of we"( fo ms5 st ess pl"*ement & timing
6s movement of pitch is heard on stressed sylla'les in the English language$ practice of English intonation and stress patterns are closely linked; 4owever$ it can 'e 'eneficial to focus specifically on word and sentence stress; 6 Pronouncing .ictionary is recommended as a reference source to check where sylla'le stress occurs within words; Practising placement of stress within sentences is also essential if learners are to 'ecome good listeners and communicators$ since the same sentence can take on different meanings depending on where the speaker chooses to place the primary stress% EH6MPLE "E9#E9!E O6P% =G@m not going=; 1; 2; 3; 5/?m not going=% meaning O1P U 9ot =ME=$ 'ut perhaps =J?B=$ ="4E= or =4E=; =G@m not going=% meaning O2P U G re B"E to go; =G@m not going=% meaning O3P U G@m not /?ing;;; G@m !?Ming E6!2S

"entence stress can also 'e illustrated and practised 'y writing a long sentence on the 'oard$ which can 'e made to carry many different meanings or points of emphasis; EH6MPLE "E9#E9!E OEP% =Lanet@s going to Erighton tomorrow afternoon to 'uy herself a pair of red$ leather shoes;=

Practice of sentence stress is achieved 'y cueing the learners with &uestions while re&uiring them to use the whole sentence in reply; #he second time this is done$ the learners can discard the parts of the sentence which do not contain the important element of the answer in order to form a more natural response; #he teacher provides cues such as% =Gs Lohn going to Erighton;;;)=$ =Gs Lanet going to London;;)=$ =Gs Lanet going away from Erighton;;;)=$ =Gs Lanet coming from Erighton;;;) Gs Lanet going to sell her mother a pair of red$ leather shoes)=$ =Gs Lanet going to 'uy herself three pairs;;;)= =Gs Lanet going to 'uy herself a pair of 'lue$ suede shoes 5 red$ leather sandels)= Gt will 'ecome clear to learners that there are many variations of sentence stress$ which will decide the meaning of their responses; 6 practice session on stress could also 'e included in a lesson aimed at improving listening comprehension; Learners who listen to utterances in a linear way$ giving e&ual importance to each word in se&uence$ are e+hi'iting very poor listening strategies; Learners who do this are usually the ones who complain that it is too fast and ask for sluggishly slow collo&uial; -hat they are missing is the fact that in the English language$ the words carrying the important meaning are often located at or towards the end of an utterance or sentence; -ords such as =G= 7and more difficult items than su'(ect pronouns placed near the 'eginning of sentences8 are often fairly redundant in terms of meaning since they refer to known territory% i;e; the listener already knows that it is =you= who is speaking; #ry the following techni&ue to make your learners more rela+ed a'out rapidly spoken utterances% EH6MPLE "E9#E9!E O!P% =G don@t know whether you@re wondering who G am$ 'ut may G introduce myself; G@m #arIan;= 4aving deli'erately recited the unimportant parts of this utterance at 'reakneck speed$ reassure your learners 'y asking them (ust to listen to the important components near the end of the utterance$ especially the words and sylla'les carrying the main stress; Make the point that native speakers only listen out for one or two propositions in an utterance and all that this one really communicates is =ME;;;#6>R69=; Learning what parts of an utterance to discard 7not even to assign to =the recycle 'in=8 is a very important listening strategy; 9ative speakers would find listening comprehension impossi'le if they did not know how to process utterances in this way; Gt may 'e worth mentioning that the keys and tunes used at the 'eginning of sentences can communicate attitudes i;e; they can tell you if the speaker is angry or trying to 'e friendly$ polite$ formal or cold; -ithout understanding any of the words$ it is still possi'le to detect the speaker@s attitude; 9onsense words 7(ust =pure noises=S8 can even 'e used to practise conveying attitude; Gn multilingual classes$ this can form the 'asis of an interesting contrastive linguistics pro(ect on differences and common ground in the use of tunes and keys to communicate feelings and attitudes; Leo Lones includes activities of this kind in =9otions of English= O!am'ridgeP; 6sk your learners to utter a nonsense sentence such as =G love you= several times$ telling them what attitude Oe;g; warmth$ indifference$ pride$ hostility$ 'oredom$ interestP you wish them to communicate on each occasion; ame 6cademy teachers try to get learners to sing with e+pression; #he challenge for language teachers is to get learners to speak with e+pression; Phonology$ stress patterns and tunes are all interrelated; #o achieve the correct rhythm$ it is necessary to know when to use weak forms Othis fre&uently involves the neutral vowel =schwa=P$ which is under-deployed 'y many second language learners; Learners whose native languages have many consonant sounds$ 'ut relatively few vowel sounds$ especially long vowels and diphthongs Oe;g; native speakers of 6ra'ic languages and dialectsP$ are likely to have poor stress timing and to make insufficient use of pitch variation 7i;e; intonation8; /ood material to practise e+pression 7i;e; rhythm$ stress and intonation8 includes situational-

'ased te+ts designed for role play where utterances are short 7'ut dramaticS8; "ome of the 'est role play te+ts G have used were provided 'y .oug !ase and 2en -ilson and the English Language #eaching #heatre; #he two 'est titles were% =?ff "tage= 1010 4einemann O1C sketches V accompanying audio-cassetteP and = urther ?ff "tage= 108< O10 sketches V accompanying audio ,5or video cassetteP; Bnfortunately$ these materials are no longer in print; 6s smaller pu'lishers are taken over 'y larger ones$ editors who may not have had much classroom teaching e+perience are sometimes too involved in the promotion of new material of &uestiona'le value and overlook older =(ewels in the crown=; .oug !ase and 2en -ilson@s e+cellent material is in no way dated; 2en -ilson is also remem'ered for his key participation in the "olid Eritish 4at Eand$ which produced =Mister Monday , other songs for the teaching of English= OLongman 1013P; #hese songs are also landmark material and could still 'e successfully used to practise synta+ aurally 5 orally instead of reading through landmark material such as >aymond Murphy@s =English /rammar in Bse=$ which will itself 'e 20 years old soonS Listening practice can also take the form of discrimination e+ercises where the same utterance is recited using different sentence stress patterns; #he learners do not even have to see the sentence written down$ 'ut it is helpful if they have an 6nswer /rid where they have to choose 'etween three possi'le meanings for each utterance% meaning O6P$ OEP or O!P; #he same utterance can 'e used in successive discrimination test &uestions applying different stress patterns until each of the alternative meanings O6P OEP and O!P have 'een e+hausted$ though the learner will need to mark their answers in the correct se&uence; #hus$ seven different utterances$ each presented three times$ would re&uire a ready-made 6nswer /rid offering twenty-one different meanings; #he 'est pu'lished material G have used of this kind was .onn Eyrne and /ordon -alsh@s =Listening !omprehension 1 #eacher@s Eook= OLongman 1013P containing sample utterances to practise phonology OBnits 1-11P$ stress$ rhythm and intonation OBnits 12-1FP; #he 6nswer /rids were contained in an accompanying student@s work'ook entitled =Pronunciation Practice=; #hese materials have long 'een out of print$ though it is &uite easy for native speakers of English to produce their own; #he 'est pu'lished material$ still availa'le$ for practice of stress timing and placement is ="tress #ime= and =-eak orms= contained in !olin Mortimer@s =Elements of English= listed 'elow%

Re*ommended m"te i"ls fo p "*ti*e in English st ess "nd inton"tion p"tte ns

Elements of Pronunciation% "tudent Eook O or intermediate upwards to practise stress timing$ weak forms$ consonant clusters$ link up P Elements of Pronunciation% !assette #his 'ook consists of practice materials for =stress time=$ =weak forms=$ =liaison= 7linkages 'etween words8 and =consonant clusters=; ocus on these areas of pronunciation is often neglected; !olin Mortimer@s practice dialogues are graded in order to make the material accessi'le to levels of proficiency ranging from post elementary to higher intermediate; 4eadway% Bpper-intermediate% Pronunciation% Eook "arah !unningham$ Eill Eowler O or phonology$ stress and intonation com'ined P

4eadway% Bpper-intermediate% Pronunciation !assettes 4eadway% Gntermediate% Pronunciation% Eook "arah !unningham$ Eill Eowler 4eadway% Gntermediate% Pronunciation% !assettes 4eadway% Pre-intermediate% Pronunciation% Eook Eill Eowler$ "ue Parminter 4eadway% Pre-intermediate% Pronunciation% !assette 4eadway Pronunciation% Elementary% Eook "arah !unningham$ Peter Moor 4eadway Pronunciation% Elementary% !assette #he !ommunicative Aalue of Gntonation in English .avid EraIil 7Ed;8 et al O or teachers and learners e;g; language of presentations ,5or negotiation P Gntonation and a'ove Gntonation Gntonation in !onte+t% "tudent@s Eook Ear'ara Eradford$ .avid EraIil 7Ed;8 O or intermediate with help from a teacher P in !onte+t% #eacher@s Eook in !onte+t% !assette

Te2t to p "*tise S67RT E$84.S6 V7WE4 S7/$,S


The story of ,etty ,otter and the butter - short vowels Eetty Eotter had some 'utter$ =Eut$= she said$ =this 'utter@s 'itter; Gf G put it in my 'atter$ Gt would make my 'atter 'itter; Eut a 'it of 'etter 'utterEetter than the 'itter 'utter#hat would make my 'atter 'etter;= "o she 'ought a 'it of 'utter$ Eetter than the 'itter 'utter$ 6nd she put it in her 'atter$ 6nd it made her 'atter 'etter; "o it was 'etter Eetty Eotter Eought a 'it of 'etter 'utter; The cold old house - long vowels and diphthongs G once knew a house$ 6 cold$ old house$ 6 cold$ old house 'y the sea; Gf G were a mouse$ Gn a cold$ old house$ -hat a cold$ old mouse G would 'eS / ;oined the na(y - long vowels and diphthongs G (oined the navy$ #o see the sea; 6nd what did G see) G saw the sea; The wild ro(er - long vowels and diphthongs

G@ve 'een a wild rover for many a year$ 6nd G@ve spent all my money on whisky and 'eer$ Eut now G@m returning with gold in great store$ 9ow G never will play the wild rover no more 6nd it@s no$ nay$ never$ 9o nay never$ no more$ -ill G play the wild rover) 9o$ never$ no more;

Songs fo p "*tising English phonemes


"ee the "ong #itles on this we' site listed 'y level and 'y fre&uency of English sound; #E6!4G9/ G9.EH : !?MM?9 MG"#62E" in P>?9B9!G6#G?9 : P4?9EME !46># : E6!2 : 9EH# #E6!4G9/ G9.EH : !?MM?9 MG"#62E" in P>?9B9!G6#G?9 : 9EH#

-hen G used to teach$ G grouped the diphthongs as they appear a'ove and 'elow; G did not teach them all at once; "ee the vowel &uadrilateral on the previous page for tongue positions; G would strongly recommend that they are taught 7or self-taughtS8 a few at a time$ 'acked up 'y plenty of practice materials for repetition ,5or reading aloud 7e;g; poems or songs - click 4E>E for song materials8 so that learners can really train their speech; Gt is a good idea for learners to record and play 'ack their voices$ since it can 'e difficult to speak and listen to oneself at the same time; #o see all the English sounds$ refer to the English Phoneme !hart;

Wh) do most le" ne s find diphthongs diffi*ult "t fi st#here are eight English diphthongs altogether; #o make diphthongs$ your tongue$ lips 7and your (aw on occasionsS8 have to move; "ometimes the (ourney your tongue makes is short and very controlledK in some of the diphthongs$ it has to move a long distance in your mouth$ involving a lot of (aw movement too; Learners find diphthongs difficult 'ecause producing them is a motor skill 7like 'ody 'uildingS8 which has to 'e practised in order to o'tain a good result; Jou cannot succeed in English pronunciation 'y understanding alone; #he muscles you have to train to make English diphthongs are unlikely to 'e identical to those you use in production of vowel sounds in your first language; Bnderstanding is also important; 6lthough you can train to a certain e+tent through repetition 7parrot fashionS8$ you will 'e a'le to make further improvement through awareness of the manner of articulation 7e;g; the a'sence or presence of lip rounding ,5or tension$ siIe of aperture$ degree of (aw movement8$ the starting and finishing tongue positions$ and 'oth the direction and e+tent of tongue movement;

1 esenting diphthongs + simil" ities "nd diffe en*es


#he English language has twenty vowel sounds; #o see all the English sounds$ refer to the English Phoneme !hart; #he first 12 of the English vowel sounds are M?9?P4#4?9/"; #he tongue stays at ?9E fi+ed location in the mouth to produce each M?9?P4#4?9/;

"ounds 13 to 20$ the ne+t eight English vowel sounds$ are .GP4#4?9/"; #hey present greater difficulty to people learning English 'ecause the tongue travels 'etween two fi+ed locations; Gt is important to know e+actly what to do with the speech organs 7i;e; the position of the tongue$ lip-shape , tension$ siIe of mouth opening8 in each location and the manner and direction of the movement;

1 "*ti*e m"te i"ls: *li*( on diphthongs 9 1: 9 1; 9 15 9 1< 9 17 9 1# 9 1= 9 20 9

T%E "/RST T%REE -/P%T%AN.S ha(e the (owel sound in 5pit5 or 5if5 as the "/N/S%/N. PAS/T/AN* To ma!e this sound# your tongue has to be high and towards the front of your mouth and your lips !ept rela3ed*

138 as in day$ pay$ say$ lay; #he starting position is with tongue in mid position at front of mouth as in =egg=$ ='ed= or =#ed=; #herefore you move the tongue up to make the diphthong;

1<8 as in sky$ 'uy$ cry$ tie; #he starting position is $ the same sound as in =car= or the noise =ah= which you make when you open your mouth at the dentist@s; #o make the diphthong you need a 'ig (aw movement$ less opening as you move the tongue up and front;

1C8

as in 'oy$ toy$ coy or the first sylla'le of soya; #he starting position is

$ the sound in =door= or =or=; Jour tongue needs to 'e low$ 'ut you need to pull it 'ack and make your mouth round; #o make the diphthong$ you rela+ the lip rounding and move your tongue forward and up;

T%E NECT T%REE -/P%T%AN.S ha(e the neutral 5shwa5 (owel sound

# which occurs in grunting noises and the wea! forms of 5the5 and 5a5# as the "/N/S%/N. PAS/T/AN* To ma!e the neutral (owel sound !eep your tongue fi3ed in the centre of your mouth# lips fairly rela3ed and ;ust gruntD

1F8

as in 'eer 7the drink8$ pier$ hear; #he starting position is

as in =if= or =pit= with tongue front and high and lips rela+ed;

118

as in 'ear 7the animal8$ pair and hair; #he starting position is

as in =egg= or ='ed= with tongue in mid position at front of mouth; #o make the diphthong$ using a small controlled movement$ pull your tongue slighty 'ack from mid front to the mid central position in your mouth;

188

as in =tour=$ =poor= 7talking poshS8 or the first sylla'le of =tourist=; #he

starting position is =hook=$ ='ook= or =look=;

with tongue pulled 'ack 'ut small mouth aperture as in

#o make the diphthong$ this time the small controlled tongue movement goes from the 'ack postion to the mid central position$ losing the lip rounding and rela+ing your mouth from the tight starting position;

T%E AST T4A -/P%T%AN.S ha(e the bac! (owel (tongue pulled bac! but small tight mouth aperture as in 5hoo!5# 5boo!5 or 5loo!5) as the "/N/S%/N. PAS/T/AN*

108

as in =oh=$ =no=$ =so= or =phone=; #he starting position is the neutral

vowel sound$ also known as =shwa= $ which sounds like a grunt$ as in the weak form of =the= or =a=; #o start in this way$ the tongue should 'e fi+ed in mid central position in your mouth with lips rela+ed; #o make the diphthong$ it is a short controlled movement in the opposite direction of C8 a'ove% from the centre to the 'ack moving your rela+ed lips into a tighter small round aperture; Jour cheeks should move in a 'itS

208

as in all the words of =4ow now 'rown cowS=; #he starting position is

the vowel sound as in =at= ='ad= or =rat= with tongue front 'ut also low 7i;e; mouth open8; #o make the diphthong the (ourney for your tongue from front low 7mouth very open8 to 'ack high 7small tight mouth aperture8 is a very long e+cursion; Jour (aw will move a lot too;

#E6!4G9/ G9.EH : !?MM?9 MG"#62E" in P>?9B9!G6#G?9 : 9EH#

"Kissing Consonants" 2007

4?ME - E9/LG"4 Lesson Materials .iscussion #opics Phrasal Aer's 6dvanced Particles Eeginners@ >eader 6dvanced >eader 6dult Literacy !lass 4andouts Language /ames .icewords Luggler Pronunciation !onsonant !lusters Phonology Educational #echnology B2 'ook recommendations B" 'ook recommendations E9/LG"4 LG92" 6maIon;co;uk 6maIon;com #E6!4G9/ G9.EH #ed Power !ontact Me -hat@s 9ew) "E6>!4 E"L "G#E 4ome Erighton

Consonant Clusters inde3


"ull word lists 7each link is a separate page8-------for consonant clusters beginning with' 5m5 5l5 5p5 5r5 5'5 55 5f5 5v5 55 5M5 55 5N5 55 5n5 5(5 5t5 5T5 5d5 5s5 5k5 5I5 5g5

E6!2-------/L?""6>J-------6""GMGL6#G?9 P>6!#G!E-------?9LG9E P>?9?B9!G9/ .G!#G?96>J

Euic! reference 7(umps to section 'elow8-----------for consonant clusters beginning with'

5m5 5l5

5p5 5r5

5'5 55

5f5

5v5 55

5M5 55

5N5 55

5n5 5 (5

5t5 5T5

5d5

5s5 5k5

5I5 5g5

01issing Consonants0 Ted 1owe 2007+++++++++.nt odu*tion


-hen there are three or more consonants together$ native speakers do not always produce as many consonant sounds; or e+ample$ the final consonant cluster in the word =fifths= is usually reduced to the last two consonant phonemes; /ood pronunciation materials need to include practice of elision 7missing phonemes out8 and assimilation 7a change in the &uality of the phoneme - perhaps to a different phoneme altogetherS8; =KISSING CONSONANTS= practises final consonant clusters$ since lists of initial consonant clusters can easily 'e found in a dictionary$ and consonant strings at the 'eginnings of words generally cause fewer difficulties; My practice e+amples of the consonant clusters are short samples of connected speech$ mainly drawn from the Eritish 9ational !orpus; G have 'een guided in selecting e+amples 'y @fre&uency of use@$ 'ut G have also tried to make the e+amples as helpful as possi'le to learners of English; G do not su'scri'e to the mistaken concept of @authenticity@ which negates the role of teachers and discourages them from vetting what they present to their students; #he overwhelming ma(ority of writers and speakers attempt to take their intended audience into account; Learners of English as a "econd Language$ some who will already 'e @teachers of English@ in their own country$ need to know when a native speaker would simplify a consonant cluster in connected speech; 6 second area of difficulty is that the spellings of G96L !?9"?969# !LB"#E>" are often >'4SE >R.E$,S - i;e; a very poor guide to how they are pronounced within connected speech; English pronunciation is a little more complicated than simple differences 'etween individual phonemes such as the vowel sounds in pairs of words such as =ship= and =sheep=; #he num'er of manoeuvres a learner has to perform is far greater in connected speech$ where there are also words containing strings of at least three consonant phonemes$ involving tricky ad(ustments in place and manner of articulation; Managing this (uggling act can 'e a little easier if learners are taught to recognise ways in which native speakers simplify strings of three consonants through elision 7missing out one of them8 , 5 or assimilation 7changing a consonant phoneme so that the manner of articulation is more similar throughout the consonant cluster8; "uccess at the a'ove makes connected speech more fluent to listen to; Practice at this will make it less o'vious that English is not your native language; #?P of Page

beginning with (oiced bilabial nasal2222 9 m 9 222222222. ASSARF 001---------mp 7final8 -------'ump$ camp$ hemp$ limp$ lump$ ramp 002---------mps 7final8 ----- amps$ camps$ lamps$ lumps$ mumps$ trumps

003---------mf 7final8 -------lymph$ nymph 00<---------mft 7final8 ------triumphed 00C---------mfs 7final8 ------nymphs 00F---------mt 7final8 -------camped$ dreamt revamped$ lumped 001---------mt 7medial8 ------empty$ temptation 008---------mtr 7medial8 -----temptress 000---------mts 7final8 -------tempts 010---------md 7final8 -------aimed$ assumed$ formed$ roamed$ shamed 011---------mst 7final8 ------glimpsed 012---------mI 7final8 -------comes$ terms$ times

beginning with (oiceless bilabial plosi(e2222 9 p 9 ----O Eack P 013---------pM 7final8--------depth 01<---------pMs 7final8-------depths 01C---------pMr 7medial8------upthrust 01F---------pt 7final8 --------a'rupt$ Egypt$ e+cept$ harped$ kept$ opt 011---------pt 7medial8------a'ruptly$ a'sorption$ accepta'le 018---------pts 7final8 -------accepts$ adopts 010---------ps 7final8 --------cups$ e&uips$ (umps$ perhaps$ steps 020---------ps 7medial8 ------Epsom$ Gpswich$ lopsided$ upside down 021---------pst 7final8 -------lapsed

beginning with (oiced bilabial plosi(e2222 9 b 9 ----O Eack P 022---------'d 7final8 --------a'sor'ed$ 'ri'ed$ cur'ed$ lo''ed$ ro'ed$ ro''ed 023---------'I 7final8 --------ca's$ fi's$ (a's$ kno's$ ver's$ yo's

beginning with (oiceless labiodental fricati(e2222 9 f 9 ----O Eack P

02<---------fM 7final8 ---------fifth$ twelfth 02C---------fMs 7final8 --------fifths$ twelfths 02F---------fMl 7medial8 ------fifthly 021---------ft 7final8 ---------craft$ drift$ gift$ left$ lift$ loft$ soft 028---------ft 7medial8 -------after$ daftest$ often rafter$ softly$ swiftly$ thrifty 020---------fts 7final8 --------crofts$ drifts$ gifts$ lifts$ lofts 030---------fs 7final8 ---------'eliefs$ cliffs$ chefs$ chiefs$ hankerchiefs$ laughs

beginning with (oiced labiodental fricati(e2222 9 ( 9 ----O Eack P 031---------vd 7final8 --------arrived$ 'elieved$ involved$ lived$ proved$ saved 032---------vI 7final8 --------additives$ captives$ loaves$ loves$ serves$ waves

beginning with (oiceless dental fricati(e2222 9 = 9 ----O Eack P 033---------Ms 7final8 --------'aths$ cloths$ maths$ oaths$ paths$ truths

beginning with (oiced dental fricati(e2222 9 G 9 ----O Eack P 03<---------Nd 7final8 --------'athed$ 'etrothed$ clothed$ seethed$ swathed 03C---------NI 7final8 --------'athes$ 'reathes$ clothes$ loathes$ seethes$ soothes

beginning with (oiced al(eolar nasal2222 9 n 9 ----O Eack P 03F---------nM 7final8 -------month$ tenth 031---------nM 7medial8 -----anthem 038---------nt 7final8 --------ant$ arent$ aunt$ 'ent$ cant$ font$ want 030---------nts 7final8 -------ants$ fonts$ grunts$ hints$ hunts$ pants 0<0---------ntst 7final8 ------chintIed 0<1---------nd 7final8 -------'ehind$ concerned$ find$ found$ friend$ owned 0<2---------nd 7medial8 -----friendship$ landlord -----Q 9ote rules for deletion of 5 d 5 0<3---------ndI 7final8 ------'ends$ ends$ friends$ sounds

0<<---------ns 7final8 -------hence$ pence$ since$ tense 0<C---------ns 7medial8 -----pensive$ tenses 0<F---------nI 7final8 -------hens$ lens$ pens$ runs$ tens 0<1---------n 7final8 -------lunch$ pinch 0<8---------nt 7final8 ------lunched$ pinched 0<0---------n 7final8 ------change$ hinge 0C0---------nd 7final8 -----changed$ hinged

beginning with (oiceless al(eolar plosi(e2222 9 t 9 ----O Eack P 0C1---------tM 7final8 --------'readth$ eighth$ hundredth$ thousandth$ width 0C2---------tMs 7final8 -------'readths$ eighths$ hundredths$ thousandths$ widths 0C3---------ts 7final8 --------cats$ eats$ fights$ its$ meets$ parts$ puts$ waits 0C<---------tst 7final8 ------amidst$ midst

beginning with (oiced al(eolar plosi(e2222 9 d 9 ----O Eack P 0CC---------dI 7final8 -------almonds$ 'eds$ 'irds$ hands$ kinds$ weeds$ words

beginning with (oiceless al(eolar fricati(e2222 9 s 9 ----O Eack P 0CF---------sp 7final8 -------clasp$ crisp$ gasp$ lisp$ wasp 0C1---------st 7final8 -------chased$ first$ pursed 0C8---------sts 7final8 ------thirsts 0C0---------sk 7final8 -------ask$ desk$ dusk$ risk

beginning with (oiced al(eolar fricati(e2222 9 < 9 ----O Eack P 0F0---------Id 7final8 -------amaIed$ craIed$ gaIed$ laIed$ phased$ phrased

beginning with (oiced al(eolar lateral appro3imant2222 9 l 9 ----O Eack P 0F1---------lmd 7final8 ------filmed

0F2---------lmI 7final8 ------elms$ films 0F3---------lp 7final8 --------help 0F<---------lpt 7final8 -------helped 0FC---------lps 7final8 -------helps 0FF---------l'd 7final8 -------'ul'ed 0F1---------l'I 7final8 -------'ul's 0F8---------lf 7final8 ---------self 0F0---------lfMs 7final8 -------twelfths$ 6lfs 010---------lft 7final8 --------elfed 011---------lvd 7final8 -------delved 012---------lM 7final8 --------health 013---------lMs 7final8 -------tilths 01<---------lnd 7final8 -------kilned 01C---------lnI 7final8 -------kilns 01F---------lt 7final8 --------difficult 011---------ltst 7final8 -------waltIed 018---------ld 7final8 --------cold$ held 010---------ldI 7final8 -------holds$ worlds 080---------ls 7final8 --------else 081---------lI 7final8 --------fills$ girls 082---------lt 7final8 -------filched 083---------ld 7final8 ------'ilged 08<---------lt 7final8 --------welshed 08C---------lk 7final8 --------milk$ silk 08F---------lks 7final8 -------milks 081---------lkt 7final8 -------milked

088---------lkts 7final8 ------mulcts

beginning with (oiced al(eolar appro3imant 222222 9 r 9 ----O Eack P rm 7final8 -------silent 'efore a consonant in England , -ales------- =alarm= 5 l%m 5$ =arm= 5 %m 5$ =warm= 5 w%m 5 rm 7final8 -------generally pronounced 7, sometimes rolled8 in "cotland , Greland ---------------- =alarm= 5 l%rm 5$ =arm= 5 %rm 5$ =warm= 5 w%rm 5 #he 5 r 5 within these consonant clusters is generally pronounced in !anada most parts of the B"6; #he 5 r 5 is pronounced 'y all English speakers when it precedes a vowel sound$ as in =angry= 5 Wr 5 or =Ie'ra= 5 Ie'r 5; 5 r 5 can precede several other consonants sounds$ though in these conte+ts it is rarely pronounced in England and -ales;

beginning with (oiceless post2al(eolar affricate2222 9 9 ----O Eack P 080---------t 7final8 -------hitched$ matched$ watched

beginning with (oiceless post2al(eolar affricate2222 9 9 ----O Eack P 000---------d 7final8 ------caged$ edged$ forged$ (udged$ waged

beginning with (oiceless post2al(eolar fricati(e2222 9 9 ----O Eack P 001---------t 7final8 -------cashed$ fished$ mashed$ washed

beginning with (oiceless post2al(eolar fricati(e2222 9 9 ----O Eack P 002---------d 7final8 -------leisured$ measured$ pleasured$ treasured

beginning with (oiced palatal semi2(ocalic2222 9 ; 9 ----O Eack P 5 t 5 V 5 ( 5 is often replaced 'y 5 5 in words such as =nature= 5 ne 5$ =future= 5 f(u% 5$ =feature= 5 fi% 5$ and =creature= 5 kri% 5; #his type of assimilation is known as coalescence; "ee -ikipedia on Jod-coalescence; 5 d 5 V 5 ( 5 is often replaced 'y 5 5 in words such as =gradual= 5 grWl 5 and individual 5 ; #his type of assimilation is known as coalescence; "ee -ikipedia on Jod-coalescence;

beginning with (oiced (elar nasal2222 9 : 9 ----O Eack P 003---------TM 7final8 -------length 00<---------Tt 7final8 -------instinct 00C---------Tts 7final8 ------instincts 00F---------Td 7final8 -------longed 001---------Tst 7medial8 -----min+ed 008---------TI 7final8 -------things 000---------Tk 7final8 -------think 100---------Tg 7final8 -------thing

beginning with (oiceless (elar plosi(e2222 9 ! 9 ----O Eack P 101---------kM 7final8 -------si+th 102---------kMs 7final8 ------si+ths 103---------kt 7final8 -------fact$ worked 10<---------kts 7final8 ------conflicts$ conte+ts$ e+pects te+ts 10C---------ks 7final8 -------si+$ works 10F---------kst 7final8 ------conte+t$ ne+t$ overse+ed$ prete+t$ te+t

beginning with (oiced (elar plosi(e2222 9 g 9 ----O Eack P 101---------gd 7final8 -------'agged$ hugged$ logged$ tagged$ wagged 108---------gI 7final8 -------eggs$ figs$ mugs$ rugs

.lossary
Aoiceless and voiced

Aoiceless consonants-no vi'ration of the vocal cords and more pulmonic air; Aoiced consonants-the vocal cords vi'rate$ limiting the airflow;

Place of articulation

Eila'ial consonants 5 m 5$ 5 p 5 and 5 ' 5 are made with 'oth lips; La'io-dental consonants 5 f 5 and 5 v 5 are made with the upper teeth and the lower lip; .ental consonants 5 M 5 and 5 N 5 are made with the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth; 6lveolar consonants 5 n 5$ 5 t 5$ 5 s 5$ 5 I 5 and 5 l 5 are made with the tip of the tongue against or near to the ridge 'ehind the upper teeth; Postalveolar consonants 5 5$ 5 5$ 5 5 and 5 5 are made with the tongue near or touching the 'ack of the alveolar ridge$ placing them a 'it further 'ack in the mouth than the alveolar consonants$ which are at the ridge itself$ 'ut not &uite as far 'ack as the hard palate; Aelar consonants 5 T 5$ 5 k 5 and 5 g 5 are made with the 'ack part of the tongue against the 'ack part of the roof of the mouth;

Manner of articulation

9asal consonants 5 m 5$ 5 n 5 and 5 T 5 are made with the velum lowered$ allowing air to escape through the nose; Plosives or stop consonants 5 p 5$ 5 ' 5$ 5 t 5$ 5 d 5$ 5 k 5 and 5 g 5 are made 'y stopping the airflow in the vocal tract; ricative consonants 5 f 5$ 5 v 5$ 5 M 5$ 5 N 5$ 5 s 5 and 5 I 5 are made 'y forcing air through a narrow channel 'y placing two articulators close together; 6ffricate consonants 5 5 and 5 5 start as plosives$ 'ut release as fricatives rather than directly into the following vowel;

#?P of Page

English Pronunciation' contrasti(e linguistics


#E6!4G9/ G9.EH : !?MM?9 MG"#62E" in P>?9B9!G6#G?9 : 9EH#

Spe*if)ing p io ities fo English p onun*i"tion te"*hing in " monolingu"l setting: Swedish le" ne s 6ow would )ou "ssess the p io ities fo p onun*i"tion te"*hing fo " gi3en g oup of le" ne sRefe if possible to " g oup )ou h"3e "*tu"ll) wo (ed with?
G have chosen as my sample a group of "wedish learners of English; #he learners are all employed 'y agersta 6E steel works in !entral "weden; G have 'ased this study on the accompanying recording of a class discussion; #he students were clearly involved in the discussion su'(ect and had forgotten that they were 'eing recorded; 6lthough the recording was not made with pronunciation in mind$ it contains a spontaneous sample of speech unlike those elicited through picture stories or reading passages in formal e+aminations; #he choice of a monolingual group of fairly advanced learners was deli'erate; agersta is 'y no means a mono-cultural town; Manual workers in the steel works are predominately ins

and there are many East /ermans$ Poles$ .anes$ 9orwegians and #urks employed in the local service industries; My lower level classes would contain a high proportion of non-"wedes$ especially ins; 4owever$ serious consideration of priorities for pronunciation teaching has to refer to differences 'etween learners@ native phonological systems and the target system% 5)nless the teacher understands how the student is using his speech organs in producing a nati(e language sound and what he should be doing to reproduce the foreign language sound acceptably# he cannot help the student beyond a certain stage of earnest but inaccurate imitation*5 (4ilga Ri(ers2 Teaching "oreign anguage S!ills)* Gn the interests of economy$ G have limited my contrastive analysis to "wedish; #he purpose of choosing a fairly advanced group is to allow two levels of analysis; #he first is a 'roader level$ which was the main reason 'ehind the phonemic transcription; Gn elementary groups of learners$ priorities for pronunciation relate closely to intelligi'ility; Moreover$ the test for intelligi'ility is fairly cut and dry; 6t higher levels of attainment$ priorities can relate to more detailed (udgements such as ma+imum intelligi'ility and social accepta'ility; G therefore wish to include a second level of analysis$ which is sufficiently narrow to account for 'oth phonemic and phonetic differences; or a &uick overview of the different areas of analysis and the progress of my students in pronunciation$ stress$ rhythm and intonation$ initial reference can 'e made to an 6ppreciation "cale used for grading E+amination candidates% =6rels !ertificate ?ral E+amination= candidates% 0 1 2 3 < C F 1 8 0 10 0 unintelligi'le 2 poor pronunciation and intonation patterns < fair control F very few errors 'ut hesitant 8 accurate control of pronunciation$ stress , intonation 10 fluent and with natural pace Bseful scales for assessing language skills can 'e found in the English "peaking Bnion@s E"B ramework 1080 'y E;L; !arroll , >; -est; My students 7as can 'e heard in the recording8 oscillate 'etween F and 8 on this scale; Gn order to diagnose the priorities for future pronunciation teaching$ a fuller analysis of the recording must now follow;

The 1honemi* T "ns* iption


Phonological description relates closely to the standard of intelligi'ility since the phonemes of language systems distinguish 'etween the meanings of words as well as allowing recognition of words; #he transcription revealed phonemes which were not realised as a result of none+istence of the sounds in L1$ differences 'etween "wedish and English orthography 7i;e; students had written forms in mind8 or free 7idiosyncratic8 variations; #here were also some lesser allophonic variations which came close to 'eing phonemic;

Vowel Sounds

5i%5 replaced 'y OiP 5swi%d5 /oranK 5li%st5 and 5mi%l5 Eert 55 replaced 'y OiP 5stT5 /oran 5e5 moving towards OWP 5wet5 5end5 Eert

5e5 replaced 'y 5e5 and OWP 5den5 9ote% =dansk= "w orthography versus =danish= Eng orthography 55 schwa is under-used and sometimes replaced 'y 5%5 the vowel sound in =girl=% 5k%nt5 instead of 5knt5 or 5k%nt5K 5w hWv 'i%n t%t5 failure to use weak form 5hv5% 6nitaK 5f%5 instead of 5f5 and 5wmWn5 instead of 5wmn5 % /oran 55 replaced 'y 55 as in 5n5 and 5hm5 % Eert 5u%5 moving towards 55 as in 5fu%d5 Eert +2

%onson"nt Sounds

5M5 replaced 'y 5f5 5Mri%5 /oran 55 replaced 'y 5d(5 as in 5k5 or 5entlmen5 % /oranK 5s'ekt5 % 6nita 55 replaced 'y 5(5 as in 5st5 % /oran 7partly an interference pro'lem from "wedish orthography 5v5 replaced 'y 5f5 in 5fektv5 % 6nita 5(5 is given e+cess friction as in 5(T5 Eert

#he differences in sounds rarely threatened intelligi'ility in their conte+ts in the transcript; 4owever$ some of the su'stitutions could possi'ly lead to confusion if duplicated in other conte+ts; Gt is therefore worth considering &uestions such as learna'ility$ teacha'ility and functional load; #here is generally much greater allophonic variation of vowel sounds than of consonant sounds among native speakers of languages; !onsonant sounds play a greater part in signalling meaning in words$ so usually they are less redundant and carry a greater functional load; Aowel sounds however may relate more closely to the standard of social accepta'ility that the advanced learner is also trying to achieve;

Vowel @u"d il"te "l showing the 12 English monophthongs "nd the 1< Swedish monophthongs?
"ince "wedish possesses many vowel sounds$ the English vowel phonemes should not present too much difficulty for "wedes 76ra'ic has far fewer vowel sounds so 6ra's will need far greater help8; Gt is pro'a'ly worth doing some work on the 55 5i%5 contrast which distinguishes a large num'er of minimal pairs in English; "wedes tend to replace English 5i%5 with OiP 'ecause their own Oi%P is produced with the tongue so close to the hard palate that it ends with a fricative sound O(P; !onfusion results when they also replace English 5 5 7which they have not got8 with OiP if the conte+t is am'iguous; "imilar considerations apply to the 5e5 5W5 contrast which also 'ears a relatively high functional load; Like English$ "wedish has a marked difference in the force of articulation 'etween stressed and unstressed sylla'les; Gt uses full stress$ reduced main stress$ weak stress and lack of stress% it has the neutral vowel @shwa@ OP; "wedes will generally not re&uire as much practice of @shwa@ as speakers whose native languages are sylla'le-timed 7e;g; rench speakers8; #heir under-use of @schwa@ pro'a'ly arises from interrelationships 'etween intonation and stress 7"wedish is a tone language8 and poor teaching; #he placement and production of @schwa@ on unstressed sylla'les is vital in marking stressed sylla'les 'y contrast$ there'y signalling 'oth the redundant and the meaningful elements of the utterance; Poor use or non-use of stress will inevita'ly lead to poor rhythm and intonation; Gn this conte+t$ the teaching of @shwa@ is of e+tremely high priority for "wedish learners of English; #he su'stitutions for the 'ack vowels are less likely to affect intelligi'ility providing "wedish Oo%P is not su'stituted for English 5u%5; #he "wedish pensioners$ whom G teach some summers

in Portslade$ often ask for Ok n so%pP=kitchen soap= in the student canteen when they really want 5kn su%p5 =chicken soup=; 9ote that 5u%5 does not e+ist in "wedish; #he letter @!@ in "wedish$ is nearly always followed 'y the letter @k@;

%onson"nt sounds
#here is a relatively high degree of correspondance 'etween "wedish and English consonant sounds; OpP OtP , OkP occur with aspiration in 'oth languages; 7#he aspiration is more vigorous in "wedish8 at the 'eginning of stressed sylla'les; OmP O'P OfP and OvP are pronounced similarly 79ote% ?rthographic "wedish QvQ is pronounced OfP 'efore an infle+ional -s or following a shortened vowel8; "wedish OtP OdP OnP OlPQ and OsP differ slightly from their English counterparts; #hey normally occur as pure dental sounds produced with the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth; 4owever$ when "wedish OrP is immediately followed 'y any one of these consonants$ an assimilation takes place and they 'ecome post-alveolar or retrofle+ in their articulation; 6lthough "wedish OkP , OgP occur as fricatives 'efore all front vowels 7e+cept OwP OkP OgP and OngP are pronounced much the same as in English; Q "wedish OlP in all positions is a clear font sound; My students make fairly good su'stitutions for those consonant phonemes which e+ist in English 'ut not in "wedish; /oran@s su'stitution of 5f5 for 5M5 and the general tendency of "wedes to su'stitute Od(P for OP 7as all three do8 will pro'a'ly not 'e noticed 'y most English ears; More noticea'le is the su'stitution of O(P for OP which could easily cause misunderstanding or social irritation; -hen my "wedish pensioners tell me of all the different @yo's@ that they have had$ G usually guess that they mean @(o's@$ though G have often confused the "wedish pronunciation of @(ust@ Oas spoken 'y /oranP for the word @yes@; 6 story often &uoted is that of the "wedish couple who go out together for a drink; #he wife is acting as chauffeur$ so the hus'and@s order to the 'arman is% 5 pant v 't f mi% pli%I nd hWv ( en (u%s f ma waf5 =a pint of 'itter for me please and have you any use for my wife)= OP 7or Od(P if they cannot manage it8 is therefore relatively important$ as is the voiceless English affricate OP which is often replaced 'y the fricative OP or OP e;g; 5a lak wT N telvn5 =G like washing the television=; ?f the two affricates$ OP will prove the most difficult to teach 'ecause of orthographic interference from "wedish =(= and the rarity or non-e+istence of voiced fricatives in L1 ranging from dental to alveolo-palatal articulations; "wedish orthographic ( O(P the voiced palatal fricative has considera'ly more friction than English O(P; Gts alternative pronunciation O P 7in rench loan words such as O%lP =(ournal=8 does little to lessen the confusion; #o complete this summary of my priorities in the teaching of English consonant sounds to "wedes$ G shall have to include a few additions to the pro'lem areas represented in my sample; 6n important addition is the 5s5 5I5 contrast 7e;g; in @piece@ v @peas@K @police@ v @please@K @is@ , @was@ 7I8 since the "wedish letter I only occurs in words of foreign origin 7e;g; Ion Os %nP @Ione@8 and is always pronounced OsP; 6 similarly difficult contrast$ 'ut one which 'ears a lower functional load$ occurs 'etween 5v5 and 5w5; #he "wedish letter w is also rare$ occurring only in loan words 'orrowed from English 7e;g; weekend Owi%kendP P , whisky Ow skiP; G should pro'a'ly e+pect advanced level students to learn not to su'stitute OvP for OwP; 6fter that$ would come more detailed refinements such as slightly lessening the aspiration on voiceless

plosives as well as the friction on O(P; #hough somewhat aesthetic$ the latter have the virtue of 'eing easily teacha'le;

.nton"tion & St ess


6 general o'servation a'out English spoken 'y "wedes$ which G can confirm from my own e+perience$ is that statements may sound like &uestions and sentences may sound incomplete; #he general prescription recommended is further practice at falling tune; 4owever$ although simple prescriptions may help some learners$ they are often e+posed 'y more detailed linguistic analysis; "wedish has a general similarity with English in its use of rising tone in suspensive groups and falling tone in conclusive groups; -hen a word having a single tone occurs in the 'ody of a sentence e+pressing a categorical statement and is emphatic$ the tone risesK when it occurs at the end$ the tone falls; Gnterrogative sentences seeking verification are also marked 'y a rising tone at the end 7i;e; with similar fre&uency 'oth languages% /illian Erown contends that this is 'y no means always the case8; #hese general patterns would appear to contradict our general o'servation; 4owever$ unlike English$ "wedish can 'e descri'ed as a tone language 7i;e; it makes considera'le use of pitch$ accent or differences in tones to distinguish 'etween different words and word forms8; Gts two tones are known as the single tone and the dou'le tone; Gn monosylla'ic words$ a similar single tone can 'e heard in 'oth "wedish and English; @'ok@ 7"w8 and @'ook@ 7Eng8 'oth have the same falling tone; Eut in disylla'ic words with one stress$ like @'oken@ 7"w;U@the 'ook@8 and @father@ 7Eng8$ different patterns occur even though 'oth words have a fal1ing tone; -hereas the English drops to a low tone on the first sylla'le and remains low on the second$ the "wedish only drops slightly on the first sylla'le and then drops to a low tone; #his is one reason why statements 'y a "wedish speaker which end in a disylla'ic word may sound incomplete or like &uestions to an English listener e+pecting a steeper 7i;e; conclusive8 fall on the last stressed sylla'le; Like its single counterpart$ the "wedish dou'le tone may not 'e considered conclusive 'y the English listener when used to round off a statement ending in a disylla'ic word; 6gain$ it is only the last sylla'le of the word that drops to the lowest tone; #he last stressed sylla'le 7i;e; the first sylla'le of the word8 only drops to the middle area of the pitch range; Gn interrogative sentences re&uiring verification$ the dou'le tone produces an effect$ which is uncommonly heard in English; #here is &uite a contrast 'etween the relatively low fall on the last stressed sylla'le and the rise at the end; 6nother sharp change of direction is heard when the dou'le tone occurs in the 'ody of a sentence and is emphatic 7e;g; "wedish @flickan@ 8; English is not a tone language 7as descri'ed in my definition for "wedish8; #he intonation patterns of English are used to mark the functions of sentences and the attitudes of speakers rather than operating as tones used to distinguish 'etween different words or word forms in sentence surface structure; #he occasions where words re&uire emphatic stress are fewer in

English than in "wedish$ so the movement of our intonation patterns is generally more gradual; Gn the recording$ /oran$ 6nita and Eert transmit many signals$ which are pro'a'ly unintended$ through sharp changes of direction and other 'orrowings from their native use of tones; /oran@s 'orrowings involve movements into high key which to the English ear sound overemphatic; #hese include his use of the @rise@ and @rise-fall@ tones 7rV and PV8 which linguists such as .avid EraIil associate with the assertion of dominance% 7G have indicated many of these movements 'y inserting red arrows a'ove the words on the phonemic transcript8; /oran@s over-emphasis is not merely a &uestion of force on stressed sylla'les; 4is superimposition of "wedish tones lead to perception of stress on sylla'les which he pro'a'ly does not intend to highlight on a semantic scale; Gt is pro'a'ly worth teaching 6dvanced "wedish learners of English a little a'out the function of pitch movements and stress in English speech; Even Eert$ whose pitch range is generally narrower than /oran@s and whose use of falling tune is more fre&uent$ needs to 'e wary of hopping down to a low tone or up to a high where stress is unintended; #he general message for "wedes is that any sylla'le on which the pitch of the voice moves percepti'ly whether the pitch rises or falls - will 'e perceived in English speech as stressed; My priorities in the teaching of intonation to advanced learners of "wedes will steer me towards materials which illustrate the English patterns themselves 7i;e; the gradual movements of the 'asic tunes8 and which aid recognition of the different functions of intonation in English speech; 7"uch materials may include 'ooks like% >oy Eoardman@s =?ver #o Jou=$ Leo Lones@s = unctions of English= and A;L; !ook@s =Bsing Gntonation= which is more functional than his earlier work =6ctive Gntonation which mainly consists of structurally 'ased drills8; Gn defining the functions of intonation$ G shall 'e covering a fairly 'road area involving many language skills; >eference can 'e made to speech function$ attitude 7e;g; affective meaning8$ the interactional structure of discourse 7e;g; turn-taking8$ information structure and topic structure; Gn terms of what G would present to my students$ these references will translate into functions 7headings or topics8 such as%

polite suggestion@$ @persuasion@$ @showing anger@ 7swearingS8$ holding the floor$ letting in other speakers$ listening to lectures 7i;e; to the intonation on discourse markers signalling change of topic$ important versus throw-away content8;

My students are sufficiently advanced to understand e+planations given in these terms; #hey will e&ually need talking-time when G am lending them my English ear$ gathering impressions as to their standards of intelligi'ility and as to whether the attitudes they are transmitting are those which G th1nk they mean to convey; G suspect that /oran$ 6nita and Eert would get 'etter feed'ack if they held their discussion in a multilingual class;

T "ns* ipt of spee*h s"mple


#he pronunciation errors referred to a'ove in the sections on vowel and consonant sounds are indicated in red; #ranscript of unscripted discussion 'y "wedish students of English on @male chauvinism@ 'ased on%

@Gnternational Eusiness #opics@ 'y .avld !otton 7Evans8 P1<3 E&uality for women- "weden shows how; #he participants are from my Eusiness English class in agersta$ !entral "weden;

# U #eacher 5 #ed / U /oran 6 U 6nita E U Eert

#% 6re you a chauvinist$ /oran) /% 9o$ not at all; 7L6B/4#E>8; 9o$ not at all; #% Jou@re not one of those people who says the woman@s place is in the home and that they shouldn@t 'e working) /% -ell;;;er;;;for fun$ for a (oke G would say so;;;in a discussion$ 'ut what G mean;;; #% 9ot seriously; /% 9o$ no;;; Gt@s nothing to do with that;;; 'ut er when G came through ;;; the er 4eathrow;;; ta+ free shop;;; and there was a woman cashier sitting and taking up money;;; and we were three in the &ueue;;; G was the third; #here were an Englishman first;;; and he had said something to the girl;;; (ust yet;;; and she said$ =G know G@m a woman; G do everything wrong;= Jes;;;ne+t happen; 9e+t Englishman came;; and he paid with .anish crowns$ and she put in on this computeriIed;;; this er cash machines;;; so he put in "wedish crowns;;; so he get thirty percent more when he had paid;;;;;;;and G thought$ =yes$ she@s a woman and do everything wrong;= #% -hat@s your reaction to that story) /% Er;; it@s true; 76% ?h$ yes;8 G saw it;;; 'ut she was so upset;;; so he didn@t know what she was doing;;; so true now;;; yes "wedish 'efore .anish;;; #% 6re women more emotional than men) /% 9o$ G 'elieve it wasn@t typical of women ;;; 'ut it was in her;;; it was for her;;; (ust at that moment;;; 'ecause she has 'een in a &uarrel with many men 'efore$ G 'elieve;;;; and the Englishmen are not a gentlemen at all ;;; not at all; #% .o you think then that some women are too sensitive) /% "ome;;; some are;;; G 'elieve so; -ould you agree with that$ 6nita) 6% G can@t answer for other people; E% People@s 'ehaviour depends a lot of their e+perience;;; and if you take a man ;;; perhaps with a 'ackground where he;;; perhaps have not had opportunity to put himself forward;;; G think that he should 'ehave nervously;;; and stressed$ for e+ample; G think that doesn@t depend on whether you@re a man or a woman; Gt depend on;;; you know;;; your 'ackground;;; and what your e+perience is to handle the stressed situation; /% Eut in the case G was talking a'out$ G 'elieve she has heard many times 'efore that she was a woman and she did everything wrong; G 'elieve the third man was not the first that had told her that she was a woman$ 'ut G 'elieve there were many 'efore him;

#% "o you think Eritish men are very chauvinistic 7/% Many of them;; Jes;8 and they put their women under stress; /% Many of them;;; Jes;;;; G 'elieve so; #% -ould it 'e;;;; G mean;;;; the title;;;; /% Er;;;G saw it in Edin'urgh$ too; E% Gf you spit on a stone it will 'e wet at the end; #% Eut the title of this is that @"weden "hows 4ow@;;;; G mean;;; 6re "wedish men then less chauvinistic than their Eritish counterparts) /% G don@t think so; E% G don@t know how it is in Eritain$ 'ut if you ask me if young "wedishmen are less chauvinistic than elder "wedishmen$ G should say the answerXs @yes@;6% Jes;;; G agree;;; G think so$ too;#% !an you e+plain that a little) -hy is this so) 6% #hrough the last;;; what shall we say$ how many years$ we have 'een taught from the 'eginning in school;;; and er everything;;; every su'(ect in the school is nowadays e&ual for 'oys and girls;;; no difference at all;E% Jes; Eoys learn cooking$ today; 6% Jes;; 2nitting and everything;;; and girls learn to 7--- -8 with wood and metal;;; so they are 'rought up - - - -; #% -ith respect for their peers$ or are they afraid of 'eing chauvinistic) E% -ell$ my e+perience is that;;; these young 'oys who have learned at school;;;;; their e+perience is that they can have a lot of use of it ;;;;;7#% #ake advantage;;;8; #hey are free in another way; #hey can make their own food; -hen G was young and moved from home;;; studying$ it was$ of course$ G took my dirty clothes home for washing; My son never takes anything at home; 4e wash up everything himself;;; and practically every day$ he makes;;; cooks his own food;;; at least one meal a day; #% .o you think people prefer;;;; to 'e independent;;; .oes your son prefer;;) E% Jes; #hey are more independent; #% 6nd do you think this is a good thing$ this independence;;; or does it lead to social pro'lems;;; loneliness;; /% 9o$ not at all; Gt has nothing to do with social pro'lems; 6% G think it@s very effective; E% Jes;;; G think there;;;; it@s more;;; 'e fortunate to ;;; advantage to the man who could make food; 7/% #hey were always could do it8; 6% Jes$ 'ut they didn@t; /% #he 'est men in kitchen are always men;

A"te i"ls fo te"*he s inte ested in English p onun*i"tion p oblems b) l"ngu"ge b"*(g ound
Learner English Michael "wan 7Ed;8$ Eernard "mith 7Ed;8 #his e+cellent contrastive linguistics hand'ook covers 'oth pronunciation and synta+ Learner English% 6udio !assette Learner English% 6udio !.

1e fo m"n*e s*"les fo "ssessing p onun*i"tion "nd othe l"ngu"ge s(ills


E"B ramework 'y E;L; !arroll , >; -est; #his 'ook is aimed at e+aminers and teachers; Gt is now hard to get$ 'ut it is one of the most useful resources that G have found for assessing 'oth general competence and individual language skills; Gt is not a 'ook of tests$ 'ut it lists recommended criteria for testing each language skill; E;L; !arroll is noted for his work on performance scales and >; -est has a thorough knowledge of the criteria applied 'y various pu'lic e+amination 'oards; #E6!4G9/ G9.EH : 9EH#

istening to Spo!en English


#E6!4G9/ G9.EH : 9EH#

6elping le" ne s with diffi*ulties in listening to spo(en English


ESSAF T/T E' The importance attached to pronunciation today is reflected in the inclusion in the ma;ority of course boo!s of carefully planned and systematic pronunciation or sound practice material* Ne(ertheless# many pupils ha(e difficulty in understanding or ma!ing themsel(es understood to anyone but a language teacher* 4hat are the ma;or causes of pupils? inability to communicate effecti(ely in oral situations& %ow should teaching programmes be de(ised to counteract this& ODuestion set on .avid Lones@ >"6 !ourse in "tockholm 1082; 6n answer follows in essay form%P

Slow %ollo@ui"l "s " st" ting point fo the te"*hing p og "mme
?n first contact with the English language$ learners are confronted with unfamiliar categories of sound$ stress , intonation patterns and syntactical and le+ical forms; #here is &uite enough here to come 'etween the listener and the meaning of what is 'eing said even when utterances are delivered in a =slow collo&uial= style; E+actly which pronunciation style the teacher should use can 'e su'(ect to the conte+t in which English is 'eing learnt; Many teachers derive certain advantages in adopting =educated "outhern English= 7an e+tended conception of >P8 as their model; Gt is pro'a'ly still the accent most met with 'y foreign students in English medium training courses; >eceived Pronunciation is also the model which has 'een most fully descri'ed there'y offering itself as a convenient 'ase;

"irstly# 5Slow Collo$uial5 is a satisfactory model for production purposes for most learners at beginners to intermediate le(el* 6s it insists on =ideal= segments$ sylla'les and words$ the acoustic signal is relatively high; 6 /erman 'usinessman in conversation with his Lapanese counterpart on the phone would need to 'e fairly e+plicit; "imilarly$ an Granian air-traffic controller would 'e ill-advised to 'ase his or her production on an informal style rich in simplifications such as elision and assimilation; #wenty-five years ago$ general English course 'ooks contained little or no pronunciation or sound practice material apart from te+ts suita'le for reading aloud if 'oth time and the teacher permitted; Even if =slow collo&uial= is rarely found in native conversation$ G 'elieve that possi'ilities for students to master its sound system$ to recognise how we use our speech organs to make different sounds - are worth having in today@s course materials; G notice that "panish and Lapanese learners have particular difficulties with the new sound categories; 6lthough their written accuracy may earn them placement at the intermediate level$ their peers in the same classes fail to understand them; "nack 'ar staff accuse them of talking =(i''erish= and one-man 'us crews hold them responsi'le for the longest delays; 4ost families accustomed to receiving students from all over the world$ make friendlier allowances for students who produce =ideal= segments$ even if this isn@t the practice among native speakers of English; "imilarly$ our Lapanese and /erman 'usinessmen may possi'ly admire each other@s ideal segments in the 'elief that this is what English should 'e; #he most important criteria are intelligi'ility and social acceptance;

The impo t"n*e of b"si* phonolog) p "*ti*e + e*ognition "nd p odu*tion


6lthough G will argue later on for a greater emphasis in our course 'ooks on identification , production of stress and intonation patterns$ G am 'y no means against systematic pronunciation or sound practice material; >ecognition and production of the >;P; categories take "s through the motions of active listening and conscious manipulation of their speech organs; Gt may 'e argued that the consonant sounds are more important than the vowel sounds since they provide more clues to meaning$ 'ut G wouldn@t overlook the part played 'y social acceptance and the motivation of the listener in =wanting to understand=; 6lthough the neutral vowel is used a lot in informal English$ 6ra' speakers who use it invaria'ly in place of other vowel sounds will not hold the attention of their audiences for very long$ even in the classroom; #raining in tongue and lip positions and in mouth openings should encompass 'oth consonant and vowel sounds; #he system as a whole is involved in e+tended conte+ts and there is no harm in teaching the rationale of what is easy as well as what is difficult;

Pro'lems peculiar to mono-lingual groups can also 'e anticipated$ earmarked and solved through e+tra practice; #his is usually the (o' for the teacher rather than the general course 'ook; ?nce the initial shock of a new sound system and new syntactic , le+ical forms has 'een 'orne$ learners need to 'e made increasingly aware that =slow collo&uial= is not a satisfactory model for comprehension purposes; Most learners are grateful for the simple model provided 'y the teacher when studying in Eritain; Gt resem'les most closely the model they have encountered in non-native situations and it is always nice to have at least one person who understands youS My learners in Erighton learn &uite &uickly that people outside the classroom generally speak in a different way; 4owever$ they do not accuse me of treachery for trying to simplify in the early stages; #hey would have real cause for complaint if G never let them listen to the type of English which represents the reality of the kind and amount of acoustic signal people give in informal communication 'etween native speakers;

E2tending e*ognition p "*ti*e to " 3" iet) of spe"(ing st)les


The second spiral in my teaching programme concerns itself mainly with the comprehension styles of informal English - a variety of different speakers in natural situations; #his involves a gradual progression towards more authentic listening material; #he latter would include interviews or conversations 'etween people who are &uite unaware of a nonnative audience; #eachers are nota'ly 'ad at reproducing informal speech without increasing their signal immediately a 'lank face is sighted$ so taped material is normally needed; 9ow that the scene has 'een set for reception of =the real thing=$ the focus of the teaching programme mo(es from systematic co(erage of sounds to more useful tools for e3tracting meaning or message from nati(e speech*

The impo t"n*e of p "*ti*e in e*ognising st ess "nd inton"tion p"tte ns


"uccess or failure in this area pro'a'ly has more to do with successful recognition of stress and intonation patterns and paralinguistic and gesturial signals which 7together with the acoustic signals8 help in this purpose; #he "s@ a'ility in identifying the placement of stress$ tone and sense groups 7in particular the tonic sylla'le8 is vitally important in the attempt to e+tract meaning from informal speech; Gt would 'e easy here to list a whole armoury of auditory and visual signals which help identify stress$ 'ut G wouldn@t litter my teaching programme with them at this stage; Eread and 'utter listening tasks followed 'y fairly conventional comprehension tests 7# or $ M!$ D,68 will give e+posure and practice;

#he selection of varied and interesting te+ts with some reference to the level of the class deserves first priority; #his can 'e followed 'y straight practice of identifying and using stress placement depending mainly on acoustic signal; Gf this needs e+tra preparation$ =slow-collo&uial= could again 'e used as a =(umping-off point= while students o'serve how different stress placements alter the meaning of an utterance; G use ,yrne B 4alsh?s 54istening %omp ehension5 for this purpose; #he student is re&uired to choose 'etween four possi'le interpretations of an utterance; #he teacher limits the possi'ilities to one 'y following specified stress and intonation patterns in his reading of the utterance; #eaching stress placement creates a good conte+t for study of intonation patterns; Gt would 'e profita'le at this stage to teach the 'asic tunes and some of the associated functions;

'sso*i"ting the b"si* tunes "nd the fun*tions &Bo "ttitudes whi*h the) *ommonl) indi*"te
7#he low-fall% statementK the low-rise% checkingK the high-fall% approval5e+clamationK the high-rise% surpriseK the fall-rise% contemplation8; 6 little reference to synta+% Jes59o Ds$ -h Ds$ =?r= Ds$ may also help in the purpose of decoding and encoding; 6s it is stress which provides the vital clues to synta+ and tune as well as focussing on the message$ the third spiral in my teaching programme collects together the most useful signals of stress placement* "o far these have mainly 'een acoustic$ though we have already remarked that =informal English= can have a highly reduced acoustic signal;

/sing 3ideo fo p "*ti*e in e*ognising 0p" "linguisti* fe"tu es0


#he advent of video has made it far easier for the course-planner to demonstrate the variety of signals people use to emphasiIe the meaningful parts of their utterances; #hese include 'oth oral and visual features; >elia'le signals present in 'oth =slow collo&uial= and =informal= English speech include paralinguistic features such as loudness$ speed of delivery , variation in voice &uality$ gesturial features such as nodding$ twitching$ frowns$ narrowed eyes$ and puckered 'rows and facial features such as lips approaching each other$ (aw movements in varying amounts and rounding of the lips; #his last group of features is useful in helping the listener identify segments of words while the more pronounced muscular movements will often signal stress placement; 6 large muscular movement usually occurs on the tonic sylla'le - the sylla'le in the tone group with a pitch movement on it and thus the focus of information; Pauses can usually 'e relied upon to mark the edge of tone and sense groups each of which contains this important sylla'le 7the tonic8; >ecognition of this and other stressed sylla'les offers useful clues to syntactic structure; Gn identifying the rhythm formed 'y particular com'inations of strong and weak stress$ "s will 'e more likely to predict which items are nouns or ver's and whether nouns are preceded directly 'y articles or ad(ectives;

&nowledge of s)nt"*ti* st u*tu e "nd 3o*"bul" ) ob3iousl) help


6wareness of syntactic structure is useful in listening comprehension in so far as it helps learners to e+tract meaning$ 'ut there is a two-way connection here; 2nowing the meaning of at least some of the words in an utterance 'oth helps in the identification of syntactic structure and allows "s to guess the meaning of the unknown items either directly or indirectly; Many "s fail to comprehend or produce English speech 'ecause they lack voca'ulary; 6 'asic course in discourse analysis may also contri'ute to the solution; e;g; teaching the common logical cohesive devices;

The (ind of 3o*"bul" ) building whi*h most benefits listening *omp ehension
The fourth tenet of my approach involves voca'ulary 'uilding$ 'ut more specifically$ study of linguistic markers and other cohesive devices; Gn conversation$ it is possi'le for speaker 6 to complete a sentence and for speaker E to 'egin to answer it immediately; Gndeed$ speaker E may even 'egin to answer 'efore speaker 6 has uttered every word in the prompt; #herefore$ speaker E must have predicted the end of 6@s sentence and at least 'egun to structure his reply 'y the time he 'egins to speak; #he a'ility to predict the type of thing that is going to 'e said is particullarly useful for "s who have to listen to lectures in academic institutions; -ords , phrases such as$ =on the other hand=$ =nevertheless=$ =similarly=$ =likewise=$ =conversely=$ =therefore=$ =as a result=$ =moreover=$ etc;; 4elp us to predict the type of contri'ution a'out to 'e made to a logically presented argument;

Refe en*e S(ills + le2is m" (ing the st u*tu e


Practice in the recognition of anaphoric and cataphoric markers will train "s to consider an utterance in relation to what has gone 'efore; !onsideration of the total length of an utterance in relation to previous utterances also uncovers syntactic structuring; 6t higher levels of language learning$ students are ready to cope with the more comple+ terminology$ synta+ and semantic structure encountered in the special fields in which English is used;

Vo*"bul" ) 9 $otions 9 %on*epts 9 %ultu "l 'w" eness 9 + f"mili" it) with the topi*
Practice in the synta+ of =informal English= can continue$ since ver'al fillers and disconnected phrases are common 'oth in English for 'usiness or technology and in general English; #he a'ility to understand spoken English depends not only on audial and visual signals;

#he degree of familiarity with topic and associated terminology$ the degree of comple+ity of synta+ and semantic structure and the style of presentation of the speaker are all important factors; Listening skills can 'e developed through provision of helpful 'ackground to the topic in the te+t chosen for presentation; 6 gradation starting with te+ts using a high degree of familiarity and preceeding to more comple+ su'(ect matter and terminology is usually advisa'le; 6nticipation &uestions relating to the themes or argument or pre-statement of the main hypothesis will focus interest and attention on important conclusions or relations within the te+t;

>ine+tuning: p "*ti*e in e*ognition of 0"ssimil"ted0 "nd 0elided0 fo ms


The fifth part of my teaching programme tunes in more finely on the pro'lems of listening to =informal English=; Gt still involves reception rather than production; 6lthough G would insist on the production of the weak$ short and contracted forms also present in >;P;$ G would not teach the production of =assimilated= and =elided= forms; G agree with .r /illian Erown that =sophisticated students who have 'een taught to 'e aware of these forms will introduce them into their own speech in a natural conte+t when they feel a'le to control them;= -hen we are up against the reduced acoustic signal of =informal English=$ it is useful to know how movements at the edges of vowels can help to indicate which consonants are in the vicinity; Much of this decoding is done unconsciously$

Summ" )
Gn conclusion$ here is a summary of my teaching programme% >* Teach the comprehension and production of a form of 5slow collo$uial5 suitable for the communicati(e needs of the consensus* 6* ead away from practice in the comprehension of R*P* by including (arious styles of 5informal English5 as listening material* The emphasis at this stage is on practice* Comprehension should be tested in a (ariety of ways e*g* 5Tas! istening5* Ha* Teach the auditory B (isual signals which are reliable indicators of stress placement* Practice material re$uiring Ss to recognise and mar! strong stress and use of (ideo film would be helpful here* Hb* Teach the most common tunes* Practices should also focus on the inter2 relationships between stress# tune# synta3 and meaning* I* -e(elop (ocabulary gi(ing special priority to le3is containing important signals (concepts# referrals)# cohesi(e de(ices and other discourse mar!ers* The focus here is comprehension of spo!en English at paragraph le(el*

Practice material should reflect the fact that students may 'e e+posed simultaneously to =informal English= and special 7technical8 areas of usage; J* Teach the sound system (the relationships between (owel length B $uality and consonant sounds# the points of articulation B their modification in 5informal English5 in greater detail* Learners can then derive greater 'enefit from the reduced acousitc signal present in ordinary native communication; =People "peaking= 7Phonetic >eadings in !urrent English8 provides advanced material for the practice , study of English sounds$ rhythm and intonation;

Cou should now h"3e the info m"tion needed to t"*(le m"n) ess") titles on 4istening %omp ehension
#ry this one% ESSAF T/T E' Some E" teachers would claim that listening practice per se is unnecessary as pupils are re$uired to listen and understand English in e(ery stage of e(ery lesson* Suggest why this listening does not ine(itably impro(e Students? ability in istening Comprehension* Gndicate a num'er of useful techni&ues for practising listening comprehension; Produce the tape$ material and detailed lesson plan for part of a lesson for 7a8 an elementary class 7'8 an advanced class involving listening practice;

4istening to Spo(en English + highl) e*ommended stud) "nd p "*ti*e m"te i"ls

#eaching Listening !omprehension 'y Penny Br O or teachers wishing to prepare and use their own listening comprehension e+ercises P #eaching the "poken Language /illian Erown$ /eorge Jule O or teachers re&uiring linguistic knowledge and analysis of the factors involved P 4ow to Listen % 6n Gntermediate !ourse on Listening "kills O or learners wishing to practise some 'asic strategies and techni&ues P #ask Listening% "tudent@s Eook 'y Lesley Elundell$ Lac&ueline "tokes O or Pre intermediate learners wishing to work through a variety of practice tasks P #ask Listening% !assette #ask Listening% #eacher@s Eook Listening #asks% "tudent@s Eook O or intermediate learners of 6merican English P Listening #asks% !assette Listening #asks% #eacher@s Manual and 6nswer 2ey #E6!4G9/

The primacy of spo!en English

#E6!4G9/ G9.EH : 9EH#

Should spo(en English be the p in*ip"l obDe*ti3e of l"ngu"ge le" ningESSAF T/T E' /n recent years it has been argued on both linguistic and psychological grounds that spo!en language should be the principal ob;ecti(e in language teaching* Autline the arguments supporting this (iew and discuss their (alidity in relation to your e3perience on the needs and ob;ecti(es of language learners*

Re*ent emph"sis on spo(en l"ngu"ge in *ou se m"te i"ls


Most te+t'ooks pu'lished in recent years place the greatest emphasis on spoken language in that they em'ody a methodology that is largely oral; #raditional grammarians who taught language 'y talking in the vernacular a'out language$ 'y setting written translations and largely written grammatical e+ercises$ neglected a very important priciple% =?n the whole people learn what they do; .o something enough times and you will 'ecome competent in doing it thereafter;= #heir "s did in fact have plenty to do$ 'ut the pretence was that they were learning to speak a foreign language; G discovered this when G arrived in rance with rench ?-level to my credit$ 'ut with few rench utterances to offer a native rench speaker; G was almost completely unrehearsed in the speaking skill;

The emph"sis on spo(en l"ngu"ge is not enti el) e*ent


Gt would 'e entirely e+aggerated to claim that courses emphasiIing the speaking skill are a recent innovation;

,i e*t method "pp o"*hes emph"siEing spo(en l"ngu"ge b"sed on beh"3iou ist ps)*holog) "nd st u*tu "l g "ding
or much of the 20th century 'ehaviourists , structuralists have put emphasis on mastering the grammatical patterns of language system through constant$ step-'y-step repetition of utterances; Psychologists such as "kinner have given support to this 'ranch of linguistics through their contri'utions to learning theory; ormation of correct language ha'its has 'een thought to depend on the laws of e+ercise and effect and the principle of shaping; #his implies =doing= 7G;e;% speaking8;

,i e*t method "pp o"*hes emph"siEing spo(en l"ngu"ge b"sed on notion"l B fun*tion"l p in*iples of design
6 more recent contri'ution has come from linguists who might descri'e themselves as =functionalists=; #hey insist that =doing= in terms of structuralism is a very inefficient way of learning what language students usually need;

#his type of =doing= results$ moreover$ in what might 'e termed =structurespeech= as opposed to language which is appropriate to the situation in which it is used; unctionalism is usually associated with the =cognitive= approach which emphasiIes the need for meaningful utterances and learning goals which are visi'le to the student as well as the teachers; Psychologists and linguists have felt language practice in this conte+t to 'e more motivating for learners;

%"tego ies of *ommuni*"ti3e fun*tion o l"ngu"ge use " ising f om Spee*h '*t theo ) in the mid 20th *entu )
Gt is with oral English in mind that researchers such as .;6; -ilkins 7see also 6ustin , "earle% "peech 6cts8 and authors like -ilga >ivers have defined categories of communicati(e function and categories of language use respectively; e;g; 718 esta'lishing and maintaing social relations 728 e+pressing one@s reactions 738 hiding one@s intentions 7<8 talking one@s way out of trou'le 7C8 seeking , giving information 7F8 learning or teaching others to do or make something$ etc; G list -ilga >iver@s categories 'ecause of their close affinity with spoken language or more 'roadly communicating; Gt is normal to regard the skills of speaking and listening as a pair since it is hard to imagine that one could say things that one could not understand - in spite of an over-dose of 'ehaviourist =ha'it-formation=; E+amination of these categories helps to show why the oral approch is pro'a'ly the most satifactory in the teaching of English to adults; ?n the whole learners 7tourists$ e+ecutives$ receptionists$ univ "s8 share a desire to use spoken English;

%i *umst"n*es in whi*h the o "l "pp o"*h will f"il to suffi*e


4aving argued in general terms for the oral approach$ G am fully aware that to teach speech is not the only desira'le o'(ective$ and certainly not$ where a group of learners clearly has some other primary o'(ective - e;g; passing written e+ams; /iven that many pu'lic e+aminations$ including !am'ridge !E , Proficiency put heavy emphasis on listening$ reading and writing$ these skills cannot 'e ignored in e+amination classes; Most language schools meet at one time or other a student with highly specified needs; #he type of spoken English and voca'ulary needed$ is going to 'e very different for the tourist on the one hand , the receptionist or switch'oard operator on the other; .espite the link 'etween speaking , listening it could 'e that a student is more interested in the latter; E;g; Participants at international conferences who are permitted to speak in their native language 'ut are e+pected to comprehend English; Likewise$ the reading skill may 'e a ma(or re&uirement of the student who wants to read modern English literature$ the technician who services e&uipment made in the B;";6; or chemists$ doctors , opticians wanting to keep up with research;

4aving identified these highly specified needs$ the needs of the learner are usually mi+ed and the four skills rarely e+ist in complete isolation; #ourists will need to speak$ 'ut also to read menus , signs$ 'ills$ receipts and =what@s on= columns; #he tourist will also need sufficient writing to cope with che&ues$ em'arkation cards$ 'ooking forms; #he longer term visitor will also need to read and write messages;

%on*lusion + b"l"n*e in the l"ngu"ge *u i*ulum


Gn conclusion$ it can 'e said that a student@s ultimate repertoire of skills in the language will reflect the proportions of time spent on different language activities; #he fact that pro'a'ly more time needs to 'e spent on productive skills 7" , -8 rather than receptive skills 7L , >8 if an e&uivalent level of proficiency is to 'e reached$ reflects the fact that comprehension of language outstrips productive capacity; 6 large receptive repertoire is held to 'e the desira'le product of giving e&ual attention to all four skills; 9ote that under some e+amination systems 7e;g; Lapan8 L , " are neglected; 9ote also 2rashen@s emphasis on =the silent period=; #he nature of oral practices must 'e given careful consideration; >eading a te+t aloud in class or doing an e+ercise orally in preparation for written 4- may provide oral practice$ 'ut audi'le language doesn@t necessarily constitute speech; "peech involves composing sentences 7itself a matter of appropriate selection of grammatical forms , voca'ulary8 and e+pressing them in sound in order to e+press a desired meaning; Gt must 'e set in the 'roader conte+t of communicating which involves 'oth listening and speaking; Gt is merely necessary to survey a few 'asic categories of communicative function to appreciate the validity of the oral approach in relation to the needs and o'(ectives of most language learners; #he role of reading as an aid to voca'ulary learning is emphasiIed 'y many teachers; 9ote that some "s can recognise the written form of a word$ 'ut cannot recognise the word when they hear it spoken; 7Eut many words may 'e identified via Phonics8; Gn -estern educational esta'lishments$ reading , writing are thought to 'e the necessary tools of learning 7'ooksS papersS E-mail$ the Gnternet8; "ome may contend that the oral tradition can also deliver language 7songs$ stories;8; !hanting the 2oran; 9ote that Listening !omprehension is aided 'y a knowledge of voca'ulary and phraseology and difference of "poken Prose , !onversation; 9ote% the pedagogical use of > , - in the classroom; Most adults prefer the support of the written word when learning languages; Programmes for children 7e;g; En 6vant8 where > , were ta'oo for the first year or two were &uestiona'le;

S67RT F.F4.78R'16C
6 4istory of English Language #eaching 'y 6nthony 4owatt

Aery reada'le if you are really interested in this su'(ect; #his history covers several centuries; #here is interesting coverage of language teaching methods$ emphasiIing the spoken word$ pioneered 'y economic migrants$ including people taking refuge in the B2 to avoid poverty or persecution; #ake heart if you are an economic migrant earning your keep 'y giving lessons in your native language to foreigners; Jou are not the first in history to do this; undamental !oncepts of Language #eaching% 4istorical and Gnterdisciplinary Perspectives on 6pplied Linguistic >esearch 'y "tern$ 4; 4; #his is a long 'ook$ very suita'le for 'ackground reading if you are planning to do a degree in "econd Language Learning and #eaching or 6pplied Linguistics; Gt is a very reada'le 'ook for any'ody with some knowledge of the field and is one of the most useful reference sources for past and present methods and approaches and the linguistic theories 'ehind them; Methods where emphasis is on the spoken word are included in this very comprehensive coverage; 6pproaches and Methods in Language #eaching 'y >ichards$ Lack !; and #heodore "; >odgers; #his is a shorter 'ook providing a more concise roundup of methods and approaches than the previous title and with more emphasis on more recent events; Gt is suita'le for people training to teach languages$ though not necessarily aiming to specialiIe in 6pplied Linguistics; 9otional "ylla'uses 'y -ilkins$ .; 6; #his is an important work since it charts the move in the 1010s from =synthetic= approaches dividing language into managa'le nuggets of synta+ to =analytic= approaches tied to =9otions= and = unctions= offering an alternative to structural sylla'us design; .;6; -ilkins was one of the first linguists to 'e associated with the 9otional unctional approach and this is one of the earliest works where an attempt is made to define the terms =9otion= and = unction=; !ourse'ook$ sylla'us and test designs claiming to 'e =communicative=$ often go little further than the principles of 9otional unctional design; G am surprised that .;6; -ilkin@s seminal work is so difficult to o'tain$ 'ecause so many modern materials fall 'ack on this 1010s development; "trictly speaking$ this new method of linguistic description was pioneered 'y 6ustin and "earle; Lohn "earle@s ="peech 6cts= were populariIed 'y .;6; -ilkins$ who adopted the term =function= to descri'e =the social purpose of an utterance= and added the term =notion= to provide semantic fields and further setting; =9otional "ylla'uses= is certainly a valua'le work in its emphasis on semantic criteria in course design - something that was lacking in some 7though not all8 structurally 'ased language courses; "peech 6cts% 6n Essay in the Philosophy of Language 'y Lohn "earle #he heart of this work is contained within a few inspired pages in the middle; Gf you are interested in the developments in linguistic description and semantics$ which were further refined 'y .; 6; -ilkins and -ilga >ivers in their more communicative categories for language course design$ then "earle@s concise ta+onomy is well worth looking at; #hese categories were further refined in the !ouncil of Europe@s Threshold and 4aystage specifications for language sylla'us design 7at intermediate and pre-intermediate levels respectively8$ though in the latter documents structural and functional criteria are seen as partners in a marriage rather than mutually e+clusive design principles; 6 Practical /uide to the #eaching of English% as a "econd or oreign Language 'y -ilga >ivers and Mary "; #emperley #his used to 'e the 'i'le for people training to teach E"L or E L in the 1010s - the decade in the twentieth century where language teaching methodology developed most significantly; #he 'ook was so popular that different versions were pu'lished for the teaching of rench$ /erman$ "panish etc$ which contained essentially the same te+t$ 'ut with e+amples in the

particular modern language appearing in the 'ook title; #he version for =English= language teaching may 'e harder to o'tain than the others; Gf this is so$ it is worth looking for the title at a B"-'ased online store since it is a 9orth 6merican pu'lication; #he authors are especially good at descri'ing practical methods for teaching spoken English - there is an e+cellent section on the use of dialogues and considera'le attention is given to oral fluency as well as accuracy; #eaching Language as !ommunication 'y 4enry -iddowson Gf ever there was a revolution in language teaching methodology in the 1010s$ this is another of the seminal works$ which has lasted well; Gt contains very good descriptions of some of the key concepts 7e;g; =signification= and =value=8 underlying the shift of emphasis in sylla'us design; #here has 'een little constructive development in the theory of !ommunicative Language #eaching methodology since this work$ though what there has 'een is tremendous progress in Gnformation !ommunication #echnology$ allowing access to listening 7e;g; via English radio online services8 and a variety of reading comprehension materials 7via we' sites8 wherever there is a computer in the world with audio speakers and an Gnternet connection; Gf theory is still needed$ given all this access to language learning materials$ -iddowson is not a 'ad source; Gt interests me that there are far fewer pu'lishers responsi'le for English language teaching materials than there were in the 1010s and 1080s and it is much more difficult to find a range of materials on specialist aspects of language learning and teaching; Gt could 'e that !ommunication #echnology fulfils the need for language learning materials more effectively today than e+ploration into underlying theories$ though G hope that there is still scope for 'oth;

The description of language


#E6!4G9/ G9.EH : 9EH#

,efining )ou te ms
/dioms# clichKs# ;argon# slang# mottoes# phonemes# allophones# redundancy An idiom is any e+pression 7within a given language8 conveying a distict meaning not necessarily e+plica'le 'y 7, occasionally contrary to8 the general accepted grammatical rules; 6 knowledge of the meaning of individual words in the e+pression may provide little or no clue to the meaning of the whole e+pression; E;g; on the other handK carry it offK to have half a mind to do something; A clichK is a term or description used with such regularity or predicta'ility 7fre&uently in conversation 'ut also in other language fields8 that interpretation is a &uestion of recognising convention as opposed to literal meaning; 6lthough clich*s may help to convey the mood of the language user they rarely convey any distinct meaning; E;g; really greatK a smash hitK a (olly fine day; !lich*s can also 'e idioms$ e+amples of slang 7have it off8$ 6nericanisms 7have a nice dayS8 or share other such characteristics; 0argon is the collective term for the words$ e+pressions$ technical terms etc; which are intelligi'le to the mem'ers of a specific group$ social circle or profession$ 'ut not to the general pu'lic; E;g; Multiple Gndependently #argeted >e-entry Aehicle ;

9;E; the abbre(iation 7e;g; MG#>A8 is often used to denote the technical term o'scuring the meaning still further from the general pu'lic; "imilarly$ in linguistics we talk a'out =Mim-mem= techni&ues$ =mediation theory= and the =cognitive-code=; =9ew -ave=$ =freak-out=$ =rip-off= are e3amples of ;argon used among a specific group; 6 different social circle may recognise some of the same terms as slang or fail to understand them; A slogan is a phrase or sentence of short or medium length 7fr&uently a declarative statement or command8 acclaiming or denigrating a particular product$ party or cause; E;g; /uiness is good for you; .on@t say Erown$ day 4ovis; >acist pigs ?B#; Ean the 'om'S ight for 2ing , !ountryS Life is 'etter under the YY A motto is a phrase or sentence of short or medium length 7 a ma+im8 containing a personally applica'le message for serious adoption as a rule of conduct; Mottoes are usually more universal than slogans which relate more closely to a particular conte+t; #he timeless &uality is reflected in the a'undance of atin mottoes' 6d 6ltum 7#o the heights8$ "pes si'i &uis'i 79ever give up hope8 found in odd corners of English society; Ee preparedY =#o 'e pure in thought and deed=; 6 motto can also 'e defined as a sentence inscri'ed on some o'(ect and e+pressing appropriate sentiment e;g; =4orsemen$ pass 'y=; A phoneme is a single speech-sound or group of similar or related speech-sounds which function analogously in a given language; Psychological view% =ideal sound at which the speaker aims=; Physical view 7.aniel Lones8 % 6 family of sounds which are phonetically similar; 6merican linguists 7Eloomfield8 % 6 minimal unit of distinctive sound feature; An allophone is one of several variants of speech sounds which constitute a phoneme; 9ote that the 5k5 phoneme occurs twice in the word =cook= 'ut it is differently produced; #here are two allophones of the 5k5 phoneme in cook; Redundancy in speech - "peech is said to 'e redundant when it contains more than one signal for the same aspect of meaning; E;g; -ell;; G mean;; Let@s face it; -hat G mean is that if he could possi'ly have made it on time$ it would have 'een 'etter; =Bnnecessary= clues to meaning which contri'ute to redundancy in speech are provided 'y intonation contours$ stress patterns$ (unctures 7transition and 'oundary features8 and tone of voice as well as repetition and duplication; Alliteration - the recurrence of the same initial sound or letter 7or group of sounds or letters8 in succeeding words% e;g; "ir /awain and .;4; Lawrence@s "nake and ="ister "usie sits sewing shirts for saucy sailors; A collocation is a group of two or more words used in ha'itual association with one another e;g; ?ut of work5order5date 6t work5night5a pinch Ey rights5heart5chance;

Re*ommended boo(s + te ms used in l"ngu"ge te"*hing theo ) "nd "pplied linguisti*s


irst .ictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics 'y .avid !rystal #his reference 'ook 'y one of the B2@s finest linguists remains one of my favourite; 6mong .avid !rystal@s works are =#he Encyclopedia of Language=$ =#he Encyclopedia of the English Language= and numerous 'ooks on phonetics$ synta+ and such specialist applications as assessing language disa'ilities; #here could not 'e a more &ualified author to write a reference 'ook defining terms used in linguistic description; #he generous coverage of terms used in phonetics$ where definition is of ma(or practical importance 7e;g; for speech therapists as well as pronunciation teachers8 makes this work especially useful; Longman .ictionary of Language #eaching and 6pplied Linguitics 'y Lack !; >ichards and >ichard "chmidt ?ne of the finest 9orth 6merican linguists who has applied his writing to language teaching is Lack !; >ichards; #his work started out as =#he Longman .ictionary of 6pplied Linguistics=$ 'ut is now targeted at Language #eaching as well$ an area in which Lack !; >ichards is well known for his contri'utions; Practical #echni&ues% or Language #eaching 'y Michael Lewis and Limmie 4ill #his work covers most of what is needed for trainee teachers covering the !#E L6 sylla'us; #his is the e+amination offered 'y the Bniversity of !am'ridge "yndicate for Local E+aminations 'ased in the B2 for teachers re&uiring a 'asic certificate in the #eaching of English as a oreign Language to 6dults; #his e+amination should 'e the first stepping stone for less e+perienced teachers or trainee teachers in the B2 for entry into the #E L industry; #his is the first &ualification to aim at if you want to 'e eligi'le for English teaching (o's a'road or (unior or temporary posts in B2-'ased language schools; #he 'ook is clearly written and will 'e appreciated 'y teachers who want things e+plained without 'eing overloaded with (argon and technical terms; 4aving suffered most of the (argon and inflicted it on others$ G found the 'ook agrea'le to read; Gncidently$ G notice that several language school chains and local institutions are now offering English Language #eaching #raining courses; G will not 'e rude a'out these institutions$ especially if they refer learners to this we' siteS "ome of these organisations can find you posts in interesting parts of the world such as !hina$ Lapan and "outh 6merica; #hese posts can often 'e secured after successful completion of their training courses; #his is the route 'y which many of us fulfil our travel dreams and catch the language teaching methodology 'ug which makes us want to go further; 4owever$ if you want to move &uickly to more permanent and senior employment$ my advice is to go for the B!LE" certificate and then the diploma; 4aving completed your certificate$ after a'out two years of fairly continuous full-time employment in satisfactory language teaching conditions O it can help a little too when things go wrongS P$ then is the time to 'e thinking of em'arking on the diploma; #his is the stepping stone for a permanent post and if you want to improve your employment opportunities still further$ you should then aim at an ME6 or a Master of 6rts degree;

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