PRONUNCIATION - PRACTISING STRESS AND INTONATION

Stress and intonation refer to the "music" of speaking a language. Which words are
stressed and the intonation you give when speaking can add subtle changes in meaning.
Understanding and practicing the different types of common stress and intonation and
English will help you or your students improve their English skills, as well as improve
overall English pronunciation skills.
I am often surprised at how focusing on the "stress timed" !uality of English helps
students improve their pronunciation skills. Students often focus on pronouncing each
word correctly and therefore tend to pronounce in an unnatural manner. "y focusing on
the stress timed factor in English the fact that only principal words such as proper
nouns, principal verbs, ad#ectives and adverbs receive the "stress" students soon begin
sounding much more "authentic" as the cadence of the language begins to ring true. $he
following lesson focuses on raising awareness of this issue and includes practice
e%ercises.
Aim: Improving pronunciation by focusing on the stress time nature of spoken English
Activity: &wareness raising followed by practical application e%ercises
Level: 're intermediate to upper intermediate depending on student needs and
awareness
Outline:
( "egin awareness raising activities by reading an e%ample sentence aloud to the
students )for e%ample* $he boys didn+t have time to finish their homework before the
lesson began,. -ead the sentence the first time pronouncing each word carefully.
-ead the sentence a second time in natural speech.
( &sk students which reading seemed more natural and why it seemed more natural.
( Using the ideas students come up with, e%plain the idea of English being a "stress
timed" language. If the students speak a syllabic language )such as Italian or
Spanish,, point out the difference between their own native language and English
)theirs being syllabic, English stress timed,. .ust this awareness raising can make a
dramatic difference in such students abilities.
( $alk about the differences between stressed words and nonstressed words )i.e.
principal verbs are stressed, au%iliary verbs are not,.
( Write the following two sentences on the board*
( The beautiful Mountain appeared transfixed in the distance.
( He can come on Sundays as long as he doesn't have to do any homework
in the evening.
( Underline the stressed words in both sentences. &sk students to try reading aloud.
'oint out how each sentence seems to be appro%imately the same length in "stress
time".
( &sk students to look through the e%ample sentences and underline the words that
should be stressed in the worksheet.
( /irculate about the room asking students to read the sentences aloud once they
have decided which words should receive stresses.
( -eview activity as a class ask students to first read any given sentence with each
word pronounced followed by the "stress timed" version. E%pect a surprise at the
!uick improvement students make in pronunciation )I am every time I do this
e%ercise,00
'ronunciation 1elp Sentence Stress
Take a look at the ollo!in" li#t o #t$e##e% an% non-#t$e##e% !o$% ty&e#'"asically,
stress words are considered CONTENT (ORDS such as
( 2ouns e.g. kitchen, 'eter
( )most, principal verbs e.g. visit, construct
( &d#ectives e.g. beautiful, interesting
( &dverbs e.g. often, carefully
2onstressed words are considered )UNCTION (ORDS such as
( 3eterminers e.g. the, a, some, a few
( &u%iliary verbs e.g. don+t, am, can, were
( 'repositions e.g. before, ne%t to, opposite
( /on#unctions e.g. but, while, as
( 'ronouns e.g. they, she, us
*a$k the #t$e##e% !o$%# in the ollo!in" #entence#' Ate$ you have oun% the
#t$e##e% !o$%#+ &$actice $ea%in" the #entence# alou%'
( .ohn is coming over tonight. We are going to work on our homework together.
( Ecstasy is an e%tremely dangerous drug.
( We should have visited some more castles while we were traveling through the
back roads of 4rance.
( .ack bought a new car last 4riday.
( $hey are looking forward to your visiting them ne%t .anuary.
( E%citing discoveries lie in $om+s future.
( Would you like to come over and play a game of chess5
( $hey have been having to work hard these last few months on their challenging
e%periment.
( Shakespeare wrote passionate, moving poetry.
( &s you might have e%pected, he has #ust thought of a new approach to the
problem.