Welcome!

1 University Drive
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
http://www.soka.edu
Soka University of America
SUA is an independent, non-profit,
institution of higher education located
in Southern Californias Orange County.
It is founded on the Buddhist principles
of peace, human rights and the sanctity
of life.
The mission of Soka University of America
is to foster a steady stream of global citizens
committed to living a contributive life.
Daisaku Ikeda, SUA Founder
SUA Campus, Aliso Viejo CA
English teacher training
Our Short Course in Teaching Pronunciation is
made possible through the collaboration of:

Royal Thai RELO

Distance Office,
Learning U.S. Embassy,
Foundation Bangkok

Soka
University
of America
 Teaching Pronunciation
CommunicativelySome EFL
Considerations

Donna M. Brinton
Professor of TESOL
Soka University of America
Short course: Overview
1 Teaching Pronunciation Communicatively:
Some EFL Considerations
2 The Consonants of North American
English
3 The Effect of Environment on Consonant
Production
4 The Stressed Vowels of North American
English
5 The Unstressed Vowels of North American
English
Short course, contd.
6 Introduction to Connected Speech

7 Stress and Rhythm

8 Prominence and Intonation

9 Intersections of Pronunciation with

Vocabulary, Grammar, and Listening
10 Guiding Principles for Teaching
Pronunciation
Overview of todays session
Why focus on pronunciation?
The advantage of NNESTs in teaching
pronunciation
Why is pronunciation different?
Do we need phonetic symbols?
A grab bag of traditional techniques
Considerations for teaching
pronunciation communicatively
Why focus on pronunciation?

Pronunciation is an essential part of oral

communication.
Even with excellent vocabulary and/or
grammar, learners will not be understood
if they consistently mispronounce English.
Listeners process incoming language
according to their schema. If the
language they hear does not fit this
schema, they will be frustrated in their
attempts to understand the speaker.
Sam the import/export merchant
silk /sIlk/
flower

sick
/sIk/
flower
Who can teach pronunciation?

Do you need to
Whatbe aif native
your
own speaker?
WhatEnglish
if you
pronunciation
lack confidence
is
in not
yourperfect?
English
pronunciation?
NNESTs and pronunciation
Teachers do not have to be native
speakers to teach pronunciation.
However, non-native English speaking
teachers (NESTs) do need to be
appropriate models for their students.
Knowledge of the English sound system
prepares teachers to help students with
their pronunciation.
The advantage of the NNEST
In the realm of pronunciation teaching,
NNESTs have a distinct advantage
1. They have insights into the
L1 of their students that NS
teachers often do not!
2. They have first-hand
knowledge of the
pronunciation challenges
their students face.
Helping students overcome
Most importantly,
they have overcome
the hurdles their
students encounter
and can effectively
coach their
students using the
techniques that
were successful for
them.
Why is pronunciation different?

Language is generally rule-driven.

Students can study grammar rules, memorize
vocabulary, and learn the discourse functions of
the language.
Pronunciation is different!
It is rule driven, but it involves
more than just cognitive ability.
It also involves motor activity
requiring students to assume
unfamiliar positions of the articulators.
This makes teaching pronunciation qualitatively
different than teaching the other skill areas.
A grab bag of techniques
Traditional techniques
1. These are our legacy from articulatory
phonetics and the teaching practices of
the 1960s and 70s.
2. They are still found in
virtually every student
pronunciation textbook.
3. Teachers and students
find them useful!
Throw out the baby?

These are tried and true

techniques.
We should not abandon
them just because they
are out of fashion.
But we can update
them in creative ways.
Dont throw the baby
out with the
bathwater.
Visuals
Phonetic symbols
Do we need phonetic symbols?

English has no sound/symbol

Why? correspondence. You cant always
guess how letters are pronounced
(especially vowels)!
Its not necessary to use IPA. Use the
Which? symbols that are in the dictionary
your students use.
Introduce them gradually, as needed.
When? Dont make students memorize the
IPA chart all at once!
The proof is in the pudding
One spelling, multiple One pronunciation,
pronunciations multiple spellings
got /A/ believe /iy/
go /ow/ receive /iy/
love // leave /iy/
to /uw/ machine /iy/
woman /U/ be /iy/
women /I/ see /iy/
Is English crazy?
o spelling ea spelling oo spelling

/ow/
//
/r/
/uw/
/iyr/ /uw/

/A/
Visual aids
Minimal pair discrimination
Word drills: Which is Sentence drills: Circle the
different? one you hear.
1. boat, vote, boat 1. The accident was on
2. ban, van, van the curve/curb.
3. bet, bet, vet 2. She saw two
4. savor, saber, saber calves/cabs.
5. drivel, drivel, dribble 3. Can you use this as a
vase/base?
6. marvel, marble,
marvel 4. Im having trouble
with my
7. suave, swab, swab vowels/bowels.
8. curb, curb, curve
Sentence practice
/iy/ vs. /I/ Jean and Gin keep an
extremely clean kitchen.

/E/ vs. /Q/ Heather has seven happy

hens in the back pen.

/uw/ vs. /U/ June took a good look at

Lukes cool pool.
Tongue twisters
/s/ vs. /S/: Susie sells sea
shells by the sea shore.
Flap t: A tutor who tooted the
flute, tried to tutor two tutors
to toot. Said the two to the
tutor Is it tougher to toot
or to tutor two tutors to toot?
Vowel review: A big black
bug bit a big black bear,
made the big black bear bleed blood.
Communicative techniques

Communicative techniques have been

applied to the teaching of pronunciation
since the mid 1970s.
Today, we recognize
the need for a balance of
accuracy and fluency. Not
all mistakes are corrected.
There is a progression from word and
sentence based exercises to more
discourse-based, communicative practice.
Gadgets

Gilbert (1991)
Pronunciation bingo

dead guess head said ten

send sad and end had

pet bag BINGO dad sand

end tan tend beg pat

gas tanned then and than

Rhythm drills
COWS EAT GRASS.

The COWS EAT the GRASS.

The COWS have EATen the GRASS.

The COWS will have EATen the GRASS.

The COWS couldnt have EATen the GRASS.

Rhythm drills, contd.
CATS EAT MICE.

The CATS EAT the MICE.

The CATS have EATen the MICE.

The CATS will have EATen the MICE.

The CATS couldnt have EATen the MICE.

Congruent pattern drills

1. I need a pound of butter.
2. Id like to buy a sweater.
3. You didnt close the window.
4. He ought to buy a laptop.
5. She doesnt speak much English.
Congruent patterns, contd.

1. I think that he wants us to run.
2. I told him to wait in the hall.
3. She asked me if Doris had left.
4. She promised to carry it home.
5. Its better to harvest the corn.
Information gap: Partner A

buys wants likes needs

Jean pins ? cake ?

Jin ? a pet grapes a maid

Jane beads kids ? ?

Jen ? ? men ?
Information gap: Partner B

buys wants likes needs

Jean ? a kiss ? paint

Jin a desk ? ? jeans

Jane ? ? green ?

Jen milk a pen ? a drink

Childrens rhymes

Wicky Wacky Womper-A

Theres an ant on me today.
If I flick it far away
Do you think that it will
stay? (make flicking motions
with thumb, forefinger)

http://www.kidsread.net/wicky.htm
Childrens rhymes, contd.

Wicky Wacky Womper-U

Theres a froggy in my
shoe.
My oh my! What will I
do?
Maybe it will jump on
you! (put pretend froggy
on shoe of person next to
you)

http://www.kidsread.net/wicky.htm
Childrens rhymes, contd.

Wicky Wacky Womper-E

Theres a monkey in my
tree.
Maybe there are two or
three.
Maybe they will play with
me. (scratch armpits &
make monkey noises)

http://www.kidsread.net/wicky.htm
Four Fat Flies Jazz Chant
I wish I could find
Those four fat flies
That flew in my window
Last Friday night.
Four flies flew in,
Four flies, not three
One landed on Fred,
Three landed on me.
Graham (1978)
Hows His English? Jazz Chant
His English is wonderful,
He speaks very well.
His accent is perfect.
You cant really tell
That he isnt a native
Of the U.S.A.
Theres only one problem.
He has nothing to say.
Graham (1978)
A few useful tips
1. Introduce sounds gradually, and
recycle the sounds you have already
taught.
2. Work on recognition first, then
production.
3. Work on issues as they arise in class.
4. Dont overwhelm students with
correction. Correct selectively!
Tips, contd.
5. Dont expect students to get it the
first time. Working on pronunciation
takes time and effort.
6. Encourage students when they get
sounds right.
7. Familiarize your students with their
dictionarys phonetic symbols and
encourage dictionary use.
Tips, contd.
8. Integrate pronunciation work with
other skills.
a. For example, when teaching vocabulary,
work with difficult sounds and word
stress.
b. When teaching grammar, work on
difficult to pronounce grammatical
endings such as
ed and s.
c. When having students read aloud, work
on tone units, prominence, and
intonation.
Parting shots

Parting
Parting shot:
shot: aa remark
remark
that
that you
you saysay as
as you
you are
are
leaving
leaving somewhere
somewhere so so
that
that itit has
has aa strong
strong
effect
effect
Make it visual
Make it kinesthetic
Make it auditory
Make it fun!
Some teacher resources
Avery, P., & Ehrlich, S. (Eds.) (1992). Teaching
American English pronunciation. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Bowen, T., & Marks, J. (1992). The
pronunciation book: Student-centred activities
for pronunciation work. Burnt Mill, Harlow:
Longman.
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin, J.
M. (In press). Teaching pronunciation: A
reference for teachers of English to speakers
of other languages (2nd ed.). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Teacher resources, contd.
Dalton, C., & Seidlhofer, B. (1994).
Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Gilbert, J. (1991). Gadgets: Non-verbal tools for
teaching pronunciation. In A. Brown (Ed.),
Teaching English pronunciation: A book of
readings (pp. 308322). London: Routledge.
Graham, C. (1978). Jazz chants. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Graham, C. (1986). Small talk: More jazz
chants. New York: Oxford University Press.
Teacher resources, contd.
Hewings, M. (2004). Pronunciation practice
activities: A resource book for teaching
English pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Kelly, G. (2000). How to teach pronunciation.
London: Longman.
Kenworthy, J. (1987). Teaching English
pronunciation. London: Longman.
Laroy, C. (1995). Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Teacher resources, contd.
Nilsen, D. L. F., & Nilsen, A. P. (1973).
Pronunciation contrasts in English. New York:
Regents. [reissued 2002 by Waveland Press,
Prospect Heights, IL]
Swan, M., & Smith, B. (2000). Learner English:
A guide to interference and other problems
(2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.