Teaching a pronunciation short course

1. Teaching a pronunciation short course Jacky Springall AMEP consortium day

2. Planning a pronunciation course • Integrated vs short course • Self-selection/ expectations • Systematic approach • Greater focus on natural speech patterns • Classroom set up & activity types • But still need to consider • Relevance & engagement • Balance of activities: receptive/ productive, accuracy/fluency • Application to whole language • Low levels: limited vocabulary & grammar • Needs analysis

3. Specific pronunciation needs of the class Eg Mandarin speakers • Consonants and consonant clusters at the end of the words When pronouncing ends of words students often • Add extra vowel after final consonant or between consonants in a cluster eg past = pasta, Blackburn = Black-er-burn Delete or not pronounce the final consonant especially /l/, /n/, /v/ and voiceless consonants /p/ /ʧ/ etc.. egfeel, learn, love, keep, beach Reduce consonant clusters eg world =word Use a consonant that is easier to pronounce eg /s/ instead of /th/ so mouth = mouse • Vowels • 15 vowels in Mandarin & 20 in English so students often have difficulty in pronouncing vowels accurately & consistently (especially short vowels and diphthongs) • Stress patterns • Most words in Mandarin made up of 2 syllables distinguished by tone rather than stress so stress patterns in individual words often challenging. Getting stress patterns right in longer words may be difficult

4. Course Goals; skills & knowledge • We use a lot of breath to make many sounds in English eg to produce voiceless consonants, consonants at the end of words • Stressed syllables are usually longer and louder than unstressed ones • Most 2-syllable nouns have front stress eg table, window, apple • Most 2 syllable verbs have end stress eg supply, collect, deserve • Most words ending in a, o, and i have stress one syllable from the end eg mango, banana, avocado, • The weak and strong stresses of words give English it’s rhythm • Sentence stress falls on the important content words • Unstressed syllables and words can be “squeezed in” to keep a regular rhythm • The schwa is the shortest vowel sound and is the most common vowel in unstressed syllables • We use pausing in spoken texts that corresponds to chunks of meaning • Pause-groups in speech reflects punctuation in written texts • Words are not like bricks in a wall but links in a chain • You cant always hear where one word ends and another starts • Four types of linking egone, two three four apples (focus consonant to vowel links) • Consonant to consonant linking where clusters can be made eg ice cream = I scream, next week = necks tweek • The faster we speak the shorter words can become • Ellision & assimulation ( ie dropping and changing sounds) • You don't have to speak as fast as native speakers • We use tone to convey emotion and meaning eg thank you very much • Develop the technical terminology for talking about pronunciation eg breath, stress, rhythm, voice, voweletc..

5. syllables & stress in suburbs • Kew O • Ringwood Oo • Healesville Oo • Vermont Oo • Blackburn Oo • Box Hill OO • Doncaster Ooo

6. Stress and rhythm • One two three four • This is the house that Jack built • Dah du du Dah du DahDah • These are the hou ses that Jac queline bought • Dah du du Dah du du Dah du du Dah • How can we possibly fit this all in? • Dah du du Dah du du Dah du du Dah

8. Fast natural speech: Elision and assimilation Elision = when one sound disappears such as /t/ & /d/ at the end of a word & between 2 consonants • eg Firs(t) boy, secon(d) girl, I don(t) know, she wan(t)s some butter, Jack an(d) Jill When 2 identical consonants meet at the end of a word • Eg Pri(me) minister, lam(p) post, goo(d) dog Assimilation = when a sound changes because of another sound such as / t / + / j / = • Eg can’t you ? = cantcha? / d / + / j / = Do you = dja?

10. Tone: I went to the pronunciation workshop angry sad distraught relieved happy exhausted