An Integrated Approach to Pronunciation Lessons: Practice and Theory Dr. Marnie Reed and Christina Michaud

An Integrated Approach to Pronunciation Lessons:

Practice and Theory

Dr. Marnie Reed and Christina Michaud

Abstract:

This presentation includes an actual pronunciation lesson that teachers could teach in its entirety, covering the four key components of pronunciation. We offer introductions to these topics for intermediate or advanced students, plus specific activities. At key points, we will pause to explain the rationale for each step and activity.

An Integrated Approach to Pronunciation

• Addresses both suprasegmentals and segmentals, both speaking and listening:

• Shows that production facilitates perception.

An Integrated Approach to Pronunciation

A Sample Integrated Pronunciation Lesson

• Strand 1: linked sounds, deleted /h/

• Strand 2: syllables, word level stress, thought groups

• Strand 3: regular past-tense “ed” ending

• Strand 4:

An Introduction to Syllables• A syllable is a beat.

• But not all syllables (beats) are equal.

• Some syllables are strong (stressed), and some are weak (unstressed).

Practice Counting Syllables: Clap or tap once per syllable

• What are some one-syllable words for things you see around the room? Clap as you say them. Be sure you’re only saying one syllable (beat).

• What are some two-syllable words for things you see around the room? Which syllable is stressed? Clap as you say them. Stand up on the stressed syllable.

What is the sound of an unstressed syllable?

• Spelling doesn’t matter: The vowel sound in an unstressed syllable sounds like the vowel in the word “but” or in the first syllable of “about.”

• Unstressed syllables can sometimes be difficult to hear. Practice saying them and listening for them.

• Which sentence do you hear?1. a) They have to change plans.

b) They have a change of plans.

2. a) He has the right of way. b) He has the right way.

Syllables and Stress Patterns

• Mark stressed and unstressed syllables to help you remember how to say them.

• We call the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a word a stress pattern.

Column A Column B

ego ago

awkward occurred

person percent

Stress Matters!

When you learn a new word, ask:• How many syllables does it have?• Which syllable gets the (primary) stress?

When you add a new word to your vocabulary list,note the syllables and stress:

piccolo 3.1 piano 3.2 violin 3.3

(Notation system from Murphy, J., Kandil, M. (2004). “Word-Level

Stress Patterns in the Academic Word List.” System, 32, 61-74.)

A Teacher-Student Partnership

• Prompted production• Corrective feedback• Student logbooks• Student check-lists

Sample Logbooks

Checklist: What do you need to learn when you learn a new word?

1. meaning (not just translation)

2. part of speech

3. etymology and/or related words

4. usage (phrasal verb, count/non count noun, transitivity, irregular forms, etc.)

5. number of syllables

6. stress pattern





• Strand 4:

Talking about the past. . .

Did you know. . . ?• There are three different ways to say the “ed” ending.

Sometimes you add an extra syllable, and sometimes you don’t.

• If you have trouble saying the past tense ending, it may be because no one showed you the logic behind the different pronunciations.

• Sometimes, you say the “ed”:as /t/ as /d/ as /Id/

fixed borrowed wanted

• Good news! There’s a system—a rule—for how to pronounce “ed.”

Three Pronunciations of “-ed”• Some regular present tense verbs, such as want or need,

already end in the sounds /t/ or /d/. For these verbs, say the “ed” ending as /Id/, with an extra syllable.

• Some verbs, such as fix, end in an unvoiced sound—your throat doesn’t vibrate at the end of the word. For these verbs, say the “ed” ending as /t/: no extra syllable.

• Some verbs, such as borrow, end in a voiced sound—your throat vibrates at the very end of the word. For these verbs, say the “ed” ending as /d/: no extra syllable.

Practice with Final Sounds



Teaching Talk:The Language of Instruction

Make the language you use to introduce the concept orrule the same language you use to correct the student:

T: What is the final sound of the word: is it /t/ or /d/?

T: Can you add the extra syllable? Yes or no?

The language of instruction becomes the same languagethe student uses to self-correct (prompted production):

T: What questions do you ask yourself?

S: What is the final sound of the word: is it /t/ or /d/?S: Can I add the extra syllable? Yes or no?

The language of instruction is the language the studentuses to internalize the rule and self-monitor:

S: Is the final sound /t/ or /d/? Can I add the extra syllable?





• Strand 4: theta, eth, er

English doesn’t sound the way it looks.

Sounds are linked.

• Link the final consonant sound at the end of one word to the vowel sound at the beginning of the next word.

• If two consonant sounds are produced in the same spot in your mouth (like /t/ and /d/), you can also link consonant sounds to consonant sounds.

English doesn’t sound the way it looks.• The sound /h/ in the words he, his, her,

him is often deleted in connected speech:• Is he in his office?• Try her on her cell.• I’ll talk to him later.

• Put a line through the “h” when you delete the sound /h/ to help you remember.

• Link sounds when you delete /h/:• [IzibIzi]?



Checklist: Three Kinds of Information, and Three Steps to Decoding What You Hear

A Three-step Solution to Decoding English: What Teachers Need to Know

Dictation example: Tell her I’ll meet her.Students may be able to read and say this sentence without difficulty. But can they understand this sentence when it is spoken in everyday speech?

Step 1: Have students write what they heard on the board. Teller all meter.

Step 2: Read it over. Does it make sense?Step 3: Try to reconstruct what was said.

1. With no context, background information won’t help.2. Use sound information. Recall that English sounds are linked together in

everyday speech: words are blended. Also recall that sounds are deleted: “h” deletion is common.

3. Use language information. Every sentence, even an imperative, needs a verb: “Tell her” and “meet her” make sense now. The only word or words in English that sometimes sound like “all” and make sense in this sentence is “I’ll.”

Practice deleted /h/ and linked sounds





• Strand 4:

Thought Groups

• A thought group is a group of words in English that go together. Link words within a thought group, and pause slightly between thought groups.

• How do you know what words go together? Use everything you know about grammar, punctuation, and stress to help.

• Mark thought groups with [ brackets ] to help you remember when to link and when to pause when you read aloud.





• Strand 4:

Focus on Consonant and Vowel Sounds

Focus on Consonant and Vowel Sounds





• Strand 4:

Contexts for Practice

• Use any context for practice:– assigned texts– student choices– newspapers, etc.

• If context is set, work backwards: context determines which segmentals, etc. you target

• If context is flexible, choose a context which demonstrates target segmentals, etc.

• Recycle, recycle, recycle!

Put it all together! [An inmate serving a life sentence for murder] [asserts

that just before his friend died 18 years ago,] he confided

that he had been involved in the 1990 theft of more than

$300 million worth of artwork from the Isabella Stewart

Gardner Museum and had stashed the masterpieces at

an undisclosed "safe house" in Maine, according to his

lawyer.Adapted from: Murphy, Shelley. “Inmate offers tip on ’90 Gardner heist.” Boston Globe. 2/24/09. Web.

Put it all together!In 1891, a Boston socialite named Isabella Stewart Gardnerinherited a fortune.

She traveled the world in the 1890s and collected works of art.

In 1903, she completed construction on her new home and opened it to the public.

Before she passed away in 1924, Gardner willed her home to the City of Boston.

On March 18, 1990, the Gardner Museum was robbed by two unknown men.

They were dressed as police officers. That night, the thieves escaped with thirteen

works of art. The stolen art included three Rembrandts and a

painting by Vermeer called The Concert. The next day, the estimated value was reported

to be over $300million.

The FBI investigated the case; they called it the biggest art theft in US history.

In 2009, a journalist published a book about the robbery.

The reporter thinks he’s solved the case.

An Integrated Approach to Pronunciation Lessons: Practice and Theory

Dr. Marnie Reed and Christina Michaud

Some materials copyright M. Reed and C. Michaud: Sound Concepts: An Integrated Pronunciation Course, McGraw-Hill 2005, 2006.

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An Integrated Approach to Pronunciation Lessons: Practice and Theory Dr. Marnie Reed and Christina Michaud