Task 1 graphic organizer

7/29/2019 Task 1 graphic organizer

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TASK 1 : FEATURES OF SPOKEN ENGLISH (40%)

1. You are required to work individually.2. Search the internet and other reading material and print out at least two

relevant articles for the following :

a. Pronunciation

b. Stress

c. Rhythm

d. Intonation

e. Public speaking

f. Characteristics of a good speaker


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PRONUNCIATION

Why is pronunciation important?

What is pronunciation?

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning. It

concludes attention to the particular sounds of a language (segments), aspects of

speech beyond the level of the individual sound, such as intonation, phrasing, stress,

timing, rhythm (suprasegmental aspects) how the voice is projected

(voice quality) and, in its broadest definition, attention to gestures and expressions

that are closely related to the way we speak a language.

Learners with good

pronunciation in English

are more likely to be

understood even if they

make errors in other

areas.

Learners with poor

pronunciation may judge

as incompetent,

uneducated or lacking in

knowledge, even thought

listeners are only reacting

to their pronunciation.

Learners whose pronunciation is difficult to understand will not be

understood, even if their grammar is perfect. Such learners may avoidspeaking in English, thus experience social isolation, employment

difficulties and limited opportunities for further study.


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The elements of pronunciation

Pronunciation includes both suprasemental and segmental features. Although these different

aspects of pronunciation are treated in isolation here, it is important to remember that they all

work in combination when we speak and are therefore usually best learned as an integral part

of spoken language.

Traditional approaches to pronunciation have often focused on segmental aspects, largely

because these relate in some way to letters in writing, and are Therefore the easiest to notice

and work on. More recent approaches to pronunciation, however, have suggested that the

suprasegmental aspects of pronunciation may have the most effect on intelligibility

Three levels of English pronunciation

People often dont

understand what you

want to say. You use

the wrong sound inEnglish

People understand what

you want to say, but it is

unpleasant to listen to

you

People understand you,

and your English is

pleasant to listen to

Usually learners benefit from attention to both aspects, and some learners may need help in

some areas more than in others. This overview starts with suprasegmental features. One

considerable practical advantage of focusing on suprasegmentals is that learners from mixed

L1 backgrounds in the same class will benefit, and will often find that their segmental difficulties

improve at the same time


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STRESS

Stress refers to the prominence given to certain syllables within words, and to certain syllables

or words within utterances. It is signaled by volume, force, pitch change and syllable length,and is often the place where we notice hand movements and other gestures when we are

watching someone talking

One noticeable feature of English is the reduced nature of unstressed syllables. Thus, not only

are stressed syllables longer, louder, more forceful and at a different pitch, but unstressed ones

are often different in quality

Stress is important at three different

word level

multisyllabic words have one or more syllables that are stressed

Sentence level

The most important words tend to be stressed

Contrastive stress

The most important words carry greater stress


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RHYTHM

Rhythm is both a feature of and product of the phonological structure of English. The phonologyof any language is a system, so that a change in one part of the system will affect some or all of

the other arts.

English is a very rhythmical language, so that a learner who can maintain the rhythm of the

language is more likely to sound both natural and fluent. The two components of the system

which have the greatest influence on rhythm are sentence stress and the various features of

Different words in a sentence have stronger stress and are pronounced longer and otherwords are weaker and shorter. This pattern of strong and weak stress and short and long

pronunciation gives English its rhythm.

It is important for non-native speakers to understand and master the rhythm of English. If thewrong words are stressed in a sentence or if all words are pronounced with the same length

or loudness, the speech will be difficult to understand.

Words that have the most stress in English are called content words. Content words areusually the nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns (demonstrative, possessive,

reflexive, and interrogative).

words are less important in expressing the meaning of the sentence

Auxiliary verbs: may, do,

have (if not the main verb)

Determiners: the, some,

each

Prepositions: under,

around, near

Possessive

adjectives: my, your, our

Conjunctions: but, not,


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INTONATION

Intonation, or change of pitch, is crucial in signaling speaker meaning, particularly interpersonal

attitudes. Intonation patterns are language-specific, learners will need to acquire new ones for

English in order to avoid inappropriate transfer from their first language and thus perhaps

inadvertently causing offence

There is always one word that has the most stress and emphasis in the sentence. This word issometimes called the information focus word.

The information focus word will have different pitch (highness or lowness of a sound) andintonation (the rise and fall of pitch when speaking) than the other words in the sentence.

English speakers use intonation and pitch to focus the listeners attention on what is importantin the message. (Other languages use word order to show this emphasis).

On the information focus word, the intonation will usually rise on that word (or stressed syllable-

if more than one syllable) and then go back down. The pitch may also remain up, depending onthe sentence type. Short sentences, clauses, and phrases usually only have one information

focus word because having more than one is confusing to the listener. The information focus

word is usually the last word or near the end of the sentence, but not always.

There have been three major approaches to intonation theory: the grammatical approach

(which relates intonation to grammatical functions), an approach that focuses on the link

between intonation and attitude, and the discourse approach (which emphasises speakers andtheir intentions in longer stretches of discourse).


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Clennell (1997) identifies some major functions that are important

for learners:

information marking

(prominent stress)

attitudinal or affect

marking (mood/feeling)

grammatical/syntactic marking

(clause boundaries/word

classes)

conversational

management

(turn-taking/collaborating)

discourse marking

(given/new)

pragmatic marking

(illocutionary

force/intention of the

s eaker .

Five major patterns of tones can be identified: fall, rise, fall-rise,

rise-fall and level:

Falling pattern usually indicates

that the speaker has finished, at

least temporarily.

A rising intonation signals a

question or continuation. This

difference can signal meaning

even in short exchanges.

fall-rise tone signals definiteness

combined with some qualification;

what Yallop (1995) calls a No,

but interpretation.

A rise-fall is usually used to signal

strong feelings of surprise or

approval or disapproval. In general,

larger movements in pitch signalhigher emotion and more interest.

A level tone signals boredom,

routine or triviality, and thus is the

tone that teachers use for routines

such as the class roll


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PUBLIC SPEAKING

Basic of public speaking

Dont try to memorize a speech.

Instead, use the key points.

Start strong with an interesting

opening. It doesnt have to be

brilliant, but it has to get the

audience focused on your topic

Dont speak too fast. This is a

common problem as nervous

speakers try to finish as quickly as

possible. Instead, take your time

and your audience will listen more

attentivelyBe careful when using visual aids,

including power point. They can be

both distracting and confusing

unless they are used appropriately.

Close your speech strongly with a

call to action


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Public speaking guidelines

Know the room be familiar with the

place in which you will speak

Know the audience greet some of

the audience as they arrive

Know your material practice your

speech and revise it if necessary

Visualize yourself giving your speech

imagine yourself speaking, your

voice loud, clear and assured

Concentrate on the message, not

the medium focus your attention

away from your own anxieties, and

outwardly toward your message

and audience. Your nervousness

will dissipate

Turn nervous into positive energy

harness your nervous energy and

transform it into vitality and

enthusiasm

Relax ease tension by doing

exercise

Realize that people want you to

succeedthey dont want you to fail

Dont apologize if you mention

your nervous or apologize for any

problems you think you have with

your speech, you may calling the

audiences attention to something

they had not noticed.

Gain experience experience builds

confidence, which is the key to

effective speaking


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CHARACTERISTIC OF A GOOD

Good Organization

Preparation

Speak from clear, comprehensive lecture note

Practice your presentation for voice, language, and timing

Do not read our resentation

Confidence

Do not begin with apology for you knowledge or your English. If you lackconfidence in yourself, the audience will perceive it and lose confidence in

you

Responsiveness

Start your presentation with a smile. You will put your audience at ease.

Make eye contact with members of the audience. Do not talk to the back

wall, the table, or your notes. Find a few friendly, encouraging faces in the

different parts of the audience and talk to them.

Clarity

Be sure the organization of your talk is clear to the audience.

Make short, simple and specific statements

Use visual support to illustrate and clarity difficult points. Visuals should

complement the oral presentation. Visuals should not be used as substitutes

for commentary, nor should they require overly complex explanations.

Enthusiasm

When something is important, say it slower and louder.

Try to communicate to the audience your own interest in and enthusiasm for

your subject; enthusiasm is contagious.


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Great Speaker

Authoritative top caliber speakers

strike you as authoritative

Attitude outstanding speakers

avoid saying they are going to

deliver a speech

Audience the audience becomes

the centerpiece of attention. Focus

mainly on the audience, find a way

to involve audiences, creating

interactive sessions and involving

attendees in discussion

Anecdotes think back to your

childhood days. As long as you

can remember, stories grabbed

you, and would not let go until you

heard all of the fables. Adult still

respond to intriguing stories.

People learn from and remember

the anecdotes, not your statistics.

Appearance speakers need to look

like professionals when they face

audiences.

Atypicalyou dont have to fit a

mold that seems right for most other

presenters.

Documents

Task 1 graphic organizer