ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

(Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics)

Dear Student,

We welcome you to our Diploma in TEFL programme. This is basically a programme for
teaching you how to teach English as a foreign language. However, you might notice that
a great deal of the course material is intended to improve your own English language
skills and at the same time to acquaint you with the latest trends and strategies for
handling these skills in the classroom.

This study package includes the following study material:

1. Phonology (5658) Text Book
2. Supplementary Reading Material (Grammar and Phonology)
3. Two audio cassettes
4. Two assignments
5. Six assignment forms.

In case any item is missing please contact:

The Mailing Section

Allama Iqbal Open University
Sector H-8, Islamabad
Phone: 051-9057611-12

We hope you will enjoy and benefit from the course.

Good luck

Course Coordinator
Phonology (5658)

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 ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD
(Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics)

WARNING
1. PLAGIARISM OR HIRING OF GHOST WRITER(S) FOR SOLVING
THE ASSIGNMENT(S) WILL DEBAR THE STUDENT FROM AWARD
OF DEGREE/CERTIFICATE, IF FOUND AT ANY STAGE.
2. SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS BORROWED OR STOLEN FROM
OTHER(S) AS ONES OWN WILL BE PENALIZED AS DEFINED IN
AIOU PLAGIARISM POLICY.

Course: Phonology (5658) Semester: Spring, 2011

Level: Diploma TEFL Total Marks: 100
Pass Marks: 40
ASSIGNMENT No. 1
(Unit 19)

Q.1 Write the following phrases in Phonetic script keeping in mind the rules of
assimilation and elision. (15)

i. Hand bag
ii. Good point
iii. Ten points
iv. Hand and glove
v. Cats and dogs

Q.2 Explain the difference between the following with the help of suitable examples. (20)

i. Voice alveolar fricative & voiced dental fricative

ii. Allophones & Diphthongs
iii. Voiced alveolar lateral & voiced velar nasal
iv. Open syllables & close syllables

Q.3 A. Mark the stressed syllable in each of the following words as shown in the
example. (05)

Example: University

Determination, fertilizer, subtle, fluctuation, enthusiasm, encyclopedia,

declarative, gullible, symmetry, utility.

B. Explain and exemplify how Intonation can bring about change in meaning
of the sentence/ utterance. (10)

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Q.4 Mark the syllable boundaries in the following words as shown by the example. (10)

Example: Sen / ten / ces

i. malicious, ii. Scrutiny iii. Commander

iv. slashing v. nave vi. Dermatologist
vii. unfathomable viii. Improper ix. Dysfunctional
x. Tremendous

Q.5 Give two examples each of the words in which syllables and morphemes coincide
and where they do not. (05)

Q.6 Discuss the following statements with the help of at least three examples.

i. Schwa has its own importance in English language. 7 1

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ii. English language has a distinctive stress pattern. 7 2

Q.7 Mark the following statements as true or false. (10)

i. In case of voiceless sounds the vocal cords do not vibrate.

ii. Phonology is a general study of human speech sounds.
iii. In case of fricative sounds, audible friction occurs because the air is
obstructed.
iv. Bilabial means two lips apart.
v. Since schwa is a weak vowel it does not play an important role in English.
vi. Vowels cannot be differentiated as easily as consonants.
vii. Wrong word stress can lead to a great misunderstanding.
viii. Closed syllables end with a vowel.
ix. Diphthongs are the double sounds that consist of a rapid glide from one
vowel position to another.
x. One word can have only one stress pattern.

Q.8 The word below have been given in normal script. Indicate in phonetic script which
phonemes in the following words are consonants and which are vowels, as shown
in the example. (10)

Example: flat consonant: /f/ /I/ /t/

Vowels ae

i. blue ii. straw iii. Grey iv. Drama

v. tea vi. squad vii. Trial viii. garden
ix. melodrama x. faulty

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 ASSIGNMENT No. 2
The 2nd assignment is a project. You are required to study the relevant area / conduct
research and prepare a brief report on your findings in the area given. You will have to
submit one copy of the report to the tutor within the scheduled period and then present
the report / essay in one of the tutorials (the schedule / plan of the tutorial for the
presentations will be intimated by the tutor concerned or the Regional Director). This
compulsory assignment carries 100 marks, 40 marks for the written report/ essay and 60
for the presentation and you are required to pass both these parts separately.

Here are a few guidelines for the presentation and the written report:

a. The written report should have an introduction, body and conclusion. It should be
written in clear concise and correct English.
b. It should have 2000 to 3000 words.
c. The presentation will be assessed and evaluated mainly in
i. Contents of the assignment/report
ii. Communication skills
iii. Language accuracy
iv. Language fluency
v. Presentation style
d. You may use transparencies, charts or any other material to make your presentation
impressive.

You will prepare your project on one of the following topics. Your tutor will assign
different topics to different students during your classes. For example, if the number of
students in your class is 20, one topic may not be assigned to more than four students.

1. It is generally observed that mother tongue interferes whenever a learner is learning

pronunciation of a foreign language. The same is the case with Pakistanis. Conduct
a mini research and find out the difficulties they face in learning English vowels.
Discuss the problems and mispronunciations which occur due to interference of
mother tongue in detail along with relevant examples. For this research carry out
the following tasks:
i. Select a paragraph of more than fifteen lines which contains at least 15
English vowel sounds.
ii. Now ask a Pakistani graduate to read out the paragraph and record his/her
voice in the audio cassette.
iii. Transcribe it exactly into phonetic symbols and trace out the wrong
pronunciations of vowels.
iv. Rewrite the same paragraph into correct transcription.
v. Point out the wrong pronunciation of vowel sounds which occur due to
interference of mother tongue.
vi. Finally suggest the remedial measures to overcome this problem.

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(Note: No two students can share the same paragraph)
2. Teaching of Stress in English language can be a tricky task for an English language
teacher. Stress patterns could vary from word to word depending on the
grammatical class of word. How will you, as a teacher, teach stress difference
between the noun and verb forms of the words Convict, object, record, rebel,
produce and similar other words.

Prepare a detailed lesson plan comprising all necessary stages i.e. preparation,
presentation, practice and production; demonstrate the plan in your 2 nd assignment
presentation workshop.

3. Diphthongs are normally confused with long vowels by the speakers of Pakistani
languages especially Urdu. How would you teach a lesson based on diphthongs?
Prepare a lesson plan in which you try to explain the difference between
diphthongs and long vowels. Conduct the lesson in the class you teach, observe the
students response, and present the findings in the report. Present the lesson plan
and your experience of conducting it in the presentation workshop.

4. Exact pronunciation of certain consonants of English language may be very

difficult for the speakers of Urdu, Punjabi, Pushto, Sindhi or Balochi as they differ
from the sounds which are similar to those sounds, yet different in certain ways.
The learners tend to confuse the consonants of English with the nearest one in their
own language. Select a text in which you could find such consonants. Get this
paragraph read by the students. Record their reading of the passage and analyse the
difference of production of these sounds in the two languages with reference to the
difference in their place of articulation. Submit your findings in your written report.

5. How does intonation affect the meaning of a sentence? Make a lesson plan based
on teaching of intonation to the students. Select any five sentences and present
them to the class with different intonation so that it changes their meanings. Follow
the format of four Ps (preparation, presentation, practice and production).
Demonstrate your lesson in the presentation workshop and discuss how your lesson
plan has been a success in teaching intonation to the students.

Prepare a report and submit to the tutor well before the presentation.