9. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGLISH PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM. MODELS AND TECHNIQUES TO LEARN PRONUNCIATION.

PERCEPTION, DISCRIMINATION AND PRODUCTION OF SOUNDS, STRESS, RHYTHM 6 INTONATION. PHONETIC CORRECTION. INTRODUCTION Master FL understand native speakers / make ourselves understood discriminate + produce sounds properly (pronunciation 1st aspect native notice conversation) grammar + vocabulary important but useless if not pronounced well Based on this view difference Phonetics / Phonology English phonological system (segmental / suprasegmental) teaching of pronunciation (models, techniques, activities) phonetic correction (problems Spanish, correction techniques) Essential topic correct pronunciation efficient communication (goal Primary) curriculum (obj/cont/ass) identification + production segmental / suprasegmental 1. PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY Both concerned study how speech happens Phonetics (physical aspects speech processes) unit: sound 3 branches Auditory (perception sounds by human ear) / Acoustic (physical properties of speech sounds) / Articulatory (production sounds by organs articulation) Phonology sounds made by speakers given language + way used to express meanings + prosodic features unit: phoneme (smallest contrastive unit that might produce a change in meaning) 44 in English 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGLISH PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM This section segmental (vowels, consonants) + suprasegmental (stress, rhythm, intonation) segmental features (contrastive sound elements that can be identified in speech) sounds produced by air stream lungs though larynx influences vocal chords Vowels (sounds made by voiced air passing through the mouth without being obstructed) described 3 criteria height tongue (close [tongue up], half-close, half-open, open [tongue down]) part tongue raised (front, central, back) shape lips (rounded, spread)
FRONT CLOSE HALF-CLOSE HALF-OPEN OPEN 1 2 3 4
/ i / // /e/ //

CENTRAL Tree Sit Pen Man 11 10 12

/ / // //

BACK Word Come About 9 8 7 5 6

/ u / / / / / / / //

food Full Ball Car Box

Diphthong glide from one vowel position to another

/e/

Late

/a/

Hig h

//

Noise

/a/

Town

//

Phon e

//

Here

/e/

Wear

//

Pure

Consonants (sounds produced by blocking the air stream from the lungs) 4 criteria action vocal chords (voiced [vibration] / voiceless [no vibration]) place of articulation* (where closure takes place) position soft palate (oral [raised] / nasal [lowered]) manner of articulation (type obstruction at place of articulation bilabial, labio-dental, dental, alveolar, palato-alveolar, palatal, velar, glottal)
Plosive Affricate PLACE OF ARTICULATION Fricative Nasal Lateral Approximant Complete closure air released explosively Compete closure air released slowly 2 organs so close air between them audible friction Complete closure air escapes through nose Partial closure air escapes through sides of closure Narrowing vocal tract enough space air no friction /p, t, k, b, d, g/ /t, d/ /f, v/ /, / /s, z/ /, //h/ /m, n, / /l/ /r, w, j/

Suprasegmental stress, rhythm, intonation above level of individual sounds influence meaning Stress Oral emphasis of certain syllables or words English not graphic, tonic most English words single-stressed / words with prefixes & numbers 2 stresses unstressed syllables said quickly & lightly grammatical function distinguish noun / adj from verbs sentence level stressed (content words) / unstressed (grammatical, not necessary communication) stress specific parts to convey meaning (John) Rhythm occurrence of stressed syllables at regular intervals of time English stressed-timed (stressed syllables equidistant in time) / Spanish syllable-timed (all syllables occur at regular intervals) native schwa unstressed reduce vowels can speed through unstressed syllables (particular English rhythm achieved) vary rhythm to convey meaning (urgency, emphasis) Intonation (rise and fall in pitch) realised in tone units (sequences of stressed & unstressed syllables) 2 functions grammatical (indicate grammatical meaning = punctuation in writing) / emotional (express attitudinal meanings) 4 intonation patterns Falling (commands, statements, wh-) / Rising (yes/no q, friendly greetings, polite requests) / Falling-rising (warnings, uncertainty) / Rising-falling (impatient) 3. MODELS AND TECHNIQUES TO EARN PRONUNCIATION Model choice very important English spoken world-wide different spoken forms & accents British Received Pronunciation (Europe) & American (Asia, South America) British always regional pronunciations (history, geography) last 5 centuries British RP social prestige (educated Southern people) most commonly described books on phonetics taught to foreigners class beginning teach (good model British RP) confidence in productive competence exposed to other important models (American) teachers pronunciation highest level Grimson Young pupils will imitate a bad pronunciation as exactly as they will a good one speak clearly + facing students (see mouth + facial expressions) Techniques Hubbard Pronunciation must be an essential part of an English programme from the early stages, just like the teaching of structures and vocabulary not restricted to particular sessions 5 minutes every day better than 1 long session sometimes boring and repetitive (long time) approach smallest unit of speech (phonemes) word (stress) connected speech (rhythm & intonation) 2 phases (discrimination + production) listening 1st step teacher / model on tape, CD, video Techniques in FLT methods Direct Method (emphasis oral comm. pronunciation important repetition sounds, words, sentences) Audio-Lingual (importance to precise native-like pronunciation drills correct mispronunciation) Silent Way (language learning begins study sounds associated colours teacher doesnt model instructions not model inner criteria for correctness) Community Language Teaching (Human Computer) 4. PERCEPTION, DISCRIMINATION AND PRODUCTION OF SOUNDS, INTONATION, RHYTHM & STRESS Listening stage perceive + discriminate sounds, stress, rhythm, intonation ear-training activities (learn to listen) after recognition / discrimination productive exercises beginning based on repetition (fun volume, speed, rhyme) now activities categories, but exercises in which all features integrated Sounds perception / discrimination (minimal pairs, draw what you hear, odd man out) production sounds teacher demonstrate way sounds made (lips, tongue, teeth) students listen & repeat model drills, raps, chants, sounds, tongue twisters (pronunciation in context, motivating way) Stress perception / discrimination clapping hands, using symbols (circles) newspaper headlines highlight stress pattern (message reduced to key words) rhythm clapping hands too (rhythm directly related stress) clap the beats songs, rhymes, sentences (adding syllables between claps) familiar stress & rhythm read dialogues highlighting most important words drills, raps, songs, chants, tongue twisters Pronunciation perception / discrimination moving arms high-low (indicate falling) + draw arrows + compare intonations & reflect changes meaning imitation (body movements, gestures) repeat sentence & changes in meaning role play (Mr. Happy) say hello

5. PHONETIC CORRECTION Accurate pronunciation not easily achieved just exposure problems in class irregular relationship pronunciation + spelling / failure to discriminate sounds (& imitate) / problems oral communication (poor pronunciation) / lack of confidence role in class Reasons pronunciation errors L1 interference (use L1 form) / Generalisation (apply rules out limits) / Influence written form (spelling not connected pronunciation) Teacher aware difficult segmental / suprasegmental features common problems Spanish speakers 1) Long / short vowels 2) Schwa replaced spelling 3) Voice / voiceless /b/ & /v/ 4) /p, t, k/ not aspirated initial position 5) /t/ Spanish (dental) / English (alveolar) 6) Long words, stress 1st syllable 7) Rhythm Spanish (syllable-timed) /English (stress-timed) Teacher positive attitude towards errors pronunciation mistakes corrected presentation / practice stage (accuracy) / production (note, feedback) not correct very often lose confidence, discouraged Techniques Is that correct? / Response incorrect repeat / Draw attention to problematic aspect pronounce isolation / Explain how sound formed problems remain plan (discrimination + practise)