2. Knowledge of phonetics is necessary for English as a
foreign language learners. In fact, anyone who study EFL,
ought to become familiar with the sound system of L2.
Unfortunately, the science of phonetics is being ignored in
the majority of language centers in Venezuela. Not having
practiced phonetics in class, English learners will find it
difficult to understand and produce the language in an
accurate way. “Introducing English Phonetics using
Information and Communication Technologies to the
Aeronautical Engineering EFL students at Unefa” is a
course in English phonetics, paying especial attention to the
knowledge and practice of the English phonetic alphabet
and the implementation of ICT in the classroom.
3. Subject Matter: English as a foreign language (ESP)
Audience: Students of the 3rd semester of Aeronautical
Engineering at the Universidad Nacional Experimental de la
Fuerza Armada (Unefa)
Level: III (Beginner)
Language focus: Pronunciation
Time: Two weekly sessions of two academic hours
Resources: Video beam, laptop, board, English dictionaries,
manuals, ICT: wiki, podcasting, screencasting.
Activity: Minimal pair practice
Evaluation: Formative and summative assessment
General aim: The learners will become familiar with the English
sound system.
4. 1st week:
1. The sounds of English
1.1 Vowels
1.1.1 Vowel sounds represented by
familiar symbols
1.1.2 Vowel sounds represented by
unfamiliar symbols
1.2 Consonants
1.2.1 Consonant sounds represented
by familiar symbols
1.2.2 Consonant sounds represented
by unfamiliar symbols
1.3 Diphthongs
2. The five fundamental vowels
3. The eleven vowels of American
English
3.1 Vowel chart
4. Pronunciation drills
2nd week:
5. Learning to pronounce English
6. Why a Phonetic Alphabet?
7. Consonants
7.1Voiced and voiceless sounds
7.2Pronunciation Drills
3rd week:
8. Vowels
8.1 Pronunciation Drills
4th week:
9. Diphthongs
9.1 Pronunciation Drills
10. Exercises
5. Activity: Minimal pairs practice
Minimal pairs are two words that generally have
only one phonological element that is different.
Example:
lend – land
/lend/ - /lænd/
In the above case, the vowel sound of both words
is the different phonological element.
Practicing minimal pairs can help learners spot
differences in pronunciation between one word
and another.
6. Activity: Minimal pairs practice
pet – pat leave – live
peck – pack he’s – his
said – sad deed – did
then – than these – this
putt – put now – no
luck – look loud - load
stud – stood noun - known
buck - book word – weird
stock - stalk fur - fear
poll - Paul her – here
MINIMAL PAIRS
7. Steps:
Examples of minimal pairs will be pronounced by the
teacher before writing them on the board. The students will
listen carefully and try to note any difference in the words
pronounced.
Then, some examples of minimal pairs will be written on
the board. The teacher will demonstrate the correct
pronunciation. An audio tape recorded by a native speaker
might also work fine.
Students will be elicited to give examples of other words
which use the same changing phonemes.
e.g.: bat - bet (written on board) student: "sat - set"
It is a good idea to accept more than one phonological
difference as long as the target phoneme has been
reproduced; as in “sat – sent”
The teacher will reproduce the minimal pairs, having
students repeat together in chorus.
8. Steps:
The teacher will reproduce the minimal pairs, having
students repeat together in chorus.
Students will work in pairs taking turns reproducing the
minimal pairs.
Each student, then, will also be given a piece of paper with
a different minimal pair to practice and exchange with their
classmates.
Translation while is not important at this lesson might be
introduced also, so that learners could associate words with
their meanings.
Phonetic transcription related to above minimal pairs chart
is not treated yet.
Pronunciation drills: Students will pronounce the minimal
pairs chart practiced above and then record a screencast
and post it on www.youtube.com.
9. Resources:
Links for online material:
American English Pronunciation Practice (For
ESL/EFL): http://www.manythings.org/e/pronunciation.html
Minimal Pair Practice & Quizzes: http://www.manythings.org/repeat/
Daily pronunciation practice: http://www.manythings.org/lar/
Pronunciation exercises in the form of interactive quizzes: http://www.esl-
galaxy.com/pronunciation.html
11. Abde, Montasser (2013) Developing an English Language
Textbook Evaluative Checklist. Online. Retrieve from:
http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jrme/papers/Vol-1%20Issue-
3/I0135570.pdf
Hornby, A. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current
Englis. Oxford University Press, 1995, Oxford, England.
Lado, Robert & Fries Charles (1971) ENGLISH
PRONUNCIATION.The University of Michigan Press. Ilinois,
USA.
Lu, Dan. Phonetic Symbols: A Necessary Stepping Stone For
ESL.Learners. Online. Retrieved from
http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/02-40-4-
g.pdf. On January 21th
Prator, C. & Wallace, B. Manual of American English
Pronunciation. CBS College Publishing. 1985, New york, USA.