2. How important is it to teach
intonation, rhythm and
stress? (What problems do
learners typically
encounter?)
3. Intonation is considered the ‘music’ of speech.
Incorrect intonation can result in
misunderstandings.
Raising awareness of intonation can aid
understanding.
It’s not what you know | it’s who you know.
It’s not ↑ WHAT you know, it’s ↑ WHO you know.
or
4. Intonation, like other paralinguistic features
of language, is best acquired through
exposure rather than taught in the classroom.
(Thornbury, 2006)
Awareness-raising activities:
◦ “It’s raining!”
5. Rhythm “is the way that some words are
emphasized so as to give the effect of regular
beats” (Thornbury, 2006) or fluidity in spoken
language.
How would you say the following?
◦ If I’d known you were coming, I’d have prepared a
meal.
◦ If I’d known you were coming, I’d have prepared a
meal.
Introduce rhythm by humming, clapping,
singing or using tongue twisters.
6. If two witches were watching two
watches, which witch would watch
which watch?
7. “Word stress refers to prominence at the word
level, while sentence stress refers to the
patterns and unstressed syllables over a
whole sentence.” (Thornbury, 2006)
Vowel sounds are typically weak and
unstressed. (Scrivener, 2005)
Word stress is a common cause of
misunderstanding in English:
◦ “They will desert the desert by tomorrow morning.”
desert desert
8. Effects of stress in sentences:
◦ David wanted the to buy the red shirt. (not the red tie)
◦ David wanted the to buy the red shirt. (not …)
◦ David wanted the to buy the red shirt. (not …)
◦ David wanted the to buy the red shirt. (not …)
◦ David wanted the to buy the red shirt. (not …)
Students could complete the explanation as
in the first example.
10. Cuisenaire rods or Lego
bricks
Integrating within lessons
Tongue twisters
Songs, poems, etc
Sound Foundations by Adrian Underhill
Teaching English Pronunciation by Joanne
Kenworthy
An A-Z of ELT by Scott Thornbury
Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener
