2. Pronunciation...
Focusing on which syllables should be
emphasised and how certain letters (or
combinations of letters) should sound when
spoken.
How clearly and distinctly a particular
individual forms the sounds that make up a
word.
Enunciation...
For example:
preSENT
PREsent
For example:
Red lorry
Yellow lorry
3. Is it about accents?
Actually, no. When we talk about pronunciation, we are talking about clarity of
language use. English is a world language and there are many versions of
English (Manglish anyone?) as well as dialects and creoles. The number of non-
native speakers of English actually outnumber that of native speakers in the world.
Therefore, when we talk about pronunciation, we are talking about basic
pronunciation and articulation in order to eliminate or reduce miscommunication
and misunderstanding and NOT about sounding like a native speaker.
5. Why focus on the long and
short vowels?
1. A C1 speaker has sufficient control
of the sound system, is intelligible
when he/she speaks and can
articulate virtually all sounds.
1. Mispronunciation of the long and
short vowels can definitely cause
miscommunication. You wouldn’t
want to sound like you’re saying a
word you shouldn’t be when you’re
asking your student for a piece of
paper, right?
6. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Being a TESL graduate, you would probably remember
the IPA, if you don’t remember, let’s briefly recap.
The IPA is a list of alphabet sounds in a language
represented by phonetic symbols. Each IPA symbol
represents a sound. The IPA is used by language
learners to check how exactly words are pronounced.
English is not a phonetic language. This means the
spelling of a word does not tell us how the word is
pronounced (cough?). The English language has 20
vowel sounds and we will focus on the short and long
vowels.
7. The IPA Symbols for Long and Short Vowels
For a short vowel you will see only one
vowel symbol:
/ɪ/ – fit /fiːt/
/e/ – pet /pet/
/æ/ – pat /pæt/
/ʌ/ – cut /kʌt/
/ʊ/ – put /pʊt/
/ɒ/ – pot /pɒt/
/ə/ – about /əˈbaʊt/
Long vowels are represented by a
double dot after the vowel symbol or
two vowel symbols called a dipthong :
/i:/ week /wi:k/
/ɑ:/ hard /ha:d/
/ɔ:/ fork /fɔ:k/
/ɜ:/ heard /hɜ:d/
/u:/ boot /bu:t/
/eɪ/ place /pleɪs/
/oʊ/ home /hoʊm/
/aʊ/ mouse /maʊs/
/ɪə/ clear /klɪə/
/eə/ care /keə/
/ɔɪ/ boy /bɔɪ/
/aɪ/ find /faɪnd/
/ʊə/ tour /tʊə/
8. Please get your recording device ready for the
following practice
10. Watch the following
video and practice
the long and short
vowels.
The video can also
be found on the
Classwork page.
Record yourself for self-
reflection.
https://youtu.be/2GLdRwUvc-c
11. Post Task: Reflection
Go back to your recording and listen to your pronunciation and compare it to the
video. Alternatively you could refer to an online dictionary site (for example
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/) and search the pronunciation. Keep practising
until you feel you have gotten them right.
Don’t worry, you do not have to sound like a native speaker, but do ensure there is
a distinction between your long and short vowels.
How did
you do?
13. cap
cape
lack lake
hat
hate
plan plane
shack shake
pant paint
bran brain
mad maid
shed she
bed
bead
men mean
net
neat
sped speed
ten
teen
sell
seal
bit
bite
did
died
lick
like
lit
light
pin
pine
rip
cot
coat
clock cook
god
good
lock look
mop mope
pop
pope
rock rook
bot
cub
cube
cut
cute
luck Luke
duck duke
hug
huge
puck puke
run
rune
A E I
O U
Practice your pronunciation of the long and short vowels with these minimal pairs. Recording
yourself is also recommended.
14. Post Task: Reflection
Again, go back to your recording
and listen to your pronunciation.
Refer to an online dictionary site
and search the pronunciation or
ask someone whom you feel can
help you, if you are unsure.
Keep practising!
How did
you do?
16. Try reciting this poem by Birago Diop aloud. Identify the short and long vowels.
BREATHS
Listen more often to things rather than beings.
Hear the fire’s voice,
Hear the voice of water.
In the wind hear the sobbing of the trees,
It is our forefathers breathing.
The dead are not gone forever.
They are in the paling shadows,
And in the darkening shadows.
The dead are not beneath the ground,
They are in the rustling tree,
In the murmuring wood,
In the flowing water,
In the still water,
In the lonely place, in the crowd:
The dead are not dead.
Source: https://brainly.ph/question/6886979
17. Try this short limerick. Challenge: Repeat the limerick a few rounds at a
faster pace each round while still focusing on pronunciation accuracy.
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "let us flee!"
"Let us fly!" said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
—Ogden Nash
CPs must create sentences which contain both minimal pair words. They will be creating 5 sentences in total each person (for each vowel). The sentences can be fun and not make total sense.
e.g. I went to The Dirty Shack to buy my chocolate shake.
