2.  Rhythm can be defined by the beat of the
stresses in a phrase or sentence. These stresses
recur at regular intervals, so that the rhythm
can be tapped out.
 Stress is the force used to say one syllable
compared to anothe. It has usually a higher
pitch (or tone) and a longer vowel. Stress tend
to recur at regular intervals. The more
unstressed syllables there are between stressed
syllables, the faster they are pronounced.
Finally, when sentece stress falls on a word of
more than one syllable, it always falls on the
syllable which normally receives “word stress”.

3.  Intonation is the musical tone of what we
speak. It has four basic tones: normal, high,
low and extra high. The most important
intonation is at the end of a sentence and
there is a high note that corresponds to the
last sentence stress. Rising intonation (the
voice goes up) gives the idea that the
speaker is not finished; that the idea is
incomplete. Rising-falling intonation (the
voice first goes up and then down), on the
other hand, gives the feeling of completion.

4.  What challenges do you think your learners
face or will face regarding stress, rhythm
and intonation?
 What were your experiences with these
three suprasegmental aspects as a
language learner?

5.  Familiarize them with how native speakers
apply stress.
 Let them know that stress can either be strong
or light (called sometimes, primary stress or
secondary stress), or no stress. If one syllable is
stressed that usually means that the other isn’t.
 Unstressed vowels are usually pronounced with
the “shwa” or /i/.
 Tell your students that there are no hard and
fast rules for knowing which syllables to stress
although word origin often has an influence.

6.  Most 2 –syllable words have stress in the first
syllable (Germanic influence).
 Compound nouns usually have a stronger
stress on the first syllable and light stress on
the second; eg, lipstick.
 Compound verbs are usually the opposite;
eg. Outrun.
 Words taht are used as both nouns and
verbs have stress on the first syllable to
indicate a noun and consequently stress on
the second to indicate a verb.