This document discusses several key concepts relating to pronunciation in the English language: 1. It describes the sound system of English including phonemes, the International Phonetic Alphabet, pronunciation difficulties from a learner's first language, and challenging English sounds. 2. It explains features of English prosody like stressed and unstressed syllables, rhythm, and sentence stress and how they can be difficult for English language learners. 3. Intonation patterns in English are outlined as well as their purposes and challenges for ELLs. 4. Guidelines are provided for teaching pronunciation to English learners at different ages and language proficiency levels.

1. The Sound System of English Education 453:10

2. Phonology The study of the sounds of language Everyone speaks with an accent The phonological system of a language consists of its individual speech sounds, as well as its stress, rhythm, and intonation patterns

3. Phonemes The smallest unit of sound that can affect meaning in a language Though the English alphabet has 26 letters, English speakers produce more than 40 sounds

4. International Phonetic Alphabet Most technical books for language teachers and dictionaries use phonetic symbols to represent English sounds and to describe difficulties (Our text: p. 56, 57) The International Phonetic Alphabet can be used to transcribe any language (handout)

5. Pronunciation Difficulties Interference from the first language The sounds of the first language are imprinted very early in the child’s development; however, most children are born with the vocal equipment to produce the sounds of any language

6. Problems in English Homographs (read and read) Homophones (red and read) Differs from language to language http:// www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/phono.html

7. Individual Sounds Especially difficult sounds are th in think and its unvoiced equivalent th in then Consonant clusters – spl, sks, etc. Some languages have no consonant clusters; other languages use consonant clusters differently

8. Stressed and Unstressed Syllables The degree of force with which a syllable is uttered In English words of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is uttered with stronger stress or emphasis than others (text p. 59) Stress patterns are different in other languages

9. Rhythm English has a characteristic rhythm or stress pattern In connected English speech the stresses or beats are spaced evenly through sentences… John speaks French…. Unstressed syllables are compressed or de-emphasized whereas in many languages, equal stress is placed on all the syllables in words

10. Sentence Stress In an English sentence, the words that carry the most information are stressed – content words – and the less important or grammatical function or form words are unstressed ESL students may have trouble understanding speech even if they recognize words in isolation… What do you mean? Next month or necks month http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/Pron/stress_exB.htm

11. Intonation English has characteristic patterns of rise and fall in pitch, and three basic levels of tone: High, Mid, and Low ESL students and ELLs need focused instruction on English intonation patterns…

12. Purposes of English Intonation Communicate meaning Communicate emotions or moods Stress for emphasis http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =-toSnwSqqz0

13. Teaching Pronunciation Younger children who are learning English seldom need a great deal of help with pronunciation Learners older than 11 or 12 are more likely to have trouble with specific words, sounds, intonation patterns… require focused instruction

14. When to Teach Pronunciation A student confuses or distorts specific sounds that may interfere with comprehension Uses pronunciations that are stigmatized… tree for three Distorts the pronunciation of words by stressing the wrong syllable Uses inappropriate intonation

15. How to Teach Pronunciation Read aloud often Read the same statement several different ways Books on tape Language arts software Choral reading Minimal pairs

16. ….How to Teach Pronunciation 7. Practice producing sounds 8. Make up sentences 9. Create posters or booklets for certain sounds 10. Allow pronunciation practice 11. Use pronunciation guides with older students 12.Rehearse, read aloud, short passages 13. Be creative…skits….

17. Basic Principle Understanding of sounds precedes understanding of the written word.

18. Terminology Phonological Awareness – the ability to break down speech into smaller segments Phoneme – the smallest unit of sound Phonics – a method of teaching reading that emphasizes the association of sounds with letters

19. Classroom Considerations Phonological awareness training – teaching the sound structure of words Auditory training Phonics training – teaching the connection between sounds and letters Training with print

20. Classroom Considerations It is important to first develop oral language skills. Phonological awareness skills should be taught orally without print. Phonological awareness training helps children learn vocabulary and reading skills.

21. Classroom Considerations Phonological awareness training improves reading, vocabulary, and syntactic skills Phonological awareness training can be implemented in the classroom ESL students benefit from PA training

22. Teaching Pronunciation Abroad http://www.authorstream.com/presentation/Demetrio-39388-tup2007-Improve-English-Pronunciation-Five-Questions-Stress-gives-natural-rhythm-spoken-as-Education-ppt-powerpoint/