/fənˈɒləʤɪ/Alan Marsh

2014

Endings and beginnings….• Television-news-shape……..• Television – news – xylophone – nice – strength – thanks…

Intelligibility: pronunciation or grammar?• YesterDAY I saw the HoBBIT at the cineMA• YESterday I have the HOBBit at the CINema seen.

Buzz group questions• Learners often rate ’better pronunciation’ high on their list of

priorities, when asked. Why, do you think? • Many teachers avoid giving pronunciation as much attention and

focus as they do to grammar and vocabulary, for example. Why is this, do you think? • Which model of pronunciation should we aim for: British? American?

Or …?

A pronunciation model to aim for?Comfortable intelligibility• Attainable• Personality and identity issues

EIL / ELF: some interesting research findings• Jenkins, J. The Phonology of English as an International Language

OUP 2000 • Walker, R. Teaching the Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca

OUP 2010• Jenkins found that more breakdowns were due to pronunciation than

to any other cause.

Some of the factors which are important in ensuring intelligibility between NNS:

• Approximations to all native English consonants except /ð/ and /θ/• Rhotic treatment of /r/ - ie all written ‘r’s should be pronounced • Between vowels, /t/ should be pronounced as a voiceless plosive, and not

voiced or flapped (as in American English) or realised as a glottal stop.• Distinctions between long and short vowels should be maintained• A range of vowel qualities is acceptable except that a native-like /ɜ:/ is

important• Division of speech into tone units and appropriate location of tonic

prominence are important e.g. …..

Tone units and tonic prominence (main stress)• 1 A Are your lessons on Mondays?• B They’re on Mondays and Wednesdays• 2 A What are you doing tomorrow?• B I’m having dinner with some friends.

Tone units and tonic prominence (main stress)1 A Are your LESSons on MONdays?

B They’re on MONdays and WEDnesdays.2 A What are you DOing toMORRow? B I’m having DINNer with some FRIENDS.

Factors unimportant for intelligibility include:• Vowel quality eg ‘cat’ v ‘cut’• /ð/ and /θ/• Dark /l/• Distinctions between the endings /s/ v /z/ and /t/ v /d/• Features of ‘connected speech’, especially elision, assimilation,

assimilation and weak forms (in fact, use of weak forms tends to lower intelligibility)• Tone (fall, fall-rise, etc)• Fully-pronounced final clusters (eg /kləʊz/ v /kləʊðz/)

A two-pronged approach to teaching pronunciation• A What learners need to be able to recognise and understand• B What learners need to be able to produce

What areas of pronunciation can I usefully address?• Sounds• Sounds and spelling• Word stress• Connected speech• Stress, rhythm and intonation

1 Sounds: what problems do these learners have?• I’d like some red vine, please? • /v/ instead of /w/• We had flied lice for dinner.• /l/ instead of /r/ • Are jew French?• /ʤ/ instead of /j/• I leave in Italy.• /i:/ instead of /ɪ/

Explore your mouth and the sounds you make• Voicing: switch whispering on and off• For consonants: • Tongue: Top? Bottom? Front? Back? Which bits of your mouth are in

(partial) contact?• How is the air released?• For vowels:• Lips? Rounded? Spread? Halfway?

Kelly: How to teach pronunciation

Making a difference: Minimal pairs/lɪv/ v /li:v/• /lɪv/ v /li:v/live leaveTim teamfit feethit heatsit seat

Practise saying the sentences1 I live in Italy but I leave the country often.2 Tim plays for a great team.3 These shoes don’t fit my feet.4 ‘Feel the heat’ was a hit album.5 Don’t sit on that seat – it’s broken.

Minimal pairs 2: /l/ v/r/• /l/ v/r/• load road• light right• late rate• led red• play pray• cloud crowd

Practise saying the sentences: /l/ v/r/1 There are heavy loads on the roads.2 Turn right at the traffic lights.3 If you’re late you have to pay a higher rate.4 They led us through the red door.5 Some people were playing and others were praying.6 The crowds looked up at the clouds.

Minimal pairs 3: /æ/ v /e/ /æ/ v /e/ • had head• sad said• sat set• pan pen• mat met• mass mess

Practise saying the sentences: /æ/ v /e/ 1 I had to rest my head.2 I was sad when we said goodbye.3 I set the alarm clock and sat down to wait.4 I dropped my pen in the frying pan.5 Two spiders met on the doormat.6 The mass of papers and books was a mess.

Marks and Bowen: The Book of Pronunciation

1 I’m going on a journey a bit nervous.2 I’m certain is getting worse and worse.

3 The course starts on Thursday the dessert.

4 The curtains match the furniture.

5 The young nurse seemed past the church.

6 You can earn but she wasn’t seriously hurt.

7 Take the first turning do you prefer?

8 The service in this restaurant catches the worm.

9 Which of these shirts while you learn.

10 It’s time to serve round the world

11 The early bird the twenty-third

12 The car hit the girl it was her

1 I’m going on a journey round the world 2 I’m certain it was her. 3 The course starts on Thursday the twenty-third 4 The curtains match the furniture. 5 The young nurse seemed a bit nervous. 6 You can earn while you learn. 7 Take the first turning past the church. 8 The service in this restaurant is getting worse and worse. 9 Which of these shirts do you prefer?10 It’s time to serve the dessert. 11 The early bird catches the worm.12 The car hit the girl but she wasn’t seriously hurt.

2 Sounds and spelling•Ghoti• laugh •/f/•women •/ɪ/•station •/ʃ/

English spelling is …. easy?• cough • though • through • enough • plough

Sound before spelling• /kɒf/• cough• /ðəʊ/• though• /θru:/• through• /ɪˈnʌf/• enough• /plaʊ/ • plough

Spell the word you hear1 /mi:t/ 2 /rəʊd/ 3 /nju:/ 4 /həʊl/ 5 /haɪ/ 6 /raɪt/ 7 /tu:/ 8 /sti:l/ 9 /si:n/ 10 /red/

Homophone dictation1 meat /mi:t/ meet2 road /rəʊd/ rode 3 new /nju:/ knew4 hole /həʊl/ whole 5 high /haɪ/ hi 6 right /raɪt/ write7 two /tu:/ too * 8 steal /sti:l/ steel 9 seen /si:n/ scene10 red /red/ read

Geddit?When you’ve seen one shopping centre, you’ve seen ’em all

…sorry!

Awful homophone puns 1

A: Knock, knock.B: Who’s there?A: AmosB: Amos who?A: A mosquito.A: Knock, knock.B: Who’s there?A: AnnB: Anne who?A: Another mosquito.

Awful homophone puns 2A: Knock, knock.B: Who’s there?A: Police.B: Police who?A: Please open the door.

A: What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?B: A flat minor.

A: How do you get two whales in a car?B: Over the Severn Bridge.

Awful homophone puns 3A: What do you call a happy tin in the USA?B: A merry can.A: What musical is about a train conductor?B: My Fare, Lady.

The Irish are wealthy because their capital is always Dublin.When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.A: What is copper nitrate?B: Overtime for policemen.Reading while sunbathing makes you, well, read.

How many syllables?ask asks asked calls called chats chatted city cities class classes clothes close closed dresses dressed glass glasses glove gloves live lives lived looks looked love loves loved moves moved parks parked size sizes starts started stop stops stopped waits waited wash washes washed watch watches watched

How many syllables?One-syllable words Two-syllable wordsask asks asked calls called chats class closed clothes clothed dressed sizes glass glove gloves live lives lived looks looked love loves loved moves moved parks parked size start stop stops stopped waits wash washed watch watched

chatted city cities classes closes dresses glasses started waited washes watches

3 Word stressPhotographPhotographicPhotographerPHOtograph OooPhotoGRAPHic ooOoPhotOgrapher oOoo

Word families1 economics – economical – uneconomic2 familiar – familiarise - familiarity3 unknown – knowledge - renowned4 employer – unemployment - employees5 natural – naturally - supernatural6 personnel – personality - personally7 photography – photograph - photographer8 political – politics - politicians9 publicity – publicly - publicise

I hope you don’t mind my asking …• 1 What’s your greatest achievement so far in your life, would you say?• 2 Do you have any ambitions you think you’d like to try and fulfil?• 3 Who do you get on with best of all?• 4 For you, what are the most fascinating and most difficult things about

the English language?• 5 What was the nicest thing you’ve done recently?• 6 What are you looking forward to most in the next couple of months?

I hope you don’t mind my asking …• 1 What’s your greatest achievement so far in your life, would you say?• 2 Do you have any ambitions you think you’d like to try and fulfil?• 3 Who do you get on with best of all?• 4 For you, what are the most fascinating and most difficult things about

the English language?• 5 What was the nicest thing you’ve done recently?• 6 What are you looking forward to most in the next couple of months?

I hope you don’t mind my asking …• 1 What’s your greatest achievement so far in your life, would you say?• 2 Do you have any ambitions you think you’d like to try and fulfil?• 3 Who do you get on with best of all?• 4 For you, what are the most fascinating and most difficult things about

the English language?• 5 What was the nicest thing you’ve done recently?• 6 What are you looking forward to most in the next couple of months?

References and thanks• References:• Jenkins, J. The Phonology of English as an International Language OUP 2000 and • Kelly, G. How to Teach Pronunciation Longman Pearson 2000• Marks, J. and Bowen, T. The Book of Pronunciation, Delta, 2012• Walker, R. Teaching the Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca OUP 2010.• • Thank you to: EASY SL, VALLETTA, MALTA for help with resources, logistics and

photocopying• alanmarshinmalta@gmail.com Mob. (+356) 99428447• www.alanmarshelt.com (website)