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INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this magazine is to provide teachers with insights into the
teaching of pronunciation. Even though, certain curriculums may not allow
for a class like that, truth is that the threshold level for communicative
purposes may be at risk if pronunciation is not addressed. And to say that
you know a certain language without being able to communicate is useless
nowadays. This globalized world will force you to interact with people who
speak the same language you learned or are still learning. Therefore, a focus
on pronunciation is very important. There have been tons of methodologies
and approaches to teaching pronunciation and somehow they all manage to
have certain levels of success. In today’s knowledge, pronunciation can be
addressed in a very effective and fun way! That is for example by using the
IPA symbols which are universal and that can be applied to any language
sound. Also, resources such as internet can be easily accessed and used. And
to make your work effective and long lasting there is a metacognition aspect
to implement in your teachings which will be developed in this magazine, a
little, as well. Therefore we will give a few examples of how these tools can
be integrated and applied into pronunciation teaching aspects.
We will focus on a few IPA pronunciation symbols that will be important to
teach (ɑ, æ, ɝ, θ, ð, ɪ, ɔ, i, etc). Also, intonation of words and phrases and
aspects of self-motivation and responsibility will be briefly explained so
students monitor their own learning and get involved in the process.
I hope you have fun!
CONTENTS
- IPA SYMBOLS………………………………………………………….. 4
- Minimal pairs………………………………………………………….. 5
- ACTIVITY 1-2…………………………………………………………… 7
- INTONATION…………………………………………………………… 10
- METACOGNITION…………………………………………………… 13
- Activity 3………………………………………………………………… 14
- INTERNET RESOURCES……………………………………………. 16
IPA SYMBOLS
Before IPA Symbols a teacher would probably repeat a word a lot of times so
students get an idea on how the words sounded in a different language.
There could not be graphics or guidance on how to recreate the sounds and
not just for one single language but almost all!
According TO Wikipedia: The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an
alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin
alphabet. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association as a
standardized representation of the sounds of oral language. The IPA is used
by lexicographers, foreign language students and teachers, linguists, speech-
language pathologists, singers, actors, constructed language creators, and
translators.
The IPA is designed to represent only those qualities of speech that are
distinctive in oral language: phonemes, intonation, and the separation of
words and syllables. To represent additional qualities of speech, such as
tooth gnashing, lisping, and sounds made with a cleft palate, an extended set
of symbols called the Extensions to the IPA may be used.
IPA symbols are composed of one or more elements of two basic types,
letters and diacritics. For example, the sound of the English letter ⟨t⟩ ay be
transcribed in I A with a single letter, t , or with a letter plus diacritics, t ,
depending on how precise one wishes to be. Often, slashes are used to signal
broad or phonemic
transcription; thus, /t/
is less specific than, and
could refer to, either
t or t depending on
the context and
language.
IPA CHART
The following is a chart with
certain symbols and examples
of words with their
corresponding sounds.
MINIMAL PAIRS
There are certain words which
are different only in one specific sound and normally they can be grouped in
pairs. They almost always have different word meanings and can be
confusing when teaching or learning English. At the same time it can be a
good way to learn the right pronunciation and also vocabulary since the
beginning of the learning process. The ones presented here focuses on the
phonetic sounds this magazine intends to point out. Therefore, the selection
of words and symbols are limited. Although the entire Phonetic Chart seen
above is very complete it is usually advisable to try to focus on the ones that
are relevant, that is the ones that sound very different fro the learner’s
mother tongue or the ones that will create confusion when not clearly
pronounced . As it can be easily seen in terms of vowels, for example, English
sounds are much more complex than Spanish sounds. But consonants tend to
be a lot more similar in both languages. Taking advantage of this similarity, it
will be wise to only teach consonants which do not exist in Spanish and
learners need to use some exercise on. As for the vowels, they should be it
will depend on the emphasis of the course or the curriculum, but in the worst
scenario at least a few of them would be very helpful to know in order to
have a decent speaking level.
MINIMAL PAIRS CHART /ð
/ -
/z/
wit
h -
wh
izz
clo
the-
clo
se
lith
e -l
ies
scyt
he
-siz
e se
eth
e -s
ees
then
-Ze
n
clo
thin
g -c
losi
ng
see
the
-sea
s te
eth
e -
teas
te
eth
ing-
tea
sin
g
tith
e -t
ies
bat
he
-bay
s b
reat
he-
bre
eze
loat
he
-lo
ws
soo
the
-su
es
/s/
- /θ/
face
-fa
ith
forc
e -f
ou
rth
ki
ss -
kith
m
ou
se-
mo
uth
si
ng-
th
ing
son
g- t
ho
ng
ten
se-
ten
th
mas
s -m
ath
sa
w -
thaw
si
ck -
thic
k
sin
k -t
hin
k so
rt -
tho
ugh
t w
ors
e-
wo
rth
mis
s -m
yth
p
ass
-pat
h
/f/-
/θ/
free
-th
ree
dea
f -d
eath
fo
ugh
t -t
ho
ugh
t fo
ur
-th
aw
fin
-th
in
firs
t- t
hir
st
for
-th
aw
fres
h -
thre
sh
free
ze -
thre
es
fro
-th
row
fro
ze-
thro
ws
fief
-th
ief
firm
-Th
erm
fort
-th
ou
ght
frill
-th
rill
furr
ed -
thir
d
/ɑ/-/ɝ/
fast
-fi
rst
guar
d-
gird
b
ard
-b
ird
fa
r -f
ir
har
d-
hea
rd
har
d -
her
d
hea
rt -
hu
rt
par
se -
pu
rse
pas
s -p
urs
e p
ast
-pu
rsed
bar
n -
bu
rn
bat
h -
bir
th
/əʊ
/ -
/ɔ/
bo
wl -
bal
l
do
e -
do
or
foe
-fo
r -f
ou
r go
go
re
kno
w-
no
-n
or
mo
anin
g -m
orn
ing
mo
w -
mo
re
O -
or
so -
saw
b
oat
-b
ou
ght
bo
de
-b
oar
d-
bo
red
b
on
e -
bo
rn-
bo
rne
/æ/
and
/e/
ham
-h
em
jam
-ge
m
man
-m
en
pat
-p
et
and
-en
d
flas
h -
fles
h
gnat
-n
et
had
-h
ead
p
ack
-pec
k p
an -
pen
sad
-sa
id
sat
-set
sp
ann
ed -
spen
d
/ɪ/
and
/i/
Bin
- b
ean
bit
ch-
bea
ch
chip
-ch
eap
d
id -
dee
d
fit
-fee
t
grin
- g
reen
his
- he’s
is -
ease
it
-ea
t m
itt
- m
eet
sit
-sea
t sl
ip-
slee
p
TEACHING ACTIVITY 1 (15 minutes)
For high beginners or intermediate students
TEACHING VOWEL SOUNDS /æ/, /e/AND /I/
1-Students are handed a sheet of paper containing the following list of words: man, sand,
blowing, in, many, forever, cannonballs, banned, wind, him, friend, depths, answer, can, is, will,
head, it, ‘til, have, his, pretending.
2-One by one, students will dictate those words to the teacher. As they read teacher tries to
repeat and exaggerate pronunciation pointing at the new phonetic sounds while copying them on
the board (this is done to get an idea how good their pronunciation already is and if they are
aware of the correct sounds).
3- Have them repeat along with you and help them identify the sounds.
4- Next, one by one students walk to the board and group the words in the corresponding boxes
(previously made) :/æ/ , /e/ and /I/. At least 3 words per student should be allowed.
5-Be ready to provide feed-back on the pronunciation and even translation of each word. Erase
the board.
TEACHING ACTIVITY 2
(15 minutes)
As an extension of Activity One hand out the lyrics of the song Blowing in the
Wind for the students to fill in the blanks. Play the song for them and guide
them to fill the missing words out by listening to the song. Play it at least four
times and have them sing along with you.
As homework or a follow up exercise tell them to circle the words in the song
that have the sounds /e/ and with a different color, words with the sound /I/.
Feel free to use your imagination for variations of this activity.
Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld6fAO4idaI
BLOWING IN THE WIND (Peter, Paul and Mary) How many roads must a _____ walk down? Before they call him a _____? How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the _______? How many times must the _______________ fly Before they’re forever ____________? *The ___________ my friend is blowing in the wind *The ___________ is blowing in the wind How many years must a mountain exist Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years _____ some people exist Before they’re allowed to be free? How many times ______ a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn’t see? *The __________ my friend is blowing in the wind *The __________ is blowing in the wind How many times must a ______ look up Before he ______ see the sky? How many ears must one man ________ Before he ______ hear people cry? How any deaths will it take ‘til he knows That too many people _______ died? *The _________ my friend is blowing in the wind *The _________ is blowing in the wind *The _________ is blowing in the wind
INTONATION
Should you want to
speak English fluently,
there is nothing better
than to be able to have
good intonation and
stress. They are the
music of the English
language. The meaning
of phrases, ideas or
words is closely linked to
stress and correct intonation.
A good way to start learning about stress and intonation is with the minimal
pairs. Once students start pronouncing the words and mastering the
difference between exact sounds of vowels and consonants they can
continue with minimal pairs and then go on with intonation and stress. The
sentence mark up is very important for a good command of English. Some
textbooks present intonations with bolded words or intonation graphics lines
to direct learners towards the right and standard way to pronouncing the
pitch contours generated during speaking. In general terms, this aspect of the
language can be much deeper, but as for now we will focus on the fact that
students should have intonation samples since the beginning of their course
to adopt the proper rhythm and flow of the English language.
The example in the picture above shows how intonation may mold the way
one must enunciate a sentence, whether it may be a question, command or a
confirmation.
These examples from: esl.about.com, show a method of bolding key content
words and CAPITALIZING the most important words chosen for the best
emotional impact. This starts off with a simple sentence paragraph that an
intermediate student might use to practice and ends with a more advanced
selection that is typical of a presentation.
Paragraph to be Read
“Our school is the best in town. The teachers are friendly, and very
knowledgeable about English. I've studied at the school for two years and my
English is becoming very good. I hope you will visit our school and try an
English class. Maybe we can become friends, too!”
Paragraph with Sound Scripting Markup
Our school is the BEST in town. The
teachers are friendly, and VERY
KNOWLEDGEABLE about English. I've
studied at the school for two years and
my English is becoming VERY GOOD. I
hope you will visit our school and try
an English class. MAYBE we can
become FRIENDS!
A WORD ON RISPONSABILITY FOR LEARNING
The desire to learn is created by a variety of factors. When this desire is
strong enough it provokes an act. Whether the motivation is intrinsic or
extrinsic it should be sustained. This is one of the teachers’ ost i portant
aim. Therefore, teachers have the great responsibility to foster and create
agency. That is students should take some responsibility for learning. It has to
do a lot with encouraging students to be active in their own learning and in
doing so monitor their own learning process. Teachers’ role is not just
teaching. It is also creating a chance for students taking control of their own
learning, sometimes encouraging them to achieve
more, sometimes as feedback providers and even
helping them evaluate their own performance.
In a nut shell, teachers should facilitate students
to start planning their objectives, monitor their
comprehension and evaluate their progress, the
so called metacognition. In other words they
have to learn to think about how they think and
learn how to learn. One way of doing this is to
have them think on their strengths and weaknesses and start from there,
they have to work a bit harder on what they lack of and try to take advantage
of what they already know. Diaries and journals are good tools in this
respect. Nevertheless, a good starting point is to provide them with a series
of questions to start analyzing their own progress. The following activity
includes a part in which students have to think about what happened during
the activity, what they could achieve themselves and what they can do to
solve certain problems in the future in order to do better and better. Not one
single teacher will be next to a student forever. They have to learn to be self-
sufficient and go on by themselves.
ACTIVITY 3
DIRECTIONS
a- Each student will receive a hand out of the conversation below.
Teacher reads out loud.
b- Students will brainstorm on why certain letters are underlined.
c- Teacher will clearly explain the two possible sounds of this
co bination, /ð/ and /θ/ (1 and 2 respectively), how they are articulated and
its contrast in Spanish words.
d- On the board, the teacher will put the words in the respective (1 or 2)
groups to which the class will add words from previous dialogues or
vocabulary lists.
e- In pairs, students will number the underlined words according to their
sounds (1 or 2) respectively. Teacher will check the right sequence of
numbers per line.
f- Students will also create a short dialogue using as many words as
possible from vocabulary presented in class.
g- Finally, students will answer a small number of questions.
DIALOGUE
(Two foreigners from Alaska)
HEATHER: Hi! I think your brother and father are having a good time here in
Costa Rica.
ANTHONY: Yeah, they’re both very happy here. They iss the snow, though.
HEATHER: I thought so. Anyways, they’ll go back ho e for their birthday
soon, right?
ANTHONY: That’s right. Dece ber the 10th for the two of the !
/ð/ /θ
----------------------------- ------------------------------
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SÍ O NO:
Todas las palabras que contengan “t” y “h”se pronuncian /ð/ o /θ/ _______
Hay ciertas reglas para saber la pronunciación de/ð/ and /θ/ _______
¿Puede usted pronunciar fácilmente los dos sonidos ahora? _______
La secuencia de palabras que tengan “ht” se pronuncia con /ð/ _______
No hay reglas para saber cuándo pronunciar /ð/ o cuando /θ/ ________
El sonido /θ/ lo tenemos en la pronunciación del idioma español ________
¿Agregará más palabras a su lista con sonidos/ð/ and /θ/ por su cuenta? _______
Antes de esta actividad, ¿sabía usted que estos dos sonidos existían? _______
¿Qué hará la próxi a vez que encuentre una palabra en inglés que contenga “th”’?........
INTERNET RESOURCES
The following pages are a great tool for teachers of English. They are all
interesting, and can give you ideas on how to better create and enrich your
classroom activities.
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/
http://funeasyenglish.com/
http://busyteacher.org/
http://www.eslgold.com/
http://www.learnerstv.com/Free-Language-Video-lectures-ltv200-Page1.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/minimal-pairs.htm
http://www.eslgamesplus.com/
http://www.englishmedialab.com
http://www.eslgamesworld.com/