English Intonation and its Prominent Role in Teaching Communication

Lucía S. Valls
luciasvalls@hotmail.com
Universidad Nacional del Comahue

Abstract

For many years, teaching English as a foreign language has been mostly concerned with
grammar and vocabulary practice, leaving the relevance of phonological aspects of the
language, such as intonation, unattended. Consequently, the main goal of this presentation is to
focus on the key features of intonation and the importance of working with them in the
classroom Various sample activities of different types will be presented in an attempt to give
teachers an insight into guiding their students towards the practice of some of the most frequent
intonation patterns as well as some of their most typical meanings.

1. Introduction

For many years, teaching English as a foreign language has been mostly
concerned with grammar and vocabulary practice. Thus, activities in the classroom
have mostly centred on students developing linguistic competence, leaving the
relevance of phonological aspects of the language, such as intonation, unattended.
Several authors have highlighted the importance of such aspects, explaining that
teachers’ attention should be driven towards fostering communicative competence,
considering how intonation contributes to the communicative value of an act of speech
(Widdowson, 1978; Brazil et. al., 1981). Accordingly, it has been argued that speakers
of a certain language make meaningful “intonational” choices in relation to what they
intend to convey in a specific situation with a particular listener in mind. Nonetheless,
the inclusion of intonation in language teaching and learning materials has been, in
most cases, minimal.

For these reasons, the main goal of this presentation is to focus on the key
features of intonation and the importance of working with them in context by stressing
the fact that this phonological aspect provides speakers and listeners with more
information than actual words do alone. Giving learners training in the understanding
and use of intonation in their oral production will equip them with a wide range of tools
that may help them interact more effectively. Various sample classroom activities of
different types will be presented in an attempt to give teachers an insight into guiding
their students towards the practice of some of the most frequent intonation patterns as
well as some of their most typical meanings.

2. Intonation

When speakers say something, they cannot say it without some kind of intonation
attached to it. Intonation has been studied, analysed and characterised from different
standpoints along the history of English. According to Underhilll (2005), the choice of
words to pronounce a certain utterance is less significant than the manner of speaking.
The way in which speakers say something may depend on paralinguistic features such
as gestures and facial expressions. However, the most significant factor is considered
to be intonation. In this respect, intonation provides more information than actual words
do. Furthermore, it is widely known that intonation is a crucial feature of any spoken
language. In this respect, the intonation of English is different from the intonation of
French, German, Spanish or any other language in the world. Even British and
American English have differences in their intonation patterns.

Several authors have argued that intonation is a meaningful choice speakers

make to convey meaning (Tench, 1996; Brazil, 1997). Intonation signals functions in
spoken language that cannot be interpreted otherwise. It is said to be “inevitable
whenever a language is spoken” (Tench, 1996) as it carries meaning that will often be
the most relevant part of the message. Speakers, then, have the option of producing
different versions of the same units when intending to communicate different meanings.
In this sense, intonation carries a communicative value that cannot be left aside when
teaching English as a foreign language. Language students and teachers should deem
intonation as a key feature and, as a consequence, they should consider it as integral
to the study of any language.

The importance of intonation in connection to meaning can be shown if within any

given context an utterance can be given a variety of different meanings simply by
changing the intonation pattern chosen by the speaker. Also, intonation provides
listeners with cues that guide them towards the informativeness of an utterance: what
information is new, whether the message is incomplete, whether a speaker is telling
you something or asking you, etc. Thus, intonation is believed to show speakers’
intentions and organisation of information in discursive a context.

In any speech act, be it a conversation, a lecture, a talk or even a monologue, a

listener is implied. This means that a context of interaction is present in which both
speaker and listener’s shared knowledge becomes cumulative as they speak. In 1981,
Brazil et. al. proposed the notion of common ground.

“Common ground is intended to encompass the knowledge

speakers (think they) share about the world, about each other
experiences, attitudes and emotions. Common ground is not
restricted to shared experience of a particular linguistic
interaction up to the moment of utterance; rather, it is a product
of the interacting biographies of the participants.” (Brazil et. al.
1981)

According to this notion, speaker and listener share an interactional history that
will define their intonational choices during their interactions as a result of the
knowledge they both share. At the moment of interaction, we may propose that
speaker and listener’s knowledge can be represented as follows.

SPEAKER LISTENER

COMMON GROUND

Common ground refers to the assumptions speakers make about their listeners
according to the knowledge shared by them at the time and place of their interaction.
This knowledge is defined by the situational and physical contexts and cultural
background shared by the participants. As a consequence, the context is crucial when
dealing with intonation due to the fact that this aspect of the language is determined by
speakers’ assumptions, common ground as well as by the context in which interaction
occurs.

2.1. The Main Components of Intonation: Tonality, Tonicity and Tone

It is relevant to point out that intonation is made up of basically three components.

The first one is referred to as Tonality. It is defined as the distribution into tone groups-
the number and location of the tone group boundaries. This aspect of intonation
describes the division of speech into meaningful segments we will call tone units. Each
tone unit has a particular intonation construction with a purpose attached to it by a
speaker.

The second component is called Tonicity, which is connected to the syllables

within a word speakers choose to highlight over others, according to the meaning or
message they intend to convey. Tonicity is defined as the placing of the tonic syllable-
the location in each tone group of the pre-tonic (prominent syllables) and tonic sections
(Tonic syllable). According to Brazil et. al. (1981), “Prominence is a property
associated with a word by virtue of its function as a constituent of a tone unit. Making
any word prominent constitutes a meaningful choice.”

Tone is the pitch movement of the utterance. It is relevant to highlight that there is
only one tone per tone unit. English has five basic tones proposed by Brazil et. al.
(1981):

 Fall or Proclaiming tone: p

 Rise-fall or Proclaiming plus (+) tone: p+
 Rise or Referring plus (+) tone: r+
 Fall-rise of Referring tone: r
 Level or 0 tone: 0

These three components of intonation work together to convey meaning.

Speakers break their speech into pieces called tone units. In each tone unit, there are
syllables which are more noticeable than others. These are called prominent syllables.
The last prominent syllable in each tone unit is called tonic syllable, in which a
movement in pitch occurs. Each tonic syllable signals the beginning of a tone which
can be of the five types listed above.

In order to see this intonation system in action, let us analyse some utterances by
applying changes to its intonation pattern to see that we may mean different things if
we highlight some words and not others. In order to show intonation, Brazil’s notation
will be adopted for the purposes of this paper. Thus, division into tone units will be
shown with double slashes (//), prominent syllables will be CApitalised and the tonic
syllable will be underLINED.
 If we take the following utterance in isolation, it is hard to predict its intonation
pattern. However, assuming everything is new information we may propose the
following intonation pattern.

(1) // p the QUEEN of HEARTS //

Now, adding context to this same utterance, we may have three possible
variations.

(2) Q: What card did you play?

R: // p the QUEEN of HEARTS //

(3) Q: What heart did you play?

R: // p the QUEEN of hearts //

(4) Q: What queen did you play?

R: // p the queen of HEARTS //

In these examples, intonation changes have to do with prominence. But there are
other aspects of a tone unit that may change for the same utterance to mean different
things.

(5) // i shall GO to COllege // when i FInish SCHOOL //

(6) Q: What will you do in the future?

R: // p i shall GO to COllege // p when i FInish SCHOOL //

(7) Q: What will you do when you finish school?

R: // p i shall GO to COllege // r when i FInish SCHOOL //

(8) Q: When will you go to college?

R: // r i shall GO to COllege // p when i FInish SCHOOL //

As it can be observed in examples (7) and (8), changes occur in tone to show the
different meanings implied in each utterance. English tones are argued to carry
meaning by themselves. The five tones listed earlier are characterised as having the
following functions.
 The proclaiming tone is used in utterances that inform or “proclaim” new
information in both declarative and interrogative form.

(9) Q: // p WHAT HAPpened ? //

R: // p i CAME across PEter this morning //1

The proclaiming plus tone is used to proclaim something that can also be said
to be new information but with the extra intention of expressing surprise.

(10) R: // p PEter’s always in a GOOD MOOD // p+ but toDAY he was CRYing //

The referring and referring plus tones are both used to express the same thing:
that the tone unit refers to a part of the message both speaker and listener already
know about. The referring tone is more specifically used in utterances that
communicate messages already present in the common ground; it is used to express
old information. It is employed when giving vague answers, agreeing partially,
introducing a topic and expressing uncertainty.

The referring plus tone is chosen by speakers to reactivate previously shared

knowledge (reactivation of the common ground) as well as to take a dominant position
in the conversation and to give instructions and advice. Both referring tones are used in
yes-no questions meaning to check whether something is already in the common
ground or not.

(11) // r in the CUPboard // p you’ll FIND the SUgar // (old information: in the cupboard
where it always is)

(12) Q: // p HOW did the INterview go? //

R: // p ALL RIGHT // r i THINK // (uncertainty)

(13) Q: // r do you LIKE my new SWEAter? // (checking)

R: // r i THINK it’s NICE // p but i prefer the GREEN one // (parcial agreement)

1
Examples 1 to 9 have been adapted from Brazil, D. 1997 and Brazil, D., Coulthard, M. and Johns, C.
1981.
(14) // r+ GO along this ROAD // r+ on the LEFT // p TURN RIGHT // (giving
instructions)

(15) // r BOdy language // p is a VEry COMplex pheNOmenon // (introducing a topic)

Finally, the level or 0 tone is used for incomplete utterances which show that
speakers are trying to find the right words to continue the conversation. It carries the
idea of incompletion.

(15) // r BOdy language // p is a VEry COMplex pheNOmenon // 0 WELL // 0 i MEAN //

r+ we SHOULD TAKE it // p VEry SEriously //(thinking what to say next)

r tone
R
r+ tone

INTONATION 0 tone

p tone
P
p+ tone

As we have seen, English intonation has various features that help speakers of a
language convey and decode meanings that go beyond the words spoken. For this
reason, intonation should be one of the features of any language that should be taught
and practised in the TEFL class. In this respect, various teaching materials have been
designed to be used in the classroom to teach this feature of the language. However,
these materials can be argued to fail to address the needs of the majority of foreign
English language students: young learners and adolescents.

We have looked at the communicative choices of tones. The primary choice is

between referring and proclaiming and then, within these two categories, the marked
versions of these (r+ and p+).

2.2. Key

Apart from the three main components of intonation aforementioned, each

speaker of a language has a characteristic pitch range in which variations occur. It is
believed that speakers distinguish between three pitch levels within their characteristic
pitch range, and every tone unit is uttered in one of these three levels or keys.
 Key is determined by the pitch level of the first prominent syllable of a tone unit
compared to the prominence of the preceding tone unit. This means that a tone unit is
in a higher or lower key in relation to the tone unit uttered before. If a tone unit is in a
mid key, this means that its preceding unit and the one in question are at the same
pitch level. Therefore, three keys can be identified, each of which signals a unique
communicative intention when used.

High key is said to be contrastive in the sense that tone units in a high key
contain information which contrasts with what speaker and/or hearer might expect. This
type of key is also used to express strong agreement between speakers.

(16) Q: // p i think the FILM was QUITE GOOD // r did you LIKE the film ? //
HORRible! //
R: // p it was (contrary to expectation)

(17) Q: // p i think the FILM was VEry GOOD //

FANTAStic
R: // p it was // (strong agreement)

Mid key is said to have an additive function, which is neither contrastive nor
emphatic. This means that the information given by the tone unit is additional to what
has been said before.

Low key is equative. This means that the information in the tone unit has no new
impact on what has been said before. Low key can be said to be used in asides or
comments.

(18) // p the FILM was VEry GOOD // p it was //

EXCelllent, in fact

2.3. Rhythm

Apart from the previously described features of the English spoken language,
rhythm shouldn’t be left aside. English and German are examples of stress-timed
languages, while Spanish and Japanese are syllable-timed. A visual way of showing
the difference between the two types of rhythm is the following.
 In this picture, we can see that the kids represent unstressed syllables in an
utterance, whereas adults represent stressed syllables. These highlighted syllables
occur at equal intervals of time. This is the characteristic that makes languages in
which this phenomenon occurs receive the name of stressed-timed. Speakers of
languages of this kind rely on rhythm to get meanings and understand messages.

Looking at the drawing that follows, we can see a group of soldiers marching
together. They all have the same status. If we draw a parallelism between the soldiers
and an utterance, we may say that syllables in that utterance are highlighted in such a
way that they all bare the same relevance. For this reason, languages in which
syllables stand out having the same relevance are called syllable-timed.

3. Intonation Practice Materials

Many authors have designed materials to practise and reinforce the study of
intonation. These materials have been highly successful for teaching common
intonation patterns from different perspectives. However, they may not be adaptable for
teaching English as a foreign language in our educational context. Furthermore,
various intonation systems and models designed to be taught centre on different
functions of intonation and may be very complex for teaching.

Intonation practice materials can be claimed to be very useful for teaching the
main features of English intonation in teacher training courses. This means that the
target students of these materials are teachers-to-be.
 In addition, it can be recognised that only a small fraction of material designed for
teaching English as a second or foreign language could be considered to be
comprehensive in the sense that they promote a balance between the four macro-skills
(Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking). Many more materials exist that
concentrate on the development of reading and writing, leaving listening and speaking
aside most of the times. However, even those books which balance the four skills for
teaching, evidence a lack of attention devoted to the sound system of the English
language. But those materials which make some reference to the sound system and
intonation, generally include instruction oriented towards imitation and repetition of
intonation patterns and sounds without making any reference towards meaning.
Therefore, intonational meaning is not adequately accounted for in available teaching
materials. Learners should be able to assign intonation to an utterance and recognise
meanings through intonation simply since this aspect of the language carries meaning.
But intonation cannot be accessible to learners simply by interacting with the teacher.
Intonation should be overtly taught.

4. Assumption for Teaching Intonation

Teaching intonation at schools poses a major challenge for teachers. Teaching

intonation means not only that students will be required to analyse, identify and study
the different meanings intonation may carry, but also that they will need to employ
these in spoken interaction in the classroom. Thus, teachers will need to expose
students to different formats of spoken interaction where speaker status, the situational
context and the physical context vary.

A native speaker confronted with utterances that do not carry the right intonation
would probably think “Why does the question/sentence sound so odd?”

Native speakers are not conscious of the value intonation has for them, but they
do have an intuition of what their language “sounds” like. They just use intonation
naturally, the same way we use Spanish intonation.

Intonation can assist the development of receptive skills and can help the student
to process connections in language and how the information structure of a text
develops. Brazil et. al. (1981) developed the possible pedagogical sequence of how to
include intonation in the language syllable presented below.

1. Recognition of tone units and tone unit boundaries.

 2. Recognition of prominence in
a. tone units with only one prominent syllable;
b. tone units with two or more prominent syllables.
3. Production of a tone unit with
a. one prominent syllable, the tonic;
b. two or more prominent syllables, the last one being the tonic.
4. Recognition of tones
a. discrimination of p and r;
b. discrimination of p and p+, r and r+
5. Production of tone units with correct tone choice.
6. Recognition of chunking effect and key.
7. Recognition of termination
8. Recognition of key in
a. tone units with one prominent syllable;
b. tone units with two or more prominent syllables, the last one being the
tonic.
9. Production of tone units with correct tonic location, tone choice, key and
termination.2

It is unlikely that students at school will reach beyond stage 6 or 7 at a high level
of English, such as First Certificate level. From stages 7 onwards, it has been argued
they would be appropriate for students at university level, training to become teachers.

Students should not be expected to master the intonation system of the target
language, but they should at least be aware of the relevance of intonation in spoken
interaction as well as use those features of intonation which would aid them in oral
communication in order to interpret and convey meaning. A clear example of how
intonation aids comprehension is a listening passage in which one of the questions is
“How is the woman feeling?”. Of course, words could help understand the way that
person is feeling when speaking, but intonation can be said to be more effective in this
respect.

Furthermore, if we pay attention to what international examinations have to say

about intonation and its role in communication, we will find that Cambridge University
acknowledges the relevance of this aspect of the English language when assessing
candidates’ performance in the Speaking paper for both PET (Preliminary English Test)

2
Pedagogical sequence found in Brazil et. al. 1981.
and FCE (First Certificate in English), which are the commonest exams secondary
school students sit for if they attend private schools.

For the PET exam, assessment of oral performance includes3:

Figure 1

Stress, rhythm and intonation are considered to be aspects students at this language
level should be able to control and use in an adequate way during the oral exam. This
means that these features will be examined in each of the exam parts to see how
effectively candidates communicate in the target language.

The FCE exam takes more aspects of intonation, as shown in Figure 24. In this case,
intonation is not only assessed as part of pronunciation, but also as the ability
candidates have to link utterances in an intelligible way, so that it does not require
much effort for the examiners to understand the message.

3
The information shown in Figure 1 has been extracted from the PET Handbook for Teachers 2008.
4
The information shown in figure 2 has been extracted form the FCE Handbook for Teacher 2008.
 Figure 2

5. Suggested Activity Types for Teaching the Communicative Value of Intonation 5 6

Intonation helps focus speaker’s attention on the information structure of

discourse. Within a particular piece of discourse, the intonation chosen may indicate
attitudes, mark syntactic structures, highlight the relationship between the utterances
and indicate common ground assumptions. For this reason, intonation instruction
should provide students with an array of strategies to help them communicate as
efficiently as possible. Additionally, it may be argued that, approaching the issue of
intonation from a native speaker’s perspective as a listener, mistakes in vocabulary
choice, pronunciation and grammar can be accommodated by the native listener.

5
Activity types marked * have been adapted from Underhill, A. 2005.
6
Activity types marked ** have been adapted from Brazil et. al. 1981.
However, inappropriate intonation can give rise not only to the distortion of the
message, but also to the interpretation of a completely different one.
But we are yet facing a major difficulty: existing descriptions of intonation seem to
be incomplete and not adequate for teaching at secondary school due to their
complexity. Nonetheless, these systems may provide teachers with the necessary
theoretical background with which they can base the teaching and practice of
intonation in the classroom, due to the fact that having that knowledge will enable the
future design of activities suited for the needs and level of each group of students.

In this section, then, several activities will be suggested to promote identification,

practice and production on intonation in the classroom.

5.1. Stress-timing activities

These activities will facilitate students’ understanding of the nature of the English
language in spoken form. Students should be guided towards the differentiation of
Spanish and English.

Activity 1: What is rhythm? *

Students should be made conscious of what rhythm means and which two main
rhythm types exist in languages around the world.
1. What is the meaning of 'Rhythm'?
2. Name the two most commonly occurring rhythm in languages spoken around the
world.

Activity 2: Stress timing: rhythm *

Say phrase a aloud and slowly, with emphasis on each of the four underlined words.
a You me him her
b You and me and him and her
c You and then me and then him and then her
d You and then it’s me and then it’s him and then it’s her
Now say phrase b at the same speed, so the it occupies the same amount of time as
phrase a. insert an unstressed and between each of the four words.
Now say phrase c, this time including unstressed and then between each of the four
words, but taking the same time as phrase a.
Do the same with phrase d.
Follow up: now, it’s your turn to invent an exercise in which you have to follow the
same procedure.
Activity 3: Nursery Rhymes Imitation
Children’s nursery rhymes and songs provide excellent materials for practicing
rhythm.
Below there are a few links to English Nursery rhymes and songs to help students
practice the English rhythm. Listen carefully, for the first step towards good spoken
English is the ability to comprehend the text. Also, you should train your ears to the
accent and rhythm, thereafter you should imitate and repeat for practice.

 London Bridge Is Falling Down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=hi&v=e3u6FD019_M
 Baa Baa Black Sheep:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=hi&v=gBEHFFnV3RY
 Clap Your Hands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=hi&v=WSdWCtn8oko

Activity 4: Rhythm and songs7

Listen carefully to the song I believe I can fly by R. Kelly. Read the lyrics of this
song and try to sing along.
I used to think that I could not go on
And life was nothing but an awful song
But now I know the meaning of true love
I'm leaning on the everlasting arms
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
[1] - I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
See I was on the verge of breaking down

 7
Activity adapted from http://wikieducator.org/The_English_Rhythm
Sometimes silence can seem so loud
There are miracles in life I must achieve
But first I know it starts inside of me, oh
If I can see it, then I can be it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
[Repeat 1]
Hey, cuz I believe in me, oh
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
[Repeat 1]
Hey, if I just spread my wings
I can fly
I can fly
I can fly, hey
If I just spread my wings
I can fly
Fly-eye-eye

Discussions
1. How was the experience? Were you able to follow the track? Listen to the song
again and identify prominent syllables in each line. Then try to sing along taking into
account prominence.

5.2. Discovery activities

These should be the first step towards teaching intonation. We should not expect
students to be able to perceive and produce intonation straightaway. This is why they
should concentrate first on the identification of prominence and later on the
identification of tones and key.

Activity 5: Same sentence, different meaning *

Give the following sentence as many different meanings as you can. Keep the words
the same but find different ways of saying it. You probably need to imagine a context.
It’s eight o’clock!
Then, observe the difference between the intonation patterns you have used.

Activity 6: Finding the tonic syllable

Listen to these sentences. Can you locate one syllable that has more emphasis than
the others?

Activity 7: Proclaiming and referring tones *

Sentences a and b each have two tone units here, but the first has referring tone
followed by proclaiming tone, and the second has proclaiming tone followed by
referring tone. Try to get the movement shown by the arrow onto the prominent
syllable.
a the TEA’S on the TABle
b the TEA’S on the TABle
When you think you have made a significant distinction between them, see if you can
match them to these alternative wordings:
a Well, as for the tea, it’s on the table.
b Well, as for the table, it’s got some tea on it.

5.3. Intonation Practice Activities

Activity 8: Contextual discrimination **

Students are given an utterance with two possible contexts. According to each context,
they will have to decide on tonic placement, tone choice and/or key choice.

(i) Who’s going to read this book?

(ii) Which boor are you going to read?
// I’m going to read // that book //

(i) Why not have a look in the garage?

(ii) Did you look in the garage and in the garden?
// I’ve just looked in the garage //

(i) When do you do your shopping?

(ii) What have you got planned for tomorrow?
// Friday // is the day I usually go to town //

(i) The neighbour love gardening.

(ii) The neighbours often neglect their garden.
// our neighbours // are gardening //

Activity 9: The use of key *

Make the following statement with two tone units, each with only one prominent
syllable. The first tone unit is referring and the second is proclaiming.

// r on SUNday // p it SNOWED //

Now try it with high key.

// p it SNOWED //
// r on SUNday

What may be the possible context for saying this in a high key? (What a surprise! Who
would have expected it to snow?)

Now try saying it in a mid key.

// r on SUNday // p it SNOWED //
What would be the reason for saying it in a mid key? (Oh, by the way, another thing
about Sunday is that it snowed)

Now try with low key.

// r on SUNday
// p it SNOWED //
Why may a speaker say this in a low key? Provide a context. (What else could you
expect?)

Activity 10: Dictation *

A good way of raising students’ awareness of prominence is dictating a text. But
students do not have to write down all the words, just only those which are highlighted
by the speaker. This can be done by the teacher, with a recording, a song or even a
film extract.
After doing this, students could be asked to reconstruct the text with those words, or
they could even construct another text using those words!

Activity 11: Film reconstruction

The teacher chooses an extract from an English film. She will explain to the students
the plot of the film (if they don’t know it) and discuss the characters and their roles.
Then, she gives students all the prominent words from a scene in order. Students will
have to reconstruct the dialogue or monologue adding all the non-prominent words. At
the end of the activity, they watch the film extract and see how different the
reconstruction and the actual words are. This activity could also be extended to tone
choice. Students could assign tone choices to their reconstruction and then check and
compare with the film.

Activity 12: Paraphrase *

Say the following sentence in different ways to mean the following:
Hurry up!
We’ve got plenty of time.
You’re early.
The bus is late!
You didn’t set the alarm clock.
Be quiet.
Yippee!

It is possible that you need a context and an understanding of common ground

experience between speaker and listener

5.4. Activities for the PET and FCE examinations

These international exams assess students’ oral performance considering their

use of intonation in the target language essential. The various speaking parts each of
these exams have, require students to display their knowledge of the language in
different situations and in relation to different topics.

Activity 13: PET Part 1: Interview

Ask students to think of different personal questions they may be asked during this part
of the exam then, students should get in pairs and interview each other using those
questions. One student in turn personifies the examiner.

Activity 14: FCE - Compare and Contrast

In this part of the FCE exam, students are asked to compare and contrast two
related pictures and then answer a question in relation to them.
Give each pair of students two pictures. Students will listen to a recording of other
FCE candidates describing those pictures. Students will also get a list of common
expressions used to compare and contrast pictures. They will have to listen to the
recording and spot those phrases as the candidate speaks. They will have to decide
which syllables or words that candidate has chosen to highlight in each of the phrases.
After this, as a whole class, discuss those phrases and ask students if they think
there should be any different choices so that those phrases are more effective.
 List of phrases: LISTEN TO RECORDING
Common phrases for comparing and contrasting are:
 This is a photograph of…, while the other one is of…
 On the one hand,…
 On the other hand,…
 …whereas…
 …while…
 I’m not absolutely sure, but…
 As for which I would prefer, …
 Although…, I think…

Activity 15: Recognising Prominence

In pairs, students listen to a recording of two candidates speaking. Each students
concentrates on only one of the candidates, writing down those words he/she has
chosen to make prominent.
After this is done, in pairs, students try to reconstruct the conversation by adding the
missing words which were not made prominent.
By means of this activity, students are shown how important prominence is for the
delivery of a communicative message and that by choosing certain a word to be
highlighted, the message is still clear enough. Also, students are shown a sample
speaking part for this exam paper.

Activity 16: Collaborative task

Both PET and FCE exams have a collaborative task in which students should interact
to agree on a certain question. In this task, students are supposed to ask and answer
questions so that interaction is effective.
Discuss the typical intonation for questions in English. The teacher will give students a
set of possible questions they could use during this part of the exam. Students will
have to classify them according to their function.
 Wh- questions: used to find out new information.
 Yes-No questions used to check information.
After this, the teacher can read several questions with the appropriate intonation for
students to tell the difference between intonation in Wh-questions and Yes-No
questions. Wh-questions are generally said in a proclaiming tone, while Yes-No
questions often carry a referring tone or referring plus tone.
Finally, students practice a collaborative task using those questions in the appropriate
tone. This activity could be done in groups of three. Two students are candidates and
another one plays the role of the examiner who has to check that the intonation in
those questions is correct.
 How about getting …?
 What do you think about…?
 Do you agree with…?
 Shall we choose…?
 Do you think X is a good idea?
 Would you like me to begin?
 ..and would you agree that…?

Activity 17: Introducing opinion

Before asking students to practice any speaking part in which they are going to give
their opinion on something, analyse together the intonation of opinion phrases. These
phrases generally carry a referring tone, which indicates that the speaker will continue
speaking after that utterance. Common opinion phrases for both PET and FCE exams
are:
 Personally,…
 In my opinion,…
 As far as I’m concerned,…
 To me,…
 From my point of view,…
 To my mind,…
 If you ask me,…
Then, students do the task using some of the phrases. They could be monitored by the
teacher or by other classmates.

6. Implications of intonation theory for the classroom

Although there is a general agreement about the components of intonation, tone

units, and the terms used to refer to them, it is not necessary for students to learn
them. It is necessary for them to understand them and be able to know what is being
analysed when dealing with English intonation. However, there is less agreement on
what intonation actually means; whether it signals attitude or a distinction between
newness and givenness, or both.

All things considered, the discourse approach supported by various authos, such
as Brazil, Coulhard and Johns, is attractive, since “its orientation is simple and
workable enough to provide the basis for manageable and useful class learning
activities” (Underhill, 2005). This approach is believed to provide teachers with a good
foundation for the development of learner sensibility to intonation. Another attribute of
the discourse approach is the emphasis on practising intonation in context, making it
more real and contextualised for students.

Of course, it should not be expected that students become experts on intonation,

but rather that they will be able to recognise its relevance in discourse so that they can
make correct choices to deliver the message as effectively as possible.

Students should be given the necessary tools that will help them develop their
communicative competence, and intonation has been argued to be a crucial part
English due to the fact that it carried meaning other than the one which could be
interpreted from words alone. Intonation contributes to the communicative value of
every act of speech. Learners should be encouraged to practice common patterns and
meanings intonation has.
 Bibliographical References

 Brazil, D. 1996. Pronunciation for Advanced Learners of English. Cambridge

University Press
 Brazil, D. 1997. The Communicative Value of Intonation. Cambridge University
press
 Brazil, D., Coulthard, M. and Johns, C. 1981. Discourse Intonation and Language
Teaching. Longman Group
 Hancock, M. Pronunciation Games. Cambridge Copy Collection.
 Tench, P. 1996. The Intonation System of English. Cassel
 Underhill, A. 2005. Sound Foundations: Learning and Teaching Pronunciation.
Macmillan
 Widdowson, H. G. 1978. Teaching Language as Communication. London: Oxford
University Press
 http://wikieducator.org/The_English_Rhythm