Group 7:

Lê Ngọc Thiên Ý
Liêu Bội Linh
Hà Đăng Hiếu
Bùi Minh Trâm
Phạm Mai Phương

THE SUMMARY

I/ The book “ How to teach pronunciation “

Chapter 1: the description of speech

What are the main features of pronunciation?
Features of pronunciation

- Phonemes: phonemes are the different sounds within a language. Although there are
slight differences in how individuals articulate sounds, we can still describe reasonably
accurately how each sound is produced.
- Sounds may be voiced or unvoiced (voiceless). Voiced sounds occur when the vocal
cords in the larynx are vibrated.
- The set of phonemes consists of two categories: vowel sounds and consonant sounds. :
+ vowels sounds are all voiced, and may be single or a combination, involving a
movement from one vowel sound to another. Such combinations are known as
dipthongs.
+ the combination of three vowel sounds is called tripthongs.
+ single vowel sounds may eb short or long. The symbol /:/ denotes a long sound.
+ consonants sounds may be voiced or unvoiced.
 Tables of English phonemes

Suprasemental features

- Phonemes, as we have seen, are unit of sounds which we can analyse. They are also
known as segments. Supragsemental features, as the name implies, are features of
speech which generally apply to group of segments, or phonemes. The features which
are important in English are stress, intonation, and how sounds change in connected
speech.
- With regard to individual words, we can identify and teach word stress. Usually one
syllable in a a word will sound more prominent than the others.
- With regard to utterances, we can analyse and teach intonation as well as stress,
although as features they can at times be quite hard to consciously recognize and to
describe. Intonation, is the way in which the pitch of the voice goes up and down in the
course of an utterance.

The physiology of pronunciation

- Teachers also need to consider how the sounds we use come about, and to study the
physiology which allows us to use those sounds.
- We can learn to use our speech organs in new ways in order to produce learnt sounds in
a foreign language, or to loose sounds form our own language.

Location of the main areas of the head and neck associated with the production of
sounds.
 The articulation of phonemes

The articulation of vowels

Vowels are produced when the airstream is voiced through the vibration of the vocal cords in
the larynx, and then shaped using the tounge and the lips to modify the overall shape of the
mouth
 - Close, Mid, and Open refer to the distance between the tounge and the roof of the mouth
- Front, Cntre and Back and their corresponding “vertical” line refers to the part o the
tounge.
- The position of each phonemes represents the height of the tounge, and also the part of
the tounge which is raised.
The articulation of consonants

- In addition to the presence or absence of coicing, consonants can be described in terms

of the manner and place of articulation.
+ with regard to the manner of articulation, the vocal tract may be completely closed so
that the air is temporarily unable to pass through. Alternatively there may be a closing
movement of the lips, tounge or throat, so that it is possible to hear the sound made by
air passing through.

-
+ with regard to the place of articulation, the following table sumarises the main
movements of the various articulatiors:
 Phonemic transcription

- Phonemic transcription gives both teachers and students a way of accurately

recording the pronunciations sf words and utterances.
- It makes more sense to work on those sounds which cause difficulty first, and
introduce other phonemic symbols as appropriate.
Phonetics and phonology
 - The study of pronunciation consists of two fields, namely phonetics and phonology.
+ Phonetics:
+ refers to the study of speech sounds
+ is a wide-ranging field, and it does not necessarily have a direct connection with
the study of language itself.
Phonology:
+ is concerned with how we interpret and systematize sounds.
+ deals with the system and pattern of the sounds which exits within particularly
languages.
+ the study of English phonology looks at the vowels, consonants and
suprasemental features of the language.

Chap 2: teaching pronunciation

Why teach pronunciation?

- Pronunciation errors can lead to a problem of reception, or comprehension of the

meaning or function of an utterance.
- Pronunciation can also affect the perceived tone or mood of an utterance.
- Aspects of a student’s first language can interfere with the pronunciation of a
second language not only in terms of accent but also in terms of mood.
Problems and approaches in pronunciation teaching

A paradox

- Many experienced teachers would admit to lack of knowledge of the theory of

pronunciation and therefore may feel the need to improve their practical skills in
pronunciation teaching
- Trainees and less experienced teachers may be interested in teaching
pronunciation but their priorities are still grammar and vocabulary
- Language learners show considerable enthusiatism for pronunciation
 Paradoxically, pronunciation often get neglected.

From reactive to planned teaching

 - A lot of pronunciation teaching tends to be done in response to errors which
students make in the classroom. Such reactive teaching is, of course, absolutely
necessary, and will always be so.
- Pronunciation should be planned for. Teachers should regard features of
pronunciation as integral to language analysis and lesson planning.
- While planning, teachers should decide what pronunciation issues are relevant to
the particular structures and lexis being dealt with in the lesson or anticipat
pronunciation difficulties their students likely to experience.
- Sample lessons are divided into three main types:
+ integrated lessons, in which pronunciation forms an essential part of the
language analysis and the planning process, and the language presentation and
practice within the lesson.
+ remedial or reactive lessons, whereas pronunciation difficulty which arises in
class is dealt with there and then, in order to facilitate the successful achievement
of classroom tasks.
Practice lessons, in which a particular feature of pronunciation is isolated and
practiced for its own sake, forming the main focus of a lesson period.

What pronunciation model to teach

- The term ‘model’ here used to refer to the pronunciation characteristics of the
language a teacher presents to learners in the classroom.
- In the past preferred pronunciation model for teaching was RP: Received
Pronunciation. It has been the basic of much modern investigation into
pronunciation and so its influence persists.
- As a teacher the model one uses in the classroom will usually be close to the
language one uses outside the classroom. Many teachers modify their accent
slightly for the benefit of their students, but few could consistently teach with an
accent significantly different from their own
- It is important to consider the needs of learners.
Techniques and activities

There are two key sides to pronunciation teaching: the teaching of productive and
receptive skills.

Drilling
 - Drilling simply involves the teacher saying a word or structure, and getting the
class to repeat it.
- Drilling aims to help students achieve better pronunciation of language items, and
to help them remember new items.
- Drilling often follows on from the process, known as eliciting, of encouraging
students to bring up a previously studied word, phrase or structure.
- Chaining can be used for sentences which prove difficult for students to
pronounce
- Substitution drilling is another important and useful variation. This involves
drilling a structure, but substituting items of vocabulary into the sentence being
dealt with.
Minimal pairs and related activities

- Minimal pairs: words or utterances which differ by only one phoneme. Teachers
can use minimal pairs to good advantage in the classroom as way of focusing on
sounds which have been causing difficulties for students.
- Example:

- Pronunciation and spelling activities:

+ Homographs and homophones:
+ Taping students’ English
 +Listening activities
+Reading activities

Chapter 3: Vowels

-The characteristics of the “pure” vowel sounds (single vowel sounds) and diphthongs. Vowel
sounds can be described in terms of tongue and lip positions. Diphthongs, on the other hand,
can be described in terms of a movement (or “glide”) from one vowel position to another.

-Tables show the characteristics of the vowel sounds/diphthongs including the tongue and lip
positions for each, their phonemic symbol, example words and the first languages of those
speakers who may have productive difficulties with these sounds in English.

+Close vowel: /i:/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /u:/

+Mid vowels: /e/, /ə/, /ɜ:/, /ɔ:/

+Open vowels: /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɑ:/, /ɒ/

+Centring diphthongs: /ɪə/, /ʊə/, /eə/

+Closing diphthongs: /eɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /aɪ/, /oʊ/, /aʊ/

-Ways of raising awareness of vowel sounds in the classroom:

+Using a phonemic chart.

+Drilling, repetition and associating sounds with ideas

+”Halfway house” sounds
-Variety of classroom activities for focusing on vowel sounds in the classroom.

+ “Phonemic bingo”: Particular vowel sounds (all levels)

+ “Noughts and crosses”: Particular vowel sounds (all levels)

+ “Snap”: Particular vowel sounds (all level)

+ “Stand up and be counted”: Vowel sounds/ schwa (all levels)

+ “Which vowel am I”: Vowel sounds (all levels)

+ Collaborative writing: Vowel sounds (elementary +)

+ “Phonemic crosswords”

+ “Irritable vowels”

+ “Vowels-U-Like”

 Teachers should involve their students in deciding on priorities for classroom pronunciation
work, through helping them to be aware of their pronunciation difficulties.

Chapter 4: Consonant sounds

-The characteristics of the consonant sounds. Consonant sounds can be described in terms of
manner, place and force of articulation. Sounds may also be “voiced” and “unvoiced”. List of
the first languages of those speakers who may have productive difficulties with these sounds in
English.

-Ways of raising awareness of consonant sounds in the classroom.

-Some “learner-friendly” ways of describing the consonants, and some techniques to help
individuals from consonants they have difficulty with.

+ Using diagram and “learner-friendly” explanation.

Show the fortis and the lenis.
- Variety of classroom activities for focusing on consonant sounds in the classroom.

+ “Hangman”: Consonant and vowel sounds (all levels)

+ “I’m going to the party”: Particular consonant sounds (all levels)

+ Phonemic word search: Consonant and vowel sounds (all levels)

+ Advertising slogans: Particular consonant sounds (all levels)

+ Running dictation: Particular consonant/vowel sounds (all levels)

+ Sound chain

+ “Tongue-twisters”

+ Fill the grid

+ “Phoneme and vocabulary exerciser”

+ Sound race

+ “Who am I? What’s my line? What am I?”

 Teachers should always aim to integrate pronunciation work in their teaching.

Chapter 5:

Stress word

For stressed syllables, three features are identified: loudness, pitch change and a longer
syllable. Unstress may be described as the absence of these. The syllables around a stressed
syllable need to be unstressed

Schwa is by nature an untressed sound.

Rules of word stress

Levels of stress

Some commentators outlined up to 5 different levels of stress in a single word. Some settled on
three-level distinction (primary stress, secondary stress and untress). But two-level distinction
is adequate for teaching purposes

Sentences: Stress timing and syllable timing

Some languages (English) are stress-timed. The stresses occur at regular intervals within
connected speech and the duration of an utterance is more dependent upon the number of
stresses than the number of syllables. Untressed syllables are made shorter and vowels often
lose their pure quality. (Thời gian để nói 1 câu tính theo số stress)

Other languages are syllable timed. There is no strong pattern of stress, syllables maintain their
length, and vowel maintain their quality.

Sentence stress and tonic syllables

With regard to sentence stress we can outline a three-stage process which enables us to say the
same thing in different ways:

1. When we say words of more than one syllable in isolation we will stress one of the syllables

2 When words are arranged together in a sentence or utterance, certain syllables will be stressed
in order to convey the most important new information. This may cancel out normal word
stress.

3 Intonation is used to give further subtleties of meaning to the syllables we have chosen to
stress
- Tonic syllable is the most stressed syllable in an utterance (longer, louder, and carries the
main pitch movement in an utterance). It is included in the most important word in a sentence
in terms of meaning

- The syllables that establish a pitch that says constant up to the tonic syllable are callled onset
syllable.

Sentence stress and weak form:

Some words have 2 forms: Strong and weak form. To emphasize function words for particular
reason, speakers use strong form.

Raising awareness of word and sentence stress

Choral and individuals drilling of news words usefully combines receptive awareness and
productive skill.

The stressed syllables are more recognizable if teachers exaggerate them. Other common
techniques are beating out the pattern of stress with your hand or finger, otr tapping with pen on
the table, speaking or singing the stress patern,etc

Be careful with the context which utterances occur and the meaning of them to determine tonic
syllables

Weak form can be solely drilled before put into the sentence

Teachers should treat word and sentence stress as part of the language being studied

Intonation

Intonation refers to the way the voice goes up and down in pitch when we are speaking,
conveying speaker’s thoughts, feeling and attitude.

It relates to grammmar, attitude and surrounding discourse.

Tones, tonic syllables and tone units

The number of tonic syllables in one sentence is equal to the number of tone units

There are 2 ways to note pitch on the board, but using continuous lines is more straight forward
for students and teachers.

Grammar and intonation

 Chapter 7: Other aspects of connected speech

* There are some aspects of connected speech

+ Assimilation

+ Elision

+ Liking and intrusion

+ Juncture

+ Contractions

* Why “ other “ aspects of connected speech?

+Help students understand and produce:

· Individual sounds

· String of phonemes => make up utterances

* Other aspects of connected speech:

1.Assimilation:

a.Definition:
 +Assimilation describes how sounds modify each other when they meet, usually across
word boundaries, but within words too

Ex: the words “ that /” ðæt/ , “ book / bʊk/” -> place the words into a sentence “ Could you
pass me that book “

ð The /t/ phoneme at the end of “that” does not sound like its own. The phoneme /t/ is an
alveolar sound which is formed when the tongue blade forms a temporary closure against the
alveolar ridge => tongue doesn’t get there at the end of the word because we employ an
economy of effort and ready for next sound /b/

ð The /t / assimilates to a /p/, both sound being unvoiced

ð We get “ Could you pass me /ðæp bʊk /

Ex: Who’s a cute baby, then ?

b.Two cases of assimilation : are anticipatory assimilation and coalescent assimilation

· anticipatory assimilation : one sound changes to another because of the sound

which follows

· coalescent assimilation: two sounds combine to form a different one

c.Some rules:

· The phonemes /t/, /d/ and /n/ often become bilabial before bilabial

consonants /p/, /b/ and /m/: (anticipatory assimilation)

ex: He’s a rather fat boy ( /t/ assimilates to /p/ )

· /t/ assimilates to /k/ before /k/ or /g/, /d/ assimilates to /g/ before /k / or /g/
(anticipatory assimilation)

Ex:Where has that cat been all night? (/Ư assimilates to /k/)

· /m/ can assimilate to / η / before /g/ or /k/: (anticipatory assimilation)

Ex: I've been going out too mụch lately.

· /s⁄ can assimilate to / ∫ / before / ∫ /: (anticipatory assimilation)

Ex: I really love this shiny one over here.

· /z/ can assimilate to /3⁄ before / ∫ /: (anticipatory assimilation)

Ex:We found this lovely little cheese shop in Paris.

 · /t/ and /j/ coalesce to form /t∫/: (coalescent assimilation)

Ex: You went to France last year, didn't you?

· /d/ and /j/ coalesce to form /dʒ/: (coalescent assimilation)

Ex: Would you like a cụp of tea?

2.Elision:

a.Definition: Elision describes the disappearance of a sound.

Ex: He leaves next /nekst / week

+ The /t/ in “ next” saying / neks wi:k /

b.Some rules:

· The most common elisions in English are /t/ and /d/, when they appear within a
consonant cluster.

Ex:We arrived the next day. (/t/ elided between /ks/ and /d/)

· Complex consonant clusters are simplified.

Ex:She acts like she owns the place! (/ækts/ can be simplified to /æks/)

· / ə / can disappear in unstressed syllables.

Ex: I think we should call the police. (/ə / can disappear in the first syllable of police)

· /V/ can disappear in of ,before consonants.

Ex: My birthday's on the 11th of November.

3.Linking and intrusion:

a.Linking /r/: Some accents of English are described as rhotic /rəʊtik/, which means that

when the letter r appears in the written word after a vowel (as in car or

carve), the /r/ phoneme is used in the pronunciation of the word (as in /ka:r/

and /ka:rv/).

Ex: Her English is excellent ( /r/ is pronounced )

 b.Intrusive /r/: Where two vowel sounds meet and there is no written letter , speakers with
non-rhotic accents will still often introduce the /r/ phoneme in order to ease the transition
( happens when the first word ends in / ə /, /a:/ , or / ɔ:/

Ex: Princess Diana was a victim of media exploitation . / əre/

c.Linking /j/: When a word ends in /i:/, or a diphthong which finishes with /I/ , speakers often
introduce a /j/ to case the transition to following vowel sound

ex: I agree , wholeheartedly ./ aIjə/

d.Linking /w/:

When a word ends in /u:/, or a diphthong which is finishes with / ʊ / , speakers often introduce
a /w/ to ease the transition to a following vowel sound.

Ex: Go on ! Go in ! /gəʊwɒn/,/gəʊwin/

4.Juncture:

Ex: The clock keeps ticking /ki:ps tIkIη /

The kids keep sticking things on the wall /ki:p stInkIη/

ð while the phonemes may be the same, listeners have no difficulty (most of the time) in telling
where the join is, and context clearly plays a role here.

Ex: That's my train.

It might rain.

5.Contractions:

Definition: Contractions occur where two words are combined to the extent that the two are

pronounced as one word, or one syllable.

Ex: I’m /aIm/, you’re, he’s,she’s….

I’m not , you aren’t, we aren’t…..

*Should we teach these aspects of connected speech?

 +Working on sentence stress and intonation can help teach these students to better understand
spoken English=> so can work on the other aspects of features of connected speech

+Better understand the language they hear

+ Contractions (and to some degree ,weak forms) are often addressed in

published materials

+Linking sounds and intrusive sounds are also focused on in materials bụt

to a lesser degree than contractions.

+Assimilation is also dealt with, but usually only in relation to very specific

examples like don’t you? and didn’t you? both with a resulting /t∫/.

+Elision is also taught in coursebooks, but again largely through very

specific examples like Do you live in London? and Where do you live, both

with a resulting /dʒ/.

+An alternative measure is the issue of “ naturaless “ of speech

+A measure of “ relevance “

ð Teacher has to make their own judgements , based on the above criteria , of how much attention
to give to the various features of connected speech.

Chapter 8: Pronunciation and spelling

1.English spelling is not phonetic:

Ex: In the letter a, which can represent /æ/ as in apple , or /a:/ as in ask

In the letter c, can be pronounced as /k/ as in can, or /s/ as in cinema

ð The relationship between spelling and pronunciation is more complex in English, it is not
always easy for learners of whatever L1 to see how a written English word should be
pronounced or how a word they have only heard should be written

ð The English spelling is not as irregular as it seems.

2.Regular features of English pronunciation and spelling:

a.Single letter and sound associations:

 +There are 21 consonant letters, making 24 sounds, and 5 vowel letters, making 20 sounds.

+vowels will be the most likely cause of pronunciation or spelling difficulties for learners of

English.

+ Many consonant letters have one main sound associated with

them, such as , b,d,f,h,j => these letters can be silent in certain

words, but this tends to only happen when they are immediately preceded

or followed by another consonant in the same syllable;

ex: the silence of n on autumn and its pronunciation in autumnal

b.Letter combinations and sounds:

+Some pairs of letters are associated with a particular sound, as in the link

between ph and thc sound /f/, as in photo, photograph and phone. Such letter-

pairs are known as digraphs.

+ a digraph can have two or three different sound associations, depending on the words in
question:

Ex: ch can be pronunced as /t∫/ (chip, change, bunch), /k/ (character,technique), /∫/ (machine)

c.English letters behave according to their environment:

+Many English letters fit comfortably into certain environments, behaving in certain
predictable ways when they are there.

Ex:,many vowel letters, when sandwiched between consonant letters (as in cap,cut and con),
will have the short vowel sound most commonly associated with that letter: /æ/, /ʌ/ and /ɒ/,

ð The addition of a final letter e, will usually lead to a change to either a longer sound or a
diphthong: cape /eI/, cute/u:/, cone /əʊ/

ð This also happens when other letters are added, as in cuter and cones.

d.Environmental restrictions:

+The environments that single letters or paired letters can exist in are restricted.

Ex: wh usually appears at the beginning of words (as in where and what), sometimes appears in
the middle of compound words (nowhere,somewhere), bụt doesn’t appear at the end
e.Common patterns:

+There are a number of common sound/spelling patterns which can be presented to students as
safe and reliable.

Ex: When talking about the incidence of /ə/, it can be noted that /ə/ occurs

only in unstressed syllables=> It can be very useful to draw students attention to its use in
prefixes and suffixes, as these are usually unstressed : technical, production, explanatory,
bigger, etc

+ Common suffixes are usually consistent in their pronunciations

Ex:-tion is pronounced /∫ən/ as in explanation, pronunciation ; -cial is //∫əl/ as in special,

official

+Certain vowels are usually elided in particular words: secretary /sekrətri:/,

vegetable /vədʒtəbəl/.

+ Certain spellings are usually assimilated in connected speech: Would you, Could you,
using /dʒ /

f.” Root” words and derived words:

+Spelling of the root word usually stays the same in the derived word. Often,

the pronunciation stays the same too.

Ex: the root word speak /spi:k/ is unchanged in spelling and pronunciation
speaks,speaker,speaking,loudspeaker and so on.

3.Problems and approaches in the teaching of pronunciation and spelling:

A.Problems:

+The difficulties can be particularly acute for learners whose L1 has a more phonetic script
system, like Japanese and Spanish and to a lesser degree French.

+For all learners whose own language has an alphabetic script similar to that of English, a
further problem can arise. Occasionally, a letter that is associated with a particular sound in L1
may be linked to a different sound in L2
+The problem here is entirely to do with the varying sound rules of the L1 and L2, and nothing
to do with spelling. (For more details on such sound-driven problems caused by differences
between the L1 and L2)

B.Approaches:

+One approach is where teachers work on the pronunciation of a word or longer utterance
orally, before showing students the written form -> Giving students the written form before
they have practised it orally can lead to incorrect pronunciation being carried over into
subsequent oral practice.

+Teachers should therefore get into the regular habit of using phonemic symbols in
combination with a written

+Regular dictionary work is also to be encouraged, and students should be

enabled to use a good dictionary which uses phonemic symbols.

+Teachers need to develop an awareness of the difficulties specific to the individual L1s
represented in the class, without making classroom activities too LI-specific

+In monolingual classes, teachers can be more selective, choosing examples of mistakes which
are typical for students for that particular L1, as well as addressing the more general challenges
which the English spelling system presents.

*Sample lesson:

Lesson : Different spellings of vowel sounds (Pre-Intermediate)

Lesson type: Practice

Materials: Task sheet with two lists of words

The teacher can use activities like the one which follows to focus on particular sounds which
have been causing students difficulties, either productively or receptively.

The sounds given here in this example are /i/, /e/, / ʊ/, /ɔ: /, /a:/ and /3:/. Students are

cach given a task sheet with the following words on:

“The teacher asks the students to work individually to match the words with

the same sound; students then compare their answers, and the teacher

conducts feedback.
II,III/. THE HAND BOOK OF TEACHING PRONUNCIATION:

22- THE SEGMENTAL/ SUPRASEGMENTAL DEBATE

1- Definition:
- Segmental is individual sounds
- Suprasegmental: extending over more than an individual sound such as syllable
structure, stress, rhythm, intonation.
2- The segmental/ suprasegmental debate:
a) Suprasegmental features should be given priority:
- Fraser (2001: 33) listed six pronunciation features in the order in which they should be
taught:
+ Stress is the most important thing as learners with perfect consonant distinctions will
still be difficult to understand if they have not mastered word and sentence stress.

b) Segmental features should be given priority:

- Collins and Mees (2003: 209) listed six pronunciation features they identified as the
greatest influences on intelligibility:
+ 5 of these involved different consonants and vowels
+ Only 1 suprasegmental feature- word stress

c) Central to the segmental/ suprasegmantal debate:

- Segmental and suprasegmantal features are separate entities.
d) Both are important:
- Celce Murcia et al. (2010) discusses both are important:

3- Categorizing features of pronunciation:

Table 2.2
  Categorization of different non-target-like pronunciation features as either segmental
or suprasegmental ignores the possible relationship between them and fails to view
them as part of an integrated system where one interact with the other to influence
intelligibility.
4- The prosodic hierarchy:
- Provides a useful framework for the analysis of the way different pronunciation features
might combine or interact to influence a speaker’s intelligibility.
- Consist of a hierarchy of increasingly smaller units.
- It is important because:
+ Different language have different prosodic constraints

 Differ in the types of rhythmic patterns, foot structures and syllable structures.
 Prosodic constraints of a speaker’s L1 might influence the way they organize their
pronunciation in English.
 Understanding what these constraints are gives us important insight into:
 why speakers from particular L1 backgrounds have non-target-like English
pronunciation
 how we need to go about teaching them.
5- The role of speaker and listener:
a) The role of speaker:
- Further investigate the role of L1 prosodic constraints on various English pronunciation
features.
b) The role of listener:
- Listeners from different L1 back-ground rely on different features in the speech signal to
understand a speaker.
6- My opinion:
- Both segmental and suprasegmental features are important to intelligibility
pronunciation because
+ when addressing 1 word, whether learners master the pronunciation of vowel,
consonant but with wrong stress word or vice versa, it is not easy for the listeners to
understand.
+ There is a possible relationship between them (the production of one can influence the
other).
26- INTEGRATING PRONUNCIATION INTO THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

1- Challenge:
- Pronunciation difficulties in L2 can seriously impede intelligibility:
+ Lack of intelligible pronunciation  comprehension difficulties (for L2 listeners)

- In e f e c t v e t e a c h in g
Resolving pronunciation difficulties in the class presents a challenge:
+ Intelligible pronunciation is difficult to learn for most adults
+ Intelligible pronunciation is difficult to teach due to a lack of:

 Teacher preparation
 Limited availability of materials
 Ineffective teaching
Note:

heavily form-
focused instructon

meaning-focused
instructon

no explicitaton of
pronunciaton

2- Three major challenges:

a) The lack of teacher training in pronunciation:
- Many TESOL training programs incorporate little or no pedagogical training around
pronunciation:
+ Brief formal introduction to phonology on a theoretical level.
+ Limited practical application.
 - NNSs lack confidence in their ability to model English pronunciation.
+ NNT often teach more “metalanguage-heavy” classes: focus on theory, etc.

 Make use of many means to expose Ss to various native speaker models

(recordings, audios, etc.)
b) Pronunciation is rarely assessed systematically in proficiency placement tests:
- Pronunciation is difficult and time-consuming to test objectively.
- Standardized tools are not yet available.
- Evaluators do not have the phonological training.
- Students with different levels in the same class lead to difficulties in testing
pronunciation.
c) A late introduction of specific pronunciation instruction:
- Requires specialized vocabulary and metalinguistic description  too advanced for
beginners.
3- The communicative framework for teaching pronunciation by Celce-Murcia et al.
(2010):
- Offer a way to achieve such an integration of form and meaning.
- Consist of 5 phrases:
1. Description and analysis
2. Listening discrimination
3. Controlled practice
4. Guided practice
5. Communicative practice
- Two main ways in which this framework can be applied to incorporate pronunciation
targets into any language lesson:
i. Ts can proactively select pronunciation targets around which to organize a lesson.
ii. Ts can systematically address pronunciation issues as they arise in students
‘authentic production while completing a task.

 Challenges of above ways:

i.It is difficult to create authentically communicative, interactive activities.

ii.Time - consuming to design.

4- Some areas that pronunciation skills can be interconnected with:
a) Vocabulary:
- Objective: how the words are spelled.
- Spelling is considered ancillary to other goals pertaining to vocabulary, syntax, etc.
- Orthography- the spelling system, including rules for using punctuation, capital
letters and emphasis- is a very important part to develop intelligible pronunciation.
 Ss can apply to unknown words to address them and avoid confusion.
- Ex: the letter <c> when combined with the letter <h>  a new sound <tᶋ>
- From spelling, syllabification and stress patterns are a logical next step.
b) Grammar:
- Introduce a new grammatical construct- if the successful use of the target form was
dependent on its phonetic realization.
- EX: the regular noun and verbs endings –s and –ed can be realized in reading aloud.
- Discussion of suffixes (whether inflectional or derivational morphemes) is a
connection to parts of speech.
c) Listening and speaking:
- Pronunciation practice can develop listening comprehension skills:
+ Learn to pronounce correctly word stress, vowel reduction  recognize words
more accurately in native speakers’ utterances.

- Improve listening can transfer to speaking.

d) Reading and writing:
- Reading aloud: draw Ss’s attention to pronunciation.
- Used in pre-reading: Ss use their metalinguistic knowledge to identify which words
or parts of speech carry most meaning.
- Writing: mechanical writing skills and discourse writing skills:
+ Mechanical writing: Ss read aloud their answer to compare with their partners.
+ Discourse writing: Brainstorming (Ss discuss in group to reach an agreement,
exchange ideas) - pre-writing stage.
 Part: Questions:

HANDBOOK 22
1) What are segmentals?
2) What are suprasegmentals?
Answer:
1-Segmentals are individual sounds
2- Suprasegmental: extending over more than an individual sound such as syllable
structure, stress, rhythm, intonation.

HANDBOOK 26
1) Why is it difficult to resolve pronunciation difficulties in the classroom?
Ans: There are 2 reasons:
Firstly, intelligible pronunciation is difficult to learn for most adults.
Secondly, intelligible pronunciation is difficult to teach due to a lack of teacher
preparation, limited availability of materials, and ineffective teaching.

2) Three challenges to integrating pronunciation...?

- The lack of teacher training in pronunciation.
- Pronunciation is rarely assessed systematically in proficiency placement tests.
- A late introduction of specific pronunciation instruction.

3) How can pronunciation be taught...?

- Ts can proactively select pronunciation targets around which to organize a lesson.
- Ts can systematically address pronunciation issues as they arise in students
‘authentic production while completing a task.

4) what areas ….?

there are 2 areas and 4 skills that pronunciation skills can be interconnected with:
- Language areas: vocabulary, grammar.
- Language skills: reading and writing, listening and speaking.

3) In general which should be given priority in pronunciation teaching: segmental

or suprasegmental?

4. What is the prosaic hierarchy? Why it is important?

The prosodic hierarchy provides a framework for the analysis of the way different

pronunciation features might combine or interact to influence a speaker’s intelligibility.

Within the context of the prosodic hierarchy, therefore, a particular word is seen to be
composed of the units at levels below it (foot, syllable, mora) and also embedded in

higher level units above (phonological phrase, intonational phrase, utterance)

Different languages have different prosodic constraints. Understanding what these

constraints are gives us important insight into why speaker’s L1 might have the non-

target-like English pronunciation features that they do, and thus provides important

information about how we might need to go about teaching them. Such an analysis

allows us to explore reduced intelligibility from the perspective of both the speaker and

the listener, and investigate how non-target-like features at different levels might

combine or interact to influence intelligibity.