Section 3: Language - Phonology

A)   Sounds and phonemic script 

     1. Recognising sounds
     2. Phonemic script
     3. The schwa
     4. Reading phonemic script
     5. Minimal pairs
TKT Examination practice task: Phonology – sounds
B)  Word Stress 
     1. Stress in single words
     2. Stress in compound words
     3. Word stress in nouns, verbs and adjectives
     4. Word stress in longer words and word families
TKT Examination  practice task: Phonology – word stress
 C)  Sentence Stress 
     1. General features of sentence stress  
     2. Other points about sentence stress
        a) Main stress   
        b) Contrastive stress
 D)  Connected Speech 
     1. Sentence stress, rhythm and weak forms
     2. Stressed or unstressed? 
     3. Teaching applications of weak forms
     4. Other features of connected speech
         a) Sounds linking
         b) Sounds disappearing (elision)
         c) Sounds changing (assimilation)
         d) Extra sounds added (intrusion) 
E)   Intonation
      1. General
      2. Basic intonation patterns

1.  Recognising sounds

Which of the four items in each list is the ‘odd man out’? The 'odd man out' has a different vowel
sound to the other words in the group.

1
 
 2
 

3
 

4
 

5
 

This task shows, as you probably already knew, that sounds in English do not always match the
spelling.
 
For example, great and meat both have the same letters eat but sound different: /greɪt / and
/miːt/. Conversely, meat and sweet sound the same but have different letters.

Each of the following words contain the sound /f/.

   safe        flower      enough    telephone  
 
All these words contain the sound /ɪə/.
   here       dear       really      clear      beard
 
What sounds do the words in each group below share? Slide the mouse over text to reveal the
answers.
(Refer to a dictionary to help you if you like.  This is a very useful way to get to know the phonemic
symbols if you are not familiar with them already).

1
. space raid late weight

2
. jump fridge ajar pledge

3
. out owl drought noun

4
. singer flung wrong drinking

5
. score door sport board

2.  Phonemic script

If we want to represent sounds on paper we can use a phonemic script, as was used in the
answer key to the last task. These symbols will probably seem very strange the first time you see
them. Similarly, your students may feel somewhat daunted at first, but once the symbols become
familiar, they really are a useful tool in teaching as well as learning English pronunciation. The
symbols are based on the International Phonetic Alphabet, and each symbol represents a single
phoneme.
A phoneme is the smallest sound that can change meaning in a language (ie. not the smallest
sound that it is possible to make). A phonemic symbol shows one phoneme or sound.
The phonemic chart shows all the phonemes of English arranged according to where they are
formed in the mouth (it may help to refer to a larger version of the chart for the rest of this module.
You can access an online version by performing a search using 'online interactive phonemic chart'). 

The chart is divided into 3 sections.

single vowels diphthongs

consonants
How would you define a diphthong?
In Sound Foundations (Macmillan 1998), Adrian Underhill says “Diphthongs are the result of a glide
from one vowel to another within a single syllable.” (A “glide” is a smooth movement.)
Therefore, diphthongs are made up of two sounds but count as one syllable and one phoneme.
As we have seen, sounds sometimes come from a combination of letters. For example, wash has
four letters but only three sounds: /w/ + /ɒ/ + /ʃ/. Comfortable has eleven letters but only eight sounds
/'kʌmftəbl/. In other words, the number of letters is not the same as the number of phonemes.
Sometimes the number of sounds can be greater than the number of letters. For example, in the
word exit, there are 4 letters but 5 sounds /eksit/. Consider the word sing. The final sound of the
word is a combination of the letters n and g. This combination of n and g has its own phoneme (or
sound representation). The word sing is written phonetically as /si?/ and therefore has only 3
phonemes.
3.  The schwa
The most common sound in English is the phoneme known as the schwa and shown with
the phonemic symbol /ә/. The sound can be represented in spelling by many different letters or
combinations of letters. The sound is very small and is never stressed. 
Take the word delicate, for example.  We don’t pronounce the last syllable with an /eɪ/, as in Kate.
Instead it is a much shorter, more neutral sound, /ә/.   
The underlined letter combinations are all produced as a schwa sound:
mother doctor departure station revision

famous delicious hospital mountain statement

ago cigarette polite collect persuade

generous certificate      

 
Because it is such a small sound, many students have difficulty in hearing it and in saying it (it is
similar to, but not exactly, a shorter version of the /ɜː/ in hurt). It is very important that students learn
the sound, not only if they want to have a natural-sounding accent, but also so that they can
understand native speakers better. Consider how English speakers pronounce the word can when it
is part of a sentence. When the word is part of a sentence, it tends to be pronounced rather like kn.
Say this relatively fast: I can swim. You should notice that you pronounce the word swim more than
the word can. This is because the word can is not stressed in this normal reading. If, however, you
are being told that you are not able to swim but in fact you can, you would then say something
like, But I can swim. In this case you would pronounce the word can with the full vowel sound (not
the schwa). The use of the schwa in spoken English is extremely common and is not a case of
speakers being lazy. It is in fact, a very natural feature of English pronunciation. 

4. Reading phonemic script

Being able to read and write the phonemic script is a very useful skill for a teacher. It is important,
also, to consider differences between BrE (British English) and AmE (American English) here as
the pronunciation of the letter r can vary. For example, in BrE the r is not pronounced at the end of
a word, which means that 'clear' would be written phonetically as   /klɪə/, although some
dictionaries include the r in parenthesis resulting in /klɪə(r)/ or /klɪəʳ/. 

1 Which of these do you have on your head?  

2 Which of these can you drink?  

 3 Which of these is an animal?  

4 Which of these does a child have?  

5 Which of these does a man wear round his neck?  

6 Which of these do you have on your foot?  

7 Which one of these is not a question word?  

8 Which of these is an adjective?

5. Minimal pairs
The words in the above task on reading phonemic script are all examples of minimal pairs, that
is, words in which only one phoneme is different but which have different meanings.  For
example, head and had are a minimal pair because the /h/ and /d/ are the same in both, but by
changing one sound, the /e/ (head), to another, the /æ/ (had), you end up with another word
(which has a different meaning).
 
The different phoneme can be at the beginning of the word as in sherry/cherry, in the middle as
in pin/pen or at the end as in mouth/mouse.
 
Sometimes students make mistakes with pronunciation which means they say the wrong one of a
minimal pair. What do you think these students wanted to say? Identify the error and choose the
minimal pair.

1 I came to England on a sheep.  

2 I want to play football but I haven't got a bowl.  

3 I go to church to play.  

4 I can pronounce the consonants but the bowels are very  

difficult.

5 What do you do at the weekends? Wash TV.  

Review, Reflection and Test - Sounds

 For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms:
 vowel sound
 consonant sound
 diphthong
 phoneme
 phonemic symbol
 phonemic script
 phonemic chart
 minimal pair
 the schwa
Reflection
1. Do your students know the phonemic script (most learners of English in China, for example,
do)?
2. If so, how do you use it in class?
1. Which of the following ideas do you already do?
2. Are there any that you would like to try?
 Actively encourage recording of the phonemic script in students’ notebooks
 Write phonemic script for the whole word on the board next to lexis with tricky
pronunciation (eg. an island n [C]/'aɪ.lənd/)
 Highlight difficult sounds with a phonemic symbol (eg. pathology written with /ә/ above the
‘a’ and the second ‘o’ to indicate the two schwas).
 As vocabulary revision students match the word to the phonemic transcription.
 Or students choose and write 5 recently learned words in phonemic script on a piece of
paper, then show them to a partner who has to read, check the script, and give the meaning of the words.
 Students do a crossword in which the clues are a phonemic transcription.
3. If not, have you considered teaching them?
You don’t necessarily need to teach them all of the symbols, but you could, over the course of
several lessons, introduce the schwa and a few other key symbols that represent sounds they find
particularly difficult.
4. How often do you do specific work on sounds (as opposed to dealing with pronunciation
purely when drilling new lexis)?

B)  Word Stress

1.  Stress in single words
In English, some syllables in a word are pronounced more strongly than other syllables.  For
example, in these words the syllables in bold are easier to hear:
important       station      believe.
These syllables are called stressed syllables. We pronounce the other syllables with less energy,
especially the unstressed or weak syllables, which are often reduced to a schwa (/ә/).
The ‘rules’ for word stress in English are quite complex and many teachers feel it is therefore better
for students to learn the stress as they learn the word, just as native speakers do. It is very important
for teachers to highlight word stress for students when drilling the word and to show the stress on
the board so that students can copy it for later reference.
One way to show the word stress is to use stress bubbles.
eg.  important  =  oOo
station   =   Oo
believe =  oO
Alternatively, many teachers mark the word stress with a dot over the vowel of the stressed
syllable and marking the schwa on the weak syllables (ideally using a different colour, for example
using a black marker for the word and a red marker for the stress). Their board work would then look
like this:

      ● ə
  important (adj)        
      ●  ə
  the station (n [C])
      ə ●
  to believe (v [t/i])

2.  Stress in compound words

So far we have looked at individual words. What happens to the word stress if two words occur
together to make a compound noun? Examples of compound nouns are bus stop,
penknife and washing powder.
Look at the pictures of objects below. What are their names in English? Where is the word stress?
There is something different about the word stress in the ones on the left and the ones on the right.
What is it?

A)                            B) 

C)             D)   

 
E )       F)  
Answers
           ●          ●                                   ●             ●   
A) = a mobile phone                 B) = a vacuum cleaner
C) = a green bag                  D) = a  tin opener
E) = an electric kettle                F) = a washing  machine
Two common rules for the stress patterns of compound nouns are:
1)    adjective + noun  =  equal stress       
                                              ●          ●
                                      e.g. a mobile phone 
2)  noun/gerund + noun  = stress the first noun/gerund 
                                                    ●
                                          e.g. a tin opener

Now decide whether the following compounds have  a) equal stress because they function as 
adjective + noun or b) stress on the first word because they function as noun + noun.

    equal stress stress on the first word

1 
. answering machine

2 
. CD player

3 
. central heating

4 
. computer game

5 
. dishwasher

6 
. electric razor

7 
. headphones
 8 
. video recorder

3.  Word stress in nouns, verbs and adjectives

Read the two following sentences :
1. Tapes replaced records and now CDs have replaced tapes.
2. One student always records new vocabulary to help him remember it.
In the first sentence record is a noun, and it is stressed on the first syllable.  In the second sentence
record is a verb, and it is stressed on the second syllable.
Do you notice the same change when you use these words as nouns first and then as verbs?
insult    transport    produce    reject    protest    present
Note that not all words which can be a noun and a verb change the stress: for
example, control and mistake always have the stress on the second syllable regardless of whether
they are nouns or a verbs.  There are also some slight regional variations.  
You will probably know that in a phrasal verb the word stress is on the particle, not the verb.
However, when the phrasal verb has an associated noun, the same rule of changing stress applies.
Compare these sentences:
     ●  Guests in a hotel have to check in on arrival.
     ●  Check-in time at the airport is normally two or three hours before the flight.
In the first sentence the stress is on the word 'in' while in the second sentence the stress is on the
word 'check'.
(You will also see that the noun from the phrasal verb is usually written with a hyphen or as one
word.)

4. Word stress in longer words and word families

Certain word endings usually have regular stress patterns, for example,
Rule: words ending in –ion –id –ish   and –ic have the stress on the second-last syllable.
         o   O  o           o  O o             o   O    o             o o  o O o
        occasion           insipid            accomplish            characteristic
However, there are enough exceptions that students may be better advised to learn each word with
its stress and drill it till it sounds right (which is the way native speakers ‘pick it up’) rather than
learning lists of word endings and ‘rules’ which are not always true.
Similarly, it can be helpful for students to learn and drill the stress for individual words as part of a
group when learning ‘word families’.  Compare the following two word families.
Word family 1:     invention (n)          inventor (n.person)              inventive (adj.)
Word family 2:    photograph (n)       photographer (n.person)        photographic(adj.)
In Word family 1 the stress remains on the same syllable ‘ven’ for all three words.
In Word family 2 the stress moves from the first syllable ‘pho’  in photograph to the second syllable
‘tog’ in photographer and to the third syllable ‘gra’ in photographic.
With our examples above, we could show the stress in the word family by using stress bubbles. A
large bubble shows the main stress.
In the example box below we can see how the noun photograph corresponds to the stress pattern
marked noun: Ooo. Similarly, the person photographer corresponds to the stress pattern
marked person: oOoo and the adjective photographical corresponds to the stress pattern
marked adjective:ooOoo.

    noun     person    adjective     noun     person adjective

    photographer   photographical    O o o  oOoo  o o O o o

photograph

 
In the grid below the stress patterns are not opposite the right word families.
Match the word families 1 – 6 to the correct stress patterns A – F:
 

                                           
                    Word families                      Stress patterns

      noun     person    adjective       noun     person    adjective

 1 psychology psychologis psychological A    O o o     o o O o    o O o o

t

 2 politics politician political B    O o o     o O o o    o O o o

 3 electricity electrician electrical C    o O o o     O o o    o o O o

 4 competition competitor competitive D    o O o o     o O o o  ooOoo

 5 history historian historical E    o o O o     o O o o    o O o o

6 democracy democrat democratic F     o o O o o     o o O o    o O o o

 
For these reasons it is very important to write word stress on new words on the board and ensure
that learners copy the stress into their notebooks. We should also be careful to drill so that students
learn to stress which sounds right. It is difficult to make effective use of “rules” when there are so
many exceptions!
Review, Reflection and Test - Word Stress
For the TKT Test it is important that you know: stressed syllable, unstressed syllable,
weak syllable.
Reflection
1. Next time you are drilling the pronunciation of a word, help students with the word 
    stress by
 getting them to hum the stress e.g. important = mmMMmm
 getting them to punch the air on the stressed syllable, or jump up, or hit the desk
 hold up your thumb and two fingers, then wiggle the second one in (finger highlighting)   
 write stress bubbles above or next to the word eg. important    o   O  o

C)    Sentence Stress
1. General features of sentence stress
When we look at full sentences we find that not all words are pronounced equally strongly in English.
We say different parts of a sentence with more or less stress (ie. more slowly and loudly, or more
quickly and more softly). This feature of English is called sentence stress.
What kind of words are stressed if a sentence is said in a normal reading? (A normal reading is
when the speaker is not angry or surprised or using a special emphasis.)
Below is a little girl whose name is Jennifer telling her mother what she did at school today. Which
words in her sentences do you think would be stressed?  Read it aloud.

                 The words that would be stressed are:

The content words (nouns, main verbs, negative auxiliaries, adjectives and adverbs) are most

likely stressed and the ‘grammatical’ words (articles, prepositions, quantifiers, conjunctions and
auxiliary verbs ) are most likely weak or unstressed.
More work on sentence stress
As with word stress, we can show sentence stress using stress bubbles:
o      O        o     o     O
I  played  in  the sand
Here are some more examples of sentence stress patterns but in groups. The stress bubbles show
the stressed and weak syllable throughout each sentence in the group.
1.      o    O     o                             2.       o     O       o       O    o   
        I  found  it.                                   He bought some flowers.
       He’s finished.                                 The children broke it.
       They’re leaving.                             They watched a programme.
       You told me.                                   I went to London.
The examples show that word stress is still important as the sentence stress is separate from
both the weak syllables in the word and the weak forms (of pronouns, articles, determiners, etc.)
in the sentence.
This can more clearly be seen if we break out the syllables as in the following table :

o O o

      I found it

He’s fin ished

They’re leav ing

You told me

All the sentences in the group have the same number of syllables and the same stress pattern.
2. Other points about sentence stress
a)  Main stress
In addition, one word in the sentence has the main stress. This is the word which the
speaker thinks is the most important to the meaning of the sentence, for example:

                                                          O
                              Have you got a pen? 

                                                                  O 
                             I can’t understand a word he says.
 
In these sentences pen and word are pronounced more strongly than the other
stressed content words in the sentences.  In a normal reading, the main stress is often
on the last content word in the sentence (but this can change depending on what the
speaker thinks is most important, especially if the speaker wants to emphasise
something, which we will look at in a moment).
b) Contrastive stress
However, we can choose to stress any word to make a point or to correct an error.  For example:
 I bought some  wine   means not a lot of wine. 
 I bought some wine   means not beer.
 I  bought some wine  not someone else.
 
This is sometimes called contrastive stress.
 
What meaning does stressing the underlined words in the following sentences give?
Match a sentence to a meaning as in the example. 
 
He gave me a bunch of red roses.  ( =  not she)
D) Connected Speech
1. Sentence stress, rhythm and weak forms
As we saw in the previous section on sentence stress, not all words are pronounced equally
strongly in English and content words can be heard more clearly than grammatical words. 
This sentence stress gives English a characteristic rhythm, that is, the stressed syllables form
a pattern. 
Read aloud the beginning of the nursery rhyme (a short poem for children) below and tap on the
stressed syllables and you should find that you get a very regular beat.
  O o      O     o    O o     O 
Mary  had  a  little  lamb     
o       O           o         O      o        O      
Its  fleece  was  white  as  snow
Normal speech does not have rhythms which are as strong as this, but similar kinds of rhythms are
characteristic of English, and English-speaking children are brought up in a way that draws attention
to those rhythms.
Now look at the unstressed words in the nursery rhyme. Most of them contain the schwa:
Line 1  -   a   =    /ә/
Line 2  -   was  =   /wəz/       as  =  /әz/
(The sound /ɪ/ is also weak or unstressed so that does not need to change in Its in line 2). 
These weak or unstressed forms allow native speakers to say the little words quickly enough to
maintain the rhythm.  However, these weak forms are very difficult for students, especially
beginners. When they learn a word, they expect it to always sound the same. For example, when
they learn ‘and’ they expect it to always sound like /ænd/, whereas in fact it more often sounds like
/ənd/. Similarly, they expect ‘was’ to sound like /wɒz/ but it frequently sounds like /wəz/.  Students
need help with these aspects of pronunciation.
2. Stressed or unstressed?
Look at the underlined words in the following story about a difficult journey.  The underlined weak
forms are prepositions, articles and auxiliary verbs. Some of the auxiliary verbs are modal
auxiliaries (should, would).
"Well, first of all I decided to drive but the car refused to start so I went to get the bus but while
I was waiting at the bus stop it started to rain. I didn’t have an umbrella so I ran to the station
but the train was delayed. I should know by now that the train is always late when it is raining.
It would have been quicker to walk!"

These words are in their weak forms because they do not carry any stress in this context. They
are not information words here.
However, any word can be stressed if it is necessary to correct an error or emphasise or contrast
information in some way. Compare the following examples of weak and strong forms:
 I was waiting at the bus stop.   was = /wəz/
     Waiting? Yes, I was.   was = /wɒz/
 I ran to the station.   to = /tə/
     I ran to the station but John ran away from it!   to = /tuː/
 I should know by now. should = /ʃəd/
     He should know the time but he may have forgotten. should = /ʃʊd/
Prepositions are also stressed if they are at the end of a sentence:
 I was waiting at the bus stop.  at  = /ət/
     What are you looking at?  at = /æt/
 I ran to the station. to = /tə/
     Who did you give it to? to = /tuː/
3. Teaching applications of weak forms
We have seen that some words have a different pronunciation depending on whether they
are strong or weak in the sentence. It is therefore very important for students to both recognise
and produce weak forms when they occur in any language that we are teaching. If students do not
use weak forms they will still be understood but there can be some misinterpretation if it sounds like
they are correcting, contrasting, or emphasising something when they are not.
How can teachers help students to recognise weak forms? Here are some ideas:
 students mark weak forms on a tapescript while listening to a recording
 give students a tapescript with all the weak forms taken out and students fill in the gaps
 students say how many words they can hear in a sentence (N.B. contractions should count
as one)
And teachers can help students to produce weak forms by:
 drawing students’ attention to the weak forms when drilling.
 listening carefully when drilling and insisting that students always use weak forms
 always using weak forms themselves and in particular not slowing down for low levels so
that weak forms are lost
 4. Other features of connected speech
  Read aloud the dialogue below at quick, natural speed.                                                

 Paul:       Hello, this is Paul.  Can I speak to David please?

 Mark:      I'm afraid he's just ducked out.  Can he ring you back in a couple of minutes?
 Paul:       Yes, that's all right, but I'll be in a meeting for about two hours.  Could he phone
me back then?
 Mark:      I have a feeling he's out of the office all afternoon, actually.  I can - oh, hang on,
he's just walked in - I'll put him on okay….
 Now look at the letters in bold at the beginnings and ends of words and try saying them the
same way you did when you read it aloud, and answer these questions:
 a.  Which sounds link on to the next word?
 b.  Which sounds disappear?
 c.  Which sounds change so that the words link together more easily?
 d.  Which sounds have an extra sound between them to help them to link together?
 Did you find any of the following?
 a)  Sounds linking
 When a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word starting with a vowel, the
consonant and vowel join together.   
 Line 1:   this  is Paul          "this is" sounds like one word /ðɪsəs/
              can  I                      "can I" sounds like one word /kənaɪ/
 Line 2:   ducked out         "ed out" sounds like a separate word from "duck" /daʊt/
 Line 3:   that’s all              "'s all" sounds like one word /sɔːl/
 How many more examples of this kind of linking can you find?
b) Sounds disappearing
When a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word starting with another consonant, we
often drop the consonant on the first word (this is especially true of /t/ and /d/).   
Line 2:   just  ducked              The /t/ is not pronounced (because it is difficult to say /td/).
Line 2:   couple of minutes     The /v/ in 'of' is often not pronounced.
Line 3:   about  two                 The /t/ is not pronounced (because it is difficult to say /tt/).
Can you find any more examples?
c)  Sounds changing
Another kind of linking that happens when a consonant is followed by a another  consonant, is
that one, or both, sounds change. This is a result of a change in the mouth or tongue position and
can result in one sound becoming more like the other or a completely different sound.
Line 1:   David please        The /d/ almost becomes /b/ (because of the lips closing to get              
                                 ready for the /p/).
Line 3:   phone me             The /n/ becomes an /m/ (for the same reason).
Line 4:   put him                 The /t/ can becomes like a /d/ (note that we often drop the/h/ 
                                when we do this, so it sounds like /pʊdɪm/).
Can you find any more examples?
d)  Extra sounds added
When two vowels occur next to each other, we often link them with one of three sounds, /r/, /w/,
or /j/. Again, this occurs because it is difficult to put two vowels together. It is interesting to note, that
the consonants we use to link the vowels usually have a quality that sounds very similar to the
preceding vowel sound.
Line 3:   be in           /iː/ and /ɪ/ are linked with a /j/ (used after /iː/, /ɪ/, /eɪ/, /aɪ/ etc.)
Line 3:   for about    /ɔː/ and /ə/ are linked with a /r/ (used after /ɔː/, /ɜː/, /eə/, /ɪə/ etc.)
Line 3:   two hours  /uː/ and /aʊ/ are linked with a /w/(used after /uː/, /ʊ/, /əʊ/, /aʊ/ etc.)
Note: Don't be mislead by spelling (UK speakers do not pronounce 'for' with an 'r' - consider words
like 'law' and 'Africa', that are also linked with an /r/ if followed by a vowel). Also remember that there
can be regional differences. In many parts of the US, for example, there is already an /r/ at the end
of 'for'. 
Review & Reflection - Sentence Stress & Connected Speech
For the TKT Test it is important that you know: sentence stress, weak form, main
stress, contrastive stress, contraction, and word linking.
Reflection
1.    What do you do in your class to help students with sentence stress?
For example, when drilling new language in sentences, do you ask students which are the strong
words, the important words? This really helps students to sound natural, even at very low levels.
2.    Try the “red roses” sentence from the section on Contrastive Stress with a class. 
Write the sentence on the board. Then prompt students by saying for example “Yellow roses?”  and
they reply “No, he bought me a bunch of red roses”. It is not difficult to think of other sentences
which work well with this technique eg.  “Mrs. Brown cycled to the bank on Friday”. 
 
3.    Next time you have a course book dialogue which also has a tape so students can read and
listen, get students to look at the dialogue and move their mouths along with the speaker as if they
were reading aloud but silently. (It is a kind of “miming” to the tape.) 
If they use correct sentence stress and  “say” the weak forms correctly they will finish with the
speaker; if not they will be behind.
Demonstrate yourself first. (Perhaps practise yourself first too!)
4.    Do you draw attention to features of connected speech or do you expect students to pick it up?
5.    Does your course book have specific exercises on weak forms and other features of connected
speech? How do your students find them? Difficult? Interesting? Useful?
E)  Intonation
1. General
Native speakers of English do not speak with their voices all on the same level. Their voices go up
and down, and these variations in pitch are called intonation. English uses quite a wide voice
range compared to many other languages so English speakers' voices go up and down quite a lot.
Intonation has a variety of very important roles in English, and it is usually very meaningful.  
 If a request is expressed using polite grammar and lexis but the intonation is rude, a native speaker will
always interpret it as rude.   Likewise, short and direct grammar or lexis is usually interpreted well if it is the
intonation is polite. 
 Native speakers also use intonation to indicate when they have finished speaking.  Incorrect use of
intonation can lead to a listener not responding because they think the speaker is going to continue speaking, or
to the listener taking over the conversation too early because they think the speaker has finished.
 Intonation can change a question into a statement, a statement into a question, and can change whether a
question tag is seeking complete clarification or confirmation to just to double-check something.
 Attitude is expressed through intonation. "Mary likes Beckham" could be a simple comment; it could be
expressing surprise, disbelief, disgust, admiration, etc; it could be to convince someone; etc. Intonation can help
speakers express their meaning more accurately.

For these reasons it is very important to integrate intonation into English teaching generally.

2. Basic intonation patterns
Intonation patterns are complex and a great deal could be said about them but here we will confine
ourselves to a few basic points that are essential for students to know.
a)  Statements
b)  Questions
c)  Q tags
d)  Being polite
e)  Being interested
f)  Being interesting
a) Statements
Statements almost always end with falling intonation.  The pitch can vary throughout the statement,
as long as it falls at the end. If the intonation of a statement rises, it will sound as if students are
asking a question.
b) Questions
There are two types of question and the intonation differs in each. Intonation generally rises at the
end of closed, or ‘yes/no’ questions, and falls at the end of open, or 'information' questions.
 Can/do/are/will/have you... ?  (rises)
 Where/what/who/when/how... ?  (falls)

 c) Tag Questions

Most textbooks teach that tag questions which expect agreement (e.g. When you’re sure already,
but are just double-checking, "It was $35 dollars, wasn't it?") or are making a comment and seeking
a response (e.g. They're a nice couple, aren't they?) will have falling intonation.
Tag questions that are really asking for information, or in which the person is very unsure, have
rising intonation (e.g. "People in New Zealand speak French, don’t they?"
d) Being polite
 This is a very important aspect of intonation, particularly for students who plan to visit the UK or the
US, as it can make a big difference in how helpful local people are.  Native speaker listeners often
perceive foreign learners as rude when this is not intended - it is merely that the learners do not
have the expected intonation.
Polite intonation is a higher pitch than normal and tends to rise even more at the end. Polite
intonation is an essential part of teaching functions, particularly requests, asking for permission
and asking for and giving advice.
Unfortunately, many learners perceive the higher intonation to sound unnatural or "silly" and may
resist using it. Also, there is much less motivation to work on polite intonation if the students are
learning outside an English-speaking environment.

e) Being interested
The listener has a role to play in responding to the speaker and maintaining the conversation.
Listeners show that they are paying attention by making responses such
as mmm or oh or really?  or using reply questions such as Did you? Was it? Has he?
However, if the listener does not use the expected intonation, rising intonation, the speaker will
interpret him as bored or uninterested. This is another aspect of intonation that some students
consider "silly" and is one that is easier to teach in an English-speaking environment where students
can more easily see its effects.
f) Being interesting
Any native speaker of English who has sat through a lecture, at University for example, delivered by
a speaker with little or no intonation will know that it is very difficult to keep awake at such a time!
This is because native speakers are so accustomed to the rise and fall of the voice throughout
speech and if it is not there, they tend to 'switch off'. It is therefore extremely important that students
learn to move their voices in a similar way if they want native speakers to listen to them.
Note: There is a modern theory that intonation is only important for learners if they expect to speak
with native speakers of English. Many students do expect to use English as a common language
with other non-native speakers, who, presumably, will not be as sensitive to, or even notice, the
intonation (or be able to use it themselves).
Each teacher will have to make their own decision about whether this applies to their learners, but as
English is becoming a global language and many learners probably do not know for sure where life
will take them it seems that the most beneficial option is to incorporate intonation into general
English teaching as much as possible, just in case.
Review, Reflection and Test - Intonation
For the TKT Test it is important that you know intonation, rise, fall and pitch.
Reflection
1. What kind of work did you do on intonation when you were learning English?
a. Did you study it?
b. Did your teacher help you with it?
2. How do you deal with intonation with your students?
a. Do you do specific exercises or integrate it into your teaching generally?
b. Do you highlight it when drilling pronunciation of new language?
3. Does your course book give good models of intonation?

Section 4: Language - Functions

a. What are functions in ELT? What are exponents?

Task : a) Exponents of advice
             b) Exponents other than advice
b. The importance of context
Examples of context
Meaning in context
c. Formality and appropriacy
Task : a) Formality in functions
          b) Appropriate exponents
d. Teaching functions
The organisation of content in course books
Specific functional units in course books
Students' needs
TKT Examination practice task: Functions

Section 4:  Language - Functions

Study the examples below of functions and exponents and then decide what a function is
and what an exponent is.

Functions Examples of exponents

Agreeing So do I.

I agree with you.

Yes, quite.

Introducing yourself Hi. I’m Emma.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr.

 King.

Asking for clarification Sorry, what do you mean?

I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow that.

Could you say that again, please?

Asking for permission Is it O.K. if I sit here?

 
Do you mind if I smoke?

Please can I borrow your dictionary?

Thanking someone Thanks.

Thank you very much.

That’s most kind.

A function is the communicative purpose we have for speaking, the reason why we say or

write something.
Functions are sometimes also called situational language because the situation
or context in which they are used is very important. In order to choose the right exponent, we
need to think about who the people are and their relationship to each other.
You can see from the table that we usually use the -ing form to name the function.
An exponent is the language we use to express the function. Sometimes the exponent is a
set phrase, for example, I don’t quite follow that or sometimes it is a sentence stem which could
have many different endings, for example:
                                 Do you mind if I…?
                                 Please can I…?
                                 If I were you, I would…
                                You should …
In these cases students need to know the grammatical pattern (the form) in order to complete the
sentences (e.g. they need to know that base form follows If I were you, I would… )  However, they
can, if the teacher wishes, learn If I were you, I would… as a set phrase without learning the
whole of the second conditional. Some coursebooks teach If I were you, I would… at quite a low
level.
 
Some functions have many exponents while others have very few. Suggesting, for example,
has at least :
  Why don’t we…
 Why not…
 What about…
 What if we…
 Let’s…
 Shall we…
 We could…
 What do you think about …
 I suggest…
 It would be fantastic if we…
 
 
Congratulating, on the other hand, really only has Congratulations! and Well done!
 
Here are some more functions. How many exponents can you think of for each?
 
disagreeing                         comparing            inviting                  giving directions
giving permission                criticising               complaining           wishing
refusing permission             apologising           giving opinions        offering
showing sympathy               speculating            predicting               greeting

 
Which three of 1- 6 below are functional exponents for giving advice?
 

    no yes

1 
Have you thought about calling him?
.

2 
I'm afraid I didn't call him.
.

3 
Shall I call him?
.

4 
Try calling him
.

5 
Would you mind calling him?
.
 6 
You could call him.
.

b) The importance of context

The situation, or context, the speakers are in is very important for understanding what the speaker
wants to say and for choosing the best exponent to use.
Complete the table with the missing items in the box to give examples of functions and
their exponents in context:

 A)  sister to brother                           B)   “What I mean is, this is wrong.”

C)  a boy looking in a shop window at a bicycle             D)  “Nice dress!”
 E) complaining        F) introducing               G)  a secretary in an
office     

context   functional Function

exponent

man to his 1. complimenting

wife             

2. “If only I had $200!” wishing

woman at a cash “This isn’t clean! I’d 3.

desk     like to speak to the
manager.”

teacher to student    4. clarifying

5. “You can’t.  You’re prohibiting     

not allowed!”           

businessperson at “I’m Peter James 6.

conference from Connex Air.
How do you do?”

7. writes “Thank you replying to email

for your email.  We
are...”
Answers
 You should have gotten:
1. D  “Nice dress!”
2. C  a boy looking in a shop window at a bicycle
3. E  complaining
4. B  “What I mean is, this is wrong.”
5. A  sister to brother
6. F  introducing
7. G  a secretary in an office
One exponent may mean different things depending on the context.  For example, look at the
example from the table above: “Nice dress” could mean:
 Is this a new dress? 
 That looks expensive!
 Hey, we’re both wearing the same dress!
 etc.
c) Formality and appropriacy
It is important to use language that is appropriate, that is, suitable for the person spoken to.
The level of formality or informality will change, depending on the relationships between
speakers and the situation they are in. For example, in which kind of situations do you think these
would be used? Who is speaking?  To whom?
 Hi. I’m Emma.
 Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. King.
The first one could be a student introducing herself to a new classmate. (The greeting and the
contraction are informal and the speaker expects the listener to address her as Emma.)
The second could be a doctor in a teaching hospital introducing himself to his new trainee doctors.
(The language is very formal and the speaker expects the listeners to address him as Dr. King.)
Both examples are appropriate for the speakers and the situation. It would
be inappropriate for Emma to say Allow me to introduce myself and for Dr. King to say Hi. I’m
Dr. King. Native speakers of English perceive inappropriate exponents as rude whether
they are too formal or too informal. 
Fortunately, English has quite a wide range of neutral exponents for each function and students
can feel they will be fairly safe if they use those (and just recognise the others).
 Note: Generally speaking, more formal language has more words in it and the
most formal language is found mainly in writing.
d) Teaching functions
Some more traditional course books organise language into units according to grammar so there
would be a unit, for example, on comparative and superlative adjectives.
Other course books organise language according to functions so there would be a unit about
comparing, which, in addition to comparative and superlative adjectives, might also contain used
to + base form to compare the past and the present and present perfect in its use to describe
changes.
In a context of “modern life”  you might find :
  House prices have risen.
 People used to be able to buy a house on one salary but now they can’t.
 People feel more  stressed nowadays.
 People are busier  nowadays.
As another example, if you wanted to find the unit on should have + past participle (e.g. You
should have bought a ticket), in a book organised according to grammar it would be under
“modals in the past”. In a book organised according to functions it would be under “criticising past
actions”, along with the third conditional and keeps doing (eg. If he had apologised, I wouldn’t
have been so angry and He would keep taking my things without asking).
Combining functions and grammar helps to give grammar a meaning for learners and shows
them the relationships between the meanings of different grammar points. Teaching grammar
functionally is particularly appropriate for higher levels (Intermediate and above).
No matter how the course book is organised generally, many of them have special functions
units to help students with the most common functions (often titled ‘everyday English’, ‘real-
life English’ or ‘practical English’).
If students are studying in an English-speaking country, they will need some functional
language immediately e.g. polite requests, asking for directions, asking for clarification. If they
are studying in their own country, they may still need some functions if they do business in
English. Otherwise, their need for functions may not be so urgent, unless they are planning to
visit an English-speaking country. Nevertheless, students may enjoy functions lessons as they
relate English to ‘real life’, rather than being an academic study to pass examinations.
Review, Reflection and Test - Functions
For the TKT Test it is important that you know the following terms:
 a function        
 an exponent
 appropriacy/(in)appropriate
 formality/formal     
 informality/informal
 context/a context
 Reflection
1.    Is your coursebook organised according to the grammatical structures or the functions? 
      (Or is it organised according to topics, tasks, skills work, or some combination of all these?)
       a) If it is not organised according to functions, does it have any specific lessons on functions?
2.    However your coursebook is organised, do you teach functional lessons to your classes?
       a) If not, and they are not included in your school syllabus, could you include the occasional
lesson on functions anyway?
       b) If you can include some, which functions might be useful for your students in the future
(e.g. asking for clarification    when you do not understand someone) and try a lesson on this with
your students. 
       c) Afterwards, think about what worked well.  Why?  What didn’t work so well?  How did
students react?  Was it a familiar type of lesson for them?  Did they think it was a useful lesson? 
Did you learn anything from the experience?  How could you improve in the future?
3.    Are functions ever included in the examinations your students have to take?