English

Phonetics (A)

Lecturer:
Marisol Hernández
 TABLE OF
CONTENTS 01
Getting started

02
Vowels

03
Consonants

04
Rhythm & Weak forms

05
Practice
GETTING
STARTED
 Click here to
download
A2 to A8 tracks
Click here to download the tracks
Listen to each phoneme
here and practise
PRONUNCIATION
DICTIONARY
The suggested pronunciation dictionaries can be
found listed on the syllabus. You can download the
Longman Pronunciation Dictionary here. It'll run
offline.

1. Open it and explore every tab. What type of

information or activities can you find in each?
2. Go to "Self study lab" tab.
3. Work on "Reading IPA" exercises.
4. Then complete "Sound recognition" exercises.
5. You can complete as many exercises as you can
or need. You can always go back to these
resources to practise.
6. You must use this dictionary on a daily basis. You
must listen to the pronunciation of the chosen
word and write down its transcription.
7. There are other online resources which will help
you improve your pronunciation. Some are listed
below. Which is your favourite?
 1. Pronunciation workshop by BBC

2. Online converter of English text to IPA

transcription

3. Pronunciation tips by Marisol Hernández

4. Type in IPA symbols

5. Pronunciation skills by Adrian Underhill

6. John Wells's phonetic blog

7. Accents and dialects

8. Paul Meier's Dialect Services

9. Luke Nicholson's YouTube channel

10. Luke Nicholson's Instagram account

11. Geoff Lindsey's YouTube channel

12. YouGLish
KEY
THEORY

Read the following pages carefully. Highlight the

main ideas and make notes. Check the pronunciation
of new words in the pronunciation dictionary and
write down their transcription.

Jot down your queries and ask them in class.

Source:Practical English Phonetics and Phonology
Source: The Sounds of Language - An introduction to Phonetics
VOWELS
 Check these materials:

John Wells's phonetic blog

Luke's post on MAYOR
Luke's post on CHOIR
Luke's post on OUR
THEORY

Read and complete the exercises from Chapter 1:

Vowels and pages 69-71 from Transcribing the sound
of English. Highlight the main ideas and make notes.
Check the pronunciation of new words in the
pronunciation dictionary and write down their
transcription.

Jot down your queries and ask them in class.

THEORY & PRACTICE

In order to practise the English vowels in depth,

complete units 2 to 10 from the book English
Pronunciation in Use - Elementary. Check your
answers once you've finished every unit. If you have
questions, you should ask them in class.
CONSONANTS
Added -d/-ed

-Regular verbs in the past and past participle

-Most adjectives*
THEORY

Read and complete the exercises from Chapter 2:

Consonants and pages 60-66 from Transcribing the
sound of English. Highlight the main ideas and make
notes. Check the pronunciation of new words in the
pronunciation dictionary and write down their
transcription.

Jot down your queries and ask them in class.

THEORY & PRACTICE

In order to practise the English consonants in depth,

complete units 13 to 27, and 42-43 from the book
English Pronunciation in Use - Elementary. Check
your answers once you've finished every unit. If you
have questions, you should ask them in class.
RHYTHM
&
WEAK
FORMS
Watch the following videos and take
down detailed notes. Discuss them in
class.

1. Revealing how THE PINK PANTHER

teaches English rhythm! by Geoff
Lindsey.
2. Weak forms: Why you don't sound
like a native...? by Geoff Lindsey
THEORY

Read and complete the exercises from Chapter 7:

Rhythm from Transcribing the sound of English.
Highlight the main ideas and make notes. Check the
pronunciation of new words in the pronunciation
dictionary and write down their transcription.

Jot down your queries and ask them in class.

 PRACTICE
Listen to the following sentences and fill in the gaps with one or more words.
Then write them in phonemic script. Discuss your answers in class.
THEORY & PRACTICE

In order to practise the English rhythm and weak

forms in depth, complete units 36 to 41 from the
book English Pronunciation in Use - Elementary.
Check your answers once you've finished every unit.
If you have questions, you should ask them in class.
PRACTICE
Click here
 Monologues
from
The Importance of Being Earnest

Over tea with Cecily, Gwendolyn dicovers that they are

both enganged toErnest.

GWENDOLYN
Well, to speak with perfect candour, Cecily, I wish that
you were fully forty-two, and more than usually plain
for your age. Ernest has a strong upright nature. He is
the soul of truth and honour. Disloyalty would be as
impossible to him as deception. But even men of the
noblest possible moral character are extremely
susceptible to the influence of the physical charms of
others. Modern, no less than Ancient History, supplies
us with many most painful examples of what I refer to.
If it were not so, indeed, History would be quite
unreadable.
Click here to listen to the monologue
Algernon, in conversation with Jack, reveals the
existence of an imaginary invalid friend, as useful as
Jack's fictional brother, Ernest.

ALGERNON
You have invented a very useful younger brother called
Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town
as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable
permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be
able to go down into the country whenever I choose.
Bunbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn't for Bunbury's
extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn't be able
to dine with you at Willis's to-night, for I have been really
engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.

Click here to listen to the monologue

Listening activities
CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
Key
 Transcription practice
Write the following passages in phonemic script:

PASSAGE 1

I live with my parents and my brother. My sister, who is nearly

twenty-seven, left home a month ago. This means I don’t have to
share my bedroom anymore.
Our mother cooks and irons for us- she shouldn’t do this but she
enjoys it! She also works. We’re all a bit spoiled, I suppose.
I want to study medicine at university because I want to become a
doctor. I have to get very high marks to get a place on that course
at a public university. You can get into a private one with lower
marks but my family can’t afford that- especially as there are three
of us. I’d like to travel, but I think I’ll always live in Spain. I’d love to
get married and have children too. People here don’t have so many
children now because of the cost, and everybody wants an easy,
comfortable life.

PASSAGE 2
I really hate doing nothing so I get up early on Saturdays and start
the day by checking my emails. I really like meeting friends and
having breakfast in a café, so I catch a bus into town at about 9 a.m.
After that, my friends and I sometimes go to an art gallery. I’m quite
keen on most kinds of art so I don’t mind which gallery we visit but
my mates hate modern art. I do different activities on Saturday
evenings. Sometimes, I eat out or just stay in and watch TV, which is
a bit boring though. For instance, last weekend I just wasn’t able to
make up my mind. I was invited to a hen party, you know, my best
friend’s wedding is in two weeks time. Guess what? Eventually, I
didn’t turn up. I believe that, in fact, I’m too shy and I prefer art to
anything else.
PASSAGE 3
John sat by the open door; his broken foot rested on a short piece of
wood. His brother Charles tried to creep past without waking him,
but Charles's shoes had very slippery soles and his laces were
undone. He slipped over, knocked the wood and woke up poor John.
Both men were on the floor when Jill came in laughing loudly. She
said she thought there had been some kind of accident. Now it was
Charles who would have to spend the day resting on the sofa.

Key
FIN AL
EXA M Videos
You must watch the following videos, take down detailed
notes, check the pronunciation of key words and prepare
oral presentations. In order to practise, you can record
your presentation, listen to it and spot mistakes.

1. Will English always be the global language?

2. World Englishes
3. The effect of new technologies on English
4. How language shapes the way we think
5. The linguist genius of babies
6. The danger of a single story
7. How a language reveals our thoughts on equality

Podcasts
You must listen to the following podcasts, take down
detailed notes, check the pronunciation of key words and
prepare oral presentations. In order to practise, you can
record your presentation, listen to it and spot mistakes.

1. Schwa, the most versatile English vowel

2. Emoji are gesture because Internet
3. Tea and sckyscrapers - When words get borrowed
across languages
4. Why swearing is more complicated than you think
Adichie, C. (2009) The Danger of a Single Story (TED Talk). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=G2XBIkHW954

BBB Learning English. Pronunciation. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/pronunciation

Boroditsky, L. (2018) How language shapes the way we think (TED Talk). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k

Collins, Mees & Carley. (2019) Practical English Phonetics and Phonology. Fourth Edition. New York: Routledge

Crystal, D. (2013) Will English always be a global language? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5Kvs8SxN8mc

Crystal, D. (2013) World Englishes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_q9b9YqGRY

Crystal, D. (2013) The effect of new technologies on English. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=qVqcoB798Is

Hewings, M. (2007) English Pronunciation in Use-Advanced. UK: Cambridge University Press

Kuhl, P. (2011) The linguistic genius of babies (TED Talk). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=G2XBIkHW954

Lingthusiasm (n.d) Episode 34: Emoji are Gesture Because Internet. Retrieved from
https://lingthusiasm.com/post/186386270916/lingthusiasm-episode-34-emoji-are-gesture-because

Lingthusiasm (n.d.) Episode 44: Schwa, the most versatile English vowel. Retrieved from
https://lingthusiasm.com/post/618776884082360320/lingthusiasm-episode-44-schwa-the-most-versatile

Lingthusiasm. (n.d.) Episode 68: Tea and skyscrapers - When words get borrowed across languages. Retrieved from
https://lingthusiasm.com/post/684727483493384192/episode-68-tea-and-skyscrapers-when-words-get

Marks, J. (2007) English Pronunciation in Use-Elementary. UK: Cambridge University Press

Meier, P. (n.d) The Standard British English Dialect. PAUL MEIER dialect service

Rogers, H. (2000) The Sound of Language - An Introduction to Phonetics. New York: Routledge

Tench, P. (2011) Transcribing the sound of English. New York: Cambridge University Press

The Guardian. (2021) Why swearing is more complicated than you think - podcast. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2021/sep/07/why-swearing-is-more-complicated-than-you-think-podcast

UCL (2021) Virtual Summer Course in English Phonetics Handbook.

Vaughan-Rees, M. (2002) Test your pronunciation. England: Pearson Elt

REFERENCES