Unit 2: Pronunciation
Pronunciation brings clarity to spoken language. Pronunciation is the precise articulation
of sounds, the lilting rhythms of intonation and the unique signature of geographical locations
and the people that inhabit them. Without clear pronunciation, a well meaning speaker of
English will be sorely misunderstood. They may very well have the correct word usage, the
correct sentence structure and correct moment to interject their thought but if they cannot
clearly and correctly pronounce the phrase then their message will not be successfully received.
Here we find the importance and application of pronunciation - understandable spoken language.
Now the student doesn’t have to have perfect pronunciation in order to communicate however
they do need to be intelligible.
of sounds, the lilting rhythms of intonation and the unique signature of geographical locations
and the people that inhabit them. Without clear pronunciation, a well meaning speaker of
English will be sorely misunderstood. They may very well have the correct word usage, the
correct sentence structure and correct moment to interject their thought but if they cannot
clearly and correctly pronounce the phrase then their message will not be successfully received.
Here we find the importance and application of pronunciation - understandable spoken language.
Now the student doesn’t have to have perfect pronunciation in order to communicate however
they do need to be intelligible.
During this unit we discussed many different aspects of pronunciation and their effects on
spoken language, here are some of my take-a-ways from the unit:
spoken language, here are some of my take-a-ways from the unit:
Segmentals and Suprasegmentals: Segmentals are also called "phonemes." These are units
of sound that can be analyzed. The individual sounds of the consonants and vowels are
segmentals. Segmentals can be thought of as “segments of sounds”. Examples of segmentals
would be the sound the letter /l/ makes or the letter /r/. Suprasegmentals are speech techniques
that apply to multiple segments. Suprasegmentals are how you say what you say. Examples
of Suprasegmentals are stress, pitch, intonation, length, tone and tempo. Segmentals and
Suprasegementalas work together to produce a nuanced and dynamic unit of communication.
of sound that can be analyzed. The individual sounds of the consonants and vowels are
segmentals. Segmentals can be thought of as “segments of sounds”. Examples of segmentals
would be the sound the letter /l/ makes or the letter /r/. Suprasegmentals are speech techniques
that apply to multiple segments. Suprasegmentals are how you say what you say. Examples
of Suprasegmentals are stress, pitch, intonation, length, tone and tempo. Segmentals and
Suprasegementalas work together to produce a nuanced and dynamic unit of communication.
L1 Interference: A student’s first language influences how they learn English. Differences in
alphabet, grammer, verb tenses, punctuation, vocabulary, phonology, etc all contribute to the
difficulties an English student might experience. For instance an Japanese student may have
trouble hearing the difference between an /l/ and /r/ sounds simply because those sounds
don’t exist in Japanese. English has about three times as many vowel sounds as Arabic. It will
be difficult for Arabic speakers to hear and say words such as ship/sheep or bad/bed. Each
language group has some trademark difficulties that are common between students. See this
website to learn about language differences: http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/
alphabet, grammer, verb tenses, punctuation, vocabulary, phonology, etc all contribute to the
difficulties an English student might experience. For instance an Japanese student may have
trouble hearing the difference between an /l/ and /r/ sounds simply because those sounds
don’t exist in Japanese. English has about three times as many vowel sounds as Arabic. It will
be difficult for Arabic speakers to hear and say words such as ship/sheep or bad/bed. Each
language group has some trademark difficulties that are common between students. See this
website to learn about language differences: http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/
My biggest takeaways for this unit were:
-”The key to successful pronunciation teaching is not necessarily to have them produce all the
correct sounds but rather to have them listen and notice how English is spoken...the more
aware they are, the greater chance their own intelligibility levels will rise. “ (Harmer, 2001)
correct sounds but rather to have them listen and notice how English is spoken...the more
aware they are, the greater chance their own intelligibility levels will rise. “ (Harmer, 2001)
-I asked one of the higher level students what the most helpful thing was in terms of English
pronunciation learning. She said that learning how to actually move your mouth, lips and
tongue to make the different sounds and words was the most helpful for her.
pronunciation learning. She said that learning how to actually move your mouth, lips and
tongue to make the different sounds and words was the most helpful for her.
- I asked my Twitter PLN the following question: @Julie_TESL “EAL Teachers: What are your
experiences with teaching pronunciation in the EAL classroom? Any go-to strategies/activities?”.
These were some of my takeaways from the responses: listening exercises to increase
pronunciation awareness, peer feedback, importance of suprasegmentals, high-variability
phonetic training, practicing stress patterns using authentic sources
experiences with teaching pronunciation in the EAL classroom? Any go-to strategies/activities?”.
These were some of my takeaways from the responses: listening exercises to increase
pronunciation awareness, peer feedback, importance of suprasegmentals, high-variability
phonetic training, practicing stress patterns using authentic sources
References:
ESL. (2017). The differences between English and Arabic. Retrieved from
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/arabic.htm
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/arabic.htm
Francisco, A. [Illustration of 2 girls speaking] (2018). Retrieved from:
https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-pronunciation/
https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-pronunciation/
Harmer, J. (2001). Chapter 13: Teaching Pronunciation. In Harmer, J. (Ed.). The practice of English
language teaching (pp. 34-51).
language teaching (pp. 34-51).
Hsu, G. [Illustration of people and the phonetic alphabet] ( 2018). Retreived from
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-to-improve-your-accent-with-these-5-simple-tricks
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-to-improve-your-accent-with-these-5-simple-tricks
Ko, K. [Illustration of people in front of map] (2019). Retrieved from
https://thebolditalic.com/who-changed-the-pronunciation-of-california-cities-505d1ef369b0
https://thebolditalic.com/who-changed-the-pronunciation-of-california-cities-505d1ef369b0
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Assignment #3: Pronunciation Analysis and Activities
Unit 2: Pronunciation Activity Design for Forums
Unit 2: L1 Interference - Arabic to English - for Forums
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