Pronunciation Tools For Fostering Intelligibility and Communication Success

Pronunciation Tools for Fostering Intelligibility and

Communication Success
Marnie Reed, Boston University

This workshop will guide us through the world of suprasegmental features of

pronunciation, look at some ways to help our students learn to hear and use
intonation & contrastive stress to provide them with access to a greater range
of English communication.
We will examine practical ways to integrate pronunciation into lessons within a

broader framework of current research and latest practices
Clarifying the Terms / Establishing our Goals
1. _____ accent a. rhythm, intonation (nuclear placement, pitch height,

nuclear accent mobility) stress, and syllable length (Gilbert,
1993; Celce-‐Murcia, 1987; Dalton & Seidlhofer, 1994)
2. _____ comprehensibility b. " the apprehension of the message in the sense intended
by the speaker" (Nelson, 1982)
3. _____ intelligibility c. the result of a combination of four features—
grammatical and phonemic errors, prosody, and speaking
rate (Derwing & Munro, 1997)
4. _____ prosody d. individual vowels and consonants (Derwing, Munro &
Weibe, 1998)
5. _____ segmentals e. the extent to which the native speaker understands
the intended message (Munro & Derwing, 1995)
6. _____ suprasegmentals f. judgments on a rating scale of how difficult or easy
an utterance is to understand (Derwing & Munro, 1997)
Some Issues to be Addressed:

What do we teach? Establishing the Scope of the Task of Teaching Pronunciation
Should we teach it? The Ethics of Teaching Pronunciation
Recent & current demands on teaching in a global context
Intelligibility training, not foreign accent reduction
Can we teach it? The mechanics of Teaching Pronunciation
Finding the right balance: segmentals - suprasegmentals
Prioritizing diverse features of pronunciation
Which segmentals? Why suprasegmentals?
Does it work? The Efficacy of Teaching Pronunciation
What makes it work: necessary & sufficient conditions
2012 ATESOL ACT Professional Development Workshop. Marnie Reed, Boston University, USA: [email protected]
References
Celce-Murcia, M. (1987). Teaching pronunciation as communication. In J. Morley (Ed.): Current perspectives on

pronunciation. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. 5-12.
Derwing, T. & M. Munro. (1997). Accent, Intelligibility, And Comprehensibility: Evidence from Four L1s. SSLA, 19 (1),
1–16.
Dalton, C. and B. Seidlhofer (1994) Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., & Wiebe, G.E. (1998). Evidence in favor of a broad framework for pronunciation
instruction. Language Learning, 48, 393–410.
Gilbert, J.B. (1993) Clear Speech: Pronunciation and listening comprehension in North American English, 2nd edition.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (1995). Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility in the speech of second
language learners. Language Learning, 45, 73–97.
Munro, M.J. (2011). The intelligibility construct: Issues and research findings. Center for Intercultural Language Studies
Series. University of British Columbia, Canada.
Nelson, C. (1982). Intelligibility and non-native varieties of English. In B. B. Kachru (Ed.), The other tongue: English
across cultures (pp. 58–73). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
PRONUNCIATION: THE SCOPE OF THE TASK
Strand 1—Listening for Communicated Content: Connected Speech Features

English doesn’t sound the way it looks: In connected speech, sounds are linked, deleted,
reduced, altered, and contracted.
Strand 2—Listening for Communicative Intent: Suprasegmentals
A speaker’s message is also conveyed through the music and rhythm: intonation, stress, pitch,
and timing.
Strand 3—Speaking: Verb and Noun Endings: Grammar Sounds
Listeners rely on these for information and sometimes the rhythm of a sentence.
Strand 4—Speaking: Consonant and Vowel Sounds: Segmentals
Listeners can often understand the message even if individual consonant and vowel sounds are
incorrect.
Some strands are more important than others,
and some strands are important for both listening and speaking.
Four Integrated Strands:
Pronunciation

Listening Speaking

Content Intent/Stress Endings C&V Sounds
Pronunciation
Suprasegmentals Segmentals
Instruction in these areas is essential for Listening
Instruction in these areas is essential for Speaking
Connected speech Rhythm and Verb and noun Consonant and vowel
features music endings sounds
linked sounds syllables count noun plurals 29 consonant sounds
deleted sounds stress possessive nouns 15 vowel sounds
reduced sounds intonation past tense verbs
altered sounds timing third person singular

present tense verbs
contracted sounds thought groups

Pronunciation is an Umbrella Term: Establishing the Scope of the Task
A Four-‐Strand Approach

Some strands are more important than others, and some strands are important for both
listening and speaking

Pronunciation

Listening Speaking

Content Intent V&N Endings C&V Sounds
Connected Speech Features Rhythm & Music Grammar Sounds Consonant & Vowel Sounds
English doesn’t sound the way it looks. Why?

1. Connected Speech: Acoustic Signal Distortion of Communicated Content
Sounds are distorted, and the content can be lost.
Practice Connected Speech Features such as linked, deleted, reduced, and altered
sounds in order to improve listening.
2. Rhythm & Music: Suprasegmentals (Prosody)

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that conveys the message.
Practice stress, timing and intonation in order to improve listening and
speaking.
3. Grammar Sounds: Noun and Verb Endings

Noun and verb endings change the meaning (and sometimes the music) of a
sentence.
Practice Noun and Verb Endings in order to improve listening and speaking.
4. Consonant & Vowel Sounds: Segmentals

Different sounds are difficult for different students.
Practice individual Consonant & Vowel Sounds in order to improve speaking.
Should we teach it? The Ethics of Teaching Pronunciation
~ "an accent may reduce intelligibility in both NS-NNS and NNS-NNS interactions and may serve as a
basis for negative social evaluation and discrimination."
Lippi-Green, 1997, Munro, 2003
~ Recent goals of pronunciation instruction, 1980s - present: intelligibility

Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 1996; Morley, 1987, 1994
Baker, A. & Murphy, J, TESL Canada Journal 28 (2), Spring 2011
Derwing & Munro, TESOL Quarterly 39 (3), 2005. p.380
~ Current demands on teaching in a global context: intelligibility training

Derwing, T & Munro, M. (1997)
~ Intelligibility is “seen as a basic requirement in human interaction”
Munro, M. (2011)
~ Intelligibility training ≠ accent reduction:
Foreign-accent reduction or elimination should not be focused on
Munro, M. & Derwing, T. (1995)
Can we teach it? The mechanics of Teaching Pronunciation

~ Prioritizing Diverse Features of Pronunciation
• learners identify segmentals as the leading cause of their pronunciation problems;
this parallels large role segmentals play in current instructional models.
• pronunciation specialists identify supsrasegmentals as the leading contributor to intelligibility;
non-native prosody has a strong effect on native listener comprehension.
Derwing, T. & M. Rossiter. (2002)
~ Finding the right balance: segmentals versus suprasegmentals

Which Segmentals:
(1) Vowels that have a high functional load: those that differentiate a large number of words
Munro & Derwing, 2008
(2) Vowels in stressed syllables: NS listeners rely on the full vowel in the stressed syllable
Zielinski, B. (2008); Cutler & Norris, D. (1988); Hahn (2004)
Why Suprasegmentals:
Current Demands on Teaching in a Global Context:
Lexical and Discourse Prosody play a central role in the Development of Intelligibility
Field, J. 2005; Levis, 1999, 2001, 2006
Does it work? The Efficacy of Teaching Pronunciation

~ Empirical findings suggest that:
(a) instruction has a positive effect on phonological improvement
Couper, 2003, 2006; Saito, 2007
(b) explicit pronunciation instruction can lead to improvements in either comprehensibility or
intelligibility although the degree of improvement can vary
Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1997, 1998; Macdonald, Yule, & Powers, 1994
What makes it work? The necessary and sufficient conditions for Pronunciation Teaching
~ Pronunciation specialists stress the following conditions:
(a) setting pronunciation priorities
(b) making pronunciation learning transparent to students
(c) providing feedback effectively
(d) evaluating learner progress in hearing & producing target segmentals & suprasegmentals
Sources:
Baker, A. A. & Murphy, J. (2011). Knowledge base of pronunciation teaching: Staking out the territory. TESL
Canada Journal 28 (2).
Cutler, A., Norris, D. (1988) The role of strong syllables in segmentation for lexical access. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 14 (1).
Derwing, T. & M. Rossiter. (2002). ESL Learners' Perceptions of Their Pronunciation Needs and Strategies.
System, 30 (2).
Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J., & Wiebe, G.E. (1998). Evidence in favor of a broad framework for pronunciation
instruction. Language Learning, 48, 393–410.
Field, J. (2005). Intelligibility and the listener: The role of lexical stress. TESOL Quarterly, 39 (3), 399-423.
Levis, J. (1999) Intonation in theory and practice, revisited. TESOL Quarterly 33, 37-63.
Hahn, L. (2004). Primary stress and intelligibility: Research to motivate the teaching of suprasegmentals.
TESOL Quarterly 38 (2), 201-223.
Lippi-Green, R. (1997). English with an accent: Language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States.
New York: Routledge.
Macdonald, D., Yule, G., & Powers, M. (1994). Attempts to improve English L2 pronunciation: The variable
effects of different types of instruction. Language Learning 44 (1), 75-100.
Morley, J. (1991). The pronunciation component in teaching English to speakers of other languages. TESOL
Quarterly 25, 481-520.
Morley, J. (Ed.) (1994). Pronunciation pedagogy and theory: New views, new directions. Alexandria, VA:
TESOL.
Munro, M. J. (2003). A primer on accent discrimination in the Canadian context. TESL Canada Journal, 20 (2),
38-51.
Munro, M. & Derwing, T. (1995). Processing time, accent and comprehensibility in the perception of native and
foreign accented speech. Language and Speech, 38, 289–306.
Munro, M.J., & Derwing, T.M. (2008). Segmental acquisition in adult ESL learners: A
longitudinal study of vowel production. Language Learning, 58, 479-502.
Zielinski, B. (2008). The listener: No longer the silent partner in reduced intelligibility. System, 36, 69–84.
How to Improve Intelligibility

Improving Pronunciation means Improving Intelligibility:
You can understand others.

Others can understand you.

In order to understand others, you need listening skills.
In order for others to understand you, you need speaking skills

Pronunciation

Listening Speaking

Listening

Connected Speech Rhythm & Music Grammar Sounds
⎯linked sounds ⎯syllables ⎯3rd person singular present tense
⎯deleted sounds ⎯stress ⎯past tense
⎯reduced sounds ⎯timing ⎯plurals
⎯altered sounds ⎯intonation ⎯possessives

Speaking

Rhythm & Music Grammar Sounds C & V Sounds
⎯syllables —3rd person singular present —consonant sounds
⎯stress —past tense ⎯vowel sounds
⎯timing —noun plurals
⎯intonation —possessives
Weighting the Strands: Deciding What and When to Correct
Strand 1, Communicated Content is important for listening, but not for speaking. For example, students need to know
that in connected speech, most English speakers delete the /h/ sound from the beginning of the words his, her, him, and he.
However, they do not need to delete these /h/ sounds in their own spontaneous speech. Students need practice in speaking
in this area for the sole purpose of improving their listening comprehension.
Strand 2, Communicative Intent, (Suprasegmentals), is very important for both listening and for speaking. If students
don’t pay attention to intonation and stress patterns, they will not be able to understand the full intent of other people’s
speech. However, if students have incorrect stress and syllable structure, or very unusual rhythm or intonation, their
listeners will be distracted to the point of incomprehension. So, incorrect pronunciation in this area not only prevents
students from conveying their own intent, but may also cause their listeners to miss the substance of the students’ speech—
their content.
Strand 3, Noun and Verb Endings, or Grammar Sounds, is also very important for both speaking and listening. Students
must be able to notice these noun and verb endings when others speak, in order to pick up on valuable grammar
information. Students must also articulate these noun and verb endings in order to convey grammar information of their
own, in order to have correct sentence rhythm and linking, and in order not to be stigmatized. Students may know the
grammatical rules for these endings and may supply them in drills, but they tend not to use them in spontaneous speech.
Strand 4, Consonant and Vowel Sounds, (Segmentals) is the least important area of pronunciation. Because English
does have a fair number of minimal pairs, individual vowel and consonant sounds can sometimes be important both for
listening and for speaking. However, if a student’s stress, intonation, and noun and verb endings are all correct, it’s unlikely
that an /l/ and /r/ confusion, for instance, will be the sole cause of incomprehension.

Summary Chart: See-‐at-‐a-‐Glance: When and What to Correct:
Which parts of pronunciation are most important?
Which do students need to use in everyday speech?
Strand: More About This What’s the Use in everyday Important Important Important
Strand: Problem? speech outside for for for writing/
the classroom? speaking? listening? reading?
Content Message Content Sound signal optional: others

distortion will understand
Locution you without this Not so Helpful Somewhat
Connected much
Utterance speech
features
Message Intent Syllable yes, always:

Intent structure, correct any
Suprasegmentals prosody, errors in this Yes Yes Yes

stress, area
Illocution intonation
Force of the
Utterance
Grammar Verb and Noun Students yes, always:
Sounds Endings know the correct any
rules but do errors in this Yes Yes Yes
Inflectional not use them area
Morphology
Consonant Segmentals Students yes, but others

& Vowel think this is will probably
their biggest understand you Somewhat somewhat somewhat
Sounds problem without this

The Challenge in helping our students learn to hear and use intonation &
contrastive stress
Where’s the tonic? Courtesy SUPRAS Listserve, J. Maidment's Blog, 12.27.11

One of the most difficult things to acquire about the pronunciation of most accents of English is
where to put the tonic (aka nucleus). I have heard many speakers of English who are very
difficult to distinguish from native speakers, but who eventually give themselves away by putting
the tonic in a very unlikely place.
The intonation component of attitude. Courtesy SUPRAS Listserve, M. Reed, 12.29.11
I'm increasingly inclined to think that the most difficult aspect of English pronunciation for
students to grapple with is that there has to be a tonic. . . the place to begin to deal with the
myriad stress and intonation patterns is to establish standard lexical, phrasal, and sentence-‐level
stress and intonation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Assessing Perceptual Awareness of Intonation using Low-Pass Filtered Speech Samples
Subjects: advanced-‐level students (D level in an A-‐E level Intensive English Program) n = 14
Setting: Advanced Pronunciation Elective Course, Multimedia Language Lab
Data Collection: Student Response System (clickers)
Instrument: 3 speech samples of 45 seconds duration each, low-‐pass filtered at 48 kHZ
Syllable-‐timed sample: French (Le Monde)
Stress-‐timed sample: English (NPR)
Mora-‐timed sample: Japanese (NHK World)
Procedure: Binary choice task:
For each sample, indicate Yes (this does) or No (this does not) sound like English
Findings: all 14 students accurately identified the English speech sample.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Assessing Conceptual Awareness of the Importance of Intonation
Instrument: Power point slide format

Procedure: Binary choice task
Which is more important for conveying meaning?
a. Producing correct consonant and vowel sounds
b. Producing correct stress patterns in words and phrases
Responses: 71% (n = 10) voted for the segmentals: producing correct consonant & vowel sounds
29% (n = 4) voted for the suprasegmentals: producing correct stress patterns.
Assessing Sensitivity to Non-Standard Intonation
Instrument: Power point slide format; audio file

Procedure: Binary choice task: make an inference
Audio Prompt: The teacher didn't grade your papers.
Question: Were the papers graded?
a. Yes
b. No

Responses: 64.29% (n = 9) said No, the papers weren't graded
35.71% (n = 5) said Yes, the papers had been graded

Assessing Awareness of the Pragmatic Functions of Intonation

Setting: IEP Advanced Pronunciation Elective: Multimedia Language Lab

Audio Prompt: Some companies in the high tech sector sell a wide variety of products.
Question: What is the topic of the next sentence?
a. companies that don't sell a wide variety of products
b. the wide variety of products that these companies sell
Responses: All subjects (n = 14) chose b: the wide variety of products
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Learner and Instructor Metacognitive Gaps: Evidence from a 12-‐week Pronunciation Elective

ÙPre-‐intervention student Clicker responses revealed robust perceptual awareness of English
“exaggerated” stress and intonation.
ÙPost-‐intervention surveys revealed uncertainty about real-‐life applications or significance of
stress and intonation.
Students maintained that the sole mechanism for conveying meaning is the locution -‐ the
words of the utterance.
Students expressly rejected a role for intonation overriding lexical information.
ÙStudents rejected ever voluntarily producing these patterns outside the classroom, stating they
sounded "silly" and “ridiculous.”
ÙPost-‐intervention teacher surveys revealed instructor satisfaction on having successfully
taught stress and intonation, as measured by students’ coached language-‐lab production.

ENGLISH SYLLABLES AND SYLLABLE STRUCTURE
Syllable Structure: In the table below, each word in the "WORD" column is one syllable

Number
of
WORD Word in Syllables: Syllable Explanation:
IPA ∗
Structure:
Man /mæn/ one CVC Each letter represents a single

sound.
Good /ɡʊd/ one CVC The two letters “oo” together

represent only one vowel sound.
Box /bɑks/ one CVCC The single letter “x” represents
two different consonant sounds:
/k/ and /s/.
This /ðɪs/ one CVC The two letters “t” and “h”
together represent one consonant
sound, /D/.
Comb /kom/ one CVC The letter “b” doesn’t represent

any sounds. The “b” is silent.
Stop /stɑp/ one CCVC
Stroke /strok/ one CCCVC The letter “e” doesn’t represent

any sound. The “e” is silent.
sprints /sprɪnts/ one CCCVCCC
strengths /strɛŋθs/ one CCCVCCC syllable structure depends on

sounds, not spelling
strands /strændz/ one CCCVCCC

What do we learn from this table about the syllable structure of English?

1. A syllable is a rhythmic beat.

2. Sometimes, a syllable is a single word. Sometimes, it’s a part of a word.
3. A syllable has a combination of consonant and vowel sounds, not letters.
C = a single consonant sound V = a single vowel sound

4. Different languages have different combinations of consonant and vowel sounds in a syllable.

See Reverse Side
How does the syllable structure of English compare to the syllable structure of other languages?
SYLLABLE STRUCTURE IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Fijian, Hawaiian, Japanese: no complex onsets or codas
Hebrew: complex codas and some complex onsets

Finnish, Farsi, Berber: complex codas but no complex onsets
Spanish, French, Italian: complex onsets but no complex codas
English, German, Arabic: complex onsets and complex codas

Hebrew Hawaiian Indonesian English
V V V V
CV CV VC VC
CCV CV CV

CVC CVC CVC
CCVC CCVC
CVCC CVCC
CCVCC
CCCVCCC
Spotlight on English Syllable Structure
When the syllable structure of your language doesn’t match that of English, you may have
problems saying English syllables. Here are some possible English syllables. Can you have a
syllable like this in your language? Check “yes” or “no.”
Yes No Sample English one-‐syllable words:

  V a
  VC at, is
  CV do, be
  sit, five (with any consonant sound at end)
CVC
  man (only with a sound like /n/ at end)
  try (with any consonant sound at beginning)
CCV
  spa, sky (only with the sound /s/ at beginning)
  CCVCC blank, plant
  CCCVCCC sprints

Why is syllable structure important for pronunciation?
If you checked any “No” boxes above, you may have a problem saying those kinds of syllables in
English. It’s natural to try to make difficult English syllables sound like syllables in your language.
But it’s like trying to put a square peg into a round hole:
It doesn’t work very well.

When syllable structures don’t match:

Speakers may add or delete sounds.
Listeners may misunderstand.
Pronunciation Goal:
Try to say English syllables with correct syllable structure. Don’t add or delete sounds.
If you use correct English syllable structure:
• You will reduce your accent.

• People will understand you better.

ɛski – one syllable” (student stating how many syllables there are in the word ‘ski’.
Checklist for Syllable Structure
Part 1: Are you adding extra sounds?
If you add extra sounds to English syllables, there will be too many syllables in a word. Your listeners
will be expecting to hear fewer syllables, and they may be confused.
If you think you may be adding extra sounds (and syllables) to English syllables, but you are unsure
where your specific problem is, use the following checklist:
1. Are you adding sounds at the beginning of the word or syllable?
Example: Saying “e-‐state” for “state.”
2. Are you adding sounds in the middle of a consonant cluster?
Example: Saying “su-‐port” for “sport.”

3. Are you adding sounds at the end of the word or syllable?
Example: Saying “speech-ee for “speech.
Part 2: Are you deleting sounds?
1. Are you deleting the final consonants from the ends of a syllable?
If you delete the final sounds from English syllables, your English will sound incomplete. You
won’t be able to link a final consonant sound to a vowel sound at the beginning of a new word.
Example: Do you say “wi” for “with.”
2. Are you deleting syllables at the end of a word?
Example: Do you say “deparch” for “departure.”
3. Are you deleting syllables in the middle of a word?

Example: Do you say “please” for “police.

Use your Pronunciation Logbook to help you remember how to correct your mistakes.

Word or phrase: How should I say How did I say What was my Other examples:
it? it? mistake?
Strong and Weak Beats in English

3 4 2
4 4 4
In English, every syllable is a beat. But, in English, not all syllables (beats) are equal. Like
music,English speech has a rhythm.
Where does this rhythm begin? English sentences have a rhythm. So do phrases. Even words
have a rhythm. The rhythm starts with the syllable. In English, some syllables are strong and
some are weak. Strong and weak syllables give English its unique rhythm.
Strong syllables are stressed syllables, and weak syllables are unstressed syllables.
What is stress?
What is the sound of a stressed syllable?
• A stressed syllable is  LOUD er
• A stressed syllable is L -‐ O -‐ N -‐ G er

• A stressed syllable is CLEAR er
• A stressed syllable is ➚ HIGH er

What is the sound of an unstressed syllable?
The spelling of an unstressed syllable does not matter. The vowel sound in an
unstressed syllable sounds like the vowel in a word like “but,” or in the first
syllable of “about.”
We write this sound with this symbol: /1 /. ➙ Say it: schwa.
You need to recognize this symbol, but you do not have to write it.
Unstressed syllables can sometimes be difficult to hear. Practice saying them and
listening for them.
Can you hear unstressed syllables? Circle the sentence you hear.
1. a) They have to change plans. b) They have a change of plans.
2. a) He has the right of way. b) He has the right way.
3. a) Class meets from 2 to 4. b) Class meets in 224.

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a word a stress pattern.
The vowel in the stressed syllable is longer: it takes more time to say the vowel in the stressed
syllable.
How do we mark stressed and unstressed syllables?

• Use a curve over the unstressed (weak) syllable.

• Use a stress mark over the stressed (strong) syllable.
Column A Column B

ego ago

awkward occurred

person percent

1 syllable: 2 syllables: 3 syllables: 4 syllables: 5+ syllables
complex onsets iambs (2.2) primary stress primary, secondary,
complex codas trochees (2.1) 3.1 or 3.2 or 3.3 secondary stress tertiary stress
screamed Machine emphasize Category Vocabulary
fixed Matching determine Academic Macroeconomics
strengths cities / CDs devotee Environment Manufacturer

When you learn a new word you need to ask:
How many syllables does it have?
Which syllable gets the primary stress?
When you enter the new word in your Vocabulary List, use a Syllable Stress Notation system*:
piccolo 3. 1
piano 3. 2
violin 3. 3

*Murphy, J., Kandil, M. (2004). “Word-Level Stress Patterns in the Academic Word List” System, 32, 61-74.
ENGLISH SYLLABLES AND SYLLABLE STRUCTURE
1. Learn the number of syllables and the stress pattern when you learn a new word.
2. Learn to pronounce all the syllables in a word.
3. Learn to pronounce all the sounds in a syllable.
Pronunciation Practice: Focus on Word Stress

Read the sample student journal entry on body language and eye contact below. Use the
underlined two-‐syllable words in the passage to examine stress patterns. Look up any words you
don’t know how to pronounce, and then try saying them according to the dictionary’s stress
pattern. Which words belong in Column A? Which words belong in Column B? Add any additional
two-‐syllable words of your own to the two columns. Mark your words to show their stress
patterns.

When I observe people talking on the street corner or the subway, I notice that they stand farther
away from each other than people do in my country. In my country, you stand very close to someone
when you talk to them, right beside them, but these English speakers had a little more distance
between them. I also notice that they debate and argue with each other—I saw two people moving
their hands and changing their facial expressions a lot, but they didn’t seem really angry or upset. In
a conversation, some English speakers make eye contact with each other—they look right at each
other, not down or away. It’s interesting to think about these differences.
Did you know?
When you learn a new word, you need to learn its Stress Pattern as well as its meaning.
New Word Stress Pattern
For example: economy is a 4.2 word (4 syllables, stress on the 2nd syllable)
economics is a 4.3 word (4 syllables, stress on the 3rd syllable)
When you want to know the meaning of a word, you need to ask the question grammatically

Checklist for Learning New Vocabulary Words

1. Asking someone what a word means:

What does __________________ mean?
2. Telling someone what a word means:

________________ means . . .

3. Asking for the spelling:
How do you spell ____________________?
How do you spell it?

4. What part of speech is it? ____________________

For Nouns: Count Noun? 0 Non-‐Count Noun? 0
Singular Count Noun: a/ an/ the
Plural Count Noun: add 's'
For Verbs: Transitive? 0 Intransitive? 0

5. How do you pronounce it?
How many syllables are there in the word? ______
Which syllable gets the (primary) stress? ______

New Word / Stress Pattern: ____________________ / ______

6. How do you use it in a sentence?
__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

7. Alternate Forms:

__________________________________________________________


A. Read each of the following sentences out loud, and note the pronunciation of the
underlined words. Then, for each underlined word, indicate whether the stress falls on
the first or the second syllable, and give its lexical category (part of speech).

Syllable Category
1. a) Who is the object of your affection? 1st [ √ ] 2nd [ ] __noun___
b) They didn’t object to the decision. 1st [ ] 2nd [ √ ] __verb____

2. a) What an insult! 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

b) Why would you insult me like that? 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

3. a) “Round up the usual suspects,” he said. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________
b) I think he suspects you work for the CIA. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

4. a) The conflict in the Balkins is centuries old. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________
b) Eating pork would conflict with our religion. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

5. a) Do I need a permit to build a deck? 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________
b) We don't permit that behavior a round here. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

6. a) My pupil’s conduct made teaching difficult. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

b) At work, conduct yourself as a professional. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

6. a) What's the topic of your research project ? 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________
b) Actors must learn to project their voices. 1st [ ] 2nd [ ] __________

B. Examine the results of your analysis. What generalization can you make?

Adapted from Looking at languages (1999) Frommer, P.R. & E. Finegan. Harcourt Brace.
Focus on Stress & Rhythm: Using Correct Stress with –ation Suffixes
This suffix changes a verb into a noun. Stress the 1st syllable of the suffix (“A” in –A-‐tion).
verb noun
cancel + -‐ation à can-‐ce-‐LA-‐tion
alter + -‐ation à alt-‐er-‐A-‐tion
Secondary stress in –ation words depends on the stress pattern of the original verb. There are
two possible patterns:

1) With verbs that end in a weak syllable, the stressed syllable in the original verb receives
secondary stress in the –ation noun.
Syllable Stress Notation System: # of syllables; primary stress syllable; secondary stress syllable

CAN-‐cel strong-‐weak à can-‐ce-‐LA-‐tion (4-‐3-‐1)
JUS-‐ti-‐fy 3-‐1 à jus-‐ti-‐fi-‐CA-‐tion (5-‐4-‐1)
2) With verbs that end in a strong syllable, the stressed syllable in the original verb receives no
stress in the new (-‐ation) word. Remember that stressed and unstressed syllables alternate: two
stressed syllables are never back-‐to-‐back. Secondary stress moves 1 syllable to the left.
in-‐FORM weak-‐strong à in-‐for-‐MA-‐tion (4-‐3-‐1)
*Source for Stress Notation: Murphy, J., Kandil, M. Word-Level Stress Patterns in the Academic Word List. System, 2004, 32(1) 61-74.
Eye-Opener If you know the stress pattern of the original verb and the rule for –
ation primary stress, you know the stress patterns of these nouns.
Usage note: Sometimes, you have to change the spelling in order to form an –ation noun:
converse à converSAtion
justify à justifiCAtion
cancel à cancelLAtion

These spelling changes are not always predictable, so you may need to use a dictionary.

Exercise 1: Practice with –ation Words. Focus on word-‐level stress
For each word below, list the root verb, look it up in a dictionary, and mark its primary stress.
Then mark primary and secondary stress on the –ation words in the chart. Then practice.

3 syllable words 4 syllable words 5 or more syllable words
formation Education Recommendation
vacation concentration Appreciation
frustration expectation Pronunciation

Addressing lexical stress errors: Knee-‐jerk response
Student Question: How to say succeed [.sʌk sid ]

Teacher Response: [sə k .sid]

Addressing lexical stress errors: Applying Murphy & Kandil's Word-‐level Stress Patterns

politics 3.1 3 syllable word, stress on the 1st
political 4.2 4 syllable word, stress on the 2nd

politician 4.3 4 syllable word, stress on the 3rd

Student Question: How to say succeed [.sʌk sid ]
Teacher Response: 2.2

Going over vocabulary: Blackboard Header:
2.1 2.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5.1 5.2

Pronunciation Practice: Focus on Stress & Rhythm

The message is in the music: Stress carries meaning.
Eye-Opener: Not all syllables are equal. Stressed syllables are louder, longer,
clearer, and higher, and contrastive stress is extra stress.

standard

word-‐level
s
sentence-‐ contrastive
w

word-‐level secondary
primary phrase-‐level level stress stress
stress
stress
stress
Visualizing S tress
Language S trategy: (content words)

secondary s
An unstressed syllable is like a person standing still; a stressed syllable is like a person
tress stretching before exercise.
An unstressed syllable is like a coiled spring; a stressed syllable is like an uncoiled spring.
An unstressed syllable is like a folded-‐up ladder; a stressed syllable is like an extended ladder

Can you think of more images for stressed syllables?

Try acting out stress in the following ways:
stand up for stressed words, sit down for unstressed words;
stretch up your arms for stressed words, leave them down for unstressed words.

J. Gilbert (2008) Teaching Pronunciation Using the Prosody Pyramid. NY: Cambridge University Press.
Source: Gilbert, J. (2008) Teaching Pronunciation Using the Prosody Pyramid. NY: Cambridge University Press
“Schwa is a modest vowel, who steps aside to let others shine” Toyama, S. ( 2004). The Connection between Pronunciation
and Reading. Japan Association for Language Teaching.

Using Clues from Punctuation
to help Find Thought Groups

Punctuation sometimes helps us show thought groups in writing. But, when speaking or
reading aloud, you will often need to pause where there is no punctuation.

Here are the punctuation marks you might find within an English sentence. These marks

may be clues that you should pause when you read aloud.

Be careful, though, because you should not pause at every punctuation mark!

, comma smallest pause or no pause

; semi-‐colon slightly bigger pause

: colon slightly bigger pause

( ) parentheses slightly bigger pause

“”quotation marks large pauses


English Melody: Stress and Rhythm

Some languages are syllable-‐timed: all syllables have equal length.

In syllable-‐timed languages, each syllable gets one rhythmic beat.

English is sometimes called stress-‐timed: some syllables are strong, some are weak.

In stress-‐timed languages, there can be more than one syllable per rhythmic beat.
In stress-‐timed languages, the number of syllables does not change the amount of time
between beats

1. Cats chase mice.
2. The cats chased the mice.
3. The cats have chased the mice.
4. The cats have been chasing the mice.
5. The cats could have been chasing the mice.

English rhythm consists of alternating strong and weak syllables.

Student Response Survey Results:

Sentence 4 takes longer to say than Sentence 1

True: n = 9: 75%
False: n = 1: 25%
Thought Groups: J. Gilbert (2005) Clear Speech. Cambridge University Press

Perhaps the most important way English speakers help their listeners understand
them is by breaking the continuous string of words into groups of words that
belong together. These smaller groups are easier to say, and can be processed
more easily by the listener. A thought group can be a short sentence or part of a
longer sentence, and each thought group contains a 'focus word' (most important
word) that is marked by a change in pitch. Understanding thought groups can also
help improve reading comprehension.

The Prosody Pyramid, Judy Gilbert (2008) Cambridge University Press


Focus on Rhythm

Many language researchers believe that incorrect rhythm gives a nonnative speaker much more
of an accent than incorrectly pronouncing vowels and consonants."

Source: Hagen, S. & P. Grogan. 1992. Sound Advantage -‐ A Pronunciation Book. Regents/ Prentice Hall.

Tap your pencil on the table as you read the sentences below.

1. He told you.
2. He told you already.
3. He told you already that he'd paid you.
4. He told you already that he'd paid you the money.
5. He told you already that he'd paid you the money that he borrowed.
6. He told you already that he'd paid you the money that he borrowed at the restaurant.
7. He told you already that he'd paid you the money that he borrowed at the restaurant last
weekend.
8. He told you already that he'd paid you the money that he borrowed at the restaurant last
weekend. Okay?

What do you notice about the spacing of the stressed syllables?

What is the stress pattern of already? ______; he told you? _____; he'd paid you? _____; he borrowed? _____; last weekend? _____
Now it's your turn. Can you create a similar set of sentences?


Sources of Listening Problems: Strand 2 — Listening and Speaking
Focus on Rhythm and Music
Exercise: Stress Carries Meaning
Focus on Stress and Intonation
EYE-‐ OPENER: Stress makes a difference

LEXICAL STRESS: Stress makes a difference at the word level
Speaker: intends to say: The comedy with your favorite actor starts at 8:00.”
However, he used the wrong lexical stress.

Listener hears: “The committee with your favorite actor starts at 8:00.”
The listener’s confused.
Strand 2 — Listening and Speaking
Focus on Timing and Pauses

The Sounds of Silence:
Use a Small Pause Between People, Items, or Units in a Thought Group
Use a Large Pause Between Groups
Exercise: How Many Items Are There? Focus on small pauses.
Listening to pauses tells you how many items are in a list. Work with a partner. Listen as your partner
reads aloud the phrases below. Listen for your partner’s pauses: how many items is your partner
saying?
1) fish, tank, and fish food 6) dress, shoes, and purse
2) baseball cap and gloves 7) computer monitor and keyboard
3) picture, frame, and nails 8) can opener and blender
4) computer, monitor, and keyboard 9) fishtank, and fish food
5) can, opener, and blender 10) baseball, cap, and gloves
The message is in the music: Timing and pauses carry meaning.

Could you get the phone, Bill?
Could you get the phone bill?

Use large pauses at parentheses (additional information).
Exercise: Parentheses
Focus on large pauses: recycle letters of the alphabet
Practice reading aloud the sentences below, using large pauses at parentheses. Write additional
sentences of your own.
1. The U.N. (United Nations) is meeting today at its headquarters.
2. The U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates) delegation will be presenting to the committee.
3. H20 (hydrogen dioxide) is commonly known as water.
4. The C.E.O. (chief executive officer) will be meeting with the chairman of the board.
5. Please enter your PIN (personal identification number) after the beep.
6. CDs (compact discs) have replaced tapes in many cities in the world.
7. ________________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________________
9. ________________________________________________________________
10. ________________________________________________________________
Use Large Pauses at Quotation Marks
Exercise: Who’s Talking?
Focus on large pauses.
You will hear four sentences. Listen and circle the sentence you hear.
1. a. “The anthropologist,” said the student, “made an interesting discovery.”

b. The anthropologist said the student made an interesting discovery.
c. The anthropologist said, “The student made an interesting discovery.”
2. a. “The newspaper,” said the reporter, “was biased.”
b. The newspaper said the reporter was biased.
c. The newspaper said, “The reporter was biased.”
3. a. “Mary,” said John, “is running for Congress.”
b. Mary said John is running for Congress.
c. Mary said, “John is running for Congress.”
4. a. “The book,” said the writer, “was ambitious.”

b. The book said the writer was ambitious.
c. The book said, “The writer was ambitious.”
LANGUAGE STRATEGY:
Using Thought Groups to Decide Where and How Long to Pause
How do we know where to pause?

We pause slightly at the end of every thought group.
We pause at most punctuation marks:
at commas: after introductory phases, between items in a series,

before and after apposition, before addressing a person directly
at question marks, exclamation marks, and periods: at the end of a sentence
at parentheses and quotation marks.
We can pause after contrastively stressed words for more contrast.
Are all pauses the same length?
No. Some pauses are large and some are small. Mark small pauses with one slash: /
and large pauses with two slashes: //
Use a Large Pause Before, After, or Before and After Addressing a Person Directly:
“Are you driving today or getting a ride, Bill” pause before “Bill”
“Bill, are you driving today or getting a ride?” pause after “Bill”
“Are you driving today, Bill, or getting a ride?” pause before and after “Bill”

Don’t link sounds across the pause.


Use Large Pauses To Separate Additional Information in a Sentence (Apposition)
If you see a phrase like Mary, an accountant, and Bill, you don’t know if there are two or three people.
Listen for the length of the pause in order to understand the different meanings.
Mary, / an accountant, / and Bill three people: small pauses, items in a series
Mary, // an accountant, // and Bill two people: large pauses, apposition
Each group below could consist of either two or three people, depending on the length of the pauses.
Mark the timing: mark large pauses (//) before and after additional information (apposition) and mark
small pauses (/) between different people.
Three People: Two People:
Jane, a teacher, and Mary Jane, a teacher, and Mary

Mary, a mathematician, and Jane Mary, a mathematician, and Jane
Ivan, a student from Russia, and John Ivan, a student from Russia, and John

Eye-Opener:
Sentence-‐level intonation may not be completely new to you. If you already use standard
sentence-‐level stress, and if you try to pause at thought groups, you may already be starting to
use English intonation correctly.

Remember that stressed words are louder, longer, clearer, and higher. Higher means higher in
pitch—stressed words generally have rising intonation.
The message is in the music: Intonation accompanies stress.
Given and New Information: Stress and Sentence Focus
Information Structure
Information structure is concerned with the management and organization of elaboration in
discourse. The techniques (for controlling the presuppositions that they wish to maintain and
the new relationships that they wish to assert about them) vary cross-‐linguistically. . . prosody is
a key marker of information structure in many languages.
Slayden, G. (2010). An Information Structure Annotation of Thai Narrative Fiction. University of Washington Working
Papers in Linguistics 28. Seattle: University of Washington.
The most important word(s) in every phrase or sentence will receive the most stress. How do
you recognize the most important word(s)?
Givenness
Noun phrases carrying new information usually receive more stress than those carrying given
(old) information, and they are commonly expressed in a more elaborate fashion -‐ for example,
with a full noun phrase instead of a pronoun
Chafe, W. (1976). Givenness, Contrastiveness, Definiteness, Subjects, Topics and Point of View. In C.N. Li (Ed.) Subject
and Topic, 25-‐55; Finegan, E. (2012). Language: Its Structure and Use. Wadsworth.
Directions: In each line below: • Underline the word that should receive more stress
• Write N above each piece of new information
• Write O above the information which has become given
(1) I lost something!
(2) What did you lose?
(3) I lost my book.

(4) What kind of book?

(5) My school book.

(6) Which school book?

(7) My chemistry book.

(8) Look in your backpack.

(9) I've looked in my backpack.

(10) Look! It's right there. On your desk!

Pragmatic Function of Given and New Information

The logic of definite and indefinite determiners:
Line 1-‐ A: I went to a party Saturday night at midnight.
Line 2 -‐ B: Why so late?
Line 3 -‐A: I went to a movie first and then the party.

Finegan, E. (2012). Language: Its Structure and Use. Wadsworth.

Directions: In each line below:
• Underline the word that should receive more stress
• Write N above each piece of new information
• Write O above the information which has become given

Dialog Two:
(1) I think I need new glasses.

(2) What's wrong with the glasses you have?

(3) I can't see out of them.

(4) Maybe you need a new prescription.

(5) I just got a new prescription.

(6) I know why you can't see. Your glasses are dirty!

Where’s the tonic? Courtesy SUPRAS Listserve, J. Maidment's Blog, 12.27.11
One of the most difficult things to acquire about the pronunciation of most accents of English is
where to put the tonic (aka nucleus). I have heard many speakers of English who are very
difficult to distinguish from native speakers, but who eventually give themselves away by putting
the tonic in a very unlikely place.
Here is a short dialogue. Try to work out where all the tonics should go. I must point out that
there are a few places where an alternative tonic placement would sound just as good. To see my
version where the tonics are shown underlined and the alternatives are shown in italics, reveal
the rest of the post.
Bob: What’s up?
Bill: The pump’s stopped working.
Bob: Which pump?
Bill: The pump in the fishpond. We don’t have any other pumps, do we?
Bob: No, I suppose not. Is that serious?
Bill: Of course it’s serious. The pump keeps the water oxygenated.
Bob: And what will happen if the water isn’t oxygenated?
Bill: The fish will die. What did you think would happen?
Bob: Nothing really. We’d better get the pump fixed then.
Bill: Now why didn’t I think of that
contrastive stress is extra stress.

standard contrastive
phrase-‐level sentence-‐ stress
stress
s stress
level

w
word-‐level

word-‐level secondary (content words)
primary
secondary stress stress

What is contrastive stress?
Make a contrast by using extra stress on the stressed syllable of a word: before, not after.
The word-‐level stress pattern doesn’t change. The strong syllable is still strong, and the weak
syllable is still weak.
Classroom Strategy: How can you remember contrastive stress?
Underline or circle contrastively stressed words when you practice saying them.
Eye-Opener
Contrastive stress calls attention to the important (contrastive) word.
Show contrastive stress in writing with italics (or sometimes underlining).
Focus on contrastive stress and informational stress
Exercise: Who said who went where how?

For this activity, you will need a group of eight people to follow the steps below.

Directions:
1: Look at the sentences and questions below. Each person in your group is responsible for one
sentence or question. Copy your sentence or question onto an index card.

1. John said Mary went to Florida by bus.

5. Did John say Mary went to Canada by bus?
6. Did Paul say Mary went to Florida by bus?

7. Did John say Mary went to Florida by train?
8. Did John say Susan went to Florida by bus?

2: Memorize your sentence or question. Give your index card to your teacher (or group leader).

3: As a group, say your sentences and questions aloud and try to match them. Remember to use
correct sentence-‐level stress. When you have matched each question with its answer, recite your
questions and answers for the class.
Directions for the rest of class:

For small classes: Get together around a desk and spread out the index cards from the group of
volunteers. As a group, match the cards. When everyone is finished, check the
volunteers’ dialogues.

For large classes: Work with a partner to match the sentences and questions below. Make sure to
read them aloud with correct sentence-‐level stress.

For all classes: Listen to the members of the small group. Are they using sentence-‐level stress to
convey their meaning?

More Practice with Contrastive Stress

For this activity, you need one group of eight volunteers to follow the steps below. Each
volunteer should write out one of the sentences below on a separate index card. Do not
show the cards to anyone else during this activity.

1. (A) You want to know if Ms. Walters said the essay is due on Thursday.
5. (B) You know that Ms. Walters said the essay is due on Thursday.
6. (B) You know that Mr. Brown said the essay is due on Thursday.
7. (B) You know that Ms. Walters said the homework is due on Thursday.
8. (B) You know that Ms. Walters said the essay is due on Tuesday.

1) Students with “A” cards need to form a question based on the information they want to find
out. Students with “B” cards should read their card silently.

2) Form pairs among the group of eight students, so that every person with an “A” card is
randomly matched with a person with a “B” card. There are no right or wrong match-‐ups: any
“A” student can successfully complete this activity with any “B” partner.

3) When someone with an “A” card asks their question to someone with a “B” card, the “B”
student in that pair needs to form a response based on the information they know.

4) As a pair, continue role-‐playing your conversation until you and your partner have reached
resolution. You may need to use contrastive stress, as well as expressions like, “I thought that.
. .,” or “All I know is. . .,” in order to clarify any misunderstandings. Be ready to role-‐play your
entire conversation (beginning with the “A” person’s question) for the entire class.

5) When you hear other students’ role-‐plays, evaluate them based on the following:
1. Did person A receive an answer to their initial question?
2. Did person A use contrastive stress, if appropriate, to help clarify the question?
3. Did person B use contrastive stress, if appropriate, to help clarify the answer?
4. Did person A explain the implications, if any, behind the original question?
5. Did the conversation come to some sort of resolution?

Intuitions, Attitudes, and Intonation

It's interesting how when I first came to the US and I was just learning English, I
noticed how people (especially women, who have a higher pitch than men) would say
"Hi, Maya!" and I thought they sounded kind of fake to me... I thought they were
faking being excited to see me when they just saw me the day before. I didn't realize
that it was a nature of the English language to have such extreme pitches. And I
remember unconsciously refusing to sound as fake as they did. Now (that I know
better) I share this past feeling with my students and it's interesting to hear that
they feel the same way.
XXXXXXXXXX
President
Voice Productions International
5360 W. 84th Avenue - Arvada CO 80003 - USA
There is much 'mockery' towards an American 'sing song' which suggests it is

perceived as over-confident, and indeed perhaps arrogant.
XXXXXXXX  Lecturer  Faculty of Social & Health Sciences  Department of Language

Studies,  Unitec Institute of Technology  Private Bag 92025,  Victoria Street,
West  Auckland 1142  New Zealand

Functions of Intonation:
Use rising and falling intonation to express positive and negative emotions.
These words can be questions, statements, exclamations, or pause-‐fillers. We can say each word
with different intonations that change the meaning of the message.
1) Great! ì 2) Great. î
In message 1Eye-Opener:
) the speaker is happy. The speaker’s intonation goes up.
Versatility
In message 2) the speaker is not happy. The speaker’s intonation goes down.
what so great no hmmm

well oh uh-‐huh yes you know

All of the above could be questions, statements, exclamations, or fillers.

There’s a big difference in intent (meaning) between these two messages:

1) Great! ì 2) Great. î

Intonation Accompanies Stress: the stressed vowel gets a rise/fall pitch contour.

Some single words can be an entire message.

Paralinguistic features (body language and facial expressions) often accompany intonation.

Sometimes, punctuation can help us understand the intended emotion.

Oh? curiosity/interest (ì—rising intonation: rise-‐fall-‐rise)
Oh. boredom/disrespect (î—falling intonation)
Oh! surprise/shock/happiness (ì—rising intonation: rise-‐fall)
Intonation also "has the power to reinforce, mitigate, or even undermine the
words spoken" (Wichmann, 2005 and Wichmann & Blakemore, 2006).
Recall: The teaher didn’t grade your papers.
Is Intonation Teachable?
Nuclear stress placement:
• “is teachable in the sense that the rules are simple enough for learners to master in the
classroom...
• for some learners there may be a noticeable gap between receptive and productive
competence. . .
• our primary aim in the classroom will be to make learners aware of the existence and
importance of nuclear stress.
• This should make them more sensitive to its use by other speakers, and consequently
more likely to acquire competence in its use”
Source: R. Walker (2010). Teaching the pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca. Oxford
Handbooks for Language Teachers, p. 64
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~
Conveying Sarcasm via Intonation is acquired slowly by children acquiring English as an
L1:
Linguist Jean Berko Gleason, in various editions of The Development of Language reports a
conversation between a first-‐grader and his mother when he returns from the first day of
school:

Son: Joey (a 3rd-‐grader who rides his school bus) likes my new backpack.
Mother: That's nice, dear. How do you know he likes it?
Son: Because I told him it was my new backpack and he said, "Big deal."

Sarcasm is used consciously. When teaching Intonation to non-‐native speakers, it is
not surprising that teachers think to teach those aspects of intonation they are
consciously aware of using. However, intonation is so central to English, and its
uses so varied, that native speaker teachers may not be aware of all they intuitively
do with intonation, and may not realize that their students are not sensitive to these
many uses.
Sarcasm is when we are conscious of altering our intonation to change our meaning; focus
instead on the unconscious things we do with intonation, which are harder to teach and harder to
pick up on
http://blogjam.name/?=7486
Preview:
Do you sing or play a musical instrument? Have you ever heard of pitch in the context of
music?
Have you ever thought of pitch, or intonation, in the context of a language? Do you use
intonation in your native language? If so, how?

What is intonation?

Intonation is the melody of a language. Words, sentences, and questions can rise
ì or fall î in pitch. This means your voice gets higher ì or lower î, just like
notes in music. The intonation of a given word or sentence can rise, fall, and
then rise again.
Points for Instruction:
Sentences that have non-‐standard stress alert listeners to unspoken information.
Any content or function word(s) can be stressed to convey meaning; the message is in the
intonation.
Understanding Intonation:
Speakers make implications: Speakers use non-‐standard stress patterns to make an
implication.
Listeners make inferences: Listeners notice non-‐standard stress; make appropriate

inferences.
English sentences also have standard sentence-level intonation. In normal declarative sentences,
intonation rises slightly on each stressed word and drops slightly at the end of the sentence.

You may have seen sentences in a textbook marked with a wavy line indicating the
sentence’s pitch contour.

For practice, mark pitch, or intonation, on single (stressed) words.
Draw an arrow pointing up and to the right when intonation rises: ì
Draw an arrow pointing down and to the right when intonation falls: î
Focus on Standard and Non-‐Standard Stress and intonation:

Imagine that you’re visiting a friend who is packing for a trip. You look around and notice
everything is in piles. You point to something and ask, “What’s that?”

Every time you ask, your friend answers you in grammatical sentences with standard
intonation and standard stress. Here are your friend’s responses. Circle the stressed
content word in each sentence and practice saying the sentences.

1. That’s some equipment.
2. That’s some medicine, in case I get sick.
3. That’s some camping gear.
4. That’s some reading material.
5. That’s some mail I have to read before I leave.

Eye-‐Opener: The message is in the music: Intonation overrides grammar.
Imagine that you notice a book you loaned your friend. You ask if he liked it, and your
friend says, with extra stress and rising intonation on the word some: That’s someì book.
With extra stress and rising intonation on the word some, this is an acceptable sentence,
even though the word some is used to modify a singular count noun. In this case, the word
some has a special meaning: it does more than identify the book. It also makes a statement
about the book: the speaker is saying that there is something distinctive about this book
(maybe positive, maybe negative).

Usage Note: Making Your Stressed Words Long Enough to Change Intonation
The word some in “That’s someì book” (Eye-‐Opener above) is much longer than the word
some in “That’s some mail”.

Practice saying “That’s someì book” again. Stand up on the stressed word some and hold
the word until you sit back down again. Stressed words are louder, longer, clearer, and
higher. The longer length of a stressed word gives you time to make your voice rise or fall
in pitch and then return to normal for the rest of the sentence.

Speech Act Theory and Non-‐Standard Stress
Locution: the performance of an utterance:

the actual utterance and its ostensible meaning
Illocution: the semantic force of the utterance:
its intended meaning

Austin, J. (1962). How to do things with words. Oxford University Press.
Searle, J. (1969). Speech Acts. Cambridge University Press.

Pragmatic Competence: Sociolinguistic Competence + Illocutionary Competence
Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford University
Press, p. 87.
Hymes, D.H. (1972). On Communicative Competence. Philadelphia, University of

Pennsylvania Press.
Directions:
a. Read Sentence 1 aloud.
b. Paraphrase Sentence 1.

1. My boss says he’ll fix the problem.
Directions:
a. Read Sentence 2 aloud.
b. Paraphrase Sentence 2.

2. My boss says he’ll fix the problem.
Sentences 1 & 2 use the exact same words in the exact same order. Do they mean the same
thing? Circle your answer: YES NO If you circled NO, explain why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Directions:
a. Listen to the following Sentence .
b. Predict what the lecturer will say next. Circle your response. Explain your reason.

YESterday we deFINED pollution.
a. ToDAY we’ll talk about the IMpact of pollution.

b. ToDAY we’ll deFINE acid RAIN.


Nuclear Accent Mobility

a. John lent me his bicycle.
b. John lent me HIS bicycle.
c. John lent ME his bicycle.
d. JOHN lent me his bicycle.

Speakers imply; listeners infer. Every language has a way to do this.

a. Juan me presto su biciCLEta.
b. Juan me presto la bicicleta de el.
c. A mi me presto Juan su bicicleta.
d. Fue Juan el que me presto su bicicleta.

English also allows syntactic signaling:
It was John who lent me his bicycle.
Yet native speakers of English use standard syntax with non-‐standard
intonation as their unconscious but preferred means to make implications.
DEFINING & ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE LEARNER
"When we asked respondents what pronunciation problems they typically

experienced,
39 out of 100 participants were unable to identify specific areas of difficulty.

Of the problems identified by the remaining 61 respondents, 84% were
segmentals."

“If a speaker makes mistakes with the suprasegmentals, listeners will sometimes
not have enough information to understand the message -‐ even if all the individual
sounds (the segmentals) were correct.”

Derwing, T. & M. Rossiter. 2002. ESL Learners' Perceptions of Their Pronunciation Needs and Strategies.
System 30, 155-‐66.

What do we, as teachers, conclude from this? ________________________________________________

1) Re: Learner Starting Point ________________________________________________

2) Re: Learner Priorities ________________________________________________

3) Re: Intelligibility Criteria ________________________________________________

Where do we, as teachers, go from here?

1) Metacognitive Survey: what do students think about the nature & source of
their errors; what are they doing to 'improve' their
pronunciation
2) Aural/ Oral Diagnostics: a speaking sample that targets high-‐frequency errors
from over 20 languages
Close Tests, Comprehension, etc. to assess listening

3) Diagnostic Intervention Plan: guidelines for administering the speaking diagnostic,
prioritizing, and formulating an intervention
4) Diagnostic Error Tally Sheet: tool for detecting and tallying pronunciation errors
5) Metacognitive Assessment: pronunciation progress is staged; learner outcomes first

appear in/ can be measured in conscious awareness
A Model of Learner Progress: How to become unconsciously competent
The bad news is that all learners probably make more mistakes than they are aware
of. The good news is that no one person makes all possible errors!
You need to figure out what your errors are and how to correct them.
This table shows how to make progress in pronunciation.

The Four Levels of Competence

Level 4
Consciousness Competence
Level -‐ + Level 3
4

Level 2
Level + +

3
Level 1
Level + -‐
2
Level -‐ -‐

1

Consciousness means being aware of errors and thinking about how to correct
them. Competence means not making errors.
Level 1:
The Four Levels of Competence Beginning
At the beginning of your English grammar or pronunciation class you were at

Level 1—unconscious incompetence. You made mistakes in listening
and speaking, and you did not know what your specific problems were.
As your teacher introduces grammar or pronunciation concepts, you will be at

Level 2—conscious incompetence. You still make mistakes,
but you are starting to understand what kinds of mistakes they are.
Level 4:
When you are at Level 3—conscious competence—you will have Goal
a lot of work to do. You need to be thinking about your errors and
trying to correct them. Your teacher will help you do that.
Level 4—unconscious competence— is the goal for you and your classmates. At Level 4, you
should be listening and speaking accurately, without needing to think about it all the time.
Stages of Learner Progress: A Companion to the Four Levels of Competence
At the beginning of instruction, students are at Level 1 (Unconscious incompetence).
Students make errors; teachers gather baseline data (initial diagnostics).

After instruction, students gain conceptual grasp of target sound, pattern, or concept.
Students are at Level 2: Conscious incompetence
How do you get students here? Teaching talk/language of instruction
How will you know they’re at this level? Student tell-‐backs

After instruction & guided practice, students master specifics of articulation & production.
Students are at Level 3: Conscious competence
How do you get students here? Teacher-‐student partnership: strategic instruction,
guided practice, and principled approach to corrective feedback
How will you know they’re at this level? Teacher-‐prompted production

After practice, students (start to) form new acoustic images for target.
Students are at Level 3 or Level 4 (Unconscious competence)
How do you get students here? Closed-‐circuit theory of convergent production and
principled approach to corrective feedback
How will you know they’re at this level? Student self-‐correction (Level 3)
Student spontaneous production (Level 4)

Teaching Talk

Tell-‐backs + Prompted Production è new acoustic image

(Meta-‐language) (language)
Principled self-‐correction
Approach to

Corrective
Feedback
spontaneous production
Auditory Feedback and Convergent Output
Pronunciation Goal: Improve your speaking and listening by practicing speaking.
Remember, pronunciation works two ways: Your goal is to understand others and to be
understood.

Imagine that this is your pronunciation,

but the sound of other English speakers is this:
There is a mismatch. This mismatch is why it’s difficult to understand speakers of English
and to be understood.
You can hear English speakers, but you don’t sound
like them, and you can’t understand them. Hearing
other English speakers isn’t helping improve your
pronunciation.

If hearing others doesn’t help, what will help? Hearing yourself will help, once your
pronunciation begins to match the sound of English.
Your speaking and listening are like a closed circuit:
what you hear

what you say
So, if you say it right, you will start to hear it: Speaking helps listening.
The role of convergent output: As your pronunciation improves, your listening
comprehension will improve.
Speaking is the key to understanding others

and being understood.
When 'Getting it Right' Sounds and Feels All Wrong

Question: Why do some things we practice in this course still feel strange? Why are they still
difficult to say correctly?

Answer: Sometimes you may think that what you are saying still sounds wrong, even
though your teacher says it is right.

This is what you used to say: But, this is what you say now:
There’s a mismatch.
Your mind remembers the way you used to say

it. The old way still feels right to you. The new
way feels strange because it is different. It does
not match the sound memory in your mind.

This feeling is normal. Everyone feels this way at
first when they learn a new way to do something.
With more practice, the new way will start to feel
right.
When You Practice You Will Create A New Acoustic Image in your mind.
You Will Develop a New Motor Memory for the Sounds.

Pronunciation Problem Survey

Name: ______________________________
Date: ______________________________

My Pronunciation Problems/ frequent errors:

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

I know I have pronunciation problems because:

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

What I’m doing to improve my pronunciation:

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

SPEAKING DIAGNOSTIC

Name: ______________________________
Date: ______________________________

Most travelers, immigrants, and international students know that they could
experience culture shock when they visit a new place. At first, there is what’s known
as the “honeymoon” phase. At this stage, they’re interested in all the new and
different things in their new world. Everyone is full of hope, and nothing is too huge
a challenge. After that, even though they are prepared, many people are surprised to
experience a period of frustration and anxieties. In addition to culture shock, the
also experience language shock: they question their ability to speak the language, to
learn so much new vocabulary, and to pronounce the words. The differences
between the new culture and your home that seemed charming at first now seem
very insurmountable. For most people, after a period of several months, this stage
gives way to one of adjustment, and they are finally able to enjoy the new culture
that they had previously experienced as alien. What comes as a major shock to some
students and visitors, though, is that after living in their new environment for
awhile, it’s possible they would find it hard to go back to their home country. They
may actually experience another kind of culture shock (sometimes called re-‐entry
culture shock) when returning to their hometowns and villages.

This diagnostic incorporates known pronunciation problems for the following

languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Croatian, Dutch, Farsi,
Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

High frequency errors included reversed epsilon with hooked 'r' as in the words
return, learn, word.

Errors also occur frequently with 'w' and 'v' transposition, as in environment,
vocabulary, village and with 'v' to 'b' transposition as in very and visitors.
Upsilon (the vowel in put, book) is relatively rare vowel in the world's languages, it
is often pronounced as /u/: full ⇒ fool

The diagnostic includes modals could and would to test for pronunciation of 'l'
(Spanish interference: [kʰʊd] ⇒ [kʰuld]) or word-‐initial upsilon for would (Japanese
interference: [wʊd] ⇒ [ʊd]).

Diagnostic: The North Wind
Directions:
Read the passage below silently. Then, when you are ready, read it aloud.

This question appeared on a quiz: Who do you think is stronger – the North Wind or
the Sun? The North Wind and the Sun had many disputes. The North Wind thought
he was the strongest, and the Sun thought he was. One day they noticed a traveler
as he approached a fork in the road. The stranger was wrapped in a warm cloak.

Thinking this would be a chance to test their claims, the North Wind and the Sun
agreed that the first one who succeeded in making the traveler take off his cloak
should be voted stronger than the other.

As the stranger approached the town square, the North Wind blew as hard as he
could. The more he blew, the more closely the traveler folded his cloak around him,
and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun appeared from behind
a cloud and shone warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so
the North Wind was forced to acknowledge that the Sun was truly the stronger of
the two.

Adapted from the International Phonetic Association (1999) Handbook of the International Phonetic
Association. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 39.
Guidelines for the Diagnostic Intervention Plan

Step 1: The Speaking Diagnostic (audio record if possible and take detailed notes on errors)
The Speaking Diagnostic focuses on pronunciation. It is designed to include all 29
consonant and 15 vowel sounds of English, as well as consonant clusters. It is designed to
detect a number of predictable interference problems for speakers of a variety of
languages. It is double spaced to allow teachers to mark the passage to indicate student
errors.
Preparation: Prior to administering the diagnostic, prepare two copies of the
Speaking Diagnostic – one for the student to read from and the other for you to
mark. If possible, arrange to bring a tape recorder to your first meeting.
At the time of the diagnostic: have the student read over the Speaking Diagnostic
silently. Then, ideally with tape recorder running, have your student read the
Speaking Diagnostic aloud. While the student is reading, mark your copy of the text
to indicate errors. Use the recording to refine your error-‐detection.

Step 2: The Oral Interview (tape record and take detailed notes on errors)
For the duration of the this meeting, elicit discussion from your student on topics such as:
native language/ country of origin,

length of residence in the US,
length of study of English,
personal/ professional purpose/ goals for the tutoring sessions.
Finally, ask your student to list the specific problems he/she hopes to address in order to
improve pronunciation. In other words, you are asking your student to identify his/ her
problems with English.

Step 3: The Diagnostic Intervention Plan
1) List and categorize the errors:
a. Compare your notes of student errors with the student’s self-identified problem
areas. Keep in mind that learners rarely have the ability to accurately identify their
areas of difficulty or their errors.
b. Compare your notes of student errors with Learner English (Swan & Smith,
University of Cambridge Press). Sort by pronunciation, grammar, etc. and by
‘learnability’ considerations.
2) Triage: Decide which of the error types you believe you can effectively address in the
timeframe available, and target those. Incorporate strategies as they are introduced in
class. Track their efficacy.

PRONUNCIATION INTAKE INTERVIEW ASSESSMENT
DIRECTIONS: USE HATCH MARKS TO TALLY ERRORS
ELEMENT Number Tally Examples
Wrong Vowel
Wrong Consonant
Final Consonant Deleted
Consonant Cluster Deletion
Wrong number of syllables: extra syllable
Wrong number of syllables: missing syllable
Wrong syllable is stressed
Missing contrastive stress
Morphology Error
ELEMENT Number Tally Examples
Plural Ending Missing
Plural Ending Mispronounced
Past Tense Regular Verb Ending Missing
Past Tense Regular Ending Mispronounced
3rd Person Singular Present Tense Ending Missing
3rd Person Sing. Present Ending Mispronounced
Past Participle Regular Verb Ending Missing
Past Participle Regular Verb Mispronounced
Possessive –'s Ending Missing
Possessive –'s Ending Mispronounced
Irregular plural Ending missing
Irregular Plural Ending mispronounced
Irregular Past Tense/Participle ending missing
Irregular Past Tense/ Participle mispronounced

(Pre-‐Course/ Post-‐Course) Assessment Tool: Recognizing Student Improvement

Stress and Intonation:
1. How well can I explain the differences between English and my language in syllable
structure?
Very well.------------------Not so well..----------------I never thought about it.
2. How important is it to say the correct number of syllables in a word?
Very important-------------Somewhat important.---------------Not very important.
3. How important is it to use correct stress in words?
Very important-------------Somewhat important.---------------Not very important.
4. If I can understand every word in a sentence, then I’ve understood the meaning of the
sentence.
Agree------------Disagree.
5. In general, intonation doesn’t change the meaning of individual English words.
Therefore, it’s not essential to clear communication.
6. Intonation and stress change the meaning of sentences.
7. English questions use rising intonation.
Always.-------------Sometimes-------------Never.
8. When I read aloud, I know which words to stress and why.
9. English has a standard pattern of stress, intonation, and timing.
10. I can tell when a speaker uses non-standard stress or intonation.
11. I understand the meaning of non-standard stress and intonation.
12. Most English speakers will pause in the same places when reading aloud the same
sentence or passage.
13. When I read aloud, I think about: (check all of the following that apply)
vowel sounds consonant sounds
stress intonation
pauses thought groups
pronunciation of new words or proper nouns number of syllables in words

14. True or false? Intonation, stress, and timing can. . .
a. turn a statement into a question
b. change the meaning of a sentence
c. turn a sincere statement into a sarcastic one
d. reduce the number of words needed to convey your meaning
e. act as oral punctuation, quotation marks, and paragraph breaks
f. convey information without actually saying the words
g. signal an implied contrast
15. I use clues from a speaker’s intonation and stress to help understand a speaker’s meaning.
Always-------------------Sometimes---------------Never
16. I use clues from a speaker’s facial expressions and body language to help understand the
speaker’s meaning.
Always-------------------Sometimes---------------Never
17. One of the main reasons I have trouble understanding English speakers is that they speak
too quickly. If they slowed down, I think I could understand them.
Agree-------------Disagree

Section E: Errors and Change
1. List your biggest pronunciation problems here:

2. What’s one strategy you’re using to improve your specific pronunciation problems?

3. I know I make pronunciation errors, but I want to improve my speech, not change it.
Agree-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Disagree

4. Complete the sentence by choosing the item that best fits the way you feel: There are
some things I always get wrong,
a. and I know this because my teachers correct me again and again on the same
mistakes.
b. but, when my teachers say I get the pronunciation “right,” it feels so strange
and wrong that I think they can’t be right.
c. but I think I’m saying things the same way my teachers do, so I don’t
understand where my mistakes are.
d. and I’m working on them: I know where my specific mistakes are, and I know
how to fix them.

5. If people understand me when I speak, I don’t need to make changes to my
pronunciation.
Agree-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Disagree
6. I want to improve my pronunciation.
Agree strongly-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Agree somewhat-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐Disagree
7. I know what changes I need to make to my speech in order to improve.
8. I monitor my speech to make these changes and corrections.
9. I know when I’ve been able to successfully change part of my pronunciation.


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Pronunciation Tools for Fostering Intelligibility and

This workshop will guide us through the world of suprasegmental features of

We will examine practical ways to integrate pronunciation into lessons within a

Clarifying the Terms / Establishing our Goals

1. _____ accent a. rhythm, intonation (nuclear placement, pitch height,

Some Issues to be Addressed:

Celce-Murcia, M. (1987). Teaching pronunciation as communication. In J. Morley (Ed.): Current perspectives on

Dalton, C. and B. Seidlhofer (1994) Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Strand 1—Listening for Communicated Content: Connected Speech Features

Instruction in these areas is essential for Listening

Instruction in these areas is essential for Speaking

linked sounds syllables count noun plurals 29 consonant sounds

deleted sounds stress possessive nouns 15 vowel sounds

reduced sounds intonation past tense verbs

altered sounds timing third person singular

contracted sounds thought groups

English doesn’t sound the way it looks. Why?

2. Rhythm & Music: Suprasegmentals (Prosody)

3. Grammar Sounds: Noun and Verb Endings

4. Consonant & Vowel Sounds: Segmentals

~ Recent goals of pronunciation instruction, 1980s - present: intelligibility

~ Current demands on teaching in a global context: intelligibility training

Can we teach it? The mechanics of Teaching Pronunciation

~ Finding the right balance: segmentals versus suprasegmentals

Does it work? The Efficacy of Teaching Pronunciation

Improving Pronunciation means Improving Intelligibility:

You can understand others.

Others can understand you.

⎯deleted sounds ⎯stress ⎯past tense

⎯reduced sounds ⎯timing ⎯plurals

⎯altered sounds ⎯intonation ⎯possessives

⎯stress —past tense ⎯vowel sounds

⎯timing —noun plurals

Content Message Content Sound signal optional: others

Message Intent Syllable yes, always:

Consonant Segmentals Students yes, but others

Where’s the tonic? Courtesy SUPRAS Listserve, J. Maidment's Blog, 12.27.11

Instrument: Power point slide format

Instrument: Power point slide format; audio file

Setting: IEP Advanced Pronunciation Elective: Multimedia Language Lab

Man /mæn/ one CVC Each letter represents a single

Good /ɡʊd/ one CVC The two letters “oo” together

Comb /kom/ one CVC The letter “b” doesn’t represent

Stop /stɑp/ one CCVC

Stroke /strok/ one CCCVC The letter “e” doesn’t represent

sprints /sprɪnts/ one CCCVCCC

strengths /strɛŋθs/ one CCCVCCC syllable structure depends on

1. A syllable is a rhythmic beat.

C = a single consonant sound V = a single vowel sound

SYLLABLE STRUCTURE IN OTHER LANGUAGES

Fijian, Hawaiian, Japanese: no complex onsets or codas

Hebrew: complex codas and some complex onsets

English, German, Arabic: complex onsets and complex codas

CCV CV CV

When syllable structures don’t match:

• You will reduce your accent.

Example: Saying “su-­‐port” for “sport.”

3. Are you deleting syllables in the middle of a word?

What is the sound of a stressed syllable?

Example: Saying “su-‐port” for “sport.”

• A stressed syllable is L -‐ O -‐ N -‐ G er

Some languages are syllable-‐timed: all syllables have equal length.

EYE-‐ OPENER: Stress makes a difference

Line 2 -‐ B: Why so late?

XXXXXXXX  Lecturer  Faculty of Social & Health Sciences  Department of Language

Listeners make inferences: Listeners notice non-‐standard stress; make appropriate