Tips for Teaching Pronunciation

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VOWEL SYMBOLS EXAMPLE CONSONANT SYMBOLS EXAMPLE tiyl

hl

leyl lel

lal

lal

lol

luwl

["]

lowl

lrl

layl

la*l

loyl

see, prece sit, give say, break rest, head map, laugh shut, ago hot, father boot, shoe book, could go, road bought, Iaw buy, side house, now toy, voice

lpl

tbl

ttl

tdl tkl

lsl

lel

t6l tfl lvl lsl [z] tJl

l:l

thl ItJ]

tdrl

lml

lnl

tll

Id trl tyl

lwl

past, pepper box, number time, most date, hard king, come get, dig think, author this, other fair, rough vote, ever same, nice zoo, reason shop, nation pleasure, beige hear'y, ahead check, watch joke, age mail, summer now, know sing, tongue rent, borrow Iast, collect year, young west, away

Contents

About

the

Series

English lan[iuagc teachers alwa)'s appreciare and _{enjov professional reference books}

_with

prnctical classroonl approaches that are firmlv grouncled _{in current} peclagogical r.escarcl.r.

Tips _for:Ie.ching is a responsc to this demancl in the form of a series of books on a varicty

of topics of pmctical classroom-centcred interest.

Designed for teachers of ESL in nativc Engrish speakinlr countries as welr as teacrrers

of EFL in _{non-native English-speaking countries, z?sfar r Teacbrng acrdresses aucliences in} secondarl' schools, colreges, and aclult education courses

with

students at var).ing levels

of prolicicncy. Each book in the series is a pftrctical m:rnual that provicles teachers

with

clearly conceived firethodological ideas, approaches, tasks, activitics, anal,/or techniques to better accomplish their pedagogical goals. tlsers may _{be novice teachers seeking pr;ctical}

guidelines

for

instfuction

in

a

specilled area,

or

cxperiencetl teachers

in

need of

relicshing new ideas.

Each

book

in

the

series

is

committed

to

offering _{soundli. conceived, realisric}

approaches _{to classroon instruction. There is some treatment of r-lndedl,inla pedagogical}

principles of language learning and teaching in clearr), comprehensible terms.These treat-ments arc brief and concise but not rrivial.The metho dology of rips _I()r Teachitlg is based,

on communicative ancl/or. task-based language teaching foundations. Sftrclent centered,

interactive classroom activities fecciye primary fbcus, but not at the expense of appro_

priate tercher-cente|ed approaches or tasks fbr indi\-idual in class or homework :rctivit\r

We're very pleased to present the most reccnt vohrfire in this series, this time on pro_

nunciatiur.In Tips

_for

Teaching pronu.ncicttion. .nuthor Lincla Lanc l.ras provicled rcaders

$'ith the best of cuttin€i edgc r.escarch _{on tlte acquisition of phonology, along with prac_}

tical

teclx

qucs for inproving rearners' pronunciation. c)nc of the first things

y'ti

will

notice is that the sequencing of chapters does n ot begin

witl]

_{the more traditionxl}

con-sonants

lnd

vowels. Recent research ancl practice have shown that adult learners

of

English find significanrl-y greater bcnelit in a primary fbcus on the prosodic elements

of

phonology. As thc author notes in hcr text, most misunderstendings of learners. speech

production stem from

$ord

stress,

rlr{hln,

and intonation.

Anothcr imporrant feature of rips

_for

Tbaclsing pronunciation _{is its focus on}

intel-ligibilit\', comprelicnsibiliq', acccnt, and voice quality. Recognizing that achieving a ffue "nativelike" accent is an unrealistic goal for adult students, Lanc offers a common-scnse

Vi

AboLt! the Se es

approach that encoumges teachers to work $'ith their students on the many aspects

of

pronunciation that inpede a listener's clear understanding of the learner's speech

A third refreshing perspective provicled by thc author is her recognition of a myriad of variables that can affect a learner's oral production, not al$'ays in sJ'stematic or

pre-clictxble ways.

It

is

now

well

known that age, personaliq', motivation, learning style,

amount

of

exposure, native language background, and other factors can

all

affect a

learner's success in clifferent r.a_vs. ancl therefore eech inclividual may present a uniquc set

of

circumstances for the teacher

to

address. The author provides readers

with

an

abunrlance of practical options to approach sr-rch variabiliry

Finalll', teachers

will

be pleased

to

see

in

Tips

_for

Teqcbing Pronunciation an

emphasis on helping learners to become responsible for theif own linguistic der-elop-ment, so that they can eYentually wean themselves from the teacher and classroom'

Exercises on selimonitorin€i range from the segmental leatures of speech to global

char-acteristics

of

speech

in

a context of natural discourse And, recognizing that teachers

cannot always be available for correction of student errors, Lane provides the feader with

options for self- and peef-corre(:lion.

Teachers who use this volume not only gain acccss to a multitude of pfactic:rl

tech-niques for teaching pronunciation, but also acquire awarencss of the rationale behind such techniques. This unclerlying knowledge enables teachers

to

adapt techniques to

their own cofltexts. Teachers

will

also find Tips.for TeaclJing Pronunciation to be an

invaluable hamlbook of information that is easily accessed through chaptef headings, an

index, and a u\ehrl bibliogr:rPh1.

Best wishes as _)'ou usc the tips in this book to help _-vour learners achieve their goals'

Dr H. Douglas l3rown

Professor Elneritus, San Francisco State Uniuersity

I

NTRO

D

U

CTIO

N

TEACHING

NUNCIATION

Reccnt _{lears hare} scen

I

rcncwecl rccolaritioll that pronuncietion js :r cnlcial clement

of

effccti!,.e contml'llticati(nt and that proltunciation teachhg belor]gs in

nlainstrc:rm. conrn

ll'ri.rtiv.

I:SI- classlooms ESL students pl:rcc a l-righ

pfiorit\

on

irst^rction

in

pronunciation. At the sarlc time. EsL tcacbcrs'rav fecl urcasv

ab'ut

teaching pronunciation becausc

the)

lack training

in

phoncti!^s

or

linguistics or cxperiencc in texching pronunciatiou. As a rcsult, in spitc of its rccognizccl importance to comrrunication. pronunciation is still a natginalized skill in manr ESL progruls.

It should not be. Pronunciation is inti'rarcl,v linked to other oral,/;r.ml sklls, both inllucncing an<l _{influenced b\'listcning co',prchension a'd fl.e'cr,. Gilbcrt describcs}

thc rclatioflshi1t betn _{ccn promutciation al]d listcning comprehcnsion ils} a ..speech

loop

betrveen spcaker

and

listcncr" (1987.

_-lJ):

instruction

_in

_onc

intpro\es pcdbrmancc in thc olher. for c\amplc. the reductjons that nativc speakers use in both

frrrmal and infornral spcakiig arc in sl.raq) contrast to their word list pronunciati(xrs: comparc thc pronllltciation of

czl

promruncecl alone encl its prorunciatioll in Bed cdtt ligbt tbe bc.{con ligl.rt (/bivkat laYt

6r

bi,vkan laytl). The rvord list pr(nrLrnciation.

ho$.e\.er. is thc one that ntost stuclents learn first ancl the one the] expcct to hear ir.l

spcaki|rg. "Xlicroieyel' listening tasks can make studcnts awarc

of ltow

grammar

wofds like cdl/ sour]al in conltected speech

ald

thus il]lprol e corlprehensiotl (Choi

19f38. Murph,v 1991.).

In

addition, Xlichaud and l{eed nainrain thar pronunciation

irNtruction can lead to inproYelnent

in

\\,riti1lg b_v naking students morc aw:rre of

er()rs thilt occuf in borh sPcaking ancl $riting, like nissing $()rd endings (2(X)8).

In this Inlroductioll. we discuss the goals of pronunciation teaching. f-actofs

that aft'ect lcarning a new pronunciation. pronunciation s\.llabi, gcncral tyl)cs ol'

pronunci;rtior.l excrcises and actiYities. scll-monitoring, and fccclback.

C.OAIS OF

PRONLINCIATION TEACHING

Studcnts

who

lcarn Enlilish as aclnlts Or

$'h0

are adults

wtcn

significant exposure to English begins

\['ill

probabll'never speak

jt

\1,irh a nati\.e acccnt (br.tt

t{

Icr. hrn,g fr',nunci.rtion

is

it

a

necessaq'

one

for

effcctive commlrnication

in

English More fealistic pronunciation go: s afe intelligibilit\'. confidence

in

speakinl], an(l a reduction

of

accent features

that

distract

the

listener's attention

fiom

intelligible mcss:rlacs

(Modey 1994, Gilbert 1980, (lelce-Murcii et al. 1996). A gcntlc accent, together

with

accuracy

in

other

areas

of

English (grammar',

word

choice), can even

be

an

advxntage, conferring

on thc

speaker positil'e qualities

like

sophistication and

irtclligence. While these are not modest goals and not all students achieYe them, most stlrdents can (and do) learn to speak lnore clearl)'and conlidently

Intelligibility,

Cornprehensibility,

Accent, and Yoice

Quality

Intettigibitity refers to the dellrcc to $'hich a listener can recognize words,

phrascs. and utterances (smith and Nelson 1985, smith 1992, Derwing alld Munro 1997).In research, it is rtsuallJr measured by asking listcners to tmnscribc nonnativc spe€ch ancl comparing

thc

worcls listeners recognize

with

the words speakers

intend. Another term, comprehensibili4,', descrlbcs the easc

with

which listeners

can understand

a

nonnative speaker

(llerwing

and Munro 2005). "Confortable

intelligibility" is also usecl

in

this sense (Abercrombie 1949, Kenworthv 1987, 16).

Accent

refers

to

noticeable differences

betwccn native

and

nonnative pronunciations.

Wlile

htelligibilit)', compre hensibiliq', and accent are interwoven, they are also, to a certain extent, indePendent

lt

is possible,

fbf

example, fbr even

heavily accented spcech

to

be intelligible. Vrtice

quality

refers

to

pronunciatiol.)

features that arc gcnerall,v present in nativc speech, like averagc level of'Pitch

The

goal

of

inte

lligibilit.Y

is

uncontroYersial:

Without

intclligibilit t',

conlnlunication

is

impossible. Considering

all

areas

of

language, errors s-ith

pronunciation and worcl choicc (the choice of an inappropriate word to exprcss a

speakcr's meaning) afe

the rwo

t,vpcs

of

errors most likely

to

nake

a student

incompre hensible (Gass ancl Sclinkcr 2001, 266). Grammatical errors, such :rs

omitting tlre past tense in a selltence (c.g ,I'ast nlght I go to d lnof ie) rarel-v lead

to

unintelligibiliry althou€lh a ltrrge number

of

grammatical errors, togethcr witl.I pronunciation cffors, can reduce comprehensibilitv (Varonis ancl Gass 1982), as can

ronpronunciation discortrse etrors ('Nler 1992)

Research

on the

contribution

of

pronturciation

to

intelligibilit]' has asked

which

t'catures

of

pronunciation

havc

the

greatest

impact

Accurate

use of

suprasegmentals (stress, rhlthm, and intonatiort appears to have a grcater impact

on

intelli€libility assessments b)' rrative listencrs than accruate promrnciation of

consonanis and vorvels (see,

for

example, Anclerson Hsieh

et

al. 1992, Derwing,

Munro

and

Wicbe

1998.

Hahn

2004). Tllese strtdies

havc

inYestigated the pronuncietion of primarily intefnediate ancl athanced ESL learners, and

it

is tlot clear whether

the

same finclings wor'rld

hold

lbr

studcnts

at lowcr

levels of proficienc)'.

In

addition, experjirental conditions can be

far

removcd

from

real

situations in which two per)ple try to unclerstand each othcr

Assessmcnts of illtelligibilitv also dePcnd on w-ho the Listeucrs ere Most research

Teaching Pronunciation ₃

intelligibility of norxratiye speakers, their assessments are sometimes based on aspects

of pronunciation that are not importanr to _{native listeners Oenkins} 2000, 2002; Field

2005).I'he familiarity of the listener with nonnati\,e speech in gene ral, with a particular

foreign accent, and

with

a particr- ar nomative speaker also ailbcts ;rssessments

of

intelligibility: Thc greater the familiarity, the more intelligible the speech (Gass and

Varonis 1984). Because

of

this, ESL teachcrs may not be the best judges

_of

_their students' intelligibility. Kenworth,v suggests that teachers sct higher standards for intelligibilit!' than what they themselves actually require in the classroom (1987).Much

as our students like us, they are probabl_v not taking English so that they can ralk to us.

Stuclies

of

comprebensibility (easc

of

untlerstanding) show that listcners' judgments depend on both segmental (consonants and vowels) and supfascgmental

(stfess, _{drythm, and intonation) errofs (Dcrwing and Munro 1997).}

_In

_{addition to}

efrors

in

pronunciation, many other factors have an effilct (nr compre he nsibility:

Speaking rate, effors in granmaq word choice, cliscourse markers, the age at which

English is learned, the amount of exposure the learner has had to natively spoken

English, the extent to wltich learners use English, and the listenef's familiariw

with

the topic of conversation have all bcen shown to affect comprehensibility (Hinfotis

anti Bailey 1981, Anclerson-Hsieh and Koehler l988,Varonis and Gass 1982. Gass and

Selinker 2001, cass and Varonis 1984, Flege et al. 1995).

Accent tefefs to djffefences between native and nonnative pronunciations that

are noticed by native listeners (Derwing, Munro, andWiebe 1998,396). The degree

of accent is xssociated y/ith segmental, supr.rse€imental, and yoicc quality features.r

Although accented pronunciations do not necessarily intedere with inre lligibiliqr,

distracting, stigmatized,

or

stereofi?ed pronunciations should

be

addressed by pronunciation teachers. Even

fu

y

htelligible

pronunciations can

be

evaluated

negatively by native speakers because of accent (?ermington 1998, Levis 2005, Riney et aI.2000). For example. the substitution of

/d/

for

/6/

iJ.:,ttle word tbem (e .g.,Bring

dem lserc),whtle tnderstandable, is stigmatized (for native Enlllish listeners) because

it

is a dialect feature of nonstandard English. The substitution of

/z/

for _/6/ in tbem G.g.,

Bring zent

beA,

on the other ltand, simply marks the speaker as nonnative .

Distracting or stereotyped pronunciations can affect intelligibiliry by dmwing

the

listener's attention away

from the

message

to

the

mispronunciation

itseli

Examples of distracting or stcrcotyped pronunciations inclucle the confusion of

/n/

and

/l/

by speakers

of

some Cantonese dialects (e.g., He nooked

at

tbe uoman

instezd, of He looked at tbe u)ornan); conftrsion of

/r/

^fld

/l/

(tbe sterectLyped,

flie.l

Iice fot

_fried

rice) forJapanese ESL students; and the confusion of

/y/

^nd /d3/ (jess

for _!es, jesterda! for

_lesterda!)

for Spanish ESL students. These are pronunciation problems that can and should be addressed. The pronunciation of the vowels in

beach, sbeet, and

_Jbcu'

words

which

have caused corntless ESL students embarrassment. should also be addressed.

4 Teachinp, Pronunciation

Voice

quality

settll1gs are pronllnciatioll features that are present most of the

time

in

the speech

of

native spelll<ers some languages,

for

example, are tlpically

spoken at lower levels of pitch (e.g., Dutch) and others at higher lcYels of pitch (e g ,

Japanese) relative to a particular Lurguagc (e g.' English) In one language, words may be spoken with greater ovenll musclllar tension and witll less in another language;the

lips may be more olten spread (or roundcd), or speech may havc a generzlly "creat<yl'

"breathll'or modal (neutral) sound (see, for example' I'aver 1980, Esling and wong

1983, EsLing 1994, Keating and Esposito 2007). Esling a]1d Won€l suggest thxt ESL

studcnts become familiar

with

a broad model

of

voice quality settin€ls

for

Nofih

American Englisl.r (NAE), but note that not all dialects shxre these characteristics: spfead hps, open jaw, palatalized (fronted) tongue body position, retrof'lex articulation (the tong.,. tlp ftrrns up and back), nasal voice , lowerecl larynx (lower o\'-erall

pitclt,

and

cfeakyVoice(1983,91)'The)'offbfsevel?lwaysinwhichStudentscanbecomeaware

of voice qriality settinlis;for exrmple, students speaking differert native languages can

say a shon phnsc in their native language and <lifferences can be conpared (19a3,94)'

Although there is Iittle doubt that Yoice quali$ plays a role

in

accent, more

Stud-Yisneeded.Notonlyarethefedi-fferencesintheVojceqllalitySettingsof

speakers of the same language, there is also not alwa-vs agreement about which pafriculaf settings are pfesent or absent (Keating and Esposito 2007). Mofe fesearch

using larger numbers of speakers is neecled befbre teachers can confidently apply

these findings in the classroom

FACTORS

THAT

AFFECT

PRONI-NCIATION LEARNING

The degree of success that learners achieve in adopdng a ncw pronunciati')n is

influenced by many elements, irlcluding age and social-psychological factors' amount

of exposurc to the second language (L2), amount of use of the L2, the native language

to€lether

with

univcrsals, ancl personaliry Many of these factors (such as age and

native language) are beyond the control of the classroom teecher and the learner

Age

and

Social-Psychological Factors

Lenneberg (1967) proposed

thlt

there

is

a "critical period"

for

learning a

language natively,

which

exten.ls up

to

puberty: Neurobiological chanlaes

in

the

bfaintl]atculmiflateatpubert-vblocktl]enativc.llLngualieleafningability

thereafter.2

In

the

area

of

grammatical learning, .Iohnson and

Newpoft

found

evidenceforagraclualcleclineinlanguageleafningabilitiesduringthecfitical

period rather than an abrupt fall off at the end (1989)'

social'psychologicaldiffbrerrcesbetweenadultsandchilclrcnhavealsobeen ollerccl

to

explain

the

effect

of

age Aclults are assumcd

to

have a deeper and

stfonger attachrnent to their natiYe culture than children, which ma,v consciousb' or

Tead)ing Pr()nuncialian ₅

unconsciously prevent the adults from fully adopting the norms of a new language

:rnd _{culture (catbontin, Trofimovich,} and Majid 2oo5,Jenkins 2005, Leyis 2005). One

of my students was very conscious of the conflict between English anct his native language (culture) and stated that he did not want to sound like a.fake American.,,

Another explanation of the age effect may be that adults'greater cognitive abilities (cspecially anah.tic abilities) are less effective in learning a new pronunciation tltan

the mofe natural abilities found in young cl.rildren.

Exposure and

Use

Pfonunciation learninti is also affected by tlte amount of exposure lcafners

have to the new language and the extent to which they use it (see Trofimovicl.r and

Baker 2006

for

a review

of

research

on

these factors).

It

is

not

surprising that students

who

have spent three years

in

the United Srates typicalli, pronounce

English bcttef than those who have spent three months. Similafly, students who use

English a great deal

in

drcir daily actiYities are likely

to

pronounce the language

better than tltose who rarely use it.

Native-I-anguage

Backgfound

arrd

Linguistic Universals

The ability of natiye speakers to recognize specific foreign accents once they have expefience

with

them attests

to

the

influence

of

the native language on pronunciation of a new language. The native-language sound q/stem (consonants, vowels, stress, rhlthm, intonation, and voice quality) affects not only how learners

pronounce English but how they hear it. For example, the two vowels in the English

words sceze and

slz

correspond to a single vowel in Spanish. Bcginning ancl low-intermediate Spanish-speaking stndenrs arc likel,v

to

haye

difficulfl

hearinE! the difference between sc?n e and

sl,

and may transfer their native{anguage vowel into the pronunciation of these words. As proficiency increases, students becomc better able

to

hear differences and notice pfonunciations that are not present

in

their

native languages.

Similafities between a natiye language and English can either facilitate or

hindcr learning. Lee, Guion, and Harada (2006) for-lnd that _Japanese ESL learners

were better able to lengthen stressed English \.owels and shorten unstressed vowels than Korean ESL learners. They attributed this result to the fact that, while neither

language is similar to English in terms of word stress,Japanese uses long and shoft vowcls

to

contrast some words (e.g., stt

-"vinegar"

and szzr-,,numbef,,) while

Korean does not.3 Because vowel length is impodant in Japanese, the Japanese

learners may have been prirned to notice diJlerences in vowel length in English. On

the othef hand,

if

learners interpret a similafity as an equivalence, tlte,v may be unable to noticc the differences between

sin

lat but not identical, pronunciations

i

Sone dialecLs of Korean conlr?Lst long end shofl vo,x€Ls, but l€ leatu€$ in lhei,ee et al. stud\ werr: not sp€rkeN 0f dtos€ dixlecll

$

wra.toucnaN TeachingPrcnunciation

Glege 1987). The persistent mispronunciation of the vo$'els in sreet and beacb may

be the resnlt of classifying English

_/iyl

(the \.owel

it

sheet alf.d beach) tl:le same as

the natiyelanguaEie pure vo$,'el

_/i/

(seeVowels, page 169). Classroom work can help to make students aware of differences they might otherwise not notice.

Universals are features of language that afe in some sense easier, more natural,

more common in languages, or typical of children leaming their first language (L1). The terms /ess marked and more marked are also u sed to descfibe the relatir.e ease

or

clifticulty

of

rclated features

of

pronunciation. For example, open

syllables-syllebles that end in vowels (e.9., so, me,

sta!)-^re

easier (i.e., morc universal, less

marked) than closed syllables that end in a single consonant (e.9., dog, top, miss). Closed syllables that end

in

one consonant (.e.g., _dog,

_top,

_{miss) are} easier (less

marked) than closed syllables that end

in

a

consonant cluster (e.9., beh, ask,

stoppe.l). Open syllables are found in every language, whereas closed syllables are

not; and

both

1,7 and

L2

learners have more

difficulty

pronouncing

the

final consonants

of

closed syllables (Broselow and Finer 1991, Eckman 1991). For a

comprehensive review

of

natiyeLanguagc transfer and the fole of uniyersals, see

Eckman (200,i).

The native-language background(s) of students should influence the choice

of

pronunciation

topics

addressed

in

the

classroom.

Difficulty

with

specific consonants,

for

example, depends heavily

on

native language. Arabic students confuse

/p/

and /b/, sour]ds that do not contrast in Arabic. Spanish students haYc

problems

with

,/b/ and /v/, which do not contrast

in

Spanish,

while

cantonese, German, Russian,

and

Turkish

students have problems

with

/v/

and

/w/ .

Difficulties

with

English vowels,

on the

other

hand,

are

widespread, and

difficr-

ties

v/ith

stress, intonation,

and drythm are

even

more

widespread.

Appendix

B

summarizes

typical

pronrinciation problems

of

students

from

a

variety of native-language backgrounds.

Personality

Research has not shown a clcar link between personality characteristics and

sLlccess

in

L2 learning. Neyertheless,

it

is

reasonable

to

suppose that outgoing, sociable learners should have

an

adyantage over introverted, shy leafnefs in acquiring oral-aural skills, including pronunciation. Outgoing students are more likely to participate in conversations

with

native speakers and

will

therefore have

more opportunities to practice and to hear English.

A relaxed classroom atmosphere should also foster pronunciation learning. In an oft-cited experiment on lowering inhibitiot]s, Guiora et al. found that learners'

pronunciation improved after drinking moderate amounts of alcohol (1972).

Fossilization

Vrith adult L2 leamers, pronunciation :rnd grammar learning seems to plateau,

perhaps pemanentl)', after a number of years. Selinker first described the cessation of

/NrfOUU( r/ON Teaching pnuutjci,lti()n ₇

2008)." Once fossilization (stabilizatiorD has ser

i,',

substantial improyemenrs in pronunciation (and grammar) in _{spontaneous speech mav not be possible. Althougdt}

vafious causes

of

fossilization havc been proposed. including

Ll

intcfblcnce.

motil?tion, leamers' goals or needs, and alae . the process is not well _{unclerstood. and}

more resea.rch is needed on both why antl when fossilizetion occurs (sce. for example,

knneberg 1967, Gardner 1988, i_ong 1990, Nakuma 199u).

Acton

describes

a

prollram

to

change

the

intelli€iibility

_of

fossilized pfofessionals

who

have spent many veafs

in

an English_speakinpl

_coulttrv

_ancl

reached

high

lcvels

of

fluencv

(198,i).

_Thc

_{program requires}

_a

_substantial

commitment of time both in and our of class and a native_English .,infbrnrant,,on _the

.iob who assists the student witlt pfoblem words and provides natural pronunciation

models. Students _{learn not only about pronunciarion but also about body language}

used

bv

native speakers

of

English. About half

of

the

shjclents

who

be€iin thc program afe able to devote the time needed to show progress.

My

own

experience, which has

ilcluded lrany

students

of

the type Acto11

describes, _{confiflns that very}

_fer

_{wurkitrg pr,,fessionals}

_lre

_{rble to make the time}

commitment

_that

_might

_lead

_to

_{significant improvements}

_in

_{intelligibilitY of}

spontaneous speech. Howel'ef, it is possible fof thcse students to lcafn to self coffec^t and to speak more intelligibl,v in some situations. Fossilizecl learners. fbr cxample, can learn to pronounce English nore accuratel-v _{in controlled classro.m acti.,,ities ancl to}

apply this knowledge when they deliver a rehcarsed presentation. _{However when}

they mo!'e from plarmed _{into unplanned speecl], thc old errors are likely to recrjr.}

Phonological learning may be most rapid in the eafhr stages of lcarning (Flege

1988, Flege, Munro, and Skelton 1992), suggesting

that

ir

is

imporrant

to

srart

pfonunciation

wofk

with

beginning learners. Chela_Flores _{recommends that}

pronunciatiorl be a regular part of coursework

with

beginncrs, like vocabulary or

grammar teaching (2001).

SYLLABUS

Pronunciation shour(l be taught to

a

revcls of strrtlenrs as tonla as intelligibiritll distracting pronunciations,

and lack

of

confidencc

in

speaking

are

issues.

Pronunciation improvements,

_like

_improvemcnts

_in

_{grammatical accuracl,, occur} slowly (Trofimovich et al. 2007). _{According to wong, dramatic changes in stude'rts,} speech in 3 to 6 montlts arc rare',

(l!g7,

g). Because inprovcments are graclual ancl

often piecemeal, students benefit from reviewil.tg or recycling olcl topics.

Given that there are over

fofty

_{consonants and I,owels (segmcntals) and at}

least as nany features

of

word stfess,

rhtthn,

and intonation (suprasegmcnhls), curriculum planners, textbook writers, and cl;rssroorn teachers have a lurge number of potential pronunciation topics trom which to choosc. The audiolingual approach focused more heavily on the teaching of segmentals, r-Nin!! _{acti\.ities like}

_nir.f'ral

$

t^-rroo,:rcaov TcachinEPranunciation

pair drills, sentence repetitions, anci dialogues. communicative approaches have

focusccl more

on

suprascllmcntals, moving stuclents bc1'ond the level

of

single

words. Totllrl', a more "txrlancecl' approach, inchtcling important consonants and

vowels as well as sr.rpnscgme ntals, is fecommended ((lelce-Murcia et al. 1996, 10;

Derwing, Mr.rnro. andWiebe 1998. Dauer 2005).

Because

rhlthm

and intonation

aflect

mcanin!!

in

discourse profounclll', teaching them promotes intelligibility as well as flucncy.Word stress (lexical stress)

is also impoftant since misplaced stress caJl make a word unrecognizable.

Problem consonants and vowels drat are liequent or have a higl] ftu]ctional load

strould atso be taught (Catfbr.l 1987,Browl 1988, Nh.nro and Dcrwing 2006).Thc vowel

coutrdst leaue-lil,e has a

hi!fi

functionad loacl because there are rnany p:tirs of wotds that

contr:$t these two sounds (e.g., seat-sit, sleep-slip, least-list). C)n the other hand, the

vowel contmst in Iuke-look, whiclr occurs in fb$' word pairs, has a low linctioral load.

From a pedagogical standpoint, thc \owels iu the pair /ea.,e-l/./e arc more impoftant lbr

students to leam than those

it

Lukc-look. As discussed eadier

it

is also irnpoftant to

aclclrcss mispronunciations that are distracting, sti€lmatized, or stereot!?ed.

Pronunciation textbooks providc rcad,y-made q'llabi from wltich teachers can

pick

and choose.

A

course syllabus that includcs problem pronunciation topics

cor,'ering vowels, consonants, stress, rlrythm, and intonation

is

approprilte

lbr

all

levels of studcnts. The teacher can alternate topics, starting, for e'xample, with a topic

on intonatiol, next addressing a problem consor.]ant or consonant cortrast, and then prescntinli a topic on word stress. arld so o1]. This approach provicles variety arld

interest and also reflects the fact that in speaking, all aspects of pronunciation occur

sirnultalreously; a two-syllable word like uisit

ot

drugstorc, for exanplc, has both

consonants and vowels, differcnt le\.els of stress, and diffcrent lcYels of pitcll.

In

choosing topics

for

a particular class, the teacher can eithcr stafi

with

a

diaEinostic tcst to idcntiq,' problem areas or cltoose topics which Posc pfl)blems for

lnost studcnts, regaralless of native-language backpgouncl (sce Conlmolt P()mrnciatioll

Problcms, bclow). A good diagnostic tool is a one minutc recording of unrehearsed

(:nd unwritten) speecl], such as a descriptiotl of a picture stor,v or caftoon. A short

sample of spontaneous spccch provides a _liood snapsltot of a strtdertt's pronunciation

problems. Problems with rhlthm (choppy or staccato clelivery unclear wortl grortps,

ditliculty linking w<rrds),

with

ir.Itonation (inappropriate dses/falls in pitch, lack of

discourse foctts, general levcl of expressi\-cness), and segmentals (consonants and

r.owcls) will be evident. A sample diagnostic test is provided in Appenclix D.

The cl]oice of pronunciation topics should also fef'lect students' necds and

goals. In a life-skills class for immigrant parents of school-aged children, for instance,

the pronunciation syllabus

night

centcr

on

topics required fcrr giving personal information:

the

letters

ol

the

alphabet

fbr

spelling names; numbers and thcir

app()priate grouping for giving telcphone ancl address information; and irltonation and

rhlthm

in questions. Work

$'ith

these pronunciation topics

will

also improve

students' comprehension of inlbrmation reqlrests.

International teach rg assistants (ITAS) in thc scienccs must be able to clearly

pronor-rnce technical terms that may contain many s-vllables and difficult sounds (c.g.,

/NIROLrL,a r/oN Tcaching Pronunciation

!

occur

in

student prescntatiolts (2003). ITAS ffLlst also be able

to

use appropriate rhythm and intonation pattefns to ask qucstions of their stuclents. to group wofds, to

hipdrlight kc1'w.ords, and to signal topic changcs in their presentations of material.

'lhe

_sl,llabus

_fbr

_{a short-term tlltorial f(,r a professional}

_who

_{is preparing a}

pfesentati(,n can include the pfoltunciation problcms that occur in th€ presentatioll

itself.

To

prepare

for

the

q Llestion-and-answer session

that fbllows

_nlany

pfesent:itiurs, classwork can irlclude topics such as highlighting key words (see

Intol.ration, pag€ 96), which will Irelp stuclents understand the direction of questions and make their answers ciearcr to an auclience.

Alrother factor thirt sho! d ilJlucnce the choice of pronunciation topic is the teacher's level of comfort in tcaching it. Duri|tli classwork on pronunciation (of any

topic), students pa,v attentioll to how thc,v sot-urcl. As long as pr.lctice includes the use

of connected speech, other aspccts of pronunciation not dircctly addtessed

in

the

lesson are likely to bencfit from this incrc;rsed arrenrion (Hardison 200.1). F'or example,

a teacher ma-y not fcel cor.nfortable teaching some aspects of intonation but may feel

corafident about teaching the

t,

sounds (e.g.,tlxink,

t/rrt,

sornds tltat are casy to reach

and learn end important to leerncrs (Tirdt 1992). In a conlmullicative acti.r'ity focused

on btlhdays

(or

personaLity characterisrics related ro birth order), not only are //,

sounds

in

words

like

birtbdar- hkclv

to

be pronounced mofe accumtel)',

but

the grouping of words (e.g.,May 41 mal' b e clearer and intonation more natunl sounding.

Vhen students pa). attention to how they sound during speaking, many featufes of their pfonunciation souncl better Attcntion to pronunciation druing speaking, then, may be

as impoftant as the particr ar point of pronllnciation beinla focused on during a lesson.

Institutional

or

program goals and assigneal curricula may determinc the

sl.llabus, rather tl.ran the teachcr In some progmms, for example r pronunciation work

is narrowly focused, covering all the vowels in one semester all the consonants in

anothct and so on. Even though this ry..pe

ol

syllabris does nor pro\.ide a balanccd

coveragc of sormds and suprasegrnentals, otltef lbatures of pronunciation, such as

fhlthm

and intonation, can still be addresseci as long as clxss materials include oppoftunities to practice connected spccch (e.9., di"k)gues).

The

Lingua

Franca Core

Jcnkins (2000, 2002) proposes

a

pared-down pronunciation syllabus, the Lingua Franca Corc (I-FC), fbr. stu(lents

who

will

be

using English

with

otl]cr

nonnative speakcrs (rather

thalt

native speakers). _{Jenkins's clata} sulllicst that

commulication breakdowns betrveen nonnative spcakers are usnally the fesult

of

mispronoulccd consonants or yo$'cls, _{rather than inappfopriate suprasegmentals.}

In contr:Lst, inappropriate usc of suprascgmentals appears to hal.e a greater effect

on inte lligibilit_y with native listencrs (see _{Intelligibilit]'} on page 2). The LFC s.vllabus,

which focuses on teachable ;rnd leernablc p(,ints

of

pronunciation that promote

intelligibility bctween nonrati\'-c spcakers, inclucles primarily consonants, some !o\4iels. and onc suprasegmental (highlighting of kcy words).

Jenkins's proposals

have inspired he:rlthy

debare

on

which

areas

of

10 Teach i ng Pran unci at i on

(see, for example, Dauer 2005, Levis 2005). Given that more research is needed and

that teachers cannot know for ceftain wl]ether their students' future inteflocutefs

will

be native

or

nonnative Englisl] speakers, a syllabus that includes important pfoblem sounds as well as suprasegmentals

will

serve students' needs better than

one that focuses on only one area of pronunciation. A balalced syllabus is also likely to be

nore

appealing to teachers and more interesting for students.

Comrnon Pronunciation Problems

The following chart shows pronunciation topics that are useftll

for

most

students, regardless of native-language background.

Vowel length in stressed and unstressed syllables See pages 2L-27

Vowel :eduction in unstressed syllables See pages _25-27

S:ress patterns of classes of words See pages 28-38

Highlighting important words

with

stress and pitch See page 96

Tlought _{groups Grouping words into meaningful phnses)} Sec page 52

Linking adjacent words See page 54

Intonation to mark utterance boundaries See page 100

/,

sounds ln

thinh

and then See page 126

Conffasls involving the first souflds in per, bet, _fbte, uet, afid

uet

See page 124

R:etoflexed. /r/: red, driue See pages 141, 146

Ftral consonants and consolant clusterc: bed, belt See pages 151- 162

cmmmatical endings See page 159

The vowels in leaue-Iiue (/iy/-/ID See page 16P

The vowels k7 net-Nat-nut-not uE/-/r/-/e/-/oD See pages 176-183 r-colored vowels in heorcl, hard, and board See page 192

Teaching Pronunciation'll

PROIIIINCIAIION

DGRCISES

AND

ACTNTTIES

Pronunciation

work

call be

integrated

with

other

coursewolt, providin!! reinlbrcement

of

vocabularl', content, and structures

dtat

students are alfeady learning. \)(r'ork

with

word stress is easily added to a reading or vocabulary lesson

(see page 23). Dialogues in course books can be used to practice grouping words or intonation.

A

key

word

in

a reading/discussiolt activitF may include

a

problem

sound

that

can

be

a

point

of

focus. Grammatical structures

pfovide

many opportunities fof pronunciatiolt wofk: practice with comparatives, for example, can

also incorporate practice

with

the /-colored vowel in bigger, with tl]e //, sound in

than,

or with

contrasti!.e stress (e.g., It's BIGget

not

BETter).

In tlte

sections

co\IerinE! specific leatures of pronunciation, links

with

othef types of coursework

are pointed out.

In

pronunciation textbooks, lessor]s

typically includc

an

int{oduction,

contfolled acti.llities. and communicative activities. Some textbooks also include homework rcti\ ities.

The introduction devclops awareness

of

the topic, sometilnes indr.rctivell', sometimes deductively. For example, after hearing a number of two-syllable nouns

(e.g., table, kitchen, sanda'icb), even beginning students can induce rhe rule that

most two-syllable nouns are stressed

on the

first

syllable. On

the

other hand,

students are not likely

to

induce the articulation

of

r-colored vowels (e.g., bird,

bqrd,

LUqr) simply by hearing examples.

In

the latter case, articulation must be

expiicitly taught.

Controlled exerciscs allow students

to

de\.elop

skill in

perception andlor pfoduction witl.r a fe ature of pronunciation: exxmples include repetition of words

(addressing sounds

or

word strcss p;rtterns) or phrases (acldressing

_rhlthm

and

intonation), minimal

paifs

(pairs

of

words diffbfing

in

only

one

sound,

fof

example, bid-liead), dialogues, and so on. Exercises may progress

from

highly controlled (repetition of words, for example) to less controlled activities (creating dialogues and some types of games). The teacher can spend more or less time on

controlled activities, depcnding

on

the difficulty

students experience

with

a

pronunciatiol.t point.

Many students learn

to

pronouncc a feature of pronunciatioll accurately in

controlled exercises (reading a list of words, for example) but are unable to apply

their ncw skills in cofirmunicatiye spcakinla. In communicatiye speech, where the focus is on meaning, and processing demands are high, pronunciation often seems

to"fall apart" (Dickerson and Dickerson 1977, tune)'et al.2O00, Lin 2001,I-in 2003).

'l'he leafner must fincl words to express his meanin€i, make grammatical decisions,

and,

at the

same time, manage

ditficnlt

articulations and unfamiliar pfosodic patterns (stress,

rhlthm,

and intonation). Thc fact

that

pronunciation gains in controlled activities may

not

carr_y

o\rf

in

communication does

not

mean thet

controlled

activities haye

no

value;

on

the

contrarl',

they

provide

practice

opportunities

that

can

graduall_v lcac1

to

more

automatic

use

of

the

new pronunciation as well as to skills for self-correcting. However, contfolled activities

12 Teach i ng P ro n u nc I ati an

should

not

be the end

of

the lesson. C)ur students are nor studying English to become proficient readers of word lists.

Communicative actiyities push students to apply their new learning in more

normal speaking tasks and

to

deyelop self-monitoring skills. Thc_y establish a

context

in

which

a particular feature

of

pronunciatioll

is

called

fbr

ancl allow

students

to

create

their own

language

in

that

context.

Al

example

of

a

con nlrnicative

ncti\Iit]

involving contrastive stress is a compafison

of two

cell phone plans presented

in

chart form (Plan A is CHEAPCT, but Plan ts has more ANYTIME minutes).

Homework activities can take almost any form.

In

a pronunciation/speaking

course, homcwork can include short recordings of eithcr spontaneous speech or a

controlled warm-up exercise followecl

by

a freer speakin€i task.

If

str-ldents have acccss to a compute! an inexpensive microphone, and the Internet, their recordings

can bc e mailed to the teacher xs atteched sould files.t The teachef can give live

of

recofded feedback. Student recordings can also be used

in

class in peer feedback

activities (see Self-monitoring and Feedback, below). Instructions for recording and

sending a sound file are provide.l in Appendix E.

Homework in ESL settillgs can also include real-world speaking and listening

tasks, such as calling an 800 number

to

inquire about a product

or

seryice (1br

examplc, ayailability

on

a

llight

to

San Francisco)

or

lioing

into

a store

to

get

information about

a

particular product.

In

these assilinments.

the

teacher can

instruct

studcnts

to

pay attention

to

their

use

of

a

particular

t'eatufe

of

pronunciation (for example, question intonation) or simpl_v

to

speak as cleady as

possible.

In

tlre lbllowing

class, students

report

on thc

experience

they

had. Listeninla tasks can also be used as homewofk. Students can listcn to a recorcling and

note how many times a reducecl w<)rtl llke can is used and how

it

is prurounced.

SELF-MONITORING

AND

FEEDBACK

Because pronunciation improven.rcnts are gradual ,md piecemeal, spreading

from a more limitcd use of a new pronunciation to a wialer Llse,

it

is important thnt

students develop self-monitoring

and

self-correction skills.6

A

student who consistently uses an s-like

soud

fot the"tl1" iJ1 tbing, th.tnks,

^nd tbink is li1(.ely

f[st

to pronounce the l/: sountl correctl,v when it begins a common word like tbanks but

continue to use /s/ in other words. With time, the correct pronunciation spreads to othef wofds and other positions. C)sburne's stud.v of pronunciation seiicorrections fbuncl that a common strate€l'used

by

advanced learners involrcd focusing on spccific worcls as units and thinking about how they shor. d sound (2003).

t _lne4ensir,e

_r

crophones fie prlerxble sinc€ thel _{lick ul} less ambiert noisc. Built in micro loncs nrin ormal olprolideclear

enough sound.

TeachingPronunciation

_l]

Monitoring

for

Specific Pronunciation

Features;

Carryover

Words

This technique reflects the piecemeal nature of pronunciation changes, which

often start

in

common words

or

phmses.

ln

this tcchnique, a carrl-or,rr word or phrase containing a targeted pronunciation feature is selected by the stuclent

of

teacher for self-monitoring and self-correction.

Continuing wirh the example of

tr,

the teacher can assilan the word,

tbink

as a catryover word. Thc students goal is to pronounce thc caffyover word correctly whenever they use it. Tlte cafryover worcl/phrase should be semantically cleaf,

grammaticall)' easy. communicatively

important,

and frelluent

enou€ih tltat students

harr

opportunities to use

it

in x variety of contexts. The phrases

I

think

and

I

don't think,

used to introduce opinions, rncct all of these rcquiremeflts. A commlrniclLtivc activity cenrered on givin!! opinions

v,ith

I

tbink/I

futn't think

can serye as a watn-t-up for carf,yover Studcnts can also select thcir.o!r-n earryoycr words; an ITA doing rcsearch in geothermal energv migl]t select geothermql as a

crrr) (

'\ cr u ord for /h.

While

the

carryoyer technique

is

particularl.t' srdted

ro

rvords (and the problem souncls tltey contain).

it

can also be extended

to

common phfases: the phrase i7t

q

minute

can serve as a cafryoYer phrasc for

tlte

rhlthm

pattern

of

prepositional phrases (see Rhy'thm, page 60)

or

for

joining final consonants to vo\\.'els (c.g.,

in d

minutq

see Rhlthm. pagc 56). Greetings can

be

uscd for

intonation carryover with beginning leafners (see xlso Chela-Florcs 20Ol).

Monitoring for

Global Characteristics of

Clear

Speech

The carryoyer technique focuses monitorinli on specific worcls

or

phrases.

Studcnts should also learn

to nonitor thcir

spcech fcrr more general (global) charactcristics

tltat

affect clarity. 'l'lrese include specch fate, spcaking volume. attention to the ends of s.'ords, and speaking expressivcl)'.

Researcl.r on speaking rate shows that nonnati\,-e speakers spcak English more

slowly than native speakers, a reflection of their incornplete knowlcdge of the L2

(Guion, Flege, Liu, and Yeni Komshian 2000).'Ihere is some e\.idence that slower

speaking rates contfibute to accentedness ancl reduced comprchensibility (Munro and Derwin€i 199u). tlowever, asking most students

to

speed

up is

likely

to

be

cor.lnterpfoductive

_,

intfoducin[i

crrors that would

not

occur

if

students ga\.e

themselves more time.

In

the

expcricnce

of

many teachers, when fast talkers (students whose speaking rate outpaces

their

abilitv

to

spcak accurately) slow down, their pronunciation and contprchcl.tsibilitv improve, cven though the_v may

--/Mo\

_Gaad

n ing I

--l *\

"14 _{Tfithing hanutu iJltnn}

not be speaking as quickl-y as nadve speakers.

In

contrast

to

fast talkers, other students may seem

to

speak

too

slowl_v, pausing

too

often.

for

too

k)ng,

or

in

inappropriate places. Inappropriate pausing often reflects a lack of fluenc-y

It

is not

easy

lbr

students

to

change their speaking mte. Fast talkers need

frequent rerninders to slow down ancl ma-v also feel that speaking more slowly

will

make

then

sound less fluent.Inappropriate pausing may disappear as students gain

fluency;

it

can also be addressed by pronunciation work on thought groups and

linking adjacent words (see Rh)'thm, pages 52 ancl 51).

Speech that is not lor.rd enough to hear (in my experience ,more cotrrmon

with

female students than

with

males) ma-y result from a lack of conficlence or cultural

gender roles. Like speaking rate, it is difficult to change.I am sure that I am not the only teacher who has repcatedly reminded a student to speak up

in

class only to hear the same student booming

fofth in

her native language

in

the hall during a

break.

A

technique that is usually effectivc is

to

ask the student

to

address her comments to a classmate on the opposite side of the room.

Many students have problems pronouncing consonants at the ends of words (e.g.,pick, ask, belt). Pronunciation

wolt

with fu]al consonants and frequent error correction are effective in improying this area of pronunciation.

Some students use a flat, monotone delivery when thev speak En€ilish, possibly

because they lack confidence or because the)' are using natiYe lartguage intonation

patterns or both. They need to understand that a flat delivery can make thcm sound

disiflteiested and to be reminded to use their voices more (use a $/ider range of

pitch). This is a difficult pronunciation problem

to

correct, especially

if

a wider

range of pitch sounds unnatuml or silly in tlte student's native language.

To help students monitor the general clarity of their speech,I keep this short

list

of reminders

in

the upper

left

corner of the blackboard and

point to

them when necessary:

Slow down

Speak u p

Final sounds

Spea k expressive y

Error

Correction by

Teachefs

and

Peefs

Little

research

has

treen

donc

on thc

effect

of

ertor

correction

on pronunciation. Research on error cofrectiolt of gnmmar, l]orveve! indicates that

it

is effective in promoting accuracy in communicatiYe contexts when it can be done qr.rickly and when students are familiar with the technique and the types of errors

to be corrected (Lightbown and Spada 1999). These finclings would seem to appl-Y

equally well to efror correction of pronunciation.

Teachers should always draw attention

to

unintelligible speech, asking the student

to

repeat

or

rephrase more carefulll' (and often more slowll).

It

is only

TeaLhing Pronuncrton I J

possible to coftect efrofs when the teacher knows what the student is trying to say.

'iyhen a whole discourse is unintelligible, the teacher must work

with

the student, often using spelling and repetitions, first to determine what the student is trying to

say and then to identily the errors.

Teachers cannot possibly correct evefy pfonunciation effof, or even most of

them. Error correction during most class activities should be selective and directed at unintelligible or odd sounding pronunciatiolls. During pronunciation activities,

feedback should also be provided on the topic at hand. The teacher should choose

a cue to signal pfonunciation errofs and explain

it

to students. The cue should be

as general as possible (for example, sa_ying "Pronunciation" or "Be clearer" a-fter an

error). The general _{cue allows} a student

to

appb-his pronunciation learning and

helps develop self correction

and monitoring

skills. Sometimes students are

unaware of what the pronunciation erfor is and may need to hear both the incorrect

and coffect pronunciations to notice the error.

Peer feedback

on

student

recordings

is

also effective

and

gives the nonspeaking peef additional monitoring practice. Celce-Murcia rccommends that

peers listen for a particular feature of pronunciatlon (1996,352).

The

next five

chapters deal

with

pronunciation topics

from word

stfess,

rhythm, intonation,

consonants,

and

vowels. Each

chapter

presents useful background

information and

research, general teaching

tips, and

suggested classroom acdyities for specific features of pfonunciation.

CHAPTER

WORD

STRTSS

A consrunefs' politician? M]. student intendcd to sa,y 'a _{consummatc politician.,,}

He gucsseci

_*rong

_{when hc} stressed "c6nsummate," a word he hacl ncver heard befbre. placing strcss on the second slllable rather than thc first. As a result. his

sentence (He's

_ct

_{c()nsttl|ttnate}

politician)

sounded

like

.,Hes

a

col]sumcrs,

politicitrn.

'lhe

student's gucss

tliat

corstt

rtl.tctlc was strcssed

on tlte

seconcl

slllable

rvas

probabll

based

on

words

likc

contro|

consurnet; connectj or confession,

all

strcssed

on thc

second s,yllable.

It

was

a

good guess-which

happcnecl to be wrong.

For native English listeners, the most important syllablc

in

a

word is

the

stressed s)'llable, the primary cue for identi4'ing the word (Grosjean and

cee

1987,

Benratrah iggT, Boncl 1999). This mlkes strcss

J

\ crt- important p(ongnciation topic. ln xddition. because tlte chamcteristics of stressed ancl unstressetl sl Uables in

single words are mirrored in rhltl]m, tcachinli word stre ss primes students for work

with

suprase gmentals.

Dalton altd

Seidlhofcr describe

worcl

stress

as

a

comnunicativcly

impoftant and

teachable pronunciation

ropic, bridging

the continuum between segmcntals (consonants and vorvels),

which

are considered rclatively easy

to

teach. and suprasegmentals _{(rhythm and intonation). rvhich} arc

consiclcrccl more difficult to reach (199,1.7J).

LE\rEI"S

OF

STRNSS

IN

WORDS

In

every En€ilish worcl Of more than ()nc svllable, One s,vllable, the stressed

s)llable, is the most prominent. This promincncc is also callcd pdrnar_v stress, major

stress, heaq'strcss,

of

simpl_y the stfesscd s,yllable/\,.owel. (Thc tetms (ul1)strcssetl uou'el and (utl)stlessed syllable are otten used interchangeabh'.) 1he remainin€j

s,vllables may be unstressed or have secondary (niinoo stress. ln the woral sJlfa, tlnc

lifst

syllable (so-) has prirnarl stress and the second (-y'l) is rntstfesscd.In the word

Japdnesa, the last syllable has primlrrv stress, rhe lirst syllable has secondary stress,

and the midclle syllablc is unstrcssed.

1B

olAPftR

I

w.nd stess

In

languages, stressecl atrd unstressed syllables

diffcrences in length, pitch, loudness, or vowel clualiryr

English makes use of all these distjnctions.

can

be

distinguished b_v

As the chart below shows.

STRESS

PI-A.CEMENT

Learning to lengthcn stressed vorl-els and shorten/reduce unstressed vowels is challenging for most students. EquallY challenging is knowing which s-Yllable to

stress in a word.'fi'lte n lcarners are f:rced

witll

a ncw word they have never heard

befbre, they basc strcss placcment

on

many

of

tlle

same strategies that native

'

speakefs do: analogv

to

phonologically sitrrilar words. strcss patterns associated

witl1 classes of words or cndings, or s,vllable structurc (DaYis and Kelly l997,Guion et aI.200J. (;uion ef aI.2004).

Misplacccl

stress-stfessing

the

wrotlg

sYllable-can make

a

wrlrd

nnrecognizable and co[rplctel,v clisftrpt the speakcr's message (Benrabal] 1997,

Fieltl 2005).

Not all

errors inYoh'ing misplaced stress arc equally serious. Field

(2005) reports that rightward misplacements of strcss in two-s-Yllablc worcls (c !a.,

stre ssinli the se cond syllable of a,ozrdr: I\'oMAN) impaire d intelliSibility morc than

leftward misplacemcnts (c.g., stressing

the first

svllable

of

enlof'ENjo)-). My

stndcnt's n.rispronunciation

of

consumln(Ite, descriLted at the beginninti

of

this

chapter, is an e'x:rmple o1 riglrtward strcss misplacement

The rules

for

English stress placement are con.tplex becar.rse English has

borrowed many words from other languages, cspecially Frcnch, Latin' Spanish, and

Grcek,

with

clifferent rules

for

assigning strcss (Jufis l99O) There arc, hower.cq some general, teachablc principles which help students at all lcvels to predict the

stressed syllable. Teachcrs can also help students avoid misplaccd stless by working

with

stress in reading and vocabnlar-v lessons.

t

Nol all l"uguages use str.ss to s\sl€ntdicitllt dilleruntiaft dre slllebles lf x \rold

t.HAPTER

I

_{Wor.l Slress 19}

NOTATIONS FOR

STRESS

AND

SYLIABLES

There are yarious _{notations for stress, cach}

_witl]

_{advantages and disadvantages}

(Celce-Murcia _et el. 1996). Vls t VIS it visit v sit vtsit dthlete 'ath, ete

Capitals and bold letters are yisuall_y _{strong and can be easily added by a}

computef.

It

is difficult, however, to show mofe than two levels of stfess without either changing

tlpe

size

or

combining bold ancl caps

(tbr

example, bold c:rps

coulcl be used lbr pfimary stress, plain caps for second:rry stfess and lower case fbr

unstressed). _{Cifcles afe} also yisuallv strong but not as eas),

to

acld by computef.

Underlining

is

visually

strong and

exsy

ro

do

bl.

compute!

but

in

some

pronunciation s'ork the teachef ma,\- want

to

use undedincs

to

show linking

of

words of to indicate syllables. dcute and g.ave marks and verticals can be visually strong when handwritten but are less notice:rblc when adclecl by conputer. The teacher should not feel bound ro oltc

tr?e

of notation.When the meaning of the notation is made clear, students are not tl.ouble d by mixecl notations.

In

my own

teaching,

I

choose the notatior which

will

nake the stressed s_vllablc mosr salient

to m)' students. In typed mater.ials, for example, I use _{capital lettcrs for tlte} stressed

syllable because _{they are visually more salient than a typed acute mark; on the}

board,I usually place a large acute mark over the stressed syllable, since switchinli between capit:rls and lower case within a word slows clown my writing.

Curved undedincs are uselul f<rr showing the syllables

in

a word. They are

preferzble to slashes or hyphens within words (e.g., vilsit, vi sit) because they don,t commit the teaclter to exact locations of syllable bounclaries, which are sometimes

difficult to determine.

Stressed sy lable in capita s Circles above syllables Stressed sylla ble bo ded Stressed sy labie u nderlined

Line over stressed syllable

Acute marks (') over stressed sy lables;

grave marks (') over secondary stress

Vert ca s (dictionary markings)

visit

UU

listened

In addition, dictionaries do not alwa,ys agfee on syllable b ()tlndafics. American

Heritage

Dictionar!, for

example, scgments .sofl,-)., as,.sof-eJ,'

wltilc

lte&stert has "sor-re."

_It

_{is more important tltat students know how many syllables}

a word has

20

]HAPTER

1

ward stress

STI]DENT

PROBLEMS

WITTI

WORD

STRESS

Students ha\.e two general difficulties

with

English word stress. C)ne involves learning how different le\,-els of word st|ess are realized in English, in particular the length of stressed r.owcls and thc shortness and reduction of unsressed vowels.

There is considerable evidence that the length distinction betwecn stressed and

unstressed syllables can bc lcarned, thefe is less evidence tltat vowel reduction is

learned (Flege and Bohn 1989. Anderson Hsich and venkata€iiri 199'1, Ngul'cn ;urd

Ingran 2005, Lee et al. 2006).

The second difficult,v inyoh'cs kno$'in€i

which

syllable

to

stress

in

a word.

Althougli there are

no

simple, general rules that

will

allow students

to

predict

which syllable is stressed, there are classes

of

words, such as compound nouns

(.e.g.,

_{airPort).with}

regular stress patterns that can be taugllt. As students become

more proficient, they also becone better able to predict which s.vllable in a $.ord

is stressed.

TIPS FOR

TEACHING WORD

STRESS

The

sk

tips

listed

below ptovide

some general suggestions

for

helping

students to create clear diif'erences between stressed and unstressed vowcls and to better predict which s-vllable is stressed. The tips are based on the characteristics

of

English word stress and on problems students haYe with word stress.

r,

1.

Emphasize the leflgth of stressed vowels.

2.

Presenl sets of words with the same stress patterns.

3.

Pfonounce new vocabulary so studerts call hear which syllables are stressed.

4.

Use pronunciation spellings to develop stlrdents' awareness of how unstresscd

vowels are pronounced.

5.

Point out that unstressed ]rowels have a short, indistinct sound regardless

of

spellirg.

5.

Teach classes of words ahat have predictable stress patterns.

The remainder

of

this chrpter presents specific features

of

worcl stfess as

listed below' 'l-he tips are further explained in thc context of these leaturcs

CHAPTER

I

Word Stress 21

@FWoRDsTREss

1.

Primaf),/Hea\T stress

2.

Unstresscd svllables and yowel rcduction

3.

Secondary stress

4.

Stfess

with

two-syllable nouns antl verbs

5.

Stress

witlt

compounds

6.

Stress with verbs ancl nouns with prepositional prefixes

7.

Stress with abbreviations

8.

Stress

with

sulfi-\es

9,

More on unstressed s)-llablcs

10.

Stress switching

\ffe _discuss

_I'hat

_{the teachef should know about each}

_of

_{these topics and}

provide sulillestions fbr teaching them.

ffi

r*narylHearT

stress

What the Teachef Should

Know

Vowels

with

primary stress are longer and louder than unstressed vowels. In

citation

fbrm

(the

word

pronounced

in

isolation),

the

stressed

yowel

is

also

pronounced on a higher pitch;

in

connected speech, high pirch may be

down-stepped (lowered) if the word do€s not present new or important information in a

message. Because the long duration of English stressed vowels is ufl[amiliar to many

students, it is this aspect of stress that should be emphasized in the classroom (see also Rhlthm, page 50).

In

a stud)' con.lparing the length

of

stressed and unstressed vowels,

it

was

found that natiye-English speakers' stressed syllables were about four rimes longer than their unstressed slllables, a large difference (Anderson Hsieh and Venkatagiri, 199'1,809). High-pfoficienq. Chinese speakefs of English sho\a'ed the same fatio as

the nativc spcakers, but intermediate learners' stressed and unstresscd syllables did not differ lireatly in lenlith. Research involving leafners from other natiye-language

backgrounds also supports the claim tltat lengtlt

of

stresscd syllables is learned graduallv (Flege ancl Bohn 1989, Ngul'cn and Ingram 2005, Lee et aI.2006).

Matclring or comparing the stress-s).l1ablc pattcrns of words (e.g..SepTEMbef

OcTObe4 NoVEMbeti DeCEMber) is effecti\.c for building sensitiviq' to patterns of

stfessed and unstresscd s.l/llables. Field descfibes thesc analogy cxercises as haying "stron€i psychological validit,v" (2OO5, 42O).

Kenworthy

(1987,

_60,63)

also

recomrlends "odd one out" exercises. in which students decide which

of

sevcrel