Macmillan Books for Teachers

Sound
Foundations
Learning and teaching pronunciation

Adrian Underhill

MACMILLAN
Macmillan Education
Between Towns Road, Oxford OX4 3PP, UK
A division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Companies and representatives throughout the world

ISBN 1-4050-6408-0 (book)

ISBN 1-4050-6409-9 (CD)
ISBN 1-4050-6410-2 (pack)

© Adrian Underhill 1994

Design and illustration © Macmillan Publishers Limited 1994

First published 1994

This edition 2005
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form, or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publishers.

Designed by Mike Brain

Illustrated by Nick Hardcastle
CD recorded at Studio AVP and produced by James Richardson

Author’s acknowledgments
Extracts from Macmillan English Dictionary Workbook by Adrian Underhill
(Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2002), copyright © Macmillan Publishers
Limited 2002, reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Scotprint

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Contents

Macmillan Books for Teachers v

Introduction to Sound Foundations vii
Ideas behind the phonemic chart viii
Key to phonemic symbols xii

Part 1
Discovery toolkit
Level 1 Sounds in isolation 2
1 Introduction 2
2 Vowels: monophthongs 5
3 Vowels: diphthongs 22
4 Consonants 29
Level 2 Words in isolation 48
1 Introduction 48
2 Joining individual phonemes to make words 49
3 Stress in words 51
4 Unstress in words 53
5 Primary and secondary stress 54
6 Where do you put the stress in words? 55
7 Intonation and word stress 57
Level 3 Connected speech 58
1 Introduction 58
2 Overview 58
3 Sounds and simplifications in connected speech 60
4 Rhythm in connected speech 69
5 Intonation 74

Part 2
Classroom toolkit
Level 1 Sounds in isolation 96
1 General applications of the chart 96
2 Using the pointer 98
3 Introducing and integrating the chart 99
4 Seven modes of chart usage 100
5 A first lesson with the chart 107
6 Four ways of giving models 110
7 Developing your internal imaging of sounds 114
8 Developing your use of mime and gesture 115
9 Working with individual sounds 118
10 Working with mistakes 132
Level 2 Words in isolation 145
1 Establishing the sound flow 145
2 Working with the spelling – pronunciation link 146
3 Word stress: working with words of two or more syllables 151
4 Word stress and Cuisenaire rods 154
5 Finger correction 160
6 Integrating the learner’s dictionary with pronunciation work 166
7 Lip reading, ventriloquism, pronunciation and vocabulary 169
Level 3 Connected speech 171
1 Overview 171
2 Simplification and reduction of sounds in connected speech 173
3 Stress, prominence and rhythm in connected speech 176
4 Intonation 194
5 Some integrative activities and suggestions 202
Appendix 1 Further thoughts on using the cassette player,
blackboard, and pointer 205
Appendix 2 Phonemic charts for other languages 207
Further reading 208
Index 209
Macmillan Books for Teachers

Welcome to the Macmillan Books for Teachers series. These books are for you if
you are a trainee teacher, practising teacher or teacher trainer. They help you to:
• develop your skills and confidence
• reflect on what you do and why you do it
• inform your practice with theory
• improve your practice
• become the best teacher you can be

The handbooks are written from a humanistic and student – centred perspective.
They offer:
• practical techniques and ideas for classroom activities
• key insights into relevant background theory
• ways to apply techniques and insights in your work

The authors are teachers and trainers. We take a ‘learning as you go’ approach in
sharing our experience with you. We help you reflect on ways you can facilitate
learning, and bring your personal strengths to your work. We offer you insights
from research into language and language learning and suggest ways of using
these insights in your classroom. You can also go to
http://www.onestopenglish.com and ask the authors for advice.
We encourage you to experiment and to develop variety and choice, so that you can
understand the how and why of your work. We hope you will develop confidence in
your own teaching and in your ability to respond creatively to new situations.
Adrian Underhill

Titles in the series

Beyond the Sentence Scott Thornbury
Children Learning English Jayne Moon
Discover English Rod Bolitho & Brian Tomlinson
Learning Teaching Jim Scrivener
Sound Foundations Adrian Underhill
Teaching Practice Roger Gower, Diane Phillips & Steve Walters
Teaching Reading Skills Christine Nuttall
Uncovering Grammar Scott Thornbury
700 Classroom Activities David Seymour & Maria Popova

v
 About the author
Adrian Underhill

I work with teachers and educators on humanistic education, facilitation and

leadership skills. Currently I am interested in the realization of the concept of the
Learning School, in which the whole staff carry out their work with an attitude of
inquiry, demonstrating the same qualities of learning they are asking from their
students. Part of my own learning is about using Action Inquiry as a powerful
tool for this kind of personal, professional and organisational transformation.
My interest in pronunciation began when I trained as a teacher. I saw that
pronunciation had the power to engage learners’ attention in a tangible and
beneficial way. It could even transform their approach to the rest of their
language studies. However, neither the academic approach for training teachers
nor the repetition approach for training students seemed effective or enjoyable. I
realised that, in order to engage successfully with pronunciation, we (teachers and
students) needed the confidence that comes from direct and conscious physical
experience of experimenting with the muscles and breath energy in our own
vocal tract. So I started to develop an approach which would provide such a
‘learning space’, and that’s what this book is about.
I was inspired by a number of people who challenged traditional thinking in
pronunciation teaching, particularly Caleb Gattegno through his work on the
education of awareness and the subordination of teaching to learning. J.C.
Catford’s detailed experiments in practical phonetics provided me with
authoritative guidance and insight, and Carl Rogers’ work on facilitating person-
centred learning has been an enduring influence.
This approach has been developed through the practice of teachers and trainers
in different countries, and by my many colleagues who worked at International
House in Hastings. I am grateful to Rosie McAndrew for her development of the
Sound Foundations training courses, and to Jonathan Marks for gripping
conversations about pronunciation at unpredictable moments and in unlikely
places. I am grateful too to my commissioning editor Jill Florent for her humour,
dedication and inexhaustible fund of good suggestions.
My hope is that Sound Foundations will help to revolutionize the way
pronunciation is understood and taught, in the same way that new insights have
revitalized and rekindled interest in vocabulary and grammar.

Adrian Underhill

vi
Introduction to Sound Foundations revised edition
This book is to help you understand what you need to know about pronunciation
in order to teach it with enjoyment and confidence. The approach to learning is:
• experiential - you learn by experiencing the subject matter personally;
• physical - pronunciation is a physical activity;
• insightful - the key is awareness rather than repetition;
• quick - you will be delighted by what you can learn in a short time;
• humanistic - it engages your curiosity and sense of fun;
• practical – you help your students with what they need when they need it;
• lasting – after guided self-discovery, you won’t forget it!

What you will find in this book:

• 88 discovery activities to experience directly how speech sounds are
produced
• Clear descriptions and diagrams, plus examples on the CD
• 74 classroom activities offering an insight-based approach for students
• An approach that integrates pronunciation with all other class activities

The Sound Foundations Chart

The Sound Foundations chart is the point of reference throughout this book. It
acts like a map of the English sound system. Display your chart at the front of
the class and use it for learning sounds and words and also for grammar
correction. A full size chart is available from Macmillan.

Varieties of English
The phonemic symbols on the chart do not prescribe one target model of English
pronunciation. You give to the symbols the values of the target pronunciation you
are teaching, and this is what the word English refers to in the text. The speaking
aim for many learners will be international mutual intelligibility. For others it may
be intelligibility within a local variety of English.

The revised edition

This edition has been revised and expanded to make the text clearer and more
accessible. It also contains a CD.

The Teacher’s CD
This is a study aid for teachers. On this recording I narrate the instructions while
two other speakers demonstrate most of the Discovery activities. I have illustrated
this book and the CD with reference to RP, which many teachers like to use as a
point of reference. Track numbers in the book show which activities are recorded
and where to find them on the CD.
Adrian Underhill
January 2005

vii
 Ideas behind the phonemic chart
Looking at the chart
The phonemic set
Every spoken language has its own set of sounds. A characteristic of this set is that
all the sounds within it exist in some sort of relationship to each other, each sound
helping to shape the contours and boundaries of its neighbours. I refer to this set
as the phonemic set. This chart shows the phonemic set of English as a complete
and consistent system, to be worked with as one organic and interacting whole.

Why these symbols?

The symbols used on the chart are taken from the International Phonetic
Alphabet. These are the symbols used by most learner dictionaries, so working
with them will also help learners develop the skills of finding for themselves the
pronunciation and stress of any word in a learner dictionary.

Phonemes and allophones

A phoneme is the smallest sound that can make a difference in meaning. So if you
change one phoneme for another you change the word. The word mine changes
to pine and to shine if you change the phoneme /m/ to /p/ to / œ /. There are forty –
four such significant sounds, or phonemes, in English Received Pronunciation
(RP). Other varieties differ slightly.
Each phoneme has a variety of allophones, slightly different and acceptable ways
of saying the sound without changing the meaning. In this sense allophones are

viii
not significant. For example, /p/ has spread lips in peel and rounded lips in pool,
but both varieties are regarded as being the same phoneme.

The layout of the chart

The forty – four phonemes of RP are presented on the chart in a significant visual
relationship to each other. Built into this design are references to how and where in
the mouth each sound is produced, and so there are many clues in the design that
can help in recognizing, shaping, correcting and recalling the sounds. Each symbol
has its own box and pointing to this box selects that particular sound for attention. It
can be useful to think of the box as containing all of the allophones of the sound.

The stress and intonation symbols

The primary and secondary stress symbols as used in most dictionaries are
shown in the top right – hand corner of the chart, and beside them the five basic
discourse intonation patterns (ie fall, rise, fall – rise, rise – fall and level) are shown
in one composite symbol.

Sample words and decorations or a sparse chart?

I have received from teachers a number of decorated versions of the phonemic
chart. The additions and decorations usually include one or two of the following:
some include sample words within each phoneme box (eg tree in the /i / box),
some have a picture instead of the sample word in the phoneme box (eg a picture
of a tree in the /i / box) and some sculpt the symbol itself into an object whose
English name contains that sound (eg the /i / symbol shaped into a tree). Some
use colour, either at random for decorative effect, or to convey particular
information (eg different colours for ‘more difficult’ sounds, or to indicate sounds
‘not occurring’ in the mother tongue of a particular learner group).
I encourage teachers and learners to find what works best for them, but I prefer
to keep the chart sparse. There are drawbacks to including sample words or
pictures on the chart:
• Sample words can be mispronounced or learned inaccurately in the first
place.
• If the sample word contains an awkward sequence of sounds for certain
mother tongue speakers then other sounds in the sequence may be distorted.
• Each phoneme can have a number of individual variations (allophones)
depending on the phonemic context. A single sample word supplies only one
of those variations, whereas a symbol represents a whole family of variations.
• The learner is tied to a sample word once it is printed on the chart. This can
discourage them from choosing different and more relevant models as they
become more discriminating.
• Pictures have additional problems in that they can be culture bound as well as
ambiguous.
For these reasons I am reluctant to associate a phoneme permanently with one
sample word, though temporary associations are of course helpful. The sample
phoneme list inside the front cover is useful as a starting point, and for reference,
but I hope and expect that learners will grow out of it quite quickly. Exercises in
which learners find their own example words and then list them in their

ix
 notebooks, or on the board, or on a poster, or even stick them temporarily on the
chart, can all be helpful and illuminating as temporary measures.
An aim of this approach is to help learners to form their own images and develop
their own associations with the chart, rather than find the chart already loaded
with someone else’s associations. In this respect providing less may allow for more.

Using the chart

Permanent display of the chart
The chart is designed for permanent display at the front of the classroom, so that
it can be referred to at any moment during any lesson, and for a variety of
different purposes (eg presenting, practising and diagnosing learners’ perceptions
of sounds, reshaping sounds, learning vocabulary, etc).

The chart as map

The chart is not a list to learn, but a map representing pronunciation territory to
explore. Like any map it can help in two ways: it can help travellers to become
more familiar with areas they have already visited; and it can help travellers to be
clear about which areas they have yet to explore.

Learn sounds not symbols

The symbol is not the sound, just as a church or a lake on a map is not actually a
church or a lake! The aim of this approach is to experience sounds and sequences
of sound in a personal, physical, muscular way, and to use the phonemic symbol
as a visual hook for that physical and auditory experience. It is sounds that are
being studied, not symbols.

Activatingthe chart
You and your learners can activate the chart by touching the sound boxes singly
or in succession with a pointer. This is either to initiate sounds or speech from
others, or to respond to sounds or utterances made by others. The basic rule is
either point then speak (ie someone points out sounds or sequences of sounds
after others have said them), or speak then point (ie someone speaks while another
tries to point out all or part of what they have said). You can establish these two
basic patterns within the first few minutes of using the chart. On pp 100 – 106 you
will find seven modes of using the chart. The even number modes correspond to
point then speak, and the odd number modes correspond to speak then point.

Three levels of study

The Sound Foundations approach enables the focus of pronunciation work to
move elegantly, and on a moment – by – moment basis, between individual sounds,
individual words, and connected speech. Thus micro and macro work can be
integrated in precise response to the pronunciation needs of the lesson as it
unfolds.

x
Level 1: Sounds
This level aims to develop in teachers and learners a deep and internally
experienced awareness of how they produce sounds by manipulating their vocal
musculature, and how the internal sensation of using the muscles relates to what
is heard through the ears. The development of this awareness enhances learners’
ability to change and modify how they use their musculature to produce new or
different sounds.

Level 2: Individual words

Words spoken in isolation consist of a ‘flow of sound’ which is different from the
sum of the individual phonemes. Neighbouring sounds modify each other as the
vocal muscles join them together and take short cuts. Also, in multi – syllable
words, distribution of energy across the syllables creates an energy profile, called
word stress, that is typical and generally characteristic of a particular word when
spoken on its own.

Level 3: Connected speech

Words flow together to make a stream of speech that is different from the sum of
the individual words. Sounds are simplified and reduced, and the energy profile is
extended from individual words to groups of words, that is from word stress that
is relatively fixed to prominence (emphasis) and intonation (pitch) that is chosen
by the speaker. This energy package, held together by the pattern of pitch and
prominence, is called a tone unit.
Each of the three levels invites a different focus of attention and each can be
called on separately or in combination to meet the needs that arise at any
moment in a lesson.

Which model of English?

In this approach we do not give one single and absolute value to each phoneme
symbol. Instead, use the symbols to depict the accent of English that you are
teaching. Whatever is the local or international model that you are teaching, that
is the value that you give to the phonemes. The symbols are not a prescription to
use a certain variety of English.

Conventional pronunciation materials

The chart is designed to be used without conventional pronunciation materials,
by exploiting material from the coursebook and from classroom interaction for
use in pronunciation work. However you can easily integrate the use of the chart
with conventional pronunciation materials, thereby adding a new dimension to
such work.

xi
 Guiding principles

For language learning and teacher training

The phonemic chart is designed for use with learners and teachers of English at
all levels. It is also designed to help you, the teacher, to develop your own
awareness of pronunciation, and to discover new and practical ways of
perceiving, diagnosing and responding to your learners’ pronunciation needs.

Multisensory
Pronunciation is the physical side of language, involving the body, the breath, the
muscles, acoustic vibration and harmonics. When attention is paid to this fact,
studying pronunciation can become a living and pleasurable learning process.
This approach is holistic in that it allows learners to work from their individual
strengths and to develop their own more vivid learning styles. Pronunciation can
become physical, visual, aural, spatial, and affective as well as intellectual.

Assumptions and values

approach are essentially humanistic, holistic and positive in their view of what
learners are capable of under the right conditions. The Sound Foundations
approach to teaching and learning goes beyond content and technique, and takes
into account the psychological dynamics of learning and the creation of an
atmosphere conducive to learning. An assumption in this book is that motivation
and enjoyment arise naturally when the deep-seated human predisposition to
learn, to experiment and to search for order is creatively engaged.

2 The chart and key to phonemic symbols

xii
Part 1
Discovery toolkit

Level 1 Sounds in isolation 2

Level 2 Words in isolation 48
Level 3 Connected speech 58

Introduction to the discovery toolkit

The benefit of a working knowledge of how sounds are made, and of how they
merge into words and connected speech, is in being better able to perceive what
learners are doing. This enables us to guide them in the most useful and engaging
direction.
When a learner produces a not-quite-right sound only one of several variables
may need attention. The questions are which variable? and what shall we do?
Without practical knowledge of phonology you may lack the criteria for deciding
on the best procedure, or, when your learner tries again and produces a different
not-quite-right sound, you may not know whether that is a step in the right
direction or not.
The discovery toolkit enables you to discover the theory for yourself in a personal
and permanent way through your own perception and experience. This will have
many benefits on the ways you help your learners.

1
Level 1 Sounds in isolation
1 Introduction 2
2 Vowels: monophthongs 5
3 Vowels: diphthongs 22
4 Consonants 29

1 Introduction
As you can see, the phonemic chart (Fig. 1) has three main sections. The vowels
are shown in the upper half, monophthongs /m nԥf șƾz/ on the left, and
diphthongs /dIpș ƾz/ or /dIfș ƾz/ on the right. The consonants /k nsԥnԥnts/ are
shown in the lower half. The colon by five of the vowel symbols indicates length.
The box in the top right-hand corner contains stress and intonation symbols.

Fig. 1:The phonemic chart

Sounds are all produced in the vocal tract. The vocal tract refers to the parts of
the body that contribute to the production of vocal sounds: the lungs, larynx, oral
cavity (mouth), lips and nose.

Fig. 2: The vocal tract

To facilitate the learning of the phonemes of standard English, we need to know

• how each sound is produced within the vocal tract (referred to as manner of
articulation);
• where in the vocal tract each sound is produced (referred to as place of
articulation).
The phonemic chart is arranged to convey much of this information visually.

2
 1 Introduction

The first two discovery activities focus on distinguishing monophthongs,

diphthongs and consonants. After that they are investigated in more depth.

3 Discovery activity 1 Distinguishing consonants from vowels

Here we make a first exploration of how and where the sounds are produced,
and at the same time distinguish vowels from consonants.
Focusing on your mouth, say these pairs of words slowly, both aloud and
whispered, and notice how you make the difference between the two words.
1 eee /i / key /ki /
2 ooh /u / two /tu /
3 or / / nor /n /
4 er /ɡ / sir /sɡ /
5 ah / / bar /b /

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In each case the first word consists of a single vowel sound, and the second word
consists of the same vowel preceded by a consonant. Notice that the vowel sound
on its own has no particular restriction to the air flow, though it does require a
particular ‘posture’ of the tongue, jaw and lips. The second word of each pair
begins with some kind of restriction to the air flow which you then release as you
move into the following vowel. Most consonants have their own restriction to the
flow of air, which is what gives them their unique sound. (The exceptions are at
the right of the bottom row of the chart. We’ll return to these later.) Ŷ

4 Discovery activity 2 Distinguishing two kinds of vowel

Now we’ll subdivide the vowel sounds. These pairs of words have the same
initial consonant, but different vowels following. What happens in your mouth?
Observe carefully your tongue, jaw and lips, and notice how you make the
difference between the two words.
1 key /ki / kay /keI/
2 two I tu / toe /tԥ /
3 nor / n / now /na /
4 sir / ɡ / sigh /saI/
5 bore / / boy / I/

Commentary ŶŶŶ
What I hope you notice is that in the second word of each pair the tongue/jaw/lip
posture changes during the sounding of the vowel, while in the first word there is
no such movement. If this is what you found then you are observing the general
difference in articulation between monophthongs and diphthongs*. The
distinction is particularly important in English and has some very practical
classroom implications. Ŷ

*These two words are from the Greek for (respectively) one sound and two sounds: mono one; di two;
phthoggos sound or voice.

3
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Learning from the discovery activities

The aim of the first two discovery activities is to make sure that you have noticed
in your own vocal tract the difference between consonants, monophthongs and
diphthongs. If you are uncertain about this distinction you could study Fig. 3, or
go back over the discovery activity.

WHERE HOW
Monophthongs The distinguishing quality of each vowel is
produced by the shape and size of the There is no obstruction to the
resonant space in the mouth. This is escape of air through the mouth,
controlled by the position and shape of the and they are all voiced, ie the vocal
tongue, lips and jaw. cords vibrate in the air flow.

Diphthongs As for monophthongs the distinguishing

quality is produced by the tongue, lips and
As with monophthongs there is no
jaw. The difference is that there is one
obstruction to the escape of air
mouth posture at the beginning of the
through the mouth, and they are all
vowel sound, and another at the end. The
voiced, ie the vocal cords vibrate in
resulting glide between these two tongue
the air flow.
and lip positions gives the diphthong its
characteristic ‘two – sound’ quality.
Consonants Restrictions to the air flow can be
made in various ways, each giving a
The restrictions to the air flow that make different characteristic sound.
the characteristic consonant sounds are Restrictions can be produced by
made at one of the points of contact friction applied to the air flow, or by
between the various speech organs such as a momentary blocking of the air
tongue, teeth, lips, roof of mouth, etc. All flow followed by a sudden release,
consonants involve some sort of restriction or by diverting the air flow through
to the air flow except /w/ and /j/. the nose. The use of voicing and
unvoicing also characterizes
consonant sounds.

Fig. 3: The how and where for monophthongs, diphthongs and consonants
In general the aim of each discovery activity is to experience the auditory, visual
and physical aspects of sounds. To make this experience more vivid there are
three kinds of feedback you can give yourself in the discovery activities:
• kinesthetic feedback: the internal physical sensation of touch and of muscle
movement in your throat, mouth, tongue and lips, etc;
• auditory feedback: what you hear, externally through the air, and internally
through your head (you can enhance the latter by blocking your ears with your
fingers when you speak);
• visual feedback: any physical movement connected with the production of the
sound that you can see in yourself or in others (it is very helpful to have a
pocket mirror available).
You can also deepen your observations in each activity by making use of three
kinds of voicing, each of which reveal different aspects of articulation:
• speaking aloud;
• whispering;
• mouthing silently.

4
 2 Vowels: monophthongs

2 Vowels: monophthongs
In the production of vowel sounds, the vocal tract is open so that there is no
obstruction to the air flow escaping over the tongue. The characteristic sound of a
vowel depends on the shape and size of the resonant space in the mouth. This is
determined by:
• the horizontal tongue position (front–center–back);
• the vertical tongue position (high–mid–low);
• the lip position (rounded–neutral–spread).
And there is a fourth characteristic of vowels which is not dependent on tongue
or lip position:
• the typical length or duration of the vowel (long–short).
In this section we’ll examine these four variables in turn, and through the
discovery activities you will be able to see how you are using these variables when
you make vowel sounds. This is important if you want to build up your repertoire
of precise and positive techniques for helping learners to shape or reshape their
vowel sounds. You will also see how these variables are incorporated in the design
of the chart.

The horizontal tongue position

5 Discovery activity 3 Horizontal tongue position

Say / i / as in tea, and now /u / as in two. Alternate the sounds /i ... u ... i ... u .../.
Try this slowly at first and then more rapidly. What internal physical movements do
you notice? What do you hear? What can you see in a mirror? It may help you to
focus attention on the internal movement if you whisper rather than say the
sounds aloud.
Try the same thing with /e/ as in pen, and / / as in door, alternating them /e ... :...
e ... :... /. With these two sounds the jaw is a little more open than before, and
the tongue correspondingly a bit lower. What movement does your tongue make as
you slide between these two sounds?
Finally, try the same activities with the pair /æ/ as in cat, and / / as in pot,
alternating them / æ ... ... æ ... ... /. The tongue is even lower in the mouth and
the lip position is more open, but you will still be able to notice the horizontal
forwards and backwards movement of the tongue.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You probably notice two distinct areas of movement: the movement of the lips
from a spread position to a rounded position, and the movement of the tongue
sliding backwards and forwards in the mouth. For the moment it is the tongue
movement we are interested in, and it will help if you try to distinguish between
the internal sensations of the tongue and the lip movement.
The next discovery activity helps you to mask off the sensation of lip movement. Ŷ

5
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Discovery activity 4 Isolating your perception of the tongue movement

Say the sound /i /, and as you do so put the tip of your finger (or a pencil) in
contact with the tip of your tongue. Now gradually slide towards the sound /u /,
maintaining the contact between finger and tongue. Alternate the sounds /i ...
u ... i ... u ... /. Try this a few times and you should find that your finger has to
move further into your mouth if you are going to keep contact with your tongue.
Another way to focus on your perception of tongue movement is to adopt the
mouth position for /i / Place a finger along the line of your open lips, gently
touching both the top and bottom lip. Now alternate /i ... u ... i ... u ... / paying
attention to the movement of your tongue. The finger on your lips may help you to
mask out the sensation of lip movement.
You can also register where your tongue is on the front – back continuum by first
saying the vowel and then moving your tongue vertically to touch the roof of your
mouth. This sense of contact may indicate how forward or back your tongue is with
different vowels.
Try each of these ways of masking off the sensation of lip movement using the
other two pairs /e ... ... e .... ... / and / æ ... ... æ ... ... /.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The aim of these activities is to highlight the role of the backwards and forwards
movement of the tongue in determining the vowel sound. We have explored three
pairs of vowels, each pair consisting of a vowel with the tongue forward in the
mouth and a vowel with the tongue back in the mouth. The vowels produced with
the tongue forward are called front vowels, being produced by the front part of
the tongue in the front of the mouth. The other vowel in each pair is called a back
vowel, being produced by the back of the tongue in the back of the mouth. In
Fig. 4 you can see how this relates to the layout of the chart. Ŷ

Fig. 4: Front and back monophthongs

6 Discovery activity 5 Finding the in – between vowels

Say the sound /i / and slowly glide towards the sound /u /. Listen to the changing
quality of the vowel sound, while noticing the movement of the tongue and lips.
Now repeat the glide /i ... u /, but this time stop along the way to see what other
vowel sounds you arrive at on the continuum between /i / and /u :/. In theory there
are many sounds possible, but two in particular correspond to English phonemes.
You may find a point soon after starting where you have a sound that corresponds
approximately with /I/ as in it, and you will have to shape it and shorten it. As you
draw your tongue further back along the continuum you’ll find a sound close to / /
as in put. You’ll have to make it short to give it its RP quality.

6
 2 Vowels: monophthongs

You can find other English monophthongs as you move on the continuum between
the other front–back pairs. Take the continuum /e ... /. As your tongue slides
back from Id you may be able to locate fal as in ago. For this the tongue is in a
neutral position, and the tongue and mouth are relaxed. The sound is short and
uses relatively little energy. The next sound on this line is ɡ / as in her. You may
find this in the same place as /ԥ/, or you may sense that the tongue is slightly
further back. This sound is the longer, stressed cousin of /ԥ/. Again the tongue
and mouth are relaxed, but the sound itself has more force. As you move the
tongue to the back position, you should find a sound close to / /. Here you may
get a sensation of the back of the tongue being pulled to the back of the mouth,
while the lips are pushed forward.
And now try the continuum / æ ... /. Here the tongue is in low position and the jaw
is open. As you move the tongue back from /æ/ towards / / you should find that you
pass quite close to /ȁ/. In fact if you stop the tongue at a certain point, and make a
very small adjustment, then you should have the sound /ȁ/. Can you find that
point? What small adjustment, if any, do you have to make? As your tongue
proceeds on its backward journey you will find yourself in the region of / /. Again,
see what adjustments are necessary.
Finally at the end of that continuum you have / /, which in RP is short.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In this activity we have found a rough and ready way of discovering vowels lying
more or less on a line between other vowels. This is achieved by moving the
tongue along the front–back continuum as shown by the three horizontal lines of
vowels shown on the chart. (See Fig. 5.)
The aim of this activity is also to help you to become aware of which sounds are
neighbours to which others, and exactly what you have to do to change one sound
into another. Lip position is also important to ‘tune’ the sound made by the
tongue position.

Fig. 5: Front, back and central monophthongs

You probably find that the movements involved are very slight, and at first give
you little internal sensation. But as you keep your attention on it, you will find that
it becomes more perceptible. Our aim is to gain insights that will qualify us to
guide our learners. Ŷ

Summary
Tongue position is the most important variable in determining the sound of a
vowel. For each of the twelve English monophthongs the tongue is curved in
some way, such that one part of the tongue is closer to the roof of the mouth than
any other part. This raised part may be the front of the tongue, raised towards the

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

hard palate; or the centre of the tongue, raised towards the juncture of hard and
soft palate; or the back of the tongue, raised towards the soft palate. The resulting
vowels are correspondingly referred to as front, centre or back vowels.

The vertical tongue position (high – mid – low)

To complete the description of a vowel, it is also necessary to fix the position of
the tongue on a vertical axis – in other words, to state how far from the roof of the
mouth the raised part of the tongue actually is. To describe this the labels high,
mid and low are used. High denotes that the raised part of the tongue is relatively
close to the roof of the mouth, and above the level it holds in ‘neutral’ position.
Low denotes that the tongue is relatively distant from the roof of the mouth, and
below the level it holds in neutral position. Mid indicates a neutral or middle
position between these two extremes.
In the next discovery activity we’ll explore this vertical positioning, and observe
its effect on the mouth shape and on the resulting vowel sound.

7 Discovery activity 6 Vertical tongue position

Say the sound /i / and hold it. Slowly close the gap between the front of your
tongue and the roof of your mouth (or more exactly the alveolar ridge, behind the
top front teeth). Do this again whispering, and repeat until you have a clear
sensation of the inner movement. You’ll notice that as soon as you start to raise
the tongue from the /i / position you start to get friction against the top of the
mouth, and if you raise it any further, you stop the sound and the air flow
altogether, perhaps producing the nasal consonant /n/.
What this shows is that in the position for /i / the tongue is as high as it can be
without causing audible friction.
Now take the position for the sound /æ/, and again close the gap between the front
of your tongue and the roof of your mouth, and see how far it is this time. You
should find that the gap is much wider than for /i /. In fact for /æ/ the tongue is low
in the mouth. If you can distinguish the physical sensation of these two tongue
positions then you are noticing the difference between high and low tongue
position.
Now look at the second vertical column in the monophthong section of the chart,
/ȱ/to /ȁ/. Say each sound in turn, both aloud and whispering. While saying each
sound in turn close the gap between your tongue and the top of your mouth. Notice
the size of the gap, and also where on the roof of your mouth your tongue touches.
Do the same investigation for the third column, / / to / /, and for the fourth
column, /u / to / /

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In this activity we have explored four high – low pairs of vowels. The first of each
requires the tongue to be high, that is as close as possible to the roof of the mouth
without actually causing friction, and the second requires the tongue to be low,
that is relatively distant from the top of the mouth, and below the neutral point of
the tongue. (See Fig. 6.)

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 2 Vowels: monophthongs

You will also have noticed that when your tongue moves between high and low,
your jaw tends to move with it from a more closed position to a more open one.
We’ll investigate this further in discovery activity 9. Ŷ

Fig. 6: High and low monophthongs

8 Discovery activity 7 Finding the in – between sounds in the vertical

continuum
Take the first monophthong column on the chart, /i /to / æ /. Say /i /, and gliding
slowly towards / æ /, listen carefully to the changing vowel quality as your tongue
lowers and your jaw opens. Stop at several points along the way, and see what
vowel you have discovered. In theory there are many possibilities, but only one
corresponds to RP. About halfway between /i /and /æ/ you can isolate the sound
/e/. Here the tongue is in mid or neutral position vertically, and in a front position
horizontally. Try this both aloud and whispering.
Do the same with the second monophthong column, /ȱ/ to /ȁ/. Glide slowly from /ȱ/
to /ȁ/ while saying the sound, and notice the other ‘in – between’ vowel sounds that
you can make if you stop the movement at any point. About halfway down this
vertical glide, when the tongue is in mid or neutral position, you should find a
sound which when made short, and with tongue and mouth relaxed, sounds like
/ԥ/. This is known as a centre vowel because the tongue, jaw and lips are all in a
relaxed, neutral posture.
Try the same sequence of experiments for the third vertical column, / / to / /. At a
point roughly midway you should find /ɡ /, which needs some length, and again
requires your mouth, tongue and lips to be relaxed. This is also a centre vowel,
and you may find that your tongue is in the same position as for /ԥ/, or it may be
just a little further back.
Try the same sequence of experiments with the fourth vertical column, /u / to / /
At a point roughly midway between /u / and / / you should find / /, which needs
length, but also needs your tongue to be well back, giving the sensation of being
bunched up at the back of your mouth. Rounding the lips is also important to
achieve the exact acoustic quality. (More about this in the section on lip position,
following discovery activity 11.)

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In this activity we find that there is a position approximately midway between high
and low where a third English vowel is produced. These mid sounds are shown in
Fig. 7 on p 10. Lip position is also important to ‘tune’ the sound made by the
tongue position. Ŷ

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Fig. 7: The mid – vowels on the vertical continuum

Fig. 8: Summary of tongue positions: front – centre – back and high – mid – low

The traditional vowel box and the Sound Foundations phonemic chart
Traditionally the front–back and high–low co-ordinates of tongue position have
been shown on a vowel box (Fig. 9a). A great number of different vowel sounds
are possible within this vowel box, yet each language makes use of only a few of
them, dividing up the space available to suit its own requirements.
The traditional vowel diagram (Fig. 9a) is transferred to the Sound Foundations
phonemic chart (Fig. 9b) to give the layout shown in Fig. 9c. Fig. 9d shows how
the chart relates to the mouth.

Fig. 9a Fig. 9b Fig. 9c

Fig. 9d

Discovery activity 8 Experiment with all the monophthongs

Look at the monophthong part of the phonemic chart.
1 Take any horizontal or vertical row and:
• say the sounds aloud, slowly, registering their inner physical movements;
• whisper the sounds;
• adopt the tongue postures, but without sound or exhalation.
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 2 Vbwels: monophthongs

2 Take symbols at random and say the corresponding sound both aloud and
whispered.
3 Close your eyes or look away and think of monophthongs at random. Find the
tongue posture, notice it, whisper and voice the sound. Then look back at the
chart and locate the sound.
4 Look away and visualize the monophthong section of the chart in your mind’s
eye. Start anywhere. Visualize the symbol. Can you hear the sound in your
mind’s ear? And can you link that to a sensation of the muscular movement?

Schwa: a note on a special sound

The central vowel /ԥ/ can claim to be the ‘smallest’ English vowel sound and yet it
is the only phoneme with its own name. It is by far the most frequent vowel sound
in continuous speech, though it never carries stress. It is its unstressed nature that
contrasts with stressed vowels to contribute to the rhythmical nature of English.
(‘You can’t have stress without unstress’ – more on this in Level 2 of the discovery
toolkit.) Its correct use is crucial to the smooth rhythmic quality of spoken
English. /ɡ / is its longer, stressed equivalent.

9 Discovery activity 9 Noticing your jaw position

Place your forefinger on the bridge of your nose and the thumb of the same hand
on the point of your chin. Say /i / and glide slowly to /æ/. Notice the downward
movement of your jaw indicated by the increased distance between thumb and
forefinger.
Try the movement /i ... æ... i ... æ .../ several times both aloud and whispering to
confirm the link between tongue lowering and jaw opening. Try the same activity
with the other three vertical columns of monophthongs /ȱ/ to /ȁ/, / / to / / and /u /
to / /.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This illustrates that jaw position and tongue position are interlinked, so that when
the tongue is relatively high or close to the roof of the mouth the jaw is usually
relatively closed, while when the tongue is low the jaw is usually relatively open.
This makes good mechanical sense as a more open jaw enables the tongue to
move further (lower) from the roof of the mouth.
In some systems of vowel description the terms ‘close–open’, referring to jaw
position, are used in place of the terms ‘high–low’, referring to tongue position.
On the monophthong section of the phonemic chart, jaw position could be
indicated as in Fig. 10. Ŷ

Fig. 10: Jaw positions for monophthongs

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Discovery activity 10 High–low and close–open

In connected speech some speakers tend to use fairly minimal jaw movement
while still producing the required vowel sounds. It will be helpful to have
experience of this.
Say a high vowel aloud, and glide to its opposite low vowel without opening your
jaw any further. You may find that you can lower the tongue sufficiently to
approximate the open sound without actually opening the jaw, though it probably
sounds a little strangled.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Now try it the other way: say the open vowels and try to glide towards the closed
vowels by raising your tongue while keeping your jaw open. Not so easy is it! But
store this experience in your memory for future use when working with learners
who need to co-ordinate tongue and jaw movement. Ŷ

Energy in the jaw

Another relevant aspect relating to the jaw is the energy stored and released there
during the articulation of vowels. The setting of the jaw muscles for English is
characteristically less tense than for some other languages (French, German,
Italian, Spanish, for example).

Discovery activity 11 Energy and tension in the jaw muscles

Take monophthongs at random, and try increasing and decreasing the amount of
energy you use in the jaw postures and movements. What do you change? How
do you do this? What is the internal sensation? Does this provide any insight
into your learners’ difficulties?
Say a sentence in English and concentrate on the movement of your jaw. Try to
register the sensation of tension and energy. Try the same experiment in another
language. What do you notice? What implications could this have for your
learners?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
So the relaxation or tension of jaw muscles provides another ‘hook’ for the
development of awareness, and a variable that can help in ‘getting the feel’ of a
language. Ŷ

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 2 Vowels: monophthongs

Lip position
We have been investigating the way in which the posture of the tongue affects the
resonant space in the mouth. The lips can further modify the size and shape of
the resonating space, and provide a kind of acoustic tuning to the fundamental
vowel sound produced by the tongue position. Lip movement is easier to detect
visually, and for many people easier to sense internally than the movement of the
tongue.
In the following activities you can enhance your awareness of what you are doing:
• through the internal sensation of muscle tension and release in your lips;
• through your external sense of touch, using your fingers as described;
• through visual observation of your lips using a small mirror.

10 Discovery activity 12 Lip position of vowels

1 Say the sound /ɡ / as in sir, and notice the position and shape of your lips. They
should be relaxed and in a neutral position. If you detect any tension in lips,
tongue or jaw, then try to let go. This lip posture is characteristic of English
vowels where the tongue is in a central position.
2 Say /i / as in me. You’ll notice that the lips spread, with some muscular
tension, as if towards a half smile. This lip posture is characteristic of English
vowels where the tongue is in a high–front position. Now exaggerate the lip
position into a full smile, noticing the change in internal sensation, and in the
sound produced.
3 Say /u / as in too. You’ll find that your lips become rounded, as if towards a
whistling position. Notice the internal sensation of the muscle tone. This lip
posture is characteristic of English vowels where the tongue is in a high–back
position. Try exaggerating the lip position by rounding them more tightly and
pushing them further forward. Notice the different sound linked to the
different muscular sensation.
4 Say /æ/ as in sad. Your lips should be open and spread. This lip posture is
characteristic of English vowels where the tongue is in a low–front position.
5 Say / / as in door. The rounding of your lips is probably not as tight or as
forward as for /u / but nevertheless very obvious, and helps to shape the
sound. Notice the contrast in this vowel position between the forward posture
of the lips and the back posture of the tongue. This lip posture is characteristic
of English vowels where the tongue is in a mid – back position.
6 Now try these activities again, but this time:
• whispering the vowel. Your ear still picks up the unvoiced characteristics of the
vowel which you can relate to lip positions;
• silently. Removing the sound entirely may help you attend more fully to the
internal sensation of muscle tone in your lips;
• using a mirror to. compare the visual movement of your lips with the internal
sensation of movement.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Try to make the connection between the sensation of the lip muscles in different
positions and the effect on the sounds that you hear. It’s important to become
sensitive to all the visual clues of pronunciation, because they will help you to
know what your learners are trying to do, which in turn will help you to help
them. See if you can relate your own lip positions in discovery activity 12 to the
examples shown in Fig. 11. Ŷ

Front Sounds Back Sounds

Fig. 11: Examples of lip positions for front and back vowels

11 Discovery activity 13 Lip rounding and spreading

1 Start with the sound /i /. Touch the tip of your thumb gently against one corner
of your lips, and the tip of your forefinger against the other corner. Now
change /i / very gradually to the sound /u /. Slowly alternate //i /... /u /... /i /... /u /.../
letting thumb and forefinger follow the movement of your lips. This should tell
you that your lips are alternating between spread and rounded. Now exaggerate
the lip movement. Notice the internal sensation.
2 Using your fingers in the same way, what lip rounding and spreading can you
detect when moving between these pairs?
/e ... ... e ... ... /
/æ ... ... æ ... ... /

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The aim of this activity is to sharpen the sensation of lip rounding and spreading
by providing external tactile evidence. Ŷ

12 Discovery activity 14 Lip movement forward and back

1 Start with the sound /i /. Touch your forefinger lightly against the front of your
lips. Now change /i / very gradually to the sound /u /. Slowly alternate /i ... u ...
i ... u ... / while maintaining contact between finger and lips. You should get a
clear indication that your lips are moving forward when rounded and backward
when spread.

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 2 Vowels: monophthongs

2 Try the same thing with these pairs:

/e ... ... e ... ... /
/ æ ... ... æ ... ... /
3 Try the same activities silently, attending to the sensation of lip movement on
its own.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This activity is intended to illustrate that forward movement of the lips is part of
the lip-rounding movement, and that backward movement of the lips is part of
the lip-spreading movement. Fig. 12 contains this information.

lips rounded and slightly forward

lips spread and less forward

lips neutral

Fig. 12: Lip position superimposed on the monophthong chart

However, the correspondence between back vowels and rounded lips, and
between front vowels and spread lips, is not necessarily a tendency in other
languages. Now that you can change tongue position and lip position
independently and at will, you can also try producing front vowels with lips
rounded and back vowels with lips spread. This results in interesting non – English
sounds, and gives further insights into difficulties some learners may have and
how to help them. The next discovery activity goes into this. Ŷ

Discovery activity 15 Doing the ‘opposite’ lip movements

This activity involves doing the opposite of what is indicated in Fig. 12.
1 Say /i / with the lips spread as usual, but then round your lips while holding
the tongue position constant. What happens? First the posture may feel
awkward and unfamiliar (if English is your mother tongue), and second you
probably get a sound you recognize from several other languages (including
French, Swedish, and German, but not English). What you have is the non –
English combination of forward tongue with forward, rounded lips. This is a
good illustration of how the lip position can fine – tune the resonating space
created by the tongue to make up the overall sound.
2 Try the corresponding activity. Say /i / with the lips spread as usual, and then
hold the lip position constant while moving the tongue back in the mouth towards
/u /. Think /i / with your lips and /u / with your tongue, and what do you get?
3 Say /e/, and holding the tongue position constant gradually round your lips. How
does that alter the sound? Try the same with /æ/.
4 Say /e/, and hold your lip position constant while moving your tongue back.
Notice the resulting rather nondescript vowel sound. Try the same with /æ/.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

5 Try the following activities, and notice the non-English vowels you invent:
• Say /u /, hold the lips constant and move the tongue forward.
• Say /u /, hold the tongue constant while you spread the lips.
• Say / /, hold the lips constant and move the tongue forward.
• Say / /, hold the tongue constant while you spread the lips.
• Say / /, hold the lips constant and move the tongue forward.
• Say / /, hold the tongue constant while you spread the lips.
Try these aloud, whispered, and silently.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Perhaps these activities have reminded you of some of the attempts by your
learners to produce a new sound. If we as teachers can be aware of these
variables within ourselves, we will be in a better position to understand and help
our learners to find sounds that are unfamiliar to them. Ŷ

Vowel length
Vowel length is a fourth variable which is used to describe monophthongs, and it
is rather different from the first three. To clarify this difference here’s a summary
of the story so far:
Vowels get their characteristic sound quality from the shape and size of the
resonant space in the mouth, and this resonant space is determined by:
• the horizontal tongue position (front–center–back);
• the vertical tongue position (high–mid–low); and
• the lip position (rounded–neutral–spread).
Each of these variables affects the acoustic quality of the sound itself, while the
fourth variable, vowel length, concerns not the quality, but the quantity, or length,
or duration of the monophthong.

13 Discovery activity 16 Making vowels longer or shorter

Look at the monophthong section and say each vowel:
1 as you normally say it;
2 making it last longer than usual, though not changing the quality of the sound;
3 giving it the briefest duration you can, but not changing the quality of the sound.

Fig. 13: Monophthong section of the chart

16
 2 Vbzvels: monophthongs

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Are there any which seem more ‘comfortable’ when short, or when long? You
may find that some vowels are easier to lengthen or shorten, and that you have
distorted the quality of others. This may relate to habitual associations you make
between certain tongue postures and length, and other postures and brevity. Ŷ

14 Discovery activity 17 Five long vowels

In RP there are five vowels usually designated as being relatively longer than the
others, and these are indicated by a length mark (a colon) after the symbol. They
are /i , u , ɡ , , /.
Say them aloud, and note your subjective feel for the length of each of them as
said in isolation. Do the ones with length markers /i , u , ɡ , , / in fact seem
to you relatively longer?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Two points to note about length:
1 English vowels are traditionally referred to as long or short. A long vowel tends
to have a longer duration than a short vowel in the same context. But length is
not an absolute attribute of any vowel.
2 A second point to note is that length is not the only thing that distinguishes
long vowels from short ones. Monophthongs differ from each other in the
quality of the sound regardless of whether they are longer or shorter. Ŷ

15 Discovery activity 18 Vowel length in identical contexts

Say these words several times over. Simply observe the length of each vowel
compared to the others. The consonants are identical in each case to make it
easier to compare the vowels:
/hi t/ heat
/hȱt/ hit
/hu t/ hoot
/hȁt/ hut
/h t/ heart
/h t/ hot
Ih3 tl hurt

Commentary ŶŶŶ
What you should find is that on the whole the vowels with length marks are
generally longer than the others. If you don’t notice this it could either be that you
are not making any difference in length, or that you are making the difference but
you do not notice it. In either case don’t despair, but try the next activity! Ŷ

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Discovery activity 19 Reversing vowel length

Say these four words, and again try to notice the relative length of the vowels:
bead /bi d/
bid /bȱd/
bard /b d/
bud /bȁd/
Now try each ‘English’ word with normal vowel length (below, left-hand column)
and compare it with another ‘non-English’ word with reversed vowel length (right-
hand column). If the symbol is normally long, then you shorten it; if normally
short, you lengthen it. Phonetically you try to say this:
‘English’ ‘Non – English’
(normal vowel length) (reversed vowel length)
/bi d/ /bid/
/bȱd/ /bi d/
/b d/ /bad/
/bȁd/ /bȁ d/
Try this several times until you can distinguish each of these eight ‘words’ from
each other. If you find you can’t distinguish them, don’t worry. I find it difficult too!
But at least try to understand what the activity is demanding.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Notice that /i / is not just a long /ȱ/ and that / / is not just a long /ȁ/. Note also that
the vowel symbols in the right-hand column are not on the phonemic chart.
These experiments may run counter to your habitual manner of speaking, and
this in a nutshell is the problem of learning a new pronunciation. An aim of these
activities is to make ourselves conscious of what we are doing habitually, so that
we can intervene and change things at will. Then we will be able to help our
learners to do the same. That is why I see this approach to pronunciation as being
based on awareness, or consciousness, rather than on mechanicity (eg non-aware
repetition), which seems to be the implicit basis of some approaches. Ŷ

Discovery activity 20 Length in non-identical contexts

1 Say each of these words:
/bi t/ beat
/bi d/ bead
Say them quickly as well as drawn out. Can you notice any difference in
length? If not, then shorten the duration you give to each vowel until you find a
point at which one of them still sounds acceptable, while the other has become
too short to be identifiable. Which is which?
What you may observe is that /i / in bead tends (or needs) to be a little longer
than /i / in beat Don’t be put off by the fact that you can also give them both the
same length!

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 2 Vowels: monophthongs

2 Here’s the same experiment with /ȱ/:

/bȱt/ bit
/bȱd/ bid
Say each word aloud and whispered. Can you notice any difference in length? If
not, then shorten the duration you give to each word until you find a point at
which one of them still sounds acceptable, while the other has become too
short to be identifiable.
Even if you can’t find any difference, the action of trying to observe length
more accurately will help develop your sensitivity to the variables of sound
production. In my opinion it is your sensitivity rather than your accuracy that
ultimately facilitates your learners’ learning.
3 Now compare the relative length of /i / and /ȱ/ in this context:
/bi t/ beat
/bȱd/ bid
Here you may find that the long and the short vowel are roughly the same
length. So, what is going on?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The general tendency you may have observed in these examples is that vowels are
shortened in stressed syllables closed by a fortis consonant, eg /p, t, tœ , k, f, ș, s, œ /,
and are given more length in stressed syllables closed by a lenis consonant, eg /b,
d, d3, g, ð, z, 3/. (Fortis, meaning strong, describes consonants characteristically
produced with a strong breath force. In English these are coincidentally the
unvoiced consonants. Lenis, meaning gentle, describes consonants
characteristically produced with a weaker breath force. In English these are
coincidentally the voiced consonants. We will study this further in discovery
activity 34.) Ŷ
This tendency (and it is a tendency not a rule) operates on both long and short
vowels (ie with or without length marks), so that in the previous activity you may
have found that a long vowel /i / before an unvoiced consonant can be
approximately the same length as a short vowel /ȱ/ before a voiced consonant.
Length marks do not indicate that a vowel is absolutely longer all the time.
Length is quite a variable matter, depending particularly on whether the syllable
is stressed or not (which we’ll examine in the discovery toolkit Level 2), and on
the quality of the neighbouring sounds.

Summary
Some vowels tend to be characteristically longer or shorter than others, and other
factors such as speed of speech, phonemic context, stress, etc further modify
vowel length. If you learn to notice this as it occurs then you’ll be in a good position
to help your learners make changes when necessary. The essence of this approach
is not primarily to learn or remember rules about phonology, but to become more
sensitive to the experience of what is happening in the vocal tract, as it is
happening. In other words to know it from the inside, not just from the outside.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

HELP If you’re not clear about this, or if you’re wondering how relevant it is,
then stay with it! For the moment take my word that it will become clear, and
that you will find it relevant to the creation of your own classroom toolkit for
working with pronunciation.

Discovery activity 21 Observing length in the special case of /æ/

Although traditionally indicated as a short vowel, /æ/ often has special length,
particularly before a lenis (or voiced) consonant, eg /b, d, d3, g, v, ð, z, 3/, when
it may become as long as any of the five traditionally long vowels.
1 In which of the columns does /æ/ seem longer?
/mæn/ man /mæp/ map
/bæd/ bad /bæk/ back
/sæm/ Sam /sæt/ sat
/ræg/ rag /ræt/ rat
As before, you can explore the contrast by lengthening and shortening the
pairs, and you may find a point where the words in the first column feel
uncomfortably short, while the words in the second column still seem viable.
The point here is that /æ/ is likely to be considerably longer before lenis
consonants (for example those in the left column above).
2 So let’s compare the length of /æ/ when it’s in a long context (ie a syllable
closed by a lenis, or voiced, consonant) with a traditional long vowel in the
same context.
/mæn/ man /mi n/ mean
/bæd/ bad /bi d/ bead
/sæm/ Sam /si m/ seem

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The point here is that /æ/ is often as long as a long vowel, especially before a lenis
consonant. You don’t need to remember exacdy when or why, but it would be
useful to begin to notice it in your own speech and that of your learners. Ŷ

Summary
Here are the key points on vowel length.
1 The length mark indicates that a vowel may be relatively longer in the same
phonemic context than one without a mark.
2 It is useful to develop sensitivity to vowel length differences when practising
vowel sounds in isolation, and artificial lengthening and shortening of vowels
can be a useful awareness-raising exercise. This is explored further in the
classroom toolkit, ‘Working with individual sounds’.
3 In stressed syllables, vowels and diphthongs tend to be shorter when followed
by a fortis (or unvoiced) consonant and given more length when followed by a
lenis (or unvoiced) consonant.

20
 2 Vowels: monophthongs

4 /æ/ in particular is given special length before lenis consonants, and practice of
this characteristic may help learners to distinguish more clearly between /æ/
and its neighbouring short vowels on the chart, /e/ and /ȁ/.
5 With the possible exception of /ԥ/ and /ɡ / there are no pairs of vowels
distinguished from each other solely by length. The traditional pairs /i / and /ȱ/,
/u / and / /, / / and / / all have differences in tongue position as well as length
differences. In fact, since length is relative and variable according to context,
the difference in quality between these pairs may be of more importance in
distinguishing between them.

16 Discovery activity 22 Overview of the monophthong vowel layout

Experience for yourself the logic behind the arrangement of the monophthong
vowels on the chart:
1 Take the first horizontal row of sounds on the chart, /i , ȱ, , u /, and say them in
order from the left of the chart to the right (ie from the front of the mouth to the
back). Notice how the raised hump of the tongue rolls along from front to back.
2 Now take the same sequence, but glide smoothly and without stopping through
all four vowels, making one continuous and drawn-out movement, and again
notice the tongue moving back and the lips moving forward for rounding.
3 Now try both experiments with the sequence in reverse, /u , , ȱ, i /, ie from the
back of the mouth to the front, or from the right of the chart to the left.
4 Do the same three experiments for the second row, /e, ԥ, ɡ , /, noticing that
the jaw is a little more open, that the tongue again moves between front and
back and that there is considerable lip rounding for / /.
5 And now try the same three experiments for the third row, /æ, ȁ, , /, noticing
that the jaw is now relatively more open, and that the tongue makes a
corresponding front – back movement though further from the roof of the
mouth.
6 Now take each of the four vertical columns in turn, /i , e, æ /, /ȱ, ԥ, ȁ/, / , ɡ ,
/ and /u , , /. These show movement from high to low tongue position, ie
from top to bottom on the chart.
First say each of the three sounds separately, then as a continuous glide, and
then in the reverse direction.
Also focus on the changing distance of the tongue from the roof of the mouth,
on the movement of the jaw, and on the relationship of these two variables to
the position of the lips.
7 Glide quickly and then slowly between any two neighbouring sounds on the
chart. Can you find a sound which is in – between the two, neither one nor the
other? Your learners are probably quite good at that! It can be very instructive to
find these midway points, and to sense keenly the minute muscular change
required to make it clearly one sound or the other.

21
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Bear in mind that our aim is not primarily to ‘learn the theory’, but to become
more aware of the subtle muscular sensation of each sound. If we can do this we
will be in a better position to appreciate what our learners are doing, and in a
better position to help our learners to be more aware of what they are doing, so
that we can find the best strategies to help them. Ŷ

3 Vowels: diphthongs
Diphthongs are the result of a glide from one vowel to another within a single
syllable. The diphthong in game has the phonemic symbol /eI/, indicating a glide
from /e/ to /I/. These represent the two extremes of vowel movement; the starting
point, or first element, /e/, glides towards the second element, /I/.
A diphthong is perceived as one phoneme not two, and therefore as one syllable
not two, so each diphthong occupies a single box on the chart. Thus say /sei/ is
one diphthong and one syllable, whereas seeing /si I ƾ / is a sequence of two
monophthongs occupying two syllables. In the activities that follow, experiment
with lengthening and shortening both the first and second elements, and with
putting the stress on either element. But as a general rule the first element is
slightly longer than the second, and has more emphasis. (We will investigate
length and stress in diphthongs more fully in activities 29 and 30.)
The diphthong section of the chart shows eight diphthongs grouped in three
vertical columns according to their second element.

Fig. 14: Symbols for glides in the diphthong section

The first column has /ԥ/ as the second element. These three diphthongs are called
centring diphthongs, as the glide towards the second element is towards the
central vowel /ԥ/.
The second column has /ȱ/ as the second element, and the third column has / / as
the second element. The five diphthongs in these two columns are called closing
diphthongs, as the glide towards the second element is towards the high or closed
vowels /ȱ/ and / /.
In the next activities we will investigate the closing diphthongs first and then the
centring diphthongs.

17 Discovery activity 23 Three diphthongs gliding to /ȱ/

1 Each of the following word pairs contains a monophthong in the first column
and a diphthong in the second. Say each pair, and compare the movement of
your lips and tongue in relation to the vowel sound produced.
debt /det/ date /deȱt/
bore /b / boy /b I/
hut /hȁt/ height /haȱt/

22
 3 Vowels: diphthongs

Fig. 15: Glides to /I/ in the diphthong section

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Notice that in the first pair the monophthong symbol in the first word, /e/, is also
the first element of the diphthong symbol /eȱ/ in the second word. The same is
true of the second pair except that / / loses its length mark in the diphthong
symbol / ȱ/. However in the third pair you’ll notice that the diphthong symbol is
/aȱ/ and not /ȁI/. I’ll explain this in the next activity. Ŷ

18 Discovery activity 24 Focusing on the glide to /I /

If plotted on the monophthong section of the chart these three diphthongs would
look like this:

Fig. 16: Glides to /I/ shown in the monophthong section

1 Say /e/ and /ȱ/ separately to locate them. Now join them smoothly by gliding
from /e/ to /ȱ/. Try this several times and notice the upward movement of your
tongue and closing of your jaw. Try it aloud, whispered and silently. You should
have /ei/ as in date.
2 Say / / and /ȱ/ separately, and then join them with a glide. This gives the
diphthong / ȱ/ as in boy. Notice the lip movement from rounded to spread and
the forward and upward movement of the tongue. Try to make a link between
this inner muscular sensation and the corresponding change in sound. As
already pointed out, the diphthong symbol / ȱ/ does not retain the length mark
from / /.
3 There is a third diphthong that has /ȱ/ as its finishing point. Establish /ȁ/ and /ȱ/
separately and then join them with a glide. This gives you the diphthong /aȱ/ as
in height. We have already observed that the symbol used is not notated as /ȁȱ /.
According to phoneticians the first element of this diphthong is a sound that
can be notated as /a/, but which in standard English does not exist as a
phoneme on its own. If it did it would be somewhere between /ȁȱ/ and / /,which
is where I have shown it in the diagram. For practical purposes I use /ȁ/ as the
first element, and I help learners to build these two diphthongs by first pointing
to /ȁ/ on the chart. The results are always entirely satisfactory.

23
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Commentary ŶŶŶ
These three glides start in three different places, mid–front /e/, low–centre /ȁ/ and
mid – back / /, and all converge on /ȱ/, high–front, as the finishing point. They can
be plotted on the monophthong section of the chart as in Fig. 16. The
monophthong section provides a good worktable on which to introduce, revise, or
repair diphthongs (see classroom toolkit 1, ‘Working with individual sounds’).You
can also use the monophthong section of the chart to invent other non–English
diphthongs as a creative exercise. Ŷ

19 Discovery activity 25 Two diphthongs gliding to / /

1 Each of the following word pairs contains a monophthong in the first column
and a diphthong in the second. Say each pair, and compare the movement of
your lips and tongue in relation to the vowel sound produced.
sir /s ɡ / so /sԥ /
done /dȁn/ down /da n/

Fig. 17: Glides to /u/ in the diphthong section

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In the first pair (sir and so) the monophthong symbol /ɡ /, which is the long
version of the central vowel, changes to the shorter version /ԥ/ in the diphthong.
In the second pair (done and down) you’ll see that again the diphthong symbol is
/a / and not /ȁ /. (See Discovery Activity 4 point 3)
Both starting points, /ԥ/ and /ȁ/, have the tongue at approximately the same point
on the front–back axis. However, /ȁ/ has the tongue lower and the lips and jaw
more open. In a sense it has a more definite and energetic muscular posture, /ԥ/
has a mid-tongue position, with tongue and lips relaxed. Ŷ

20 Discovery activity 26 Focusing on the glide to / /

If plotted on the monophthong section of the chart, these two glides would look
like this (Fig. 18):

Fig. 18: Glides to / / shown in the monophthong section

24
 3 Vowels: diphthongs

1 Establish separately the two sounds /ԥ/ and / / and then join them with a
smooth glide. Check that your glide does not distort the starting or finishing
points. Try it several times, noticing the tongue and lip movement. The tongue
moves from a neutral central position upward and backward to / /. The lips
move from a relaxed posture to a more rounded posture. The target sound is
/ԥ / as in no and home. Try exaggerating the movement slightly, and get
tactile and visual feedback on the movement by touching your finger to your
lips, and by looking in a mirror.
2 Locate the two sounds /ȁ/ and / / in your mouth, and then join them with a
glide. This will give you the sound /a / as in now and town. Once again this is
written as /a / and not as /ȁ /. AS discussed above, the first element, /a/, is a
sound that does not exist as a phoneme on its own in RP. If it did it would be
somewhere between /ȁ/ and / /. See if you can locate /a/. Take the two
sounds /ȁ/ and / / and glide slowly between them. With a little practice you’ll
be able to find a point between them: /a/.
For classroom purposes, as I have said, I use /ȁ/ as the first element, and I
help learners to build these two diphthongs by first pointing to /ȁ/ on the chart,
and then to the second element.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Notice the similarity between /a / and /ԥ /. Both converge on / /, though do not
usually reach that position, and both have the tongue starting at approximately
the same point on the front–back axis. However /a/, or /ȁ/ as I use, has the tongue
lower and the lips and jaw more open. Idl has the mid–tongue position, with both
tongue and lips relaxed. Can you see the difference between these two sounds in a
mirror? Ŷ

21 Discovery activity 27 Discriminating /a / and /ԥ /

Try alternating the two diphthongs /a / and /ԥ /. Focus on the difference in the
internal muscular sensation and relate this to the different sound. Notice that a
small shift in starting point makes a clear difference to the sound. This contrast
can be seen in the following words:
no now
phoned found
tone town
a rose arouse

25
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

22 RP Discovery activity 28 Three centring diphthongs

We have experimented with the five closing diphthongs used in RP. In this activity
we’ll look at the three which glide towards a central rather than a closed sound.
For this reason they are called centring diphthongs.
Each of the following word pairs contains a monophthong in the first column and
diphthong in the second. Say each pair, and compare the movement of your lips
and tongue in relation to the vowel sound produced.
bid /bȱd/ beard /bȱԥd/
put /p t/ pure /pj ԥ/
dead /ded/ dared /deԥd/

Fig. 19: Symbols for centring glides in the diphthong section

First pair (bid and beard). Identify /ȱ/ and /ԥ/ separately and then join them with
a smooth glide. Notice the downward movement of your tongue and your jaw.
This may be very slight, so you could try magnifying the movement just to see
what is going on. Try it aloud, whispered and silently. You should have the
diphthong /ȱԥ/ as in ear and dear.
Second pair (put and pure). Establish the individual sounds / / and /ԥ/ and then
join them with a glide. This will give you the diphthong / ԥ/ as in cure and pure.
Notice the lip movement from rounded to neutral, and the downward movement of
the tongue. There seems to be an on-going tendency in RP to replace / ԥ/ with / /.
I myself certainly say / œ / rather than / ԥ/ and though I still say /pj ԥ/ and /kj ԥ/ I
feel quite comfortable with /pj / and /kj /.
Third pair (dead and dared). Start with /e / and glide to /ԥ/. This gives you the
diphthong /ea/ as in air and hair. Notice the tongue movement, which again can be
quite slight. Tongue height is mid for both elements, and the movement is back
towards the centre. It is not so much the body of the tongue that moves back,
though this is quite possible, but the raised part. You can check this by putting
your finger or a pen on your tongue while making this glide. My own observation is
that this diphthong is frequently reduced to a composite monophthong, something
like a long /e:/.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Many learners find these three diphthongs less obvious, or more elusive, than the
other five. I think this is partly because it is hard to find good examples. Not only
are they less frequent than the other five, but as we observed above, the realization
of two of them in RP is frequently ‘monophthongized’.
But I think there is another possible and interesting explanation. When you plot
them on the monophthong section of the chart (Fig. 20) you see that the
component monophthongs are much closer together than is the case with the

26
 3 Vowels: diphthongs

other two sets of diphthongs. In fact all three are immediate neighbours, thus
restricting the amount of glide that is possible in any case. These diphthongs
involve less movement between first and second elements than some others. In
this sense perhaps they can be seen as ‘weaker’, and therefore less likely to survive
in the use of the language. Compare Fig. 20 with Figs. 18 and 16. Ŷ

Fig. 20: Centring glides shown in the monophthong section

Length and stress in diphthongs

Both of these features are important in determining how a diphthong sounds.
Although length and stress are related, it can be helpful to focus on them
separately, especially when working with learners who are trying to relax the grip
of their mother tongue phonemic set. So we’ll consider them separately in the
next two activities.

Discovery activity 29 The length of diphthongs

1 Take any diphthongs (for the moment let’s use these three):
/eȱ/ as in take
/ԥ / as in bone
/ ȱ/ as in coin
Try to make the second element longer than the first, and make the first
deliberately short. Do this with each diphthong on its own, and then in the
context of the given word. If you have managed to make the second element
longer than the first, and if you try the glide in the context of words, you
should find that it sounds distinctly ‘unEnglish’.
2 Now make the first element longer than the second. Again try several
diphthongs both in and out of context. You should notice that they sound more
acceptable.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
As a general guide you can think of a diphthong as having about the duration of
a long vowel, and most of this duration is focused on the first element.
As with so much else in pronunciation, in order to get it right it can be helpful to
do consciously what is not right. A good illustration of this is the activity you
have just done, where deliberately putting the length on the second element helps
you to know what is involved in putting the length on the first element. We’ll do
this in the following activity too. Ŷ

27
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

23 Discovery activity 30 Stress in diphthongs

This is similar to the previous activity, but with a different focus. You’ll see why
as soon as you try it.
1 Take the same three diphthongs:
/eȱ/ as in take
/ԥ / as in bone
/ ȱ/ as in coin
Try to give the second element more stress than the first, and make the first
deliberately less stressed. Try this with the diphthongs on their own, and then
with the words. Once again this should make the diphthong and the word sound
definitely ‘unEnglish’.
2 Now give the first element more stress than the second.
3 Now that you have the stress on the first element sounding about right, say the
words normally and pay particular attention to the way in which you unstress the
second element, and to how this affects the quality of sound of the second
element. Notice too that you do not have to arrive fully at the position of the
second element, but just ‘head in that direction’.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The point to notice is that a diphthong is one syllable, yet with two sounds, of
which the first is usually longer and more stressed. You’ll also have noticed the
close relationship between duration and stress, something examined more fully
later on. Ŷ

The visual aspect of diphthongs

As you did the previous activities, you may have been struck by the degree to
which the mouth movements of diphthongs are visually detectable. Any
movement from one vowel to another must involve a movement of the tongue,
and quite possibly a movement of the lips and jaw as well. This can provide a
useful teaching and learning instrument. The visual side of pronunciation is
examined in depth in the classroom toolkit, Level 1. Here is a useful preparatory
activity.

Discovery activity 31 The visual clues of diphthongs

1 Say each of the diphthongs and, using a hand mirror, just observe the
movements.
2 Now exaggerate the movement of each diphthong while observing in the mirror,
and also listening to the quality of the sound.
3 Which glides seem to you to have the most movement, and which the least? Try
miming the diphthongs silently. Which sounds can you ‘see’ clearly? Remember
that deaf people lip read proficiently in all languages!
4 Try a few words containing diphthongs. Can you lip read yourself? Well, try
with a colleague.

28
 4 Consonants

4 Consonants
Here are two definitions of consonants, both of them useful in adding to the
background of insight from which we can help our learners to help themselves.
The activity that follows enables you to test the definitions against your
experience.
Definition 1
Consonant sounds are made by restricting or blocking the air flow in some
physical way, and this restriction, or the release of the restriction, is what gives the
consonant its characteristic sound. By contrast, vowels require the vocal tract to
be open so that the air stream escapes unobstructed.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This distinction between consonants and vowels is useful as far as it goes, but it is
not watertight because there are two consonants, /w/ and /j/, that are made
without any restriction to the air flow, and in this sense are like vowels (they are
in fact also called semi-vowels). Ŷ

Definition 2
Consonants, either singly or in clusters, mark the beginnings and ends of
syllables. Vowels occur as the centres or focal points of syllables, either between
consonants or on their own.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This definition takes account of /w/ and /j/ because these sounds can mark the
boundaries of syllables in the same way as the other consonants do, eg wet, yet,
lower, layer.
Both definitions are useful, but number 2 is the functional or phonemic definition
that is usually used to distinguish vowels from consonants. According to this
definition English has twenty-four consonant phonemes, though not all of them
can function at both the beginning and the end of syllables. Ŷ
Discovery activity 32 Distinguishing consonants and vowels
This activity is a simple practical test of the two definitions above.
1 Take any words at random (I suggest you take the sentence you are reading
now), say them slowly and aloud, and focus your attention on how you make
each successive sound.
Do you notice that for each consonant there is some kind of restriction on the air
flow, while for the vowel there is no restriction but simply a tongue posture that
tunes your voice to the vowel required? If so, you are finding evidence for
definition 1.
Say the first sentence again, and pay particular attention to the initial sound of
words and you. Do you notice that in each case there is no block or restriction
to the air flow, but simply a shape of the tongue and lips not unlike a vowel? If
so, then you are finding the exceptions to definition 1.
2 Now take the same sentence again and focus on the way In which the
consonants mark the beginnings and ends of syllables, even in the case of /w/
and /y/. If you can observe this, then you are finding evidence for definition 2.
29
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Don’t worry if you can’t find these distinctions. They will become clear during
the next activities. What’s important is that by trying to notice what you do, you
are gradually strengthening your power of observation.

Describing the twenty – four consonants

All consonants (with the exceptions of /w/ and /j/) involve a restriction to the
outflow of air, and it is the precise place and manner of this restriction that gives
each consonant its unique sound. We can describe the uniqueness of each
consonant quite well using these three variables:
1 voiced or unvoiced;
2 place of articulation (wherethe sound is produced in the vocal tract);
3 manner of articulation (how the sound is produced in the vocal tract).
Here are a few words about these three variables:

Variable 1: voiced or unvoiced

A sound is said to be voiced if it requires the vocal cords to vibrate, and unvoiced if
it does not. In English the voiced/unvoiced distinction tends to coincide with
gentle and strong aspiration (also referred to as lenis and fortis). This means that
voiced consonants may be uttered with weaker breath force, while unvoiced
consonants may be uttered with stronger breath force. (This is partly because
voiced sounds take energy from the breath in order to drive the larynx, and partly
because unvoiced sounds need to compensate for their lack of voice with force
and clarity in their articulation.)

Variable 2: place of articulation

The place in the vocal tract where the physical restriction or block to the air flow
takes place is referred to as place of articulation, ie where the characteristic
component sounds of that consonant are initiated.

Variable 3: manner of articulation

The nature of the physical restriction to the air flow is referred to as manner of
articulation, ie how the characteristic component sounds of that consonant are
initiated.
By combining these three variables we arrive at a practical working description of
how each consonant is produced. And since the consonants are arranged on the
phonemic chart according to these three variables, understanding the layout will
give you a useful grasp of how the consonants are made and how they can be
altered.

Fig. 21: The arrangement of consonants on the chart

30
 4 Consonants

24 Discovery activity 33 Voiced and unvoiced consonant pairs

1 Look at Fig. 22. It is the same as Fig. 21 but focuses on different aspects of the
sounds. The + signs indicate that the sound is voiced, ie that the vocal cords
are vibrating. The – signs show that the sound is unvoiced, ie that there is no
such vibration. What is the pattern behind the distribution of +’s and – ’s?

– unvoiced and fortis

+ voiced and lenis
Fig. 22

2 Look back to Fig. 21 and say any of the consonant sounds whose symbols you
recognize. Refer to Fig. 22 to see whether you agree that the sound is voiced or
unvoiced. You will have to say each consonant with a vowel, so you could try long
ones such as /i / or /u / or /ɡ /. Try the consonant both before and after the vowel.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You’ll have noticed that in the first two rows the +’s and –’s alternate. Each pair of
one plus and one minus indicates a pair of consonants whose only difference is
that the first sound of each pair is unvoiced and fords, while the second is voiced
and lenis: for example, /t d/, /f v/, /s z/. The bottom row consists entirely of
voiced sounds except for /h/.
The distinction fortis and lenis is very useful when working with learners. It
involves the degree of muscular effort and breath force used to produce the
consonant. In this respect we can divide consonants roughly into strong and
weak. The next activity draws attention to this. Ŷ

25 Discovery activity 34 Strong and weak consonants

1 Use the list of paired words below. Say each pair aloud, checking that the
sounds are the same except for the voiced/unvoiced distinction.
2 Whisper the same pair. Try to hear and feel the difference in the force of your
breath. If you put your open palm close to your lips you can also feel the
difference in the force of the expelled air. For example:
pea bee
tea dee
chore jaw
came game
fire via
three then
sue zoo
mission measure

31
Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You should find that even when you whisper you can still distinguish between the
consonants on the left and those on the right. The question is how did you make
that difference? You probably found that you made the consonants on the left
with a relatively stronger muscular effort and force of exhalation, and those on
the right with a relatively weaker degree of muscular effort and exhalation. The
terms used to describe this are respectively fonts (strong) and lenis (gentle).
In conclusion, then, voicing and unvoicing is not the only difference between these
pairs of consonants. There is the additional and separate choice of putting more or
less energy into the breath. It happens that in English it is the voiced consonants /b,
d, d3, g, v, ð, z, 3/ etc that are lenis, or weaker in their force of exhalation, and their
unvoiced counterparts /p, t, t œ, k, f, ș, s, œ / etc that are fortis, or stronger in their
force of exhalation. Of these unvoiced consonants it is particularly those in the first
row on the chart that are given this stronger exhalation.
When the voicing distinction is reduced or absent, as for example when you
whisper, then the fortisjlenis distinction may be the only remaining contrast
between a pair of consonants.
The link between voiced and lenis, and unvoiced and fortis, that is natural to the
native English speaker may not be natural to learners whose mother tongues may
have voiced fortis consonants and unvoiced lenis consonants. The difficulties they
may face are simulated in the next activity. Ŷ

Discovery activity 35 Reversing fortis and lenis

In this activity you are going to try to make consonants that are not English.
We’ll use the list of paired words from discovery activity 34, but this time put
stronger breath force on the consonants in the right column, and weaker breath
force on the consonants in the left column. (This means working against your habit,
but you need to be an expert on that since it is what you are helping your learners to
do.) Put your open palm in front of your lips to give you feedback on when you have
successfully reversed the fortis/lenis distinction. Do this aloud, not whispered.
pea bee
tea dee
chore ]aw
came game
fire via
three then
sue zoo
mission measure

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The amount of energy and the degree of breath force is a subtle but significant
variable which happens to coincide with voicing (in English) and so often gets
lost behind it. One practical point here is that guiding learners to vary the amount
of muscular energy and breath force they use in speaking English can be very
helpful. I have found this to be true both at the level of individual sounds and at
the level of connected speech in general.

32
 4 Consonants

In the next section we will look at the other two variables, which concern the
manner of articulation and the place of articulation. The layout of the phonemic
chart is configured to contain these variables, so it is useful to consider one row at
a time. Ŷ

Row 1 plosives and affricates: /p, b, t, d, t œ, d3, k, g/

Variable 1: voice and breath

For the sake of completeness, here is a diagrammatic summary of the first row in
terms of voice and breath force variables.

+ voiced and lenis (weaker aspiration)

– unvoiced and fortis (stronger aspiration)

Fig. 23:Consonants, row 1

Variable 2: manner of articulation

This concerns the way in which the air flow is restricted to make the
characteristic sound of a consonant. The next activity will help you to focus on
this and to identify how you make each sound.

26 Discovery activity 36 The plosive consonants

1 Take each of the consonants in the first row, and choose a vowel to follow it.
You could use these words:
pie by too do cheer jeer course gorse /p, b, t, d, t , d3, k, g/
Say each one aloud slowly, and try to notice the first audible signal of each of
the consonants. What are you doing in your mouth at that point? What internal
movement coincides with the very beginning of the consonant sound? Try this
several times until you can focus on the precise point. You need to ignore the
following vowel, perhaps even omit it, in order to focus on the consonant.
2 Do the same again but this time whisper and notice two things: what happens
in your mouth immediately prior to the onset of the consonant, and what
happens immediately at the onset of the audible consonant?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You probably notice that there is a build-up of air just before the sound starts, and
that there is a sort of pop as the air is released and the consonant sound too is
released. Sounds made by such a build-up and release, like a mini-explosion, are
called plosives. For plosives, the air stream is completely blocked by the tongue or
lips, held momentarily, then the pressure is released explosively. A plosive in a
final position is called a stop when the air pressure is stopped but not released. For
example, you can say stop either releasing or not releasing the air pressure after /p/.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

All of the eight consonants you tried in the first row are produced in this way, with
a slight variation on the fifth and sixth sounds /t œ/ and /d3/. These two sounds also
begin with a build-up of pressure, but the release stage is a little slower, producing
a more fricative noise. Hence these two sounds are termed affricates, which we
can treat as a subdivision of plosives. Try the next activity just to clarify this. Ŷ

27 Discovery activity 37 Contrasting plosive and affricate consonants

On the left are words beginning with plosive sounds and on the right words
beginning with the two affricate sounds.
tease cheese
pin chin
boy joy
dump jump
1 Say each of the pairs aloud and slowly, savouring the first sound of each word.
Notice the build – up of air pressure before the sound is released, which is
the
same for both plosives and affricates, and also the release itself. Immediately
after the release, however, the plosive sound is finished, while the affricate
sound still has a short audible friction to follow.
2 Try whispering the pairs. What other contrast can you notice?
3 Try miming the words. If you exaggerate slightly, is there a purely visual
difference?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You can see from the phonemic symbols of the affricates that they are composed
of two consonants merged together, /t œ/=/t/ + /œ / and /d3/=/d/ + /3/. However,
these are not glides between two sounds as with vowel diphthongs, but mergers of
two sounds so that they happen almost at the same time. In each case the first
symbol represents the plosive part and the second the fricative part. (More on
fricatives from discovery activity 39 onwards.) Ŷ

Fig. 24: The first consonant row showing voiced/unvoiced and manner of articulation of
plosives and affricates.

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 4 Consonants

Variable 3: place of articulation

In discovery activity 36 we found that the consonants in the first row are
produced ‘plosively’, that is by building up and then releasing air pressure. The
next question is where exactly in the mouth does this build-up and release occur?
Although there are eight phonemes in this row, there are only four places in the
mouth where the air block is made. These four places give four different and
characteristic sound qualities, and the voiced/unvoiced contrast in each place
gives a total of eight sounds. The next activity will help you to experience this.

28 Discovery activity 38 Where the plosives and affricates are produced

1 /p/ and /b/. Say the words pie and by. Where in your mouth do you block and
release the air flow? You’ll find that your two lips come together to block the air
stream, hence the technical term bilabial (bi + labial = two + lips) to describe
this place of articulation.
If we include manner of articulation, then the pair are called bilabial plosives,
and to distinguish between them we can use the full description:
unvoiced bilabial plosive = /p/
voiced bilabial plosive = /b/
Both /p/ and /b/ can occur in both initial and final position, eg /pȱn/, /nȱp/ and
/bȱn/, /nȱb/.
2 /t/ and /d/. Say the words too and do. Where in your mouth do you block and
release the air flow? Contrast this place with /p/ and /b/ as in pie and by.
Notice that /t/ and /d/ are formed a little further back, when the front part of
your tongue (the ‘blade’) makes contact with the bony ridge immediately behind
your upper front teeth.
At this point the block to the air stream is both made and released. The
technical term to describe this manner of articulation is alveolar (alveolum
being the Latin name for this ridge). If we include manner of articulation then
this pair are called alveolar plosives, and to distinguish between them we can
use the full description:
unvoiced alveolar plosive = /t/
voiced alveolar plosive = /d/
Both /t/ and /d/ can occur in both initial and final position, eg /ti n/, /ni t/ and
/di n/, /ni d/.
3 /t / and /d3/. Say the words cheer and jeer. Where in your mouth do you block and
release the air flow? Contrast this position with the position for /p/ and /b/ and /t/
and /d/. Notice that /t / and /d3/ are formed a little further back, when the blade
of your tongue makes contact with the junction between the alveolar ridge and
the hard palate, and the body of the tongue is slightly raised towards the hard
palate.
The technical term for this place of articulation is palato-alveolar, and so we
can call this pair palato-alveolar affricates. We can distinguish between the
pair by including voicing:
unvoiced palato-alveolar affricate = /t /
voiced palato-alveolar affricate = /d3/
Both /t / and /d3/ can occur in initial and final position, eg /t ɡ t /, /d3ȁd3/.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

4 /k/ and /g/. Say the words course and gorse. Where exactly do you block and
release the air flow? Contrast this position with the position for /p/ and /b/, /t/
and /d/ /t / and /d3/ and notice that /k/ and /g/ are formed still further back. The
air stream is blocked when the back of your tongue is in contact with the soft
palate.
The technical term for this place of articulation is velar (velum = veil, ie the soft
tissue hanging at the back of the palate, also called soft palate). So we can call
this pair velar plosives, and we can distinguish between them by including
voicing:
unvoiced velar plosives = /k/
voiced velar plosives = /g/
Both can occur in both initial and final position, eg /kȱk/, /gȱg/.
5 The front –back continuum. Say the unvoiced i sounds in the sequence /p ... t...
t ... k/. Notice that the place of articulation moves progressively back in the
mouth. Try the voiced sequence /b ... d ... d3 ... g/.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
We have now explored the first row consonants in terms of the three variables
that characterize the way they are produced (voicing, manner and place). Fig. 25
summarizes this. Ŷ

Fig. 25: Diagrammatic summary of plosives and affricates

The information in Fig. 25 can be merged to give the standard technical

description of each of the sounds (Fig. 26). The references to places of
articulation are illustrated in Fig. 27 on p 37.

unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced

bilabial bilabial alveolar alveolar palato – palato – velar velar
plosive plosive plosive plosive alveolar alveolar plosive plosive
affricate affricate

Fig. 26: Standard technical description of consonants in row 1

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 4 Consonants

Fig. 27: Places of articulation

Glottal stop
Though frequently used by speakers of RP the glottal stop is not considered a
significant sound in that it cannot change the meaning of a word. Thus it is not
given phonemic status and does not figure on the Sound Foundations phonemic
chart. But since it is quite frequent, especially in rapid colloquial speech, I would
like to describe it at this point.
The glottal stop is a plosive produced by a complete block to the air stream at the
glottis (the space between the vocal cords) . The air pressure is then suddenly
released. The stop itself is perceived as a silence beginning with the sudden
cessation of the previous sound and ended by the sudden onset of the following
sound. It can be described as an unvoiced glottal plosive (or stop), and is denoted
by the symbol /?/.
The glottal stop can be used:
1 to give emphasis to a syllable beginning with a vowel, eg Am I? /?æm aȱ/
Excellent! /?eksԥlԥnt/ It’s easy! /ȱts? i zi/
2 between adjacent vowels belonging to different syllables (instead of a glide), eg
co-operate /kԥ ? pԥreȱt/;
3 to avoid an intrusive /r/, eg I saw it /aȱ s ? it/ (See discovery activity 67 for
intrusive /r/);
4 to replace or reinforce an unvoiced plosive /p, t, k/ at the end of words, eg what
/w ?/, shock /œ ?/, sip /sȱ?/.
You and your learners will notice the occurrence of /?/ in authentic listening
material and amongst some native speakers. It is worth practising in context at the
same time as practising the articulation it is replacing. This will give insight and
help listening comprehension. When working with the glottal stop you can write
the symbol /?/ in a box either on the board or on a square of paper beside the
chart.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Row 2 fricatives: /f, v, ș, ð, s , z , œ , 3/

Variable 1: voice and breath

Here is a diagrammatic summary of the second row in terms of voice and breath
force variables.

+ voiced and lenis (weaker aspiration)

– unvoiced and fortis. (stronger aspiration)

Fig. 28: Consonants, row 2

Variable 2: manner of articulation

This concerns the way in which the air flow is restricted to make the characteristic
sound of a consonant. The next activity will help you to focus on this and to
identify how you make each sound in row 2.

29 Discovery activity 39 The fricative consonants

1 Take each of the consonant sounds in the second row, and choose a vowel to
follow it. You could use these words:
fire via three then sue zoo shore measure /f, v, ș, , s, z, , 3/
Say each one aloud slowly. What movement in your mouth coincides with the
first audible sound of each consonant?
2 Do the same again but this time whisper, and notice two things: what happens
in your mouth immediately prior to the onset of the sound, and what happens
immediately at the onset of the audible sound?
3 Try miming the words. If you exaggerate slightly can you see visual clues for
each consonant?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
For these eight consonant sounds the air flow through the mouth is not
completely blocked, though it is restricted. (If it were blocked a plosive sound
would be produced.) Even before the sound begins there may be a slight ‘air leak’
through this restriction.
At the beginning of the sound you’ll notice an increase in the pressure of air
behind the restriction, producing an audible friction which provides the
characteristic sound of that consonant. Sounds produced by this kind of friction
are called fricatives, and, unlike plosives, fricatives can be sustained and given
longer or shorter duration. Ŷ

38
 4 Consonants

Fig. 29: The second consonant row on the chart contains the eight fricative consonants in their
unvoiced/voiced pairs. The diagram also indicates manner of articulation.

Variable 3: place of articulation

In activity 39 we found that the second row of consonants are produced by
friction, which involves restricting the air flow through the mouth. Although there
are eight phonemes in this row, there are only four places in the mouth where the
restriction to the air flow is made, each place yielding two phonemes, one voiced
and one unvoiced. These four places give four different and characteristic sound
qualities, and the voiced/unvoiced contrast in each place gives a total of eight
sounds. The next activity will help you to experience this directly.

30 Discovery activity 40 The places where fricative consonants are produced

1 /f/ and /v/. Say the words fire and via aloud. Where in your mouth do you make
the restriction that causes the friction?
Draw out the sound of /v/, and notice where you feel the vibrations.
Adopt the posture for /f/ and inhale instead of exhale. Does the incoming air
help to locate where the friction occurs?
Alternate the two sounds slowly /f... f ... v ... v ... f... f... v ... v/ and notice that
the position is the same for them both: the only change is that you turn your
voice on and off. Observe how you use a certain muscle in the throat to turn the
voice on and off. Observe also how the breath force increases when you turn
the voicing off.
You should find that you are producing the friction for this consonant by
pressing your bottom lip lightly against the edge of your top front teeth. The
technical term for this place of articulation is labio-dental (labio = lip, dental
= teeth). This pair are therefore labio-dental fricatives, and to distinguish
between them we can include the voicing variable:
unvoiced labio-dental fricative = /f/
voiced labio-dental fricative = /v/
/f/ and /v/ can occur in both initial and final position, eg /flȁf/, /vælv/.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

2 /ș/ and /ð/. Say thanks and this. Where do you make the restriction?
Try drawing out the sounds /ș ... ș ... ș/ and /ð ... ð ... ð / and focus on how the air
is escaping through the restriction. Alternate them slowly: /ș ... ð ... ș ... ð ... ș ...
ð /. Notice that the posture is the same for both sounds, and all you do is turn your
voice on and off.
The friction here is produced by pressing the tip of your tongue lightly against
the inside edge of your top front teeth, so that the air stream is just able to flow
in between tongue and teeth, producing friction.
What happens if you press your tongue slightly harder against the teeth? And
what happens if you pull the tongue back slightly, increasing the gap between
tongue and teeth?
These two sounds are referred to as dental fricatives, so the full description
of each is:
unvoiced dental fricative = /ș/
voiced dental fricative = /ð /
/ș/ and /ð / can occur in both initial and final position, eg /ș ɡ d/, /f ș/, Ið ȱsl,
/smu ð/.
3 /s/ and Izl. Say Sue and zoo. Where do you make the restriction to the air flow
and the resulting friction?
Draw out the sounds /s ... s ... s ... / and /z ... z ... z ... / and alternate them
slowly. Notice that the posture is the same for both sounds; all you have to do
is turn your voice on and off. Notice how you do this, how voicing may in turn
also affect the breath force.
The friction is produced by pressing the blade of your tongue lightly against
the alveolar ridge, and so these two are referred to as alveolar fricatives, Isl is
unvoiced and fortis, while /z/ is voiced and lenis, so:
unvoiced alveolar fricative = /s/
voiced alveolar fricative = /z/
Isl and Izl can occur in both initial and final position, eg Izu l, /praȱz/, /saȱ/, /aȱs/.
4 / / and /3/. Say fashion and fusion. Where do you produce the friction?
Draw out each of the sounds, and then try alternating them on their own: / ... 3 ...
... 3 .../. Once again, notice how they both have the same mouth and tongue
posture, and you make the difference by turning your voice on or off.
The friction here is produced with the tongue at a point slightly further back
from /s/ and /z/, so that the blade of the tongue is roughly opposite the join
between the alveolar ridge and the palate. In addition, the centre of the tongue
is raised towards the hard palate, the air flowing with some friction between the
raised tongue and the hard palate. The term used for this place of articulation
is palato-alveolar, and these two sounds are known as palato-alveolar fricatives:
unvoiced palato-alveolar fricative = / /
voiced palato-alveolar fricative = /3/
/ / can occur in both initial and final position, eg / ip/, /ft /.
/3/ does not occur initially, and very rarely finally, eg /gær 3/, but is frequent
intervocalically, ie in the middle of words, eg /ple3ԥ, Ivȱ3ԥn/.

40
 4 Consonants

5 The front – back continuum. Say the unvoiced sounds in the sequence /f... ș ...
s ... ... / and notice that the place of articulation moves progressively back in
the mouth. The same goes for the voiced sequence /v ... ð ... z ... 3 .../.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
We have now explored the second row consonants in terms of the three variables
that characterize the way they are produced (voicing, manner and place). Fig. 30
summarizes this. Ŷ

Fig. 30: Diagrammatic summary of fricatives

Notice how the spectrum from front to back is shown from the left to right on
the chart layout.
The information in Fig. 30 can be merged to give the standard technical
description of each of the sounds (Fig. 31).

unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced

labio- labio- dental dental alveolar alveolar palato- palato-
dental dental fricative fricative fricative fricative alveolar alveolar
fricative fricative fricative fricative

Fig. 31: Standard technical description of fricatives

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Row 3: The other consonants /m, ƾ , rj, h, 1, r, w, j/

31 Discovery activity 41 The remaining consonants

Say these words and see whether you are voicing or unvoicing the row 3
consonants: may, no, sing, her, lie, rare, why, yes. Do you agree with Fig. 32?

+ voiced
– unvoiced

Fig. 32: Consonants, row 3

Variables 2 and 3: manner and place of articulation

The consonants in the third row do not form a single continuum, so it is easier to
take them in small groups and to consider both manner and place of articulation
together.

32 Discovery activity 42 The three nasal sounds: /m/, /n/ and / ƾ/

1 Say /m/, /n/ and /ƾ/ on their own and in the context of words, for example may,
no, sing. What have the three sounds got in common in the way they are
produced?
You probably observe that the air stream carries the sound through your nose,
hence the term nasal for these three sounds. You can check this by saying the
sounds while at the same time pinching your nose. So the manner of
articulation of these three sounds is nasal, and since all three are voiced the
only thing that differentiates them is the place in the mouth where the air
stream is blocked and diverted through the nose.
2 Sustain each of /m/, /n/ and /ƾ / on its own. Where in your mouth are you making
the block that diverts the air stream up through your nose? Where do you sense
the vibrations of your voice for each sound?
For /m/ you bring your two lips together to close off the air stream through
your mouth. The place of articulation is therefore bilabial (two lips). You can
probably feel the vibrations in your lips, and also the way your closed mouth
space adds resonance to the sound. The full description of this sound is
voiced bilabial nasal. /m/ occurs initially and finally: /mȁm/.
For /n/ you obstruct the flow of air through your mouth by bringing the blade of
your tongue into contact with the alveolar ridge immediately behind the upper
front teeth. The place of articulation is therefore alveolar. When you sustain
/n/you can probably feel the vibration in your tongue and in the bone at the
top of your mouth.
Say the other alveolar sounds /t, d, s, z/. Can you observe the similarity with
/n/ in the place of articulation? The full description of this sound is voiced
alveolar nasal. /n/ occurs both initially and finally: for example, /nȁn/.

42
 4 Consonants

For /ƾ / you obstruct the air stream through your mouth by bringing the back of
your tongue into contact with the soft palate. The place of articulation is
therefore velar. Compare / ƾ/ with the other velar sounds /k, g/. Can you observe
the similarity? The full description of this sound is voiced velar nasal. / ƾ/ does
not occur initially, but is common in final position: for example, /s ƾ/.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The three sounds /m, n, ƾ / are voiced and nasal. What differentiates them is the
place in the mouth at which the air stream is diverted through the nose. The three
places for /m, n, ƾ / are respectively the same as for /p, b/, /t, d/ and /k, g/, with the
difference that the block is complete and is maintained for the duration of the
sound.
Notice that the three places of articulation form points on a continuum from
front to back with bilabial /m/ at the front, alveolar /n/ further back, and velar /ƾ/ at
the back. Try saying the three in sequence to notice that backward shift, which is
reflected in their arrangement from left to right on the phonemic chart. Ŷ

33 Discovery activity 43 /h/: manner and place of articulation

1 Say these four words slowly, and observe the posture of your tongue, lip and
jaw during the sounding of Ihl.
hat /hæt/
heat /hi t/
hot /h t/
hoot /hu t/
You should notice that the tongue, lip and jaw position for /h/ in each word is
the same as that which is required for the following vowels, in this case / æ, i:,
, u /. In other words there is no single tongue/lip posture for /h/. Rather, /h/ is
produced with the mouth cavity shaped according to the requirements of the
following vowel.
So if the place of articulation of /h/ is as for the following vowel, then what is
the manner of articulation that is characteristic of /h/?
2 Notice the presence and absence of /h/ within each pair, and the four different
ways that /h/ is produced.
/i t/ /hi t/
/æt/ /hæt/
/ t/ /h t/
/u / /hu t/
Try it a few times and you’ll probably notice a stronger expellation of air from
the lungs (fortis) than is required for the vowel alone, causing friction in the vocal
tract (fricative), which is already shaped in readiness for the following vowel. So
we could say that the manner of articulation of /hl is fortis fricative. And since
/h/ adopts the place of articulation of the following vowel it can be called an
onset (ie taking the position of what follows). The full description of /h/ is
unvoiced fortis fricative onset. It occurs initially, for example /hærȱ/, but not
finally.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

Commentary ŶŶŶ
/h/ can be articulated in any of the twelve different mouth/tongue postures
corresponding to the twelve English monophthongs. Ŷ

34 Discovery activity 44 The articulation of /I/

1 Say these words and observe how you form the sound /1/: lay, low, lie, lee,
lovely.
Notice that you can sustain the initial part of the /1/ sound indefinitely, and that
while you are doing that there is a partial (though non-fricative) closure to the
air stream.
2 Where exactly do you form this partial closure to the air stream? Say the
example words slowly, and observe how the blade of your tongue makes contact
with the alveolar ridge (the same place as for /s, z, t, d, n/, so we can say that
the place of articulation is alveolar.
3 Say the words again and focus your attention on how the air stream escapes
past this partial closure. You’ll find that air escapes over each side of your
tongue while the blade is in contact with the alveolar ridge. You can check this
by forming the tongue position for /1/ and then drawing air in through the mouth.
You can feel the cold air on each side of the tongue. This manner of articulation
is referred to as lateral (ie the air goes over the sides).
4 If you whisper a prolonged III and alternate it with a prolonged whispered /s/,
like this /1... 1... s ... s ... 1... 1 ... s ... s ... /, you can feel that with /1/ the tip of
the tongue touches the alveolar ridge and the air escapes around the sides,
and with /s/ the sides of the tongue touch the teeth, forcing the air out
between the blade of the tongue and the alveolar ridge. The place of
articulation for both sounds is alveolar, but of course the manner is different.
The full description, then, is voiced alveolar lateral = /1/.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The sound described above is often referred to as clear /1/, formed when the
alveolar lateral gives way to a following vowel, as the tongue breaks contact with
the roof of the mouth.
Another allophone (variant) of /1/ referred to as dark /1/ occurs after vowels, for
example /wel/; before consonants, for example /tԥ ld/; and as a syllable, for
example /metl/. This is sometimes called syllabic /1/. I prefer not to use syllabic /1/
in phonemic transcription. I find it more helpful to learners to show the syllable
with the vowel /ԥ/, thus: /metԥl/.
Dark /1/ is formed in the same way as clear /1/, but the tongue does not break
contact with the roof of the mouth so that the alveolar lateral sound is
maintained. And in addition the back of the tongue is also raised towards the soft
palate, contributing a certain velar or ‘back vowel quality’, while clear /1/ has a
more ‘front vowel quality’. The word little /litԥl/ contains clear /1/ at the beginning
and dark /1/ at the end, though as I pointed out above I prefer to include /ԥ/ in the
phonemic spelling. Ŷ

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 4 Consonants

35 Discovery activity 45 The sound /r/

1 Say these words and observe how you form /r/: rare, raw, ray, row. Say them
very slowly. Pay attention to the initial position of your tongue, and to its
movement towards the following vowel. Notice that you can sustain the /r/
sound indefinitely.
2 Take any one of the example words and repeat it over and over. Notice the
rhythmical movement of your tongue up and down in your mouth. What tongue
movement can you see in a mirror?
In the starting position the tip of your tongue is raised close to the rear part of
the alveolar ridge, but far enough from it to produce a sound that has no friction.
While the tip of the tongue is curved upwards, the central part of the tongue is
lowered, completing the overall sensation of the tongue being curled upwards.
3 /r/ is friction less because the air stream escapes freely, without friction, over
the central part of the tongue. You can check this by forming your tongue in
the /r/ position and then drawing air in through your mouth. You should feel the
cold air passing along the centre of your tongue.
4 Notice that this position is similar to the tongue position for / œ , 3, tœ , d3/ except
that for /r/ the tip of the tongue is raised a little further back in the mouth,
behind the alveolar ridge, and for /œ , 3, t œ , d3/ it is the blade of the tongue that
makes the friction.
Say each of the sounds: /œ , 3, t œ , d3/ and after each say /r/. You should notice
that the tip of your tongue moves back over the palate, thus also increasing
the distance from the roof of the mouth, ensuring that the sound has no
friction. This place of articulation is referred to as post alveolar, ie ‘a little
behind’ the alveolar position of /t, d/ and also a little behind the palato-alveolar
position of / œ , 3, t œ, d3/.
Putting all this together, we get the technical description post alveolar
frictionless continuant. Post alveolar refers to the place of articulation. The
manner of articulation is frictionless and continuant, which means that it can
be sustained in a vowel-like way.
/r/ is usually voiced, though devoicing may occur in certain contexts. It occurs
initially in all types of English, and finally in many types of English, eg
American, Scottish, Irish (called rhotic varieties) but not in British RP (called
non-rhotic). In rhotic varieties /r/ can also occur before consonants and before
silence.

36 Discovery activity 46 The sounds /w/ and /j/

Say the words slowly and focus attention on the first sound of each:
/wet/ wet /jet/ yet
/west/ west /jes/ yes
/wu / woo /j u / you
/w / war /j / your
/wɡ / were /jɡ / year
Notice that there is no restriction to the air flow during the first sound, and so no
friction or closure characteristic of most consonants. Note also that you can
maintain the initial sound indefinitely.

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Discovery toolkit Level 1: Sounds in isolation

In this way the manner of articulation of /w/ and /j/ is rather vowel-like, and they
are often referred to as semi-vowels. Although semi-vowels may be phonetically
described in terms of vowels, they function as consonants in that they precede
the main vowel of a syllable. (See the definitions of consonants above discovery
activity 32.) We’ll investigate the two sounds in turn.

37 Discovery activity 47 The sound /w/

Get ready to say the word wet, but don’t actually say it. What is your tongue and lip
position? Now say the very beginning of the sound, and try to freeze your tongue
and lip posture at that point and maintain the resulting sound. This starting sound
is close to / /, with lips rounded and tongue back. You can test this:
Repeat /wi / several times rapidly: /wi ... wi ... wi ... wi ... /. And now repeat / i/
rapidly: / i ... i ... i ... i ... /. They should sound similar, especially if you keep
/ / very short.
So the sound which has the symbol /w/ is in fact / /, of very short duration,
gliding rapidly to the following vowel. Try the list at the beginning of discovery
activity 46 above, putting a very short / / in place of /w/ in each word: for
example, / et/ instead of /wet/. Do they sound the same? You may find there is a
stronger lip movement with /w/.
The exact starting position depends on the nature of the following vowel, but it is
usually characterized by rounded lips, hence the full description of /w/ as a voiced
bilabial semi-vowel. /w/ occurs initially but not finally.

38 Discovery activity 48 The sound /j/

Get ready to say the word yes, but don’t actually say it. What is your tongue and lip
position? Now say the very beginning of the sound, and try to freeze your tongue
and lip posture at that point and maintain the resulting sound. This starting sound
is close to /I/, with lips neutral or slightly spread and tongue slightly closer to the
alveolar ridge, creating almost a hint of friction. You can test this:
Repeat /j / several times rapidly: /j ... j ... j ... j ... /. And now repeat /I /
rapidly: / I ... I ... I ... I ... /. They should sound similar, especially if you keep
/I/ very short.
So the sound /j/ in fact begins with /I/, of very short duration, gliding rapidly to the
following vowel. Try the list on the right in activity 46 above, putting a very short /I/
in place of /j/ in each word, eg /Ies/ instead of /jes/. Do they sound the same?
The exact starting position of /j/ depends on the nature of the following vowel, but
it is usually characterized by the tongue being close to the palate, hence the full
description of /j/ as a voiced palatal semi-vowel, /j/ occurs initially but never
finally.

46
 4 Consonants

39 Discovery activity 49 Using /r, w, j/ as linking sounds

The last three sounds on the bottom row of the chart are placed together as they
share an important characteristic in ‘stream of speech’ English, namely that they
link together two words, where the first ends with a vowel sound and the second
begins with a vowel. Say the following phrases normally and quite quickly. Also try
them slowly. Observe what happens at the boundary between the first two words.
How do you link them? Do you insert another sound?
Africa and Asia
you and me
me and you
You may find that you naturally introduce a ‘hint’ of the linking sounds:
Africa /r/ and Asia
you /w/ and me
me /j/ and you
We will investigate this more thoroughly in Level 3, ‘Sounds and simplifications in
connected speech’.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The bottom row of consonants contains several groupings. The nasal sounds are
in order of front to back (left to right on the chart). /1/ and /r/ are together, the
semi-vowels /w/ and /j/ are together, the linking sounds /r/, /w/ and /j/ are also
together. The odd one out, /h/, is in the middle. Ŷ

Fig. 33: Consonants (row 3) showing manner and place of articulation

Voiced Voiced Voiced onset: Voiced Post Bilabial Palatal

bilabial alveolar velar unvoiced alveolar alveolar semi- semi-
nasal nasal nasal fortis lateral frictionless vowel vowel
fricative continuant

Fig. 34: Standard technical description of row 3 consonants

47
Level 2 Words in isolation
1 Introduction 48
2 Joining individual phonemes to make words 49
3 Stress in words 51
4 Unstress in words 53
5 Primary and secondary stress 54
6 Where do you put the stress in words? 55
7 Intonation and word stress 57

1 Introduction
In Level 1 we focused on the individual sounds, or phonemes, of English RP, their
various characteristics and how to make and alter them. In the discovery activities
we worked on the minimum understanding necessary as a basis for creative
teaching.
Now, in Level 2, we put these phonemes together into sequences to form syllables
and words. Level 2 pronunciation focuses on words spoken carefully in isolation.
This kind of pronunciation is recognized by native speakers of English as a slow,
clear and deliberate pronunciation of words, and it corresponds to the
pronunciation given for individual words in a learners’ dictionary. It is sometimes
also called the citation form of a word.
Two processes are necessary to transform a string of phonemes into a word. The
first is the joining of the individual phonemes into a single, seamless flow of
articulation. The second is the introduction of word stress. The rest of this
chapter will help you to explore these two features.

48
 2 Joining individual phonemes to make words

2 Joining individual phonemes to make words

The pronunciation of a word is more than the sum of its individual phonemes. It
consists rather of a flow of sound in which it may no longer be obvious exactly
where one phoneme ends and the next begins. At Level 1 we stopped this flow
and broke it into individual segments; we arrested the natural flow of sound in
order to identify the fixed points for closer study. In doing that we necessarily
made these individual phonemes larger and more tangible than they are when
they occur in words. That has given us a sound foundation on which to
reassemble the parts back into the whole, and what we have to remember at Level
2 is that words consist of a flow of sound rather than a sequence of fixed sounds. (The
same process of melting the parts into a fluid whole is repeated again at Level 3,
where words are assembled back into the greater whole of connected speech.)

40 Discovery activity 50 Joining phonemes together to make words

1 Take any word and say each of its phonemes clearly, slowly and separately.
This is Level 1 pronunciation.
2 Repeat this several times, gradually joining the phonemes together to make
the word. This is Level 2 pronunciation.
You can try with these words:
Level 1 Level 2
/f... ...t œ ...ԥ...n...ԥ...t.../ /f t œԥnԥt/ fortunate
/e...k...s...p...l...ԥ...r...e...I... œ...ԥ...n/ /eksplԥreI œԥn/ exploration
/p...r...ԥ...n...ȁ...n...s...I...e...I... œ...ԥ...n/ /prԥnȁnsIeI œ ԥn/ pronunciation
/f...l...ԥ... ...I...ƾ/ /flԥ Iƾ/ flowing

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Notice how at Level 1 the sounds are separate, unconnected. As you move
towards Level 2 notice how the phonemes begin to flow, or melt, into one
another, affecting and changing each other, and forming a seamless flow. Notice
how the phonemes overlap, so that the second phoneme is forming before the
first has finished. (The technical word for this is coarticulation, literally ‘together
articulation’.) For example, with /prԥnȁnsIeI œ ԥn/, notice how your tongue is
already in the position for /r/ while your lips are making /p/.
Whereas at Level 1 there is a space between the sounds which is not part of the
word, at Level 2 the movement between two sounds is incorporated into the two
sounds and into the pronunciation of the word. So the pronunciation of the word
is made up of the movement through each phoneme as well as the movement between
each phoneme. Ŷ

49
Discovery toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

Discovery activity 51 The dancers and the dance

1 Say the words in activity 50 clearly and not too fast. Put your attention on the
following:
• your tongue, and notice the complex but smooth ‘dance’ that it makes around
the available space in your mouth;
• your lips;
• your jaw movement;
• the turning on and off of your voice.
Notice how each organ has its own dance, which is perfectly choreographed
with that of the others.
2 Try this with any word you can see in this text, and with words from other
languages.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The more aware you become of this dance taking place in your own mouth, the
more insight you will be able to bring to bear when working with your learners.
Although the pronunciation of a word can be represented by a sequence of
phonemic symbols, the phonemes in the context of a word do not necessarily
have the same sound as when they are spoken in isolation. What happens is that
the phonemes are run together so that each one interacts with and modifies the
quality of its neighbours. These variations of a single phoneme, resulting from
the pressure of its phonetic context, are called allophones (literally ‘different +
sound’). An allophonic change does not carry any significance.Therefore it does
not change the meaning, and is understood as one possible representation of the
parent phoneme. Ŷ

Discovery activity 52 Using the chart to slow down and speed up

pronunciation
1 Take any word and point it out to yourself on the chart. Say each sound aloud
as you do so and notice how this slows your pronunciation down to Level 1, and
forces you to focus on each sound as an entity in itself.
2 Again take a word and point it out to yourself on the chart, but this time retain
the sounds in your memory without saying them. When you have finished
pointing, say the word aloud:
• first, as a string of isolated sounds (Level 1);
• second, as a connected stream of sounds but very slowly (Level 2, slow);
• third, connected together and at normal speaking speed (Level 2).

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This theme of slowing things down in order to shape and change the elements,
and then speeding them up again in order to have fluency as well as accuracy, is
one that will recur in verbal interventions used by the teacher, in the use of finger
correction, and in the use of Cuisenaire rods, all in Part 2. Ŷ

50
 3 Stress in words

Stress and the phonemic chart

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) uses the symbol /'/for primary stress
and the symbol // for secondary stress. They are displayed in the top right-hand
corner of the chart, just to the left of the intonation symbols, and you activate them
by touching them with the pointer at the beginning of the syllable to be stressed.

Fig. 35: Stress symbols on the chart: primary (above), secondary (below)

3 Stress in words
Word stress is the term used to describe the accent or emphasis given to a
particular syllable of a word, and it is a more or less invariable attribute of that
word when spoken in isolation. Words of more than one syllable contain both
stressed and unstressed syllables. Learners’ dictionaries indicate the stressed
syllable(s) for every multi-syllable word as if it were being spoken in isolation.
The stress symbol used by most dictionaries is / '/ just before the affected syllable,
eg/spԥ sIfIk/.The location of this stress is as much a part of the pronunciation of a
word as are the phonemes themselves. Sounds and stress both contribute to the
acoustic identity of a word, so both need to be studied at the same time.
The following discovery activities provide insight into the different aspects of stress.
After activity 54 I pull these ideas together into a working definition of stress.

41 Discovery activity 53 Stress and lung power

1 Repeat a sequence of any unvoiced consonant, eg /f... f... f... f... f... f.... / or
/ œ ... œ ... œ ... œ ... œ ... œ .../.
2 Now stress alternate sounds /f... f... f... f... f... f... / or / œ ... œ ... œ ... œ ... œ ...
œ ... / or /t... t... t... t... t... t... / or /θ ... θ ... θ ... θ ... θ ... θ ... /. Notice the
increased lung power you use to drive out the air on the stressed sounds.
3 Repeat a sequence of any voiced sound, eg /z ... z ... z ... z ... z ... z ... /or /d ...
d...d...d...d...d.../.
4 Now stress alternate sounds /z ... z ... z ... z ... z ... z ... / or /d ... d ... d ... d ...
d ... d ... / or / i ... i ... i ... i ... i ... i ... / or / ... ... ... ... ... ... /.
5 Now stress alternate syllables such as /mi ... mi ... mi ... mi ... mi ... mi ... /
or /nԥ ... nԥ ... nԥ ... nԥ ... nԥ ... nԥ ... /.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You probably notice that the stressed versions of each sound are louder than the
unstressed ones due to the extra lung power you are using. You may also find that
you are giving the stressed sounds a different pitch, probably higher but possibly
lower. In addition you may have made the stressed sounds relatively longer.
There seems to be a natural physical connection between strongly stressed
syllables and increased volume, change of pitch and length. But these variables do
not have to occur together. Ŷ

51
Discovery toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

42 Discovery activity 54 Stressing syllables in words

1 Make a list of words of two or more syllables. You could choose words from
the list below.
2 Say each of these words several times, each time stressing a different
syllable and leaving the other syllables unstressed, eg 'student/stu'dent or
important/im'portant/impor'tant.
3 While doing this, try to be aware of the way in which you focus your lung
power on the stressed syllable.
4 Try to mark the stressed syllable first with loudness, then with length, and then
with pitch change. Do you naturally tend to do all three at the same time?
student hotel
important advert
impotent advertise
photograph advertisement
photo photography
photographer photographic
kangaroo benefit
elementary elephant
element eleven
5 Now focus on the extra clarity or sharpness that you give to the stressed
syllable. Notice the more exact articulation of the consonants and the clearer
articulation of the vowels in the stressed syllable.
6 Focus also on the unstressed syllables. How do you alter the sounds in order
to make a syllable unstressed?
7 If you make the stressed syllables fairly emphatic you can also notice an
increase in muscular movement on those syllables, and if you look in a mirror
you may see the visual aspect of stress.

A practical definition of stress

A stressed syllable is articulated with relatively more force than an unstressed
syllable. This is due to the extra pressure of air reaching the vocal cords, caused by
an increase in lung power. There are three distinguishable acoustic results. You may
perceive syllables as stressed if, compared with their neighbours, they are
relatively:
1 louder;
2 longer;
3 different in pitch (usually higher but possibly lower).
To this we can add a fourth variable:
4 the sounds in a stressed syllable may be more clearly articulated, and in
particular the vowels may be ‘purer’.
As a result of this we can also add a fifth variable, which also provides a visual clue:
5 stressed syllables may be accompanied by larger jaw, lip and other facial
movements by the speaker.
These five variables are in fact all interrelated, because they are all ways of
increasing or decreasing the amount of energy in the articulation at any point.
They all concern the way that articulatory energy is distributed across the word.
In fact you can think of the stress pattern of a word as its energy profile.
52
 4 Unstress in words

Why are these stress variables important for the teacher?

These five variables, singly or in combination, constitute word stress, and since
there is more than one correlate, it follows that when you are trying to help your
learners to produce a clearer word stress you can choose to work on whichever
feature the learner finds easiest to control, or whichever feature seems to guide
the learner towards the target sound, or seems to interfere least with the clear and
economical articulation of the rest of the utterance.
Whichever variable (s) appear to be operating, a syllable will only appear stressed
relative to the unstressed syllables surrounding it. The practical implication of
this is that it is as important for learners to work on unstress as it is to work on
stress, since the two exist relative to each other. It is the clear contrast between
stress and unstress, rather than any absolute quality of either, that gives the
necessary signal to the listener. In fact, for many learners of English, the challenge
of developing an adequate articulation of stress is also the challenge of learning
to deal adequately with unstressed syllables.

4 Unstress in words
Insofar as loudness, length and pitch correlate with stress, so absence of all three
can correlate with unstress. When helping learners to put less force on unstressed
syllables you can again work on whichever of these three variables the learners
find easiest to manipulate or whichever yields the most English-sounding results.
Regarding the fourth variable, clarity and purity of articulation, it is worth saying
more about the changes that can result from unstressing the sound:
1 The consonants in an unstressed syllable may be more weakly or even
incompletely articulated.
2 The vowel in the syllable may sound less distinct. This loss of sharpness in
unstressed vowels is called reduction, and all vowel sounds can undergo greater
or lesser degrees of reduction. All monophthongs reduce towards the central
/ԥ/ sound, though /i / often reduces to /I/ and /u / often reduces to / /.
Unstressed diphthongs become generally less distinct, often losing their two-
vowel glide quality and merging into one composite ‘greyish’ monophthong.

Discovery activity 55 Reducing the energy on unstressed syllables

1 Take words from the list in discovery activity 54 and say them first slowly and
then quickly, paying attention to the quality of the sounds in the unstressed
syllables.
2 Can you detect the absence on the unstressed syllables of any or all of the five
variables given in the practical definition? Do you notice the effects of
reduction on the way you are saying the unstressed vowels?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
We easily pay attention to stress, because ‘it is there’, and overlook unstress
‘because ‘it isn’t there’. And yet working with unstress is the key to working with
stress. Ŷ

53
Discovery toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

5 Primary and secondary stress

Longer words, especially when spoken in isolation, may have more than one
stressed syllable (eg popularity), in which case one of the stresses is given more
force than the other. The strongest is referred to as primary stress and the less
strong as secondary stress.
Both primary and secondary stress are in contrast to unstress. Secondary stress
can be realized acoustically by duration and loudness, and through clearer
articulation. It merely has less energy than its neighbouring primary stress.
However the pitch change quality of stress tends to occur as an attribute of
primary stress only.

43 Discovery activity 56 Primary and secondary word stress

The following words are normally considered to have two stresses, a primary and
a secondary stress: infor'mation, contro'versial, moti'vation.
1 Try saying these words without any stressed syllable at all. What do you have
to do in order to do that?
2 Now try to stress every syllable. Notice how you do this.
3 This time, put only one stress in each word. Put that stress on each syllable
in turn, making sure you keep the other syllables unstressed. How does the
word sound with only one stress?
4 Now stress the correct syllables, but reverse your placement of primary and
secondary stress. Notice how this sounds. And now put the two stresses in
the correct place.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
There’s a useful knack here. Whenever you are trying to decide which is the
primary and which is the secondary stress in a longer word, try reversing primary
and secondary stress, and say the word both ways. This may help you to
recognize what the correct stress pattern is. Ŷ

44 Discovery activity 57 Stress shift in words

Sometimes words with secondary stress change their stress pattern in connected
speech, especially when followed by a word which is more strongly stressed.
This is how primary and secondary stress is attributed to these four words in the
dictionary:
frontbench /frȁnt'bent
regimental /red3I'mentԥl/
laid-back /leId'bæk/
sixteenth /sIks'ti nθ/
Try saying these four sentences:
The MP on the frontbench
The colours are regimental
The teacher is laid-back
It’s her sixteenth

54
 6 Where do you put the stress in words?

Do you find that the given stress pattern is respected? Now try these:
The frontbench MP
The regimental colours
A laid-back teacher
It’s her sixteenth birthday

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You may find that you shift the primary stress to the normal position of the
secondary stress.
Stress shift is a tendency not a rule, and something to observe when it comes up
in the study of stream of speech materials. Ŷ

6 Where do you put the stress in words?

Some writers emphasize the existence of rules underlying the placement of word
stress in English. Sometimes they cite the facility with which a native speaker can
correctly stress an unknown word. On the other hand, some writers emphasize
the lack of generative power of such rules, citing the difficulty that native speakers
can encounter when trying to place the stress in an unknown word!
Both views are helpful as each describes an aspect of reality. Quite a number of
rules for the placement of word stress have been described and some of them are
summarized below. But there are two questions to ask in connection with such
rules. How learnable are they, and how generalizable are they?
Some rules are complex to apply, and even then have many exceptions. In fact
tendency may be a better term than rule. On their own these tendencies clearly do
not form a comprehensive basis for the learning of stress placement, and so we
need effective ways for learning the stress of each word individually while at the
same time developing the kind of inner criteria that native speakers have.
I don’t want learners to be sidetracked by cognitive rules with limited application.
Oh so that’s how it is, good, then I needn’t look out any more. For me, and I think the
learners I work with, the best rule is to be alert, to notice what you are doing and
what the language is doing, and to reflect. Linguistic rules and tendencies must
be used to enhance this process. So my ‘charter’ for learning word stress might
be:
• to work with each new word as it comes up, on its own terms, consulting the
teacher or coursebook or learners’ dictionary as required;
• to do so in such a way as to encourage the development of the learners’
intuitive learning faculties so that underlying tendencies can emerge within
each learner without necessarily having to be described or explained;
• to make use of rules and observations and explanations about placement of
word stress where they are useful, that is where they contain some insight and
when the learners are ready to integrate that rule.

Stress in two-syllable words

There is a general tendency to stress two-syllable nouns and adjectives on the
first syllable: 'many, 'function, 'spelling, 'second, 'colour, 'yellow.

55
Discovery toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

Stress in two-syllable nouns/verbs

In English there are many words that can function as nouns or as verbs: for
example, transfer, suspect, progress, produce. Where their spelling is identical, and
where there are two syllables, there is a strong tendency:
• to stress nouns and adjectives on the first syllable, eg ‘export, ‘increase, ‘permit;
• and to stress verbs on the second syllable, eg export, increase, permit.

Stress in compound nouns

The chief characteristic of compounds is that they consist of two words, both of
which can exist separately. There is a tendency for the words that form a
compound to keep their pronunciation unchanged in the compound. Regarding
the placement of stress on one word or the other, there are also some general
tendencies that are worth stating though not always reliable:
• The main stress in a compound formed from two separate words is likely to be
on the second word. Most of these might more accurately be termed collocating
noun phrases: town'centre, black'magic, science'fiction, black'hole.
• The main stress in a compound formed from two joined or hyphenated words
is likely to be on the first word: 'football, 'seaside, 'motorway, 'handbag,
'greenhouse.
Derivatives and stress pattern
A root word can form different word classes, or parts of speech, by adding a
variety of suffixes. In this way a given root word may be able to form a verb, a
noun, an adjective and an adverb.

45 Discovery activity 58 Stress in derivatives

How does the stress behave in these derivatives?
compre'hend compre'hension compre'hensive compre'hensively
'photograph pho'tographer photo'graphic photo'graphically
elec'tricity e'lectrify e'lectrical e'lectrically
e'xamine exami'nation
'magic 'magical 'magically ma'gician
i'dentify i'dentity identifi'cation
il'lumine il'luminate illumi'nation
'beauty 'beautify 'beautiful 'beautifully
pro'tect pro'tective pro'tection

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You can see from this that there is a tendency for root words to keep their
pronunciation and stress pattern unchanged when they form derivatives. But as
you can see there are also exceptions, and where there is a change in stress
pattern it carries significance as a grammatical signal of word class to the listener.
This underlines the importance of treating stress pattern as an integral part of the
aural identity of a word. It also provides a useful basis for classwork on stress and
stress shift. Ŷ

56
 7 Intonation and word stress

7 Intonation and word stress

We have already referred to pitch as one of the acoustic correlates of stress. This
means that intonation, in the sense of simple pitch movement, has a role to play
even at the level of words spoken in isolation (Level 2). We have noted that this
pitch movement is associated with primary stress and not with secondary stress,
and we can add a second observation, which is that pitch movement on the
primary stressed syllable is usually a fall from a higher pitch to a lower pitch.

46 Discovery activity 59 Pitch change in word stress

1 Say these words which are stressed on the first syllable, and notice the pitch
movement between first and second syllable.
'awesome 'lovely 'beauty 'practical 'wonderful
2 Where there are unstressed syllables before the primary stress, they will
probably be voiced at a lower pitch than the primary stress. Try these and
notice what you do.
a'mazing spec'tacular re'ality to'night

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Intonation in the form of simple pitch movement carrying no significance other
than to mark the primary stress enters the phonological scene at the level below
that of connected speech (ie at Level 2). So there is an opportunity to work on
awareness of pitch movement whenever learners are working on the
pronunciation of isolated words. Ŷ

Conclusion
Both the sequence of sounds and the stress pattern are essential parts of the
identity of a word spoken in isolation, and both affect the way a word will behave
in the stream of speech (more about this at Level 3). Stress only exists relative to
unstress, and so learning to unstress is as important as learning to stress. Vowel
reduction is an important ingredient of unstress and it contributes to the aural
recognition of words. Pitch movement is an ingredient of primary stress.
Sounds and stress should always be learned together as two inseparable parts of
any one, whole pronunciation. It may be that a word spoken with not-quite-right
sounds, but with correct stress pattern, is more easily understood than one with
more or less correct sounds but incorrect stress pattern.
At Level 1 we considered the nature of each of the forty-four English RP
phonemes. At Level 2 we have considered the nature of dictionary pronunciation,
and found it to be a combination of individual phonemes moulded together into
one ‘flow’, integrated with and modified by word stress.
The next part of the book deals with connected speech, which I have called Level
3, and we shall see that just as the individual phonemes of Level 1 are altered and
added to when fused together to yield the isolated word pronunciation of Level 2,
so isolated words are altered and added to when they are strung together in the
stream of speech.

57
Level 3 Connected speech

1 Introduction 58
2 Overview 58
3 Sounds and simplifications in connected speech 60
4 Rhythm in connected speech 69
5 Intonation 74

1 Introduction
Just as at Level 2 we found that a word is not just the sum of its individual
sounds, so at Level 3 we find that connected speech is not just the sum of its
individual words. Continuous connected speech consists of a flow of sounds
which are modified by a system of simplifications through which phonemes are
connected, grouped and modified. Stream of speech pronunciation brings
together the three branches of practical phonology: sounds, stress and intonation.
After the following overview these three areas are examined to the degree of
detail that I have found is of benefit to practical classroom work.

2 Overview
Sounds in connected speech
The modifications to dictionary pronunciation (Level 2) once isolated words are
embedded in connected speech are fairly systematic and include assimilation (the
changing of sounds), elision (the omission of sounds), vowel reduction, liaison,
linking and intrusive sounds, and juncture. We will explore all of these features in
Section 3.

Stress, accent and prominence in connected speech

Stress is an umbrella term used to cover both accent (or word stress), and
prominence (or sentence stress). The former belongs to the word, while the latter
is chosen by the speaker to highlight the intended meaning. Connected speech
contains both word accents (in a sense regardless of the speaker) and prominence
(because o/the speaker). And what happens then is that individual word accent is
likely to be subordinated to the speaker’s choice of prominence, and these
prominences form the major part of the rhythm of the whole utterance. Spoken
English has a characteristic tendency to be rhythmical. We will explore this
further in Section 4.

58
 2 Overview

Intonation and rhythm

Intonation and rhythm together help to focus attention on the information
structure of a discourse and to indicate ‘what goes with what’ in an utterance.
Within the context of a particular discourse, the intonation contours chosen by
the speaker may indicate attitudes, mark syntactic boundaries, highlight the
relationship between the utterances, and indicate the common ground assumed
between speaker and hearer.
Unfortunately, analyses of intonation have so far tended to yield descriptions
which are too cumbersome for language learners. We will look at what help
existing theories of intonation can offer us in the classroom, and at what we can
do where theory does not help.

Connected speech learner targets

The degree of simplification of sounds depends largely on the speed and context
of the utterance, as well as on the characteristics of the speaker. So a slower and
more careful delivery may remain closer to dictionary pronunciation, while a
faster and less careful delivery will contain a greater degree of simplification. In
an idealized form these two speeds of delivery are respectively called careful
colloquial speech and rapid colloquial speech, and these can serve as two useful
models or landmarks to aim for in the study of connected speech pronunciation.
Both forms can contain all types of simplification, the difference being largely a
matter of degree.

Careful colloquial speech

This style contains all types of simplification to a moderate degree. Words remain
closer to their dictionary pronunciation than with rapid colloquial speech. This
style is likely to be used in a more formal setting, the speaker shaping utterances
more carefully, deliberately and slowly. (An internationally available example of
careful colloquial RP is that of newscasters and announcers on the BBC World
Service.)
I suggest that careful colloquial speech is useful as a target for learners to aim at
in speaking, as it is clear, easy to listen to and widely understood. (There are
many situations throughout the world where it maybe more useful to use the local
variety of English as the learning model.)

Rapid colloquial speech

This contains more extensive simplifications, and individual words may be
further from their dictionary pronunciation form than with careful colloquial
speech. This style is used in less formal settings as when native speakers are
talking informally to one another. Compared with careful colloquial speech, this
style may be characterized by faster delivery and less care and attention to precise
articulation on the part of the speaker. I suggest that rapid colloquial speech is
useful as a target for learners to aim at in listening.

59
Discovery toolkit Level 3: Connected speech

3 Sounds and simplifications in connected speech

In this section we will explore the kinds of change that can occur between Level 2
and Level 3 pronunciations. We’ll cover the following:
• assimilation;
• elision;
• vowel reduction;
• strong and weak forms;
• liaison;
• contractions;
• juncture.
Assimilation
Assimilation occurs when a phoneme changes its quality due to the influence of a
neighbouring sound. It changes to become more like the neighbouring sound, or
even identical to it.

47 Discovery activity 60 Assimilation

Here are examples of the main kinds of assimilation in English. See if you can
identify them. Say the following phrases first as isolated words and then several
times as connected speech. Do you change any of the sounds at the word
boundaries?
ten pin bowling
in bed
good boy
hit man
tin man
good girl
this shop
these shops
have to go
how d’you do
don’t you know

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Alveolar consonants /t/, /d/ and /n/ at the end of a word often assimilate to the
place of articulation of the consonant at the beginning of the next word. Before
/p/, /b/ and /m/, for example, they can become bilabial:
ten pin bowling /ten pIn bԥ lI / /tern pIm bԥ lI //
in bed /In bed/ /Im bed/
good boy /g d b I/ /g b b I/
hit man /hIt mæn/ /hIp mæn/
tin man /tIn mæn/ /tIm mæn/
/d/ can change to /g/:
good girl /g d gɡ l/ /g g gɡ l/

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/s/ can change to / œ/ and /z/ can change to /3/ when / œ / begins the next syllable:
this shop /ðIs œ p/ /ðIœ œ p/
these shops /ði s œ ps/ /ði 3 œ ps/
Voicing can change too. Here /v/ becomes an unvoiced /f/ under the influence of
the following unvoiced /t/:
have to go /hæv tԥ gԥ / /hæf tԥ gԥ /
/d/ and /j/ can fuse, or coalesce, to make a less plosive sound, the affricate /d3/:
how d’you do /ha dj du / /ha d3 du /
And similarly /t/ and /j/ can coalesce to give the unvoiced affricate /t œ/:
don’t you know /dԥ nt j nԥ / /dԥ ntœԥ nԥ /
Assimilation is the natural result of the various speech organs ‘cutting corners’ as
they perform their complex sequence of movements, and this occurs mostly at
word boundaries and affects mainly consonant sounds.
Although assimilation follows fairly regular patterns, the most common of which
are set out above, it is different in different languages. Learners cannot therefore
simply apply their mother tongue assimilations to English. Learners who do not
assimilate at all may sound finicky, over-precise, too careful, and where their
mother tongue assimilation patterns intrude they may be difficult for English
listeners to follow. Lack of appropriate assimilation in the stream of speech can
inhibit the use of English rhythm and intonation patterns, leading to a loss of
both fluency and clarity of meaning.
I don’t think it is necessarily helpful for learners to learn the rules governing
assimilation. What is much more important is that you, the teacher, draw your
learners’ attention to examples of assimilation when they arise, either in
recordings or while speaking in class. Ŷ

Elision
Elision occurs when a sound which would be present in a word spoken in
isolation is omitted in connected speech.

48 Discovery activity 61 Elision

It is mainly /t/ and /d/ that are elided in English, particularly when they are
between two other consonants. Experiment yourself with the possible omissions
in these phrases:
Omission of /t/
next please /neks pli z/
I don’t know /aI dԥ nԥ /
post the letter /pԥ s ð ԥ letԥ/
Omission of /d/
old man /ԥ l mæn/
you and me /ju ԥn mi /
sandwich /sænwIt œ /
stand there /stæn ð eԥ/

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I have given the elided versions in phonemic spelling above. But now say each
phrase again without eliding any of the sounds. How different does it feel? What
impression do you get?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Like assimilation, elision is a natural result of the speech organs ‘cutting corners’
in connected speech, mainly at word boundaries. It applies particularly to
consonant sounds, and as with assimilation, speakers who do not elide may sound
over-meticulous and rather crisp in their articulation. It may also be more difficult
for them to use intonation and rhythm patterns with fluency.
When learners become aware that a number of phonemes they might expect to
hear are not actually produced, and when they discover that they can make these
sounds disappear in their own speech, they begin to gain an insight which helps
them when they listen to rapid connected English. Ŷ

Elision and assimilation together

Learners of English often remark on the way English speakers seem to ‘swallow’
the sounds. Usually what they are observing is the combined action of
assimilation, elision and vowel reduction.

Vowel reduction
Unaccented vowels in the stream of speech are characterized by a reduction in
length, and a change in quality towards a less distinct, more central vowel sound.
Most monophthongs reduce towards /ԥ/. This process is sometimes called
centralization since the /ԥ/ sound is produced with the lips and jaw relaxed and
the tongue in a central, neutral position. However, the two monophthongs /i / and
/u / are often only partially centralized, /i / reducing towards /I/ and /u /reducing
towards / /.

49 Discovery activity 62 Vowel reduction

Say these two sentences rapidly, stressing the underlined syllables and
unstressing the others:
You and me
I wish you would tell me
How does the vowel sound in you change from the first to the second sentence?
And how does me change?

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 3 Sounds and simplifications in connected speech

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In the second sentence the vowels in you and me are reduced, ie shorter and less
clear, /ju ԥnmi / becomes /aI wI œ j w d tel mI/. This highlights the connection
between unstress and vowel reduction. If you say both of the sentences as a
sequence of words in isolation, you restore each sound to its full value but make
it difficult to indicate your meaning since you cannot then stress the sentence
properly. Ŷ

Fig. 36: Direction of reduction for monophthongs

Diphthongs are also likely to be reduced when unaccented in connected speech.
The length of the glide is reduced, in fact the glide quality itself may even
disappear resulting in a ‘greyish’ neutral diphthong in which the first and second
elements are dissolved into one composite monophthong.

50 Discovery activity 63 Vowel reduction in diphthongs

Say these words rapidly, stressing the underlined syllables and unstressing the
others:
1 Go go has this diphthong: /ԥ /.
Go out How does the diphthong in go sound now?
2 Go out Here out contains this diphthong: /a /.
Go outside What sound does out contain here?
3 Why why contains this diphthong: /aI/.
Why not What sound does why contain here?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
If you say the pairs of sentences at speed and with unstress as well as stress, you
should find that in the second sentence of each pair the diphthong in question is
shorter and less clear than in the first sentence. In fact it may cease to be a
diphthong altogether by dropping its second element and becoming a neutralized
version of its first element.
Discovery activities 60 and 61 illustrate the link between elision and assimilation
and stress and unstress. Activities 62 and 63 illustrate the close link between
vowel reduction and the smooth distribution of stress and unstress. Since
stressing and unstressing is an important way for the speaker to indicate meaning
it follows that these simplifications in the stream of speech are important aspects
of expressing and communicating meaning. Ŷ

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Strong and weak forms

Vowel reduction affects the frequent monosyllabic grammar words of English,
and many of them have two or more accepted pronunciations, one when stressed
or spoken in isolation, the strong form, and one when reduced in their more usual
unstressed position, the weak form. Learners’ dictionaries list both the strong and
weak forms for such words, which have the following characteristics:
• they have only one syllable;
• they act as function words;
• they usually occur in their weak forms unless the speaker wishes to emphasize
them to underline the message;
• the weak forms occur in speech only and are not (usually) shown in writing;
• they are high frequency words, though few in number (about fifty).

51 Discovery activity 64 Strong and weak forms

Make two sentences for each of the following function words, one that contains
the strong, prominent form, the other the weak, reduced form. Notice the
difference in pronunciation and emphasis between the two forms. Compare your
version with the forms given here:
Strong Weak
form form(s)
and /ænd/ /ԥn/
of / V/ /ԥv/
you /ju / /j /
me /mi / /mi/
she / œi / / œ I/
would /w d/ /wԥd/ /ԥd/
does /dȁz/ /dԥz/
have /hæv/ /hԥv/ /ԥv/
must /mȁst/ /mԥst/ /mԥs/

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In general, the greater the speed of delivery, the greater the reduction of
unstressed vowels. Since reduction is a feature of unstress, and since stress and
unstress exist only relative to each other, you can see that vowel reduction plays
an essential role in producing the rhythmical nature of stream-of-speech English.
Phoneme quality is inextricably linked with rhythm in connected speech.
The appropriate use of weak forms is essential to smooth and rhythmical
speaking, to clarity of prominent and non-prominent syllables, and so to clarity of
meaning. Weak forms are just as much a part of careful colloquial speech as they
are of rapid colloquial speech. Working on the production of weak forms gives
learners insight into the speech of native speakers, and helps to improve their
listening skill and confidence. Ŷ

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Contractions
In the stream of speech a weak form can occur together with another word in
such a way that it undergoes another reduction and the two words are
pronounced as one, often occupying only a single syllable. This is a contraction,
which has the following characteristics:
• two single-syllable words usually combine into one syllable;
• an elision (omission) of sounds occurs;
• an omission of one or two letters also occurs in the written form; their place is
marked by an apostrophe. This is a special case of elision in that it is indicated
in the written form.
Common instances of contraction are personal pronoun + auxiliary verb and
verb + not. For example:
I’m, I’ve, I’ll, I’d, they’re, they’ve, they’ll, they’d, etc.
can’t, couldn’t, don’t, hasn’t, wasn’t, etc.
wouldn’t’ve, can’t’ve, etc.

Liaison
Liaison refers to the smooth linking or joining together of words in connected
speech. Of course two words can have a silence between them, but liaison is
concerned with the way sounds are fused together at word boundaries.

52 Discovery activity 65 Liaison

Say each of the following phrases and notice how you join the words together:
in English my uncle far away go away
Now say each one without joining the words together. Notice the difference.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Fully liaised speech is characterized by a seamless, continuous quality, where final
consonants are linked to following initial vowel sounds, and initial consonants to
preceding final vowel sounds. Once again liaison is an essential ingredient of both
rhythm and intonation.
Poorly linked speech is typically rather jerky, perhaps staccato, and the resulting
lack of flow makes it more difficult for the speaker to take advantage of the stress
system and so for the listener to focus on the content of the message.
Some systematic forms of liaison are described under the following headings:
• linking /r/;
• intrusive /r/;
• intrusive /w/ and /j/. Ŷ

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Linking /r/
In RP the letter ‘r’ in the spelling of a word is not pronounced unless it is followed
by a vowel sound. But in connected speech the final spelling ‘r’ of a word may be
pronounced or not, depending on whether the first sound of the next word is a
consonant or a vowel.

53 Discovery activity 66 Linking /r/

Say the following phrases and decide whether the ‘r’ at the end of the first word
is sounded or not:
her English
her Spanish
car seat
car engine
brother and sister

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In the second and third phrases the ‘r’ is not sounded as the following sound is a
consonant. In the first, fourth and fifth phrases the ‘r’ is a linking /r/ joining the
first word to the second which begins with a vowel.
Note that the term linking /r/ can be applied only when the letter ‘r’ occurs in the
written form.
The notion of linking /r/ is redundant in rhotic varieties of English that typically
pronounce all ‘r’s occurring in the spelling form. Learner dictionaries show
linking /r/ in brackets as part of the pronunciation. Ŷ

Intrusive /r/
This refers to the /r/ sound an English speaker may insert between two words
where the first ends in /ԥ/ or / / and the following word begins with a vowel
sound.

54 Discovery activity 67 Intrusive /r/

See if you make use of intrusive /r/. Say these two phrases and notice how you
join the first to the second word.
America and Canada
law and order

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Some speakers would say /ԥmerIkԥ r ԥn kænԥda/, or /I r ԥn dԥ/. Use of this
intrusive /r/ is frequent though by no means obligatory. The only difference
between linking and intrusive /r/ is that linking /r/ is reflected in the written form
while intrusive /r/ is not. Intrusive /r/ does not exist in rhotic accents (where ‘r’ in
the spelling is always pronounced). Ŷ

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 3 Sounds and simplifications in connected speech

Intrusive /w/ and /j/

These are also used to link certain vowel-vowel combinations at word junctions.
The intrusive sound may not be distinctly heard especially where the overall
vowel sequence is fairly relaxed. Nevertheless you will find it noticeable in all
sorts of recorded material, and it has great value as a learning device when
helping learners towards a smooth linking of words in continuous speech.

55 Discovery activity 68 Intrusive /w/

Say these phrases and notice how you join the words together:
you are
go off
Sue always wants to eat

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You probably find that you insert /w/: /ju w /; /gԥ w f/; /su w lweIz w nts t
w i t/. Intrusive /w/ follows a final /u / or a diphthong ending in / / where the next
word begins with a vowel sound. This is because /u / and / / have lip rounding and
form the starting point for the bilabial semi-vowel /w/. Ŷ

56 Discovery activity 69 Intrusive /j/

Say these phrases and notice how you join the words together:
he is
they are
she always takes my arm

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You probably find that you insert /j/: /hi j Iz/; /ð el j /; i j lweIz teIks maI j m/.
Intrusive /j/ follows a final /i / or a diphthong ending in /I/, where the next word
begins with a vowel sound. This is because /i / and /I/ form the starting point for
the semi-vowel /j/. Ŷ

57 Discovery activity 70 Four features of liaison together

Here is a sentence whose smooth articulation requires all four of the liaison
features mentioned above. Can you identify them?
You are obviously unhappy about the idea of it.
Try to say this sentence as one continuous and seamless stream of sound.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This is one possible version: /j w ԥ r bvIaslI j ȁnhæpI j ԥba t ð i j aIdIԥ r ԥv It/.
It has one each of linking /r/, intrusive /r/, linking /w/ and three occurrences of
linking /j/. Ŷ

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Discovery toolkit Level 3: Connected speech

Juncture
Juncture is the label given to a number of features which may occur at the
boundary between two words in connected speech such that, even though the
two words may be fully linked together, the boundary between them is
nevertheless unambiguous and clear.

58 Discovery activity 71 Juncture

This is a very interesting activity. Say the following pairs of phrases. Can you
distinguish between them? And if you can, then how? Try them both whispered
and aloud to yourself, and also with another person:
mice pies my spies
grey tapes great apes
send the maid send them aid
car pit carpet
it’s an aim it’s a name
grade ‘A’ grey day
ice cream I scream
ice train eye strain
the way to cut it the waiter cut it
I’m ‘A’ I may

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The articulatory features that are likely to enable you to distinguish the phrase in
column one from that in column two are:
• the shortening or lengthening of vowel sounds on either side of the juncture;
• the delayed or advanced articulation of consonant sounds on either side;
• variations in the degree of syllable stress on either side of the juncture;
• other allophonic variations in the phonemes on either side of the boundary. Ŷ
Conclusion
There are a number of differences in the way words are pronounced in isolation
and in the stream of speech between Level 2 and Level 3 pronunciation. I have
used the term ‘simplifications’ as a collective name for the differences and you
can see that the building blocks of connected speech comprise a system that is on
the whole regular and predictable. The English phonemic set affects native
speakers in such a way that they may find it more convenient to include these
simplifications. Our aim can be to help our learners also to discover the
convenience of these simplifications.
You can help learners to use their experience to develop insight into these
simplifications through regular class analysis of very small samples of English
(one or two sentences), selected from whatever taped materials are available to
the class, including recordings of yourself and other class members talking.

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 4 Rhythm in connected speech

4 Rhythm in connected speech

We have seen how phonemes in isolation are moulded into words and how
isolated words melt into the stream of speech through a series of phonemic
changes called simplifications. We have also seen how word stress, or accent, is an
invariable attribute of words of more than one syllable when spoken in isolation.
Now we need to look at how stress is manifested in connected speech, and to do
this we need first to introduce the notion of prominence.

Prominence and accent

So far I have been using the term stress to mean two things, but when dealing with
connected speech we need to distinguish these two meanings with two different
terms. The first use has been as in word stress – the emphasis on a syllable of a word
that is more or less a fixed attribute of that word, and predictable enough to be
given in dictionaries. From now on I will use the word accent to refer to word stress.
The second use has been as in sentence stress – emphasis given to any word in an
utterance by the speaker in order to highlight the intended meaning. From now
on I will use the word prominence to refer to this type of stress.
One way of looking at this contrast is to say that accent is determined by the
language, while prominence is determined by the speaker.

59 Discovery activity 72 Discriminating accent from prominence

1 Say this sentence first as a series of isolated words with accents as marked.
She’s hoping to get a taxi to the station.
If you say the words separately and without meaning you will probably put an
accent on the underlined syllables.
2 Now say it with the words connected together, and with the accents, but do
not superimpose any meaning or prominence of your own. In other words say
the words fluently but do not ‘express any meaning’.
Once again the emphasis you give to the first syllable in the two-syllable words
is accent; it is there as a property of the word rather than because you decided
to put it there. This is true as long as you are ‘quoting the words’ rather than
‘expressing a meaning’.
3 Now say the sentence but put your own meaning into it, and notice where you
put the main emphasis, ie prominence, in order to highlight your meaning.
4 Try putting the prominence on each of the accents in turn. One way of telling
prominence from accent is that prominence also carries the main intonation
change. Notice also that the other two-syllable words still retain their accents
on the first syllable. You are now noticing both prominence and accent. Of
course, you can also put the prominence and intonation movement on one of
the single-syllable words.

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
Try the activities with other sentences, and try them with your learners. Here are
some guidelines that you will begin to discern:
• Prominence can be given to any word, whether lexical or not.
• Accent and prominence have different roles, but in connected speech the role
of accent is subordinated to the role of prominence.
• In the case of multi-syllable words the speaker normally places prominence on
the syllable that normally carries the word accent.
• In the case of single-syllable words there is clearly no choice about which
syllable is to carry the prominence.
• Not all accents will be given prominence.
• Accents which are not given prominence may retain some of their emphasis
but with less force than the prominent syllables, or they may receive little or no
emphasis at all, along with all the other unstressed syllables.
• Unaccented vowels tend to be reduced as described above, so centralization is
common.
• Prominence is articulated by any of the four variables that are used to indicate
accent, namely volume, pitch, length and quality (see definition after discovery
activity 54).
• Prominent syllables also highlight the speaker’s message by carrying the
significant pitch movement, thus the tonic syllable is always on a prominence.
(See above for a definition of prominence, and discovery activity 78 on the
tonic syllable.) Ŷ

Lexical and grammatical words

Lexical words (also called content words) are those which carry the main part of
the meaning in an utterance. They are usually nouns, main verbs, adjectives and
adverbs. Grammar words (also called function words) may have less meaning by
themselves, their function being to connect content words together in
grammatical relationships. They are usually the weak forms of articles,
conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns and auxiliary verbs. In general, therefore, it
is the lexical words of an utterance that are given prominence and the
grammatical words that are not. But any word or even any syllable can be given a
lexical role and made prominent where the meaning requires it, often in a
contrasting or correcting capacity.
Here are some other possible meanings you could give the sentence in discovery
activity 72 by putting the prominence on one of the grammatical words:
a She’s hoping to get a taxi to the station (ie contrastive stress – not from the
station)
b She is hoping to get a taxi to the station (whatever you say to the contrary)
c She’s hoping to get a taxi to the station (unlikely, but typical teacher talk while
correcting a learner’s mistake. A common use of prominence in the English
Language classroom).

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 4 Rhythm in connected speech

Stress timing and syllable timing

English is sometimes called a stress timed language. This refers to an underlying
tendency for stressed syllables (whether prominent or accented) to occur at
roughly equal intervals of time, regardless of the number of unstressed syllables
in between.

60 Discovery activity 73 Stress timing

This activity will give you a direct insight into the idea of stress timing:
1 Say phrase a aloud and rather slowly, with emphasis on each of the four
words.
a You me him her
b You and me and him and her
c You and then me and then him and then her
d You and then it’s me and then it’s him and then it’s her
2 Now say phrase b at the same speed, so that it occupies the same amount of
time as phrase a. Insert an unstressed and between each of the four words.
3 Now say phrase c, this time inserting unstressed and then between the four
main words, but taking the same time as phrase a.
4 Now say phrase d with the three unstressed syllables between each main
word. Try to take only the same amount of time as the first sentence.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
According to the principle of stress timing these four sentences each occupy
approximately the same amount of time. The more unstressed syllables there are
the quicker you have to say them in order to fit them into the beat. In other words
the time taken to speak each utterance depends on the number of stresses and not
on the number of syllables. This means that maintaining regular stress depends
on maintaining irregular syllable length.
This is in contrast to the phenomenon of syllable timing, where the time taken to
speak an utterance depends roughly on how many syllables there are. If English
were syllable timed, then the series of four sentences you have just tried would
take progressively longer to say, as each contains more syllables than the previous
one, though the same number of stresses.
English, Dutch and German are examples of languages said to be stress timed.
Spanish, Japanese and French are said to be syllable timed. Ŷ

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61 Discovery activity 74 Stress timing and syllable timing

Both of these sentences contain two stresses, but the first has three syllables
and the second has five syllables.
Put it down (3 syllables, 2 stresses)
Put it over there (5 syllables, 2 stresses)
1 Say the first sentence with stress on the first and third syllables. Say it
several times and establish a rhythm for it; maybe you can clap or tap the
rhythm at the same time.
2 Now alternate the first sentence with the second while keeping the same
rhythm and speed. When you say the second sentence you have to fit three
unstressed syllables into the same space, and so the two sentences take
roughly the same time to say. This illustrates stress timing.
3 Say the first sentence with a more equal emphasis on each of the three
syllables. Tap or beat this rhythm and you’ll notice that it has a quite different
feel to it. If you now say the second sentence with a more equal emphasis on
each of the five syllables, you’ll find, not surprisingly, that it takes longer to
say. This illustrates syllable timing.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
According to the rule of stress timing these sentences take the same time to say as
each one has two stresses. According to the rule of syllable timing the second
sentence takes longer as it has five syllables while the first has three.
Stress timing is only possible if the unstressed syllables are weakly and rapidly
articulated. This requires that the unstressed vowels are reduced, perhaps with
other stream of speech simplifications operating.
In a stress timed language such as English the number of words stressed by the
speaker depends on the role of each word in the meaning of the whole utterance.
An utterance with a high proportion of lexical words is likely to contain more
stresses than one with the same number of syllables but a higher proportion of
grammatical words. Either way the rhythmical nature of English will tend to be
maintained.
Careful colloquial speech, tending to be slower and more deliberate, may contain
more stresses than rapid colloquial speech, which, apart from being faster, is also
likely to contain more false starts, stops, hesitations, repetitions, etc. These factors
tend to obscure regular stress time, elide syllables and even give stress to
apparently unimportant words.
While some people have argued that there is no strong evidence for the existence
of stress timing, it is clear that stress timing is a characteristic of short stretches of
spoken English. More importantly, I have found that practising stress timing does
help learners to be more comprehensible. Cultivating an awareness of stress
timing does seem to yield significant improvements in both receptive and
productive skills. We’ll return to this in some practical ways in Level 3 of the
classroom toolkit. Ŷ

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Discovery activity 75 Listening to the rhythms of language

1 Listen to the rhythm of different speakers of English in recordings or
broadcasts. The following might help:
• Try not to listen to sounds, but sensitize your ear to the distribution of energy
over sequences of syllables.
• Try turning the volume right down to the point where the low energy syllables
are inaudible, leaving only the higher energy ones which have more volume. If
you get the volume level right this can sometimes give a direct insight into the
speaker’s underlying rhythmicality.
• You can turn the treble tone control to minimum, and the bass control, if there
is one, to maximum. You may find that this reduces the clarity of individual
sounds and increases the perceptibility of prominent and stressed syllables.
2 Try the same thing with small samples of different languages on the radio,
whether you understand them or not, and try to detect their rhythmicality. Do
syllables tend to be the same length? Are some shorter and others longer?
How does the speaker distribute energy across the utterance?
3 Notice the same thing in your own speech, by listening to a recording of
yourself and by listening to yourself as you speak.
4 Read the following commentary aloud and see if you can detect a tendency
towards stress timing. Take it not too fast and make it full of meaning!

Commentary ŶŶŶ
My observation is that for some speakers the tendency to stress timing frequently
emerges in snippets of three or four relatively equally spaced stresses, and then
disappears to emerge again a few syllables later. In summary, rhythm depends on
two factors: the contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables, and a
relatively regular occurrence of the stressed syllables. Ŷ

Unstress in the stream of speech

For the message to stand out clearly the more important words must be stressed
and the less important words relatively unstressed. For stress to exist it is necessary
that unstress also exists, and rhythm is created by the relationship between the two.
For our learners this means that production and practice of stress must go hand-
in-hand with production and practice of unstress, since one cannot exist without
the other. It can be quite difficult to understand English speech in which the stress
is either absent or wrongly placed, and learners whose mother tongue tends
towards syllable timing may initially find stress timing and the consequent
‘crowding in’ of unstressed syllables rather akward when they speak.

Discovery activity 76 Unstress in the stream of speech

1 Choose a sentence from the previous paragraph. Say it and decide where you
want to place the stresses.
2 And now, without changing it, say it a few more times but focus your attention
on the unstressed syllables. Notice that they are unstressed and notice how
you unstress them. Notice how the vowels may be reduced.

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5 Intonation
‘It’s not what you say, but the way you say it.’ The choice of words is less
important than the manner of speaking. There is a common understanding
between speakers of a language (and perhaps even between speakers of different
languages) about ‘ways of saying things’. The way of saying something may
depend on gesture, facial expression and voice quality, but usually the most
significant factor is intonation. Within any given context an utterance can be
given a variety of different meanings according to the intonation patterns chosen
by the speaker.

Discovery activity 77 Same sentence, different meanings

1 Give the following sentence as many different meanings as you can. Keep the
words the same but find different ways of saying it. You probably need to
imagine a context.
It’s eight o’clock!
2 Now observe the difference between the intonation patterns you have used.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
When I try this activity I find myself paraphrasing what my intonation signals.
For example, I can say imagine a context and say ‘It’s eight o’clock!’ with such an
intonation that it can mean any of these:
Hurry up!
We’ve got plenty of time
I’m hungry
You’re late
You’re early
You’re on time
At last we can start!
The bus is late!
You didn’t set the alarm clock
Please turn on the TV!
My, how time flies!
We’ve overslept
I wonder what’s happened to Maria
Yippee!
He’ll have had his operation by now!
I’ve just eaten
He’ll be here shortly
Be quiet
But for this to be possible there has to be a context, and an understanding of
common ground or common experience between speaker and hearer. The less
common ground there is then the less shared experience there is for my intonation
to refer back to, and so the more limited the range of meanings it can have. Ŷ

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Where does intonation choice come from?

A further point concerns the way that intonation is chosen. While I can exercise a
conscious choice over my selection of words, my choice of intonation seems
much less conscious. It’s as if it comes from deeper within me, from another part
of my brain which is less open to my conscious intervention. I think that some of
the problems that teachers and learners face concerning intonation may be
connected with this idea, and I will return to it later when we consider the
meaning of intonation.
The same idea can be approached from the listener’s point of view. What
happens when a non-native speaker uses an inappropriate intonation pattern?
My observation is that while within certain limits of intelligibility mistakes or
inappropriacies of pronunciation, grammar and even vocabulary can be
accommodated by the native listener, inappropriate intonation can at times give
rise not just to obscuration of the message, but to reception of a quite different
message. Once again it is almost as if intonation is received by a different part of
the listener’s brain, which is less able to make allowances for inappropriate use.

Intonation and learnability

Intonation refers to the patterns of pitch change over an utterance or series of
utterances. Such patterns may be partly personal, but they are also conventional,
and to that extent they are also systematic. Being systematic it follows that at some
level there are rules according to which the speaker of a language chooses one
intonation pattern rather than another. The special problem that we teachers face
with intonation is to find an adequate and learnable description of these rules that
learners can relate directly to their own experience.
The teaching of intonation seems to have been characterized by an even greater
uncertainty and lack of confidence than the other areas of practical phonology. We
do not have a practical, workable and trustworthy system through which we can
make intonation comprehensible to ourselves or to our learners. This may be due
to the nature of intonation itself, that it is somehow less perceptible and less
tangible than other areas of language.

Summary
Existing descriptions of intonation seem to be incomplete, and not necessarily
very learnable. However they can still help our own understanding, and so we’ll
make a brief survey of some descriptions of intonation to see what they offer and
how far they go. The descriptions tend to agree on what the formal characteristics
of intonation are, what its components are, how it’s made up and how to identify
it, and to differ in their answer to the question ‘What is the function of
intonation: what meaning does it convey?’
In what follows I’ll first summarize the general area of agreement on the form of
intonation, and I’ll introduce six technical terms that make talking about
intonation easier. Then I’ll summarize the differing views on the meaning of
intonation. From this we can shed some light on how far theory can guide us in
the classroom, and where theory stops being of help, leaving us free to search for
what works rather than what can be justified on theoretical grounds.

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The form of intonation

The vocal cords vibrate during speech. This vibration is heard as sound, and the
pitch of this sound varies according to the frequency of the vibration of the
cords: the higher the frequency of vibration the higher the pitch that you hear.
When you sing a pitch or note you usually hold it for a time before jumping or
sliding to the next note. But in speech the pitch of your voice varies continuously
so that your speech is not heard as a tune. This pitch variation extends over single
phonemes, sequences of phonemes, and whole utterances. The term intonation
refers to the patterns that can be found within this pitch variation, and so
intonation can be defined as a ‘pattern of pitch variation’. It is not the absolute
pitch of any single syllable that counts, but the overall pitch pattern and the
relative pitch heights within it. Prominence and rhythm are inseparable parts of
intonation too.

The tone unit

In order to study these continuous pitch variations more closely it is helpful to
divide connected speech into units of pitch. The phonological unit devised for
this purpose is called the tone unit (sometimes called tone group). This unit
enables us to isolate pitch patterns by defining where one pattern ends and the
next begins.
The tone unit contains a single complete pitch pattern. The smallest possible tone
unit contains only a tonic syllable but a tone group can also contain a tail, an
onset, a head and a prehead. We will investigate the meaning of these terms in that
order.

The tonic syllable

Most of the pitch change in a tone unit is concentrated on one syllable of one
word. This syllable is the tonic syllable (sometimes also called the tonic or the
nucleus) .*
Not only does the tonic syllable carry the main pitch change, but it also carries
prominence. In fact a tonic syllable is by definition prominent.

Discovery activity 78 Finding the tonic syllable

What are the last few (English) utterances you made? Say them to yourself trying
to recapture not just the sequence of words but your intention behind the words.
Taking a short section, can you locate one syllable that has more emphasis and
more pitch change than the others?

*One meaning of the word ‘tonic’ is ‘healthy or strengthening’, a good name for this syllable which
brings an utterance to life and gives it shape, meaning and vividness.

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
If you can locate a more emphatic syllable this is probably the tonic syllable. If
you can’t, run the phrase again slowly, either aloud or internally. The pitch may
fluctuate over the whole phrase but will be more marked or definite on the tonic.
Also the shift does not need to be big, just more marked than the surrounding
pitch variation. If you find that there seem to be two tonic syllables side by side,
then see which is more prominent by exaggerating the prominence first of one
and then of the other. When you do this one version will sound right.
By this combination of prominence and pitch change you mark the tonic syllable
or the word containing the tonic syllable as the most important in that tone group
with respect to the message you want to convey. The tonic syllable is thus the
focus of the tone unit. It is what the tone unit is about. A tone unit must contain
a tonic syllable, otherwise it is incomplete. But it need not contain anything else.
Here are two tone units, each containing the minimum of one tonic syllable:
YES
STAY Ŷ

Note on orthographic convention

In the remainder of this section capital letters indicate a prominent syllable, and
underlined capital letters indicate a tonic syllable. Word stress is distinguished with
the symbol /’/.Where pitch movement is not indicated, experiment with different
patterns, but put the main emphasis and most of the pitch change on the tonic
syllable.

Three variables of pitch

When we examine the pitch movement in any given tonic unit there are three
main variables to observe:
1 The direction of the pitch movement. Does the pitch rise or fall? Does it rise
and then fall, or fall and then rise? Perhaps it is level, without significant
change. Different descriptions of intonation recognize different numbers of
significant pitch patterns, anything from five to over forty.
2 The degree of pitch movement. Does the pitch move a lot or a little? By how
much does the pitch fall or rise, relative to the speaker’s own pitch range?
3 The placement of this pitch movement within the speaker’s own voice range.
Are the patterns pitched in the higher, middle or lower part of the speaker’s
voice range?
Of course there are other non-pitch variables that affect our perception of the
speaker’s intention. Some of these are audible, such as voice quality and timbre,
volume, use of pause, speed of speech, etc. And some are visual, such as the
speaker’s facial expression, eye movement and quality and duration of eye
contact, gesture and body movement, physical posture, breathing, etc.

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Discovery activity 79 Three variables in your own intonation

1 Take any short utterance or phrase that has only one tonic unit, that is one
major pitch change.
2 Say it a few times and try to observe the three variables (direction, degree
and placement) as described above.
3 Keeping the same sequence of words, try changing each of the three variables
in turn.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
If you find, it difficult to alter the variables, then try speaking and making any
changes you can, listening carefully to yourself. You may find this helps you to
discover the variables through trying to change them. Ŷ

The tail
Frequently there are non-prominent syllables following the tonic syllable, and
these are said to make up the tail.

62 Discovery activity 80 Finding the tail

1 In these two examples there are three syllables in the tone unit. Begin the main
pitch movement on the tonic syllable, and let the tail share in the completion of
the pitch movement.

2 Though the tail never contains a prominence, it may contain a word stress. Try
this:

(not yours)

Here the tonic is MY: it has the main emphasis and pitch movement, ‘brell is
the word stress normal for the word umbrella.

The onset
A tone unit must contain at least one prominent syllable, which is on the tonic
syllable. Where there are two prominent syllables in the tone group, it is the
second which is the tonic syllable; the first is the onset.

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63 Discovery activity 81 Finding the onset

1 Try this, with prominence on PHONE and prominence and main pitch change
on MOR:

2 And now try it with the tonic syllable on PHONE and MOR as a word stress in
the tail:

The head
The stretch of utterance from the first prominent syllable, the onset, up to but
not including the tonic syllable, constitutes the head. So in this example:

The head begins on the onset syllable, and so where there is no onset there can
be no head.

The prehead
Thisconsists of all non-prominent syllables before the onset. In this case:

If there is no onset, and so no head, then any non-prominent syllables leading up

to the tonic constitute the prehead. For example:

However, if the speaker inserts the word so and makes it prominent, it becomes
the head:

A prehead can therefore occur with or without a following head.

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Discovery activity 82 Techincal terms describing intonation

Take a short utterance in English, perhaps one that you typically use in class.
1 Say it a few times and then write it down.
2 Decide which is the tonic syllable. If you think there is more than one then you
may have more than one tone unit. Select only one tone unit to work with.
3 Mark the tonic syllable and the tail if there is one.
4 Are there any word stresses in the tail? If so, mark them in.
5 Are there any words before the tonic syllable? If so, is there a prominent
syllable among them? If there is, then that is the onset. If there seem to be two
prominences then either one is a word stress or you have got two tone groups.
6 The syllables from the onset to the tonic (including the onset but excluding the
tonic) make up the head. Compare any pitch movement on the head with pitch
movement on the tonic.
7 Are there any syllables before the head? If so that is the prehead. Notice how
it leads into the head, or if there is no head then directly into the tonic.
8 Notice how all these (artificially separated) parts flow together into one overall
pitch contour, with the focus on the tonic.

How are you doing?

If you are confused then you are probably doing all right! Let me explain.
These definitions of the divisions of the tone unit are useful if they help us
become more aware of what intonation is made up of. But we must remember
that our aim is to help people to use and be sensitive to intonation patterns, and
not to get carried away by trying to fit what actually happens into a contrived
descriptive framework. Consider these statements for a moment:
1 Descriptions of intonation have not necessarily been devised with language
learners in mind.
2 The descriptions are more limited than the intonation they are trying to
describe.
3 Descriptions are useful if they make us more sensitive to the phenomenon.
4 We want to learn and teach intonation rather than the descriptions of
intonation.
My point is that we are examining the theories of intonation in order to find what
can help us, not in order to follow them. I do not think it is helpful to try to teach
all the divisions of the tone unit. Nor is it necessary for you to be infallibly
accurate in your analysis of tone units. I’m not. The main aspects that help
learners seem to be sensitivity to stress, rhythm, and the location of the tonic
syllable. We will pick this up in the classroom toolkit, in Part 2.

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Summary
The minimum size for a tone unit is one tonic syllable only. What may vary is the
number of syllables occurring after or before it. Here are the possible structures
of a tone unit, showing which parts are optional:

Prehead: all non-prominent syllables before the onset.

Head: the stretch of utterance from the first prominent syllable, the onset, up to
but not including the tonic syllable.
Tail: non-prominent syllables following the tonic syllable. May contain a word
stress.
Tonic syllable: the focal syllable in the tone unit. It carries the main pitch change
and is prominent. For example:

Try these examples with different pitch patterns, but put the main emphasis, and
most of the pitch movement, on the tonic syllable.

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Some notes
The tonic syllable is selected by the speaker as the most important syllable in the
tone unit, representing the focus of information. It must therefore be made to
stand out in some way, hence its special status as the syllable carrying both the
main prominence and the main pitch movement.
The tonic syllable is often the last lexical item in the tone unit, owing to the
tendency in English for new information or the focus of information to be placed
at the end of a sentence.
The tonic syllable may be placed earlier in the tone group, where there is a word
of greater importance to the message.
Occasionally the tonic syllable may be a non-lexical word, as when some contrast
or contradiction is being emphasized. For example:
it WAS ex'pensive (even though you don't believe me)
not you AND me (one of us but not both)
In cases of correction we may even find the tonic syllable placed on a syllable not
containing word stress. Perhaps the learner has said:
it’s go to RAIN
prompting the teacher to say:
it’s goING to rain
The head and prehead usually form a smooth pitch contour leading up to the
tonic. Any jump in pitch before the tonic may represent a separate tonic and
therefore another tone unit.
The tail may complete the pitch pattern started on the tonic syllable, but any jump
in pitch after the tonic syllable would again probably indicate another tone unit.
The generally smooth pitch movement on the prehead, head and tail does not
generally carry as much communicative significance as the pitch movement
begun on the tonic syllable. But the pitch of the onset syllable, where there is one,
is significant in that it provides a standard against which the tonic syllable can be
either relatively higher, lower or the same. This determines the key of the
utterance, which also helps shape the intonational meaning. (See discussion on
key following discovery activity 87.)
Pauses are less likely within a tone unit, and more likely between tone units.
The boundary of a tone unit may well coincide with a syntactic boundary, but
where the unit of information crosses a syntactic boundary, it is likely that the
tone unit does too.

The meaning of intonation

So far we have described the form of intonation. But isolating and describing the
physical patterns of pitch is only a part of the task. We also need to understand
the meaning of these pitch patterns in context. It is here that there is less
agreement between the different descriptions of intonation, as we shall see.

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Different descriptions of the meaning of intonation

Descriptions of intonation differ in the way they account for its meaning. One
description links intonational meaning to attitude, another links it to grammar,
and a third to discourse. That there are different descriptions of the meaning of
intonation is not really a problem for us as we are practical people on the lookout
for whatever helps us to facilitate learning. None of these descriptions is complete
and each is useful as far as it goes. Ideally what we are after is a system that:
• is learnable;
• accounts for what native speakers do and don’t do;
• has a limited set of rules that enables learners to develop valid generalizations
on which to base their own interpretation and production.
In my view the discourse approach goes closer to satisfying these three
conditions, and so I will describe it more fully after looking at the attitudinal
approach and the grammatical approach.

Intonation as an indicator of attitude

This approach presents intonation as a way of expressing our attitude at the
moment of speaking to the situation we are in, or to what we are talking about, or
to ourselves or to our listener.

Discovery activity 83 Intonation and attitude

1 Take a short sentence and say it aloud with a number of different moods or
attitudes, corresponding perhaps to ‘miserable’, ‘matter-of-fact’, ‘insistent’,
‘disbelieving’, ‘furious’, ‘optimistic’, etc. You may be able to observe
variations in pitch direction, range and placement within your voice range.
Notice also variations in voice quality and body movement. Record yourself
doing this. What else can you learn from the playback?
2 Take any taped extract of authentic speech and listen to the pitch variables
while trying to ascribe an attitude to the speaker.
3 Does intonation in other languages, including ones you don’t understand,
sound the same?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The attitudinal approach usually isolates certain intonation contours and gives
them attitudinal labels such as ‘impressed, either favourably or unfavourably’,
‘lighter, more casual’, ‘concerned, reproachful, hurt’, ‘flat, even hostile’, ‘brisk,
business-like, considerate’ etc.
The problem is not that a certain tone choice cannot carry a particular attitude.
The problem is that such attitudinal values cannot be presented in a way that
offers learners a set of rules from which they can make meaningful choices
affecting their own production. Nor does it enable learners to discern their own
attitudes and to select an appropriate intonation before they speak.

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Moreover, the attitudes or feelings assigned to any one contour can be extended
almost indefinitely. Not only are attitudes difficult to recognize in ourselves, they
are also difficult to label objectively, and even if we could do both of these things,
we still face the fact that a given tone choice can be a manifestation of a number
of different attitudes of dubious connection. At what point, for example, does
‘business-like’ become ‘considerate’, or ‘flat’ become ‘hostile’?
Remember, too, that expression of attitude can also be a function of the choice of
lexis and syntax, the location of pause and prominence, voice quality, facial
expression, gesture, eye movement, other body language, and so on. If all of these
factors can help express an attitude, it may be that in some cases the intonation
contour coincides with, rather than directly and solely expresses, the attitude of
the speaker.
So, whatever the merits of this approach, I don’t think it accounts usefully for
what native speakers do and don’t do, and I don’t think that on its own it
provides our learners with a system that is learnable or generative. Ŷ

Intonation as a grammatical indicator

There are two aspects to the grammatical function of intonation: the correlation
between intonation and sentence type, and the correlation between tone unit
divisions and syntactic boundaries.

Intonation and sentence type

This view of the function of intonation notes that a small number of common
sentence types are typically linked to certain basic intonation contours. For
example
• Declarative falling
• Wh- question falling
• yes/no question rising
• multiple interrogative rising then falling
• imperative falling
• exclamation falling
• question tags:
expecting confirmation falling
less certain expectation rising
Although there may be a tendency for certain pitch contours to coincide with
certain sentence types, it can be shown that they do not always do so. It is quite
possible for a Wh- question to have either a rising tone or a falling tone,
depending on its function. ‘What’s her name?’ with a falling tone on the last word
can mean I don’t know her name, phase tell me or with a rising tone on the last
word can mean I’ve forgotten her name, please refresh my memory.
In fact, almost any sentence can carry a range of intonations, each one imparting
a different nuance or meaning within the context. This has received more
emphasis with communicative approaches to teaching English. By keeping the
grammatical sequence of words constant, and changing the intonation and the
context, we can give a range of meanings to the words. This illustrates not only
that form and function do not coincide, but that classification of intonational

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meaning by sentence type is a generalization that cannot yield a learnable set of

rules by which learners can choose one intonation pattern against another.

Tone unit division and syntactic boundaries

From this point of view one of the most important functions of intonation is
marking off syntactic structures from each other, rather like the function of
punctuation in writing but with a much wider range of choices. This may help the
listener to process the speech in its appropriate units and it may also help the
speaker to organize her speech. By dividing one structure from the next, tone
units indicate what structurally belongs to what.
There is a tendency for tone unit boundaries to occur at the boundaries between
sentences, clauses and phrases, especially in more careful colloquial speech (this
is not always so clear in rapid colloquial speech). It is certainly useful for learners
to try to exploit this tendency in their speaking and listening. But the links
between tone units and syntactic boundaries are very far short of offering a full
account of intonational meaning, since the link essentially focuses on the gaps
between tone units rather than on the pitch contours themselves.

Discovery activity 84 Intonation and grammatical structure

1 Take a dialogue from a play or from a coursebook you are using, or improvise a
dialogue or monologue with yourself. Once you settle into it try to notice to what
extent syntactic boundaries coincide with tone unit boundaries.
2 Try to make this observation in your own speech or in that of your colleagues.
3 What about the learners you teach? Try to observe their speech during the
lesson. Is there any difference in the degree to which they do or don’t use
tone units to mark syntactic boundaries?

Intonation and discourse

This approach views the function of intonation as the speaker’s way of organizing
and relating together meanings throughout the discourse. Intonation reveals the
information structure of the discourse, the relationship between utterances. The
term discourse refers to the larger context of the whole conversational interaction
between speakers, in which tone groups and sequences of tone groups occur in
certain relationships to each other.
Since intonation is a way of indicating the relationship of parts of the discourse to
other parts, and of indicating what goes with what in the discourse, it follows that
you cannot isolate a tone unit from its discourse context and make valid
statements about what the pitch pattern means. Intonational meaning cannot be
separated from discoursal meaning.

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The common ground

Since intonation is seen as being vitally linked, on a moment-by-moment basis, to
the process of interaction between the participants, it follows that much
significance is attached to the existence of common ground between speaker and
listener. Common ground is the knowledge and experience that the participants
think they share about the world, the topic and each other in terms of ideas,
emotions, attitudes, viewpoints, etc at any given point in the interaction.
Common ground is the shared knowledge and experience of the speaker and
listener.
If we look at the difference between the interaction of friends and that of strangers
we can see that between strangers there is a much greater degree of uncertainty
about the boundaries of their common ground, about what each can take for
granted about the other. Common ground is that which is somehow already
negotiated, accepted, gone before, in some way known or implicitly agreed by the
participants. That which is new, not yet known, not yet negotiated, not possible to
assume or take for granted is outside the common ground. What exactly constitutes
the common ground between people is open to negotiation, manipulation and
misunderstanding.
The essence of this approach is that a speaker’s intonation choices depend
ultimately on his assessment of the state and extent of the common ground
between himself and the listeners, or on how he wishes his assessment to appear
to the listeners. The notion of common ground is exploitable by the speaker to his
advantage, as we can easily observe in our own speech or that of others around
us, or in the speech of advertisers and politicians who may use intonation to
suggest that what they are saying is already negotiated and agreed by us, and part
of our common ground, even when it isn’t.
In the remainder of the discovery toolkit we will examine:
• proclaiming and referring tones: how the state of the common ground is
manifested in terms of pitch choice;
• oblique intonation: used when the common ground is not being referred to;
• the notion of key: how tone groups are related to each other, how they are
knitted into the fabric of the overall discourse.

Proclaiming and referring tones

The fundamental intonation choice is a binary one between information the
speaker wishes to portray as additional to the common ground, and information
the speaker wishes to portray as already part of the common ground between
speaker and hearer.
Information which is additional to the common ground is marked by a pitch that
finishes with a falling movement, and is given the name proclaiming tone.
Information which is given as already shared and part of the common ground is
marked by a pitch that finishes with a rising movement and is given the name
referring tone, since it refers back to something already shared or negotiated.
The most frequently used proclaiming tone is the falling tone, and this can be
transcribed with the sign

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The most frequently used referring tone is the falling-rising tone, which can be
transcribed with the sign
If we contrast these two tones over the same sequence of words we can see how
they convey different interpretations on the state of the common ground:
1 WHEN did she say she’d COME?
and
2 WHEN did she say she’d COME?
When reading these symbols, remember that most of the pitch movement
indicated by the arrow takes place on the tonic syllable (underlined).
In the first case the tonic and the main part of the falling tone are on COME. The
question is proclaimed as new or additional to the common ground, in other
words the speaker suggests that the specific riming of her arrival has not yet been
clarified and shared between the speakers. Notice that WHEN is likely to be given
some prominence (ie the onset syllable) and that the words leading up to COME
already begin the fall.
In the second sentence the pitch is falling-rising, that is referring. The main part
of the pitch movement is on COME, although the falling movement may begin
earlier. The referring tone carries the suggestion that the timing of her arrival is
not a new matter in the common understanding of the two speakers, so it refers
back to clarify or restate something already negotiated.
Here is another example, this time consisting of two tone groups:
When we’ve VISited HASTings we’ll go to CANTerbury
Here the implication is that the visiting of Hastings is already shared information,
while going to Canterbury is proclaimed as new. Notice that if you reverse the
two tone units the meaning remains the same:
We’ll go to CANTerburv when we’ve VISited HASTings
Compare this with:
When we’ve VISited HASTings we’ll go to CANTerbury
Here the going to Canterbury is implied as being already known to the listener. It
is the place to be visited before, namely Hastings, that is proclaimed as additional
for the listener.
Again this is not changed by reversing the tone groups:
We’ll go to CANTerburv when we’ve VISited HASTings

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64 Discovery activity 85 Proclaiming and referring tones

1 Sentences a and b each have two tone units here, but the first has referring
tone followed by proclaiming tone, and the second has proclaiming tone
followed by referring tone. Try to get the movement shown by the arrow onto
the prominent syllable.
a The TEA’S , on the TABIe
b The TEA’S on the TABIe
2 When you think you have made a significant distinction between them, see if
you can match them to these alternative wordings:
a Well, as for the tea, it’s on the table.
b Well, as for the table, it’s got some tea on it.

More marked versions of proclaiming and referring tones

So far we have seen that the primary meaning distinction is between proclaiming
and referring tones, and that proclaiming tone is most frequently conveyed by a
falling intonation, and referring tone by a falling-rising intonation. In both cases,
however, there is a more marked, more dominant pitch choice available denoted
by rising-falling tone for proclaiming tone, and rising for referring tone.
Generally speaking these two marked options are likely to occur less frequently
than their unmarked counterparts, although this may depend on the discourse
situation. The choices can be summarized as follows:

R = referring tone, which has two forms, the more usual r tone, and the marked, more
dominant r+ tone.
P = proclaiming tone, which has two forms, the more usual p tone and the marked, more
dominant p+ tone.
Here is an example of the contrast between the four tones (I first heard a similar
story from David Brazil):
My two-year-old daughter Alice is poised, with obvious intent, to carry a bucket of
mud and water (carefully mixed up by herself) through the back door from the garden
into the house. Seeing the imminence of this undesirable event I first say:
1 ALice
The r tone attempts to call on our common understanding according to which both you
and I know that you shouldn’t carry mud into the house, or WE know better than this don’t
we. However, she continues, so I say:
2 ALice
Adopting the r+ tone, the marked and more dominating version of the referring tone,
suggesting more strongly that there is common ground between us to appeal to, Hey!
Both you and I know this is not a good thing to do.

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However, she continues and I then say:

3 ALice
Using the p tone I acknowledge that my appeal to the common ground has failed, and I
therefore use a proclaiming tone to add to the common ground something that turns
out to be missing. This is a warning or threat. Look! In case you’ve forgotten I really must
tell you this is not a good thing to do.
She continues, so I say:
4 ALice
Using the p+ tone I not only add something new but I opt for a more marked and
dominant version of it. Look! If you don’t stop I may have to stop you!
At this point intervention rather than further intonation is called for.

Summary
We have looked at the communicative choices of tones. The primary binary
choice is between proclaiming and referring, and the secondary choice is between
the unmarked or the marked version of proclaiming and referring. This gives a
total of four communicative tone choices. In the next section we look at tone
choices that are not directly communicative, that is they are not based on
assumptions about common ground.

Oblique intonation
This uses the falling tone and may be used for:
• certain kinds of recitation, where the language is being quoted rather than any
meaning communicated. Examples could include: rhymes and poems,
multiplication tables, reading recipes and instructions aloud, saying prayers,
repeating sentences after the teacher, etc;
• reading aloud from a text, where the reader sees her task as simply to say what
is on the page, rather than to communicate the meaning.
In either case the speaker uses a proclaiming tone, not to add to the common ground,
but to proclaim about what the language itself is. The speaker is saying to the hearer
I’m just telling you what the words are, make of it what you will. Of course, in reciting
poetry or in reading a story aloud the speaker usually interprets and communicates a
meaning through the full range of referring and proclaiming choices.
The following activity focuses on the distinction between recitation of the type
this is what the language says, and recitation of the type this is the meaning I am
giving to this language.

65 Discovery activity 86 Quotation and discourse

1 Recite these letters first with each letter as a separate tone unit, like this:

and now with all of the letters making just one tone group, with the tonic on
the last one, like this:

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2 Say this sentence as a quotation, as the first line of the rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
and now say it as if it were a piece of important communication. What is the
difference?
3 Recite each of these numbers in such a way that you do not take account of
the numbers that have gone before:

and now say them again, but this time as discourse (taking account of what
has gone before).
4 Say this sentence as if it was being repeated in chorus by the class after the
teacher:
That man on the bicycle is going very slowly
and now say it as a piece of communication.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
1 Here you can make each letter a separate tone unit when you recite or say them,
and all of them together as one tone unit with the tonic on the final syllable.

2 When the rhyme is recited it has four prominences and one tonic syllable, wall,
where the tone falls.
HUMPty DUMPty SAT on a WALL
A characteristic of recitation is that you increase the number of prominences
in a tone unit. This can be done because it is not part of a discourse that
relates to the common ground. When said as a piece of communication it
would, if it were one tone unit, have no more than two prominences and only
one tonic. Perhaps:
Humpty DUMPty sat on a WALL (by the way, do you know what
Humpty Dumpty did?)
If you can’t get away from the recitation rhythm of the rhyme, then try:
Mrs SMITH sat on the STAIRS (there was nowhere else to sit)
3 In the first reading you probably put the prominence on the second digit of
each number. In the second reading you may have placed the prominence like
this:

showing that your choice of prominence, and therefore of tonic syllable, is

influenced by what has gone before.
4 A characteristic of classroom drilling, chorusing, and repeating after the
teacher is that more than two prominences are often placed in the tone unit.
This makes it more like quoting intonation than communicative intonation.
The intonation of the learners is saying this is what the language is, rather than
this is what I am saying to you. Quoting uses the proclaiming tone.

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In this classroom example prominence and pitch get chosen not out of
communicative consideration between speaker and hearer but according to
teaching technique. Much classroom intonation is related to the methodology of
classroom management, rather than to the language in genuine communicative
use. This brings us on to the zero tone. Ŷ

The zero tone

The zero tone is a level pitch, without significant pitch contrast. It can be
indicated with a horizontal arrow:
This tone is used when there is no reason for making communicative choices. For
example, it may be used by native speakers during cognitive activity, while
thinking aloud, during on-the-spot verbal encoding, for example:
er ... mmm ...
Likewise language learners may use zero tone while preoccupied with linguistic
items, with cognitive formulation, with the form of the utterance rather than its
meaning. And in that circumstance it is entirely appropriate.
The zero tone is also used during bored, aimless, non-interactive speech; and for
example when reading a newspaper item aloud to someone else until you reach
the section of focal interest when you drop into communicative pitch choices.

66 Discovery activity 87 The zero tone

Take any paragraph and read it aloud three times, the first time using only
proclaiming tones, the second using only referring tones and the third time using
level or zero tone. Notice what it feels like when you do this, and how the
intonation choice affects your feeling of purpose.

Reading aloud and intonation

Reading aloud is an interactive process between reader and text. The reader is
meshing information from the text with existing knowledge. The way the reader
uses intonation to highlight the information structure of the text can provide you
with a useful diagnosis of her understanding of the text. The reader can:
1 Leave words and chunks floating free, unconnected into sense groups or tone
units, making it quite difficult for the hearer to follow. She is saying This is
what the disconnected words and phrases are.

2 Quote the text. She is saying This is what the connected text says though she
brings little outside knowledge to bear.

3 Enter the text, perform it, highlight syllables, words or phrases. She is saying
This is what the text means to me. The reader is adding her own interpretation
and orientation towards the hearer, making tone choices in the light of
assumptions about the state of convergence of the common ground. This
reading is interactive. There is a continuum of delivery from quoting the text:
This is what it says, to entering the text and performing it: Here is my version of
it. This is why many teachers have found reading aloud to be a powerful
instrument for diagnosing the reader’s understanding of the text.

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Key
Every speaker has a characteristic pitch range within which most of their pitch
variations take place. Some speakers have a narrow range, others have a wide
range. According to the discourse approach to intonation speakers distinguish
three significant pitch levels within their individual and characteristic pitch range.
And every tone unit that is uttered is assigned to one of these three levels, or keys.
Key is determined by the first (or only) prominence in the tone unit, compared
with the first (or only) prominence in the preceding tone unit. A tone unit is in
high key if its first prominence is at a higher pitch than the first prominence in
the preceding tone unit. It is in mid key if it is the same pitch, and it is in low key
if lower. Thus all key choices are high, mid or low relative to the pitch choice of
the previous tone unit.

The meaning of key

Each tone unit selects a new key choice and this adds a meaning independent of
the rest of the pitch movement.
• High is contrastive. The tone group contains information that contrasts with
what speaker or hearer might expect.
• Mid is additive. The matter is additional to what has gone before.
• Low is equative. The content follows naturally from the content of the previous
tone unit. It has no new impact.
Mid key does not mean normal or average; it is the neutral or unmarked key
against which the choice of high or low is significant.

67 Discovery activity 88 The use of key

Make the following statement with two tone units, each with only one prominence
(ie on the tonic syllable). The first tone unit is referring, and the second is
proclaiming.
On SUNday it SNOWED
1 Try it like that.
2 Now try it first with high key.
it SNOWED

On SUNday
This means that regardless of the pitch movement on each tonic, the starting
pitch of the second is higher than the starting pitch of the first. When you get
this it can give the impression of What a surprise! Who would have expected it
to snow?
3 Now try with mid key.
On SUNday it SNOWED
The starting pitch of the second tonic is the same as that of the first. This
gives the impression of additional information, but no great surprise. Oh by
the way, another thing about Sunday is that it snowed.

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4 Now try with low key.

On SUNday

it SNOWED
The starting pitch of the second tonic is lower than that of the first. This can
give the impression It practically goes without saying that it should have
snowed – what else would you expect?

Summary: implications of intonation theory for the classroom

1 There is general agreement about the components of tone units, and the
terminology used to refer to them, though learning them is not necessarily
relevant to language learners.
2 There is less agreement on what intonation means, or on how to describe the
meaning in a way that is systematic, learnable and generative.
3 However, the attitudinal, grammatical and discoursal approaches each have
something to offer.
4 The discourse approach is attractive: its orientation is simple and workable
enough to provide the basis for manageable and useful class learning activities,
and a good foundation for the development of both learner and teacher
sensitivity to intonation.
5 Another feature of the discourse approach is the emphasis on practising
intonation in context, which suggests integrating intonation work with the
natural life of the classroom, rather than importing special practice materials.
6 Mechanical practice of pitch patterns out of context may have only a limited
role to play.
7 Authenticity in human relations in the classroom could encourage more
authentic uses of intonation.
8 The often unarticulated assumption that learners’ problems with intonation
stem largely from mother tongue interference needs to be questioned.
Preoccupation with language form rather than meaning means that learners
lose touch with intonation. You can’t use the intonation system if you don’t yet
know the language well enough, and if there is no communication going on.
9 Furthermore, preoccupation with the calculation of rules and formulation of
sentences, rather than with a genuinely experienced need to communicate,
means that lack of intonation is a natural and in fact quite authentic choice.
While you can choose words ‘as if you are communicating, it may not be as
easy to choose intonation ‘as if’ you are communicating, because intonation
may not be susceptible to cognitive or deliberate choice.

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Part 2

Level 1 Sounds in isolation 96

Level 2 Words in isolation 145
Level 3 Connected speech 171

Introduction to the classroom toolkit

The classroom toolkit is designed to help you to develop trust and confidence in
your creativity to turn classroom events into learning events, so that the learners
become their own resource, and their performance provides their own syllabus.

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Level 1 Sounds in isolation
1 General applications of the chart 96
2 Using the pointer 98
3 Introducing and integrating the chart 99
4 Seven modes of chart usage 100
5 A first lesson with the chart 107
6 Four ways of giving models 110
7 Developing your internal imaging of sounds 114
8 Developing your use of mime and gesture 115
9 Working with individual sounds 118
10 Working with mistakes 132

1 General applications of the chart

The chart has applications in many kinds of lessons and at any language level.
Here are some of the applications:

Level 1: Individual sounds

• learning new sounds and sound sequences;
• shaping and fine-tuning sounds;
• using the visual cues in the chart layout to strengthen the link between aural
perception and oral production;
• relating the visual arrangement of the chart to the internal muscular sensation
of each sound;
• inviting learners to identify their own areas of difficulty on the chart;
• recognition and discrimination activities, eg minimal pairs, odd one out, same
or different, etc;
• highlighting the pronunciation of word endings, past tenses, agreements, etc;
• prompting and correcting learners by touching the chart rather than by
speaking yourself;
• inviting learners to collect their own key words for each sound.

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Level 2: Words in isolation

• separating the sounds of a word, working on them, and then putting the word
back together;
• giving feedback to learners on their word pronunciation;
• working on syllabification and word stress;
• highlighting and working on sound/spelling relationships;
• developing learners’ ability to write down pronunciations of words using
phonemic symbols;
• promoting self-help by relating use of the chart to use of dictionaries for
checking and discovering pronunciations;
• presenting and recycling vocabulary;
• promoting better learning, retention and recall of vocabulary through precise
and vivid attention to pronunciation and word stress.

Level 3: Connected speech

• examining small samples of connected speech for ear training, awareness
raising, and practice;
• focusing on fluency by highlighting linking sounds that join words together;
• isolating important words and pronunciations from continuous speech on tape
or video, and reassembling the fluency of connected speech;
• focusing on changes and modifications to consonants in the stream of speech;
• drawing attention to the effects of stress and unstress on vowel sounds;
• examining the reduction and simplification of structure words in connected
speech;
• studying rhythm and the changes necessary in pronunciation to achieve a good
rhythm;
• drawing attention to intonation contours and how they relate to the prominent
syllables;
• practising structures without repetition by focusing on the fluency and
connectedness of the students’ utterance;
• as an alternative way of addressing the class (eg giving instructions, asking
questions, setting homework) without speaking yourself.

General
• Use pronunciation work as an opportunity to change pace and re-focus
attention during a lesson.
• Bring phonology alive as an active, creative, physical, joyful and integral part
of all other language activities!
All of the kinds of activity outlined above can be worked on in seven different
ways. These ways, or modes of work, are described in Section 4 below.

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2 Using the pointer

The attention of the group is focused on a symbol on the chart by touching that
symbol lightly and deliberately with the pointer, somewhere within its box. This
has the effect of selecting that symbol and bringing it forward for attention.
Touching a sequence of symbols in turn makes a sequence of sounds or a word.
When you are working at higher levels of discrimination you can point to the
centre of the box to indicate that a learner’s sound was the exact target sound you
are after, and point closer to the edge of the box to indicate that the learner’s
sound was acceptable but not quite right. You can point to another box if it was
closer to another sound, or to a mix of boxes if the sound seems to be a mixture of
two or three sounds. You can point outside the chart if the sound given by the
learner does not exist in the target pronunciation you are using. Learners can be
helped by this kind of precise feedback. But keep the work light, and with enough
supportive humour to maintain pleasure and curiosity.
Everyone is active in this, one person pointing, others watching, recognizing the
sound, saying the sound internally, and retaining it until invited to say it aloud.
The activity of pointing can evoke a high degree of attention from learners. In the
spirit of this approach the pointer belongs to the whole class, not just to the
teacher. After you, the teacher, have introduced something on the chart, you
might offer the pointer to anyone who would like to come to the chart to test
themselves, or test another, or get a response from another, or seek further
guidance, or try something out to see if it’s right or wrong. This helps the way the
class manages itself in terms of turn taking and respect for the efforts of each
other.
You can be very much in control by initiating tasks, by giving feedback to the
learners on their efforts, and by deciding who is to have the pointer next. But the
learners too can take this control once they see how to use the chart, and you can
stand aside and leave them to take the initiative while you watch and listen,
intervening when needed. Used with this attitude the action of pointing can help
reveal learners’ perceptions of problems and can encourage initiative-taking.
I use a telescopic pointer as used by speakers and presenters, but any thin stick or
rod about 40-60 cm long would do just as well. A pen is a bit short, as then the
wrist and forearm obscure part of the chart, and a ruler is a bit wide, also
obscuring other symbols. But either can be used.
One final point, and perhaps the most important. The dynamic of pointing
necessarily slows the speed and deepens the attention. When the chart is being
used for pointing out words, learners will probably say the word slowly and with
more care. As soon as they’ve done that I ask them to say it faster or ‘in English’,
an invitation to retain the insight but bring the utterance up to natural spoken
speed.

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 3 Introducing and integrating the chart

3 Introducing and integrating the chart

The aim is to use the chart not only to add impact to your normal pronunciation
work, but to infuse all class work with an easy access to its pronunciation content.
Before the chart can be helpful in these ways you will have to think about an initial
introductory stage for the benefit of those (including yourself) who may not have
used the chart before.
So, there are essentially two stages:
1 Introduction of the chart
2 Integration of the chart

Introducing the chart

Introducing the chart refers to the initial two or three sessions where the class are
meeting the chart for the first time. Learners are beginning to identify individual
sounds and gradually to recognize and distinguish them from each other. In
doing this they are beginning to find out what there is that they can pay attention to.
They are beginning to attach the aural and oral impressions and the physical
sensations of individual sounds to the symbols on the chart, thereby investing the
symbols with the capacity to evoke the same sounds again when the symbols are
pointed out.
As learners become familiar with the workings of the chart and become able to
use it, the chart increasingly becomes an instrument for all sorts of pronunciation
work and for integrating that work with other language work.
Once you have read about the seven modes for using the chart outlined in Section
4 you will probably see how in the first few moments of this introduction stage
mode 1 is likely to predominate, but that it should quickly be followed by work
using modes 2, 3 and 4.

Integrating the chart

This is the main use of the chart. Both you and the learners are becoming able to
use the chart as an instrument for refining awareness of what is involved in
making isolated sounds and in running the sounds together to make words. The
chart provides an immediate way to test hunches and take risks. Its most
important attribute is that it enables objectification of inner processes that
otherwise go unseen, and this in turn makes possible a more subtle level of
feedback, initially from teacher to learner, but increasingly from learner to learner
and from learner to teacher.
The chart is integrated into all areas of language work at all three levels using a
wide range of the applications described in Section 4. Mode 1 will still be used
from time to time, modes 2-5 will be in constant use, and modes 6 and 7 will
increasingly be used as learners gain confidence.

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4 Seven modes of chart usage

A vast repertoire of activities is possible. Many are specific to the chart, while others
are conventional activities made more focused and precise through appropriate
use of the chart. In this section I describe a way of ordering them so that they form
a basis from which you can investigate the potential of the chart and adapt it to your
style of teaching. It will enable you to create an unlimited range of games, exercises
and techniques.
Each mode is characterized by its basic transaction. The transaction consists
simply of a first move and a second move in response to it. For example, the
transaction of mode 2 is ‘teacher points’ followed by ‘learner speaks’. Fig. 37
shows the seven possible transactions in the second and third columns. Each
mode includes all the games and learning activities that are possible using that
basic transaction.
As you become familiar with the modes you will soon find that you no longer
need to think about the modes separately, but that you move naturally from one
mode to another. For instance if you wanted to prompt a learner to add the past
tense ending /id/ you might use mode 2 (‘teacher points’ followed by ‘learner
speaks’) and it would take two or three seconds. If you wanted to help a learner to
distinguish more clearly between two vowels you might use mode 5 for a moment
to diagnose and give feedback to the learner, then mode 4 to give her the
opportunity to hear one or more models, then mode 3 to give her the chance to
distinguish them aurally, mode 2 for you to hear how she is doing, and back to
mode 5 or 6. This might take fifteen seconds or three minutes, and could involve
some or all of the other learners in the group.
As you will see each mode offers its own distinctive way of approaching
pronunciation problems, and in combination they make up a coherent and
balanced set of options. I’ve put them here in an order in which you might use
them, moving from more teacher control (mode 1) to more learner control
(mode 7). The teacher is completely in control in mode 1. In modes 2 and 3 the
teacher makes the first move. In modes 4 and 5 it is the learners who make the
first move, and modes 6 and 7 are characterized by learner-learner interactions
which the teacher observes (Fig. 37).

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 4 Seven modes of chart usage

Fig. 37: The seven modes of chart usage

Mode 1 Sounds are introduced and ‘attached’ to the chart

This is the mode in which learners first meet the chart. In this mode you
introduce new sounds, you invite learners to practise them, and you help them to
shape the sounds. Once the sounds are provisionally acceptable you point to the
symbol on the chart in order to ‘attach’ the sound to the chart, perhaps indicating
those learner utterances that are closer or not closer to the target. Alternatively of
course you can point out the symbol first and then give the model.
As soon as two or three sounds have been ‘attached’ to the chart in this way you
can practise them further in modes 2 and 3, and then modes 4 and 5.
Although the first move in this mode is the teacher giving the model, there are
many different ways of putting a model into circulation. Obviously you can say
the sound (or word or sentence) aloud, but you can also use mime or gesture to
evoke the sound from learners, or you can elicit the model from the learners or
take it from an audio tape or from some other source. Four ways of giving models
are described in Section 6.
Whichever type of model you use, the aim of mode 1 is to put new sounds into
circulation, to work on them, and to attach them to the chart so that the symbols
on the chart begin to take on some personal meaning for each learner. They do
not have to be perfect when attached to the chart, just the best that the learners
can manage at that moment.
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Mode 2 Teacher uses the chart to prompt learners to speak

This is probably the most frequently used mode, and typically the starting point
for many pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar activities. In this mode you
silently point to the symbols on the chart, singly for individual sounds or in
sequences for syllables and words, and you invite a vocal response from the
learners (or some learners or just one learner). You help them to hear themselves
critically, and to evaluate, reshape and improve what they are saying. Here are
some typical activities for mode 2:
• Point out contrasting or confusing sounds for learners to practise.
• Use the pointer to initiate discovery of diphthongs by combining the relevant
monophthongs.
• Combine consonants to practise typical clusters.
• Combine sounds to make syllables and words.
• Select a vowel and ask learners to suggest English words containing that sound
– ie they say them or write them on the board or point them out on the chart.
• Present or recycle vocabulary items on the chart. (I find that the added
dimension of working on and arriving at the best possible pronunciation of a
word helps learners to fix it in their memories and to recall it later.)
• Practise words that will occur in a text or on tape.
• With multi-syllable words you work on word stress, linking this to the stress
symbols on the chart and in dictionaries.
• Intonation can be usefully introduced at the level of single words, without
necessarily worrying about meaning, to get learners accustomed to consciously
controlling the pitch of their voice. You can relate this to the intonation
symbols on the chart.
• While pointing out words you can either have learners say each sound as you
touch it, or remain silent until you have finished the word. Both ways are
useful, though the first is probably better until learners are confident. In either
case the word is said as a whole once you have finished pointing it out.
• You can use the chart for giving general class instructions and setting up activities
that have nothing to do with pronunciation. This is an interesting way of using
your authority without using your voice. It usually rivets attention.
When building up words or short connected speech utterances it’s important at
the end to get the learners to say it at least once with the focus on the right sounds
in the right order, and a second time to say it up to speed and with an ‘English
flavour’.
In this way each symbol, and its position on the chart, gradually becomes a ‘visual
memory hook’ capable of evoking for each learner their accumulating physical,
oral and auditory experience of that sound. This experience is not static,
but is constantly evolving as the sound is brought into play again and again, and
refined, shaped, forgotten, rediscovered, and so on.
Though the most frequently used mode, and important in establishing the
conventions of the chart, it becomes monotonous if overused. It invites extension
and elaboration into modes 3, 4 and 5 to increase learner participation and
activity, and back to mode 1 whenever new models are needed.

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Mode 3 Learners use the chart to point to what teacher has said
In this mode you say a sound (or word or phrase) and the learners respond by
silently pointing out the sound or sequence of sounds on the chart. This requires
the learners to pay attention to their inner registration of your model, to listen to it
again internally, and to identify the appropriate symbols on the chart.
Use of this mode could follow from work in mode 2 which has revealed (for
example) that a learner is not able to distinguish between two vowels when she
speaks.
• Say the sounds that a learner is confusing, and see whether she can point them out
on the chart. This enables you to diagnose whether the problem is that she cannot
hear the difference or cannot say the difference. If she can hear the difference you
can swap roles and work on her ability to say the difference (mode 5).
• You can do the same thing to help learners discriminate between similar sounding
words, and to become sensitive to the location of word stress.
• The model can come from a recording the class is studying. The learners try to
reproduce a key phrase from the tape on the chart. This draws attention to a
word or phrase (even where pronunciation is not the main focus of study). In this
mode the challenge of trying to reproduce what is heard other than by oral
repetition forces discrimination of what is heard and provides instant feedback for
both you and your learners.
• You can change the activity by not looking at the chart yourself. You turn your
back to the chart so that it is clear that you cannot see what symbols the learner is
pointing out. Then the class has to decide whether the learner is pointing at the
right symbol by saying yes or no. If they are unanimous then you accept their
decision without looking. If they are not unanimous then the class need to say
both your original sound, and the sound being pointed out, in order to savour the
difference. By not watching the chart you shift responsibility for discrimination
onto the class.
• Whatever learners point out on the chart gives you the opportunity to follow and
gain insight into their inner processing. When they get stuck there are several
options: to give the model again; or to ask them to say the sound they think they
are looking for; or to say clearly the wrong sound that a learner has just pointed
to so that everyone is clear about the difference; or pass the pointer to another
learner to try while keeping the first learner at the chart ready to take over again.
Mode 3 provides a subtle way for learners to hear an oral model from you without
immediately repeating it themselves. Instead they have to organize what they have
heard onto the chart, while rehearsing and rehearing it internally.

Mode 4 Learners use the chart to prompt the teacher to speak

A learner indicates on the chart any sound or sequence of sounds (making a word
or phrase) that he would like to hear you say. It may be that he is uncertain of a
sound, or is confused about the difference between two or three sounds. You
simply say whatever he points to, without adding any comment yourself, leaving
him time to assimilate what he has heard and decide what to try next. The learner
can continue to ‘feed’ himself sounds of his own choice in various combinations,
and can stop when he has got what he wanted.

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This leads easily into mode 5, where the learner speaks the sounds first, and you
then point at what you have heard, thus giving feedback. Or it can lead into mode
2, where you point to the sounds and the learner tries to say them.
Mode 4 puts the responsibility for what happens entirely in the learners’ hands.
They tend to use this opportunity to focus on their own perceived areas of
uncertainty, and to become clearer about what it is they are uncertain of. This gives
you insight into a learner’s own perception of what he is finding difficult. The rest of
the class is also able to see the symbols he is requesting and to hear your
response.
So in this mode learners have the opportunity to hear as many teacher-spoken
models as they like, but entirely at their own discretion and their own request.
This is quite interesting, in terms of the politics of the classroom, since the
learner chooses what he wants to hear the teacher say.

Mode 5 Teacher uses the chart to point to what learners have said
You make an offer to a learner that you will point out on the chart whatever
sounds she says. The rationale for this is that learners can more quickly learn to
distinguish English from non-English pronunciations if they are given feedback
that is immediate and precise. The feedback should be given in a warm and
supportive way, devoid of praise or blame or of ‘anxious helpfulness’.
Suppose the student is aiming to make the sound /e/. These are some of the
responses you can make with the pointer:
• If the sound is an acceptable /e/ you point to /e/ on the chart and she knows
that her intended sound was heard as such.
• If you hear not Id but another quite clear English sound, eg /I/, you point at /I/.
Now she knows she has unexpectedly made a different but also quite acceptable
sound. She can use this as a basis for further attempts.
• If what she says is an ambiguous mixture of, say, /I/ and /e/, you point at the
border between the two sounds /e/ and /I/ or indicate a mixture of the two by
stirring the two boxes together with the pointer. She uses this feedback as a
basis for further attempts.
• If the sound was too un-English to be able to give accurate feedback on, you can
point outside the chart. Done with the right attitude this usually causes a chuckle,
and can be illuminating for the learner.
• If you hear a mother tongue version of /e/ you can point near the perimeter of
the /e/ box.
• This often reaches a point where a learner who is trying to disentangle the
pronunciation of three different vowels by saying them and trying to make you
point at them, finds that she can get you to point at two of them but every time
she says the third you point somewhere else on the chart. She realizes that she is
not making the right sound, and tries to change it. If she is not successful then
you can help her to reshape the sound, or use mode 3 to find out how she is
hearing that sound, or use mode 4 to enable her to request more models of the
sound (s).
• The same game can be extended so that learners can test their ability to articulate
correctly any sound on the chart while you offer immediate feedback on what
they say.
• Games in this mode can be extended further to include words, word stress,
phrases and intonation.
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The immediate and precise (and non-verbal) feedback helps learners to become
aware of the discrepancy between what they say and what they think they say.
Learners soon stop saying the sounds they are sure of and begin to focus on ones
that elude them, using your feedback as a basis for exploration.

Mode 6 Learners use the chart to prompt other learners to speak

As learners become familiar with the discipline of attention to sounds, you will
find an increasing use for this mode. Once the transaction is in progress your job
is to watch and wait, and to learn from all the evidence that surfaces about how
the learners are learning. You are ready to intervene as soon as they need help
which they can’t provide for themselves.
This has similarities to modes 2 and 4, except that a learner takes the teacher’s
place. One of the learners is helping the other to solve a problem or to hear or
produce a particular distinction.
• The first learner may point to symbols she is uncertain of, prompting the second
learner to say them (similar to mode 4).
• The first learner may be testing and giving feedback to the second (similar to
mode 2).
• Another family of activities works like this: Learners each prepare a word or
sentence. Each comes to the chart to point out what she has prepared. The others
try to say it aloud. Mistakes and problems come to light and provide a
spontaneous syllabus for further work.
• As students’ facility at this grows, you can invite two students to have a short
dialogue with each other using the chart as the only medium of expression, and
with the whole class following.
• Any appropriate mode 2 or 4 activities can be used in this mode.

Mode 7 Learners use the chart to point to what other learners have said
One learner is at the chart pointing out sounds or words spoken by other
members of the class. You watch and wait, learning from this autonomously-run
diagnostic process. You only intervene if unacceptable mistakes pass unnoticed by
the class, or if there are difficulties that require you as resource.
This requires precision on the part of the learner who speaks, and careful
listening by the one who is pointing out what has been said. There are three
sources of mistake and each can be turned to advantage:
• The pronunciation of the speaker is unclear or not acceptable.
• The learner at the chart is thrown by what was said unclearly, or hears something
other than what was said.
• The learner at the chart selects the wrong symbol for a correct sound that she
heard correctly.
You need to be ready to intervene at any of these points, and in particular to
distinguish between the second and the third type of mistake and to exploit them
fully.

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Diagrammatic summary of the seven modes

So far we have considered seven basic kinds of transaction, around which are
built all the activities of the seven modes. Each transaction has been seen in terms
of a first move and a second move. However in order to extend this you only
have to see the second move as being also the first move of a further transaction,
and so on. This is one way in which the modes can flow seamlessly into each
other during classroom work. Fig. 38 illustrates this.

S = conventional spoken dialogue

P = pointer dialogue

Fig. 38: The seven modes for using the chart

All of the modes can be simplified down to two basic moves. The variables are:
• who points;
• who speaks;
• which happens first.
In Fig. 38 each arrow points from the first move to the second, and is labelled
with the corresponding mode. The second move can then become the first move
for any of the transactions proceeding from there so that by following the arrows a
single activity can be extended through several modes.
The dotted line S shows the transaction of normal dialogue, and dotted line P
shows the transaction of a dialogue that takes place entirely through the medium of
the chart.

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5 A first lesson with the chart

Here, as an example rather than a recipe, is what I might do during a first lesson
with the chart. In this case I devote a whole 45-minute lesson to it, though I could
just as easily spread the same content over several lessons. During this lesson I
work with monophthongs, diphthongs, consonants, words, word stress, intonation
and rhythm. But this is just to introduce the chart and get it into circulation. In
subsequent lessons I would not normally cover so much ground because I would
use the chart to work on pronunciation issues arising from normal course work,
perhaps five seconds here for a prompt, or two minutes there to work on a
specific problem.
The numbers in brackets refer to which of the seven modes has predominated in
the previous activity, and is simply to help you study the modes in more depth.
The model number in brackets refers to the four ways of giving a model
described on pi 10.
The chart hangs permanently beside the board, for easy use during each lesson,
but for this lesson it is in the middle of the board, as we are going to focus on it for
a longer period, and also so that we can write on the board round the chart during
the activities.

Introducing some monophthongs

To introduce the chart I usually start with a few vowel sounds. I put one sound
into circulation at a time, eg /i / or /u /, either by miming it (model type 4) or by
saying the sound clearly once only (model type 2). Then I leave a couple of
seconds of quiet, or ‘hearing time’, after which the learners try it themselves. I
indicate those learner responses which seem closer to the target sound, and with a
variety of techniques help them to tune or shape their articulations. I try not to
correct them by just repeating the model at them, though if the model is needed
again, I give it (1).
I encourage them to listen carefully to each other and to the variations between
them by listening carefully myself. Although I value correctness, what I value
more is their discovery that they can (re) gain conscious control of the muscles
that make sounds, and that they can not only hear the difference between sounds
but also feel the difference in their musculature, and even see the difference. My
main aim is to help them discover that they can unlock themselves from the grip
of the phonemic set of their mother tongue (1).
Once the new sound is reasonably well established (even though it may not be
‘exact’), usually after a minute or two of the class saying and listening and
changing and trying, I point to the relevant symbol on the chart, making the
connection between the muscular and acoustic experience of what they have just
done, and the symbol on the chart which will become a visual memory hook (1).
I repeat this for several other vowel sounds, eg /ɡ , , æ, e/, (1) frequently revising
the sounds just studied by pointing at them in turn (2), helping them to make
modifications, to rediscover ones they have ‘lost’, and to distinguish clearly
between neighbouring sounds on the chart.

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Practising sounds
Having done three or four vowels in this way I invite learners to take my place at
the chart and to point to sounds we have done while the class responds (6). Then
I invite learners to point at sounds they are not sure of, and I say them myself (4).
They also test each other (6,7).
Then I might invite a learner who I think is not hearing the difference between a
couple of the sounds to point at one or the other of them on the chart after I have
said them (3). Once she has got the hang of this I deliberately turn away from the
chart to face the class so that the feedback has to come from the rest of the class
rather than from me (3). From the earliest stages I look for every opportunity to
have learners take my place as judge, as this keeps them actively searching for the
criteria of correct pronunciaton, and gives me feedback on the progress of their
insight. All of this proceeds at a fairly fast pace, and every activity has the dual
function of providing both practice and feedback.

Introducing diphthongs
I now introduce a diphthong, but instead of saying it I use the pointer to run
together the component monophthongs which we have already worked on, thus
guiding the learners to discover the diphthong for themselves. After shaping the
diphthong so that it sounds English and practising it for a moment I point out the
diphthong symbol on the chart which from then on acts as the visual memory
hook on which to hang their growing experience of that sound (1).
I enjoy the fact that the mouth movements of diphthongs are quite visual, and so
I mime the diphthong and some monophthongs and ask the class to watch closely,
in order to discriminate between diphthong and monophthong, to say each and
to point to the exact one on the chart (3).
The lesson may have been going on for about twenty minutes, and six or eight
monophthongs and three or four diphthongs have been introduced and worked
on. By now it is becoming clear to learners that the message is not you must be
perfect at this before we can move on to the next but rather do what you can on
each of these at any given moment, and we can move forwards on many fronts at
the same time. We will also come back to sounds as often as we need to.

Introducing some consonants

I introduce a few consonants, saying them once and then giving hearing time
(model 3), or miming them (model 4). The ones to the left of the chart are
generally easier to mime, though you can develop ways to mime all of them. I
usually introduce both the voiced and unvoiced members of a pair at the same
time so that we can focus on triggering the muscle that starts or stops the voicing
(l).This means that we get ‘two consonants for the price of one’.

Making words from sounds

Now after about half an hour learners may have worked with ten or fifteen
sounds and they have begun to put them together into different sequences,
forming English words which they say and point out on the chart. Once again the
learners are up at the chart, using the pointer and prompting and responding to

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each other as well as the teacher (2 – 7). Through paying attention to detail and
through being alert the learners begin to discover that they can modify and
control the target sounds more precisely, and that paying attention in this kind of
way is engaging and enjoyable.
Words are put into circulation in different ways. I may say a word once, leave a
little hearing time (model 3), and then invite someone to come to point it out on
the chart (3). Or I might point a word out on the chart and invite them to say it
(2). Or a learner could say the word and others try to point it out on the chart (7).

Word stress
We may need to work on word stress in words of two or more syllables. I ask them
to listen to the word once, and then to listen to it again internally in their ‘mind’s
ear’ while counting how many syllables the word contains, and which one is
stressed (3). We may use the Cuisenaire rods to indicate the syllables, and to work
on stressing and unstressing different syllables, savouring the difference, learning
to make the difference at will, and noting which version matches the target sound.
White rods represent unstressed syllables, red rods represent stressed syllables.
This helps to develop a more conscious control over the articulation of stress.
Then the pointer is offered to anyone who would like to come to verify the
pronunciation and stress of the word on the chart (6). Turns are taken until it is
correct. Then I may give another word, and the learners also offer words to work on.

Intonation
I introduce intonation, not by requiring specific patterns, but by inviting the
learners to experiment with their voice pitch and to produce different effects. We
do this on single vowels, diphthongs, words and connected speech. In this first
lesson we take simple words or phrases like hello, and nice to meet you, and I ask
them to ‘sound happy!’ or ‘sound bored!’ or ‘be sad!’ or ‘be in love!’ or even ‘be
English!’ or ‘be Spanish!’. Later on, as they gain confidence, we can begin to
notice and talk about falling and rising pitch movements, and relate these to the
intonation arrows on the chart, just as the sounds were hooked to the symbols.

Phrases and connected speech

In the last few minutes of the lesson I use the chart to point out short English
phrases consisting of several words. These are practised for their sounds, word
stress, rhythm and intonation (2). The object here is to arrive at short bits of
English that the learners know they are saying in an ‘English’ way. The lesson
ends with the students learning a couple of lines of strongly metrical verse, for
example a nursery rhyme (2).
Throughout the lesson mistakes provide starting points for further games and
exercises. I view mistakes, or ‘not quite right sounds’, as opportunities that can
guide and enrich the moment-by-moment emerging syllabus.

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
The aims of such an introduction are:
1 To establish some of the conventions for working with the chart.
2 To foster a positive attitude towards phonology and a way of working which is
engaging and enjoyable.
3 To work with all three levels of phonology (sounds, words, connected speech) at
the same time, and to move elegantly between the three levels.
4 To help learners discover that they can relate to pronunciation not just
intellectually, but also through the eyes, the voice, the ears, physically through
muscular sensation, and through the feeling of being pleasurably challenged.
This introduction would have been essentially the same with only small
modifications at elementary, intermediate, advanced and native-speaker level,
though I would always demand the best the participants can do ‘plus a bit’. What I
am effectively saying to each learner is do the best you can at this and then see if you
can improve it. My job is to provide both the activity and the psychological
climate that will encourage them to do that. Ŷ

6 Four ways of giving models

Here are four ways of giving pronunciation models, or of putting new sounds or
words or phrases into circulation:

1 The repeated model

You give the model several times, and then the learners repeat it several times,
both together and individually. This has become the conventional approach, and
is certainly familiar to you.

2 The single model

You give the model once only, requiring your learners to derive as much as they
can from a single exposure, and to do as much as they can with it. When they have
made the most of the single exposure you can ask if they’d like the model again.

3 The internal imaging model

This approach introduces the idea of internal imaging, a natural human faculty
which can usefully be exploited in the classroom. You give the model only once,
and then leave a couple of seconds for the learners to listen to their own internal
registration, that is to hear it again internally in their mind’s ear. Only then do you
invite them to say it aloud.

4 The non-verbal model

This is about evoking new sounds from your learners without giving a spoken
model. Options here include using mime or gesture; lifting a ‘new’ sound from an
already known word; lifting the sound from the learner’s mother tongue; using a
sound spoken by another learner; or reshaping an incorrect sound offered by a
learner.

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Each approach has its advantages, and each can be used for individual sounds,
for words, or for whole sentences. Adapting them to suit your style could help you
to extend your repertoire of choices. Here they are described in more detail.

Classroom activity 1 The repeated model

This is widely used, with many variations, but typically it goes like this:
1 You say the model (for example /ԥ/) two, three or four times.
2 The learners repeat that model several times, usually in chorus first,
and then individually.
3 You indicate the responses that seem closer to your own model, perhaps
inviting others to use those as new models.
4 Alternatively, you might give further repetitions of your model.
5 When several learners are close enough to the target sound you point to the
symbol on the chart, to make the connection between the sound and the
symbol which is now going to represent that sound.

Commentary on the repeated model ŶŶŶ

Teacher’s repetition and learners’ repetition both have great validity when the
teacher conducts the process with sensitivity and interest, and in a non-
competitive way. For example, you can enliven the learner responses by inviting
repetitions with different intonation, voice tone, speed, volume, etc. You can keep
learners on their toes by telling them as soon as their model wavers away from the
target sound. Accurate sounds come and go, they don’t suddenly arrive and stay.
The teacher’s quality of listening can do much to convey an attitude of curiosity
and engagement in even the simplest activity, and also an acceptance of the
learners as people that allows each of them to take risks in what they try, without
being held back by reluctance to make a mistake or by carelessness (sometimes
just a way of coping with that fear).
Here are some thoughts about the dangers of repetition. Over-repetition by the
learners can encourage parroting at the expense of attention to the internal
processing of what has just been heard. There is a danger that the learner ‘spits
out’ the response and with it the responsibility for doing anything further with it.
One solution to this in ‘The internal imaging model’ below.
Over-repetition of a model could also undermine a learner’s capacity to listen
accurately to something the first time round, turning him into a lazy listener since
he knows he will hear it several times. The problem is that repetition is by nature
repetitious! And the helpfulness may backfire by reducing the need to be alert. It’s
the old problem of the teacher being so helpful that she underestimates the
learner’s ability. The teacher’s lack of expectation means that the learner under-
achieves, and so the teacher is proved right, and so on.
Does the teacher’s repetition of the model also carry the hidden suggestion you
wouldn’t be able to get this if I only said it once? Maybe this is not significant. But the
unspoken subtext of the teacher’s behaviour, and the effect of this on the
psychological learning atmosphere of a group, is something we need to take note
of. I suggest one solution to this objection in ‘The single model’ on p 112. Ŷ

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Classroom activity 2 The single model

This is identical to the repeated model outlined above, except that the model is
given once, not repeated.
1 Give the model once.
2 Invite learners to respond and if between them there is not a model that is
sufficient to work from, then
3 Give the model again, once.
4 Or, when the learners have done what they can with the single model, ask
them if they would like it again, and if they say yes, give it.
5 Once some learners are close enough to the model, indicate the symbol on
the chart to make the connection.

Commentary on the single model ŶŶŶ

There is a different intention and different delivery involved in giving the model
once only. The aim is to help learners to be as alert as possible, and to sharpen
their capacity to listen accurately to something the first time. When they’ve heard
it once, you invite them to do what they can with it, only giving the model a
second or third time if needed.
I have found that when learners are encouraged to do the best they can after
hearing the model once, they have a stronger wish to hear it a second time, and
they listen to it with a fresh curiosity, since they have already invested their effort.
This can help to reduce the repetitiveness, and it has a different underlying
message (see what you can do when you hear this only once, but if you need it again
that’s fine) .There is something more democratic about asking learners if they
want it again, rather than assuming that they do or that they don’t. Ŷ

Review your own way of giving models

• Do you give models?
• If you don’t, then how else do your learners focus on a new sound?
• If you do, then how do you do it?
• What is your intention when you do this?
• Why?
• Do you repeat the model? How many times?
• What is your tone and manner?
• Could you try giving just one model? Perhaps as a game at first?
• How much time do you give yourself and your learners?
• Could you ask your learners what they think of the process?

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Classroom activity 3 The internal imaging model

This makes use of our natural ability to retain an impression of a sound, and to
continue to hear it internally for a few seconds.
1 Give the model once, clearly.
2 Leave a couple of seconds’ silent ‘hearing time’ while maintaining eye contact
with the class. Encourage them to ‘hear it again’ internally.
3 Invite them to say it aloud, perhaps to themselves at first, and then to the group.
4 Indicate those utterances which are closer to the model, or ask the learners
to indicate.
5 If another model is needed, give it.
6 When some responses are close enough, indicate the appropriate symbol on
the chart.

Commentary on the internal imaging model ŶŶŶ

This approach combines the single model with an intentional silence which
allows learners to attend to their own internal representation of the model they
have just heard. It makes use of our capacity to ‘record’ something we hear, and
to carry on hearing it internally for several seconds in our mind’s ear. This also
allows people to process it in their own different ways. Some people ‘see’ it, some
‘hear’ it, some ‘feel’ it, and so on. The experiments below in ‘Developing your
internal imaging of sounds’ will help you to explore the potential of internal
imaging. Ŷ

Classroom activity 4 The non-verbal model

The aim here is to evoke sounds without giving a spoken model. One way of doing
this is through mime and gesture. The rationale is to make use of the visual
aspect of the articulation of sounds by drawing attention to what can be seen of
the movement of lips, tongue, jaw, and throat. The visual impact is heightened by
doing the mime silently.
1 Mime the sound using gesture to help.
2 Invite learners to rehearse it by saying it aloud to themselves.
3 Invite them to say it individually to the group.
4 Appreciate each attempt while also indicating those which seem closer
to your target sound.
5 Help them to shape and reshape their sounds using other non-verbal means.
6 Mime again if required, or use the internal imaging model.
7 Indicate any learners whose sound is close enough to serve as a
model for others.
8 Use the pointer to make the link between what they are saying and
the symbol on the chart.

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7 Developing your internal imaging of sounds

We have the ability to hear a sound externally and then to hear it again internally
for several seconds. The aim of internal imaging is to use this ability intentionally
for learning pronunciation.

Classroom activity 5 Internal imaging

Try these experiments:
• One person says a word; the others hear it internally for two or three seconds.
Each person states how he or she internally represented the word. Some will
have seen an image, others seen the spelling, others heard it in one way or
another, and so on. The aim is to get insight into the different internal
responses people have to the same external task.
• One person says a word once in a language unknown to the others, who allow
themselves to hear it several times internally in the voice of the speaker. Then
they say it aloud. The speaker indicates how close each is to the original. If
required the model can be given a second or third time, but always followed
by a couple of seconds silence for internal registration and hearing.
• Someone says a word in a language unknown to the others, who hear it
internally, first in the voice of the speaker, and then in their own voice. They
gradually connect this with their own vocal tract until it becomes audible, and
they say it aloud.

Commentary on internal imaging ŶŶŶ

Only when we discover these latent learning faculties in ourselves do we have the
possibility and the confidence to help our learners make use of them. Our
mainstream procedures tend to recognize and value only the external processes
that can be directly perceived by the teacher. By being unaware of, and
unresponsive to, the inner processes, we lose an opportunity to interest learners
in their own learning and in the discovery that they can rely on themselves more
than they thought. Ŷ

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8 Developing your use of mime and gesture

By mime I mean a helpful exaggeration of the actual physical movements
involved in producing a sound, eg rounding the lips for / /. By gesture I mean
other non-verbal signals that help learners to shape and modify sounds, but
which are not part of the muscular movement of the sound itself, eg using the
lingers to ‘draw out’ or lengthen a vowel sound. Mime is based on the visual
aspect of the sound. Gesture is a substitute for teacher instruction.
All forms of model-giving can be enriched by introducing a stronger visual
element. Here are some ideas to help you develop a systematic use of mime and
gesture in pronunciation work. For more detailed ideas on miming specific
sounds, see Section 9, ‘Working with individual sounds’.

Classroom activity 6 Developing your use of mime

When I mime a sound I say it silently. If it’s a vowel then I mime it on its own, and
if it’s a consonant then I may join it to a vowel. My aim is to draw attention to the
essential muscular movements of the sound, so I may exaggerate the lip, tongue
and jaw postures but I want to avoid distortion. The trick is to keep it simple, not
to labour it anxiously, and to feel full of confidence that the class will know what to
do! Here are some things you can try to get into this way of thinking:
• Imagine that you are trying to speak to someone through a thick plate glass
window. They can see you but not hear you. You have to exaggerate the mouth
movements without distorting them. Take a few simple phrases and try this with
someone else. How much can you understand each other?
• Do the same while paying attention to your tongue, jaw and lip movements.
• Take a list of words (a copy for each person). Mime one word at a time to the
other person, and see if they can guess which one you are saying.
• Now try miming isolated sounds. Start with those that are more visual, which
includes most of the monophthongs, all of the diphthongs and the consonants
nearer the front of the mouth (see Fig. 39).

Fig. 39: Sounds whose key articulations are fairly visible with mime
• If you find difficulty in beginning to mime, I suggest you go back to speaking
the sounds quietly while maintaining awareness of the muscular movement,
and then progress to whispering the sounds, and then when you’re comfortable
with that try miming again.
• It helps if you can let go of anxiety about getting it right and enjoy yourself!

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Classroom activity 7 Developing your use of gesture

By gesture I mean other non-verbal signals that help learners to shape and modify
the sounds they are making. I use gesture to organize and clarify who is doing
what during an activity. I also use gesture to emphasize the visible movement in a
mime, and to indicate articulations that are less visible and so less amenable to
mime. Such gestures draw attention to some aspect of the place or manner of
articulation of the sound.

Fig. 40: Sounds whose articulations can be suggested quite well by mime supported by gesture

Here are some things you can try if you want to develop your repertoire of gesture:
• When miming there is no sound, so in order to indicate that you are
‘speaking’ you can draw the sound out of your mouth with your hand, as if you
are pulling a length of string out of your mouth.
• When you reverse this, you can use the same gesture to draw the sound from
your learners.
• This gesture of pulling a sound can be used to lengthen and shorten sounds.
• You can indicate an increase or decrease in the energy put into a sound with a
firmer or softer hand movement.
• You can draw attention to lip position by tracing the rounding or spreading of
your lips with your finger.
• You can emphasize the degree of jaw opening with thumb and forefinger held
vertically next to your jaw. Extend or reduce the gap between thumb and
forefinger, while miming the same thing with your jaw.
• You can indicate tongue positions by pointing in or beside your mouth.
• You can indicate nasalization by pulling the sound out of your nose (!)
• You can use the gesture of switching your Adam’s apple on and off (like a light
switch) to indicate voicing and unvoicing.
• You can use the fingers of one hand held separately or together to indicate
sounds spoken separately or run together into a word, or to indicate words
spoken separately or run together into connected speech.
• You can also use fingers for syllables, and so for manipulating stress and
unstress.
• The use of fingers in relation to silent correction and shaping of sounds, words
and phrases is an elegant and powerful form of teaching artistry, and we’ll go
further into this in the Level 2 classroom toolkit on finger correction.

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Commentary on mime and gesture exercises ŶŶŶ

These starting points for experimenting with mime and gesture are not intended
as prescriptions but only as examples. Find and develop what works for you and
what you feel comfortable with. Change and adapt these ideas and invent new ones.
Mime and gesture offer ways of extending our non-verbal interventions in a
lesson, and give us the opportunity to reduce our verbal intervention. The
speaking/listening channel is the one the learners need to explore, and the more I
am able to vacate that channel and leave it free for them the more they are able
and willing to use it. Imagine the conductor of an orchestra using words instead
of gesture!
We’ll investigate mime and gesture in relation to vowels and consonants in
Section 9. Ŷ

Classroom activity 8 Other sources of non-verbal models

Non-verbal models raise the learner investment, requiring more internal
co-ordination than do spoken models. Here are some other non-verbal ways of
putting a sound into circulation:
• Lift the sound from an English word already known and pronounced by the
learner. If you want /æ/, for example, and the learners can say cat, guide them
to lift out the middle sound by isolating it with the pointer. If in doing that they
change the quality of /æ/, then it may help to ask how many sounds in cat (which
requires them to internally image the sounds in order to count them). Invite
them to write the sounds on the board in both letters and phonemes, and then
rub off first /c/ and then /t/ while trying to maintain the quality of /æ/.
• If you want an example of a sound, the chances are that you can find it on
almost any page of your coursebook or class reader.
• You may be able to lift an English sound from your learner’s mother tongue,
either directly or with a bit of shaping.
• You may be able to arrive at new sounds by making use of the layout of the
chart, eg making diphthongs from monophthongs; by isolating monophthongs
that occur between other monophthongs (eg /I/ and / / lying somewhere
between /i / and /u /); by using the front-back spectrum built into the visual
display of the vowel and the consonant sections, etc. Some of these ideas will
be followed up in the next section. The discovery toolkit in part 1 gives a good
insight into how you can exploit the layout of the chart.
• You can also use a learner’s guess or hunch as a starting point. For example,
‘What sound do you think this is?’ (pointing to a symbol). Or ‘What sound do you
find difficult in English – can you try to say it?’ The learner may come up with
something you can work on, by shaping or tuning. Or perhaps not, so you leave it.

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Commentary on the non-verbal model ŶŶŶ

I am often astonished at how close learners can get to an intended sound without
actually hearing a model, how attentive they become when invited to use their
eyes, how the sound-producing musculature can be evoked by simply watching
someone else do it, and how awareness is heightened when the teacher actually
raises the stakes by giving the learners this kind of challenge. It also helps learners
to listen to themselves. Finally, and most importantly, this focuses attention on
pronunciation as a physical activity, rather than only a mental one, or simply a
mechanical response.
Developing your own repertoire of non-verbal model-giving takes practice and
curiosity, and the best place for that is in the classroom. Take pleasure in trying
things out, and if possible involve your learners in discussing outcomes. If you
can enjoy what doesn’t work, as well as what does, you’ll be able to learn from
whatever happens. There is no need to get things ‘right’ first time. I think it helps
the class atmosphere if you too are a learner. Ŷ

Summary
I have outlined four ways of putting new sounds into circulation, and each has
many variations. The four models have different strengths and different uses, and
I suggest you experiment with all of them, and mix them up and develop them in
your own personal way. Bear in mind that these four models are as applicable to
giving whole sentences as they are to words and isolated sounds.

9 Working with individual sounds

Working with monophthongs
A sound syllabus?
There are various ways of sequencing and ordering the learning of grammatical
structures and vocabulary. But I don’t think it’s helpful to construct an artificial
teaching syllabus for sounds. Firstly there are only forty-four phonemes in RP,
and secondly all the sounds are needed from the beginning.
Having said that, I do find there are certain rules of thumb that can help you
decide what to work on when you are introducing the chart to a class for the first
time. For example, some sounds are easier to perceive for your particular
learners, and can help establish reference points for other sounds. When
introducing the chart I usually establish a few monophthongs first, then build a
few diphthongs from those monophthongs, and then work with a few
consonants, ending up by building up a few words. There is an example
of this in the lesson in Section 5.
Vowels in most languages use the same mouth space and divide the space up to
yield the number of different vowels required by that language. Few languages
have as many discrete, significant vowel sounds as English, which means that
most learners have to fit more vowels into the same mouth space. I find it helpful
to have this picture in mind while I am working with learners.

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Some generalizations about sequencing monophthongs

1 I sometimes find it helpful to establish long vowels before their neighbouring
short vowels:
/i / before /I/ and /e/
/u / before / /
/ɡ / before /ԥ/
/ / before /ȁ/ and /æ/
/ / before / /
This is because the longer duration gives more visual and aural evidence to
work on; there is more to get hold of. The longer sounds can act as ‘anchors’
or ‘benchmarks’ against which other sounds can be ‘weighed’ or ‘measured’.
2 I find that the two sounds /i / and /u / provide a good starting point for
introducing the chart and the monophthong section. Both sounds have a very
visual mouth posture, and together they form two ends of a continuum which
has at one end full lip rounding and tongue back, and at the other end full lip
spread and tongue forward. Having learners glide slowly between /i / and /u /
draws their attention to the inner muscular movements of both tongue and lip,
and to the changing aural signal that results. Then, when the continuum from
/i / to /u / has been established as a slow glide, the sounds approximating III and
/ / can be ‘discovered’ by stopping at particular points along that continuum
and making small adjustments. See ‘A first lesson with the chart’ and
‘Monophthongs’ in the discovery toolkit.
3 You may also decide to start with those mother tongue vowel sounds of your
learners which approximate to English vowels. I help learners identify a few
such sounds in the first couple of sessions. With a monolingual group these
common L1/L2 sounds may be the same for the whole group. With a
multilingual group I’ll help individuals to identify the English sounds they can
already do.
4 I think spontaneity is of great importance in learning and teaching
pronunciation. What comes up naturally has energy in it, and if I can follow it
and work with it I may encourage learners’ initiatives rather than trying to
ensure that my own initiatives prevail. The ‘syllabus of spontaneity’ is an
interesting idea, similar to the idea that ‘mistakes are the syllabus’, and we’ll
follow this up in Section 10.

Introducing a monophthong
Of the four types of model described in Section 6 the first three are fairly
straightforward. So I’ll describe some approaches to the fourth type, the
non-verbal model using mime and gesture.

Classroom activity 9 Presenting a monophthong using mime and

gesture
1 Think and say the sound to yourself observing your lip, tongue and jaw
position.
2 Mime it to the class very clearly, perhaps a bit slower, adding a little
exaggeration to the tongue, lip and jaw position.
3 Use any gestures you feel appropriate to complete the picture.

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4 Invite learners to rehearse it to themselves and aloud in the class.

5 Give feedback to indicate which are closer to the English sound. My own
preference is to avoid congratulation and focus on supportive feedback such
as That’s closer,’ ‘Make it longer,’ ‘Try it like her,’ ‘You’ve changed it,’ ‘Listen
to the difference.’
6 Offer to repeat the mime or to say it aloud if the class wishes.
7 When some are close enough to be acceptable for the moment, touch the
symbol on the chart, which from now on can represent that sound, and in future
work the sound will be refined further.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
As I’ve said, you can help your learners by encouraging them to use their eyes as
well as their ears in pronunciation work, and to be attentive to the inner sensations
of muscular coordination and movement. Your own helping curiosity is a good
starting point.
Keep in mind the visual features of monophthongs:
• jaw position;
• lip rounding and lip spread;
• vowel length. Ŷ

Specific mimes and gestures for monophthongs

Here are some descriptions of gestures relating to specific sounds. My aim is just
to give you enough of an idea so that you feel inspired to look for the gestures
that work for you.
/i / You have your lips clearly spread, and your jaws close together. You can focus
attention on these two features with a gesture. Then you mime the sound and
with your hand you gesture the sound coming out, as if pulling the sound firmly
from your mouth. At first you can exaggerate the length. Then to get the class to
say it you turn your ‘pulling’ gesture round and pull the sound from them, while
still miming it yourself. Then you invite individuals to say it aloud, and so on.
/æ/ You have your jaws open, your tongue visible behind the lower front teeth,
and your lips slightly spread. You can draw attention to this set-up with gesture.
With your hand you pull the sound from your mouth with a fairly firm and short
gesture. Then you reverse the gesture and pull the sound from the class. I find
that it helps to indicate a slight tension of the muscle at the corners of the mouth
and at the top of the throat. I gesture this as well.
/ɡ / You relax your whole tongue, jaw and lips, and indicate by gesture that they
are loose, and in neutral, and perhaps even show that your arms and body are
floppy. Then you can pull a long and relaxed silent /3 / from your mouth.
Learners often put too much energy into this and distort the sound with muscular
tension. Use gesture to indicate and evoke a ‘letting go’ of muscular tension.
/ԥ/ You can begin with /3 /, and while pulling the sound from them several times
you gradually shorten its length with your hand gesture until you are left with a
very short /3/. Then you just have to remove the excess energy they are probably
giving to it and you are left with /ԥ/. You can convey this by miming and gesturing
the sound as an almost imperceptible movement, with minute energy.
/ / You open your mouth quite wide, as if the doctor is to look down your throat.

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Your tongue is low and towards the back of your mouth. Your lips are well open
but neither rounded nor spread. With your two hands open you can gesture that
your throat is full, or open. You pull a long sound from your mouth. You can also
indicate by gesture and mime the act of saying or sighing / /.
/u / You round the lips and push them forward. The jaws are close together, and
the tongue is back though that is not visible. Draw attention to the lip position by
appearing to pull your lips forward with your hands, and to your jaw position by
appearing to close it with your hands. Then you can pull, or ‘extrude’ the sound
from your mouth, and then from the class.
/ / You have your lips rounded but more relaxed than /u /. It can be helpful to set
the scene by miming the forward and tight rounding of /u /, and then visibly
relaxing the lip position to that required for / /. Then mime the sound with the
gesture of a short tug from your mouth indicating a short sound, but don’t imply
too much energy in the tug. It can help to do this sound after doing /u /, as the
contrast can clarify.
The trick in all of this is to think the sound while you mime it. This helps to
inform your body and your gestures. Gestures don’t have to be logically related to
the sound, they just have to help.

Introducing diphthongs
I’d like to suggest two non-verbal ways of helping learners to arrive at a new
diphthong:
1 You can use mime and gesture, as we have already seen. Diphthongs are strong
on visual information given by the movement of lips and jaw between the first
and the second position.
2 You can build the diphthong from its two component monophthongs (eg /ԥ/ +
/ / = /ԥ /), which means working on the monophthongs first, and then joining
them together.
Here is a fuller description of these two ways:

Classroom activity 10 Using mime and gesture to model diphthongs

1 Think and say the diphthong to yourself. Notice the mouth posture of the first
sound and of the second sound. Notice also the movement of the glide in
between.
2 Mime the diphthong to the class, adding some legitimate exaggeration. Make
sure the first and last position is clear, and slow down the glide in between.
3 Use any gestures that could help learners focus on the movement.
4 Invite learners to rehearse it to themselves and aloud in the class.
5 Give feedback to indicate which of your learners’ attempts are closer
to your target sound.
6 Offer to repeat the mime or to say it aloud if the class wishes.
7 When some are close enough to be acceptable for the moment, touch the
symbol on the chart, which from now on can represent that sound. Later on the
sound can be refined further.
8 Practise the diphthong in the context of other sounds and words.

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Classroom activity 11 Building diphthongs from monophthongs

1 Think and say the diphthong to yourself, eg /eI/. Identify the first and second
elements /e/ + /I/. Locate those two elements on the monophthong side of the
chart.
2 Point to the first element /e/ and have the class say it. Take a few seconds to
focus attention on the quality of the sound and to fine-tune it. Do the same for
the second element /I/.
3 Now build the diphthong by sliding the pointer very slowly from /e/ to /I/ on the
monophthong section of the chart, inviting the class to say it as you do so.
4 Invite them to work on the glide, making it smooth rather than jerky. Again you
can use gesture to convey this quality.
5 Once the glide is fairly smooth invite them to speed it up.
6 Give feedback to indicate which attempts are closer to the target sound.
7 When some are close enough to be acceptable for the moment, touch the
appropriate diphthong symbol in the diphthong section of the chart, which now
represents that sound, though in future work it will be refined further.
8 Practise the new diphthong with consonants and in words pointed out on the
chart.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The building and the miming approaches complement each other. I usually start
with one and then bring in the other to reinforce it. Ŷ

Specific mimes and gestures for diphthongs

/ԥ / You can mime or say silently the move from the first to the second sound, the
lips going from neutral to rounded, and the jaw closing slightly. Slow down and
appreciate the movement of the glide. It may be necessary to isolate and work
briefly on /ԥ/ and / / first, before joining them together.
/a / I suggest you start with the monophthong /ȁ/ with jaw open, lips neutral, and
then glide towards / /, with jaws close together and lips fairly rounded and forward.
Appreciate the movement of the glide itself. Use a gesture to pull the sound out of
your lips, and then reverse the gesture and draw the sound out of the class.
/eI/ Start with /e/, jaws half open, tongue at the front behind the lower front teeth,
and lips fairly spread. Glide to /I/, which is mainly just a closing of the jaw, the
tongue staying in the same lower jaw setting. The lips remain fairly spread.
The same principles can be applied to the other diphthongs.

Classroom activity 12 Pronunciation of the alphabet

From the beginning learners need to be able to use the letters of the alphabet to
ask for, talk about, and understand spellings of words. This is a good opportunity
to practise English pronunciation, which only requires seven different vowel
sounds for the twenty-six letters. You can work on the pronunciation of the letters
using the chart. The following activity is a puzzle for your learners.

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1 Draw this on the board:

Fig. 41: Vowel sounds puzzle – starting point

Practise the pronunciation of the three letters. Don’t tell the class why the
letters are arranged like this. Explain that there is a single rule about where to
place the rest of the letters, and that you will help them discover it by indicating
which of their attempts follow the rule and which do not.
2 Now ask learners to come up to the board to place the next letter. If they put it in
the right place leave it there, without saying anything. If they put it in the wrong
place then rub it out, again without saying anything. Let them try other places.
3 When they write a letter in the correct place leave it there, and learners go on to
the next. At first they will be guessing, then once there are a few in the correct
place they will try to see the rule, and test it out.
4 Once learners have got the rule, ask them to stop participating and watch, but
to join in again if they find they have not got it. Some have got the rule by
halfway through the alphabet, others near the end, and others not at all.
So what is the rule? The letters are grouped into columns according to the vowel
sound in each letter name. A new column is started when needed.

Fig. 42: Vowel sounds puzzle – solution

5 Once they have correctly constructed this layout, you can point to the letters
and ask the class to say them, both across and down columns, working on the
pronunciation as necessary. Very soon everyone will understand the layout.
6 Then try the variations:
• Invite a learner to the board to prompt the class to speak by pointing out letters
and deciding whether the class pronunciations are acceptable or not.
• Have learners call out a letter; you point to that letter if their pronunciation
seems acceptable, and you point outside the diagram if it does not, thereby
giving them instant feedback on the acceptability of their pronunciation.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This is a good game for working on the pronunciation of letters. And it is good for
you since you have to watch and listen while the learners work. Ŷ

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Working with consonants

Classroom activity 13 Introducing consonants

Unlike vowels, many consonants cannot be sounded on their own. As consonants
are produced by obstructing the air flow in some way, it is the release of the block
that produces the characteristic sound. And that release requires movement into
another sound (remember con + sonant = ‘with sound’, or ‘sounding with ...’).
In fact, you can sustain the fricatives /f, v, θ, ð, s, z, œ , 3/ (second row of the
chart) in isolation, but the plosives (top row) and the nasals and sundries (bottom
row) need the addition of a vowel sound either before or after to complete the
release stage of their articulation. Having decided which consonants you want to
practise, here is one possible procedure you could follow:
1 Say the consonant to yourself to decide whether it needs a vowel to
accompany it. If it needs a vowel, then choose one that will not divert the
learner’s attention away from the consonant.
2 Put the consonant into circulation using any of the four model types (see ‘Four
ways of giving models’, Section 6, page 110).
3 Use the chart to practise the consonant by altering the vowel that goes with it,
eg /he, heI, haI/.
4 Build words around the consonant, eg /ha t, hi t, h3 t, ha tel/, using the kinds
of activities suggested by any of the seven modes (see Section 4).

Making use of the chart layout

To work with exactness on a consonant you need to be constantly aware of the
distinction between how and where each consonant is produced in the vocal
tract. These are the two main variables that enable you to help learners to reshape
an incorrect consonant. If you hold one variable constant and change the other
significantly you will arrive at another consonant sound which may or may not be
part of the English phonemic set. Through this learners can gain insight into the
different ways they can control the sounds they make. Each variable is a muscular
component manifested in sound. Put the muscular components together and you
get the sound. This gives the learner something definite to focus attention on.
These two variables are built into the layout of the chart:
• The where is built into the horizontal arrangement of consonants on the chart.
(How visible a consonant is, in terms of miming or lip reading, is part of the
where and therefore is also part of the horizontal arrangement on the chart.)
• The how is part of the vertical dimension of the consonant layout.
For a more detailed investigation of the link between the articulation of consonants
and the layout of the chart, see the discovery toolkit section on consonants.
Here is a summary of how the layout can help you in practice.

‘Where’ or place of articulation

Consonants articulated at the front of the mouth, eg /p, m, v/ are on the left side of
the chart, and those articulated at the back of the mouth, eg /k, g, œ /, are on the
right side of the chart.

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Using the horizontal consonant arrangement

Keep the manner of articulation the same, and change the place of articulation by
moving the pointer horizontally along the consonant row.
Example: You decide to practise the fricative /θ/. Keep the fricative quality going
while pointing in turn to the unvoiced fricative in front of it, ie /f/, and then sliding
back to /0/. Then slide the pointer back to the unvoiced fricative behind, ie /s/. The
sequence produced is /θθθ ... fff ... θθθ ... sss ... θθθ/. In this simple set of moves
the learner focuses on maintaining the fricative quality while changing the place
where the friction is produced. At the same time she hears the sound change.
You could do the same thing with the voiced version, and work on the sequence
/ððð ... vvv ... ððð ... zzz ... ððð /.
I have found this a useful approach to practice and correction.

‘How’ or manner of articulation

Plosives are in the top consonant row, fricatives in the second, and the rest are in
the bottom row. (For more on this see the discovery toolkit on consonants.)

Using vertical groupings

The correspondence of manner of articulation up and down in any vertical
column is not as neat as the correspondence of place of articulation along each
row. However, the chart makes visible some interesting groupings of consonants
according to their place of articulation. These groupings show how for each place
of articulation (for each where), several different sounds can be produced by
varying the manner of articulation (the how).
where
Group 1 /m, p, b, w/ bilabial
Group 2 /n, s, z, t, d, 1/ alveolar
Group 3 / œ, 3, t œ, d3/ /r/ is close behind palato-alveolar
Group 4 /ƾ, k, g/ velar

Fig. 43

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Making these vertical connections in the chart is useful for:

• discovering new sounds by moulding familiar sounds, for example helping
learners to discover an unfamiliar place of articulation by drawing on their
experience of other sounds that use the same place;
• helping learners to explore the different manners of articulation that can be
applied to the same place in the mouth.

The voiced/unvoiced distinction

You can see from Fig. 44 that in the first two rows the first sound of each pair is
unvoiced, while the second is voiced, eg /t, d/, /f, v/, /s, z/. The bottom row
consists entirely of voiced sounds except for /h/.

Fig. 44

Classroom activity 14 Voiced/unvoiced clarification using the chart

layout
1 Choose a voiced/unvoiced pair of consonants, eg /s, z/.
2 Alternate the pointer between /z/ and /s/, prompting the learners to say the
sounds.
3 Ask the learners to touch the fronts of their throats and to feel the presence
and absence of voice vibrations as they move between /z/ and /s/. At the same
time, focus attention on the specific muscular sensation of ‘switching on and
off the vocal cord.
4 Having established the voiced/unvoiced distinction, apply it to each of the
eight voiced/unvoiced pairs on the chart.

Classroom activity 15 Gesture for voiced and unvoiced

I often use /s/ and /z/ to establish a gesture that can signal the voicing/unvoicing
difference. After establishing /z/ and /s/ individually I ask the learners to alternate
the sounds without stopping /s ... s ... s ... z ... z ... z ... s ... s ... s ... z ... z ... z .../,
while holding the fingers flat against the front of the throat. I want them to feel the
presence and absence of vibrations in the vocal cord, and to connect that with the
only muscular movement they are making, which is to switch on or off the vocal
cords. Movement of the tongue, jaw and lips is held constant. Learners sometimes
take a little while to gain conscious muscular control of this distinction. But then it
clicks and they start to do consciously what they had previously done unconsciously.
When they have noticed the sensation of the voice ‘switching on and off’, we link
this to a gesture for voicing where the fingers are flat against the throat, and for
unvoicing where the hand is turned away from the throat, at 90 degrees to the first
position. I call this the voice switch.

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
The contrast is most marked with the eight fricatives (second row), since they can
flow into each other without the intervention of a vowel sound. An agreed gesture
for voiced and unvoiced can be useful, but more important is what it stands for:
awareness of the muscular movement necessary to switch the voice on or off. Ŷ

Fortis/lenis clarification
The unvoiced sound of each pair is produced with a stronger fortis exhalation,
while its counterpart is produced with a relatively weaker lenis force. This
distinction is especially clear with plosive consonants. If you remove the
voiced/unvoiced distinction from the pairs by whispering them, you may still be
able to tell the consonants apart because the unvoiced are given more breath
force, or aspiration.

Classroom activity 16 Practice of fortis and lenis

1 Ask learners to hold a sheet of paper 2-3 cm in front of the mouth and say the
pair of consonants /pi / and /bi /.
2 The voiced and lenis sound /bi / should hardly move the paper, while the
aspiration of the unvoiced and fortis sound /pi /should move the paper
noticeably.
3 When your learners have found a distinction, invite them to experiment with
controlling the degree of aspiration at will.
4 Apply what they have found to other voiced/unvoiced pairs of consonants. The
distinction is most clear with /p, b/, /t, d/, /k, g/, /f, v/ and /θ, ð /.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You can try the same thing but whispering. The sheet of paper should still move
in the same way, and though the voice difference has been removed you should
still be able to distinguish aurally between the two sounds due to the difference in
their aspiration. Whispering game: one whispers pairs of consonants, another
listens carefully and tries to point them out on the chart.
It is important and helpful to give guidance in varying the amount of muscular
energy and breath force used in speaking English. It is a subtle and significant
part of sounding English and of hearing English accurately. This seems to apply
both to individual sounds and to connected speech. Ŷ

Using mime and gesture

The aim of miming a sound is to encourage learners to become sensitive to the
visual component of the articulation of sounds, that is to the discernible
movement of lips, tongue, jaw, throat and muscles generally. Mime may contain a
degree of exaggeration; it may also be a little slower than speech, and it is always
silent. It is not the same thing as whispering.
Gesture refers to other movements, usually of the hand, but also of face, arms
and body, which aim to clarify or amplify or draw attention to a particular aspect
of the how or the where of the articulation.

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Classroom activity 17 Using mime and gesture for consonants

This is essentially the same as for vowels. Adapt it to suit yourself and your
learners.
1 Think of and say the consonant to yourself. Think of both the manner and the
place of the articulation.
2 Mime the consonant to the class, adding a little exaggeration, and using
gesture to indicate exactly when the mime begins and ends.
3 Use any other gestures that could help the articulation to be more vivid.
4 Invite learners to rehearse it to themselves and aloud in the class.
5 Give feedback to indicate which of your learners’ attempts are closer to your
target sound, and which may serve as temporary models to the others.
6 Offer to repeat the mime or to say it aloud if the class wishes.
7 Help them to shape and reshape their sounds using other non-verbal means.
8 When some are close enough to be acceptable for the moment, touch the
symbol on the chart, which from now on can represent that sound. In future
work the sound will be refined further.
9 Practise the consonant in the context of other sounds and words.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Remember only to use mime as long as it is helpful, and to use spoken models
wherever they are more helpful. One of my aims is to encourage self-sufficiency
by devolving responsibility for the model onto the learners, so that instead of
remaining dependent on me for the ‘perfect’ model each time, they can see that I
am approving one or several of the learners’ attempts as models for the others. Ŷ

Mimes and gestures for specific consonants

Here is a summary of mime and gesture that I find useful for consonants. Mime
cannot be accurately described in words, but the most important thing is to
experiment and see what works for you. Remember that the more aware you are
of the how and where of the movements in your own mouth, the clearer and
more evocative your mime will be. Where consonants need to move to a vowel I
am assuming the neutral /ԥ/.

Mime and gesture for sounds in Fig. 45

Fig. 45: Consonants with fairly visible articulatory clues

/p, b/
Mime: The two lips part to let out a puff of air, which is less energetic for /b/ than
for /p/.

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Gesture: Both forefingers, just below the chin, make a definite forward movement
of about 5 cm as the air is released. This indicates the direction of air and the
precise beginning and end of the mime. Act as if the puff of air is visible. Touch
the front of the throat to indicate voicing for /b/.
/t, d/
Mime: Clear movement of the tongue away from the alveolar ridge to let out a
puff of air, which is less energetic for /d/ than for /t/.
Gesture: Locate the tooth ridge by pointing behind the top front teeth just before
the mime. Then a small but definite jerk forwards of the fingers below the chin as
the ‘sound’ is released.
/f, v/
Mime: Lower lip and teeth contact, exaggerated slightly.
Gesture: Indicate the contact between lip and teeth, and then move fingers slowly
forward for the length of the mime. This is a fricative sound and can be
prolonged. Use the voicing/unvoicing gesture to distinguish /f/ from /v/.
/θ, ð/
Mime: The tip of the tongue just protrudes between upper and lower front teeth.
Initially I may exaggerate this by having the tongue clearly visible. Later I may
show a more natural and less visible version with the tongue at the back of the
teeth.
Gesture: Point to the position of the tongue between the teeth. Indicate the
duration of the mime with hands moving slowly forward a few centimetres.
/m/
Mime: Perhaps a slightly exaggerated ‘sealing together’ of the lips, showing that
the air flow is blocked.
Gesture: Indicate the closed lips with the forefingers, take a breath and exhale
rather obviously. As you do so ‘pull’ the air flow from your nose! This one is vivid,
amusing, and usually quite successful.
/w/
Mime: This sound is visually quite clear, especially if you exaggerate the
movement of the two lips slightly.
Gesture: Just indicate the beginning and end of the mime with the fingers.
/j/
Mime: This is visually less clear. Nevertheless if you do it confidently and slowly
most people will get it.
Gesture: Indicate the beginning and end of the mime with the fingers.

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Mime and gesture for sounds in Fig. 46

Fig. 46: Consonants with less visible clues, needing gestures in support of mime

These movements are less visible, but gesture can help the mime. Use the ‘voice
switch’ gesture (classroom activity 15) to clarify the voiced/unvoiced
distinction.
/t œ, d3/
Mime: Clear movement of the tongue, but slower than /t, d/ as affricates are
released more gradually than plosives.
Gesture: Locate the position just behind the tooth ridge by pointing, just before
the mime. Then a small but definite slide forwards of the fingers as the sound is
released.
/k, g/
Mime: Mime the sound slowly and clearly, perhaps with the mouth a little more
open than usual.
Gesture: Indicate the velar location by touching the back of the lower jaw bone just
below the ears. Then use the gesture of drawing the sound from the mouth with
the hands while miming the sound. Use the voicing/unvoicing gesture to
distinguish /k/ from /g/.
/s, z/
Mime: The visual clues are less obvious here. However the front teeth are so close
as to be almost touching, and if initially you exaggerate the appearance by
spreading your lips, there will be evidence for the learners to build on.
Gesture: This is necessary to indicate the duration of the mime, and to distinguish
voicing from unvoicing. For /s/ I sometimes gesture the hissing sound that snakes
are supposed to make while making a snaky, wiggling movement with my hand.
For /z/1 sometimes mime the buzzing of a bee while making a hand gesture to
indicate its unpredictable flight. Simple, and it always works.
/ œ , 3/
Mime: I usually mime / œ / first, by rounding my lips while holding my forefinger to
my lips to indicate ‘hush’. Then with a gesture I invite the learners to say it. Then
since / œ/ + voice = /3/, I can derive /3/ from / œ/ by using the voice switch.
/n/
Indicate the ridge behind the top teeth and conspicuously place your tongue there
to indicate that that is where the air flow is blocked (approximately the same place
as for /t/ or /d/). As you exhale, ‘pull’ the air flow from your nose.
/ƾ/
As with the other three nasals, you need to show where the air flow is blocked and
diverted through the nose. With the flat of my hand I indicate the block to the air
flow at the velum by pressing the side of my hand against the angle between my
throat and chin. At the same time my mouth is open and my tongue visibly back.
Then once again I ‘pull the sound’ from my nose.

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/I/
This sound is all to do with tongue movement, there are no strong external clues.
But if you observe yourself in a mirror saying la la la there is quite a definite
tongue movement. I hold the initial position of tongue against tooth ridge, and as
my tongue breaks contact with the alveolar ridge I make a corresponding
downward flick with the palm of my hand in imitation of the tongue.
/r/
Again not a visual sound. I mime it slowly, which sometimes helps. To get the
right place I may start the learners from /3/, and help them to move the tip of the
tongue slightly further back. I also find it helpful to sustain the initial sound of /r/
while asking them to move the tongue up, down, forward or back.
/h/
Mime: A sigh, followed by the vowel, or take the vowel and put a sigh in front of it.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
I’ve gone to some length to describe possible mimes/gestures for the consonants.
This is a good way to focus attention on the muscular movements involved. It
can also help you to develop spoken models that have a more visual element.
There are, of course, many options besides the ones I have described here. Ŷ

Classroom activity 18 Further activities for practising consonants

Here are some activity types using the chart for further practice of consonants.
These activities are short and are quite elegant, since all you have to do is to
prompt the learners by silently pointing on the chart. As soon as you have initiated
an activity you can hand the pointer to a learner, who can continue the activity.
You don’t say anything; you are free to watch and help.
• Keep the consonant the same but change the vowel occurring with it.
• Change the consonant to compare and contrast it with other consonants on the
chart, horizontally, vertically and diagonally. Keep the vowel the same.
• Continue the first three exercises but building typical consonant clusters.
• Build words around the consonants. I prefer to keep the practice of isolated
consonants short, and as soon as possible to practise them in the context of
words (Level 2).
• Where a mother tongue consonant interferes, I would include it as an
intentional part of the practice. You can do this by assigning a symbol –
perhaps invented by the learner in question – to the mother tongue sound and
writing that symbol in its own box beside the chart or on the board. Include
that sound/symbol in the exercises described above and use it to identify,
recognize and discriminate.
• You can develop each exercise by inviting learners to explore the sounds
themselves. Remember that the pointer can be used not just to initiate a
response, but also as a response to a spoken sound or word. The various
combinations of activity possible with the pointer and chart are described in
‘Seven modes of chart usage’ (see Section 4).

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10 Working with mistakes

Ear and mouth training for teachers
Awareness of what you – the teacher – do with your own speech organs to make
and alter sounds, stress and intonation is the basis of your insight and creativity. It
is much easier to ‘do’ things to your learners that you have already ‘done’ to
yourself. If you are not aware of and not able to control consciously your own
articulation of sounds, then you will not have a very rich experience to draw on to
diagnose or work on learner problems.
It is not enough merely to read descriptions of articulations and as a result to
‘know’ from the outside how it all works. It must be experienced from inside the
various sound production mechanisms, and linked with what your ear hears. Ear
training and mouth training therefore must be developed together in the teacher.
That is what the discovery toolkit of this book is for.

Being ‘with’ the learner

Correction is not simply the eradication of mistakes, but an opportunity to
engage learners in their learning, and to assist them to develop the inner criteria
that can help them to drive their own self-correction. I see ‘mistakes’ as an
instrument that enables learners to experiment, to see what happens, and to get
feedback that can guide their own investigation. It is not a mistake I am working
with, it is a person. Through recognizing the validity of mistakes I create
opportunities to nurture the learners’ learning processes, to encourage
experimentation, to encourage them to be curious about their own performance,
and to develop a positive and robust concept of their own learning abilities. In a
sense mistakes are the most precise syllabus. They show me exactly where the
learner is and what they need to do next.

Mistakes as opportunities
Mistakes are:
• evidence that a particular item is not yet ready to be delegated to the more
automatic functionings that produce our speech;
• an opportunity to pay attention to something that the learner is doing, and to
something the learner isn’t doing, and to the difference between them;
• a window of opportunity for you, the teacher, to watch and to be with the
learner, and to look for the exact point at which you can make the most
economical intervention with the most effect.

Learners’ attitudes to mistakes

A healthy attitude on the part of learners towards their own mistakes is important.
Problems arise when the main way for learners to feed their self-esteem is to be
correct in the eyes of the teacher, their peers or themselves. The more afraid they
are of being wrong the less they are likely to be able to take the risks that might
lead to discovery. And the more they focus only on trying to be correct, the more
they may feel constrained to play safe by resorting to intellect or calculation at the
expense of other intuitive and creative faculties.

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The teacher’s attitude to mistakes

This attitude of the learners towards their own mistakes seems to be influenced by
the teacher’s attitude. There are three areas where your outlook on mistakes can
affect the psychological learning climate of your class:
• Your attitude towards your own mistakes. If you are particularly intolerant or
anxious about your own mistakes you may project this anxiety onto the class,
perpetuating a discomfort, an embarrassment or a sense of failing in making
mistakes.
• Your attitude towards your learners’ mistakes. You may think that learner
mistakes are evidence that they are learning, but are you really interested, and
do you inspire curiosity? Are you patient in front of your learners’ mistakes, or
do you pretend you are while inwardly wishing your learners would be
correct? Do you take the opportunity to work with mistakes, or do you
exercise such a strong preference for correctness that there is little space left
for hunch, intuition and inspired guessing?
• Your view of how the learners themselves feel about their own mistakes. Do you
assume that they are not interested in them, and that at best they only want
to get it right and move on? Do you confirm them in their own attitude towards
their mistakes by your own attitude? How can your attitude help them to use
their own mistakes to advantage?

Some definitions: slips and errors

I use the term mistake to refer to something that at that moment is not acceptable.
It could turn out to be either a slip or an error.
The mistake is a slip when the learner already has the inner criteria for self-
correction but isn’t applying them at the moment, perhaps because her attention
is elsewhere, or perhaps at the moment she is not recalling the criteria, though she
might recognize them. At some level she already knows what is required for
correctness.
By error I mean that the learner does not yet have the criteria for correctness. This
is something new that she cannot work out for herself.
In practice the distinction is sometimes not as clear as I’ve just implied.

Three kinds of correction

I am using the word correction to cover three types of event:
Correction type 1. The learner changes the mistake to something acceptable,
but without insight or knowing why. An outer change without a corresponding
inner move.
Correction type 2. The learner gains some insight into what is acceptable in the
target language, but is not immediately able to get her mouth round it. There is an
inner movement of insight not yet manifested through the speech organs, though
that will follow.
Correction type 3. The learner changes the mistake and gains insight. An outer
and an inner movement take place together.

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Various forms of telling or giving the correction – including learner-learner

correction – can achieve outer change without inner insight. Alternatively inner
insight can occur without outer change when a degree of insight is gained without
the learner yet being able to change a muscular habit of the mother tongue.

Self-correction
For self-correction to occur the learner has to hear herself. She has to hear what
she said in order to be ‘jarred’ by it, in order to discover that what she has done
offends her own budding criteria. She has to be creatively dissatisfied with what
she has said. Otherwise self-correction can’t proceed. I have often seen teachers
(including myself) enthusiastically drawing self-correction from a learner in a
way that is no more than thinly veiled teacher coercion.
Self-correction can happen where the mistake is a slip, though you may need to
help it along. In the case of an error an attempt at self-correction, or enforced self-
correction, can lead to guesswork which may or may not be helpful. The
appearance of self-correction can take place with an error, but in this case some
of the prompting that the learner is given forms sufficient new information to
trigger a new learning.
Just guessing in itself – though a useful activity – is not self-correction if there is
no recognition by the learner of the right version when she accidentally hits on it.

Two strategies
A slip requires one strategy. The learner needs the least help that is sufficient to
activate her existing criteria for correctness. An error requires another strategy.
The learner has to be given something new, as she cannot derive correctness from
what she knows so far.
Both strategies can be carried out in hundreds of different ways; both are valid
when used in the right context. Both can become invalid when the teacher is out
of touch with what the learner can do at that moment and uses one strategy
instead of the other. For example, the second strategy is often used by teachers
instead of the first, particularly when they want to go quickly. Typically the
teacher or another class member tells the learner the correction. But something is
lost when the learner is given a correction which she could have arrived at for
herself. Teachers also use the first strategy in place of the second. When this
happens the learner is encouraged to self-correct although she does not have the
criteria or experience or information to do so.

Eliciting and telling

These two strategies roughly correspond to telling and eliciting. This is also the
difference between I tell you and I help you to tell yourself. Sometimes you may
hear people equating telling with more traditional approaches, and eliciting with
more progressive approaches. I think this is misleading. Perhaps it is true that
many traditional approaches adopted telling too often, and perhaps it is also true
that more recently eliciting has sometimes been over-used. There is nothing
wrong with either strategy when it is used to do the job to which it is suited, and
broadly speaking eliciting may be appropriate to working with slips, and telling to
working with errors.

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A third strategy: the least that is sufficient

The rather gross distinction between telling and eliciting disappears if we adopt a
more subtle rule of thumb, which is, whatever the cause of the mistake, to give the
learner the least that is sufficient. According to this principle you vary the help you
give from the smallest clues that may trigger a learner’s not-quite-active
knowledge, to wholesale corrections if that is what they need. Thus over the
period of working with the mistake – say a few seconds or a couple of minutes -
you continually adjust the density of your intervention until you reach the point
where the learner can make something from it.
This is in contrast to a more rigid kind of correction where one level of
intervention or help is given, and possibly repeated, even though the learner can’t
respond to the intervention. An example is when eliciting is overdone and the
learner is given too much time to give an answer that she hasn’t got.

Multisensory dimensions to sounds and to changing them

Working with sounds need not – and should not – be confined to the aural sense. I
have already referred to the importance of the visual and muscular/tactile
sensation in pronunciation work, and appealing to the different senses is
particularly important in helping to make pronunciation work as vivid and
engaging as possible. When helping learners to get free of the grip of their mother
tongue pronunciation, you could try some less usual types of instructions.

Appealing to the tactile sense

Sounds can be treated as plastic, tactile, malleable and can be moulded and
shaped. Instructions could include exhortations such as ‘Make it longer!’ ‘Stretch
it!’ ‘Make it shorter!’ ‘Smoother!’ ‘More sudden!’

Appealing to the visual sense

When we talk of ‘clarity’ of speech we already hint at a visual quality of sound. We
can also ‘see’ sounds just as lip readers do when they observe the muscular
movements that make the sounds. Instructions could include ‘Watch my lips’
(while I mime). ‘Move the tongue back like this!’ ‘Shape your lips like this.’ ‘Does
he look relaxed?’ ‘Try to look like this while you say it!’

Appealing to the aural/musical sense

Sounds can be made harmonious. When we try to change a phoneme we are
simply modifying some of the harmonics. Instructions could include ‘Listen to
the others while you say it yourself!’ ‘What is the song of this sound?’ ‘Say it with
more music’ ‘Make it sing!’

Appealing to the sense of taste

I may ask learners to ‘taste’ the pronunciation of a word or phrase we are working
on. It is just an invitation to attend to the muscular sensation in the mouth.
Instructions could include ‘Say it slowly as if it tastes very good!’ ‘Taste that
sound!’ ‘Compare the flavour of these two words!’ ‘Which tastes better?’

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Internal sensation
Learners can feel their own speech by touching their throats at the front.
Instructions could include ‘Put your hand on your throat!’ ‘Where in your mouth
does that sound vibrate?’

Appealing to feeling
‘Feel it!’ ‘Say it as if you enjoy it!’ ‘Say it with sadness!’ ‘Say it with boredom!’
‘Which sound do you prefer?’

Awareness and attention

Instructions can include ‘Notice exactly what you do!’ ‘Now do it differently!’
‘Now make that sound in your own language!’ ‘And now in English!’ ‘Notice the
difference!’ ‘Notice how you can change it!’ or, ‘Notice how at the moment you
can’t change it!’ (though you changed that other one yesterday and you’ll
probably change this one tomorrow!).

Classroom activity 19 One approach to correcting sounds

This basic procedure has many variations and many applications. The application
here is for pronunciation slips and errors. (In Level 2 there is a version that
incorporates finger correction (page 160), and that can be used for pronunciation,
grammatical and semantic corrections.) Here is a basic procedure:
The learner makes a mistake (a slip or an error) at a point when you are working
on individual sounds in isolation.
1 Pause the learner with a gesture. (The unspoken message is Are you sure about
that?) This may help her to hear it again internally, and may be sufficient to
trigger her internal knowledge of what is correct. If she tries to change in the
right direction, or even corrects herself, then it was a slip. If she cannot help
herself then you have to make your intervention one degree more ‘dense’.
2 Without referring to the chart you invite her to say her mistake again, perhaps
slowly. This may help her sense more exactly what she is doing with her
speech muscles and how that relates to the sound she hears herself making.
This awareness could be enough to trigger her self-correction, and if so it was
a slip, and the lesson proceeds. If not then your intervention needs to be yet
more focused.
3 At this point you could offer her some intervention such as pointing to the
chart, or miming, or gesturing, or referring to another learner, or referring back
to a previous time when she said it well, or referring to another word containing
the required sound, etc. Once again the aim is to offer a definite piece of help
which triggers her self-direction rather than undermining it. This intervention
could enable her to self-correct if it was a slip, and if it was an error the
interventions may offer sufficient clues of new information for her to realize
what has to be done.
If this does not help her it seems likely that this is an error that she cannot at
the moment fix by herself, and at this point she needs to be given some piece
of data that she does not have. Your intervention now becomes not just
catalytic but informative and instructive.

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4 You use one of the four types of model, or some other prompt. This may be
given by another learner, or by yourself, or taken from the tape, etc. (See ‘Four
ways of giving models’, Section 6, p110.)

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The issue here is how to honour and promote the learner’s capacity to self-direct
and self-correct, while not trying to elicit something that isn’t there. This is why I
favour interventions that are open-ended to start with, and that gradually become
more closed, more dense, more informative. The question is What is the least
intervention that is sufficient? Overdo the intervention and you direct the learner,
who would have been better off directing herself. Underdo the intervention and
you leave the learner without a framework within which to correct herself, or
without a piece of information she needs.
Throughout a correction sequence it is important to involve everyone, even if
only one person is overtly active. You can involve other learners not by asking
them to demonstrate or give help, but by inviting them to upgrade their own
pronunciation of the sound. Thus all participants are investigating the
sound/word at their own level of proficiency. From this variety the learner in
question may well ‘catch’ what to do. Ŷ

Techniques for working with mistakes

The next few pages outline a variety of ways of working with mistakes, and of
upgrading learner pronunciation. Each of the approaches outlined here can give
rise to many specific techniques.

Initial questions
1 What exactly am I going to focus on? There may be a single isolated mistake, a
series of different but more or less isolatable mistakes, or a general
unacceptability which makes it difficult to unravel specific mistakes.
2 Have any of these been consciously worked on before?
3 How long shall we give it? Do I want to work further with this at the moment?
Do I at the moment just want to eradicate the mistake in the simplest way
possible (probably by instruction), or shall we take a moment to gain more
insight into it?
4 What kind of mistake – is it a slip or an error?
5 Shall we do something now or later?
6 Is this wrong pronunciation in fact a good pronunciation of another sound? If
so can I indicate that on the chart, so that the learner can see where she is?

Plotting the learner’s correction route

When trying to help a learner with a not-quite-right sound, first I find the sound
the learner is making in my own mouth and throat. Then I find the sound I am
helping her to make. By saying these two sounds one after the other I highlight the
difference between the two, and I make clear to myself the route that the learner
has got to take. This helps me see what has to be done. I can do this silently to
myself or aloud, in which case the learner may benefit from overhearing me. I can
even ask the learner to teach me her mistake, which may give her insight into it.

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Minimal response
Another minimal convention that I find effective is that if I make no response
apart from my continued attention, then whatever is being done is at an
acceptable standard for the time being. In other words I will intervene when the
learners need something from me and not when they don’t. This reduces the
impulse to keep approving the learners’ right actions, often by showing
transparently artificial pleasure.

Teacher gives correction

Choose from the four types of model and their variations. Experiment with the
whole range. Adapt them to make them yours. Take risks and experiment with
gesture and mime. It doesn’t matter what you do, the question is how does it help?

Gesture
Gestures when used consistently and economically can convey with surprising
directness a range of crucial articulatory features. With a little practice, you can
build up your own repertoire of gestures to convey such things as jaw position
and degree of opening of mouth; tongue position; lip rounding and spread; nasal;
voiced and unvoiced sounds; more or less energy in articulation; stopping sounds
suddenly or gradually; glide in diphthongs; deletion or addition of sounds;
adjustments to stress, rhythm and intonation; etc.

Mime
When miming sounds, words or phrases, you are drawing attention to certain
visual features of articulation and energy distribution simply by going through
the motions silently but in a slightly exaggerated way. This can often be useful
when learners have got a bit tied up with the sounds themselves and need a
different starting point.

Instructions leading to insight

Try to extend your range of instructions and interventions. I have found the most
potent instructions to be: ‘Say it very slowly!’ ‘Change it!’ ‘Say it in English!’ The
following paragraphs deal with these three instructions.

‘Say it very slowly!’

When intervening to change the sound a learner is making I find it helpful to ask
them to slow the sound right down. This enables me to see and hear what is
going on in much more detail, and it strengthens the speaker’s internal sensation
of what he is doing with his muscles and how that relates to the sound he is
making.
On this basis, and still with the sound slowed down, I can indicate changes for the
learner to make. When he has made a change in the right direction I ask him to
speed it up again as much as he is able while retaining the change. It’s like putting
the sound under a microscope in order to perceive the detail and alter some parts
without changing others.

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‘Change it!’
This seems to be a very useful instruction, especially when a learner has got stuck
in an articulatory rut from which he can only seem to offer the same wrong sound
again and again. My aim is to help him to change one variable, whatever it is
(perhaps simply to make it longer or shorter), so as to keep him in contact with
the muscles that are shaping the sound.
To help him to do this I may say ‘Change it!’ or ‘Make it different!’ and if he does
so then I may repeat the instruction to yield another change, and so on several
times, all the time giving him feedback on any changes that bring him
significantly nearer the target sound.
Once the learner has released himself from the constraints of his mother tongue
he sometimes arrives quickly at the target sound. And if not he can still learn two
things: that I am patient and that it’s OK by me if he doesn’t reach the target
sound; and that I am glad to see him explore what he can do with his mouth and
sharpen what he can perceive with his ear.

‘Say it in English!’
Ask the learner to say the sound as it might be in his own language (Spanish,
Arabic, etc). Recognize the learner’s own language, recognize the difference,
recognize that he can make some kind of change from one to the other even if it is
not exactly right. It is interest in the process that we want to inspire at the
moment. Correctness will be a product of that. This instruction also challenges
learners to build their own criteria of Englishness.
I make particular use of this question after learners have focused on some aspect
of accuracy (of a sound, a grammar point, a sequence of words, etc) and though
they now have the ‘correct things in the correct order’ it no longer sounds like
English as it has lost life and fluency. So with this instruction I challenge them to
bring it back to fluency with some speed, energy and precision.

Questions leading to insight

The aim of these questions is to direct the learner’s attention to what he is doing so
that he can become more self-directing. Questions that can induce awareness include
‘noticing questions’ such as ‘Which one sounds more English?’ ‘How many
sounds?’ and at Level 2, ‘How many stresses?’ ‘How many letters/words/syllables?’

‘Which sounds more English?’

This is a simple and interesting technique. Whenever two or more pronunciations
or stress patterns are offered by the class, of which only one is correct, ask
‘Which is more English?’ and then have them give the differing versions or say it
the different ways yourself. This calls on learners’ own knowledge of
‘Englishness’, and I am sometimes surprised by how often the class as a whole
chooses the right version. But if they don’t it doesn’t matter; what’s important is
the invitation to test their own criteria of Englishness followed by immediate
feedback from you.

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‘How many sounds?’

When I can see that one or more learners are confused by the sequence of sounds
in a word, or are omitting or adding sounds, or are unable to point out a word on
the chart, I may ask ‘How many sounds?’ In order to count them they have to play
the word slowly through in their mind’s ear, trying to separate the sounds and to
hear where one sound ends and the next one begins. They usually come up with a
range of different answers, which tells me something about each individual’s
perception of sounds, and we go through it together, me counting on my fingers
while they say what they think each sound is. Then we join the sounds together to
say the word fluently, and we find that some of the problems of perception and
articulation have been ironed out. Someone then comes up to point it out on the
chart.

Using the chart in the language laboratory

Have the chart on display at the front of the language laboratory when you are
working on pronunciation exercises. Use it to give guidance to the whole class on
the aims of the exercises they are doing, and also use it to clarify the help you
give to individual learners.

Using pocket mirrors

Mirrors can be useful in helping learners to become more aware of their own lip,
tongue and jaw movements and so perhaps more aware that these are things
which can be changed. This in turn may incline them to be more observant of
these variables when they watch you model sounds or words, and perhaps to
study native speakers more closely. Encourage your learners to ‘look English’ and
‘feel English’ when they speak. If possible, arrange for them to watch themselves
speaking English on video.

Using diagrams
A simplified mouth diagram such as the one below can be a useful instrument to
help learners become more conscious of their speech organs and can be used to
illustrate some key features of vowels and consonants.

Fig. 47a: Draw this mouth outline on the board. You can draw the tongue with a dotted line, or
indicate the tongue with a finger or pen held against the diagram to show its movement in
relation to other parts of the mouth.

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Fig. 47 b-e: These four diagrams show how you can indicate points of contact for consonants.

Grouping the learners by their mistakes

You can group together those learners making the same mistake and see if they
can sort it out. Or ask them to group themselves. Or pair those that can do it with
those that can’t and see if peer help is useful. Make sure you challenge those who
can say it correctly so that everyone knows they have room for improvement.

Exploiting the chart layout

Use the logic of the layout of the chart to relate sounds to each other, and to
improve one sound by contrasting it with the one next to it on the chart, etc. Once
you have studied the reasons behind the layout of the chart (see discovery toolkit
Level 1), you will find that many ways of correcting sounds and arriving at new
ones are suggested by the arrangement.
Here are some examples:
You can get a learner to change a sound by ‘colouring’ it with another
neighbouring one; you can make use of the front-back spectrum in both the
consonant and monophthong section; you can approach difficult sounds through
other sounds. For example, if someone seems unable to discriminate /ȁ/ from / /,
try approaching /ȁ/ from /æ/, which is further forward. If there is trouble making
the sound /æ/, then try approaching it from above by going through /i / and then
/e/, and then extending to /æ/, all of them front vowels with the jaw gradually
opening.

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Recording the group

Record a small sample of each learner – perhaps only one sentence each. This
could be spontaneous speech or something prepared. Play it to the group and ask
them to notice:
• characteristics of each speaker;
• one or two non-English sounds each speaker is making;
• similarities and differences between speakers;
• what it is about the voice quality of each speaker that enables all listeners to
identify who it is;
• what each speaker thinks or feels when they hear themselves;
• what each person’s voice tells listeners about the speaker.

Discussion
Discussion can be about the content of what we are doing and also about the
process of doing it and how each person experiences that. Discussion can provide
opportunities for feedback from learners on their pronunciation experiences, their
feelings about making themselves sound different, their shared difficulties
and frustrations, which sounds they think they have made progress on and where
work is still needed, problems with stress, connected speech, intonation and so
on. Discussion can also be aimed at clarifying the manner and place of specific
articulations and sharpening learners’ perception of what they are trying to do. The
discussion can take place in whichever language is most convenient to those
present. Your main aim is to listen and understand and support, rather than defend
or hold forth.

Amount of energy
Over-exertion is a typical feature of the pronunciation learning process and one
that we need to watch and understand. Sometimes it can indicate the summoning
of the learner’s attention and energy to break into a new and unfamiliar
articulation, and at other times it can prevent just such a discovery from taking
place. So getting the learner to put more or less energy into his articulation is
another variable at your disposal. What we are aiming for is maximum clarity of
articulation with minimum energy. Instructions include ‘Let go more!’ ‘Relax a
bit!’ ‘Mumble like this!’ or ‘Attack the sound!’

Using the discovery activities

The awareness-raising activities in the discovery toolkit (Part 1) of this book are a
source of activities for your learners, especially if you adapt them to suit your
teaching and their learning style.

Involving the whole class in one person’s mistake

I find that there is more time and less sense of pressure if I involve everyone in
one person’s mistake. It might go like this:
1 Work as usual with the mistake of one learner.
2 Invite the attention of the others with a gesture, as if to say ‘Watch carefully,
this is interesting.’

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3 While still working with the first learner, invite the others to practise the sound
individually, and to make it as ‘English’ as they can.
4 When the first learner has finished, invite the others to try their version, but with
the clear intention of seeing what their own best effort is, rather than simply as
an example to the first learner. On hearing the various suggestions from the class
the original learner may show recognition of his mistake or of the correction. You
can also ask him to choose which of the offerings sounds most English.
This helps to find out where the others stand on the issue raised by this mistake.
To what extent do any of them share the same problem? How many have the
knowledge to correct it?
In this way every mistake offers an occasion for diagnosis, feedback and insight
into your learners’ learning styles. It can be an event for the whole class.

Commentary on the approaches offered above ŶŶŶ

The techniques described above are not specific recipes, but general procedures
which can be adopted and adapted in different ways to broaden and enrich your
existing repertoire. Each one can give rise to a whole range of techniques.
The emphasis here has been on helping the learner to improve either without the
aid of an oral model from the teacher, or at least with the minimum amount of
verbal noise from the teacher. This does not mean the teacher is silent, just that
the teacher takes care to offer the least that is sufficient to do the job, and does not
solve for the learner what he could solve for himself. It has to do with the teacher
not getting in the way of the learning.
If you decide to build up a range of more silent teaching and correcting
techniques you could begin with some of the suggestions given here and
experiment and adapt. You will notice how when you talk less in class, even a little
less, you somehow create for yourself more space in which to think about what
you are doing and observe its effect on your learners. You may also find that you
feel more relaxed and more in touch with what’s going on.
When I am working with learners I have the view that they are all capable of any
pronunciation as long as they have throats, mouths, tongues and breath. If a
learner can’t make a certain pronunciation change then it’s for a good reason.
And if I want to get behind that reason, then I have to be very watchful. I see
myself as searching for an ‘invisible thread’; when I help the learner to pull it, it
will somehow precipitate the new sound in that learner. If I pay close attention to
that person’s learning process and take opportunities as they arise I increase the
chances of finding the invisible thread and tricking the two guardians of the
mother tongue pronunciation, namely the habits of the mouth and the habits of
the ears.
If English is not your first language, it may be that you are uncertain of your own
pronunciation. Well, don’t worry! You may have an advantage over native
teachers because most of them do not consciously know how they produce their
pronunciation, whereas you have had to work for your English and have actually
done what you are asking your learners to do. But, you say, surely my learners are
going to imitate my accent? Well, yes and no. Because when you use silent
correction techniques your learners cannot rely on your spoken model but are

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required to search for their own criteria. On the basis of that they make their best
effort and it is your ear that judges their efforts. In other words, your receptive
criteria rather than your productive ability sets the standard. At the same time
these techniques ask you to listen very carefully, to demand the best from
everyone, to experiment and explore, and you are likely to find that your own
pronunciation loosens and changes at the same time. In my view a mark of the
very best teaching is that the teacher is learning along with the students. Ŷ

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Level 2 Words in isolation
1 Establishing the sound flow 145
2 Working with the spelling-pronunciation link 146
3 Word stress: working with words of two or more syllables 151
4 Word stress and Cuisenaire rods 154
5 Finger correction 160
6 Integrating the learner’s dictionary with pronunciation work 166
7 Lip reading, ventriloquism, pronunciation and vocabulary 169

Introduction
At Level 1 we focused on the recognition and articulation of the individual
sounds of the English phonemic set. The classroom toolkit of Level 1 aimed to
develop an attentive ear and a more conscious control of the speech organs.
At Level 2 we focus on the way individual sounds are strung together into a flow
to make up individual words. A spoken word has its own characteristic sound
flow, which is more than the sum of its separate sounds because each sound
influences or overlaps with the articulation of its neighbour. This is referred to as
co-articulation. The aim of the Level 2 classroom toolkit is to work with
techniques that develop learners’ capacity to receive, process and produce these
English sound flows.
The way in which the sounds of a word flow together, and the way in which word
stress affects the distribution of energy across the syllables, combine to yield the
identity of words spoken in isolation. Sound flow and word stress cannot be
separated entirely from each other.
The actual selection of words to be studied at Level 2 depends on what you select
from your course materials and on what your learners bring. In your general
vigilance over pronunciation quality you will find all sorts of opportunities to
refer to the chart to upgrade or draw attention to particular pronunciations
during any classroom activity. Every time you do this you not only attend to the
specific difficulty but you also help to strengthen your learners’ capacity for
watchfulness.

1 Establishing the sound flow

Classroom activity 20
1 Visually dictate words from the phonemic chart by touching each sound in turn
with the pointer.
2 Learners either say each sound as it is pointed out and then join the sounds
together, or they remain silent while watching the pointing, retaining the sounds
internally, and then saying the connected word aloud.

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3 Listen and see how well the learners are managing to say the word.
4 Your options at this point are:
• to leave it at that and continue the lesson;
• to isolate problem sounds and work with them (Level 1 focus);
• to help improve the flow of sounds/fluency (Level 2 focus);
• to focus on the stress pattern (Level 2 focus).

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You can extend and vary this work using any of the seven modes described in the
classroom toolkit (Level 1 Section 4). The chart is an instrument which allows
you to focus learners’ attention on any individual sound or group of sounds in
the word. For example, you can focus on vowel quality and vowel length, and
help mould them as required. Or you can pay attention to consonant clusters,
practising the sounds separately and together. You can check that vowels are not
intruding where they shouldn’t, and you can practise the same cluster in different
contexts simply by pointing on the chart without speaking yourself.
You can take the opportunity to work on the typical intonation pattern for single-
syllable words spoken in isolation, perhaps a falling tune from mid to low. This
intonation has no meaning in that it is not chosen by the speaker to emphasize
part of a message. But by keeping several variables in play at the same time (eg
varying pitch while practising stress or sound flow) it is possible to engage
learners’ attention and to encourage practice without repetition.
As at Level 1, attention to detail need not be primarily aimed at getting learners
to be correct, but at helping them to be more perceptive, to notice what they are
saying, and so to be able to change it at will. Correctness is a by-product of
noticing. Ŷ

2 Working with the spelling-pronunciation link

You can use the phonemic chart to highlight the links between the alphabetical
spelling of a word and its pronunciation. Teachers too easily project the negative
suggestion that English spelling is hard because there are as many exceptions as
there are rules. A few centuries ago English spelling closely reflected the
pronunciation of the writer, so that individual and regional variations in spelling
were both permissible and natural. However, with the invention of the printing
press, spelling gradually became standardized and fixed while pronunciation
continued to evolve. The result today is that most phonemes can be represented
by a number of different spellings in different words.
Instead of worrying about the consequent lack of clear spelling rules, and so
inducing doubt in our learners’ minds, we can create conditions in which they
can face the facts of English spelling boldly and playfully, and can internalize
spelling-pronunciation relationships in their own way. Here are some suggestions
for developing sensitivity to these links, an alternative (or a supplement) to the
process of handing down lists of spelling rules and exceptions.

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Classroom activity 21 Inferring spelling from pronunciation

Encourage your learners to try to infer spelling from pronunciation and vice versa,
without necessarily feeling obliged to account for or explain the links. Here is a
toolkit of four questions that I have found simple and subtle for doing this job.
Awareness question 1: ‘How do you think this is said?’
• A learner puts the written form of a word on the board and you ask ‘How do
you think this is said?’
• The learners try their versions aloud, and you invite everyone to listen to
each, attending to the differences and trying to decide which they think is
most likely to be the English version.
• Then, if they haven’t spotted it, you can point out the English pronunciation on
the chart, or say it yourself, or invite them to check in the dictionary.
Awareness question 2: ‘How many sounds does it have?’
• When faced with a doubtful word, ask ‘How many sounds does it have?’
Perhaps the learners have the spelling in front of them, or perhaps they hear
you or another person say the word.
• When they have counted, ask them each to give their estimate and then go
through it together aloud saying the sounds one at a time, perhaps using the
chart at the same time to clarify.
• When you have the right sounds in the right order, say ‘Now in English,
please!’ in order to link the sounds together into a smooth flow, and bring it
from a Level 1 utterance to a Level 2 utterance.
Awareness question 3: ‘How do you think this is spelled?’
• Say the word aloud and ask ‘How do you think this is spelled?’
• Invite learners to come to the board, several at a time, to write up their
suggestions.
• Invite them to study each other’s suggestions, and perhaps to improve on
them.
• Ask them to use a dictionary to check hypotheses and to discuss what they
find.
Awareness question 4: ‘How many letters does it have?’
This question can be useful if learners have got stuck on question 3. It calls for a
different internal response:
• If they have heard the word and are having trouble spelling it I may ask ‘How
many letters does it have?’ This requires them to separate out the letters in
their mind’s eye.
• When they have counted, ask them each to give their estimate and go through
it on the board.

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
There is nothing new about these four questions. What is important is the way
they are asked and the reason for asking them. The aims are:
• For learners to become aware of their own perceptions (eg of pronunciations
and spellings) by getting them first to identify their perceptions, and then to
commit themselves to them.
• For learners to notice how their perception differs from that of other class
members, and how it might differ from their own perception of a moment ago.
I want to enable them to ‘see their own learning’.
• For learners to draw conclusions from all the discrepancies in the class and to
use discrepancies as a resource.
• For learners to develop their own internal criteria of ‘Englishness’, and to learn
to trust their hunches.
• To invite learners to test out their own hypotheses. This requires that they be
invited to have hypotheses in the first place. It is vital that these are not just
‘teacher’s questions’, but opportunities to show and share your own genuine
curiosity.
• To make contact with each learner’s inner world of perception. A learner’s
answer to the question ‘How many sounds are there?’ can help to reveal the
cause of mispronunciation. Ŷ

Classroom activity 22 Vocabulary and phonemic spelling

Let it become quite natural to write phonemic and alphabetic spellings alongside
each other on the board. When the alphabetic spelling has been written up, ask
a volunteer to come up and write the phonemic spelling beside it, or vice versa.
Encourage your learners to do the same when they record vocabulary in their
notebooks. Wherever possible, let learners do the writing at the board.

Classroom activity 23 Transforming spelling into pronunciation

1 Learners select and write on the board about ten recently learned words. They
can have different numbers of syllables.
2 Divide the class into two teams. Each team takes it in turn to send a member
up to the board who selects one of the words by underlining it, and then tries to
point out its pronunciation on the chart.
3 If the person at the board makes a mistake you ‘pause’ the pointer at the place
where the mistake is, and then pass the pointer to a member of the other team,
who tries the same word again from the beginning.
4 This continues until the word is correctly pointed out, which earns a point. The
word is then crossed off the list. The game finishes when all the words have
been used up.

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Variations
You can also play the game the other way round, that is going from sound to
spelling. In this case, the exact phonemic spelling is pointed out on the chart
without speaking. The other team have to say the word and try to infer its spelling
using their experience of what is possible in English, and using the dictionary to
check. Members of the team come up to the board and write the spelling. You
‘pause’ them where a mistake is made, and the chalk or board pen passes to the
other team.
It helps if you give learners a couple of minutes to investigate the words in their
dictionaries before the game.
This works well as a team game, but you could have people working simply for
themselves, or with a large class you could use several teams.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The fact that you ‘pause’ the pointer or chalk, and then hand it to the other team
as soon as a mistake is made, is a convention that encourages watchfulness on the
part of all the other learners because they are having their own knowledge put to
the test at the same time as the one who is at the chart. When their turn comes
they know that everything up to the point of the mistake is acceptable.
The relationship between sound and spelling can become significant just through
being observed. There may be no need to explain or give rules. Intuition is a
powerful instrument and has to be used at the point where cognitive explanation
is not possible or is too complex. Ŷ

Classroom activity 24 Exploiting the origins of spelling mistakes

There are several good reasons for making intelligent spelling mistakes. The
interference can be from simple lack of knowledge, but it can also be from
mother tongue spelling forms, from individuals’ own associations, and from
pronunciation. A mistake can tell a story which contains its own insight and you
can use this as an opportunity to investigate and practise pronunciation. Here is
a procedure:
1 Ask a learner to say aloud a word she has misspelled.
2 Help her to focus precisely on the articulation of the sounds by slowing her
speech down. You may now see that the spelling mistake is a reflection of the
way she is pronouncing the word.
3 Help her to make changes to individual sounds (Level 1) if necessary.
4 Join the sounds together again and bring the pronunciation up to speed
(Level 2).
5 Now ask her if she wants to change the spelling. Let her try her hunch and
help her if necessary.

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Variation
After a piece of written work has been corrected (by the author, by peers or by
you), ask the authors:
1 To select their own most interesting mistake and to prepare the story of this
mistake. (By story I mean a one-sentence account of its origin.)
2 To come to the front of the class and write the mistake and the correction on
the board, and then to tell the story of the mistake (eg ‘It was a guess,’ or ‘I
said it to myself with this sound in it so that is how I spelled it,’ or ‘I was
thinking of this word XXXXX in my language,’ or The first time I heard it I
thought it had this sound in it and now I keep thinking that,’ or ‘I always
confuse it with ...,’ etc.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Mistakes can teach us a lot if we can meet them with creative curiosity. If we
teachers could apply that to our own mistakes it might begin to rub off on our
learners. Ŷ

Classroom activity 25 Finding words with a given sound

This game and its variations focus on two important fields of awareness: the
similarities and differences in quality between a phoneme in isolation and the
same phoneme embedded in a variety of words, and beyond that the relationship
between spelling and pronunciation.
1 Point to a vowel sound on the chart and ask your learners to search their
memories and write down words containing that sound. Give them a short but
sufficient time. Walking round and glancing at individuals’ lists will give you
insight into each person’s own perceptions.
2 Suggestions may be discussed in groups and put in two columns on the board,
one column thought to contain the given vowel, the other column for any
rejects. (Variation: put them all in one column initially and then discuss each in
turn.)
3 The correct column can be practised aloud to trace the same sound through a
variety of words and spellings. The words in the other column should also be
pointed out on the chart to clarify which sounds they do in fact contain, and to
locate the point of the original confusion.

Variations
When learners have developed a certain accuracy at this, you can make it more
challenging by pointing out two or even three sounds, asking learners to make two
or three lists simultaneously.
Another variation is for learners themselves to come to the chart and choose the
sound(s). You can ask them to select vowel sounds they are unsure of or that they
confuse.
A third variation is to give them a mixed group of single-syllable words and ask
them to sort them into groups according to the vowel sound.

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The chart is an instrument that enables you and your learners to clarify confusions
and to defuse confusions. This is also an opportunity to have them refer to
dictionaries to check pronunciations.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
I find this a powerful game for diagnosing which phonemes are unclear for a
learner. It also gives me access to learners’ own inner perceptions of the
pronunciation of English sounds and words. The next activity is like this but the
other way round. Ŷ

Classroom activity 26 Minimal pairs and triplets

1 Whenever you find two or three sounds that are being confused with each other,
you can put on the board a short list of words containing those sounds,
perhaps with different spellings of each sound. For example, if / /, /ȁ/ and / /
are causing problems you might choose cut, cart, cot, rough, cough, heart, love,
dance, etc.
2 Learners then group the words according to the vowel sound they contain, first
by referring to their inner pronunciation criteria, then by negotiating with each
other, and then with reference to dictionaries.
3 The game can finish with learners pointing the words out on the chart, saying
them aloud, and identifying those spellings which seem surprising.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This shows your class a way of disentangling their own confusions when they
arise. And more than that, it gives them a way of recognizing such confusions in
the first place. Step 1 can carry more weight when one or several learners put up
on the board their own list of confusing words. Ŷ

3 Word stress: working with words of two or more syllables

Word stress is a characteristic and integral part of the phonemic identity of a
word, so learning to stress the right syllable may also help to lay a sound
foundation for the perception and production of rhythm in the stream of speech.
Here are some activities that work on awareness of syllable stress. (These are
extended in the following section, which introduces the use of Cuisenaire rods.)
The placing of this stress is marked in learners’ dictionaries.

Classroom activity 27 Another set of awareness questions

Awareness question 5: ‘How many syllables are there?’
To study syllable stress learners need to be able to identify syllables. A way of
sharpening this awareness is to ask ‘How many syllables?’ with reference to any
word isolated from a text, tape or spoken by a class member. Apart from giving
rise to group discussion, the different answers to your question will tell you about
each learner’s aural perception of that word, and also about their own perception
of what a syllable is.

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Awareness question 6: ‘Which syllable is stressed?’

Having established how many syllables there are in a chosen word, you can ask
‘Which one is stressed?’ (or if the concept is new, you might prefer ‘Which one is
strongest?’) with reference either to a spoken model or to a word from a text.
This requires learners to say the word internally or aloud and to identify the
place of greater energy. Once again, class discussion and differing perceptions
can be a resource.

Awareness question 7: ‘Do you notice a difference?’

If the word has not been heard before, a revealing exercise is for you to say the
word aloud several times, shifting the stress to a different syllable each time. For
example: understand; understand; understand. You can then ask ‘Do you notice a
difference?’ which they almost certainly will, even if they can’t explain or
reproduce it.

Awareness question 8: ‘Which sounds most English?’

If in response to question 7 the learners can hear the difference, then you can ask
‘Which sounds most English?’ It is surprising how often learners can discern the
appropriate English stress pattern of words they have not met before. Finally, you
can highlight the correct version by saying it, by drawing attention to one of the
learners who has got it, or by asking them to check in their dictionaries.

Practising the stress pattern

Having isolated and drawn attention to the stressed syllable, the word can be
practised aloud using any of your usual techniques. I think it is helpful to
encourage learners to pay attention not only to the stressed syllable itself but to
the neighbouring unstressed syllables with which it is contrasted. If the word still
doesn’t sound correctly stressed, then look at both the quality of the learners’
unstress, and at the manner in which they are stressing the main syllable. Invite
them to play around with the length, pitch and volume of the stressed syllable.
If your learners are having difficulty with word stress, it may be useful to draw
attention to the three variables that can signal a stressed syllable. These are pitch
change, vowel length and volume (see discovery toolkit level 2, page 51).

Classroom activity 28 Different ways of stressing a syllable

1 Take a multi-syllable word, eg different, as an example, and ask learners ‘How
many syllables?’ and ‘Which one is stressed?’
2 Tell them you are going to try to stress the first syllable in three different
ways, but that you are not sure if you will be successful.
3 Put the words longer, higher, louder on the board.
4 Say the word different three times, stressing the first syllable by exaggerating
each variable in turn. Try to keep the other variables unchanged, so that you
have the syllable longer but not louder or higher, or louder but not higher or
longer, etc. You won’t sound very ‘English’ when you do this!
5 Ask the class to guess which variable you are trying for.

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6 It’s probably just as well if you don’t do this too well! It’s more important to
do it with humour and playfulness. The aim is to raise awareness rather than
to be right, and to put into circulation the idea that stress can be manifested
in these three ways.
7 With the class, select a few multi-syllable words, and ask them to experiment
with the three variables and to give each other feedback.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The aim is to plant an awareness rather than to demand immediate capability. It is
a way of finding out what they do with their voice, and also what else can be done.
This enables you to focus on whichever of the three variables seems to bring
about the maximum improvement in their pronunciation in any given situation.
Different mother tongue speakers may require emphasis on one or the other of
the variables. I find the length variable to be the most accessible for most learners.
Of course you can also stress with lower pitch providing there is also length or
volume. You could offer this option. Ŷ

Making word stress visible

Word stress and symbols
Once you have started to work on the perception and production of word stress,
you will need to introduce a visual symbol to represent stress that can act as a
memory hook and as a trigger for its production, in the same way as the
phonemic symbols represent the sounds.
You can use the symbol /'/ to indicate that the syllable immediately following is
stressed. You can use this with both phonemic and alphabetic spellings:
'dictionary dic'tation
/'dik œԥnrI/ /dik'teI œԥn/
The symbol is located in the top right-hand corner of the chart.
When you want to use the chart to indicate word stress, you touch the stress
symbol with the pointer at the appropriate place in the sound sequence.
When marking word stress on the board, you can either follow the dictionary
convention, or underline the stressed syllable, or put a circle or square over the
syllable.
Ƒ Ƒ
'dictionary dic'tation dictionary dictation dictionary dictation
Once we have started to mark stress, I encourage learners to do so whenever they
are noting down new vocabulary in their books or on the board.

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4 Word stress and Cuisenaire rods

Cuisenaire rods are one of the most powerful tools for language teaching that I
have discovered. The particular use that I have made in Sound Foundations draws
on a small fraction of their potential while maintaining their clarity, effectiveness,
and ease of use.
Here is a series of simple and engaging games which promote a conscious
appreciation of both appropriate and inappropriate placement of stress. Since red
rods are twice the size of white ones you will be able to tell the difference in the
illustrations.

Basic rules for Cuisenaire rods and word stress

• Only white and red rods are used.
• Any rod placed on the table represents one syllable.
• An unstressed syllable is represented by a white rod.
• A stressed syllable is represented by a red rod.
You need a small table in clear view of the class. As far as possible, the
manipulation of the rods is done by individual learners invited to come to the
table, though for some exercises it may be easier to divide learners into groups,
each with a supply of rods.

Classroom activity 29 Using Cuisenaire rods

1 Isolate the word you want to focus on and say it using the single model plus
hearing time (see p 110). Or listen to it on a tape, or simply focus on its
spelling form in a printed text.
2 The group then decides how many syllables the word contains and one learner
comes to the table to place one white rod for each syllable. The rest of the
class says each syllable aloud as she places each rod.
If the word were excellent (three syllables) she would place three rods like this:

3 The next question is, where is the stress? Any learner can come to the table
and put a red rod in place of a white one to give a profile for the word
‘excellent’. They could do this in one of three ways:

(Correct) (incorrect) (incorrect)

4 The others agree or disagree and come up to change the arrangement
accordingly. Each version is tested by saying it aloud and perhaps the dictionary
is consulted.

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
This draws attention to the stress pattern as an integral part of the identity of the
spoken word in a way that is visible, tactile and instantly changeable. It is also
under the control of the learners. This awareness can now be taken further to
strengthen their ability to articulate different stress patterns at will.
I and many other teachers have found that Cuisenaire rods can be used with
classes of fifty or more. But if you find class size is a problem, you can:
• divide the class into groups, each with a supply of rods;
• place rods directly on an OHP transparency – they show up well on the screen;
• make or obtain a few larger blocks to use in the same way. Ŷ

Classroom activity 30 Manipulating the word stress

Suppose some of your learners are finding the stress pattern of engineer difficult
to produce:
1 Ask how many syllables the word has.
2 Lay out three white rods, one for each syllable.
3 Now, in a deliberate manner, put a red rod in the place of the first white rod,
like this:

and ask them to say the word like this (ie incorrectly, with the stress on the
first syllable).

4 Then immediately move the red rod to the second syllable ...

... and ask them to say the word this way (and again incorrectly).
5 And then immediately move the red rod to the third syllable ...
... and ask them to say the word this way (this time correctly).

6 Now ask ‘Which sounds most English?’ Discuss their different answers to this
question and go back to the rods if necessary.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Do the moves with the rods swiftly so the learners can appreciate the shift of
energy between the stress placements. They should be aware of the contrast both
aurally and through internal sensation. Don’t interrupt verbally while doing this.
Try to let the rods and their configuration give the instruction.

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This exercise can help learners to arrive at an elusive stress pattern, and to
become more aware of how a small change in the distribution of energy can make
a big difference to native speakers of the language. Regarding the question
‘Which sounds most English?’ the fact that learners are often able to spot the
correct stress pattern, even with words that they seem not to have heard before,
suggests that they have already begun to internalize intuitive criteria of ‘what to
expect’ in English, based on what has been met so far. Ŷ

Classroom activity 31 Using rod profiles to give feedback to learners

This is an extension of the last game. It quite often happens that a learner ‘knows’
the correct stress pattern but is unable to make a sufficient contrast between the
stressed and unstressed syllables. Suppose, for example, the word is hotel:

1 Ask the learner to say the word aloud.

2 Give immediate visual feedback on her stress pattern using a rod profile,
without saying anything yourself, to give her a basis on which to try something
different. For example:
If she puts the stress on the wrong syllable (the first), place the rods like this:

If her stress seems acceptable, do this:

If both syllables sound to you rather strong, do this:

If both sound too weak, do this:

3 On the basis of this immediate visual feedback the learner can try to change
her stress placement, and the rest of the class can be invited to join in.

Variations
• You say a multi-syllable word and the class use the rods to show the stressed
syllable.
• A learner says a word and then lays out the rods according to what she thinks
she has said. This gives you insight into how she perceives what she is doing.
• A learner places the rods and you say the word with the stress she indicates.
She keeps changing the arrangement while listening to what she is prompting
you to say.

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 4 Word stress and Cuisenaire rods

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Having established the rules of this game you can then have learners working in
smaller groups from a selection of multi-syllable words, giving each other visual
feedback with the rods in the same way. This is good practice for both the listener
and the speaker. Ŷ

Distinguishing primary and secondary stress

Some longer words when spoken in isolation have a secondary stress as well as a
primary stress. Secondary stress is also part of the aural identity of the word and
must be taken into account when learning vocabulary. Most learners’ dictionaries
indicate secondary stress with the symbol // placed immediately before the
relevant syllable to indicate the presence of secondary stress:
civili'zation /srvilai'zeI œԥn/
In the phonemic chart the secondary stress symbol is below the primary stress
symbol in the top right-hand corner.
You can integrate the primary/secondary/unstress distinction into the use of rods
by using three different colours, green for primary stress, red for secondary and
white for unstress. These are also of three different sizes, so typical word profiles
look like this:

pronunciation

sympathetic

opportunity

This means you can adapt class activities 29, 30 and 31 to include attention to
secondary stress.
Of course it is not always helpful to distinguish too closely between primary and
secondary stress. It may be sufficient to accept a more or less equal value for
either, as long as they are both in contrast to unstressed syllables.
If you do want your learners to discover and appreciate the difference for
themselves, try the next classroom activity.

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Classroom toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

Classroom activity 32 Primary and secondary stress

1 Establish the number of syllables and stresses in the word. Do not distinguish
primary and secondary stress, but make sure all other syllables are unstressed:
fascination
2 Now ask if either of the stresses seems to be stronger. Give learners a
chance to locate the secondary stress intuitively, and to listen to you saying it.
3 Using the rods as prompts try the primary stress in both positions:

fasci'nation 'fascination
Invite the class to say it both ways, to make a clear difference, and to identify
which seems ‘more English’, or is closer to the model you gave, or closer to a
model on tape.
4 A class member can check the stress pattern in the dictionary.

Classroom activity 33 Finding word families with the same profile

1 Lay out the rods to indicate a word stress pattern. For example:

2 Ask the class to come and write on the board one or two words that have
the same pattern or profile (eg benefit, dictionary, syllable). Check their
suggestions with them to make sure they have understood the instruction.
3 Ask them to write down words that have the same profile. Invite them first to
recall words from memory, and then to look back through their notebooks, or
through their textbook. (These are scanning exercises, first scanning the
memory, and then scanning handwritten and printed text. They demand internal
representation of the words in order to check the stress pattern in the mind’s
ear.)
4 The next step is to get some of these words onto the board. One way is to
invite each person to put two or three of their words that they are sure of on the
board. Another is to ask each person to put on the board only words they are
not sure of. An alternative is for them to check their lists with a neighbour, and
then put two or three certainties and two or three doubtfuls on the board.
5 You now have on the board a list of words chosen by the class on the basis of
their perceptions of word stress, some of which belong to the profile and some
of which do not. Now go through the words with the class, noticing and clarifying
the stress pattern, and using the opportunity to work with the sounds where
necessary. Encourage learners to listen to each other, and in cases of doubt
(both yours and theirs) refer them to the dictionary. (As an alternative, you
could begin step 5 by asking learners individually to identify the odd ones out
on the board, and to come to the board and mark them.)

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 4 Word stress and Cuisenaire rods

Variations
• Omit step 3, the individual writing stage, and ask learners to write their
suggested words directly on the board. This is quicker.
• Present two rod profiles to work with at the same time. For example:

Commentary ŶŶŶ
A very simple exercise like this can engage learners at any level. But that on its
own is not enough. A good exercise or game should also give feedback on how
each learner is meeting the challenge, how each is viewing and processing the
task. This enables us to stay in touch with their efforts and so have a better idea
what to do next. And that requires us to be watchful. Just as an illustration, here
are some of the things we might learn about the learners while they are doing this
activity:
• that as the exercise proceeds many of them become more able to discern and
to reproduce stress patterns;
• that when writing their list they may confuse patterns that they can tell apart if
they say them aloud;
• that the stress profile of a word is a useful marker under which one’s memory
of words can be searched. Ŷ

Classroom activity 34 Six word stress profiles

The majority of English words fall into one of the six categories below:

As a development of activity 33 you could present all of these rod profiles together
and the class could spend a few minutes finding words for each one, perhaps by
looking at a dialogue in the coursebook and categorizing some of the words.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The outcome of this kind of activity can be to open up awareness of and
sensitivity to the stress profile of a word, so that it is more easily registered when
words are met in the future. It is another tool for the recognition and retention of
words. Ŷ

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Classroom toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

5 Finger correction
Finger correction is a technique in which you assign either the single sounds of a
word, or the individual words of a sentence, one to each finger. The aim is to
separate the flow of sounds or words for closer inspection, to carry out repairs
where necessary, and then to join the units together again into a fluent whole.
When done well, finger correction is a delight to experience. It can be quick,
specific, and supportive of the learner’s capacities. It is also striking because the
teacher is silent, and therefore does not interfere on the learner’s airwaves. It is
the most elegant oral correction system I know for facilitating self-direction where
it is possible, for giving direction when it is not, and for moving elegantly
between the two. It is correction ‘type three’, that is inner and outer correction at
the same time (see classroom toolkit Level 1, page 53).
But of course finger correction will only be as good as the intention behind it,
and the skill with which that intention is carried out. I find it helpful to divide
finger correction into two complementary functions:

Function 1 Separate into parts, locate problem, correct and join up again
The fingers are used to separate the flow of speech into the component parts, to
examine or identify the parts, and to put the parts back into a seamless flow.
In other words the fingers are used to move down a level from a flow to the
components of that flow, ie from connected speech down to individual words
(Level 3 down to Level 2), or from individual words down to individual sounds
(Level 2 down to Level 1).

Function 2 Correct mistake and shape word or utterance

The fingers are used to shape what is there, or to add something, to remove
something, to induce self-correction.

Fig. 48: Finger correction

A typical correction sequence would be: locate the problem (function 1), fix it
(function 2), and bring it back to fluency again (function 1).

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 5 Finger correction

Function 1 Level 2 – Separating words into component sounds

For finger correction you hold up one hand (the left hand if you are right-
handed), palm towards you, fingers outstretched and vertical, so that the back of
the hand and fingers are in clear view of the class. There are two basic hand
positions here: either the fingers are apart, Fig. 49a, or they are together, Fig. 49b.
For example, if we are working on the word sleep, then the fingers apart would
represent the sounds spoken separately, /s ... 1 ... i ... p/, and the fingers together
would represent the sounds spoken as one flow, /shi p/.

Fig. 49: You are looking at the teacher’s left hand from the students’ view. The first letter or
word is placed on the little finger. The arrow indicates the movement of the forefinger of the
right hand, to point out, to elicit, to phrase, to group the sounds, etc.

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Classroom activity 35 Loading sounds onto fingers

Hold your hand up ready to load, and ask learners for the individual sounds of the
word, which you assign to each finger in turn using the forefinger of your right
hand. Take for example the word awake /aweIk/. /ԥ/ is assigned to the little finger
of the left hand, /w/ to the next, /eI/to the middle finger and /k/ to the forefinger.
(Fig. 49 c-f.)

Separate sounds or single words

Now that these sounds have been ‘recorded’ onto your fingers you can require
the class to say the sounds separately (see Fig. 49g), by pointing to the sounds
in turn on your separated fingers, or you can require the word to be uttered as a
single flow (see Fig. 49h) by making a single gesture over your fingers which are
held together.

Longer words
If you have more than five sounds then you can let the sixth and seventh be
suspended in space on two invisible fingers – it works very well! Take the word
elegant /elIgԥnt/. The first five sounds are loaded onto the five fingers as
described above. The last two sounds are placed in the same way as if on a
sixth and seventh finger. This rivets attention! (See Fig. 49 i and j.)

Grouping syllables
You can group sounds into syllables, clusters and stress patterns. Suppose you
want to clarify the three syllables of elegant in order then to get the stress on
the right one. First the class say the sounds separately (see Fig. 49j), and then
you group the fingers according to the syllables and the class say the syllables
/e ... lI ... gԥnt/ (see Fig. 49k). Then you indicate the stress pattern by beating the
three syllables with your forefinger, showing the strong emphasis on the first (see
Fig. 491).

Putting it back into a single flow

Finally, by putting all your fingers together, you can indicate that all the sounds
are to be made into one single flow (see Fig. 49m).

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This is actually very simple, and it is worth taking a little time to work it out. It
takes a bit of physical co-ordination, but the act of co-ordinating yourself
physically can lead to increased mental clarity on your part which makes your
responsiveness sharper. You have to practise putting the fingers apart and
together, and getting rid of unnecessary movements.
All the above steps can be done without you saying a word once you can make
the gestures clear enough. When you are able to choose to be silent, or to choose
not to be, you gain a great deal of precision.
If you want to carry out repairs to the pronunciation of the word, you need
function 2. Ŷ

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 5 Finger correction

Function 2 Level 2 Identifying and correcting a mistake

Classroom activity 36 Correcting sounds in words

1 Load the mistake onto your fingers (function 1)
Load the word with its mistake onto your fingers as described above. If you are
working with an individual then just that person provides you with each sound in
turn while you feed them onto your fingers. The very act of loading them one at a
time onto your fingers is already part of the correction process since it provides
the learner with the opportunity to break down the word into individual sounds,
and to hear himself saying them slowly. As a result he may correct himself at
this stage. If not, then go on to step 2.

2 Pause at the mistake (function 2)

Simply take him through the sounds again and pause at the point of the mistake.
Do not make any other indication. He knows that there is something wrong here
since you have taken him here and stopped. Wait and see what he does. Does
he look blank, does he guess, can you see a look of recognition or an inward
aha! He may correct himself, but if not, go to the next step.

3 Correct the mistake (function 2)

Do so by giving the least help that is sufficient. Finger correction enables you to
shape a sound, add a sound, delete a sound, work on the stress. Each of these
is outlined below.
• Shaping a sound. Take the learner to their own wrong sound by pointing at the
appropriate finger. If he does not self-correct but you know that he is able to say
that sound, then point to it on the chart (or point to it in another word already on
the board, or mime the sound, or ask other learners to say the sound).
• Adding a sound. Point to the chart and with a gesture insert the new sound
between your fingers in the right place.
• Removing a sound. Bend that finger back at the first joint to take the sound out
of circulation, then invite the learner to join up the remaining sounds.
• Work on stress. Group the word into syllables by grouping the fingers. Using
gesture, indicate which syllables have more or less energy. Try different
patterns and ask which pattern sounds best.

4 Regain the flow (function 1)

When the repair is carried out, put your fingers together so that the individual
sounds flow together (function 1).

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Your fingers are being used to objectify and amplify certain mental processes.
Your job is to operate this amplifying system smoothly, but to have most of your
attention on what is happening in the learners, and to assist accordingly.
The fingers are used in much the same way for work at Level 3. It is more logical
to present Level 3 finger correction here rather than in the next section. So here
are the similarities and differences. Ŷ

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Classroom toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

Function 1 Level 3 Separating speech into component words

Classroom activity 37 Using fingers with connected speech

When apart the fingers represent words spoken separately, eg ‘Hold ... up ...
your ... left ... hand.’ When together they represent the words spoken as one
flow: ‘Hold up your left hand.’

Loading words onto fingers

Ask learners for the individual words of the utterance which you assign to each
finger in turn using the forefinger of your right hand. In ‘Hold up your hand,’
‘Hold’ would be assigned to the little finger of the left hand, ‘up’ to the next,
‘your’ to the middle finger and ‘hand’ to the forefinger.

Separate words or stream of speech

You can require the class to say words separately by pointing to the words in
turn on your separated fingers, or you can require the words to be uttered as a
single flow by putting your fingers together and making a single gesture.

Longer phrases
If you have more than five words then you can let the sixth and seventh be
suspended in space on two invisible fingers.

Grouping words
You can also group words into phrases and sense groups. Suppose you want to
clarify the phrasing of ‘See you in the morning’. First load the words onto your
fingers (see Fig. 50a), then group the fingers according to the phrasing (see Fig.
50b). Then indicate the stress pattern by beating the two stressed syllables with
your forefinger (see Fig. 50c).

Fig. 50a Fig. 50b Fig. 50c

Working on linking
You can take any consecutive pair of words from a phrase (eg ‘See you ...’) and
indicate them first singly with the fingers apart (Fig. 50d), and then linked with a
short flowing gesture and the two fingers together (see Fig. 50e).

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 5 Finger correction

Fig. 50d Fig. 50e

Fig. 50f

Putting it back into a single flow

Finally, by putting all your fingers together, you can indicate that all the sounds are
to be made into one single flow (see Fig. 50f).

Commentary ŶŶŶ
When done well this technique can be clear and economical. It also has great
potential for raising the level of attentiveness and expectation. Finger correction
is particularly valuable for moving effortlessly between stream of speech and
words in isolation. Ŷ

Function 2 Level 3 Correcting words and word order

Classroom activity 38 Shaping connected speech

1 Load the mistake onto your fingers (function 1)

Just doing this may enable the speaker to notice where her mistake is. If not, go
to step 2.

2 Pause at the mistake (function 2)

Simply take the learner through the words again and pause her at the point of
the mistake. She knows that there is something ‘not quite right’ since you have
paused. Watch carefully to see whether she can take the next self-correcting
step on her own or whether she needs information from you.

3 Correct the mistake (function 2)

Give the least that is sufficient while doing so. You can add a word, delete a
word, add an ending, delete an ending, work on the stress, change the word
order.
• Adding a word. Indicate the space where the word is missing and let the
learner try to supply the word. Failing that the word can be spoken or pointed
out by someone else.
• Deleting a word. Take the finger carrying the word and bend it towards you,
taking that word out of circulation. Then invite the learner to join up the
remaining words.
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Classroom toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

• Working on stress. Using gesture, indicate which syllables have more or less
energy. Try different patterns and ask which suits the context best.
• Adding an ending. Take the finger representing the word that needs an ending
and make the gesture of lengthening it a little to indicate the need to make
the word longer. If the learner needs more help, then mime the ending or
indicate it on the chart.
• Deleting an ending. Make the gesture of ‘snapping off’ the sounds on the end
of the finger in question!
• Changing the word order. Simply indicate the fingers in the order required,
while the learner(s) say each word as you indicate them.

4 Regain the flow (function 1)

When the necessary changes have been carried out the words need to be linked
together so that they flow into one another, and then the phrase needs to be
brought up to speed.

6 Integrating the learner’s dictionary with pronunciation work

You can help your learners to cultivate the habit of finding pronunciation and
word-stress information from the dictionary for themselves. Whenever queries
arise over pronunciation or stress, ask them to look them up. Perhaps the whole
class searches, while you give guidance as necessary. Alternatively, one or two can
refer to the dictionary on behalf of the rest of the class while the lesson continues.
Apart from using the dictionary to check information, you can set other
challenges which involve using the dictionary and phonemic transcription.
Careful attention to the sounds and stress pattern (the energy profile) of a word
can help learners retain and recall it by giving the brain opportunities to make
associations of word form with word meaning and syntax. Attention to
pronunciation provides the memory with another hook, a more vivid opportunity
for association.

Classroom activity 39 Vocabulary, the dictionary and phonemic spelling

The following activities illustrate some ways of bringing together pronunciation,
stress, spelling and meaning:
1 Point out a new word on the chart including stress placement.
2 Learners say it and you help them to shape their pronunciation.
3 They write down the phonemic spelling based on their experience of saying the
word.
4 Working individually or with others they try to work out or guess its alphabetic
spelling.
5 They check alphabetic spelling and pronunciation in the dictionary.
6 The dictionary definition of the meaning is discussed, perhaps written on the
board, and applied to the context in which the word has occurred.

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 6 Integrating the learner’s dictionary with pronunciation work

Variation 1
1 Write the word on the board in alphabetic spelling.
2 Learners guess its pronunciation and stress, discussing among themselves
and then checking in the dictionary.
3 A learner comes to the chart and points out the word without looking at the
dictionary.
4 The meaning is studied, perhaps with reference to the dictionary definition.

Variation 2
1 You say the word aloud, once only (single model plus hearing time).
2 Learners experiment with the pronunciation for themselves.
3 They guess its alphabetic spelling.
4 They check both spelling and pronunciation in the dictionary.
5 One of them comes to the chart and points it out.
6 Another writes both phonemic and alphabetic spellings on the board side by
side.
7 The focus enlarges to include the meaning of the word.

Variation 3
1 Each learner chooses one or two words that they have learned recently.
2 Each privately investigates and practises the pronunciation and stress using
the dictionary if necessary.
3 When ready, each in turn dictates his word to the others by saying it aloud
once only, and repeating it if requested. The others try to write it down in
alphabetic spelling.
4 All the learners write their answers on the board and the causes of
differences are investigated with reference to the speaker’s original
pronunciation, and to the dictionary and to the phonemic chart.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
As you can see, these games can integrate and practise a wide variety of language
skills, and offer scope for team games. You will see that there are many other
variations possible. The aim is not just to be correct, but to become more
discriminating, more confident, more self-evaluating and self-directing. Ŷ

Specific exercises for using the dictionary

If your learners need familiarization with the dictionary, and with using phonemic
symbols and stress marks to make use of information in the dictionary entry, then
you can make up exercises such as the ones on p 168 using words from class texts.

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Classroom toolkit Level 2: Words in isolation

Classroom activity 40 Using the dictionary for pronunciation

Put the words in the box in the correct column according to their vowel sound.
Check in the dictionary.

Put oar fool thorn cool do foot floor bush goods

1 2 3
cook food door
/ / /u / / /
put

Use your dictionary to find the silent letters in the words. Circle the silent letter
in each word.
a onest e knee i autumn
b comb f salmon j island
c palm g psyche k knob
d gnome h pneumonia I fasten

Put the words in the box in the correct column according to the stress pattern
in each.

sixty sixteen correct fantasy fantastic advertisement

educate education photography photographic image
imagine significant banana

Fig. 51: These exercises are taken from Macmillan English Dictionary Workbook by Adrian Underhill

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 7 Lip reading, ventriloquism, pronunciation and vocabulary

7 Lip reading, ventriloquism, pronunciation and vocabulary

Lip reading involves visible movement without sound, while ventriloquism
involves audible sound without movement. Both can be useful in studying
pronunciation. At Level 1 we looked at the use of mime for cueing and
prompting individual sounds. At Level 2 we can use the same idea for working
with words. The ‘speaker’ has to convey the chosen word to the ‘listener’ purely
by mouthing or miming the word silently. Naturally the speaker will slow down
and exaggerate in an effort to be clear. The listener is simply lip reading, and
automatically converting the visible muscle movements of the other person into
sounds – a sophisticated process.

Classroom activity 41 Miming and lip reading vocabulary

1 Learners collect five or ten recently studied words on the board. Or you can
provide the words, perhaps from a text the class is about to study.
2 Invite the class to practise the words briefly using the chart.
3 Mouth one of the words silently and the others watch and try to recognize it.
4 A few learners come up and do the same thing with other words.
5 Once they are familiar with the procedure, learners can carry on in pairs or
small groups.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
I think this activity is valuable in the way it forces participants to be more aware of
the internal contact with the muscles that make the articulators move. It heightens
awareness of which muscles make which sounds. While paying attention to
sounds and articulation, vocabulary is being practised with the freshness of
engagement, not the dullness of mechanical repetition.
The trick is to make sure that the words to be used are drawn from a limited set,
just five or ten words to start with, on a list on the board or in the book. This is a
good way of practising vocabulary sets.
Here is an interesting point: when I watch learners mouthing words I find I pick
up pronunciation problems with my eyes that my ears may have missed. Ŷ

Ventriloquism, pronunciation and vocabulary

Ventriloquism follows naturally from lip reading. With lip reading you have
visible movement without sound, and with ventriloquism you have sound without
visible movement. This can provide learners of language with another engaging
challenge that again forces us to focus on the co-ordination between muscles,
articulators, breath and voice, and their aural and visible manifestations.
The basic trick of the ventriloquist is to approximate all the sounds needed in
speech while not making any visible movements. Essentially this means keeping
the lips and the jaw still, while allowing the tongue to move unnoticed behind the
neutral lips and the nearly closed jaw. So the ventriloquist can keep all the sounds
that do not have a visible articulation, and has to find alternative ways of making,
or seeming to make, those sounds that do have visible movements.

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If you refer back to Figs. 39 and 40 on pp 115-6 you’ll see that we have already
distinguished these two groups of sounds. Going through the sounds in Fig. 39
you’ll find that in fact some of them, /e, 3 , t, d, θ, ð , n/ can be produced without
external movement, though there is a loss in the clarity of the sound.

Classroom activity 42 Making sounds invisible

1 Introduce the idea of ventriloquism and see who knows about it or can give
examples in their own language or in English.
2 Establish the distinction between visible and invisible sounds with a few
examples of each from the chart.
3 Ask the class to work through the chart in small groups putting all of the
sounds into one category or the other.
4 Bring the class together and look at their findings.
5 Ask them to find invisible sounds that could be used instead of the visible
ones. In the case of consonants this means moving towards the right of the
chart along the same row.
6 Taking any vocabulary list, ask learners in pairs or small groups to experiment
with ‘invisible speaking’ and to give each other feedback.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This may not be a mainstream activity, but it has value because it heightens
awareness, is challenging, different, fun and relevant. Ŷ

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Level 3 Connected speech
1 Overview 171
2 Simplification and reduction of sounds in connected speech 173
3 Stress, prominence and rhythm in connected speech 176
4 Intonation 194
5 Some integrative activities and suggestions 202

1 Overview
At Level 1 we focused on sounds spoken in isolation, aiming to develop in
teachers and learners a deep internally experienced awareness of what happens in
the vocal tract, and how this relates to what is heard through the ears. This
awareness was seen as the foundation on which to build an enhanced capacity to
choose, change and modify how we produce and interpret the sounds of speech.
At Level 2 we focused on individual words spoken in isolation. We studied how
individual words consist of a ‘flow of sound’ which is different from the sum of
the individual phonemes. We found that at the level of the word the distribution
of energy across the syllables creates an energy profile, called word stress, that is
typical and characteristic of a particular word.
At Level 3 in the discovery toolkit we focused on connected speech and on the
way that words flow together to make a stream of speech that is different from
the sum of the individual words. We studied the way sounds are simplified and
reduced, and the way that the energy profile is extended from individual words to
groups of words, that is from word stress that is fairly fixed to prominence that is
chosen by the speaker. This energy package, called a tone unit, is held together by
a pattern of pitch.
Class work at Level 3 does not mean the end of work at Levels 1 and 2. It is not a
linear syllabus in that sense. Work at Level 3 means that there are now three levels
of access available at the same time. Each level represents a different focus, each
is tuned to do a different aspect of the job, and each level can be called on
separately or in combination as required at any moment in any lesson.
In the classroom toolkit for Level 3 we are going to work on practical exercises
for developing awareness and skill with connected speech.
Before we begin this journey into the territory of Level 3 it would be useful to
refresh our sense of direction. What is the pronunciation target we are helping
our learners to work towards?

Pronunciation targets in connected speech

My aim when working with pronunciation is to enable learners to achieve
‘comfortable intelligibility’. This means that they can be understood comfortably,
without undue effort by the listener, and that they can understand comfortably the
speech of native and non-native speakers without undue effort on their own part.

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This target of comfortable intelligibility gives us a realistic and achievable aim

since it implies that learners’ productive pronunciation need not be as
sophisticated as their ‘receptive pronunciation’.
I suggest that careful colloquial speech (eg for RP BBC World Service
newsreaders and announcers) is a realistic speaking target as it is clear and is
likely to be understood in many parts of the world.
I suggest that rapid colloquial speech (eg native speakers interacting informally)
is the ideal target for the listening skill in order to be able to understand in the
widest possible circles. I call this target ‘receptive pronunciation’. (See Level 3 of
the discovery toolkit for a full discussion on pronunciation targets.)
Learners who wish to achieve a near-native productive pronunciation will have
rapid colloquial speech as both their speaking and listening target.

Implications of pronunciation targets on class work

A learner’s listening menu should contain a wider range of phonological variants
than his or her speaking menu. However, these targets do not imply any limit on
our expectation of what learners may be able to achieve. Comfortable intelligibility
is a minimum, not a ceiling. Through our attitude and the learning atmosphere we
create we encourage learners to do the best they can manage at any moment.
Anything less makes learning less challenging, less fun and less effective.
Since what the mouth can say and what the ear can hear exert a reciprocal
influence on each other, it follows that there cannot be a purely listening or
purely speaking lesson. Because of this interdependence we will often practise
orally features of connected speech which we wish to incorporate in the learners’
receptive pronunciation, even if we don’t necessarily expect those features to
become a part of their productive pronunciation.
All the activities in this section can challenge and engage learners at all levels
from elementary through intermediate, advanced and proficient, including native
speakers, with only minor modifications. What has to vary is the point at which
any given learner can find his or her own level of challenge and engagement.

External and internal targets

We have been thinking about external targets because it is important to be
explicit and objective about goals. It is also important for goals to be realistic and
attainable so that the teacher does not get carried away by her own enthusiasm
for perfection. Don’t get excited by good accent, or carried away with complex
and clever remedial activities.
External goals are fine for syllabuses, but in the work you do in the classroom, the
target should be the best that each individual can do at that moment.

Materials needed
The Sound Foundations chart is the only special pronunciation materials you
need. You can use your existing resources for all activities, current coursebooks,
practice activities designed for any of the four skills, learners’ own responses and
spontaneous utterances.

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2 Simplification and reduction of sounds in connected speech

The simplifications of connected speech, that is assimilation, elision, juncture,
linking and vowel reduction, all affect rhythm, fluency and comprehensibility.
The aim of the following exercises is to help learners become aware of these
stream of speech simplifications, to practise instances of them in order to discern
them better and to discover that incorporating them in their own speech can
enable them to sound more fluent.
The approach of these exercises is to give learners the opportunity to experience
directly the contrast between the Level 2 dictionary pronunciation of words and
the Level 3 connected speech pronunciation of words. The exercises can be
varied in many ways.

Classroom activity 43 Simplifications in the stream of speech

You need a short taped extract of authentic or semi-authentic English containing
naturally occurring simplifications. The coursebook recorded dialogues will
probably do. First use the tape for your normal activities such as comprehension,
vocabulary, structure, etc. Having done this, you can add on the following
exercise to focus in depth on a single short sentence.
1 Play the taped sentence. Learners write it on the board in alphabetic spelling.
Give help if required, eg by referring them to dictionaries to check. Let them
play the tape as many times as they need. (See Fig. 52 on p 174, step 1.)
2 Ask them to mark in the stressed syllables, listening again if necessary. (See
Fig. 52, step 1.)
3 Ask them to write up the dictionary pronunciation of each word in phonemic
symbols, without reference to the tape. Encourage them to use their
dictionaries if they are not certain. (See Fig. 52, step 2.)
4 They now practise saying the sentence just a few times in dictionary
pronunciation (Level 2), so it will sound somewhat stilted and unsimplified.
5 Refer them back to the tape to compare what they have just been practising
with what they can actually hear on the tape. You can help by guiding their
attention to any simplifications they don’t seem to be noticing.
6 Invite them to use the chart to point out in phonemes what they hear on the
tape, as nearly as they can. When they agree they write it on the board below
the dictionary pronunciation. (See Fig. 52, step 3.)
7 If there are any remaining discrepancies between the transcription and the
tape pronunciation you can guide the learners to notice them. Improvise other
marks or symbols to indicate anything that you can’t put in phonemic script.
8 Using the board transcription as a guide, invite learners to practise the fluent
articulation of the taped sentence, ending by speaking the sentence while the
tape plays.
9 Invite them to discuss the differences between the Level 2 and Level 3
transcriptions, making observations about assimilation, elision, vowel
reduction and linking, but without necessarily using the technical names.
(*See footnote on p 174.) Practise steps 2 and 3 alternately. Ask them to find
parallels in their mother tongue.

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Fig. 52

Commentary ŶŶŶ
You are not ‘telling them about simplifications’ and you don’t have to take the
role of ‘the one who knows’. You simply structure the activity so that the learners
can make observations and draw conclusions from experience. You don’t even
need to look for instant results. As long as they are engaged by the experience
results will come.
Given your experience you can probably think of several variations on this
activity. What steps would you use to highlight the same awarenesses?
Sometimes I structure the activity so that learners investigate the Level 3 stream
of speech version before they analyze the Level 2 dictionary version.
Sometimes I try this: I do not play the tape at the beginning but write the
sentence myself on the board in alphabetic spelling and give the learners the task
of arriving at their own stream of speech version. Only then do I play the tape
excerpt, not as a right answer, but so they can notice the differences between
what they have been saying and what they now hear. Ŷ

*In general I do not use the technical terms for simplifications with learners unless they show a
particular interest in ordering and grouping and defining the different kinds. So with most groups of
learners I use the following terms:
• linking or joining to cover liaison and juncture;
• losing or disappearing sounds for elision;
• changing sounds for assimilation and vowel reduction;
• adding or extra sounds for intrusion;
• stress to cover word stress, prominence and rhythm.

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Classroom activity 44 Observing and practising linking

1 When a sentence comes up in the class that could be made more fluent with
better linking you can ask someone to write it on the board. For example:
I often go out in the afternoon.
2 Ask the class to say each word clearly and separately. (Level 2)
3 Ask them to join the words together using the chart to identify any linking
sounds, and putting the stresses where they think appropriate. (Level 3)
4 Now ask them to write up the fully linked sentence in phonemic script. For
example:
/aI j fԥn gԥ w a t In ðI j ftԥnu n/
or /a fԥn g3 a t In ð ftԥnu n/
Help them to work on the fluency.

Classroom activity 45 Working with degrees of simplification

The aim is to build up a board display as in Fig. 53.
1 Tell the class you are going to say something once, and to see what they can
make of it.
2 Say the question /w staIm/ and leave a short silence.
3 Ask them to write what they hear on the board in phonemic script. Invite
them to put up several different guesses or hunches. They will put up a
variety of things.
4 Do the same again but this time saying /w sԥtaIm/. Again invite some
responses on the board.
5 And again, each time giving a fuller version: /w tsԥtaIm/ /w ts ðԥtaIm/
/w tIz ðԥtaIm/.
6 Point to different versions on the board asking learners to say them. Select
those that agree with what you’ve said. Say again any which are missing.
7 Make sure that these five versions are on the board (see Fig. 53 on p 176)
and rehearse each of them.
8 Say the versions at random and ask the class to identify by number which
you are saying.
9 Invite individuals to say one at random for the rest of the class to identify.
10 They practise saying and identifying them in small groups.
11 Point at the most simplified and ask ‘What is the most usual way of writing
this in English?’ They write on the board What is the time? or What’s the
time?
Ask the same question for the other versions. We find that these five ways
of speaking only have two ways of writing.
12 Label the two ends rapid and careful, or simplified and complete.
Point out that almost any English utterance can be simplified, and that they
can look out for this kind of thing in recorded speech and in their own
speech in class (eg Good morning; How are you doing? etc.).

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The complete board display can look like this:

Fig. 53:One sentence with five degrees of simplification

Commentary ŶŶŶ
I find that this kind of exercise quickly raises awareness of and sensitivity to
simplifications in the stream of speech. It is also an engaging and exact activity
which can be carried out only by using phonemic script and it involves both
receptive and productive discrimination.
It is interesting to observe the ways in which learners respond to step 3. They often
‘hear into the utterance’ more than I actually said. That is, they recognize /w staIm/
as meaning What is the time? but it is not until they hear the less simplified versions
that they realize that they have been hearing more than was said.
You will find many variations. For example:
• Start with the most careful version and move towards the most rapid and
simplified version.
• Ask learners to point out what they think they hear on the chart rather than
write it on the board.
• Look out for other phrases which can yield two or three degrees of
simplification, and then ask learners to work them out themselves. Ŷ

3 Stress, prominence and rhythm in connected speech

Rhythm refers to the perception of some kind of underlying regularity of
occurrence of prominences and word stresses. This may be more or less evident,
and usually lasts for no more than a few beats at a time before disappearing and
re-emerging again. This is a particular feature of languages such as English that
have stress-timed qualities, and learners need to pay attention to it to become
comfortably intelligible in their own speech, and to tune in their own listening to
the cues of spoken English.
The components of a rhythm syllabus
This section looks at different kinds of activity that you could include in a rhythm
syllabus.
1 Sensitization. Simple activities to awaken an awareness of stress, prominence
and rhythm.
2 Strictly metrical material. Material which exaggerates and emphasizes the
rhythmic qualities of English.

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3 Less metrical material. Extending awareness to more subtle and hidden

rhythms, using sense groups.
4 Rhythm in learner-originated utterances. Extending awareness into learners’ own
spontaneous speech.
• All four phases can occur within a single lesson as well as over weeks or
months.
• The aim is to ‘find’ stress-timing and then gradually ‘lose’ it again into
learners’ spontaneous speech.
• Practice of stress-timing gives learners an organized way of working on the
weakening of unstressed syllables, especially vowel reduction and word
linking.

1 Sensitization to stress, prominence and rhythm

Classroom activity 46
This activity consists of three steps in one sequence requiring you only to read
aloud to your class an excerpt of no more than two or three sentences. Prepare
learners by asking them to listen to the way you speak rather than to the meaning.
1 Read a couple of sentences to the class without any stress at all, so that
each syllable is given the same length, volume and pitch. Now ask them for
their observations. This may provide a basis for the class to identify stress
and rhythm.
2 Read the same sentences, this time placing the stress wherever seems
natural to you. Exaggerate the stress a little if you like. Ask them what they
notice about your manner of speaking. Did some words stand out? Would they
like to hear it again and spot which ones?
3 Read the same sentences again, this time with random and non-sensical stress
placement. Ask them what they notice this time. What are their conclusions
from this?

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The first step immediately brings smiles to the faces of my learners, even at an
elementary level, because their inner criteria already recognize English as innately
stressed and rhythmical, and by reading like this I am offending those criteria.
It is most striking if you take material that is already familiar, perhaps from the
coursebook or the reader or from an activity you have just been doing.
Since you provide the model you can control the speed of delivery and the
degree of emphasis on the stressed syllables to suit the level of your listeners. Your
mouth and other facial movements will also give useful clues.
Here is a useful addition: invite the class to have a go at these three steps
themselves in groups of three or four. The threefold activity of deleting stress,
putting it in the right place, and putting it in the wrong place is insightful,
engaging and demanding. If the groups enjoy this perhaps they could perform
their versions as ‘nonsense theatre’ to the rest of the class. Ŷ

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Classroom activity 47 A stress-timing chant

The more unstressed syllables there are, the quicker you have to say them in
order to fit them into the beat. This is based on discovery activity 73 in the
discovery toolkit.
1 Say the first sentence (a) aloud and rather slowly, with emphasis on each of
the four words. Invite the class to join in, perhaps clapping quietly.
a You me him her
b You and me and him and her
c You and then me and then him and then her
d You and then it’s me and then it’s him and then it’s her
2 Say sentence b at the same speed, so that it occupies the same amount of
time. Insert an unstressed and – pronounced /ԥn/ – between each of the four
beats. Invite the class to join in.
3 Say sentence c, this time inserting unstressed and then, pronounced /ԥn ðen/,
or once you get it up to speed /ԥn en/, between the four main beats. Invite the
class to join in.
4 Say sentence d with the three unstressed syllables between each main word
pronounced: /ԥn ðen Its/ or /ԥn en Its/. Invite the class to join in.
5 The next step is to divide the class into four groups, each saying a different
line at the same time.
6 You can point to different lines at random while the basic rhythm continues
unchanged. Learners can take the pointer and conduct the class.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This is a very short activity but lively, instructive and memorable. Once you have
tried it you may find you often refer back to it.
Only the pronouns are stressed, and each cycle occupies the same time. This
simulates for your learners the experience of rhythmical patterns containing
different numbers of syllables. Ŷ

Classroom activity 48
You can make the rhythms from the previous activity visual using the Cuisenaire
rods, following the convention where a red rod represents a stress and a white
one an unstress.
1 Invite participants to come to the front and lay out red and white rods to
correspond to the rhythms of the four lines of the chant. It would look
something like Fig. 54.

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Fig. 54: Rods give a visual dimension to the rhythm

2 Ask a learner to arrange some rods to represent a mixture of these rhythms,

while the others have to find the particular permutation of words that fits, and
say them rhythmically. For example:

You and me. and then him and then it’s her

Fig. 55

3 Ask class members to find other quite different sentences that could have
this rhythm. For example: This is mine but the other one is yours.

Classroom activity 49 Playing with loudness and stress

This requires a sentence of recorded material. You can do it during or after any
listening activity using an excerpt from the same material. Radio news bulletins
can be very suitable, and the activity is based on the fact that loudness is often
a correlate of stress.
1 Play the selected sentence several times in succession, instructing your
learners to focus attention on the loudest syllables, or loudest sounds.
2 Each time you play the sentence, turn down the volume a little until the
volume is so low that some of the syllables are hardly audible. You can usually
find a point at which the stressed syllables are still audible while the
unstressed ones seem to have disappeared.
These two steps are a useful way of showing that only some syllables are
stressed and that one factor that makes them stressed is loudness. You may
already notice that the stresses in some phrases form a regular or nearly
regular rhythm. One way of continuing this activity is:
3 Learners identify the stressed syllables and write them on the board in the
right order, leaving space between. You can help and prompt where necessary
by simply pointing (silently) at the chart to indicate sounds they are missing or
finding unclear.

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4 The general meaning of the phrase or sentence is probably discernible from

these words alone. This observation can be discussed.
5 Turn the volume back up as required and invite them to write in the rest of the
unstressed words and syllables.
6 It is likely that the stressed words are mainly content or meaning words while
the others are mostly grammar words. Ask them if they notice any distinction
between stressed and unstressed words.
7 Now guide them to listen for other stream of speech features such as word
linking and note these on the board.
8 Help them to practise this sentence first without the recording, and then with
it to get a feel for the speed and general energy distribution.

2 Working with strictly metrical material

I find the most useful source of this is metrical verse, and good examples of this
are nursery rhymes and limericks. In just a few minutes learners find they can
recite an authentic English rhyme with an ‘English feel’. When the stress is both
regular and fixed learners find it easier to attend to the different energy
distribution between stressed and unstressed syllables. Of course the intonation
that naturally goes with this kind of activity and material is the intonation of
recitation (this is what the words say), rather than communication (this is what I
say). But that, too, is something to observe.
Here are a few ways of using nursery rhymes to introduce stress-timing and to
work on rhythm.

Classroom activity 50 Learning a rhyme from the chart

The aim here is for the learners to arrive at an acceptable rendering of the rhyme
without hearing it from you. This requires you to provide them with the minimum
that is sufficient and for them to provide the rest according to their own
developing criteria of ‘Englishness’.
1 You build up each line from the chart, and add the stress. Make use of the
chart, your fingers and sequences of rods to shape the sounds, rhythm and
phrasing while remaining quiet yourself.
2 Learners write the rhyme on the board in alphabetic spelling, underlining the
stressed syllables.
3 Learners can clap or tap to emphasize the regularity of the beat regardless of
the number of intervening syllables. You can help them to emphasize the
rhythm by working on volume, length and pitch of the stressed syllables and
also by reducing the energy on unstressed syllables.
4 Use rods to make the rhythm of each line visible, and also to make any wrong
placements of stress visible.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
My aim is to have the class saying the rhyme with the words joined together, with
clear difference between stressed and unstressed syllables, at a good speed and
with a feeling of lightness.

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After they have worked on the rhyme for a few moments I might say it aloud
myself, just once, if I felt the rhythm needed lifting, but I would not overdo this
as my aim is to help them to discover the rhyme for themselves rather than to
learn it parrot fashion. For the same reason I would usually avoid reciting it to
them at the beginning because I want to see what they can do with it themselves,
and also because when learners have struggled with something for a bit they
become more receptive to its subtleties when eventually they do hear it from me.
Ŷ
Classroom activity 51 Learning a rhyme from recitation
Here is another approach with the same aim.
1 Tell the class you are going to recite a short rhyme once only and invite them
to be alert.
2 After reciting it naturally but with clearly emphasized rhythm, recite each line
again, leaving the last stressed word for the learners to provide. Usually there
are several learners able to provide the word. (No visual prompts yet.)
3 Do the same for the remaining lines.
4 Repeat the rhyme yourself leaving two stressed words per line for the class to
fill in orally.
5 Continue this process until the class have provided all of the stressed words.
Maybe they can write them on the board at this point. Now do the same with
the unstressed words. Each time you provide less yourself.
6 If they get stuck at any point just provide the word yourself, perhaps by
pointing it out on the chart.
7 Pay attention to rhythm, speed, smooth linking, length of stressed syllables
and reduction of unstressed syllables.
8 In a very short time they will have learned the rhyme as a whole, not through
repetition as such, but through the alertness required in sharp listening and
attention.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In this version you provide more of the input yourself, but the emphasis is on
sensitivity + alertness rather than on model + repetition. Ŷ

Classroom activity 52 Parallel speaking

1 If you have access to a language laboratory, then using your voice as the
source you can record the rhyme on the learner tapes.
2 Learners transcribe it, marking the stresses, listening as many times as
needed.
3 Then they can try parallel speaking, in which they attempt to merge their
speech with your master track, by capturing your sounds, stress, speed,
linking, intonation and timing. Give them the opportunity to do this several
times, listening to their own attempts and working on their own
improvements.
4 Finally let them work with a blank tape, recording and listening to their own
unaided efforts, inviting from each their own personal best.

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
You are probably thinking of variations of your own using rhymes. For example,
once the class has worked with a rhyme you can simply write another rhyme on
the board without saying it. Invite the class to mark the stressed words, linking
sounds, simplifications, etc, and practise it. Ŷ

Classroom activity 53 Mime the rhyme

Once the class have learned a rhyme by whichever means you can use it for a
‘fluency lip-reading activity’:
One learner silently mouths any of the lines to the others, and they have to say
which line it is by observing closely the mouth movements and distribution of
energy visible in the silent speaker. Once you have established the activity they
can do it in pairs. This activity should be very short -just long enough to try
each of the lines a couple of times.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
In all of this work the overt focus of attention is on the inherent rhythm which
results from the contrast of energy placed on stressed and unstressed syllables
and from the easy flowing together of the stream of words. All of this only comes
to fruition, however, if you yourself remain in touch with the challenge the
learners are facing, and enjoy the efforts of your learners in a simple and
authentic way. Ŷ
Fig. 56 shows a selection of metrical rhymes and a limerick which I have found
useful, together with their stress pattern, syllable count, schwa /ԥ/ frequency and
Cuisenaire rod pattern.
It is interesting to note the high frequency of schwa, and I may count the schwas
with the class after they have learned a rhyme. This information is relevant, and
doing the calculation with the class is itself an excellent awareness-raiser as it
involves distinguishing syllables, distinguishing stress and unstress, recognizing
schwa and distinguishing it from other unstressed vowels.

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Fig. 56: Some examples of useful rhymes

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Classroom activity 54 Setting up and using a rod profile

A rod profile can be invaluable when learners are working on the variables of
rhythm. Here is a way of building and using a profile (see Fig. 57).
1 The learners are working on the rhythmical production of a line, eg All the
king’s horses and all the king’s men. The first question is ‘How many
syllables?’
2 Answers could (for example) range from seven to twelve. Ask them to say one
syllable at a time while putting down one white rod for each syllable. Check
and agree on the precise number of syllables (in this case ten). Step 1 Fig. 57
3 The next question might be ‘Which ones are stressed?’ Learners call out the
stressed syllables while you substitute a red rod for each stress in the place
of the white one. Step 2 Fig. 57
4 The next question might be ‘Do you agree?’ and they try out the arrangement
to see if it feels right.
5 Invite them to say only the stressed syllables, and point to each red rod in
turn as they do so. Perhaps clap on the beat and lengthen the stressed
syllables to take up all the space. I call this ‘stress-hopping’. Step 3 Fig. 57
6 Ask them to say only the unstressed syllables, and point to each white rod in
turn as they do so. Make sure they give them as little energy as possible so
that they are quiet, short and reduced. Step 4 Fig. 57
7 Put the whole lot together maintaining the length and emphasis of the
stressed syllables and the reduction of the unstressed ones. Step 5 Fig. 57
8 Push the rods together to indicate the transformation from separate bits to a
single flow. Step 6 Fig. 57

Fig. 57: Rod profile for classroom activity 54

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
The culmination of this activity is to contrast steps 5 and 8. In step 5 learners say
only the stressed syllables and in step 8 they say all the syllables but in the same
amount of time. This activity makes the rhythm visible and tangible (because you
can literally see and manipulate the rods). It is a powerful and rapid way of
working on the fluency of any piece of connected speech.
One of the conventions you can establish, and one that I use a lot, concerns the
spaces between the rods when they are laid out for a sentence. When the rods are
apart, they signify a sequence of unconnected words, equivalent to Level 2. Then
when you push them together (step 8) they signify the flow of connected words
at Level 3.
Once you have established a rod profile you can ask the class to find other English
sentences or phrases that fit the same pattern. This establishes a link between a
fixed pattern in the rhyme and that same pattern as a viable rhythmic unit in the
language at large. Ŷ

3 Less metrical material

Once learners have developed an awareness of the way stress and rhythm work in
metrical material, a next step can be to bring that awareness to bear on ordinary
connected speech. In activities 55 to 60 the language is given, by text or tape,
while the learners focus on creating the rhythm. In activity 61 the learners both
create the language and structure it with their own prominence and rhythm.

Classroom activity 55 Providing rhythm for a given text

Use a few sentences of text taken from the coursebook or the class reader,
preferably an excerpt that has not yet been intensively studied.
1 Take the first one or two sentences and ask the class to identify the sense
groups, and to mark them with a vertical line. (The idea and use of sense
groups is explored further below.) For example:
There was a table / set out under a tree / in front of the house, / and the March
Hare and the Hatter / were having tea at it; /a Dormouse / was sitting between
them, /fast asleep, / and the other two / were resting their elbows on it, / and
talking over its head./
2 Ask learners to choose where to place the stresses within each sense group,
and to underline the stressed syllables. For example:
There was a table / set out under a tree / in front of the house, / and the March
Hare and the Hatter / were having tea at it; / a Dormouse / was sitting between
them, / fast asleep, / and the other two / were resting their elbows on it, / and
talking over its head./

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3 Ask them to examine each sense group for any sounds that might impede the
rhythmic flow, and to notice reduced vowels, consonant clusters, linking, etc.
They mark these on the text. They can also mark any significant pauses
between the sense groups with a double vertical line. For example:

4 The next step is for them to rehearse the first few sense groups internally and
aloud, by themselves, trying to get a smooth flow. You go round and listen to
them individually, giving feedback on what they need to attend to.
5 Let them listen to each other’s efforts in small groups, and encourage them
to notice and enjoy all the differences they can hear.
6 Now ask them to apply steps 1 to 3 to the rest of the chosen text, with the
aim of arriving at a spoken delivery of the text that reflects each person’s
meaning through the rhythm, the stress and the phrasing. It should sound as
if the speaker understands what he is reading, and is even interpreting the
text on behalf of the listener, rather than just reading the words at face value.
7 An optional step is that you now read the text aloud yourself, giving it your
own interpretation while they just listen. The learners’ prior investment will
increase their sensitivity to your rendering.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This activity follows on well from activity 54 and together they give a structured
approach to phonological fluency that is not based on repetition, and that leaves
room for self-investment and creativity. Activity 54 develops awareness using a
single sentence. Activity 55 applies that to a longer stretch of several sentences. Ŷ

Classroom activity 56 If you have a language laboratory ...

I think this activity in various forms is one of the most interesting and alive uses
of a language laboratory that I have found.
1 Select a text and prepare it in the classroom by doing steps 1-6 of the
previous activity. In the language laboratory you read the text yourself directly
onto the learner tapes one or two sense groups at a time, leaving enough
space for learners to say it in their own way. While you are recording they just
listen.
2 Give them time to study your recording, and to try speaking each phrase in the
space you have left on the tape. The aim is for them to work on stresses,
pausing and linking.
3 After a few minutes on that exercise you rewind the tapes and record again,
but this time reading whole sentences at a time, leaving enough space after
each for the learner to say it.

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4 Once again they have a go on their own at speaking each sentence in the
space you have left on the tape.
5 After a few more minutes you rewind the tapes and record it again, this time
reading the whole text quite naturally and at normal speed without spaces for
them to speak in.
6 Now learners try parallel reading by merging their voices with yours in terms of
speed, phrasing, stress and rhythm. If they record their voices doing this then
they can replay and listen to the points of similarity between their speech and
yours. Their aim here is quite definitely to try to do the same as you, not
because you are right, but as an exercise in attention and noticing, and to
gain insight from the experience.
7 After a further few minutes give them some time to work on a blank piece of
tape, to experiment with creating and recording their own versions of the text
without any model.
8 If possible let them circulate to listen to each other’s final recorded version,
again with the encouragement to appreciate and discuss the differences.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Inevitably your rendering will vary each time, which adds to the interest and
integrity of the exercise.
Teachers usually study a text for comprehension before studying it for
pronunciation, but you can do it the other way round. If you do this activity first
you could find that when you come to study the meaning in depth:
• learners already have a fairly clear idea of the semantic organization and
direction of the passage;
• they understand specifically much of the meaning;
• they know which are the key words and which would be the most useful words
to look up in a dictionary.
I find that this approach to the discourse structure of a passage forms a useful
and enjoyable introduction to the more usual text comprehension activities, and
that the overall result is an integration of phonology, syntax and meaning. Ŷ
I have found the notion of the sense group to be a useful instrument for learners to
work with when studying the features of connected speech. The advantage of the
sense group is that it is not a fixed unit. It is the learner’s subjective impression
about ‘which words go together to make up one bit of meaning’. Here are two
examples of how a passage has been divided into sense groups by learners. Both
seem valid, though the first is clearly more fluent, and each gives insight into the
learners’ view of the passage.
1 There was a table / set out under a tree / in front of the house, / and the March
Hare and the Hatter / were having tea at it; / a Dormouse / was sitting between
them, / fast asleep, / and the other two / were resting their elbows on it, / and
talking over its head./

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2 There was / a table / set out / under a tree / in front / of the house, / and the
March Hare / and the Hatter / were having tea / at it; / a Dormouse / was sitting /
between them, / fast asleep, / and the other two / were resting / their elbows /
on it, / and talking / over its head./
Nevertheless I am often surprised by how easily learners take to the use of this
type of division and what a large measure of agreement there is between them.

Classroom activity 57 Introduction to sense groups – three readings

Tell the class you are going to read them something in three different ways and
ask them to notice carefully the differences.
1 Read two or three sentences to the class with no expression, no stress, no
phrasing, no sense groups, no intonation like a machine or robot.
2 Read the same piece of text divided into nonsense groups. For example:
There was a / table set / out under a / tree in / front of the / house, and the
March / Hare and the / Hatter were having / tea at / it; a Dormouse was /
sitting between / them, fast / asleep, and the / other two were / resting their /
elbows on / it, and / talking over its / head. /
3 Read the same piece of text, this time making use of appropriate sense
groupings, with short pauses between the groups.
4 Ask the class what differences they notice and what conclusion they draw.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This is an economical way to put into circulation and give a label to the idea of
the sense group. Ŷ

Classroom activity 58 Sense and nonsense groups

There are many activities that follow straight on once the awareness has been
seeded, as in activity 57. You are probably thinking of some right now. Here are
three follow-ups that I find useful.

Follow-up 1
Ask learners in small groups to follow the same steps as activity 57, reading to
each other in the three different ways, and discussing the differences. This
requires them to prepare the sentences first.

Follow-up 2
Each learner prepares one line of text by deliberately grouping the words into
nonsense groups, that is by disguising the sense groups. Then they each read
their sentence aloud to the rest, incorporating their chosen nonsense groups, and
followed immediately by the same sentence again but with sense groups. The rest
of the class comment on the differences between the two renderings.

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Follow-up 3
As for follow-up 2, but this time the rest of the class, on hearing a sentence
containing nonsense groups, have to hold it in their short-term memory,
reprocess it, and give it back so that it makes sense.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Consciously emphasizing and disguising the particular phenomenon under
scrutiny is a feature of many successful awareness exercises. This represents the
fundamental difference between mechanical exercises which depend on unaware
repetition of correctness, and awareness exercises which depend on conscious
discrimination between two or more choices, both of which are knowingly
experienced. Ŷ

Classroom activity 59 Creative use of sense groups

Choose a paragraph of printed text from the coursebook, the reader or
something written by class members. Ask the class to prepare the text as
follows:
1 Mark the sense groups with a single vertical line.
2 Underline the stresses or prominent syllables.
3 Indicate unstressed syllables with U.
4 Decide on occurrences of schwa /ԥ/, and mark them.
5 Mark in pauses with a double vertical line.
6 Mark in linking between words with a connecting line.
(See classroom activity 55 for example of fully prepared text.)
Now use this preparation to:
7 Rehearse the text both silently and aloud. You can circulate and offer help or
coaching where needed.
8 Perform the text in small groups or as whole class, depending on size.
Perhaps record it. Invite the class to notice the differences between versions.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
There is, of course, some leeway regarding which syllables are selected to be
stressed, where the sense groups are divided, and so on. But leave the decisions to
the learners, and even if they choose a quite unlikely stress you can leave it to see
whether they want to change it once they start to say it aloud.
The majority of unstressed syllables are likely to contain the schwa /ԥ/ or a
significantly reduced vowel, and this is one of the most important factors
affecting rhythm. Fluency will also be affected by various linking devices, and you
may decide to intervene in the process and practise some things out of context
first. Ŷ

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Some observations about the use of sense groups

• It is a subjective and intuitive division which can be applied by each learner at
his own level of awareness, and which he can change as his perception of the
text changes.
• There is usually a high degree of agreement on where to divide sense groups,
even where learners of different mother tongues are studying a text which they
may not fully understand.
• It often works out that the sense group is in fact a viable tone unit, so that
work with sense groups is a helpful step towards working with tone units and
intonation, a step which is under the learners’ control.

Classroom activity 60 Rhythm and sense grouping in a taped discourse

For this you need a short taped dialogue or monologue, perhaps one which is part
of your current course materials, but the more authentic it sounds the better.
News headlines or equivalent provide an ideal source of short, topical, careful
colloquial English. The following detailed analysis need only be applied to the first
one or two sentences, which is sufficient to put the necessary awareness into
circulation.
1 Play the chosen section once or twice inviting learners to write any stressed
words or syllables they can hear anywhere on the board. Let mistakes stand
for the moment to allow them to re-hear and repair. The dictionary can be
used to check spellings.
2 Rewrite the stressed words in the correct order leaving enough space
between them for the unstressed words to be written in. At this point the
gist of the message may well be apparent and the class can discuss it.
3 Play and replay small sections at a time while learners try to identify the
unstressed words or syllables and write them in the spaces. They can write
up fragments of words if that is all they can hear, perhaps using phonemic
symbols. If necessary you can help by indicating with dashes the number of
missing words or syllables, perhaps even giving the first letter of each word.
Gradually the phonemic outline of the unstressed words emerges.
4 Once the sentence is complete you can ask ‘Why are these words stressed
and not the other ones?’
5 Referring to the tape again you can mark on the board other features of
connected speech such as linking, assimilating and elision. You can also
draw attention to any sections where the rhythm on the tape is particularly
regular, that is, displaying a stress-time quality.
6 The learners practise aloud the stressed syllables only, ‘stress-hopping’ at
roughly the speed of the tape. You can conduct the class by pointing at each
stress in turn with the appropriate timing. It is as though the stresses form
the stepping stones of the passage and the class are practising stepping
from one stress to the next.
7 Do the same again, but play the tape quietly at the same time, so that the
class are matching their timing and speed with the tape.
8 Still reading from the board, and without the tape, learners now say all the
intervening unstressed syllables as well, trying to keep the stressed
stepping stones the right distance apart.

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9 Repeat step 8 but playing the tape at the same time. Now their challenge is
to say all the syllables and stresses with the tape. Let them work with the
speed, not worrying too much about the sounds, even gabbling the sounds,
just to experience the speed. Over several repeats of the tape invite them to
clarify their pronunciation, maintaining the rhythm and the contrast between
stress and unstress.
10 Once the performance is as good as they can make it, ask them to read the
passage several more times maintaining speed, and after each reading
erase about twenty per cent of the words from the board. After the fifth
reading they will be reading fluently off an empty board!

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This may seem rather a detailed activity, but I encourage you to understand,
adapt and personalize it to suit your teaching style. I have found this activity of
great help in many kinds of lesson, and an excellent way for learners to gain
insight into what happens in the instant of hearing. I would not apply this level of
detailed activity to an utterance of more than about twenty to forty words.
After this investment of attention you can rewrite the same words in a jumble on
the board, and see what other sentences the class can make from them.
You can use the same tape as the source for language laboratory work as
described in activity 56. Ŷ

4 Rhythm in learner-originated utterances

Classroom activity 61 Rhythm in learners’ own utterances

1 Invite a learner to make up an utterance of any number of words and to say it to
the class with the rhythm they feel appropriate. When the learner has said it,
someone else lays out a string of white and red rods to represent the utterance
in terms of number of syllables and placement of stresses and unstresses.
2 The rod profile is tried out and discussed by everyone. Writing the sentence
on the board may also help.
3 Once a rod pattern is agreed, invite someone to move a red rod to a different
position, and then everyone has to say the sentence accordingly.
4 Ask the class to compose other sentences to fit the same rod pattern. For
example, the pattern: in Fig. 58 could yield Why did you close the door? or
/ really ought to go.

Fig. 59
The pattern in Fig. 59 could yield Well! Well! Well! or Love! Love! Love! or
Three blind mice.

Fig. 59

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Variation 1
Foster creativity by restriction. Limit the number of rods available to ten (perhaps
seven white and three red). Ask people to make sentences of a maximum of ten
syllables and to come up to the table and lay out the rods without saying what
their own sentence is. Ask learners to make sentences that fit the rod profile
and try them out. In how many different ways can each ten-syllable utterance be
stressed? How does that alter the shade of meaning?

Variation 2
An extra dimension to any of these exercises is to incorporate sense grouping on
the rod pattern so that gaps between rods indicate the division into sense
groups. This provides an extra challenge when learners try to compose
sentences to fit, since both sense groups and stress patterns have to coincide
with the arrangement of the rods. For example:

Fig. 60

Commentary ŶŶŶ
After working this way for a short while the learners will begin to realize that it is
easier to construct sentences for some distributions of stresses than others, that
regularly distributed stress patterns are easier to work with and that patterns with
tight groups of stresses, as in Fig. 58, are less easy. They begin to realize that
some stress patterns are quite un-English and are unlikely to occur in the
language at all. They quickly reach the point where they can comment on the
plausibility of patterns like these:

Fig. 61

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Classroom activity 62 Exploring strong forms and weak forms

1 Put a couple of sentences on the board, like this:
I can swim She’s going to London
2 Practise saying them with the stresses in different positions.
3 Identify different pronunciations of can, she, is, to, and point them out on the
chart. Label them as strong and weak.
4 Ask learners to think of other words that also have a strong and weak form and
collect suggestions on the board, whether or not they are suitable. Perhaps
search a text to help. The list of words on the board could look something like
this (though even three or four words would be quite sufficient for the
exercise):
that has he and do would
must them will to are some
5 Use the phonemic chart to identify strong and weak pronunciations and ask
learners to write them in phonemic spelling on the board beside the words.
6 In turn, practise each of the listed words in isolation in both strong and weak
form. This procedure will also weed out any words that found their way into
the list but which do not have a weak form. You could also ask learners which
of the words can have a contracted spelling. In the list above this could apply
to has, will, are and would (‘s, ‘u, ‘re, ‘d) 194.
7 Now ask the class to compose contrasting pairs of sentences containing the
same word sequence but with differently placed stress. Practise each
sentence as a piece of connected speech so that the meaning and context
are as far as possible made clear through the placement of prominence.
Typical learner sentences might be:
Can he do it for them?
Has he gone to her house?
Some of them have come from London.
You must do it!
He has done it!
8 Taking any one of these sentences, invite the class to lay out a rod profile and
to find how many different positions they can put the red rods in and still make
a plausible utterance. This would require some discussion of context for each
profile.

The ‘anti-blurt’ strategy

(to blurt = to speak suddenly, without thinking)
This strategy consists simply of thinking more carefully about what one is going
to say and how one is going to say it.
From time to time most of us must wish our learners would think before they
speak. Presumably this is because we feel that if they were to weed out some of
their own slips before speaking then we would only be left with the more
significant errors to deal with.
This deliberate attention to the planning and delivery of an utterance requires us to
appeal to the learners’ ability to monitor themselves both before and during speaking
so that their best performance will all the sooner become integrated and automatic.
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While this quality of attention has been implicit in most of this approach so far,
now is a good time to re-assess the degree to which we have instilled this quality
of carefulness because it is when working with rhythm, prominence and in the
next section with intonation that the overall pronunciation of an utterance
becomes inextricably linked to its intended and perceived meaning.
The ‘anti-blurt’ strategy consists simply of putting into circulation, in a game-like
way, the discipline of separating the planning of an utterance from its delivery, so
that structure, sounds and stream of speech qualities are all taken into account in
the light of the intended meaning.

Classroom activity 63 Installing the ‘anti-blurt’ device!

1 When you ask a question, encourage a few seconds of directed and alert
thinking time, during which learners may plan, visualize and internally hear
what they themselves are going to say, but without speaking.
2 Then, when they speak, you give their utterance full value by listening to it with
attentiveness and sincerity. If you, the teacher, treat your learners’ output with
respect, it is more likely that they will too, and so will be more prepared to
invest themselves fully in what they do, and attach importance to feedback
from you.
Such an attitude can also bring about more attentive listening by the rest of the
class, and a more intense, supportive and useful response from them.

4 Intonation
Problems encountered in teaching intonation
Here are three problem areas in teaching and learning intonation. Each is
followed by a response. I think that only if we act on them will we be able to
make significant improvements in the way we foster the learning of intonation.

Intonation is not as susceptible to change

Intonation seems not to be as accessible to direct cognitive intervention as the
pronunciation of individual sounds or the manipulation of grammatical
constructions or the learning of new vocabulary. Perhaps intonation is controlled
by a different part of the brain, less accessible to conscious intervention.

Response: make use of all learning channels

This makes it all the more important to make learning a holistic experience,
rather than a mainly cognitive one. That means involving the visual, auditory,
tactile, physical and affective senses, and making use of the power of intuition,
hunch, association and recognition. This in turn points to a curriculum based on
awareness rather than one based on mechanical activities.

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Classrooms impoverish intonation

There is a tendency for classwork to involve recitation, citation, exemplification
of language which has little discoursal value, despite its supposed communicative
content. Even activities set up to ‘make the language communicative’ such as
roleplay can end up quoting language rather than using it, thereby using
intonation patterns that are in fact quite appropriate to convey the meaning these
are the words I would say if the situation were real. Most learning situations assign
dominance to the teacher, so learners are unlikely to have the context within
which to produce all the elements of the intonation system. Teachers’ own
hierarchical relationship with learners may lead them to make limited and
unnatural use of intonation choices as well.

Response: be present, be real

We need to enrich classroom language by paying attention to interpersonal
relationships, especially the roles of speakers in relation to each other. This
requires teachers to be authentic in themselves, not just to play the role of teacher.
Activities must be real, here and now. The teacher needs to treat learners as
people, and to participate as a person. She needs to value listening not just to the
speech but to the speaker, and to differentiate between evaluating the language
and being accepting, affirming and non-evaluative towards the person who is
speaking. Be clear about your intention and about what your behaviour is saying
to your learners. Be aware of the psychological learning atmosphere that is
emanating from you all the time. Don’t get driven by what you wish was
happening, but enjoy and invest yourself in what is happening. Have a person-to-
person rather than teacher-to-pupil relationship.

The intonation of calculation rather than communication

Another level of difficulty arises from the learners’ preoccupation with language.
A lot of work in class is word selection rather than sense selection, an emphasis on
being right rather than on understanding others or being understood. Learners
spend time working things out, applying rules, using their cognitive faculties to
think, evaluate, formulate. So the non-communicative intonation patterns they
use, quoting intonation (proclaiming tone) and zero intonation (level tone), along
with pauses for thought, may be entirely appropriate to these internal and largely
non-communicative activities.

Response: treat the learner as a person

This problem already begins to change with the different attitudes described in
the previous response. As I become more genuine in my behaviour and attitude
towards the learners, and as I permit myself to enter into the learners’ world, to
understand what is going on, to be with the learners and not only with myself,
then whatever the learners are doing can take on significance. When I am only
interested in the superficial topic, football or pollution or food, or in the learners’
correctness of language, then I am not able to respond to learners as people, and
not able to turn their preoccupation with language into a source of interest, of
valuing, and of potential delight.

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Components for an intonation syllabus

This section looks at different kinds of activity that you could include in an
intonation syllabus:
1 signs and symbols to represent intonation;
2 sensitization to intonation;
3 listening to pre-recorded cassettes;
4 intonation from a printed text;
5 learners’ spontaneous speaking.

1 Signs and symbols to represent intonation

On the chart
The chart gives the five tones in the top right-hand corner. The four moving
tones are presented in one composite symbol, so that learners have to choose and
deliberately trace the intonation contour with a pointer. The level tone is shown
underneath the composite symbol.
You activate these tone choices in the same way as the other symbols on the
chart, by indicating them with a pointer. Sometimes you may want to indicate the
tone choice alone, either as a prompt or as a response. Sometimes you will
indicate the words of the tone unit before the pitch choice, at other times the
pitch choice before the words. The seven modes of chart usage in classroom
toolkit Level 1 apply to the use of tones as well as to sounds.
You and your learners may prefer to indicate these five pitch patterns with a hand
gesture, because that gives you more control over the range and degree of the
movement.

On paper or on the board

Here are some ways of notating pitches on the board or on paper.
1 Simple arrows before the tone unit, in which case you need to identify the
tonic syllable on which the main part of the pitch movement will take place.
For example:

2 Pitch lines through the words. For example:

Or you could do it like this:

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Or like this:

The beginning and end of tone units can be marked with a vertical line, as in
the first example.

2 Sensitization to intonation

Classroom activity 64 Listening to themselves – mother tongue

1 Arrange for learners to record on cassette a few sentences of themselves
speaking their own language.
2 Ask them to listen to their own (and each other’s) recordings. Suggest that
they listen to the way they speak and not what they say.
3 Discuss what they notice in the way of stress, pitch, length. Can they pick out
the highest and lowest syllables?
You could comment yourself in a non-evaluative and supportive way about what
you notice, especially intonation features. If the class is multilingual then some
will not understand the mother tongue of their colleagues, but they can still
comment on the intonation features.

Classroom activity 65 Listening to themselves – in English

You can do the same thing with learners speaking in English and listening to
each other and commenting. You can talk to individuals about their own tape, but
you can also talk to the whole class about how you hear a tape, letting them
behind the scenes of what the teacher notices.

Classroom activity 66 Listening to you – target language or mother tongue

1 Read your class a few sentences of English with which they are familiar;
perhaps a dialogue from the coursebook. Leave the rhythm as it should be but
remove all trace of intonation, and do not even fall at the end of each sentence.
If you have a monolingual group you can do this in the mother tongue also.
2 Repeat the sentences with fairly expressive intonation. Discuss the
differences. Could they identify the highest pitch, or the lowest?
3 You can ask the learners to try these two contrasting activities.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
These activities give learners the opportunity to identify simple intonation
contrasts such as ‘same’ and ‘different’, ‘highest’ and ‘lowest’, and then ‘up’ and
‘down’, which they may not have been consciously aware of before. It helps you
to find out what they can already perceive, and gives an opportunity to the class
to label intonation features. Maybe they begin to talk of ‘up’ and ‘down’ in
connection with tones, and perhaps even to use arrows on the board to indicate
pitch directions. Maybe they can use gestures to indicate up or down. Ŷ

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Classroom activity 67 Listening to you listening to them!

1 Record a few sentences of each learner in your class as a natural part of an
oral activity.
2 Invite the class to listen to and comment on their own performances (as
always in an atmosphere of mutually supportive curiosity).
3 Invite a colleague (probably another teacher) into the class to listen with you
to the tape, both of you sitting in front of the class.
4 The two of you talk, as if just to each other, about what you notice about the
speakers’ stress, intonation, pauses, etc. You do this in a supportive way,
finding the positive points and showing the way forward.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This is a good opportunity for sharpening observations about the stream of
speech and for raising self-esteem by valuing and taking seriously someone else’s
performance. Ŷ

Classroom activity 68 Vowel sounds and pitch movement

When working on individual vowel sounds you can also work on pitch change.
1 Learners say long vowels and diphthongs with both a falling and a rising pitch.
Ask them to identify the direction. Use the chart to indicate both phoneme
and pitch direction.
2 Extend this to include all five tones. Use the games of recognition and
production suggested by the seven modes in classroom toolkit Level 1.

3 Listening to pre-recorded cassettes

Classroom activity 69 Extending awareness using a recording

For this activity use a dialogue from your coursebook, or if possible some fairly
authentic recording. This activity extends previous activities to include work on
intonation. Build up the following steps on the board.
1 Play the tape. Ask learners to listen for the stresses.
2 Ask them to put the stressed sounds and syllables they hear on the board.
Don’t correct them.
3 Ask them to fill in the other words, and observe any word links.
4 Ask them to underline the stressed syllables.
5 Notice whether there are any stretches of three or more stresses that seem
to make a short rhythm.
6 Ask them to listen for the highest and lowest pitches, or any that are quite
clear, and to mark them over the text. Notice those pitches that finish with a
rising tone, and those that finish with a falling tone.
7 Indicate the ones that seem most significant to the meaning. Don’t be afraid
to get it wrong.
8 Mark any obvious tone group divisions with vertical lines.

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9 Consolidate these observations by helping the class to incorporate them into

their own delivery of the sentence.
10 Practise with the tape for speed, and also without the tape for consolidation.
11 Ask the class for their observations about the meanings of the speakers, and
make any links to the intonation patterns, taking into account anything known
about the speakers. Do rising tones seem to be referring back to the
common ground and do falling tones seem to be adding something new?
(See ‘Common ground’, discovery toolkit Level 3).

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Help the class to notice whatever they can, and to talk about their observations.
As you and your class become experienced in this kind of exercise the discussions
may refer to attitudes, grammatical boundaries, and the interplay of common
ground between the speakers.
I try to remind myself that these activities should be done with a light touch, and
done with the class as a joint exploration, not done to the class as an epic of
compulsively helpful teaching. I need to resist the temptation to launch into an
A-Z of intonation. One very simple thing that helps create a workshop
atmosphere of purposeful investigation is to arrange the lesson so that as often as
possible several people at the same time are writing on the board their guess, or
their observation or their solution or their attempt.
These kinds of awareness questions can help in an intonation activity: ‘Where are
the pauses?’ ‘Where is the highest pitch?’ ‘Where is the lowest pitch?’ ‘Where are
the stresses?’ ‘Which are the most important stresses?’ ‘Where is the tonic?’
‘Which direction is the pitch movement?’ ‘Which words are joined together?’
‘Which is the longest syllable?’ ‘Which syllables seem to disappear?’ Ŷ

Classroom activity 70 Rehearse dialogue – then listen to recording

This is similar to the previous activity but with one big difference. Using the
transcript of a recorded dialogue written on the board, the class take these steps:
1 Decide on stressed syllables.
2 Decide on word links, vowel reduction, and other simplifications.
3 Rehearse these, and begin to get a feel for some natural intonation choices.
4 Choose and mark the tonics and intonation contours.
5 Rehearse all these features, bring the dialogue up to a good speed, and work
on the problems that emerge.
6 Perform it to each other, and perhaps record it.
Only then, when they have invested all this work in the dialogue, do they listen to
the published recording of the dialogue. What do they notice?

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Commentary ŶŶŶ
Because of their previous investment in the dialogue learners will hear every
nuance and every deviation from their own performance. You can then ask them
to point out, discuss and illustrate some of the differences between their
rendering and the published recording, and draw conclusions. One conclusion
might be that they feel their own version sounds more ‘real’. Ŷ

4 Intonation from a printed text

Classroom activity 71 Texts, sense groups and reading aloud

This activity uses a printed text, perhaps a narrative from the coursebook or the
class reader, or an authentic text you have used for comprehension and
vocabulary.
1 The class prepares the text according to the first six steps of activity 59. This
can be done individually or in small groups, but it is also very instructive done
as a class activity on the board as this brings everyone together. Have
learners, rather than yourself, doing the board work.
2 Ask learners to study the sense groups (already marked) and to choose an
intonation pattern for each one. Then ask them to rehearse it.
3 Each learner reads a short section aloud, while the others listen to the
differences and offer their observations. You could record it for playback and
discussion.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
Learners’ reading aloud is full of information about how they understand the
text. Does their reading consist of disconnected words and phrases, or
disconnected sentences? Are they quoting the text or are they interpreting it for
the listener? (See ‘Reading aloud and intonation’, discovery toolkit Level 3.) Ŷ

5 Learners’ spontaneous speaking

So far the activities for intonation work have used material that is already scripted
to allow the speaker to attend to intonation rather than to syntax and vocabulary.
The aim now is to make a link between the awareness of the stream of speech
characteristics developed under controlled conditions, and more spontaneous
speaking. Here are two activities that you can adapt to your situation:
• free speaking with sense grouping;
• telling anecdotes.

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Classroom activity 72 Free speaking with sense grouping

This activity deliberately separates planning and formulating the utterance from
speaking and making fluent, in order later to become better at doing both together.
1 You or someone else introduces a topic that each can respond to in their own
way. I usually take something open-ended, eg talking about a picture or an
object brought into the classroom.
2 Everyone is invited to make responses, though only one speaks at a time. At
first the responses are best kept to a couple of sense groups. Learners think
of what they want to say, and rehearse their statements internally.
3 Anyone who is ready to speak tries to say each group of words smoothly and
fluently, linked together, and with some feeling. At the end of each group they
pause to plan and internally rehearse the next sense group before speaking.
4 Others listen and offer feedback.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
The internal preparation includes rehearsal of the phrasing, linking, stressing and
intonation contour. Delivery can be as slow or fast as the speaker likes. The aim is
to do the planning and rehearsal, in order then to invest in the delivery, in ‘being
behind the meaning’ of each utterance.
A good antidote to this activity is to do the opposite. Each person is to speak as
quickly and spontaneously as possible, with the least preparation. Discuss the
outcome. Ŷ

Classroom activity 73 Relating personal anecdotes and stories

The aim of this is to take a topic where the content is known to the speaker but
the precise wording is not. A story or personal anecdote would be quite suitable.
1 Start by telling a short anecdote yourself, but don’t be too fluent. Leave
pauses to gain attention, to let the words sink in, and to give yourself time to
formulate what to say next.
2 Now invite learners to do the same. Perhaps they have already prepared an
outline of what to say. Invite the others to listen and at the end to give
feedback on the fluency and the use of intonation.

Commentary ŶŶŶ
This is a demanding and fruitful activity that can be done with any group
provided that the previous steps of the intonation syllabus have been carried out.
I find that I learn a lot about the stream of speech and intonation by working on
it side by side with my learners. Ŷ

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5 Some integrative activities and suggestions

Classroom activity 74 The ‘humane dictation’
Dictations can practise many language skills including aural comprehension,
sound/spelling relationships, syntax and internal retention of utterances for
hearing and re-hearing. Possibly most significant of all, learners begin to discover
what it is about spoken English that they tend not to hear. (For example, the short
unstressed syllables of content words and entire one-syllable function words.)
When conducted with the right attitude dictations can be challenging and highly
engaging activities. This is a format I often use, and in the commentary
afterwards I have emphasized some of the special aspects of the ‘humane
dictation’. There are five phases:
• choosing the text;
• preparing the text;
• the dictation;
• marking it;
• finding the best mistakes.

Choosing the text

Ask the learners to select a passage for a dictation, perhaps from the class reader
or the coursebook or a text written by the class. They can search individually and in
small groups, and all suggestions are recorded on the board by a class member.
Perhaps each group also states why it has chosen its excerpt. This gives learners
responsibility for a decision that is usually taken by the teacher, and it gets
learners thinking about why they would choose one text rather than another.

Preparing the text

Once the choice is made ask everyone to read through the text and to identify
any mistakes they think they might make during the dictation. Ask class
members to predict how many mistakes they will make, and – betting shop style
– ask them to put their name and their prediction on the board. Then ask them
all to study the possible mistakes they have identified. The text is still open for
them to look at. This helps them to sharpen their awareness of the kinds of
mistakes they each make, and to take responsibility preventing it. I may suggest
they visualize tricky spellings in their mind’s eye.

The dictation
I follow a fairly conventional procedure: I read each phrase two or three times and
then I read the whole thing again. But my reading remains faithful to connected
speech, and I deliver the phrase in rapid colloquial speech the first time, and in
more careful colloquial speech the second time for those who didn’t catch it. I
take my cues from the learners because I want them all to be successful.
There is no reason why it should always be the teacher who reads. There is
much to be learned from the problems that arise when a learner reads the
dictation for the class. Or you can share the reading with a learner.

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 5 Some integrative activities and suggestions

Marking it
Learners check their own version against the text. They can change papers to
find mistakes that they have missed. There is no need to cheat since there are
no marks, indeed mistakes will be treated positively.

Finding the best mistakes

Learners examine their own mistakes, and come to the board to write their total
number of mistakes against their prediction. This is done in an atmosphere of
supportive interest. (‘You predicted nine and you only made three, what
happened?’ ‘You predicted five and you made eight!’). Then you ask each person
to select the ‘best’ mistake they made, to come to the board and write up both
the mistake and the correction, and to tell the class the story of that mistake, ie
how they made it, where the confusion came from, etc. Invite the class to
discuss the merits of each mistake, and to be curious about its origin.

Commentary on the ‘humane dictation’ ŶŶŶ

The learning in this goes well beyond the conventional dictation because learners
are choosing the text, clarifying personal criteria for mistakes, focusing on self-
appraised weaknesses, discussion of criteria for selecting a dictation text,
negotiating who reads and dealing with the problems that arise, examining
mistakes and getting behind them, finding that mistakes are occasions for
curiosity, talking openly about mistakes with interest rather than judgement, and
experiencing a different kind of attitude emanating from the teacher.
There could be many kinds of follow-up activity to consolidate the awarenesses
that emerge through this process. Ŷ

Other integrative activities

Inviting visitors to the classroom

Visitors can read a short story, be interviewed, reproduce sentences previously
composed by the class. Whatever the activity a prior instruction to your class is to
notice as much as possible about how the visitor speaks.

Using the video camera

Use a video camera to record the class in an oral activity. Focus on face, gesture
and mouth movements. Replay to notice aspects of pronunciation. Replay with
the sound off to notice visual cues, and to try to lip read.

Parallel speaking
Have learners work with a tape of spoken English, aiming at the end to speak at
the same time as the recorded voice and to follow the pronunciation, rhythm,
stress, intonation, etc. This is best done with individual headphones or in a
language laboratory.

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Classroom toolkit Level 3: Connected speech

Practising dialogues with different intonation

After working on the coursebook dialogue, invite learners to rehearse the same
dialogue but giving it a quite different meaning (perhaps bizarre or hilarious).
They achieve this through pause, intonation, innuendo, etc.

Adapting spelling and number games to phonemic script

You can easily construct phonemic versions of Hangman, Scrabble, Bingo,
anagrams, crosswords, etc.

Non-specialized pronunciation materials

Even a simple comprehension passage offers many opportunities for phonological
investigation. Learners can search any text for diphthongs, consonant clusters,
schwa, silent letters, particular sounds, word stress, instances of regular rhythm,
vowel reduction, word-linking, simplification, sense groups, tone unit boundaries,
possible intonation patterns, etc.

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Appendix 1
Further thoughts
... about using the cassette player
1 Use the cassette player at the lowest comfortable volume level. Playing the
recording at a higher volume has more to do with the teacher’s anxiety than
with helping the learner to hear better. In fact I think a higher volume can
make the learner’s ear lazy while the lowest comfortable volume can create
attention. Higher volumes also tend to distort the sound.

2 By turning the volume right down a point can be reached where the stressed
syllables are still audible, and the unstressed syllables are not. This is a striking
experiment which often works, and it can be a dramatic way of illustrating that
volume is a component of stress, and also of highlighting the rhythmic nature
of a sentence or phrase. It may be easier if you start by turning the volume off
and then gradually increase it to find the precise point at which these things
can be heard.

3 Use the tone control. If you turn the treble off, and perhaps the bass up, you
emphasize the intonation and rhythmic profile of an utterance on the tape. If
you turn the treble up and take the bass off you emphasize the individual
sounds, especially the consonants. Of course in classrooms we often have poor
quality equipment and acoustics. But if you can make some difference in the
tone, then use more treble when working on individual sounds, and less treble
when working on pitch contours.

4 Learners can operate the tape recorder. Why should the teacher switch it on
and off and make every decision about stopping and pausing and playing the
tape? Perhaps there are some times when you must be in control of it, but
must it be all the time? It is enabling and empowering to involve everyone in
the production of the lesson and learners may then take more responsibility for
their learning.

5 When you are doing a speaking activity, sometimes record it on tape for use
with the class later. There are plenty of activities you can do with a recording
of an ‘imperfect example of English’, and hearing themselves can sometimes
have more impact than hearing anonymous correct voices, especially when the
listening is done in a psychological atmosphere that is interested and
supportive rather than judgmental or competitive. And include yourself on the
recording too, not because you are the teacher but simply when it is your turn.

6 However complicated or fiddly the buttons on your cassette player are, try to
become an expert at playing the last phrase again. You need this for repeated
intensive listening to key phrases, without either repeating the whole paragraph
leading up to that phrase, or getting those awful high-speed squeals while you
rewind.

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 ... about using the blackboard
1 Let learners do as much of the writing on the board as possible. There is
nothing sacred about that space in front of the board. It doesn’t belong to you.
Inviting learners into that space is a simple psychological strategy to increase
engagement and to invigorate the lesson. When learners read something out or
perform a dialogue in pairs, have them come to the front. When learners have
suggestions to be put on the board, get them out and give them the chalk to do
it. Why do you have to write the learners’ words on the board? What is the
subtle message about power here? When you want to put a few learners’
sentences on the board for intensive examination by the whole class, get them
all up to write their sentences themselves.

2 Encourage several to write on the board at the same time. That way you save
time too.

3 Use the board as a worktable. If a word needs changing or correcting, ask a

learner, perhaps the original author to come to the board and do it. The lesson
doesn’t have to stop while they come to the front. You can carry on with the
next item.

4 Make it a place to collect suggestions, answers, guesses, attempts, etc but let
the originator do the work and have the involvement. Don’t hijack their work
and so also subtly hijack their engagement in the lesson.

... about using a pointer

1 The person who points usually does so silently. The speaking (usually from
others) comes before, or after.

2 Using the pointer can produce a sense of expectation and anticipation.

3 If a person working on the chart makes a mistake and you want to intervene,
stop the pointer rather than the person, because this can be done with a slight
and gentle movement and without speaking.

4 When you want to invite someone up to the chart try to offer the pointer to
the whole class rather than choosing an individual to give it to. This promotes
a sense of learner self-direction rather than yet more teacher direction.

5 Turn-taking is thus indicated by passing the pointer from one person to

another. And whoever has the pointer has the focus of attention at that
moment.

6 Never use it to point at a learner!

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Appendix 2
Phonemic charts for other languages
The principles governing the arrangement of the phonemic chart can be applied
to any language to create charts to help learners. Here are two such charts, for
French and German, using the same principles for layout of vowels and
consonants, and also incorporating into the layout particular features of each
language. These charts have been in regular use for teaching the respective
languages.

French

© Jean-Claude Renie and Adrian Underhill

German

© Jonathan Marks and Adrian Underhill

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 Further reading
Bradford, B. 1988 Intonation in Context CUP
Brazil, D. 1997 The Communicative Value of Intonation In English CUP
Brown, A. 1991 Teaching English Pronunciation Routledge
Catford, J. 2001 A Practical Introduction to Phonetics OUP
Crystal, D. 2002 A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics Blackwell
Gattegno, C. 1976 The Common Sense of Teaching Foreign Languages Educational
Solutions
Gilbert, J. 2000 Clear Speech CUP
Gimson, A. 1980 An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English Edward Arnold
Hancock, M 1995 Pronunciation Games CUP
Hewings, M. 2004 Pronunciation Practice Activities CUP
Jenkins, J. 2001 The Phonology of English as an International Language OUP
Roach, P. 2000 English Phonetics and Phonology CUP
Underhill, A. 2002 Macmillan English Dictionary Workbook Macmillan
Wells, J. 2004 Longman Pronunciation Dictionary Longman

Useful websites
http ://w ww.onestopenglish .com
http://www.bbc.co .uk/worldservice/learningenglish
http://www.developingteachers.com
http://www.etprofessional .com
http ://www.hltmag .co.uk
http://www.iatefl .org

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Index
accent 51, 58, 69-70 stress in 27-8 position 3, 5, 9, 13-16
allophone viii-ix, 44, 50 visual clues 28 reading 28, 169, 203
alphabet, international phonetic viii, 51, rounding 14, 21, 23
element of diphthong 22-8, 122
122 spreading 14, 23
elision 61-5, 173-4
pronunciation of 122-3 loudness 52, 54, 179
energy 12, 142, 145
articulation 2-4, 12, 33-47, 52, 124-8
in unstressed syllables 53-4 metrical material 109, 176-7, 180, 182,
assimilation 60-3, 173
profile 52, 161, 166 185
assumptions xii
errors 133-4, 136 mime 115-17, 119-22, 127-31, 138,
attitude 83, 84, 86, 132-3
169, 182
finger correction 136, 160-6
box, phoneme ix, 2, 10, 22, 98 mistakes 109, 119,132-3, 135-43,
fortis30-3, 36, 43, 126-7
blackboard 206 149-50, 202-3
fricative 43, 47
breath 19, 30-3, 38-40, 42, 127 model xi, 100-4, 107, 110
French 207
British English viii, xi giving 101, 110
German 207 internal imaging 110, 113-14
cassettes 197-9, 205
gesture 115-22, 126-30, 138 non-verbal 110, 113-14, 117-19
chart, phonemic viii-xi, 3-7, 9-11,15,
glottal stop 37 repeated 110-11
21-6, 30-3, 37, 39, 41, 43, 47, 50-1,
grammatical indicator 84 single 110, 112
112-13, 117, 122, 124-6, 131, 140-1,
monophthongs 2-22, 107, 118,122
145-7, 180-1, 196, 206 head 76, 79-82 mime and gesture 120
a first lesson with 107-110
information structure 59, 85, 91 sequencing 119
as map x
intelligibility 75, 171-2 working with 118
general applications of 96-8
intonation ix, 2, 80, 84-6, 88, 107, 109, multisensory dimensions of
integrating 99
111, 194-7,200-1,204 pronunciation xii, 135
introducing 99, 118-19
seven modes of usage 100-6 and learnability 75 nonsense word grouping 177, 188-9
co-articulation 49, 145 and reading aloud 91 nasal (see consonants)
common ground 59, 74, 86-7, 89-91, 199 and rhythm 59
and word stress 57-8 onset 33, 37-8, 43, 76, 78-82, 87
connected speech (see speech, stream of)
attitude 83 unvoiced fortis fricative 43
consonants 2-4, 20, 29-47, 97, 107
affricate 33-5, 61 choice 75, 86 parallel speaking 181, 203
distinguishing 29 discourse 85, 92 phoneme viii-xi, 2, 6, 11, 22-3, 25, 29,
introducing 108,124-9, 131,141 form of 76 35, 39, 49-51, 118, 146, 150-1
fricative 38-41 meaning of 82-3, 85 phonemic set viii, 27, 68, 107, 124, 145
lateral 44 oblique 86, 89 pitch 57, 75-88, 91-3, 194-7
mime and gesture 128 problems in teaching 195 variables of 77
nasal 42-3, 47, 130 sensitization to 197 plosive (see consonants)
plosive 33-5, 37, 125 syllabus 196 pointer x, 98, 104, 106, 113, 206
strong and weak 31, 126 theory 93 prehead 76, 79-82
unvoiced 31, 126 intrusive /j/, /r/, /w/ 65-7 production 2, 4, 5, 19, 64, 73, 83, 96,
voiced 31, 126 jaw, energy in 12 132, 153, 184, 198, 205
weak 31 position 5, 7, 9,11-12 profile 155, 156-9, 184-5, 192-3
context ix, 18-21, 27 prominence 58, 69-70, 77-82, 87, 90-2,
juncture 68, 173
continuant, post-alveolar frictionless 45 171,176-7
correction 132-8 key 86, 92-3 pronunciation 171-2
finger 136, 160-66 additive 92 materials, conventional xi, 172, 204
techniques 137-44 equative 92 productive 171-2
Cuisenaire rods 154-9 contrastive 92 received xi, 57, 45, 59
receptive 171-2
definition 28, 52, 133 language laboratory 140, 181, 186, 191,
slow down 50
dictation 202-3 203
speed up 50
dictionary 166-8 lateral 44
diphthongs 22-8 length 2, 5, 16-23, 27 received pronunciation (see
introducing 107-8, 121-2 mark 17, 19-20, 23 pronunciation)
centring 22, 26-7 lenis 30-3, 38, 126-7 rhotic 45, 66
closing 22-5 liaison 65-7, 173-4 rhyme 90, 109, 180-5
length in 27 linking /j/, /r/, /w/ 66-7 rhythm 59, 61-2, 64-5, 69, 72-3, 80,
mime and gesture 128-31 lip movement 5, 6, 13-15, 23, 25 90, 97, 107,109,176-87, 190-2

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rods (see Cuisenaire rods) stress 27-8, 51, 53 tones, proclaiming 86-92
RP (see pronunciation, received) a practical definition of 52 referring 86-92
and intonation ix, 57 tongue movement 5-6, 26, 45, 130
and loudness 179-80 position 5, 7-16, 21-5,44
schwa 11, 182-3, 189 and lung power 51 tonic syllable (see syllable)
semi-vowel 29, 46-7, 67 transactions – modes of using the chart
attributes of 52
100, 105-6
sense groups 91, 164-5, 177, 185-92, contrastive 70
200, 201 in compound nouns 54 unstress
simplification 59, 97, 173-6 in connected speech 58, 176-7 in the stream of speech 73
slips 133-7 in derivatives 56 in words 53
sounds viii, x-xi, 2, 11, 49, 101, 108, in two-syllable nouns/verbs 56 ventriloquism 169-70
114-16, 123, 128-9, 135, 140, in two-syllable words 54, 152-6 vocabulary 148, 167, 169
145, 147, 150, 161-2, 198 primary 54, 157-8 vocal tract 2, 5, 30, 124
correcting 136-43, 160-6 secondary 54, 157-8 voice 30-47, 126-8
in between 9 sentence 58, 69 vowel 3, 5, 22, 29
in connected speech 58-60 shift in words 54 back 5, 10, 13, 16
in isolation 2, 96, 101, 118 timing 71-2, 178-9 centre 5, 10, 16
intrusive 67 word 55, 109, 151-9 close 11-12
linking 47, 66 front 5, 10, 13, 16,24
stress time, non-metrical 185
high 5, 9-10, 12-13, 16, 22, 24
reduction of 173 strong and weak forms 64,193 in-between 6, 9
significant viii, 37 study, three levels of x length 16-23,27
simplification of 60-8, 173 sufficient 135, 137, 143, 163, 165, 180 long 17
syllabus 118 syllable 151-2 low 8-10, 12, 16
speaking, learner’s spontaneous 200-1 timing 71-2 mid 5, 8, 10, 16
speech, careful colloquial 59, 64, 72, tonic 76-82 neutral 5
85, 172,202 syllabus, rhythm (see rhythm) open 11-12
rapid colloquial 37, 59, 72, 85, 172, symbols viii-x, 2, 22, 26, 51, 153, 196 reduction 57-8, 62-4, 173
202 sounds and pitch movement 198
stream of xi, 47, 58, 61-5, 68-9, 72, weak forms 64, 193
73, 97, 151, 164, 173, 200 tail 76, 78-82 word boundary 47, 68
spelling 146-9, 166-7, 204 target language 197 stress (see stress)
strategy, anti-blurt 193 pronunciation 171-2 words, citation form of 48
stream of speech (see speech) tone unit 76-93, 190 in isolation 48-57, 145-170

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