COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE TITLE: Descriptive Phonetics
COURSE CODE: ENG 314
Instructor: Dr. Ammar Mohammed Ahmed Mudawy
Website: ---------------------------------------- Email: am.ahmed@mu.edu.sa
Office no. S054 Phone no. 0508063145
Office location: 2 nd F College/ Institute: Education Zulfi
A. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of the principles underlying "phonetics". It helps students to differentiate between the modes of Arabic and
English pronunciations. It also provides intensive pronunciation practice for non-native speakers of English who want to improve utterance of their English speech in multiple perspectives.
B. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
Lectures – Power Point presentation- class discussion
C. COURSE OBJECTIVES
Objective 1. It provides students with a fundamental understanding of the principles underlying "phonetics".
Objective 2. to Improve students’ pronunciation ability and phonetic awareness
Objective 3. to develop the students' ability to understand and analyze different varieties of
English
Objective 4. to develop the students' auditory processing ability in distinguishing suprasegmentals
Objective 5. to help students to communicate, negotiate and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses as team members.
D. COURSE LENGTH
The course is 42 hours

E. TOPICS/UNITS AND DATES
Week 1 : (Starting)
First meeting with students: explaining the course (course orientation)
Week 2 :
Articulation and Acoustics (Speech production – Sound Waves – places of articulation – Manners of articulation )
Week 3 :
Articulation and Acoustics (Stop – Nasal – Fricative – Approximant )
Week 4 :
Articulation and Acoustics (Additional Consonantal Gestures – Articulation of
Vowel Sounds – The Sounds of Vowels )
Week 5 :
Phonology and Phonetic Transcription.(The Transcription of Consonants- The
Transcription of Vowels- Consonant and Vowels Charts )
Week 6 :
The Consonants of English (Stop Consonants- Fricative Consonants)
Week 8 :
The Consonants of English( Affricates- Nasals – Lateral – Approximant)
Week 9 :
English Vowels
Week 10 :
English Words and Sentences (Words in Connected Speech – stress Degrees of
Stress- Sentence Rhythm)
Week 11 :
English Words and Sentences (Words in Connected Speech – Intonation- Target
Tones )
Week 12 :
Consonant Gestures
Week 13 :
Final Exam Revision.

F. TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED TOOLS OR SUPPLIES
1.
Roach, P. 2009. English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course (Fourth
Edition) Cambridge University Press.
2. Peter Ladefoged. 2001. A Course in Phonetics, 4th edn. HBJ.
3.
Ladefoged, P. & Keith J. (2011). A course in phonetics. 6th ed. Boston MA:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning. ISBN 9781428231269.
G. GRADING POLICY & PLAN
1. A+ = 95 – 100 marks
A = 90—94 marks
B+ = 85—89marks
B= 80—84 marks
C+ = 75—79marks
C = 70—74 marks
D+ = 65—69 marks
D = 60—64 marks
E= 59 and below
2. Weighting of course components:
Component 1 Quizzes 10 marks = 10%
Component 2 Participation 5 marks = 5%
Component 3 Assignments 5 marks = 5%
Component 4 Mid-term 20 marks = 20%
Component 5 Final Exam 60 marks = 60%
H. COURSE COMPONENT SPECIFICS & INSTRUCTIONS
Procedures pertaining to course components:
Component 1 Quizzes will be given from week 4-- 8
Component 2 Assignments from week 2— 7
Component 3 mid-term week 9

I. CLASSROOM & LAB SAFETY
- Teachers should ensure the use of Board markers when they write something on whiteboards.
- Teachers should lock e-podium once it is used.
Teachers should leave the class-room in the end in order to make sure that no student is sitting in the class once the class has been finished.
Classroom activities should be supervised and monitored by the teacher himself.
The teacher should ensure that the classroom environment is suitable and intact.