Introduction to Teaching Pronunciation at Beginner and Intermediate Levels
Lect. univ. drd. Daniela POPESCU,
Universitatea ,,Constantin Brâncuşi” Târgu Jiu
I. Argument.
No one can hope to be a successful foreign language teacher unless he/she has a good ear.
As Daniel Jones has stated in his English Phonetics, if one’s ear is sensitive by nature, it may be
made more sensitive by training; and if one’s ear is good by nature, it can be made still better by
training.
A good knowledge of English phonetics will allow any teacher to find that being aware of
English pronunciation becomes a part of him/her, rather than appearing to be a mass of general
principles which he/she has difficulty in remembering. So the teacher has to keep in mind that
his/her children go through the same process when they learn English: they apprehend what their
teacher teaches them, and only when they practise it and apply it for some time does it become easy
to use.
The teacher of English cannot expect his/her learners to speak English without first of all
hearing English. The language heard acts as a model for the spoken language to follow. The learner
finds difficulty in understanding everything bombarding his/her ears until he/she is at a fairly
advanced level. He/she in fact hears or perceives only a restricted number of items.
Most of the techniques used in teaching pronunciation are enjoyable, but like any form of
practice they should not be over-used. Apart from a few simple flashcards or blackboard drawings,
the main requirement is planning what, when and how to teach.
II.
Main Pronunciation Items to be Taught.
1. The static forms.
Static forms are elements which have to be practised individually in order to ensure
intelligibility. When we speak about them we refer to the sounds of the English language (vowels,
semivowels, consonants and diphthongs), the phonetic alphabet, the word stress and the word
linking.
1.1.Vowels and consonants.
Instead of attempting to deal comprehensively with all the English vowels and consonants
and their combinations, and with all the English stress and intonation patterns, it would seem more
realistic and desirable – because of lack of time and the particular difficulties of the learners – to
concentrate on some carefully chosen pronunciation items.
As a general rule, learners should aim at pronouncing reasonably well the frequently
occurring consonants and vowels. The common function words containing the consonant /ð/ (the,
this, that, these , those, they , them, their, then, thus, than, there, etc.) are likely to be used in many
lessons. It is surely a good idea to ensure that the learners master this consonant.
Then, the consonant /ø/ may be a serious pronunciation difficulty for a learner, so that
he/she will try to substitute either /s/ or /t/, thus creating such homophones as /sin/ for ‘sing’ and
‘thing’ and /to:t/ for ‘thought’ and ‘taught’. Persistent substitution could cause occasional
misunderstandings.
Good language teachers should be aware of the sounds and articulation of the target
language and of the learners’ mother tongue. A lot of vowel and consonant practice entails
discrimination between two items. Many children have difficulty distinguishing between the vowel
in ‘cut’ and the vowel in ‘cat’. Thus, they could be asked to indicate whether the sounds are the
same or different in some minimal pairs. Of course, this is only the first very limited stage in
auditory discrimination. Children will rarely come across these words in such isolation, so the
teacher will need to use these words in phrases and sentences. Not only are phrases and sentences
more authentic language, but the context will help children to discriminate accurately between for
instance:
The hat/hut on the table, and
The hat/hut on the hillside.
1.2. Word stress.
Stress is the articulation of a syllable with greater emphasis, or more force, than others.
Stressed syllables are slightly lengthened and are usually given a higher pitch or intonation level.
English words of two or more syllables have one syllable which has the major emphasis, in terms of
loudness and length. Rules to predict where word stress will come are not very helpful. In most
cases the pattern has to be learned with each new word as a part of the pronunciation. In some
cases, stress acts to distinguish words semantically, for example a present/to present, a blackbird/a
black bird, an export/to export.
Stress produces natural differences in pronunciation. If the teacher teaches stress, the weak
forms will fall into place without too much difficulty. If he/she doesn’t, his/her children will fail not
only to convey what they mean, but also to use weak forms.
Stress is at the heart of the matter, affecting both rhythm and intonation patterns. There are
many ways to focus on stress, to practise it and even play with it.
Variation in the stress of different words in an utterance is an important feature of spoken
English, since it determines the rhythm of the utterance and the quality of the vowel sounds. Does
the listener interpret the utterance as a command or as a request for confirmation or a cry of
disbelief? It will depend on his/her ability to recognize the intonation pattern, the rise and the fall of
the voice.
It is also valuable to practise certain moods and attitudes because it makes children aware of
the importance of voice-range and modulation in English and trains them to be expressive.
The word stress is invariable and so the learner should always learn the stress pattern of a
new word as well as its meaning. It is more important to get word-stress right than even intonation,
because if it is wrong the listener may well fail to recognize the word altogether, even if the vowels
and consonants are correctly pronounced.
1.3.Word linking.
One of the problems of pronunciation is that the foreign learner is reluctant to let words run
into one another. Without good word-linking and good stress, words become unmanageable chunks,
and fluency is obstructed.
She isn’t tall.
He’s singing.
No, I’m a student.
2. The expressive forms.
Expressive forms consist of elements whose fluctuations have to be shown if the speaker
wants to make his intentions and feelings clear. They are sentence stress and rhythm, weak forms,
voice range, longer sentences, intonation patterns, tone, tempo and fluency.
2.1. Sentence stress.
Sentence stress varies according to what the speaker wants to say. Look at the following:
This is a German book (emphasizing that it is a book rather than anything else).
This is a German book (emphasizing that it is German rather than French or any
other nationality).
This is a German book (emphasizing that this object, rather than another one, is a
German book).
This is a German book (emphasizing that it really is a German book, not something
else).
Main stress, therefore, changes as the speaker’s intention or the context itself changes,
emphasizing new information.
2.2. Weak forms.
In most of the form-words (articles, prepositions, conjunctions, personal, possessive, relative
and reciprocal pronouns, auxiliary and modal verbs) the absence of the accent causes the reduction
of their vowel length, the reduction of vowels to or the elision of vowels or consonants. These are
the weak forms of these words. The correct use of weak forms is an essential part of English
speech.
2.3. Voice range.
The way the voice moves from a high to a low pitch or vice versa is called voice range.
Excitement uses a wider voice range, while any feeling that is subdued, sad, indifferent or bored is
shown by an absence of variations.
Voice range is a personal instrument with which any speaker of English can express the
strength of his feelings in a situation. It usually comes into operation on the first stressed word in a
sentence.
2.4. Intonation patterns.
Learners will acquire correct intonation patterns only if teachers always use them
appropriately themselves and insist on natural language use in the classroom. One of the greatest
obstacles to the use of meaningful intonation patterns in class is an insistence on display language.
Composition style answers cause thoughtful, slowed down speech, unlike natural snappy answers
which automatically attribute message stress and the falling intonation pattern that accompanies the
giving of information.
If the teacher is not sure whether sentences are rising or falling and he/she cannot detect the
correct stress, he/she must not be dismayed. Ideally, he/she should take a short course in ear
training. If this is impossible, one of the best ways is to listen to reading passages or dialogues on a
tape, and go over them carefully, analyzing the way language is behaving. If in doubt, the teacher
should be able to work out the stresses, and the rise and falls by the sense of the passage, the
situations and the intentions of the speaker. In this way, he/she will acquire confidence and
gradually make himself/herself more sensitive to the rhythm of the language.
III. Introducing Pronunciation Practice.
In a way the teachers are teaching pronunciation indirectly all the time there is any oral
work in the lesson because the children will be listening to the pronunciation of the teacher or to the
voices on the tape as a model for their own speaking. However, direct teaching has a place, since
because of lack of time and opportunity teachers cannot solely rely on their learners automatically
picking up an acceptable pronunciation.
1. When and how to introduce pronunciation practice.
Ideally, the teacher should present and practise pronunciation points as he/she introduces
other aspects of language. Thus, if a teacher begins his/her course with ‘I’m’ and ‘it’s’ in order to
get his/her beginners to identify themselves in English, so should he/she introduce stress,
intonation, voice range and word-linking right at the start. When the pronunciation of simple
statements is familiar, the class goes on to questions.
As the teacher gives exercises in structure and vocabulary, he/she should also help and
encourage children to apply the pronunciation points he/she has taught. Teachers may feel that this
slows the tempo of a class. However, once the children grasp the elements of pronunciation, they
advance faster with spoken English and they have greater insight into the language. Lessons are
more lively and structure and vocabulary are also revised more effectively, as they are practised
indirectly.
2. Techniques used in teaching pronunciation.
Explicit pronunciation teaching can take various forms. For example the first five minutes of
a lesson may be spent on a particular item. Another approach is to use the ‘blitz’ technique whereby
the teacher warns the learners that, say, for the next six lessons he/she will focus attention on an
intonation tune and wants his/her learners to concentrate likewise on this item. This technique is
particularly effective in the remedial situation where the learners’ errors are a focus of attention.
There is no need to limit practice to mechanical exercises. There are enough aural
pronunciation activities for teachers to ring the changes with learners of all ages. The approach can
even be made to seem like a game, by encouraging creative language use and an awareness of the
content as well as of phonology.
The steps every teacher should follow in teaching correct pronunciation of English sounds is
after perception, production. Since listening precedes and affects speaking, the teachers must aim at
providing their learners with accurate and clear models. Sufficient listening time should be given
before demanding production from the children. There is the temptation for the teacher to rush into
the production stage, depriving the learner of adequate reception practice. Awareness of the sound
system of the mother tongue of the learner will often help the teacher to provide appropriate
practice.
The teachers must also bear in mind that while they need to have only one model for their
learners to copy (and this will often be the teacher’s own pronunciation), they need to expose the
learners to many different varieties of pronunciation for listening practice.
A common teaching method of English sounds is to use imitation or mimicry. The teacher
gives the model and the learners copy. The trouble with mere imitation is that learners have to base
their production primarily on auditory clues, though if they see the teacher’s face there are usually
visual clues as well (e.g. lip movements like rounding and closure).
Another method is articulatory description: the children can feel where and how a sound is
produced. A full description is usually not necessary. Drawing the child’s attention to a particular
feature is often adequate (e.g. lip-rounding, tongue-position, voicing) together with a short
directive. Here are a few well-known examples:
 voiceless/voiced sounds: for their production, the teacher will ask the children to put their finger
on their neck just below their chin, on their Adam’s apple, then say the pair of sounds. In each
pair the first is voiceless (whispered) and the children’s finger will feel no vibration. The second
is voiced and they should feel the vibration: [p/b]; [t/d]; [k/g]; [f/v];[s/z], etc.;
 initial [p,t,k]: the teacher will ask the children to put a piece of paper in front of their mouth and
make sure a puff of air moves the paper when pronouncing these sounds.
The teacher should bring in as many visual aids as he/she can. A visual aid can occasionally
be more effective than an oral description and most phonetic books have illustrations of the position
of the organs of speech for the different vowels and consonants.
A diagram of the curve of an intonation tune may also help:
Do you go to London by train or by bus?
3. Importance of games in teaching pronunciation.
We will not put an end to this study without pointing out the importance of games in
teaching pronunciation to young learners. Their inclusion as an integral part of any language
syllabus provides an opportunity for intensive language practice, offers a context in which language
is used meaningfully and as a means to an end, and acts as a diagnostic tool for the teacher,
highlighting areas of difficulty. Last, but certainly not least, one of the most important reasons for
using games is simply that they are immensely enjoyable for both teacher and student. Here are a
few examples:
 story telling is a game for older children, used in order to practise proper intonation patterns
while reading a text. The teacher will ask a player to begin reading the following story about
Lewis Carroll:
the english writer lewis carroll loved making friends with children he always tried to think
of original and funny ways of beginning a conversation with any child he happened to meet
one day carroll was writing a letter by the sea when a little girl ran past him the girl had
been swimming in the sea and was completely wet from head to foot dripping water
everywhere she walked carroll saw the little girl quietly picked up his sheet of blotting paper
and tore off a very small corner he then held the corner out to the little girl and asked her
whether she would like to dry herself with it
As soon as the player makes a mistake in his/her reading, the teacher will stop the reading and
ask another player to take over, starting from the beginning of the story once more. The game
will continue in this way until the story has been successfully read by a player;
 silent letters is a game for practising sounds. The teacher will choose words which contain
silent letters (e.g. comb, queue, wrist, knitting, lightning, lamb, knife, cushion, etc.) and will
illustrate them by means of flashcards or pictures. Working individually or in pairs, the players
must spell these words;
 rhyming twins also involves good pronunciation and recognition of different English sounds.
The teacher will list some words on the board or on separate sheets of paper, as it follows:
through
aunt
backs
white
thought
crowd
seem
rough
sun
penny
raw
half
eat
learn
so
own
hour
new
cheap
home
wear
sail
bean
noise
Then, he/she will ask the children to find, working individually or in pairs, a ‘rhyming twin’ for
each word in a second list:
stuff
night
tax
turn
team
door
laugh
meet
plant
alone
any
sleep
loud
too
been
caught
air
tale
view
sew
comb
flower
boys
toe
 rhyming couplets adds an element of difficulty to the previous game, as the children will
deliver their own rhyming words. The teacher will write one single word on the board (e.g.
high, tough, how, town, been, no, tower, jet, sat, sit, farm or zoo). The, he/she will divide the
class into teams of three or four players and will appoint team secretaries who, helped by the
rest of their team, will write down as many words as they can think of which rhyme with high
(e.g. my, die, lie, sigh, cry, why, etc.). A two or three-minute time limit will also have to be set.
The teams will then read out their lists of words. The team secretaries should cross out any
duplicate words on their lists which are read out by other teams. At the end, the team with the
most words left is the winner;
 voting game offers good practice for minimal pairs. The teacher will need lists of minimal pairs
that should reflect the sound distinction problems that his/her class has, for example heel/hill,
sit/seat, feet/fit, man/men, chip/cheap. The teacher gives the class examples of the two sounds
he/she is going to contrast, for example the long ‘ee’ sound of heel and the short ‘I’ sound of
hill. He/she will ask each player to write EE and I in large capital letters, separately, on two
pieces of paper. The teacher will then explain that he/she is going to read out pairs of words
which sound alike but in fact have two separate sounds, and that after each single word the
players should vote on whether it has the long EE or the short I sound by holding up the
appropriate piece of paper. The teacher will begin to read out the word pairs pausing after each
word for the players to vote on which sound the word contains. The payers will vote in unison
and not look at what the others are doing before deciding. Players are out if they hold up the
wrong letter(s) or hesitate too long. The last player left in is the winner.
IV.
Conclusion.
Stress, tone, pitch, length, rhythm and so on are referred to as supra segmental or prosodic
features. The lack of mastery of the supra segmental features of the English language marks a
foreign accent. That is why a lot of language educators see control of the supra segmentals, also
called musical features, as the most important element for learners to achieve if they are to be
readily intelligible.
By examining ways of practising these prosodic features, teachers make classroom speech
more like normal speech and equip children to understand spoken English more easily. It is
important that the prosodies be a focus of language use, practice and correction from the very
beginning of a course. Bad speech habits quickly take root and children may, for instance, begin to
speak in an even speech, giving equal weight to each syllable. By using and eliciting natural sound
patterns in class, teachers can demonstrate that the objective of teaching is, indeed, the correct use
of the spoken language.
We hope that all what we have written here will be of great help for the beginner teacher
who is eager to make his/her children speak English correctly. We do not claim that we have found
solutions for all problems that might appear while teaching pronunciation. For further reading, see
the bibliography at the end of the course.
References
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Abercrombie, D.: Elements of general Phonetics, Edinburgh University Press, 1967.
Adams, C.: English Speech Rhythm and the Foreign Learner, The Hague: Mouton, 1979.
Baker, A.: Introducing English Pronunciation, Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Brown, G.: Listening to Spoken English, Longman, 1990.
Brown, G,; Yule, G.: Teaching the Spoken Language, Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Catford, J. C.: Fundamental Problems in Phonetics, Edinburgh University Press, 1977.
Catford, J. C.: A Practical Introduction to Phonetics, Oxford University Press, 1988.
Chitoran, D.: English Phonetics and Phonology, Bucuresti, 1966.
Chitoran, D.; Parlog, H. : Ghid de pronuntie a limbii engleze, Bucuresti, 1989.
Chitoran, D.; Petri, L.: Workbook in English Phonetics and Phonology, Bucuresti, 1977.
Crystal, D.: The English Tone of Voice, London: Edward Arnold, 1975.
Gimson, A. C.: An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English, London: Edward Arnold, 1989.
Hook, R.; Rowell, J.: A Handbook of English Pronunciation, London: Edward Arnold, 1982.
Jones, D.: An Outline of English Phonetics, Cambridge University Press, 1975.
Kenworthy, J.: Teaching English Pronunciation, Longman, 1987.
Mortimer, C.: Elements of Pronunciation, Cambridge University Press, 1984.
Roach, P.: English Phonetics and Phonology, Cambridge University Press, 1991.