Thursday, July 14, 2005

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Priorities and Materials for Phonology and PhoneticsPractice resources for learners and materials for teacher developmentTESL / TEFL theory from the learning and teaching experiences of Ted Power

Priorities for phonology in the pronunciation class
Here are some of the main criteria:

Comprehensible: are learners able to identify the sounds and are their articulations understood by native speakers?

Social Acceptability: are learners producing sounds that are aesthetically acceptable to the ears of native speakers?

Ease of Production: do learners have a good chance of successfully learning to produce the sounds?

Number of familiar words (functional load): do the sounds occur frequently in essential &/or very useful words?

Likely to be a bad habit affecting other sounds: are errors getting in the way of other important targets?

Functional load, frequency and meaning
Confusing / θ / and / ð / will rarely lead to misunderstanding, but confusing /s/ and / θ / , / ð / or /z/ can.

This is likely to affect learners of English from French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese or Russian language backgrounds. Speakers of these languages do not have separate phonemes for these English consonant sound contrasts.

The consonant contrasts affect many common English words, so poor production of these sounds will be noticeable. Teaching should focus on both recognition and production. Difficulty of production should not be too great, because the above consonant sounds are produced at the front of the mouth i.e. this motor skill is not too difficult to learn.

How much phonetics and phonology do teachers and learners of English language need to know and use?

Language is a means of communication. Differences in sound systems have a phonological basis: they depend on variation in speech organ positions or breath control. Teachers must understand the physical aspects of sound production.

Teachers will not necessarily teach these to students, but this knowledge will provide a basis for teachers to identify the physical reasons for inaccurate approximations of foreign language sounds, enabling them to give precise instructions which will help students correct faulty pronunciation.

Unless teachers understand how students are using their speech organs in producing a native language sound and what they should be doing to reproduce the foreign language sound acceptably, teachers will not be able to help students beyond a certain stage of earnest but inaccurate imitation. Incorrectly articulated consonants will affect the production of vowels, as vowels will affect consonants. Students therefore require steady practice and muscle training. Pronunciation is a motor skill that needs practice.


Phonology lessons will centre on:
Hearing: physical demonstration. Discrimination exercises e.g. ship or sheep? / ɪ / or / i: / ?Which vowel sounds occur in: "it", "bit", "eat", "fit", "feet", "seat", "sit" ?
Production. Physically making sounds.
Expanded contexts. Phrases and sentences as well as phonemes between closed consonants.

Click HERE for lists of COMMON ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION MISTAKES BY LANGUAGE BACKGROUND and suggestions for learners and teachers.
Recommended materials for English phonology practice

English Pronunciation Illustrated: Student Book John Trim, Peter Kneebone [ For intermediate upwards: good for sound contrasts and for learning the phonemic symbols ]

English Pronunciation Illustrated: CassetteShip or Sheep?: Student Book Ann Baker [ an easy to use book + audio cassette for lower intermediate and intermediate levels; good for minimal pairs ]

Ship or Sheep?: CassettesTree or Three? : Student Book Ann Baker, Leslie Marshall [ as above, but for use at the elementary level ]

Tree or Three?: CassettesLongman Pronunciation Dictionary by J. C. Wells [ 23rd March, 2000 ]Contemporary English pronunciations given for 75,000 words. Includes alternative pronunciations, technical vocabulary and proper nouns.

English Pronouncing Dictionary Daniel Jones, Peter Roach, James Hartman [ 1st July, 1997 ]The authoritative reference book - includes place names

English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practice Course by Peter Roach [ 8th January, 2001 ]

This book is especially suitable for non native speakers of English with a real interest in phonetics and phonology. It is likely to interest dedicated learners at higher levels, for example, those aiming for high grades in public examinations where English pronunciation is tested. I would highly recommend coverage of this work (or a similar one such as "Better English Pronunciation") to learners intending to teach English in their own countries. Peter Roach's work doubles as useful pre-course material for learners expecting to move on to a degree level course in applied linguistics or a related discipline.

Phonetics and phonology: resources for teacher development

Teaching English Pronunciation Joanne Kenworthy [ Good for language teachers embarking on the theory and practice ]

A Course in Phonetics by Peter Ladefoget [ 9th August 2000 ]

This book [ originally published in 1975 ] has also been through several editions and is still acknowledged as the best course for university undergraduates seriously interested in articulatory phonetics. Like the above title, it is offered as a "course", though it sufficienty comprehensive to satisfy the needs of students of linguistics.

"Phonetics" focuses on "the production of sounds", while "Phonology" extends to the "study of sounds within a language system". Students whose practical and linguistic interests relate directly to the English language, should consider an easy practice book from the section above or the next title in this section by A. C. Gimson.

Gimson's Pronunciation of English [ 2nd March, 2001 ]
Originally published in 1962 as "An introduction to the pronunciation of English", there has been nothing to better this course, which covers the production of speech, sounds in a language, the English vowel sounds and the English consonant sounds as well as social (e.g. Received Pronunciation), geographical (e.g. Regional Variations) and historical perspectives.


English Accents and Dialects: An Introduction To Social And Regional Varieties Of English In The British Isles by Arthur Hughes and Peter Trudgill
This book is most suited to students of sociolinguistics who wish to sample variations from "received pronunciation" within the geographical regions specified in the title. The level of analysis is for people with a background in linguistics. However, an actor or actress wishing to perfect their Lowland Scots, Devon or Dublin accent and to pick up some of the lexical items in a particular dialect, may find this a valuable source. There is an accompanying audio cassette.

International English: A Guide to Varieties of Standard English by Peter Trudgill and Jean Hannah
This study takes English beyond the British Isles. Here the analysis focuses on variations from "received pronunciation" across Continents. "International English" covers the distinctive features of English in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, the USA, Canada, Ireland, the West Indies, West Africa and India. Again, the work is probably most likely to appeal to students of sociolinguistics (language and society) at university level.

However, this and the previous title make excellent background reading for any student undertaking stylistic analysis of any regional, social or occupational variety of English. Sixth formers in UK Secondary Schools are now continuously assessed on project work, which may include a study of the language of journalism (news reports), advertising, pop music, fashion, teenagers or other social groups. These projects are usually functionally based and adequate attention is usually given to language function and lexis.

Further consideration could probably be extended to how phonetic & phonological features help to recognise the functions of professional and/or social registers. Some background in phonetics or phonology is really needed to get the most out of these works.

Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet

The headquarters of IPA is in University College London, which has been graced by the presence of many of the UK's best linguists, especially those specialising in phonetics and phonology. If you are looking towards a recognised qualification in both the practice and theory of phonetics, then the handbook will allow you to see the IPA Chart and will give you some idea of the number of sounds you will have to cover, including the bilabial click (a kissing sound which exists in several African languages, though not in English!).

Likely candidates for the recognised public examination include linguists who are expected to be able to transcribe speech or speech therapists who are expected to have a thorough knowledge of speech organs and the methods of articulation. Linguists such as David Crystal have made valuable contributions both to language teaching theory and to description of language disability. There are careers for good phoneticians both in education and the health service at levels ranging from classroom teacher or practical therapist to senior researcher.

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