Teaching American English Pronunciation

by Avery, Peter; Ehrlich, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780194328159
• ISBN10: 0194328155
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-06-04
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is a comprehensive introduction to teaching the pronunciation of North American English. It includes an illustrated description of the sound system of English, ideas for overcoming pronunciation problems specific to fifteen different languages, and a variety of approaches and techniquesfor use in the classroom.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Introduction: Preliminary considerations in the teaching of pronunciation	xv
Biological factors	xv
Socio-cultural factors	xvi
Personality factors	xvi
The role of the native language	xvii
Setting realistic goals	xviii
PART ONE: The sound system of English
Spelling and pronunciation
The English spelling system	3	(1)
Sound-spelling correspondences	4	(2)
Spelling in other languages	6	(1)
The phonetic alphabet	6	(2)
Exercises	8	(3)
Individual sounds of English
How speech sounds are made	11	(1)
Consonants and vowels	12	(1)
The description of English consonants	12	(1)
Place of articulation	12	(6)
Manner of articulation	18	(6)
Voicing	24	(2)
Summary	26	(3)
The description of English vowels	28	(1)
Tongue height	29	(1)
Frontness/backness of tongue	30	(1)
Tenseness/laxness	31	(1)
Lip rounding	32	(1)
Phonetic symbols for vowels	32	(2)
Complex vowels (diphthongs)	34	(1)
The vowel /er/	34	(1)
The consonant /h/	35	(1)
Semi-vowels (glides)	35	(1)
Exercises	35	(4)
English sounds in context
Positional variation	39	(1)
Contrastive sounds of English	39	(1)
Non-contrastive sounds of English	40	(5)
Implications for teaching	45	(2)
Conclusion	47	(1)
Grammatical endings	47	(1)
The regular past tense	47	(2)
The plural, possessive, and third person singular	49	(2)
Grammatical endings in the pronunciation classroom	51	(1)
Exercises	51	(2)
The shape of English words
Syllable types	53	(1)
Consonant clusters	54	(6)
Exercises	60	(3)
Word stress and vowel reduction
What is stress?	63	(1)
Schwa	63	(3)
Major and minor stress	66	(1)
Placement of word stress	67	(4)
Exercises	71	(2)
Connected Speech
Rhythm, sentence stress, and intonation	73	(1)
The stress-timed rhythm of English	73	(1)
Placement of stress in sentences	74	(2)
Intonation	76	(5)
Modifications of sounds in connected speech	81	(1)
The pronunciation of function words	81	(3)
Linking	84	(2)
Deletion of consonants	86	(1)
Assimilation	87	(2)
Summary	89	(1)
Exercises	89	(4)
PART TWO: The identification and correction of specific pronunciation problems
Introduction	93	(2)
Common pronunciation problems
English vowels	95	(6)
English consonants	101	(5)
Stress, rhythm, and intonation	106	(5)
Problems of selected language groups
Arabic	111	(3)
Chinese	114	(5)
Farsi	119	(2)
French	121	(2)
German	123	(2)
Greek	125	(3)
Hindi and Punjabi	128	(4)
Italian	132	(2)
Japanese	134	(4)
Korean	138	(4)
Polish	142	(3)
Portuguese	145	(4)
Spanish	149	(4)
Vietnamese	153	(8)
PART THREE: Classroom activities
Introduction	161	(2)
A communicative approach to pronunciation teaching
Introduction	163	(2)
Consonants and vowels	165	(3)
Connected speech	168	(1)
Suprasegmentals	169	(1)
Monitoring	170	(1)
Conclusion	171	(2)
Pronunciation syllabus design: a question of focus
The zoom principle	173	(1)
Assessing learner variables	173	(1)
Collection of speech samples	174	(1)
Diagnosis of speech samples	175	(3)
From diagnosis to syllabus design	178	(3)
Monitoring progress	181	(1)
Appendix: Student diagnostic profile	182	(3)
Suprasegmentals in the pronunciation class: setting priorities
Introduction	185	(1)
Stress/unstress	186	(2)
Stress and rhythm	188	(1)
Major sentence stress	189	(3)
Intonation	192	(2)
Linking and pausing	194	(1)
Palatalization	195	(1)
Conclusion	196	(1)
Pronunciation-based listening exercises for the multi-level class
Introduction	197	(2)
Minimal pairs	199	(2)
Stress assignment	201	(1)
Function words	202	(2)
Intonation	204	(1)
Conclusion	205	(2)
Teaching pronunciation: an inventory of techniques
Introduction	207	(1)
Individual sounds	207	(1)
Minimal pairs	207	(2)
Visual aids	209	(3)
Stress, rhythm, and intonation	210	(2)
Developing fluency	212	(2)
Conclusion	214	(1)
Developing self-correcting and self-monitoring strategies
Introduction	215	(1)
Self-correction	216	(2)
Self-monitoring	218	(1)
Conclusion	219	(2)
Developing natural and confident speech: drama techniques in the pronunciation class
Introduction	221	(1)
Articulation	222	(2)
Pitch, volume, and rate	224	(2)
Variety	226	(1)
Conclusion	227	(2)
Unintelligibility and the ESL learner
Introduction	229	(3)
The receiver	232	(2)
The sender	234	(2)
Conclusion	236	(1)
Glossary	237	(4)
Further reading	241	(5)
Bibliography	246	(4)
Contributors	250	(2)
Index	252