Teaching English Pronunciation
It’s a fact that proper teaching English pronunciation is essential for the students who are deeply interested in learning English pronunciation skills which is quite necessary when it comes to speaking standard or natural English. To help you improve your English pronunciation skills, we have dedicated this post to the definition, importance and tips for polishing your pronunciation skills.
Before you jump into any pronunciation topic, let us guide you to the right methodology for learning pronunciation skills in English. We begin with the definition of pronunciation then talk about the importance then give you the most effective tips, and finally we will provide you with a quality ebook for English pronunciation skills.
What is Pronunciation?
Pronunciation refers to the act of saying a word with the help of speech organs containing in your mouth. In articulating words correctly, we need to learn anatomy and physiology (don’t get intimidated with these technical terms!) They are really easy. In fact, we mostly do them indirectly.
- Anatomy of Speech Organs: In phonetics, which is related to pronunciation of words, you need to learn which organs are engaged when you articulate words. This includes learning respiratory system, larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, nasal cavity, lips, tonque, etc.
- Physiology of Speech Production: When dealing with physiology, you study the functions of different speech organs that are engaged in producing different sounds. For instance, you come to know the role of tongue, the lips, the palates, the glottis, the air stream, the oral and nasal cavities.
What Are Pronunciation Skills?
Well, it’s a little bit tricky to define what pronunciation skills are, as there hundereds of topics that are related to pronunciation and that can help you enhance your pronunciation skills. In short, we can say that the ability to articulate words is what is known as pronunciation skills. Here are some of the most important topics to learn for pronunciation skills:
- Articulatory phonetics: Articulatory phonetics deals with the articulation of words how you they are produced and what speech organs are engaged in articulation. Thus, when you deal with articulatory phonetics, you learn how words are produced with the help of mouth muscles.
- IPA chart: There is an internationally recognized chart that is known as the International Phonetic Alphabets. This chart contains all the possible sounds found in all the spoken languages of the world. Students who are interested in improving pronunciation skills should master this chart.
- Sub topics: There are many other subsidary topics that are important to learn if you want to better your pronunciation skills in English. Topics such as intonation, stress, syllable, suprasegmental features are really good to learn when you have the desire to polish your English pronunciation.
How to Improve Your English Pronunciation?
There are a lot to do when it comes to improving your English pronunciation skills. You need to follow the right strategy or you will be lost in the bottomless ocean of pronunciation. Therefore, follow the tips below for polishing your pronunciation skills:
- Use IPA chart.
- Learn articulatory phonetics.
- Refer to online dictionaries.
- Hire a tutor for teaching.
- Be consistent.
- Keep patience.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Sounds and symbols
Using the cassette
Part one
1 Teaching and learning pronunciation
1.1 The teacher’s role
1.2 The learner’s role
1.3 Pronunciation goals
1.4 Factors that affect pronunciation learning
1.5 Aspects of pronunciation
1.6 Speaking with a foreign accent
2 Intelligibility
2.1 What is intelligibility?
2.2 Sources of intelligibility problems
2.3 Assessing intelligibility
3 Building awareness and concern for pronunciation
3.1 Word stress
3.2 Rhythm
3.3 Sentence stress
3.4 Weak forms
3.5 Intonation
3.6 The sounds
3.7 Linkage and speech simplifications
3.8 General awareness-building activities
4 Extending and consolidating
4.1 Word stress
A summary of English word stress rules
4.2 Using stress in sentences
4.3 Making sounds
4.4 Aspects of connected speech
Rules for linkage
Common simplifications of sounds
List of weak forms
4.5 Intonation
Part two
5 Sounds and spellings
5.1 How does the English spelling system work?
5.2 English spelling and learning pronunciation
5.3 The causes of spelling problems
Spelling and pronunciation errors
5.4 Rules and regularities of English spelling
Rules for consonants
Rules for vowels
5.5 Teaching suggestions
6 Integrated pronunciation teaching
6.1 Pronunciation and vocabulary work
6.2 Exploiting transcriptions of recorded material
6.3 Integrating intonation
6.4 The role of self-evaluation and monitoring
6.5 Opportunities to excel
Using Part Two
Arabic
Chinese
French
German
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Spanish
Turkish
Suggestions for further reading
Bibliography
Index
Summary: Teaching English Pronunciation
The right method of teaching English pronunciation is crucial for students looking for improving their English pronunciation skills. Pronunciation skills in English include focusing on different topics that are pivotal for enabling yourself to articulate English words correctly so that others can understand your English.
As a learner of pronunciation skills, you need to make sure to focus on the essential topics such as articulatory phonetics, anatomy of speech organs, physiology of speech production, intonation, stress, syllables, suprasegmental features, vowel and consonant sounds.
The sole purpose of communication in any lanaguage is to convey your message in a clear way. Polishing your English pronunciation skills is essential if you want to be understood by others without any difficulty. Grammars, vocabulary and all other things related to English are useless if you can’t properly express yourself due to problems in pronouncing words.
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