INTRODUCTION

           English Pronunciation, a prerequisite of third year courses, is designed to acquaint and equip you with basic concepts necessary to further pursue linguistic studies. The course deals with segmental and supra-segmental features of English. It gives you an in-depth look into English articulation and its sound system, thus developing your sensitivity to all aspects of English pronunciation as well as sharpening your ears, a capacity required of a serious student of English as a foreign language. Basic concepts of articulatory phonetics and phonology will be introduced. Theory and practice are equally emphasized. The focus of this semester will be on articulation of vowels and consonants and how to achieve a natural-sounding pronunciation of English. The course will begin with an overview of the reasons why pronunciation is so important. It will explore the different stages in sound production and the organs involved in it. Next, we will analyze consonant sound classification according to voicing, place, and manner. Finally the course will conclude with a look at consonant clusters, stress, and intonation.

       This course focuses on the physical and linguistic aspects of speech sounds. We will examine these sounds from articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual points of view. These topics are at the heart of phonetics and are fascinating in their own right, but they are also essential topics as preparation for studying phonology, which seeks an understanding of how speech sounds are organized in languages. By the end of the course we will have shifted our focus onto these language-specific patterns. 

General Objectives:

• Identify and understand the basic terminology of the study of phonetics.
• Identify speech organs and describe their functions.
• Describe how vowels and consonants are produced in English.
• Become aware of how stress is used in English.
• Be conscious of how intonation works in English and use it properly in conversations.  

Course Requirements:                                                                                                                                                                                                   Percentage

A.     Partial exams……………………………..…..30%

ü  Two written tests

ü  A role-play (For Thanksgiving) and its script

B.     Workshops, tasks, and assignments…………35%

ü  Six on-line tasks (Pronunciation Course)

ü  Three learning activities (use Microsoft Word and send them via e-mail to your instructor’s address   all4you35@hotmail.com)

ü  Three written quizzes

      C.     Final Exam…………………………………..….35%

ü  Written test

      Total Points……………………………………….100%

LESSON 1 -  INTRODUCTION TO PHONETICS

Why is pronunciation necessary?

Language is a means of communication. It has three components: language grammar vocabulary or lexis, and pronunciation

        a) Structures (the patterns that can be seen in these are usually called grammar of the language.

        b) Words that convey meaning (vocabulary or lexis).

        c) Sound, stress, and intonation patterns, which combine to make "Pronunciation".

If you communicate only through the written word, you will need only the first two of these components. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to understand spoken language, and to be understood, you’ll need all three components. Communication is a two-way process:

        a) Understanding other people when they speak.

        b) Conveying what you want to say so that other people can understand you.

If you have no idea, for instance, that there is an important difference in English between "s" and "sh" (phonetically written [s] and [ ] and furthermore you can't distinguish between the two, you won't know how to react if someone asks you to "bring the seat" - or was it the sheet? This situation doesn't seem very serious, but it could be. There are hundreds of stories told of misunderstandings caused by mispronunciation. Sometimes there is laughter, sometimes people walk out in anger, and on at least one occasion there was nearly an International Incident. Suppose there were two or three "mistakes" in your pronunciation. The consequences could be

       • Offense to the listener,

       • Misunderstanding by the listener,

A listener too exhausted by the effort of trying to interpret what it is you’re trying to say that he gives up and goes and talks to someone else. Not a very happy prospect!  Let’s minimize the dangers!

 

What’s Phonetics?

Phonetics is the study of speech sounds in general. It can be divided in three broad areas:

• Articulatory phonetics: the study of how sounds are made or the mechanics of their production by human beings.
• Auditory phonetics: the study of how sounds are heard or the mechanics of their perception.
• Acoustic phonetics: the study of the physical properties of the speech waves which constitute speech sound.

This introductory course to English phonetics is focused on the study of how sounds are made in order to help ESL learners understand the differences between English and Spanish sounds. Let us examine the different organs involved in speech production.

 

Lesson 1 – Learning activity

Now, this is your turn to show what you know about phonetics. These are the guidelines for your first learning activity:

• Search for information about the topics below and prepare a report showing the outcomes of your investigation:
• five different definitions of phonetics.
• two different phonetic alphabets
• a list of 25 words taken from lesson 1 and their phonetic transcription.
• description of five of the most common problems related to pronunciation learning
• personal comments
• Prepare your report in a Word document, font size of 12, justified, include citations using APA style, and images related to the content.
• Send your task to your instructor via mail using the contact tab of your platform.
• Due date: Monday, August 1st. 

Evaluation criteria for this task:

• Punctuality = 5 points
• Content = 50 points
• Presentation = 10 points
• Personal comments = 5 points
• total= 70 points