Better English Pronunciation for Communication

A Practical Course for Students of English

Wang GuizhenFaculty of English Language & Culture

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

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Vowel Charts: English Pure Vowels

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Revision: English Pure Vowels

English DiphthongsClosing Diphthongs & Centring Diphthongs

English Diphthongs

Centring diphthong Closing diphthongs

Ending in ə Ending in I ending in ʊ

I ə e ə ʊ ə eI aI ɔI əʊ aʊ

here hare tour they cry toy know now

Listening Exercise – Sound discrimination

1. peer pair 2. tear tare 3. dear dare 4. fear fair 5. sheer share 6. spear spare 7. really rarely 8. steering staring 9. poor pull 10. found phoned

11. town tone 12. file foil 13. tiles toils 14. sell sail 15. red raid 16. men main 17. less lace 18. wet wait 19. seal sail 20. feel fail

Listening Exercise – Sounds for information

They were talking about the cures/queues in the hospital. Who is going to say something about the bear/beer market? I really/rarely believe what he says. How many people did you see in the big hall/hole? Are they all good raiders/readers? It's hot. Let's have a rest in the shed/shade. Is the man going to sell/sail his boat? It was a lot later/lighter than I thought it would be. Where did you get those colourful pails/pearls? It is a useful skill/scale.

Listening Exercise – Sounds for information

1. The speaker was talking about the _________. A. queues B. cures

2. The speaker was talking about the _________. A. beer market B. bear market

3. Does the speaker believe what he says? A. Yes. B. Not really.

4. The people were in the ___________. A. hall B. hole

5. The speaker was talking about the _________. A. readers B. raiders

6. The speaker is going to have a rest in the ____________. A. shade B. shed

7. The speaker was asking whether the man is going to _________ his boat.

A. sell B. sail8. The speaker was saying that it was a lot ________.

A. lighter B. later9. The speaker is asking about the ________.

A. poles B. pearls10. The speaker was talking about ___________.

A. a skill B. a scale

Listening Exercise – Sounds for information

They were talking about the queues in the hospital. Who is going to say something about the beer market? I rarely believe what he says. How many people did you see in the big hole? Are they all good readers? It's hot. Let's have a rest in the shade. Is the man going to sail his boat? It was a lot lighter than I thought it would be. Where did you get those colourful pearls? It is a useful scale.

Sounds for information: Listen & respond

1. leave/live When did they ________ there?From 2001 to 2003.Last month.

2. heat/hit Did Mr. Smith ________ the ice?Yes, and it broke into several pieces.Yes, and it took a long time to melt.

3. sheep/ship Is that ________ heavy?Yes, it’s 150 pounds.Yes, it’s 30,000 tons.

4. feel/fill Did she ________ the bottle?Yes, with icy water.Yes, it was hot.

5. chase/chess Are they playing ________?No, they don’t like thinking games.No, they are supposed to keep quiet in here.

6. taste/test Did you ________ this?Yes, it was delicious.Yes, it has passed.

7. pain/pen Do you have a ________?Yes, in my right arm.Yes, do you need it?

8. sail/sell Did they ________ the boat?No, the wind was too strong yesterday.No, they want to keep it.

9. tape/tap Listen. Do you hear a ________ ?Yes, it’s rain on the window.Yes, it’s a French lesson.

10. pain/pan How did you get the ________?I probably ate something.Mrs. Brown gave it to me.

Sounds for information: Listen & respond

11. rake/rack What’s a ________ for?We get stones out of the garden.We hang hats on it.

12. call/coal When was the ________ made?Just last Sunday.Millions of years ago

13. lawn/loan How big is their ________?It’s over 25,000.It’s almost a hundred square metres.

14. cost/coast Is the ________ all right?No, it’s too expensive.No, there are too many rocks.

15. colour/collar Does the ________ of the shirt suit you?No, it’s too bright.No, it’s too tight.

16. nuts/knots Can you get rid of those ________ for me?Sure, I’ll eat them myself.I’ll untie them for you.

17. rubber/robber Was that ________ really bad?Yes, he got away with $8,000 last night.Yes, the tire wore out after 8,000 miles.

18. rug/rag Is this ________ any good?Yes, you can lay it on the floor.Yes, you can clean the floor with it.

19. cup/cap Can I borrow the ________ again?Sure, but don’t break the handle.Sure, but don’t get it wet.

20. uncle/ankle What’s the matter with your ________?I hurt it with my bike.He’s get a headache.

Reading aloud – Pay special attention to the pronunciation of English Diphthongs.

Your Sense of Taste Taste is one of our five senses. The others are hearing, sight, touch,

and smell. You hear with your ears, you see with your eyes, and you taste things with your tongue.

On your tongue, you have groups of tiny taste buds. Taste buds send information about food to your brain. You have a lot of taste buds, maybe even 10,000! People don’t have the same number of them. Women often have more taste buds than men.

Because of your taste buds, foods like ice cream and bananas taste sweet. French fries, cheese, and ocean water taste salty. Lemons have a sour taste, and coffee is bitter. We all know about these four main tastes: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.

Why does a sense of taste matter? For one thing, it helps people decide on safe things to eat. And of course, thanks to your sense of taste, you can enjoy all your favorite foods.

Reading aloud – Identify words that are stressed first.Pay special attention to the pronunciation of English diphthongs.

Taste is one of our five senses. The others are hearing, sight, touch, and smell. You hear with your ears. You see with your eyes. You taste things with your tongue. Taste buds send information about food to your brain. You have a lot of taste buds, maybe even 10,000! Women often have more taste buds than men. Foods like ice cream and bananas taste sweet. French fries, cheese, and ocean water taste salty. Lemons have a sour taste, and coffee is bitter. We all know about these four main tastes: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Why does a sense of taste matter? It helps people decide on safe things to eat. Thanks to your sense of taste, you can enjoy all your favorite foods.

Pronunciation in communication: Talking about likes & dislikes

Student A = a Chinese student;

Student B = a tourist from England

Situation: Take turns to be Student A, who is now working as a part-time

guide for a travel service and is having a little chat with one of the tourists in his/her group. Find out what he/she likes or dislikes about your city. Then make a report of your findings to the class later on. Try to speak fluently and naturally.

Unit 8

English Word Stress

Stressed Syllables & Unstressed Syllables

Listening Exercise – the stressed syllable

1. reason resent 2. fish selfish 3. less careless 4. land island 5. refer reference 6. tune fortune 7. full careful 8. author authority 9. object(n) object(v) 10. park particular

11. some handsome 12. deerpark depart 13. parent parental 14. purify pursue 15. face surface 16. digest(n.) digest

(v.) 17. social society 18. ford Oxford 19. man boatman 20. dry sundry

Listening Exercise – the reduced vowels

1. fort comfort 2. lace necklace 3. romance Roman 4. localit localism 5. rite favourite 6. table comfortab

le 7. ward forward 8. fort effort 9. cable educable 10 late chocolate

11 progress production 12 profit pronounce 13 necessity necessary 14 protest (n.) protest (v.) 15 valid validity 16 label profitable 17 man Englishman 18 prefer preference 19 photo photography 20 full handful

Listening Exercise – the stress in compound nouns

bathroom daylight baseball classroom popcorn drugstore notebook airport flashlight chalkboard

bookcase toothpaste bus stop newspaper sun glasses grandfather teenager tennis court traffic light basketball

The stress in compound proper nouns

Good Friday Easter Sunday Long Island New Jersey United States Atlantic Ocean New York New York City United Nations Forest Road Third Avenue Beach Hotel

Which did you hear?U08分练习录音\07.mp3

1. Be careful with that __________. yellow JACKet (= yellow article of clothing) YELlow jacket (= yellow and black insect that stings)2. Look at the ___________. red COAT (= red article of clothing) RED coat (= a British soldier in the 18th and 19th centuries)3. I've always wanted a ____________. green HOUSE (= house painted green) GREENhouse (= glass house for growing plants)4. My father is a successful ___________. head DOCTOR (= chief of staff) HEAD doctor (= psychiatrist)5. She is always using __________. cold CREAM (= well-chilled cream) COLD cream (= face cream)6. They were interested in the ____________. soft WARE (= a article that is not hard) SOFTware (= the set of programmes for computer)

Which did you hear?

7. They were talking about the ___________. blue PRINT (= a pattern which is blue) BLUEprint (= a plan for achieving something)8. They saw some __________ on the tree. black BIRDS (= birds that are black) BLACK birds (= a special type of birds, the males of which are black)9. Look at the ____________. black BOARD (= a board which is black) BLACKboard (= a board used in a classroom for writing on with chalk)10. What do you think of the __________? white HALL (= a hall that is white) WHITEhall (= the British government)11. He lives in the _____________. white HOUSE (= a house that is white) WHITEhouse (= official residence of the American president)12. He is used to working in the ____________. dark ROOM (= a room with little or no light) DARKroom (= a special room for developing film)

Student A Student B

a. permit (noun) b. permit (verb)

We need a permit to park here.Please permit us to part here.

a. insult (noun) b. insult (verb)

That sounds like an insult.Don’t insult the visitors.

a. produce (noun) b. produce (verb)

They sell produce at the market.Cars produce a lot of smog.

a. contract (noun) b. contract (verb)

The two parties signed a contract.They contract the project to a building company.

a. progress (noun) b. progress (verb)

We have made a lot of progress.It’s time to progress to the next item.

a. object (noun) b. object (verb)

Handle the object carefully.Do you object to the change?

a. increase (noun) b. increase (verb)

She got an increase in salary.They are going to increase the workers’ salary.

a. survey (noun) b. survey (verb)

Please answer the questions on the survey.Go and survey the situation before we decide.

a. project (noun) b. project (verb)

We’ll finish the project soon.Project the slides onto the well, please.

a. conduct (noun) b. conduct (verb)

The crowds conduct was terrifying.We are planning to conduct an experiment.

Word stress

Example: Student A: I do magic. What am I? Student B: You're a magician.

Student A Student B

1. I play music. (musician) 2. I study grammar (grammarian) 3. I study history. (historian) 4. I do technical work (technician) 5. I work in a library. (librarian) 6. I work in politics. (politician) 7. I make people beautiful. (beautician) 8. I fix electrical appliances. (electrician) 9. I take photographs. (photographer) 10. I eat only vegetables. (vegetarian)

Reading aloud – Pay special attention to the word stress.

Rainforests – Wonders of Nature

Tropical rainforests are one of the earth’s richest and most fascinating areas. They are found in eighty-five countries in the world. These damp, dense forests thrive in Central and South America, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Although these areas cover just about ten percent of the earth’s surface, over forty percent of the world’s plant and animal species are found in the rainforests. Many of them are found nowhere else on earth.

The rainforest are very important to the world. It actually contributes to the climate of the areas in which they live, helping to sustain rainfall. The thick trees also help turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, which is necessary for humans to live. It is believed that the rainforests contain important plants that will cure the serious and deadly diseases of today.

Because of its vital contribution to the environment, and its limitless possibilities for scientific discovery, preservation of the rainforest should be a priority for people worldwide.

Stress patterns of words and word groups

rainforests richest fascinating areas countries in the world Central and South America Southeast Asia the earth’s surface plant and animals animal species contribute

climate of the areas sustain rainfall carbon dioxide oxygen contain the serious and deadly diseases contribution to the environment scientific discovery preservation of the rainforest a priority for people worldwide

Stress patterns of words and word groupsU08分练习录音\09.mp3

rainforests richest fascinating areas countries in the world Central and South America Southeast Asia the earth’s surface plant and animals animal species contribute

Stress patterns of words and word groups

climate of the areas sustain rainfall carbon dioxide oxygen contain the serious and deadly diseases contribution to the environment scientific discovery preservation of the rainforest a priority for people worldwide

Reading aloud – Identify words that are stressed first. Pay special attention to the word stress.

Tropical rainforests are one of the earth’s richest and most fascinating areas. They are found in eighty-five countries in the world. These damp, dense forests thrive in Central and South America. They thrive in Central and South America, Australia, and Southeast Asia. These areas cover just about ten percent of the earth’s surface. 40% of the world’s plant and animal species are found in the rainforests. Many of them are found nowhere else on earth. The rainforest are very important to the world. It contributes to the climate of the areas. It is helping to sustain rainfall. The thick trees also help turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. The rainforests contain plants that will cure the deadly diseases. The rainforests make vital contribution to the environment. The rainforests provides limitless possibilities for scientific discovery, Preservation of the rainforest should be a priority.

Listening for information (1)

Listen & Imitate (1) G: I hear that your team won last Saturday’s football match.

J: Oh yes, we did. 3-1.

G: Oh, I can’t believe it. Congratulations!

J: Thank you.

G: A pity I didn’t manage to come and see it. I had intended to, you know.

J: Yes, I know.

G: It was a good game, wasn’t it?

J: Well, not bad, I think. We were in pretty good form.

Listening for information (2)

Listen & Imitate (2) G: Hello, John. When did you get back? J: Last night. G: Where did you go? J: We went all over the place. G: What do you mean "all over the place"? J: I mean Guilin, Xishuanbanna, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan and Huashan. G: You people sure covered a lot of places. J: You're not kidding. Five provinces in fifteen days. G: How many miles did you travel? J: Almost four thousand miles. G: You must be exhausted. J: No. We're fit as a fiddle and ready to go back to work.

Pronunciation in communication: Expressing excitement & surprise

Route 1Fujian

Zhejiang

Jiangxi

Hunan

Hubei

Route 2Jiangsu

Anhui

Shandong

Henan

Shanxi

Route 3Guangxi

Yunnan

Guizhou

Sichuan

Qinghai

Route 4Heilongjiang

Jilin

Liaoning

Inner Mongolia

Gansu

Student A = a Chinese student; Student B = a teacher who is from England

Situation:Take turns to be Student A. Student B is playing the role of a teacher who is just back from a trip to quite a few places.

Possible steps:Student A greets the teacher.Student A asks about the trip.Student B talks about the excitement of the trip.…

Assignment

1. On-line exercises http://felc.gdufs.edu.cn/pronunciation/

2. Presentations1. Reading aloud the passage on pp. 91-2

2. A one-minute mini-talk: (p.94)Pronunciation in communication: expressing excitement & surprise

gzwang@mail.gdufs.edu.cn

Thank you