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Pronunciation is the most neglected part of speech when it comes to teaching English. The individual sounds, which are the easiest to teach and correct, are not necessarily the most important aspects of pronunciation. Other things to consider are: the sounds in connected speech, stress within words, and stress within sentences. Intonation involves the change in volume or pitch throughout a sentence. It?s important in communicating questions, agreeing, and emotions. In normal statements, the intonations has a rise/fall pattern. The intonation normally falls when the speaker has finished what they wanted to say. The questioning intonation, which requires a response, is fall/rise. A flat intonation indicates that the speaker either doesn?t have much to say, or doesn?t want to communicate. Intonation can be practiced by using nonsense words, humming, or gestures/ arrows. Stress is very important within a sentence because it can change the meaning entirely. Each individual word can only have one primary stress, and that stress is always on a syllable. A good way to teach stress is by contrasting the correct pronunciation with an incorrect version. Underlining and stress marks are visual ways of showing stress in a word or sentence. Linking words and sound changes are also essential to understanding native English speakers. Being aware of those subtle changes can make students? English sound much more natural. Learning to pronounce new words in English is extremely difficult because word combinations can be pronounced in many different ways. Learning the phonemic alphabet can help when students are reading alone and can?t hear the pronunciation from a native speaker. I have tried teaching the phonemic alphabet with some of my students, and most of them hate it! I think I need to find a way to make it more fun and gradual so that they aren?t overwhelmed by learning all the symbols at once. It?s also hard to motivate them these days when they can easily listen to the pronunciation with an app on their smartphone. Phonemic sounds can be categorized according to where and how they are made in the mouth and throat. A plosive sound happens when the air is blocked and then released explosively. Fricative sounds are caused by friction or pressure through a small space, such as the teeth. Affricate sounds are a combination of plosive and fricative. Some suggestions for practicing pronunciation are: dictation, visuals, phonemic alphabet, and tongue twisters.
