Lesson 6
Subject: Methodic of the English language
Groups: 206 Time: 90 min
Theme: The content of teaching phonetics.
1. Theory: Teaching phonetics
The aim is to develop in learners phonetic competence - the knowledge of the English phonetic means such as speech sounds (phonemes – is the smallest unit of sounds that has meaning in a language – books, sock/ shock), articulation, syllable formation, word stress, tone-patterns and intonation. Phonetic competence includes the knowledge of how speech sounds (phonemes) are used in actual speech production. We can say about “modification of phonemes in connected speech”. (e.g. elisions (absence of sounds as in “Chris/t/mas”)). One of the reasons that the phonemes merge together in oral speech is that it saves articulation efforts in speakers.
Techniques for teaching phonetics
The traditional approach to teaching phonetics is the “pronunciation drill”
(drill in recognition and reproduction new material to get pronunciation habits)
The material used for pronunciation drills may be sounds, words, word combinations, phrases, sentences, rhymes, poems, songs and dialogues. Proverbs, tongue-twisters and some useful expressions can be used as material for pronunciation drills. The usage of audio-tracks is important.
It can be done by the whole class, individually in the fixed order, slow tempo and fast tempo, repetition in small groups etc.
Types of drill:
Recognition exercises are used for developing pupil’s ability to discriminate sounds and sound sequences. Some peculiarities of the English language in comparison with those of the native language (sounds may be absent in the mother tongue, a sound may exist in the mother tongue but with a different articulation, length of vowels, palatalization, etc.).
Recognition exercises
listening to the teacher pronouncing a sound, a sound combination and sensible sound sequences.
listening to the audio tracks. This exercise is more difficult for pupils as their auding is not reinforced by visual perception.
The benefits of audio tracks:
reproduction with correct pronunciation and intonation.
the same text can be repeated several times for pupils to have an opportunity to listen to it again and again.
the possibility for the teacher to develop his pupils’ abilities to understand English spoken at various speeds.
Helps the teacher in developing his pupils’ ability to speak.
Reproduction exercises are used for developing pupils’ ability to articulate English sounds correctly and to combine sounds into words, phrases and sentences easily (automatic habits). It is necessary for developing language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing).
Word
pronunciation
Word recognition |
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Word spelling
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Types of reproduction exercises:
1. Listen and imitate. Students listen to the teacher provided models and repeat to imitate them.
2. Phonetic description. The usage of articulation descriptions, phonetic alphabets (transcriptions)
3. Minimal pair drills. The technique helps the students distinguish between similar sounds in the language through listening discrimination. (Contrastive exercises train in learners the ability to distinguish the meaning with the help of phonemes. E.g. I feel that I have my stomach fill. I can't go up the hill on high heel).
3. Tongue-twisters (phrases that are difficult to say without a sound mistake because of the sounds interfering with each other). This thin feather is thinner than that thick leather. Those pieces of leather and feather are both close with those clothes. Songs are used to practice
4. Contextual minimal pair drill. It is used to distinguish between the similar words. E.g. The situation is that a blacksmith is shoeing a horse. What sentence do you hear? “The blacksmith a/hits b/heats the horseshoe.
5. Visual aids. Devices such as charts, pictures, mirrors, real things are used to enhance the pronunciation training.
6. Developmental approximation drill. Children acquire pronunciation by often substituting some sounds instead of the other. The exercise will take the following shape: wed – red, wag-rag, witch – rich, wipe – ripe, yet – let, yes – less etc.
7. Rhythmic exercises develop rhythm of utterance: This thimble is thick for a thin finger. This thimble is thin for a thick finger. A thick thimble for a thick finger. A thin thimble for a thin finger. Thick for thick. Thin for thin.
8. Recitations Passages are given to the learners for practice and recitation with the focus on stress, timing and intonation. This techniques may or may not involve memorization of the text.
9. Tasks with interjections. There are quite a few phonemes that can be used in speech as “interjections” i.e. short exclamatory words. The learners are given a situational phrase, to which they react using an interjection with the correct articulation and intonation.
10. Creative exercises.