Intonation

• Define intonation and the two types of intonation.
• Refer to tutor training manual for examples.

D: Sound Reductions

10 minutes

• Ask trainees to write down the following sentences on the board as
  you dictate them:
  • I wanna go to movies tonight.
  • I've gotta get some done this weekend.
• Ask trainees to read what they have written.
  • Some trainees may write these sentences without their reduced form. If this occurs, discuss how native speakers may not even notice when people speak to them in reduced forms. If the trainees write out the reduced forms, discuss how common it is to speak in this form.
  
  Optional point: Consonant Replacements
  
  
  • You may also want to point out the word "gotta." Did you say gotta or godda? It is very common for American and Canadian speakers to pronounce words with a "d" sound in place of the " t." Regional differences such as these may also be addressed with the learner.
  • Other examples that include the "d" sound in place of the "t" include: water, better, bottle, that 'll.

Schwa: Vowel Reductions

Within a Word

Define and discuss using the following examples to illustrate the difference between the stressed and unstressed vowel sound. ¹

• In the first column, the first syllable of each word is stressed; whereas, in the second column the second syllable is stressed.
• The unstressed first syllable in Canadian, Dramatic and Democracy are all examples of schwa, or reduced vowels.

¹ Peter Avery and Susan Ehrlich, Teaching American English Pronunciation. (Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press, 1994), p.65. By permission of Oxford University Press.