Session 7: Speaking and Pronunciation

The objectives of this session are:

  • To discuss the importance of pronunciation
  • To understand how sound is produced
  • To introduce minimal pairs
  • To introduce a general format for teaching pronunciation
  • To highlight different pronunciation difficulties a learner may have
  • To discuss the impact of stress and intonation on meaning
  • To highlight a variety of different activities to improve listening discrimination and sound production

Speaking and Pronunciation

Why teach pronunciation?

Some sounds that exist in English do not exist in other languages. Knowledge of the English sound system and how these sounds can be produced can assist an ESL learner as she tries to communicate with others. However, teaching pronunciation will not, nor should it, mean eradicating the accent of your learner. What we want to do as tutors is to give learners the skills necessary to prevent miscommunication.

Spelling and Pronunciation

As highlighted in Session 5, some words are not spelled as they sound. Different letters may represent the same sound. Read the following words aloud: to, tool, two, threw, through, shoe and clue. While all of these words are spelt differently, they all have the same vowel sound.

Vowel sounds, which can be written many different ways, may produce additional difficulties for ESL learners. The following examples demonstrate how many spelling variations there can be for a sound.

Long/short vowel intonation Common Spelling Patterns Alternative Spelling Patterns
e       (me, we)
e...e  (scene)
ee     (sheep)
ea     (meal)
ie      (niece)		 y       (ready)
ey     (monkey)
ei      (ceiling)
i        (taxi)
i...e   (police)
e       (yes, best) ea     (bread, heavy)
a       (any, anyone)
ai      (said, again)
ay     (says)
ie      (friend)
a        (baby)
a...e   (name)
ai       (train)
ay      (gray) 		ei      (vein)
ey     (they)
eigh  (weigh)
ea     (great)
aigh  (straight)
o       (job, shop)
a       (father, hard)
 ow    (knowledge)
ea     (heart)*
* ea makes this sound
before an r
a       (bank, jacket) au      (laugh)
ai       (plaid)