task 1 graphic organizer
TRANSCRIPT
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TASK 1 : FEATURES OF SPOKEN ENGLISH (40%)
1. You are required to work individually.2. Search the internet and other reading material and print out at least two
relevant articles for the following :
a. Pronunciation
b. Stress
c. Rhythm
d. Intonation
e. Public speaking
f. Characteristics of a good speaker
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PRONUNCIATION
Why is pronunciation important?
What is pronunciation?
Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning. It
concludes attention to the particular sounds of a language (segments), aspects of
speech beyond the level of the individual sound, such as intonation, phrasing, stress,
timing, rhythm (suprasegmental aspects) how the voice is projected
(voice quality) and, in its broadest definition, attention to gestures and expressions
that are closely related to the way we speak a language.
Learners with good
pronunciation in English
are more likely to be
understood even if they
make errors in other
areas.
Learners with poor
pronunciation may judge
as incompetent,
uneducated or lacking in
knowledge, even thought
listeners are only reacting
to their pronunciation.
Learners whose pronunciation is difficult to understand will not be
understood, even if their grammar is perfect. Such learners may avoidspeaking in English, thus experience social isolation, employment
difficulties and limited opportunities for further study.
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The elements of pronunciation
Pronunciation includes both suprasemental and segmental features. Although these different
aspects of pronunciation are treated in isolation here, it is important to remember that they all
work in combination when we speak and are therefore usually best learned as an integral part
of spoken language.
Traditional approaches to pronunciation have often focused on segmental aspects, largely
because these relate in some way to letters in writing, and are Therefore the easiest to notice
and work on. More recent approaches to pronunciation, however, have suggested that the
suprasegmental aspects of pronunciation may have the most effect on intelligibility
Three levels of English pronunciation
People often dont
understand what you
want to say. You use
the wrong sound inEnglish
People understand what
you want to say, but it is
unpleasant to listen to
you
People understand you,
and your English is
pleasant to listen to
Usually learners benefit from attention to both aspects, and some learners may need help in
some areas more than in others. This overview starts with suprasegmental features. One
considerable practical advantage of focusing on suprasegmentals is that learners from mixed
L1 backgrounds in the same class will benefit, and will often find that their segmental difficulties
improve at the same time
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STRESS
Stress refers to the prominence given to certain syllables within words, and to certain syllables
or words within utterances. It is signaled by volume, force, pitch change and syllable length,and is often the place where we notice hand movements and other gestures when we are
watching someone talking
One noticeable feature of English is the reduced nature of unstressed syllables. Thus, not only
are stressed syllables longer, louder, more forceful and at a different pitch, but unstressed ones
are often different in quality
Stress is important at three different
word level
multisyllabic words have one or more syllables that are stressed
Sentence level
The most important words tend to be stressed
Contrastive stress
The most important words carry greater stress
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RHYTHM
Rhythm is both a feature of and product of the phonological structure of English. The phonologyof any language is a system, so that a change in one part of the system will affect some or all of
the other arts.
English is a very rhythmical language, so that a learner who can maintain the rhythm of the
language is more likely to sound both natural and fluent. The two components of the system
which have the greatest influence on rhythm are sentence stress and the various features of
Different words in a sentence have stronger stress and are pronounced longer and otherwords are weaker and shorter. This pattern of strong and weak stress and short and long
pronunciation gives English its rhythm.
It is important for non-native speakers to understand and master the rhythm of English. If thewrong words are stressed in a sentence or if all words are pronounced with the same length
or loudness, the speech will be difficult to understand.
Words that have the most stress in English are called content words. Content words areusually the nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns (demonstrative, possessive,
reflexive, and interrogative).
words are less important in expressing the meaning of the sentence
Auxiliary verbs: may, do,
have (if not the main verb)
Determiners: the, some,
each
Prepositions: under,
around, near
Possessive
adjectives: my, your, our
Conjunctions: but, not,
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INTONATION
Intonation, or change of pitch, is crucial in signaling speaker meaning, particularly interpersonal
attitudes. Intonation patterns are language-specific, learners will need to acquire new ones for
English in order to avoid inappropriate transfer from their first language and thus perhaps
inadvertently causing offence
There is always one word that has the most stress and emphasis in the sentence. This word issometimes called the information focus word.
The information focus word will have different pitch (highness or lowness of a sound) andintonation (the rise and fall of pitch when speaking) than the other words in the sentence.
English speakers use intonation and pitch to focus the listeners attention on what is importantin the message. (Other languages use word order to show this emphasis).
On the information focus word, the intonation will usually rise on that word (or stressed syllable-
if more than one syllable) and then go back down. The pitch may also remain up, depending onthe sentence type. Short sentences, clauses, and phrases usually only have one information
focus word because having more than one is confusing to the listener. The information focus
word is usually the last word or near the end of the sentence, but not always.
There have been three major approaches to intonation theory: the grammatical approach
(which relates intonation to grammatical functions), an approach that focuses on the link
between intonation and attitude, and the discourse approach (which emphasises speakers andtheir intentions in longer stretches of discourse).
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Clennell (1997) identifies some major functions that are important
for learners:
information marking
(prominent stress)
attitudinal or affect
marking (mood/feeling)
grammatical/syntactic marking
(clause boundaries/word
classes)
conversational
management
(turn-taking/collaborating)
discourse marking
(given/new)
pragmatic marking
(illocutionary
force/intention of the
s eaker .
Five major patterns of tones can be identified: fall, rise, fall-rise,
rise-fall and level:
Falling pattern usually indicates
that the speaker has finished, at
least temporarily.
A rising intonation signals a
question or continuation. This
difference can signal meaning
even in short exchanges.
fall-rise tone signals definiteness
combined with some qualification;
what Yallop (1995) calls a No,
but interpretation.
A rise-fall is usually used to signal
strong feelings of surprise or
approval or disapproval. In general,
larger movements in pitch signalhigher emotion and more interest.
A level tone signals boredom,
routine or triviality, and thus is the
tone that teachers use for routines
such as the class roll
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PUBLIC SPEAKING
Basic of public speaking
Dont try to memorize a speech.
Instead, use the key points.
Start strong with an interesting
opening. It doesnt have to be
brilliant, but it has to get the
audience focused on your topic
Dont speak too fast. This is a
common problem as nervous
speakers try to finish as quickly as
possible. Instead, take your time
and your audience will listen more
attentivelyBe careful when using visual aids,
including power point. They can be
both distracting and confusing
unless they are used appropriately.
Close your speech strongly with a
call to action
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Public speaking guidelines
Know the room be familiar with the
place in which you will speak
Know the audience greet some of
the audience as they arrive
Know your material practice your
speech and revise it if necessary
Visualize yourself giving your speech
imagine yourself speaking, your
voice loud, clear and assured
Concentrate on the message, not
the medium focus your attention
away from your own anxieties, and
outwardly toward your message
and audience. Your nervousness
will dissipate
Turn nervous into positive energy
harness your nervous energy and
transform it into vitality and
enthusiasm
Relax ease tension by doing
exercise
Realize that people want you to
succeedthey dont want you to fail
Dont apologize if you mention
your nervous or apologize for any
problems you think you have with
your speech, you may calling the
audiences attention to something
they had not noticed.
Gain experience experience builds
confidence, which is the key to
effective speaking
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CHARACTERISTIC OF A GOOD
Good Organization
Preparation
Speak from clear, comprehensive lecture note
Practice your presentation for voice, language, and timing
Do not read our resentation
Confidence
Do not begin with apology for you knowledge or your English. If you lackconfidence in yourself, the audience will perceive it and lose confidence in
you
Responsiveness
Start your presentation with a smile. You will put your audience at ease.
Make eye contact with members of the audience. Do not talk to the back
wall, the table, or your notes. Find a few friendly, encouraging faces in the
different parts of the audience and talk to them.
Clarity
Be sure the organization of your talk is clear to the audience.
Make short, simple and specific statements
Use visual support to illustrate and clarity difficult points. Visuals should
complement the oral presentation. Visuals should not be used as substitutes
for commentary, nor should they require overly complex explanations.
Enthusiasm
When something is important, say it slower and louder.
Try to communicate to the audience your own interest in and enthusiasm for
your subject; enthusiasm is contagious.
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Great Speaker
Authoritative top caliber speakers
strike you as authoritative
Attitude outstanding speakers
avoid saying they are going to
deliver a speech
Audience the audience becomes
the centerpiece of attention. Focus
mainly on the audience, find a way
to involve audiences, creating
interactive sessions and involving
attendees in discussion
Anecdotes think back to your
childhood days. As long as you
can remember, stories grabbed
you, and would not let go until you
heard all of the fables. Adult still
respond to intriguing stories.
People learn from and remember
the anecdotes, not your statistics.
Appearance speakers need to look
like professionals when they face
audiences.
Atypicalyou dont have to fit a
mold that seems right for most other
presenters.