Introduction“Practical Guide to English Pronunciation” is a comprehensive course for intermediate students of English. The book is intended to build learners’ awareness and concern for pronunciation. Throughout “Practical Guide to English Pronunciation” the emphasis is put on linking work on pronunciation with work on developing listening and speaking skills, so students are provided with both receptive and productive practice. The aim is not to produce the ideal standard of English pronunciation, but to concentrate on what is important in making sounds which will be readily understood and accepted. “Practical Guide to English Pronunciation” consists of 10 modules, each containing three sections. Section A aims to cover the sounds of English and their main spelling, alternatives are included for those areas of pronunciation which are especially susceptible to variation across different varieties of English. Section B focuses on pronunciation units which are bigger than individual sounds: syllables, word stress and sentence stress. Section C deals with pronunciation features which emerge in the context of conversation; these include discourse organization and tones. Appendix contains additional jazz chants and poems to be recited in class. The course is accompanied by a recording of all the practice material on a CD. The book and the recording are both designed for use in class and by students working alone.
Letters and sounds Consonants: [p – b] To make the sound [p]: Close your lips hard. Push air forward in your mouth. Open your lips quickly with a small air explosion.
To make the sound [b]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.
Ex.1 Listen and repeat. [ p ]
pen pocket passport pin pepper pot
a piece of pork pie an apple, please
[ b ]
bird bread butterfly rubber web
globe busy as a bee
Ex.2 Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ p – b ].
Ex.3 Practise saying the tongue twisters.
A peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, Where’s the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?
Ex.4 Read the conversation to the end, then write the letter “p” or “b” in each gap. Listen and check your answers. Practise pronouncing it. (A11)
Ex.5 Listen to the recording, in one word of each group, the ‘b’ or ‘p’ is not pronounced. Underline the word. (A12) EXAMPLE double doubt Dublin
1. lamb label lab 5. recipe repeat receipt 2. crab robbed climb 6. possibly psychology special 3. cup cupboard copy 7. Cambridge combine combing 4. photo potato paper
Ex.6 Listen and tick (√) the sentence you hear, A or B. (A13)
Ex.7 Practise the dialogue. Pay special attention to sounds [p] and [b].
(Mr and Mrs Tupman are at the airport. They have just got off the plane from Paris.) Official: Passports, please! Mr Tupman: I think I’ve lost the passports, Poppy. Mrs Tupman: How stupid of you, Bob! Didn’t you put them in your pocket? Mr Tupman: (emptying his pockets) Here’s a pen… a pencil… my pipe… a postcard… an envelope… a stamp… a pin… Mrs Tupman: Oh, stop taking these things out of your pockets. Perhaps you put them in the basket or in the bag. Mr Tupman: (emptying the bag) Here’s a newspaper… a hairbrush… a bear… a ball… a blouse with black buttons… some beer cans… a bottle of perfume… a book about birds… Mrs Tupman: Oh, stop pulling things out of the bag, Bobby. These people are getting impatient. Mr Tupman: Well, help me, Poppy. Mrs Tupman: We’ve lost our passports. M Official: Then let the other passengers past, please. Mr Tupman: Poppy, why don’t you help? You aren’t being very helpful. Put the things in the bag. Official: Your name, please? Mr. Tupman: Tupman. Official: Please go upstairs with this policeman, Mr Tupman.
 Vowels: [ ı – i: ]
To make the sound [ı]: Open your mouth very little. The front of your tongue goes up. It is a short sound.
To make the sound [i:]: Follow the instructions above, but make it a long sound. Ex 8. Listen and repeat the words with a minimal pair [ ı – i: ].
Ex. 9 Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound [ i: ]. You can move horizontally or vertically only.
Finish Ex. 10 Practise saying the tongue twisters.
reason to be displeased.
Ex. 11 Practise the dialogue. Pay special attention to sounds [ ı ] and [ i: ].
In a Restaurant Peter: Oh, Tim’s already in. Tim: Yes, I am in for six minutes only. Edith: Oh, I though you were ill and not coming.
Jean: What would you like to eat? Edith: Leek soup, I think. Jean: Tim? Peter? Would you like veal or beef? Peter: Mmmm, veal, please. Tim: Veal with peas…and cream. And cheesecake for sweet. Edith: And don’t forget tea, with milk, please.
 Introducing syllables
A syllable is a group of one or more sounds. The essential part of a syllable is a vowel sound (V). Some syllables are just one vowel sound (for example, eye [aı]). A syllable can also have consonant sounds (C) before the V, after the V or before and after the V (for example, my [maı] – CV, egg [eg] – VC, ten [ten] – СVС). Letters are not the same as sounds, this may affect the syllable structure (for example, ‘car’ ≠ [ka:] – CV, not СVС).
Ex. 12 Look at these one-syllable words. Write their syllable structure, as in the example. EXAMPLE high – CV rice – СVС
1. bought ____________ 6. laugh _______________ 2. eyes ____________ 7. two _______________ 3. key ____________ 8. youth _____________ 4. day _____________ 9. weigh ______________ 5. through ____________ 10. rhyme _____________
Ex. 13 Listen to these tongue twisters. How many syllables are there in each? Write the number. Then listen again and repeat.(B4) EXAMPLE She sells sea shells on the sea shore = 8 syllables 1. Walter walked towards the waiter. = ________________ 2. Betty bought a better bit of butter. = ________________ 3. The fat cat sat on the vet’s wet hat. = _______________
 Pronouncing punctuation
Reading aloud is good pronunciation practice. It is very important to ‘pronounce the punctuation’. In speech there are pauses where, in writing, there are punctuation marks. Pauses can change the meaning of what we say. For example, Was that the question he asked? ‘Was that the question?’ he asked.
Ex. 14 Read this weather forecast aloud, pausing where necessary.
Ex. 15 The sentences below are really two sentences, but the punctuation is missing. The two sentences are divided before or after the underlined expression. Listen and draw one line / to show where sentences are divided. (C10)
EXAMPLE They’re leaving / soon it’ll be quieter.
1. There was nothing inside it was empty. 2. We walked carefully downstairs it was dark. 3. I watched him silently he opened the drawer. 4. The rain didn’t stop the next day it just carried on. 5. The weather was hot at the weekend it was 40 degrees. 6. I saw her clearly she was hungry. 7. It was cold last night the roads were icy.
Letters and sounds Consonants: [t – d] To make the sound [t]: Put the front of your tongue behind your top teeth. Push air forward in your mouth. Then move your tongue away.
To make the sound [d]: Follow the instructions above, use your voice.
Ex.1 Listen and repeat.
[ t ]
tin tennis tomato telephone student
tell the time top of the top
[ d ]
date dog daughter dancing address
goodbye bad cold
Ex.2 Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ t – d ].
Ex. 3 Put the pair of words from the box below into the sentences. Listen and check. Repeat the sentences. (A22)
EXAMPLE Last year, Tom weighed more that Sam, but now they both have the same weight.
1. It wasn’t ______ in a day; it takes ages to ______ a cathedral like that. 2. When you’re out in the mountains, you have to _______ to stay _____. 3. He _______ it to the wrong address, so he had to ______ another copy. 4. It _______ my ears when I _______ that noise. 5. The _______ sofa is too _______ to go through that door. 6. We went ________ the hill and into the ________.
Ex. 4 Underline the word which does not have the sound [ t ]. EXAMPLE asked castle letter first
1. eight Thames whistle walked 2. Thomas needed time liked 3. listen winter eaten after 4. ended wished left hoped 5. whiter greater soften written
Ex. 6 Talk about the pictures, as in the example
EXAMPLE He studied all night, didn’t he? – No, he didn’t. He listened to the radio.
NOTE! –ed endings can be pronounced differently. Compare: ed = [d] ed = [t] ed = [ıd] played walked waited cleaned danced painted
combed her hair/ cried a lot/ painted the room/ emptied the glass/ brushed it laughed a lot cleaned it filled it
closed a door/ walked away/ washed the TV/ pulled the car/ opened it waited for a long time watched it pushed it
landed at noon/ whispered/ danced all night/ rained all day/ departed shouted played cards snowed
Vowels: [ e – æ ]
To make the sound [e]: Open your mouth a little. The back of your tongue goes a little down. It is a short sound.
To make the sound [æ]: Open your moth wide. The back of your tongue goes down as well as your lower jaw.
Ex 7. Listen and repeat the words paying special attention to sounds [ e – æ ] and [ ı - e – æ ].
Ex. 8 Change the vowel sound from [e] to [i:] in these words. Write the new words, as in the example.
EXAMPLE met - meat 1. check ______________ 6. sweat ____________ 2. red ________________ 7. well ______________ 3. bet ________________ 8. set _______________ 4. men _______________ 9. fed _______________ 5. fell ________________ 10. led ______________
Ex. 9 Practise saying the tongue twisters.
|
pin – bin 
pen – Ben 
pear – bear 
cap – cab 
pup – pub 
Peg’s as pretty as a picture.
Barbara’s as busy as a bee.
aybe we dropped them on the plane.
sheep - ship 
bean - bin 
seat - sit 
leek - lick 
cheek - chick 
Start
Tim: No, I’m ok; it’s so interesting to see you all.
tore - door 
tarts - darts 
cart - card 
write - ride 
train - drain 
Ex. 5 Practise saying the tongue twisters.
The kid’s as good as gold.
studied all night/listened to the radio.
X – axe 
men – man 
said – sad 
beg – bag 
bin – 
Ben – 
ban
tin – 
ten – 
tan
pin – 
pen - 
pan
