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

PRONUNCIATION
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.

Why is pronunciation important?

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 avoid speaking in English, thus experience social isolation, employment difficulties and limited opportunities for further study.

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 for some speakers.

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

Three levels of English pronunciation

People often dont understand what you want to say. You use the wrong sound in English

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

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 levels

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

RHYTHM
Rhythm is both a feature of and product of the phonological structure of English. The phonology of any language is a system, so that a change in one part of the system will affect some or all of the other parts.

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 connected speech.

Different words in a sentence have stronger stress and are pronounced longer and other words 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 the wrong 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 are usually 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) Conjunctions: but, not, Determiners: the, some, each

Prepositions: under, around, near

Possessive adjectives: my, your, our

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 is sometimes called the information focus word. The information focus word will have different pitch (highness or lowness of a sound) and intonation (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 important in 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 syllableif more than one syllable) and then go back down. The pitch may also remain up, depending on the 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 and their intentions in longer stretches of discourse).

Clennell (1997) identifies some major functions that are important for learners:

information marking (prominent stress)

discourse marking (given/new)

attitudinal or affect marking (mood/feeling)

conversational management (turn-taking/collaborating)

pragmatic marking (illocutionary force/intention of the speaker).

grammatical/syntactic marking (clause boundaries/word classes)

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 signal higher 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

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Start strong with an interesting Dont try to memorize a speech. Instead, use the key points. opening. It doesnt have to be brilliant, but it has to get the audience focused on your topic

Basic of public speaking

Close your speech strongly with a 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 attentively Be careful when using visual aids, including power point. They can be both distracting and confusing unless they are used appropriately. call to action

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

Relax ease tension by doing exercise

Visualize yourself giving your speech imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and assured

Realize that people want you to succeed they dont want you to fail

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

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.

Turn nervous into positive energy harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm

Gain experience experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking

CHARACTERISTIC OF A GOOD SPEAKER

Good Organization Preparation Speak from clear, comprehensive lecture note Practice your presentation for voice, language, and timing Do not read your presentation

Confidence Do not begin with apology for you knowledge or your English. If you lack confidence 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. Atypical you dont have to fit a mold that seems right for most other presenters.

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