Pronunciation self-study links

(TESOL Materials--Pronunciation, Self-Study)

Google: docs, pub

[I've recently started working at a school that has an assessment program in which I watch videos of student speeches, give feedback to the students about features of their pronunciation, and then students are expected to improve on these features of pronunciation for subsequent videos.

I have struggled with this, because I felt like I wasn't able to give sufficient feedback to students to improve.  I could say, "Your intonation is flat.  Go practice intonation" or "you don't have any rhythm.  Go practice rhythm."  But I wasn't able to give students any sort of study plan.

I expressed this frustration to another teacher in the staff-room, and he told me that he has a list of self-study resources that he gives students as feedback.  They are mostly links to Youtube videos or other Internet websites.  For example, if the student has problems with sentence stress, he gives them a list of videos to watch for sentence stress.  If a student has problems with linking sounds, he has a list of videos on linking sounds.

He was kind enough to share his list with me.  I am taking the liberty of posting his list on this blog because:

1) I want to bookmark it for myself for future use.

2) It may be of use to other teachers out there.

I personally am ambivalent about whether certain features of English pronunciation can be acquired through conscious study (see Krashen, etc).  But at the same time, since I am required by the school curriculum to give students pronunciation feedback, and the students are required to improve on my feedback points, I feel like I have to at least go through the motions of giving them resources.  Any other teacher teacher in a similar position may find this list useful.

I've edited this list very slightly (deleting dead links, some adjustment on formatting), but it's not my list, and I can't take credit for it.

I also have to admit that I haven't actually watched all the videos it links to, so I can't vouch for everything on here. Caveat lector.]

Linking

Vowel to vowel (V-V) linking:

1. Stop Saying... : Vowel to vowel linking 

2. English Pronunciation - Linking: Vowel to Vowel -- American Accent 

Consonant to consonant (C-C) linking - disappearing or changing sounds:

1. Linking Consonant to Consonant -- American English Pronunciation 

Consonant to vowel (C-V) linking:

1. Pronunciation: Consonant - vowel linking 

2. English Pronunciation - Linking: Consonant to Vowel -- American Accent 

Individual sounds:

1. A large range of instructional videos on individual sounds: Rachel's English Playlists 

2. Same as above:

The Sounds of English from BBC Learning English 

3. English Language Club Youtube Channel 

4. IMPORTANT - how sounds work: Phonemic Chart for TEFL

5. Download this app for further pronunciation help of individual phonemes (sounds): Sounds of Speech

→ Making sounds & using your mouth muscles:

English Pronunciation Practice: Daily Pronunciation 1 (2019) 

Consonant clusters:

1. English Pronunciation Practice: CONSONANT CLUSTERS 

2. Consonant Clusters: British Pronunciation Lesson 

3. Learn English Tongue Twisters.Consonant Clusters.FR, BR, BL Sounds 

4. Master Spoken English - Rhythm Patterns and Consonant Clusters - bl pl br pr - DVD4.5.2 

5. How to Pronounce the TR Consonant Cluster - American English 

6. How to Pronounce CH, TR, J, DR in CHAIN, TRAIN, JANE, DRAIN - American English Pronunciation Lesson 

Sentence stress:

1. Sentence Stress in English Pronunciation 

2. Sentence Stress: English Club 

Rhythm and chunking/thought groups:

1. Speak English more naturally: Using rhyme for word stress and intonation 

2. Stress Timing and Rhythm in Sentences: Learn English with Simple English Videos - ESL 

3. How To Use English Rhythm & Intonation: Chunking Part 1 (very good video!!)

4. Linking and Thought Groups – Spoken English 

5. Thought Groups 

6. Pausing within Sentences | English Pronunciation Lesson (very easy to follow)

Connected speech - general:

1. 5 Features of Connected Speech:  ESL Base 

2.  5 Connected Speech Secrets For Fast, Native English Pronunciation 

3. How To Sound Like A Native English Speaker: Connected Speech 

4. Connected Speech Practice | English Pronunciation Lesson 

Various Materials for Workshops on the Phonemic Chart and Phonology

(TESOL Worksheets--Workshops, Pronunciation)

Google Drive Folder HERE
Phonemic Chart Presentation: slides, pub--This was originally designed by a colleague, but I edited it and added some stuff, so I'm going to count this as partially my own work.

Phonology 1--word and sentence stress: slides, pub--I put this together myself, but the content is all based on material I got from colleagues and also from ELT Training.

Connected Speech: slides, pub

Notes on Adrian Underhill's Workshops: docs, pub--These are various notes I took on Adrian Underhill's workshop with the intent of reproducing it myself.  (I also used some material from Adrian Underhill's book.)  Adrian Underhill's original workshop is on Youtube HERE.

Regular Past Simple Verbs Pronunciation Lesson

(TESOL Worksheets--Past Simple, Pronunciation, DELTA Lessons)

Google Drive Folder HERE
Lesson Plan: drive, docs, pub
Slideshow: slides, pub
Pictures of verbs: drive, docs, pub
Regular Past Tense Pronunciation Story and Sorting game: drive, docs, pub
Taboo for regular past tense verbs (for reviewing in the subsequent lesson): drive, docs, pub
The same taboo game as above, but for the verbs in the present simple form: drive, docs, pub
This lesson is connected to the essay: Past Simple
[Notes: Part of this lesson comes from a previous activity--Pronunciation of regular past tense endings.  Also, I later reworked this lesson to use as a CELTA style demonstration lesson, and I have previously posted that reworked version.  However, even though I've delayed posting this lesson online, this lesson here is the original, and the lesson I posted back in December is the reworked version.]

Regular Past Tense Pronunciation Lesson

(TESOL Worksheets--Past Simple, Pronunciation, CELTA Style Lesson Plans)

Google Drive Folder HERE
Lesson Plan: drive, docs, pub
Slideshow: slides, pub
Model Text: drive, docs, pub
Picture cards: drive, docs, pub
Card Game--Adapted from https://teachinggamesefl.com/2015/11/22/pronunciation-game-ed/ by Mike Asbury: drive, slides, pub
Update: Online version: slides, pub

English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course by Peter Roach [Fourth Edition]

(Book Review)

Started: July 3, 2018
Finished: August 14, 2018

My History With This Book
I actually bought my copy of this book back in 2010.  It was one of the required textbooks for a course I was taking in English phonetics & phonology.  (The other textbook was A Course in Phonetics by Peter Ladefoged.)

The professor for the course would assign chapters of Ladefoged and Roach each week, but the weekly reading assignments would be based on the course syllabus, and not the internal chronology of the books.  Thus we read the books out of order.

Plus, I'm ashamed to admit it, but how well I kept up with the weekly readings varied from week to week.  (I had the best of intentions, but I didn't handle the stress of grad school well.  Sometimes the overwhelming amount of weekly reading made me so stressed out that I couldn't absorb any of it.)

But, on the weeks that I did keep up with my weekly reading, I was always glad of Peter Roach's clear and simple explanations.
I often felt very lost in that phonetics and phonology course.  There were weeks when I felt like I couldn't understand anything the professor was talking about, and I was terrified that I was going to fail the course.
But then, when I sat down to read Roach, I felt like I could understand him.  It gave me confidence that maybe I could actually understand this phonetics and phonology stuff.
There were also written practice exercises at the end of each chapter.  (You could do the exercises, and check your answers in the back.)  And when I did find the time to sit down and do the exercises, I felt they really helped me understand and consolidate the information.

I also used some sections of this book as an authoritative reference for some of the papers I wrote that semester. (HERE and HERE).

But I never actually finished this book cover-to-cover

However, because I felt that this was one of the few books that explained phonetics and phonology in a way that I could understand, I had always intended to one day sit down and read this whole book from front to back.  Which is why I kept it with me all these years. Even though I have to purge 90% of my book collection every time I move countries, this was one of the few books I always made sure to keep with me in each of my moves.

And now, I've finally gotten around to reading it.

...actually, it turns out that this book is also part of the recommended reading list for the DELTA. Which I've been trying to work through.
And at my work we've started up a book club for the DELTA recommended reading list.  After finishing Speaking by Martin Bygate last month, we sat down to choose the next book.  And this is what the other members decided to choose.  "Perfect," I thought silently to myself.  "I already have a copy at home."

[Sidenote: There are several different editions of this book floating around.  The electronic version on our school's computers is the 2nd edition.  The hard copy in our school's library is the 3rd edition.  The edition I have is the 4th edition.  As a result, book club members ended up reading different editions.  As far as we could tell, there were no substantial differences.  Page numbers were different, but the basic content seemed more or less the same.  When it came to the discussion at the end of the month, we all seemed to have absorbed the same information.  Although granted we never did a thorough line-by-line analysis.  But after reading this cracked.com article, "6 Disturbing Things I Learned Writing Your Textbooks" I've learned that changes in editions are often just excuses to sell new books with no substantial change in content.  (See point number 1 in the article linked above).  I suspect that's what's happening here.  Although I could be wrong.]

Anyways, enough rambling about my history with this book.  Let's get on to the actual review.

The Actual Review
Actually after all that build up, I really don't have too much intelligent to say about this book in the way of comments or critique.

What can you really say when reviewing a textbook?  (And it's very evident that the primary purpose of this book is to serve as textbook for introductory level university courses on phonetics and phonology.)

Unless you have enough expertise to critique how the author handles subject matter (which I don't), you can't really say much more than "It was readable" and "It was informative".

And, for the record, this book was readable and informative.  But that's about all the level of insight I'm able to give on this one.

So I'll just jot down a few stray observations, and then call it a day on this one:

* Some of this book covers the same ground as Sound Foundations by Adrian Underhill.  But what's interesting about Peter Roach is rather than tell you what the facts are, he likes to tell you what the controversy is.  Are /n/ and /ng/ variations of the same English phoneme, or two different phoneme?  Are there clear rules about where syllables are divided?  Do native speakers agree on how many syllables a word has?
Each chapter further ends with a "Notes on Problems and Further Reading", which further highlights how much uncertainty there is in this field.
I enjoyed learning about how many unanswered questions there were in this field.  It was really interesting.

* There are written exercises and audio exercises at the end of each chapter.  I tried to keep up with these for the first few chapters, but in the end I gave up.  (It's just not convenient to read this book in coffee shops if you keep having to stop to do all the exercises.  Maybe someday I'll give it a re-read.)

* Confession: I finished this book way back on August 14.  I did the video review on August 24, but got distracted from writing this book review until now. 
I hate to say it, but this book isn't as fresh in my mind as it was two months ago.  The video review was done when this book was fresher in my mind (although as always, I got a bit rambling and incoherent on the video review.)
I'm going to have to call this good though.  I've got to get ready for the DELTA from tomorrow, so this will have to suffice as a review.

Video Review
Video review HERE and embedded below:



Link of the Day
Chomsky on Lenin and Bakunin

Check out this book on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3Qn3BYr

(This is an Amazon Associate's Link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

The Two G Sounds--Sesame Street

(TESOL Worksheets--Phonics, TESOL Songsheets)

Sesame St G George and G Grover


Worksheet: docs, pub

Match the words to the song:

gallop, garden, genius, gentle, giant, giraffe, golden, good guy

Grover: Hey George, what is that sound you are making?

George: Hi Grover, I'm making the sound of the next letter of the alphabet, the letter "G". Yeah, my name begins with the letter "G" and it makes that sound. G-g-george.

Grover: B-but my name begins with "G" too but it sounds like this, G-g-grover.

Grover:"G", Grover.

George: No. "G", George.

Grover: Uh-uh, "G", (1)________________.

George:No no, "G", (2)________________.

Grover: "G", (3)________________.

George: "G", (4)________________.

Grover: No, no I think this is right Georgie. "G", (5)________________.

George: And "G", (6)________________. Hey, Grover!

Grover: What, Georgie?

George: There are two "G" sounds.

Grover: I must agree. There is "G", (7)________________

George: And "G", (8)________________.

Grover: One sound for you,  And one sound for me.

Grover: "G", Grover.

George: "G", George. "G", Grover.

Grover: "G", George. "G", George.

George:"G"

Next, sort the words into two categories:

hard g sound /g/	soft g sound /dʒ/

Answers;

Grover: Hey George, what is that sound you are making?

George: Hi Grover, I'm making the sound of the next letter of the alphabet, the letter "G". Yeah, my name begins with the letter "G" and it makes that sound. G-g-george.

Grover: B-but my name begins with "G" too but it sounds like this, G-g-grover.

Grover:"G", Grover.

George: No. "G", George.

Grover: Uh-uh, "G", (1)garden.

George:No no, "G", (2)giant.

Grover: "G", (3)gallop.

George: "G", (4)giraffe.

Grover: No, no I think this is right Georgie. "G", (5)golden.

George: And "G", (6)gentle. Hey, Grover!

Grover: What, Georgie?

George: There are two "G" sounds.

Grover: I must agree. There is "G", (7)good guy

George: And "G", (8)genius.

Grover: One sound for you,  And one sound for me.

Grover: "G", Grover.

George: "G", George. "G", Grover.

Grover: "G", George. "G", George.

George:"G"

Next, sort the words into two categories:

hard g sound /g/	soft g sound /dʒ/
garden, gallop, golden, good guy	giant, giraffe, gentle, genius

Pronunciation Battleship

(TESOL Worksheets--Pronunciation)

I don't get any credit for inventing Pronunciation Battleship (the game is already well-established at my school).
But, I'm still going to list my contributions here so that I don't end up having to re-create them.
If you're unfamiliar with the game, it's a variation on the classic Battleship Game (rules here) in which the grid is filled with minimal pairs, and the players have to carefully pronounce each word so that their opponent can identify the coordinates.

Google Drive Folder HERE

* /æ/ vs /e/ docs, pub
* /æ/ vs /ʌ/ docs, pub
* /e/ vs /ei/ docs, pub
* /ɪ/ vs /e/ docs, pub

Wh-Words

(TESOL Worksheets--Phonics, Spelling, Pronunciation, Vocabulary)

In my class, I used this to supplement page 27 of English World 5.  But I think it can also work as a stand-alone phonics lesson for Wh words.

First, students do the wordsearch (mostly just as a warmer).  Google drive here and answers here.
Then, Slideshow elicits the words from the students.  slides, pub




Then students complete the crossword.  Google drive here and answers here.
For extra fun, cut off the questions from the crossword, and post the questions around the room.
Questions for posting around the room here (docs, pub), and crossword grid (without questions) here (drive, docs, pub)

Then, students are put into teams, and given a worksheet to collaboratively fill out.  The teacher reads the story, and the students listen and write in the correct answers.  Afterwards the teacher gives out the answers, students correct their own paper (or another team's paper) and one point is awarded for each correct answer. (docs, pub)
Then students are instructed to try to write their own story somehow using all the vocabulary. (docs, pub)

Wordsearches and Crossword Puzzles all made at armoredpenguin.com

Listen and write in the missing words:

Willy the ____________ went to the shop to buy a ____________  ____________ , a ____________ , and a ____________ .  

The shopkeeper was Kevin the cat, who had long black ____________ .  “What would you like to buy?” he ____________ quietly.

“I want a ____________ ____________ , a ____________ , and a ____________ ,” said Willy.

“We don’t have ____________ ____________ ,” said Kevin.  “We have a black ____________ .”

“No, it has to be ____________ ,” answered Willy.

“____________  ____________ ?” asked Kevin.  “A black ____________ will still sound the same.”

Willy the ____________ ____________ Kevin on the head with his stick.  “No, it has to be ____________ ,” said Willy.  

“I can get one for you,” said Kevin.

“____________ ?” asked Willy.

“Tomorrow,” said Kevin.

“____________ ?” asked Willy.

“By the river,” said Kevin.

“____________  river?” asked Willy.

“The big one,” said Kevin.

“OK,” said Willy.

Willy the whale went to the shop to buy a white whistle, a wheel, and a whip.  

The shopkeeper was Kevin the cat, who had black whiskers.  “What would you like to buy?” he whispered quietly.

“I want a white whistle, a wheel, and a whip,” said Willy.

“We don’t have white whistles,” said Kevin.  “We have a black whistle.”

“No, it has to be white,” answered Willy.

“Why white?” asked Kevin.  “A black whistle will still sound the same.”

Willy the Whale whacked Kevin on the head with his stick.  “No, it has to be white,” said Willy.  

“I can get one for you,” said Kevin.

“When?” asked Willy.

“Tomorrow,” said Kevin.

“Where?” asked Willy.

“By the river,” said Kevin.

“Which river?” asked Willy.

“The big one,” said Kevin.

“OK,” said Willy.

Name:______________________________

Now, write your own story using all of these words.

whack, whale, what, wheel, when, where, which, while, whip, whiskers, whisper, whistle, white, why

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________