英語發音練習

1. 英語發音練習 授課老師：胡若菊 授課班級：進修學院二技應外三甲 k0378@mail.csu.edu.tw

2. Unit 1 • Introduction: To become an effective speaker, you need to develop your pronunciation and language skills together. Good oral communication skills include clear pronunciation as well as accurate grammar and vocabulary. How clearly do you think you communicate in English? Decide which of the following six levels of speech effectiveness best fits your speech. Level 1 People understand only a few words of my speech. Conversations in English are not possible. Level 2 People understand less than half of what I say. I frequently need to repeat things. My vocabulary and grammar are limited. Conversations are slow and difficult. Level 3 People understand more than half, but not nearly enough, of what I say. I need to repeat and clarify many things. Level 4 People understand most of what I say. My pronunciation and occasional errors in grammar or vocabulary are noticeable, and they occasionally interfere with communication.

3. Unit 1 (cont’) Level 5 My speech is fully understandable. Although my accent and any isolated variations in vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation may be noticeable, they do not interfere with communication. Conversations proceed smoothly. Level 6 My speech is nearly native with a barely detectible accent. I use correct grammar and appropriate vocabulary. My communication is clear, fluent, and effective. • Phonetic Symbols --Vowels --Consonants

4. Unit 2 • Assessing students’ pronunciation priorities --Syllables -- Word stress --Important endings --Missing sounds --Reduced speech --Focus words --Phrases --Thought groups

5. Unit 3 • Pronunciation basics -- intonation (speech melody): Every language has its own musical sound—its own melody when the voice goes up and down, called intonation, and its own rhythm. Even when you can’t understand the words, you can often recognize a language by hearing its intonation. Clear communication in English depends on good intonation. -- thought groups: Periods, commas, and paragraph markers make it easier to red and follow written English. Thought groups are verbal punctuation that you can hear. They make speech more understandable. -- focus words: Every language has a way of showing what is important. In English it is the focus word. This one strongly stressed word in each thought group is easier to hear than any other stressed words.

6. Unit 3 (cont’) --final sounds: Some people mispronounce English by leaving off the final consonants from words and syllables. If your native language does not end syllables or words with consonants, you need to pay special attention to this, especially when linking words into phrases or sentences. --linking: The words in phrases or thought groups are linked together. This means that the consonant that finishes one word connects to the sound at the beginning of the next word. Linking makes speech sound smooth and connected. --speech rhythm: English speech rhythm has very strong (stressed) and very weak(unstressed) beats. The stressed words are called content words because they contain most of the meaning. As you learned, the focus word gets the strongest stress in a thought group. The weak, unstressed words can be hard to hear clearly.

7. Unit 4 • Stressing syllables -- example: DEsert/desERT,MESsage/masSAGE ‧Unstressed syllables and schwa vowels: Unstressed syllables sound weaker than stressed syllables. They are harder to hear clearly because unstressed vowels are low in pitch and short. The vowel sound that native speakers say in most weak syllables is called schwa. -- example: DOZen, HUman, aBOUT ‧Compound nouns: Compound words are common in English, and new ones are created all the time. They are made up of two parts, often two nouns or an adjective and a noun. -- example: cheese/burger=> cheeseburger baby/sitter=> babysitter

8. Unit 5 • Prefixes and suffixes: Some longer English words fall into patterns. Learning the intonation of these patterns can help you predict stress when you find a similar word and can make the pronunciation of longer words more natural. -- for example: -sion -tion -ic/-ical -ian -ary/-ery -logy -ity -tal -ium/imum -graphy -cian -cial -able/-ible

9. Unit 6 • Phrasal Verbs: Phrasal verbs have two words that are pronounced as a unit. Turn on. Pull over. The first word is a verb. The second word is called the particle. (A particle is a very small piece, a fragment.) In a phrasal verb the particle is usually an adverb or a preposition that comes after the verb. --Examples: Put ON your hat. Clean UP the mess. Take OFF your shoes. ‧ Song exercises --word stress --descriptive phrases --important endings: “ed” and final “s” --Song lyrics

10. Unit 7 • Speech rhythm: Speech rhythm in English sentences is similar to speech rhythm in words. Both words and sentences have one strongly stressed element. The stressed words are higher in pitch and are held longer. Weak words go by more quickly in English than you might expect from your original language. The pitch differences are also more extreme. You will also learn guidelines for speech rhythm in sentences and how to use speech rhythm, focus words, and contrastive stress to emphasize meaning. -- Stress and Unstress -- Tap the rhythm -- Match the rhythm -- Identifying stressed words

11. Unit 8 ‧Contrast the basic pattern with changes in focus. Example 1: -- a. What’s the matter? I can’t find my KEYS. b. Give me your keys, and I’ll move your car. I can’t FIND my keys. Example 2: -- a. Where are you from? I am from BRAZIL. b. I thought you were from Brazil. I AM from Brazil.

12. Unit 9 • Conversation Strategies: -- Use eye contact -- Look for clues that your listener does not understand what you are -- Don’t be afraid to ask to make sure you are being understood -- When your listener asks what? You probably need to do something more than repeat what you said. -- Provide extra information -- Pay attention to the stressed words -- Talk more slowly in English than you do in your native languages -- Find out how to pronounce frequently misunderstood words and phrases. -- Don’t worry about your mistakes

13. Unit 10 • Vowels and speech music --Unstress: Shortening the vowels in weak syllables --Reductions and Schwa Vowels: Reducing structure words --The difference between can andcan’t

14. Unit 11 • Conversation with melody --Example: • A: Have you seen Snowball? B: Huh? ↗(meaning lack of understanding) • A: My cat! Have you see my cat? B: Uh-uh! (meaning no) • A: I can’t find her anywhere in the house. B: Oh! ↗(meaning mild surprise) • A: She’s been missing since yesterday. B: Oh! ↘( meaning mild pain or discomfort, empathy)

15. Unit 12 • Guidelines for intonation: 1. The focus word always changes pitch. --Examples: Throw the ball to the CATCHer.(step) He’s in the CAR.(glide) 2. One word in each thought group jumps up to the highest pitch. --Examples: The proFESsor was LATE. I SAT on the BLACK CHAIR. 3. Falling intonationsounds finished. --Examples: We waited for the MAIL. I forgot my NOTEBOOK.

16. Unit 13 • Meaning pauses Examples: -- one 22” fish/ twenty 2” fish -- fifty-one-dollar raffle tickets/ fifty one-dollar raffle tickets -- the computer software and keyboard/ the computer, software, and keyboard -- a car, phone, and tape deck/ a car phone and tape deck

17. Unit 14 • Voiced and voiceless sibilants Examples: -- The bus is on time. -- The buses are late. -- Push ahead! -- She pushes the stroller.