Idea Transcript
Helping Key Stage 2 students with English pronunciation Communication should be the primary purpose of language learning and teaching. One crucial element of effective communication for non-native speakers of English to grasp is: comfortably intelligible pronunciation. As Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (1996) point out “there is a threshold level of pronunciation for non-native speakers of English; if they fall below this threshold level, they will have oral communication problems no matter how excellent and extensive their control of English grammar and vocabulary might be” (p.7). Hong Kong Key Stage 1 students primarily need teacher support to develop an understanding of letter-sound relationship so that they see the relationship between spelling and pronunciation. Most teachers would agree that Key Stage 2 students require help on both segmental (consonants and vowels) and supra-segmental features (word stress, sentence stress, rhythm, intonation, adjustments in connected speech, etc.) of English. However, as these features are too enormous to be dealt with adolequately in the overly-packed school time-table, teachers often have problems selecting and sequencing appropriate areas to focus on. Taking into consideration the weaknesses of their students, teachers at Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School identified a few key segmental and supra-segmental features and designed a school-based curriculum plan catering for their students’ pronunciation needs. Although their plan is not exhaustive, teachers of other schools could use their plan as reference. Their curriculum plan is as follows:
Stages of Pronunciation Learning at Key Stage 2 Stage 1 Segmental Level
Helping students to deal with unknown words through syllable identification and associating unknown words with known words. (Worksheet 1: Identifying syllables) (Worksheet 2: Associating unknown words with known words) Stage 2
Supra-segmental Level
Identifying “meaningful chunks” at sentence level Identifying stressed and unstressed words at text level (Worksheet 3: Bracketing meaningful chunks) (Worksheet 4: Identifying function words and content words)
Stage 3 Supra-segmental Level
Reading with expression at sentence level (Worksheet 5) Reading with expression at text level (Worksheet 6)
Stage 4
Segmental Level
Dealing with common pronunciation problems (1): “n” and “l” sounds (worksheet 7) Dealing with common pronunciation problems (2) : Learning how to say “th” sound correctly (Worksheet 8)
Stage 5 Segmental Level
Learning how to say different “ed” endings in verbs (Worksheet 9)
Rationale for the curriculum plan The first stage focuses on helping students to deal with unknown words through identifying syllables and associating unknown words with known words (segmental level). Identifying syllables is essential as a first stage in learning how to pronounce words because it helps students see how different parts of an English word can be broken down into manageable small units and this is crucial in enhancing students’ confidence in pronunciation learning as students find it easier to work on smaller units than a long unfamiliar word. This skill is needed in a later stage of pronunciation learning, i.e. stress pattern identification. Associating unknown words with known words is a useful study skill as it can help speed up acquisition of new information i.e. pronunciation of unknown words. In worksheet 2, the word museum is a new word to some P4 students at the school. Teachers then divided the word into 3 syllables mu-se-um and these are related to three words that students are already familiar with. They are music, see and umbrella. Teachers reported that students picked up the syllable concept very easily and the skill of relating the unknown words to known words helps students retain information.
The second stage orients students to the supra-segmental level of English pronunciation which is a level beyond the pronunciation of individual words. This stage helps students see that good English pronunciation goes beyond being able to say every individual word correctly. Students have to learn how to identify meaningful chunks so as to link them together in speaking. This skill can certainly help reading on top of enhancing pronunciation. Worksheet 3 illustrates how a simple question What do you think is the most interesting thing to do in Hong Kong? can be divided into three meaningful chunks What do you think-- is the most interesting thing to do-- in Hong Kong? Also students have to learn that function words such as pronouns, prepositions and determiners should be unstressed in speaking while content words such as nouns, verbs and adjectives should be stressed. The third stage focuses on reading with expression. Teachers find this part crucial in pronunciation learning because it helps students learn that in day-to-day communication, the same wordings can convey different meanings when read with different tone, pitch or rhythms. A sincere and heartfelt “Thank you” sounds different from a sarcastic “Thank you!” Worksheet 5 gives students a general impression that sentences with different meanings should be read with the appropriate tone. “Get out of my way!” should be read impatiently and angrily but “I’ve passed my driving test !” should be read happily and excitedly. After students are familiar with the idea, teachers can adapt part of the coursebook texts and invite students to read the text with expression using appropriate tones. Teachers at Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School adapted a text from their P4 reader to cater for students’ pronunciation needs in worksheet 6. The fourth stage is concerned with the common pronunciation errors made by Hong Kong students. This could come at a later stage of pronunciation learning after students feel more comfortable with their reading aloud competence as error-correction practice could be discouraging to some students. Experienced English teachers would find that there is a number of pronunciation errors very commonly found among Hong Kong students. Two of them are the indiscrete pronunciation of “l” and “n” sounds (worksheet 7) and difficulty of pronouncing /th/ (worksheet 8). To deal with these local pronunciation issues, teachers could use a courebook text or create a connected text incorporating the problematic words. Teachers at Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School adapted part of their textbook and created some tongue twisters for students to practise pronunciation of the /th/ sound. There are certainly other pronunciation problems peculiar to Hong Kong students and teachers’ awareness of the problems and early intervention help students improve their proficiency more efficiently. The last stage is about how to say –ed endings correctly as in wanted /wantid/, washed /washt/ and cried /kraid/ . English teachers would know that the ed-endings should be pronounced in three different ways depending on how the last sound of the verb is pronounced. Hong Kong students, however, often over-generalize the ed-ending rules and apply the /d/ sound to all past tense verbs. While it may be too complicated to teach students all the rules
about the ed-endings, it is worth mentioning to Key Stage 2 students the correct ways of saying them when they are at the early stage of acquiring past tense. Teachers at Holy Cross Lutheran primary school noticed the verbs “started”, “wanted”, “finished” and “washed” keep appearing in their text book and thus drew students’ attention to the correct way of saying the ed-endings of these verbs using either /id/ or /t/ sounds. The above plan targeting P4 to P6 students was developed based on students’ weaknesses and learning needs in one school. There is a progression from segmental level to supra-segmental level and there are numerous school-based focuses. Teachers in other schools could develop a similar school-based pronunciation plan catering for their students’ needs.
Reference Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (1996). Teaching Pronunciation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Worksheet 1 Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School P4 English
Name:____________________
Class:________________
Purpose: Helping your English pronunciation by learning syllables Read aloud the following English words and divide them into smaller sections. Alternatively, you can listen to your teacher to say the following words before you divide them into smaller sections. Think of some more examples and write them in the boxes provided.
Word Mango = man/ go
No. of Syllables
2
Word
Strawberry = straw/ber/ry
Melon = me /lon
Coconut = co/co/nut
vegetable =
noodle =
Meat =
unhealthy =
Your example:
Your example:
No. of Syllables
3
Name: ___________
Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School P.4 English (Unit 5: Summer Activity) Worksheet 2 Activity Sheet Class:__________ Date:_________
Objective: To learn how to say unknown words A very simple rule to help yourself to say unknown words is to associate them with some known words. There are some examples Museum (3 syllables)
Mu
Music
/se
/um
see umbrella
Heritage (3 syllables)
Her /it
Her
it
/
Marshes (2 syllables)
age
Mar /
age
March
washes
washes
Now find some new words which you do not know how to pronounce and use the above method to try to say the words.
Name: ___________
Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School Worksheet 3 P.4 English Activity Sheet Class:___________ Date:___________
Objective: Reading meaningful chunks Below are some sentences taken from unit 5 “Welcome to Hong Kong”. They can be divided into “meaningful chunks”. To say them correctly, you should pause slightly between each “chunk”. Try the following two tasks. Task 1 Read the following sentences and choose the right way to divide the sentences into “chunks”. e.g. Miss So is a kind teacher. ;
A. Miss So/ is a/ kind teacher. B. Miss/So is a kind/ teacher. C. Miss So/ is a kind teacher.
1.
Looking at the Tsing Ma Bridge is very interesting. A. Looking/ at the Tsing/ Ma Bridge is very/ interesting. B. Looking at/ the Tsing Ma Bridge/ is very interesting. C. Looking at the/ Tsing Ma Bridge is very/ interesting.
2.
I think going to Stanley Market is more interesting. A. I /think going /to Stanley Market is/more interesting. B. I think going to Stanley/ Market is /more interesting. C. I think /going to Stanley Market/ is more interesting.
3.
What do you think is the most interesting thing to do in Hong Kong?
A. What do/ you think is the most /interesting thing to do in Hong Kong?
B. What do you think is /the most interesting /thing to do in Hong/ Kong?
C. What do you think/ is the most interesting thing to do/ in Hong Kong?
4. I’m so excited about coming to Hong Kong!
A. I’m/ so excited about/ coming to Hong /Kong! B. I’m so excited/ about coming to Hong Kong! C. I’m so/ excited about coming/ to Hong Kong!
Task 2: Now read the sentences aloud to your classmates.
Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School P.4 English Activity Sheet Reading Aloud Practice Name: ___________
Class:___________
Worksheet 4
Date:___________
Tips for reading aloud: 1. Read the important words (i.e. nouns, verbs and adjectives) more slowly, clearly and with a higher pitch. 2. Usually pronouns (I, he, they, there, which), prepositions (at, in, on) and determiners (a, an, the) are less important. Read them more quietly. Now try the following two tasks. Task 1: Underline all the important words. Task 2: Read aloud the two paragraphs using the above 2 tips.
Today, we are talking about clean food. You must check that the food is fresh and clean. You must buy food from clean places.
Is everything clean? OK, let’s start cooking! Remember, you must heat the food well. Make sure your plates and chopsticks are clean, too!
Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School P.4 Speaking practice Learning how to read with expression
Name: ________________
Worksheet 5
Class:_________________
Task 1: Match following pictures with different ways of speaking below.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
‘_________________________________________________!’ she said angrily. ‘_________________________________________________,’ she said kindly. ‘_______________________________________________,’ she said patiently. ‘_______________________________________________,’ she said excitedly. ‘__________________________________________________,’ she said shyly. ‘__________________________________________________,’ she said sadly. ‘______________________________________________?’ she said hopefully. ‘_________________________________________________,’ she said strictly.
Task 2: Now say the sentences with the appropriate expression.
Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School P.4 English Activity Sheet
Worksheet 6
The following dialogues is from your reader. Please read it with the right tone.
Readers’ Theatre Read the passage aloud. Chuck : Are you going to eat from the same pot of food ? Mei-ling : It’s going to be fun.
( unpleasant tone )
(cheerful tone )
Uncle Dang : Why are you so worried, Chuck ?
(caring tone )
Chuck : Last year, I got sick after eating a hot pot meal in a restaurant. I mixed cooked seafood with uncooked meat by accident. It gave me a bad stomach ache and a temperature. I felt awful. Now I must be very careful about what I eat. ( unpleasant tone ) Uncle Dang : Chuck, you don’t have to eat if you don’t want to. ( caring tone ) But do come and sit next to me. I’ll show you a safe way to eat PoonTsoi.(caring tone ) Chuck and Mei-ling : Alright. Uncle Dang : The pair of black chopsticks next to your bowl is for eating your food. The pairs of bamboo chopsticks in the pot are for getting the food. (firm tone ) Chuck : I see. That way no one needs to worry about getting other people’s germs. (cheerful tone ) Mei-ling : You are right. See, the chicken is really delicious. (cheerful tone ) Uncle Dang : Moreover , you should have some clean eating habits. (caring tone )
Worksheet 7 Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School P5 English Name: ______________( ) Class: ______________ Date: ________ Objective: Learning the difference between “l” and “n” sounds. Listen to your teacher and see if you can identify which word your teacher has said. 1.
light
night
Fight
2.
long
song
kong
3.
like
night
Light
4.
line
nine
Fine
Now say the following tongue twisters.
1. Luke's lazy duck likes to swim in lakes to play with some little lizards. 2. A little lion with long legs is chasing a little lamb with a little tail. 3. There are nine lines on page nine of this book I like. 4. I saw some light coming out from room nine on one night.
Holy Cross Lutheran Primary School Worksheet 8 P5 English Name: ______________( ) Class: ______________ Date: ________ Learning how to say /th/ sound correctly.
Try to read aloud the following sentence from your textbook with the correct /th/ sound. Read it to yourself and to your friends. Qu Yuan died on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. To say the /th/ sound correctly, make sure you put your tongue between your teeth to make the sound. Now say the following tongue twisters to your friends and teacher.
1. Mr. Smith teaches us the life cycle of a moth.
A moth
2. I had a bath in the bathroom facing south. 3.There are three thousand and thirty three lines on his thumb.
A thumb
Name: ___________
Lutheran Holy Cross Primary School Worksheet 9 P.5 English (Unit 5: Summer Activity) Activity Sheet Class:__________ Date:_________
Objective: Leaning how to say ed-ending in verbs. Remember two rules: 1. When a verb ends with letter “d” and “t”, say /did/ or /tid/ when you see the –ed ending. Do not simply say /d/. 2. When a verb ends with “sh”, say /t/ sound when you see the –ed ending.
e.g.
wanted
/wantid/ finished
started
/startid/
washed
/finisht / /washt/
Read aloud the following sentences with the correct ed-ending pronunciation.
1. I started windsurfing when I was 15 years old.
2. I wanted to learn piano when I was young.
3. I started drawing comics when I was 15 years old and I have finished 20 comics already.
4.
I washed twenty plates and bowls last night.