Speech Sounds

Workshops • Yoga • Art • Food

They reveal the secrets

just for you!

Article 17. August, 2013

Get articles

from experts

on Phonology

and Phonetics.

Latest Tips

for your

pronunciati

on class

Learn about

Metacognition

Cultural

Activities for

this month.

Fun and creative ideas

Created and Edited

by

Melissa Gomez &

Mario Umana

• Index pg. 1

• Article 1: The Importance of teaching

pronunciation. Pg. 2

• Health: Yoga Activities pg. 3

• Multiple Intelligences pg. 4

• To the reader section: Metacognition pg. 5

• Pronunciation Activity 1. Role Play pg.6

• Metacognitive Activity pg. 7

• Food: Caribbean Flavor pg.8

• Entertainment: Tattoos pg. 9

Índex Music: House pg. 10

Research… pg. 11

Pronunciation Activity 2. Word Puzzle pg. 12

Pronunciation Activity 3. Minimal Pairs pg. 13

Tips to Teach Consonants pg.14

Art: Utopia del Arte pg. 15

Tips to Teach Vowel pg. 16

Cultural Advertisement pg. 17

Pronunciation activities 4 pg. 18

Article 2. Expand your knowledge pg. 19

Books of interest pg. 20

Back page. pg.21

Article

The Importance of teaching pronunciation

Many language teachers do not pay the necessary

attention to teaching pronunciation to students, they

instead focus most of their attention to grammar.

Something I have paid attention to in my time as an

English teacher is that students often say, “I really need

to learn how to speak English.” Isn’t pronunciation the

biggest attribute to speaking? The answer is “yes”.

Pronunciation is one of the teaching areas that is

often neglected. We find that most books focus on

grammar and reading but most lack good pronunciation

activities. There are many reasons why that is so. First,

many aspects of pronunciation are difficult to teach (or at

least that is the perception). Secondly, unlike a

grammatical or functional area of language, it can be

quite difficult to build a lesson around a pronunciation

point and therefore such points are add-ons to a unit in a

course book or a lesson in the class. Thirdly, teachers

often feel under prepared to teach pronunciation and

many seem to struggle to learn the phonemic alphabet.

Teaching pronunciation is important because your pronunciation

will be the first thing someone will notice about you when you speak

English during a conversation. I am not saying grammar and

vocabulary are not important, but if you are not able to have a clear

good pronunciation, people simply will not understand you even if

your grammar is great. People are more likely to understand what

you are saying if you make a grammatical error than if you

mispronounce words.

Many people are easily irritated when they cannot quickly

understand what a non-native speaking is saying. Put yourself in

their shoes, imagine a German trying to speak your language (this

applies if you are not German) how hard would it be if their accent

is heavy? I would say that it is pretty challenging. How do you know

if your pronunciation needs help or improvement? If they constantly

reply to your statements with “what?”, ”huh?” or ”could you repeat

that”, then you know your pronunciation needs work. First, focus

on pronunciation and then the rest, grammar and vocabulary will

come later on with time.

Mario Umana

International Certification in Massage Thai Monday, August 27, 2012

San Pedro, 50m east from Soda la U “Calle de la

Amargura”, San José, Costa Rica.

http://yoga-mandir.com/

Kinesthetic (physical): Body movement, hands on

work and sense of touch.

Spatial (visual): Use of images, and thinking in three

dimensions.

Auditory (aural): The use of sound and music.

Rhythm to express mood

Linguistic (verbal): Words, both in speech and

writing.

Mathematical (logical): Logic, reasoning and

systems.

Interpersonal (social): Prefers to learn in groups or

with other people.

Intrapersonal (solitary): Self-study, they prefer to

work alone.

Naturalist (nature): environmentalist, see patterns

in nature and how it works.

Multiple Intelligences Theory Howard Gardner’s (1983)

“To the reader” What to do when trying to choose the right method to study?

Metacognition is the understanding of knowledge of the

cognitive process; it’s anything that is experienced or can be

felt, something that is noticed because it is unusual or

new. Metacognition can reflect on our own perspective and

it can impact cognitive goals, tasks or strategies. Two

essential features of metacognition are self-appraisal and

self-management, recognizing their abilities and mistakes

during the learning process as well as reflections on aspects

of problem solving. This is a great tool for Learners in

pronunciation to adopt meanwhile they are learning and

repeating to also be able to recognize what mistakes they

are doing, with active control and monitoring of cognitive

activities.

Learning methods and techniques are common ways

that people acquired knowledge. Most people

possess a mix of learning styles and do not even

realize it; some others find out that a specific learning

style dominates among the others. It depends on the

person, you could develop another one as you grow

up it is easier to identify thus there is not precise mix

of them. There are known seven Learning Intelligence

, the 3 most common

Learning Styles:

Spatial(visual)

Auditory(aural)

Kinesthetic (physical)

Description:

Overview of the production, transmission and reception of two voiceless

sounds, one affricative / ɫʃ / and one fricatives / ʃ /

Objective:

Distinguish the difference between 2 consonant sounds and articulate well

their pronunciation. Conduct play roles in pairs

Learning Style:

Communicative/Task-based approach. In the carry out activity students

take active part in the teaching-learning process, the teacher is the

facilitator.

Level:

Intermediate - Advance

Material:

Set of words will be provided, pencil and paper. Creativity and

imagination.

Instructions:

Form pairs. You can find a list of words on your right

Each person will make up questions appropriate for each word.

Based on the given words form a questioner as if you were in an

interview process.

After you have gathered the questions, every pair will roll play the

interview in front of the rest.

Comments:

/ ɫʃ/ The production of sound the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge, forming an

obstruction of air. The front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate. The vocal cords do not

vibrate. The sound is produce with strong energy. It is affricative for the combination of two sounds. /

ʃ / The production of sound of this fricatives is very similar, there is friction present, there is not

vibration and the mouth is fully open.

Chain

Chair

Cherries

check

checkbook

checkers (games)

cheek

cheetah (animal)

Chihuahua

Child

Children

Chimney

Childhood

Chin

China

Chocolate

Chop (cut)

Chopsticks

Church

Chimpanzee

Challenge

Champagne

Champion

Cheap

Checklist

Checkouts

Change

Childcare

Shabby

Shed

Sheet

Shade

Shape

Shadow

Share

Shelf

Shark

Shell

Sharp

Shelter

Shake

Shave

Shepherd

Shall

Sheriff

Shame

Shield

Shift

Shoe

Should

Shine

Shoulder

Ship

Show

Shirt

Shower

Pronunciation Activity 1

Metacognitive Activity

Say every word from the list aloud for your partner to hear; then, have your partner do the same thing.

Following write down feed back

Am I providing the correct articulation to these sounds? You can go back to the comment section to check

the proper articulation.

Is it easy for you to produce these sounds?

Are you able to distinguish them now?

Out of those two sounds which one you encountered more problems with?

Was this strategy a good way to improve your pronunciation?

Did you practice the communicative approach?

Have you been in an interview before? How was your experience?

Do you like to roll play scenarios? Play as an actor?

Overall how do you think you did today? What can you improve?

What will be your grade today?

Soda “Lechita d’ Coco”

Try all kinds of food Caribbean taste as well as Vegetarian

Right in front of UCR Tether

Tattoo and Body Piercing 100 m east and 50 north of Munoz & Nanne, San Pedro, Montes de Oca.

A metacognitive pronunciation activity is when

Learners can plan and monitor their language by learning

pronunciation tasks to then evaluate their learning activities.

Furthermore they would take control over their own cognition in

learning processes. Studies showed proficient learners are more

likely to use metacognitive strategies, with the result of having

less proficient counterparts when acquiring different language

skills.

Research…

Flavell (1979) defined metacognition as “knowledge and cognition about cognitive phenomena and the monitoring of their own memory, comprehension and other cognitive enterprises”

Wenden (1998) claimed that metacognition plays a vital role in planning, monitoring, and evaluating the learning process, yet metacognitive experiences and their roles are not specified.

Pronunciation Activity 2

• Objective: To be able to distinguished vowel sounds and put into practice everything viewed in class.

• Learning Style: Auditory /Task Based Instruction

• Level: Intermediate to Advance

• Instructions: Pencil, all the material are provided to the students

The design activity will be done in groups of 4.

There are 14 words in the word puzzle for 2 target sounds. Please circle all the 14 words.

Then put the words in a list. One person says each word aloud and the rest repeat. Analyze among your peers which are the target sounds.

Tip: there are two vowel sound

• Chart 1. Find 14 words

F L C S A T I S F Y

P O J L P Z X Q E L

T R O P S S A P Y O

W Í M T A L B H I C

A S Q Z B A U O P E

S T J O A A O O O I

R E K O T E L K W K

E W H I S U F L E O

V Z X C S I V O A O

O T B T D L U O C

G R K O S A O G U L

N A Q P N X M O Z B

A S P A N I S H W A

H H M O O R H S U M

Pat Pet

Cam Come

Cat Cut

Mat Met

Pan Pen

Rag Rug

Man Men

Activity 3 Minimal Pairs.

Listen to the word and circle the one you hear.

Please indicate the symbol for the two target sounds in each column. /æ/ /ʌ/ and / ɔ/ / ʊ/

God Good

Fall Full

Caution Cushion

Fought Foot

Bull Ball

Rough roof

Pool Pull

Tips to Teach Consonants Articulatory Description Consonants

/f/

It is voiceless consonant; the lower lip touches the upper teeth (Labio-dental). The air goes out with friction (Fricatives) Sound is produced with a strong energy

/n/

It has a voiced sound and there is a vibration present, the tongue touches alveolar. The air goes through the nasal cavity. Sound is produced with weak energy.

/s/

It is a voiceless sound not vibration present. The tongue is in contact but not direct with the alveolar. The air goes out with friction (fricatives) Sound is produced with strong energy

/b/

The manner of articulation is on the lips (Bilabial). It is a voiced sound therefore there is vibration present. The air goes out with a strong force (Plosives) Sound produce with weak energy

/Ө/

The manner of articulations is dental; the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth. It has voiceless sound due to the fact the mouth is open. The air comes out with friction (fricatives) Sound produce with strong energy

/z/ It has a voiced sound with a strong vibration on the mouth. The tongue is in slightly contact with the alveolar. The air comes out with friction (fricatives). Sound is produced with weak energy. /d/ The articulation is voiced, the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveolar and the back of the front teeth. The air goes out through the mouth explosively. (Plosives) Sound is produced with weak energy. /t/ It has a voiceless sound not vibration present. The tip of the tongue touches the back of the front teeth. The air comes out explosively. (Plosives) Sound produce with strong energy /ʃ/ It has a voiceless sound not vibration present because the mouth is open. The tip of the tongue is pressed against palate-alveolar. The air goes through with friction (Fricatives) Sound produce with strong energy. /tʃ/ It has a voiceless sound without any vibration because the mouth is open. The tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveolar and the front of the tongue is raised towards the palate forming affricatives due to the combination of two different sounds. Sound is produce with a weak energy.

Utopia del Arte “ Creative Hands” Andrea Benavides Neil Cannon

Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

Tips to Teach Vowel Articulatory Description Vowels

/ʌ/ Caret This sound is produced in the middle of the tongue; it has a narrow sound and in central position. The jaw is half-closed / half-open, the lips are neutral. Comes with a long sound that is why the muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are tense.

/i/Big iota This sound is produced in the front part of the tongue, which has a high position. The mouth’s muscle, lips and tongue are tense because it is short sound.

/I/ Iota Sound is produced in the front part of the tongue. The jaw is close and the lips are loosely spread. Has a short sound due to muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are lax and short.

/ə/ schwa Sound is produce in the middle part of the tongue the air comes out freely. The jaw goes lower between half-close and half-open. The lips and tongue are lax that is why it a short sound.

/ ɝ/ schwa colored Sound is narrow, the tongue it is in central position. The tip of the tongue points to the hard palate. Mouth half-closed / half-open and the lips are neutral. It is a long sound because the muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are tense.

/ʊ/ upsilon The sound is produced in the back part of the tongue. The jaw is almost close and lips are loosely rounded. It has a short sound because the muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are lax.

/u/ The sound is produced in the back part of the tongue. The jaw is almost close and lips are loosely rounded. The lips are fully rounded and protruded. It has a long sound because he muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are tense.

/ε/epsilon This sound is produced in the front part of the tongue. The jaw is between half-open and half-close and the lips are loosely spread. It has a short sound because the muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are lax.

/æ/ diagraph This sound is produced in the front part of the tongue and the jaw is open. The lips are fully spread. It has a long sound because he muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are tense.

/ɔ/ open “o” This sound is produced in the back part of the tongue, jaw is open and the lips are fully spread rounded. The muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are tense because it is a long sound.

/ɑ/ This sound is produced in the back part of the tongue and the jaw is open. The lips are open rounded and it has a long sound reason why the muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are tense.

/ɚ/ schwa This sound is produced in the middle part of the tongue, neutral position and narrow sound. The tip of the tongue points the hard palate. The jaw is half/close and have/open. It has a short sound because the muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue are lax.

Article “Expand your knowledge To acquire a second language is challenging alike

perfecting its pronunciation; pronunciation teaching is a

essential factor in foreign language teaching. The advantage is

there are tools available for improvement and the sooner you

start the better you become. External and internal factors play

a big role when acquiring a second language (Internal:

individual motivation, aptitude, attitude, background,

personality; External exposure to the language and culture,

techniques and study methodologies). When a person is

motivated to learn they absorb faster new input, everything

become easier to them; on the other hand, some people face

factors such as exposure to its culture or study methodologies.

You can analyze what is interfering in your performance so

then you can overcome obstacles in the acquisition of a better

pronunciation and language.

Carey (2002:3) stressed pronunciation is not an

explicit feature in this mode of instruction though the

prominence of pronunciation. The Communicative Approach,

being communication the primary use of language therefore

should be the main methodology use in all institutions.

Repetition and practice are fundamental but the student need

to interact with each other, come up with their own sentences

in order to find out whether or not if they can use the same

word in different contest! There goes pragmatic which is the

meaning of a word, it depends on the contest that is used

(hiding message). Culture is manifested in so many ways when

teaching pronunciation; learn and be expose to the target

language’s culture by listening to music and watching movies.

According with Flavell (1979)

metacognition consists primarily of knowledge or beliefs

about what factors interact in what ways to affect the

course and outcome of cognitive enterprise . Such

knowledge it’s incorporated by 3 categories: Person

Knowledge which refers to acquired knowledge and

beliefs that concerns us as cognitive organisms

(intraindividually-interindivudually); following, Task of

knowledge states to something learned by the individual,

how the nature of the information encountered affects

how one should deal with it. Information available to the

individual during a cognitive enterprise and task

“demands or goals”. Strategy Knowledge is the learners’

belief of what strategies are likely to be effective in

achieving sub-goals and goals in what order of cognitive

undertakings. They are bonded together, they interact

with each other.

6 Factors of Metacognition based on Flavell’s model

1. Knowledge of Pronunciation Learning

2. Person Knowledge of Pronunciation Learning:

3. Positive Experiences in Pronunciation Learning:

4. Motivation Experiences in Pronunciation Learning:

5. Learning Pronunciation by External Assistance:

6. Learning Pronunciation by Self-Effort:

Pronunciation Activity 4

( ) / ʌ / Caret: Lips are semi open

(Neutral position) duration of sound is long

and tense.

( ) / ai / English Diphthong: it pronounce

same as Spanish ( I )

( ) / ɪ / Short I: Lips are loosely spread,

duration of sound is short and lax.

( ) /ə / Schwa: Lips are semi- open,

duration of sound is short and lax.

( ) / a / Open “a”: Lips are open rounded,

duration of sound is long and tense.

A. come culture done fun husband

lunch month much rush.

B. Been big build business busy city

dictator different

C. Advice apply bright client

crime describe fight fine.

D. calm car college

conscious hobby knowledge

large object opposite.

E. compare confront curriculum

dialogue excellent faithful

negligent nervous performance.

There is an explanation after each vowel symbol. Find the correspondence examples of the

right column to match the explanation of your left column.

Book of interest and Writers

Journal created and edited

ULACIT

• Melissa Gomez

• Mario Umana

2013