Teaching English

f

Teaching

Proxrwnciafion

A Reference for Teachers of English

to Speakers of Other Languages

Marianne Celce-Murcia

Donna M. Brinton

Janet M. Goodwin

CavrsRrDGE

UNTVERSITY PRESS

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

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Cambridge University Press

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O Cambridge University Press 1996

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no reproduction of any part may take place without

the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 1996

l4th printing 2006

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog recordfor this publication is availablefrom the British Library

Library oJ Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Celce-Murcia. Marianne.

Teaching pronunciation: a reference for teachers ofEnglish to

speakers of other languages Marianne Celce-Murcia, Donna M. Brinton,

Janet M. Goodwin.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-521- 40504-1 (hardcover). * ISBN 0-521-a0694-3 (pbk.).

ISBN 0-521 -40695-l (cassette)

l. English language-Pronunciation Study and teaching.

2. English language-Study and teaching Foreign speakers.

3. English language-Pronunciation by foreign speakers.

I. Brinton, Donna M. II. Goodwin, Janet M. III. Titre.

PEll37.C4l5 1996

428.007 dc2o 96-20132

ISBN-13 978-0-521-40694-9paperback rssN-13 978-0-521-40504-l hardback

ISBN-I0 0-521-40694-3 paperback rsBN-IO 0-521-40504-l hardback

ISBN- I 3 97 8-0-521 -40695-6 cassette

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Iu poNn MEMoRY oF

ClrppoRo H. Pnaron,qNo J. DoN,{r-r BoweN,

OUR MENTORS IN THE TEACHING OF PRONUNCIATION

C(}NTENTS

List of Figures and Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

Transcription Key

Part I

Chapter

Chapter

Part ll

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Part lll

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Part lV

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 72

Appendices

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

7

2

vll

ix

xi

xii

I

z

14

3

4

5

6

Pronunciation Instruction in Perspective

The History and Scope of Pronunciation Teaching

Research on the Teaching and Acquisition of

Pronunciation Skills

The Sound System of North American English:

An Overview

The Consonant System

The Vowel System

Stress, Rhythm, and Adjustments in Connected Speech

Prominence and Intonation in Discourse

lssues in lmplementation

New Directions in the Teaching of Pronunciation

Pronunciation in the Language Curriculum

Testine and Evaluation

Differences Between NAE (North American English) and

British English

Comparison of Phonetic and Phonemic Alphabets

35

37

93

131

175

269

289

290

3t9

341

353

363

3ll

Intersections of the Sound System with Other 221

Areas of Language

7 The Sound System and Listening 222

8 The Sound System and Grammar: Inflectional Morphology 241

and Parts of Speech

The Sound System and Orthography

l"i Contents

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Appendix 5

Appendix 6

Appendix 7

Appendix 8

Appendix 9

Appendix 10

Appendix 11

Appendix 12

Appendix 13

Appendix 14

Appendix 15

Appendix 16

Appendix 17

Bibtiography

Answer Key for "0n the Cassette" Exercises

Author Index

Subject Index

Positional Occurrence of NAE Consonants

English Syllable Structure

Distribution of Vowels Before Nasal Consonants

Commonly Reduced Function Words

Constraints on Contraction and Blending

Irregular Verbs in English

Tense-Lax Vowel Altemations in Stressed Syllables

of Base Forms and Derived Words

Consonant Letter-Sound Correspondences and 389

Variations (including digraphs)

Systematic Differences in British and American Spelling 395

Profile Questionnaire Used at UCLA 396

Diagnostic Passage and Accent Checklist 398

ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines for Speaking 400

Speechlntelligibility/Communicability IndexforDescribing 403

Speech and Evaluating Its Impact on Communication

Speaking Performance Scale for UCLA Oral Proficiency 404

Test for Nonnative TAs

Self-Evaluation Form: Interview Role Plavs

373

375

376

3t I

380

382

387

405

407

420

427

429

Figures

Figure 1.1

Figure 3.1

Figure 3.2

Figure 3.3

Figure 3.4

Figure 3.5

Figure 3.6

Figure 3.7

Figure 3.8

Figure 3.9

Figure 3.10

Figure 3.1 I

Figure 3.12

Figure 3.13

Figure 3.14

Figure 3.15

Figure 3.16

Figure 4.1

Figure 4.2

Figure 4.3

Figure 4.4

Figure 4.5

Figure 4.6

Figne 4.7

Figure 4.8

Figure 4.9

Figure 4.10

Figure 4.1 I

Figure 4.12

Figure 4.13

Figure 5.1

Figure 5.2

Figure 5.3

Figure 5.4

Figure 5.5

Figure 6.1

Figure 6.2

Figure 6.3

Figure 7. I

F$GURKSANNTABLHS

WaIl Chart 1 for English as a Second Language

Sagittal section diagram

Articulation of /v/

Calendars for guided practice activity

Sentences for controlled practice with lSl

"The Family Tree" for guided practice

Shopping interview for guided practice

Guided practice activity for lnl and lrJl

Minimal pair listening discrimination with pictures

Listening discrimination exercise for aspiration

Analysis activity for locating flap [r]

Information gap activity for practicing flap [r]

Minimal pair contrasts of final consonants

Story activity for practicing syllabic [J]

Story activity for practicing syllabic [r.r]

Mini-dialogues for practicing syllabic [4]

Possible combinations for three-consonant initial clusters

The NAE vowel quadrant and sagittal section of the mouth

A comparison of tongue and jaw positions for front and

back vowels

Tense versus lax vowels in NAE

Glide movement for the NAE diphthongs

Tongue and jaw movements for layl,lawl,and lcyl

Position of the unreduced versus reduced vowels

Worksheets with minimal pair sentences

"Pronunciation Bingo" card for practicing lel vs. /e,/

Information gap exercise to discriminate between /sl and l,\l

Worksheets for communicative activity with interjections

Sample "Hangman" drawing

Worksheet with template for writing limericks

Computer dating: leyl vs. lxl vs. lal

Model worksheets for information gap activity with

cardinal numbers

Model grid for "Shop Till You Drop" activity

Student worksheets for presenting pattems in connected speech

Picture grid activity for guided practice in linking

Sample drawing for communicative practice with instructions

Illustrations for "Spot the Difference"

Worksheet for guided practice with intonation contours

Worksheet for guided practice with "Hills Like White Elephants"

Listening discrimination exercise for can vs. can't for young

or preliterate leamers

6

+J

5l

54

58

58

60

61

70

7l

IJ

74

76

78

79

80

86

95

95

96

101

101

r09

117

118

12l

123

125

128

128

149

150

r66

t7l

r71

183

214

216

231

Yli

I viii Figures and Tables

Figure 7.2

Figure 7.3

Figure 7.4

Figure 8.1

Figure 8.2

Figure 8.3

Figure 8.4

Figure 8.5

Figure 8.6

Figure 10.1

Figure 10.2

Figure 10.3

Figure 10.4

Figure 10.5

Figure 12.1

Tables

Table 3.1

Table 3.2

Table 3.3

Table 3.4

Table 3.5

Table 4.1

Table 4.2

Table 4.3

Table 4.4

Table 4.5

Table 4.6

Table 4.1

Table 4.8

Table 5.1

Table 7.I

Table 1l.l

Table 12.1

Student worksheet for exercise on reduced forms

Student worksheet for a cloze dictation practicing homophones

Examples of false segmentation

Worksheet for predicting pronunciation of -s endings in song lyrics

"Dirty Harry and Squeaky Clean Sam": guided practice with

final -s endings

Worksheet for predicting pronunciation of past-tense -ed endings

in song lyrics

"Sloppy Sarah and Neat Nelly": guided practice with

past-tense -ed endings

Worksheet for predicting pronunciation of past-tense and adjective

-ed endings in a dialogue

Worksheet for controlled and communicative practice with

stress differences

"Discussion Wheel" for fluency practice

"Value Topics" board game for fluency practice

Sample poster for "Personal Introduction Collage"

Collage for "Shopping for Sounds" activity

Examples of comics that provide focus points for teaching

pronunciation

Illustrated story sequence to prompt free speech

The English consonants

Classification of NAE consonant phonemes

Student worksheet: Classification of NAE consonant Dhonemes

Different qualities of /l/ in NAE

Consonants in final position

A comparison of tense and lax vowels in NAE

Classification of vowels

Continuum of lax vowels

Continuum of tense vowels

Distinctions between /r/-less and /r/-colored vowels

Degrees of nasalization in NAE

Worksheet for the game "Categories"

List of vowels with communicative meaning in English

Content words versus function words

Signals of intonation boundaries applied to Gilbert's

(1983) examples

Teaching pronunciation: Methodological variation

Oral presentation evaluation form

235

239

240

250

25r

253

254

263

266

292

293

294

301

302

347

39

47

49

68

75

97

103

t04

r04

105

108

il5

122

153

226

326

35'7

pmgFAc€

We have written Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers

of Other Languages to serve as the core of a comprehensive course in pronunciation ped￾agogy designed to provide ESL/EFL teachers with the following: (l) an overview of the

issues involved in teaching pronunciation, such as how pronunciation has been viewed

from various methodological perspectives and what we know about the acquisition of sec￾ond language phonology: (2) a thorough grounding in the sound system of North

American English (NAE), including both the segmental and suprasegmental aspects; (3)

insight into the ways in which this sound system intersects with other skills and areas of

language, such as listening, inflectional morphology, and orthography, (4) a framework for

developing teaching techniques, ranging from structured exercises to more holistic and

communicative classroom activities, including alternative teaching techniques; (5) a dis￾cussion of options in syllabus design as it relates to the teaching ofpronunciation; and (6)

a treatment of pronunciation diagnosis and assessment measures.

Based on our collective experience at UCLA (both in teaching pronunciation to

ESL/EFL students and in training prospective teachers in practical phonetics), we address

the current debate on teaching segmentals versus suprasegmentals, and suggest ways in

which teachers can deal with both of these critical areas of the sound system within a com￾municative teaching framework that includes the accuracy-fluency continuum.

Accompanying each chapter are discussion questions and exercises that encourage current

and prospective teachers to bring their own personal language leaming and teaching expe￾rience to bear on the topic at hand. The cassette that accompanies the text provides oppor￾tunities to develop transcription skills, to assess ESL/EFL leamers' pronunciation, and to

develop original exercises and activities.

The volume is organized as follows: In Part I we cover the history of and research on

teaching pronunciation (Chapters I and 2). In Part 2 we present the sound system of North

American English and some basic teaching techniques by focusing first on the consonants

(Chapter 3), next the vowels (Chapter 4), then rhythm, stress, and adjustments in connect￾ed speech (Chapter 5), and finally prominence and intonation at the discourse level

(Chapter 6). In Part 3 we address the intersection of the NAE sound system with other

areas of the language, such as the listening skill (Chapter 7), morphological inflections

(Chapter 8), and orthography (Chapter 9). Part 4 deals with issues of implementation; here

we treat alternative teaching techniques (Chapter l0), the place of pronunciation in cur￾riculum design (Chapter 1 1), and techniques and tools for the assessment ofpronunciation

(Chapter l2).

We have used the material in this text to train prospective ESL/EFL teachers who

have already taken at least one introductory course in linguistics. Thus Chapters I and2

presuppose some of the more basic information presented in detail in Chapters 3-{. For

teacher trainers whose students have no prior linguistic or phonetic preparation. we sug￾gest starting the course with Part 2 and then having students read Part I either after Part2

or after Part 3.

It has been a long but enjoyable process for us to collaborate on this course text. We

hope that you and your students will find it useful and that you will share your comments

and suggestions with us'

Marianne celce-Murcia

Donna M. Brinton

Janet M. Goodwin

tx

ACKNO\^fLTPGMENTS

This text would not exist without the immense encouragement which we received along

the way from our editors at Cambridge University Press. In particular, we owe a great debt

to Ellen Shaw, who initiated the project; to Mary Vaughn, who was inordinately support￾ive and patient throughout the manuscript's extended "birthing process;" and Colin Hayes,

who encouraged our efforts from the beginning. For the production phase we acknowledge

the excellent assistance of Suzette Andr6, Sandra Graham, and Olive Collen.

Our team writing effort was augmented by the enormous contributions of an anony￾mous reviewer and Wayne Dickerson, both of whom not only provided insightful critiques

of the entire manuscript but also reconceptualized and reworded lengthy passages for us.

We also received extremely helpful comments on the manuscript from Janet Anderson￾Hsieh and Dick Suter, who caught many inconsistencies and provided much-needed

encouragement along the way. Many of our colleagues graciously responded to portions of

the manuscript, lending their expertise to correct inaccuracies, flesh out examples, and pro.

vide reference sources. In particular, we wish to highlight the contributions of the follow￾ing individuals: Peter Ladefoged and Patricia Keating (Chapter 3, Appendix l); John

Esling, George Yule, and Julietta Shakhbagova (Appendix l); John Schumann (Chapter 2);

Patsy Duff (Chapter 4); Laura Hahn, and Greta Levis (Chapter 5); Linda Jensen (Appendix

13); Thor Nilsen (Appendix I and Chapters 3,4,'1, and 9); Laurel Brinton (Chapter 5 and

Appendix 8); and Francisco Gomes de Matos (general comments).

We are indebted to the work of several graduates of the Applied Linguistics Program

at UCLA whose doctoral work we draw on - specifically, Bob Jacobs, Barbara Baptista

and Yuichi Todaka. We also consulted with or were influenced by numerous colleagues in

constructing and refining pronunciation activities. Although it is often difficult to identi￾fy the source of activities which we may have acquired during our many cumulative years

of teaching, we specifically want to thank the following individuals (and apologize to

those whom we may have unintentionally omitted here): Bill Acton, Judy Gilbert, Joan

Morley, Rita Wong, Marsha Chan, Pat Grogan, Susan Stern, Jim Purpura, Karl Lisovsky,

Georgiana Famoaga, Roann Altman, Judith Weidman, Nitza Llado-Torres, Patrice Dally,

Lorraine Megowan, Ann Aguirre, Lief Nielsen, and Kathy Jensen-Gabriel.

In field testing the manuscript, we received much helpful feedback from our TESL and

ESL students. We particularly wish to acknowledge Andrea Kahn, Gabriela Solomon,

Tetsuo Harada, Linda Choi, Denise Babel, Bob Agajeenian, and Cara Wallis.

For assistance in preparing the cassette, we are indebted to the UCLA Phonetics

Laboratory and especially to Henry Tehrani and all of the ESL students who graciously

consented to be taped for this project.

We would be remiss if we didn't mention other forms of support which we received.

For their artwork assistance, we are grateful to Cathy Johnson, Sasha Mosely, and Motoko

Ueyama. For access to reference sources, we thank Susan Ryan, formerly of Cambridge

University Press. And above all we are indebted to Sandy Wallace for graciously inputting

portions of the manuscript and assisting with permissions.

Needless to say, we have appreciated the patience and encouragement of friends and

family throughout the writing of this book.

Although so many knowledgeable colleagues have generously given us detailed and

extensive feedback, we know that there will be inevitable errors or shortcomings in an

undertaking of this scope and size. Any such residual errors are solely our responsibility.

xi

TRANSCRIPTION KEY

Sound Examples

The consonants of North American English

boy, cab

pie,lip

dog, bed

loe, cal

go, beg

qat, back

view, love

fill, life

the, bathe

thin, balh

zoo, goel

see, bus

pga, fget

pin, fit

pain, f4te

pen, fsd

pan, fad

pqt, dall

baught, tslk

Sound

lzl

ty

M

Itll

ldsl

lml

/nl

/n/

ttt

lrl

lwl

lhwl

lyl

lowl

lul

ltrw/

luY/

lawl

/"Y/

lsrl

Examples

lei5gre, beige

shy, dish

his, ahead

cheek, watch

joy, bu{ge

noe, seenq

no, su4

siry(er), bag

long, full

IUn, Cal

win, away

which, what

you, sola

pole, tqq

put, feet

pool, stew

p!ne, tlght

pqgnd, fsul

poise, fo:il

pun, cut

bird, third

music, coping

hqtel, narrqw

inta, igloo

I.

l.

2.

-1.

A

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

I l.

12.

u.

Stressed Vowels

tbt

/pl

tdt

Itl

lsl

kt

lt/

t6t

t0t

lzl

lsl

liYl

/tl

/"Yl

lel

lnl

lsl

/tl

The vowels of North American Engtish

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

*23.

24.

*25.

8.

9.

10.

ll.

12.

13.

t4.

15.

19.

20.

21.

l.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

t.

16.

17.

l8

Unstressed Vowels

lal focus, allow

la'l fathq, bitter

lil city, prcfer

t?l

Icn]

ttl

lrl

lV:, C:l lengthening

lc'l

tql

/t/

/ol

lu/

ru.

22.

zJ.

^lA

25.

26.

21.

28.

Other frequently used symbots and diacritical markings

glottal stop uh- oh

aspirated consonant 1ime, pick, kitchen

velarized or dark /l/ ball, told, coal

flap allophone li!!le, bu!!er, pu! on

pa, bid, June night

unreleased consonant bu1, cap, back

syllabic consonant kitten, riddle, battle

*Note that lyl and /w/ function as consonants and also as vowel glides

in vowels 1, 3, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

xii

PART I

PRO N U NCIATION INSTRUCTION

IN PERSPECTIVE

n the first of these two introductory chap￾ters, we provide a historical overview of

how pronunciation has been treated in lan￾guage teaching over the past hundred years: the

types of teaching approaches and techniques

that have been used as well as the degree of

phonetic analysis or explanation that teachers

have provided learners. The second chapter sur￾veys the theories and findings from studies

focusing on the acquisition of the sound system

of a second language. We then show how this

information can help teachers better understand

the pronunciation acquisition process and thus

be in a better position to set instructional priori￾ties. Together, these two chapters prepare the

reader for the specific descriptive and pedagogi￾cal information presented in Parts 2 and 3 of

this volume as well as the problems of imple￾mentation that we discuss in Part 4.