PRESENTER: Jason R. Levine
PRE-CLASS TASK INCLUDED BELOW the class description.
Please respond in a comment on this page and comment on your colleagues' responses.
When awareness of the rhythm of English is followed by engaging practice with word and sentence stress patterns, English language learners see significant improvement in the accuracy and fluency of their pronunciation. Such practice also builds listening skills and promotes vocabulary acquisition. In this session, I will introduce materials and activities on this topic-with a special emphasis on songs and chants-that ELTs can easily incorporate into their lessons.
PRE-CLASS TASK: Please post your answers HERE on this class page in the comments section below.
(1) How would you describe or explain the rhythm of English?
(2) If English is not your native language, is the rhythm of your native language similar or different from the rhythm of English?
(3) Have you ever used any techniques or done any activities to practice stressed and reduced speech with your students? If so, please share them with us.
Powerpoint
Lesson Plan for the Teaching of Reduced Forms
Date November 25 2013
Teacher: Marchuk Oksana
Proficiency level: Intermediate
Age 13 and over
Group of 5-15 Ss
Duration:50 mins
Objectives
Help students to become aware of reduced forms.
Help students to understand the structure and origin of reduced forms and identify the reduced words and sentences.
Lesson Plan
Introduction: At the beginning of a class introduce from one to five new reduced forms and explain how they are reduced and where can they be found. The teacher first models the slow, ideal pronunciation of each reduced form, then the relaxed, fast pronunciation. For example, "What do you" and "want to" become Whaddaya and wanna.
Warm-up:
Play a dialogue with reduced forms, as follows:
- Kin ya help me?
- Sure whaddaya need?
- Well I’m gonna mail these packages ta my parents. I want ‘em ta git’em as soon as possible.
- How fast d’ya want’em ta git ‘em?
- Faster than my brother got the package I sent him
- When did ‘e git it?
- Well I sent’em the package last month. Do ya know when ‘e got it? Last week!
- How did ya send it?
- I sent is package first class.
- Wow. I sent my sister a package a package, and it only took ‘er four days ta git it.
Play it again, pausing after each line and getting students to repeat the lines.
Ask the question: “Was the dialogue hard to understand? Why/Why not?” After eliciting students’ responses, ask them to write the lines of the dialogue in standard written English. Then play the same dialogue in careful pronunciation to check.
Practice: Ask them to identify the reduced forms in the sentences above and make them repeat the lines quickly three or more times to their partners and let them feel the change in the sentences.
Production: Play a dialogue expantion part at which the speakers use relaxed speech and ask students to fill in the gaps with reduced forms in their worksheets.
Assignment: Listen to some pop songs or watch movies scenes, and write down the reduced forms they can catch. Give them a list of possible reduced forms (Whaddaya, wanna, gonna, gotta, hafta, hasta, useta, cha, etc)
Extra activity on how to make entries in their listening journals.
1. Write the date, time started, time finished, and type of material used.
2. Concentrate on listening for stressed words and reduced forms you have learned.
3. Write down new words and expressions you hear.
4. Make a note of reduced forms you recognize.
5. Take dictation on a one- or two-minute section of the tape or program you are using. Replay the tape as often as necessary.
6. If you are listening to a song, take dictation on as much of it as you can. Compare your dictation later with the lyrics.
7. Before you start listening, write down some words or expressions you expect will be used. Put a check by the ones that are used.
8. Rate the degree of difficulty for the listening passage on a scale of 1-10.
9. Rate your level of interest on a scale of 1-10.
10. Do you recommend this material for other students?
11. Listen to the tape once more. This time don't write anything. Relax. Don't try to understand everything. Listen only for stressed words. Write a brief summary of what you think you understood.
Post-task Shrinking and linking
The purpose of this activity is to raise awareness of rhythm and stress on two different types of
speech: a monologue and a dialogue.
1) Video 1 http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/4891/maybe#.Uo_uvMRg_t8
Tell students they will watch an award-wining short called "Maybe", about a man who fantasises
about his future with the girl he sees at the bus stop. They will hear his thoughts, so it's an internal
monologue.
Give students the transcript for a selection of 5-6 sentences of the monologue.
"She looks nice. She looks like she'll be an interesting person. That I'd find her interesting. Maybe she's an artist or a musician…..
Maybe she's just like me. Maybe she's lonely, too. May be I have the courage to talk to her."
Tell them to underline the stressed syllabes and the reductions the best they can. They can listen to it several times. Students check with partner and then with the rest of the class. (Do not show all the film, just the part chosen, the rest of the video comes later)
2)Video 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f12fn2rBkwQ
Tell the students they will watch another short called "Mixtape" about a boy who records a mixtape
for his friend. They will hear a very short and simple exchange.
Lily's Mum: Hello Ben! What can I do for you?
Ben: Is Lily here?
Mum: I'm sorry she's not, she's at dancing. She'd be home soon, though. Come in.
Ben: No, it's ok. Can you give her this for me?
Mum: Of course. What is it? It's a mixtape. Some of my dad's old music. She likes that, I think. I was doing it anyways so I did her a copy. Would you tell her I came out?
Mum: Yeah, I'll be sure to.
Provide students with the tapescript of the dialogue and ask them to predict stress, reductions,
intonation, etc. Play the video, repeating as necessary.
As an extension, I have several optional ideas.
1- Ask students to write a couple of predictions about the man on "Maybe", check the rest of the
video to see if they were right. They can write from the point of view of the man or of the woman. They read the sentences aloud, trying to imitate the intonation and
rhythm of the speaker.
2- Students re-enact the dialogue from "Mixtape", trying at different speeds, trying to imitate the
intonation and rhythm of the speakers.
3- or 2 b – A listening gap-filling with the song the boy and the girl sing (I Wonder Where My Baby
Is Tonight by The Kinks)
Level: Intermediate
Age: Young learners (15-17)
No.of Students: 10-15
Class length: 20-30 minutes
First Ss, look at six pictures or photos of a radio programme that is interviewing students who are about to graduate, to find out what they intend to do. Ss. check t phrases related to scripts (list of phrases given).
Speaker 1: I had been working as a geography teacher in a big secondary school for about three years. I was getting really fed up.
Speaker 2: I lost my job when the company where I worked closed down, and it was terrible. So basically we changed places with my wife.
Speaker 3: I was doing well with my career in the city but I was working really long hours. I realized I wanted to have children and didn´t want to bring them up with this kind of life.
So goes to Skr. 4, 5 and 6.
Then, Ss. listen to the cd. and underline stressed word of each speaker line. Discuss matches with each others, introduce the concept ot rhythm. See if they can improve their idea of stressed parts of the speech we usually hear.
Finally, exercise and practise it with role plays. Same scripts again, compare and swap with other Ss. As for shriking pointing out where the shrink is performed by speakers.
Level: Pre-Intermediate Students
Age: Young Learners (15-17)
Class size: 18 Students
Class Length: 30 minutes
My classroom activity is about our everyday English, talking about polite requests.
1 First, I'll show my students a pictures from a family who eats together and are enjoying the food. They have to discuss and share ideas about what they see.
2 Match these questions and responses.
Would you like some more rice? Black, no sugar, please.
Could you pass the salt, please? Yes, of course. I’m glad you like it.
3 Could I have a glass of water, please? Do you want sparkling or still?
4 Does anybody want more wine? Yes, please. It’s delicious.
5 How would you like your coffee? Yes, of course. Here you are.
6 This is delicious! Can you give me the recipe? Yes, please. I’d love some.
7 Do you want help with the washing-up No, of course not. We have a dishwasher.
After they matched every question-response, I apply the technique of mark the stress after the tape script. The students have to underline the word stress and if there's a question or a problem with the stress, we can discuss it together.