View in EDS

Improving Your American English Pronunciation: Intonation. Creativity: New Ideas in Language Teaching, No. 20.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Improving Your American English Pronunciation: Intonation. Creativity: New Ideas in Language Teaching, No. 20.
Authors:	Gomes de Matos, F., Short, A. Green, Instituto de Idiomas Yazigi, Sao Paulo (Brazil). Centro de Linguistica Aplicada.
Peer Reviewed:	N
Page Count:	6
Publication Date:	1976
Document Type:	Journal Articles
Descriptors:	Autoinstructional Aids, English (Second Language), Independent Study, Intonation, Language Fluency, Language Instruction, Language Skills, Language Teachers, North American English, Portuguese, Pronunciation, Second Language Learning, Speech Communication
Abstract:	If the non-native teacher of English as a foreign language hopes to approach a high standard of oral competence in the language, he must cultivate some conscious perception and control of intonation. He can achieve this objective in various ways. Situations in which natural speech occurs would be ideal but few teachers have the opportunity for contact with natives. Movies offer the second-best alternative in that the dialogue can help teachers perceive rhythm and analyze expressive intonation. The use of recordings is recommended for improving the teacher's control of interpretive intonation. But exposure to the language is not enough. Reading the available material on English intonation can also be useful. The purpose of this document is to aid the EFL teacher in improving his intonation. First, the functions of intonation are discussed. Then ten specific problems of teachers whose native tongue is Portuguese are mentioned, such as failure to rise after "vocatives" and failure to begin an interrogative sentence with a question word on medium pitch instead of high pitch. There are also six minidialogues for self-teaching which show various types of intonation. Ten annotated bibliographical references are provided. (CFM)
Journal Code:	RIEMAY1977
Entry Date:	1977
Accession Number:	ED132868
Database:	ERIC

Description
Abstract:	If the non-native teacher of English as a foreign language hopes to approach a high standard of oral competence in the language, he must cultivate some conscious perception and control of intonation. He can achieve this objective in various ways. Situations in which natural speech occurs would be ideal but few teachers have the opportunity for contact with natives. Movies offer the second-best alternative in that the dialogue can help teachers perceive rhythm and analyze expressive intonation. The use of recordings is recommended for improving the teacher's control of interpretive intonation. But exposure to the language is not enough. Reading the available material on English intonation can also be useful. The purpose of this document is to aid the EFL teacher in improving his intonation. First, the functions of intonation are discussed. Then ten specific problems of teachers whose native tongue is Portuguese are mentioned, such as failure to rise after "vocatives" and failure to begin an interrogative sentence with a question word on medium pitch instead of high pitch. There are also six minidialogues for self-teaching which show various types of intonation. Ten annotated bibliographical references are provided. (CFM)