PRODUCTIVE SKILLS
SPEAKING: INDIVIDUAL SOUNDS
LEVEL: Elementary or intermediate
AGE: Adults
ACTIVITY TYPE: Pronunciation practice sounds
EQUIPMENT: Computer, head-set, internet connection.
AIM: To discriminate and produce flap allophone of /t/.
As you may have noticed, British pronunciation of words like water, Peter, party, and better is different from its American version. American English speakers normally pronounce those in a different way.
In this unit, you will discover some rules which will explain you why and how this occurs.
PROCEDURE
1. Go to http://www.pronuncian.com/lessons.aspx?Lesson=43 and read and listen the information provided in this website regarding the four kinds of things that a /t/ can do.
2. Then, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWc-etdHTY&feature=channel and watch the video b, from the lesson 13 in professor’s Jennifer YouTube account.
ACITIVITY 1
According to what you learnt from the videos and the podcasts do this activities:
In the following passage, circle the instances in which an American speaker would be likely to pronounce a /t/ so that it sounds like a flap one.
Example: He waited for me on the corner.
1 What are we going to do today? Well, we're starting
2 with a quiz. You won't have to do any actual writing but
3 you will have to recognize the flaps in this piece of
4 writing. This is an activity to help you analyze a part
5 of pronunciation in English. But if you have trouble
6 finding flaps, then what is the best strategy for
7 completing the quiz? First, it would be a great idea if
8 you located the occurrences of t and then decided if the
9 two conditions apply. Of course, you may find a lot of
10 t's that are not at all pronounced like /d/. I hope
11 you won't get upset about all the letter t's. It's not
12 really so complicated. I believe in your capability.
13 Good luck!
Taken from Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., Goodwin J. M. (1996). Teaching Pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
How many flap t's did you find in each line?
ACTIVITY 2
Add 4 lines from your own to the dialogue below, using words that have flap t’s.
Once you have finished the dialogue, read it aloud until you feel you read it fluently enough.
Then, create a podcast with the dialogue using Audacity, and upload it to the personal account you have already created on Podomatic.
Listen to your podcast and check your own pronunciation.
ACTIVITY 3
Work with the following dialogue for more practice on the target phoneme.
Betty: Peter, what are you doing tonight?
Peter: Nothing exciting, Betty. What about you?
Betty: Well, Sally and I are meeting some students from our class at a restaurant downtown. Can you come?
Peter: What time?
Betty: Oh, about eight o'clock. .
Peter: Sounds great! A lot better than eating at home! Thanks for inviting me.
KEY
1 What are we going to do today? Well, we're starting
2 with a quiz. You won't have to do any actual writing but
3 you will have to recognize the flaps in this piece of
4 writing. This is an activity to help you analyze a part
5 of pronunciation in English. But if you have trouble
6 finding flaps, then what is the best strategy for
7 completing the quiz? First, it would be a great idea if
8 you located the occurrences of t and then decided if the
9 two conditions apply. Of course, you may find a lot of
10 t's that are not at all pronounced like /d/. I hope
11 you won't get upset about all the letter t's. It's not
12 really so complicated. I believe in your capability.
13 Good luck!
FOLLOW UP: where to go from here?
Option1: Ask a friend of you to listen to your podcast and give some feedback to your work.
Option 2: In
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGDpZdZuU8c&feature=PlayList&p=81BCA0A2CB139CB7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37, look at the right on the section More From: JenniferESL in order to find the videos for lessons 13a and 13c. You can have extra practice on the pronunciation of the flap t and the true t.
REFERENCES
American T sounds:(n.d). Retrieved August 18, 2009 from American English Pronunciation Website: http://www.pronuncian.com/
Celce-Muria, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin, J. M. (1996) Teaching Pronunciation. Cambridge: CUP
Jennifer (Producer). (February, 16de 2009) Lesson 13 b - True T and Flap T - English Pronunciation [Teaching video]. Retrieved August 18, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGDpZdZuU8c&feature=PlayList&p=81BCA0A2CB139CB7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37
REFERENCES
American T sounds:(n.d). Retrieved August 18, 2009 from American English Pronunciation Website: http://www.pronuncian.com/
Celce-Muria, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin, J. M. (1996) Teaching Pronunciation. Cambridge: CUP
Jennifer (Producer). (February, 16de 2009) Lesson 13 b - True T and Flap T - English Pronunciation [Teaching video]. Retrieved August 18, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGDpZdZuU8c&feature=PlayList&p=81BCA0A2CB139CB7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37