Phonology in English language teaching

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Phonology in English Language Teaching is an introductory text, specifically directed at the needs of language teachers internationally. Combining an overview of English phonology with structured practical guidance, this text shows how phonology can be applied in the classroom.

An introductory chapter provides the philosophical framework, followed by separate chapters on the phonology of consonants, vowels and prosody. As well as presenting core material on English phonology, the book explores the relationship of orthography to the English sound system from a historical and a present-day perspective. The final chapter focuses on lesson design and provides practical advice to teachers on diagnosing and responding to students' pronunciation difficulties.

As central themes, the book examines English seen from the perspective of international usage and considers the relationship of phonology to communication and the broader language curriculum. Consistent with its practical and communicative orientation each chapter concludes with pedagogical exercises and ideas for classroom and community research projects.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface
• To the Reader
• 1 Introduction to phonology in language teaching
• Phonology in the context of language teaching
• Language varieties and English
• Perception and production of speech
• The effect of linguistic context on pronunciation
• Introductory activities
• Introductory teaching ideas
• 2 Consonants
• Charactersitics of consonants
• The system of English consonants
• Positional variation
• Regional and social variation
• Consonants activities
• Teaching ideas for consonants
• 3 Vowels
• Charactersitics of vowels
• The system of English vowels
• Positional variation
• Regional and social variation
• Vowels activities
• Teaching ideas for vowels
• 4 Prosody
• The components of prosody
• The marking of prosodic units
• Intonation
• Voive quality
• A prosodic continuum
• Prosody activities
• Teaching ideas for prosody
• 5 Phonology and orthography
• Connecting written and spoken language in language learning
• Historical and presnt-day patterns in English orthography
• Relating orthography to pronunciation in the language lesson
• Orthography activities
• Teaching ideas for orthograpy
• 6 Pronunciation in the language curriculum
• A place for phonology in the language classroom
• Lesson design for phonology
• An international approach to pronunciation in the language curriculum
• Curriculum activities
• Appendix A Hierarchical analysis of student pronunciation
• Appendix B Pedagogical classification of pronunciation errors and problems
• Appendix C Sample unit plan for teaching the /r/-/l/
• References
• Index