Running Head: PRONUNCIATION UNIT
1
On the Horizon Language Institute Pronunciation Unit Sean Saly California State University Northridge Professor John Gides October 16,2013 PRONUNCIATION UNIT
Table of Contents
Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3
Goals and Objectives ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Lesson 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3
Lesson 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4
Lesson 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4
Listening Instruction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
Materials ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
Methodology ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5
i\ssessnrrent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
Integration of Listening and Speaking ------------------------------------------------------------ 5
Speaking Instruction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6
Materials ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
Methodology ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
i\ssessment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
i\ppendices ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
2
PRONUNCIATION UNIT
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Introduction
On the Horizon Language Institute is a private language school that focuses on immersion. It is
based in Los Angeles, and is opened all year long to students from all over the world. The institute
provides content and task based instruction, as well as community language learning. The main focus is
communication in the target language, and what better way to learn it, than in a country where it is
spoken.
This unit plan is taken from a summer immersion program that the institute conducts. It is an
eight week program, covering communication skills. The students consist of high school students with a
high intermediate to low advance proficiency level in English. The majority of the students are from parts
of Asia and Europe, but there are also students from South America as well. There are about 30 students
in the program. The students will be meeting three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 90
minutes in the mornings and will be travelling around Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California
and days that class is not conducted. They will be staying at host families homes to gain a better
understanding of American culture and to be able to practice English 24 hours a day.
The students in this program want to go to a university in their home country where most or all of
their classes will be conducted in the English language. The program is intended to work on accuracy and
fluency, but this particular unit is focusing solely on accuracy. It is the first week ofthe program. It is the
introductory unit, to get the students excited to learn English, by listening to the dialect and then moving
on to everyday life in the United States. The skills that this unit will cover are speaking and listening. In
order to accomplish that, the students will be working on their pronunciation of English sounds to obtain
an accuracy ofthe dialect. All of the lesson plans herein will allow the students to work on their
pronunciation and will be assessed properly, using both listening and speaking skills.
Goals and Objectives
Lesson One
Goal: Improve listening and speaking skills to be able to use outside the classroom and to be familiar with
the Southern California dialect, through the use of minimal pairs.
PRONUNCIATION UNIT
Obiectives:
1. Students will have strengthened the accuracy oftheir speech using Ig/, Ik/, luh/, and lawl sounds.
2. Students will have maximized their reasoning skills by determining what sound they hear.
3. Students will have communicated with each other to maximize their listening skills.
Lesson Two
Goal: To continue to improve listening skills to be able to use outside the classroom using different sounds from the previous lesson, through the use of minimal pairs. Obiectives: 1. Students will have strengthened the accuracy oftheir speech using III, Iii, IfI, and Ivl sounds.
2. Students will have maximized their reasoning skills by determining what sound they hear.
3. Students will have communicated with each other to maximize their listening skills.
Lesson Three
Goal: To effectively train the mouth to correct common pronunciation errors.
Objectives:
1. Students will have learned correct English pronunciation using tongue twisters.
2. Students will have familiarized themselves with English sounds through the tongue twisters.
3. Through group exercise, students will have practiced the tongue twisters and correct each other
through peer work.
4. Students will have left the lesson with the understanding of why tongue twisters are important in
a language learning context.
4
PRONUNCIATION UNIT
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Listening Instruction
Materials
The material being used in this unit for the listening exercises are three worksheets from an ESL
website,
.'.2-'-'~·~.c2~-'-"~~'
and one teacher-produced sheet. The website is an excellent resource to
materials in any topic covered in ESL. The first two lessons have two sheets, split into five activities
covering minimal pairs. The first four activities on the worksheets cover the listening part ofthe lesson.
The third lesson comprises of flashcards with certain tongue twisters that will be passed out to
each group in the class. This is the sheet that I produced. Students will be using the flashcards to practice
the tongue twister they have received and perfonn them in front ofthe class.
Methodology
The methodology expressed in this unit plan is a mixture ofteacher-controlled and student­
controlled. The teacher is there to guide the students to accuracy of the pronunciation. Once the student
has somewhat of an understanding, the students should begin to listen to each other and help each other
come to the right dialect by the third lesson. I will be there to help only if the students are not quite
getting the pronunciation correctly.
Assessment
The listening portion of the unit will receive an informal assessment. The students will be
assessed by the teacher listening to the students repeat after him. This will al10w the teacher to see if their
listening skills are efficient to where they repeat the same sound almost flawlessly. Also, each activity
assesses listening by asking a student to circle or write down what they hear.
Integration of Listening and Speaking
Listening and speaking go hand in hand in most lesson plans where the goal is listening or
speaking. In repetition, the teacher would ask the students to repeat what they hear. The material used in
this unit plan use activities that ask the students to write down the correct word that they heard. By the
end of the lesson, the students are asked to pretend to be the teacher, and do the activities with a partner.
PRONUNCIATION UNIT
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This allows the students to pronounce the words (speaking) and the other students to respond to what he
or she heard (listening).
Speaking Instruction
Materials
The same materials that are used in the listening instruction are used in the speaking instruction.
Since activities one through four are primarily for listening, the fifth activity will cover the speaking
instruction. The third handout, the tongue twisters will also be used in the speaking instruction. At the
end of the unit, the students will have to say the tongue twisters out loud in front of the class.
Methodology
Just as the listening instruction used both a teacher-controlled and a student-controlled method,
same will go for the speaking instruction of the unit. This student-controlled method will allow the
students to interact with one another to correct each other's speech patterns with using the teacher's help
if necessary.
Assessment
The speaking instruction is also an informal assessment. The teacher will be walking around and
listening during group work for correct pronunciation, and correct the students if necessary. The teacher
will do the same during the third lesson, with the tongue twisters. The last assignment students will
receive for this unit is to do Part A, B, and C in the "create your own tongue twister" sheet. Part Basks
that classmates help write the tongue twister but the students will be instructed to write their own, and to
bring it to class the following week to go over right before the start ofthe next unit in the curriculum.
PRONUNCIATION UNIT
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Appendices
A. Weekly Unit Plan
B. Lesson Plans one through three
C. Minimal Pairs worksheetlassessment #1
D. Minimal Pairs worksheetlassessment #2
E. Minimal Pairs worksheetlassessment #3
F. Minimal Pairs worksheetlassessment #4
G. Tongue Twister flashcards
H. Create your OVlIl Tongue Twister sheet
PRONUNCIATION UNIT
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Appendix A: On the Horizons Language Institute Summer Immersion Program
Listening and Speaking Unit Plan
Time
Class content and activities
Monday
Begin Pronunciation Unit
9:00AM
Minimal Pair Practice
June 19
• Two minimal pairs worksheets
• Listening Activity
• Speaking Activity
Class Goals: Pronunciation practice
• Building accuracy through repetition
• Maximizing listening and speaking skills
Homework
Wednesday
• Listen for sounds outside the classroom and write them down
Continue Pronunciation Unit
9:00am
More Minimal Pair Practice
June 21
• Two minimal pairs worksheets
• Listening Activity
• Speaking Activity
Class Goals: Pronunciation Practice
•
•
Building accuracy through repetition
Maximizing listening and speaking skills
Homework
Friday
• Listen for sounds outside the classroom and write them down
Complete Pronunciation Unit
9:00am
Tongue Twisters
June 23
• Tongue Twister flashcards
• Listening Activity
• Speaking Activity
Class Goals: Effectively train the mouth to correct pronunciation errors
•
•
Building accuracy through repetition
Encourage teamwork
Homework
Create your own tongue twister
Lesson Plan 1 -June 19 i
ONTH Summer Imm. -
Rm.
25
~~~--~.~-----------------------,
Topic
Pronunciation Practice
Time Period
Goal
90 Minutes
~ ..- - - - - - - ' ,
Improve listening and speaking skills to be able to use outside the classroom and to be
familiar with the Southern California dialect, through the use of miniml!il pairs.
.. -:-----:--1
1. Students will have strengthened the accuracy of their speech using Igl, IkI, luhl, and
lawl sounds.
2. Students will have maximized their reasoning skills by determining what sound they
hear.
3. Students will have communicated with each other to maximize their listening skills.
Objectives
Teaching Procedures . Time
Warm up Activity
-Words will be written on the board. -Pass out worksheets to each student. -Have students listen to me say each word. -Will read words from column 1 and then column 2. 15 mins
Lecture
-Explain this week we will focus on pronunciation. -We will be going over common sounds in American English. -The sounds in today's lecture: luhl, lawl, Igl, and Iki. 15 mins Class Discussion
-Work on activities 2-4 on handout for Igl and IkI, (5 min). -Work on activities 1-4 on handout for luhl and lawl, (10 min). 15 mins Class Activity
-Have students work on activity 5 on both sheets in pairs. -I will walk around the room and listen for pronunciation. 30 mins Materials
White boardl Handouts Closure
15 mins -Get the whole class back together. -Call on individual students to read the sentences in activity 4 with their partners to see if the student catches the right pronunciation. -Allow time for questions. -Explain that tomorrow we will be working on two more minimum pairs. -Tell them to listen for these sounds outside the classroom and write down as many as they can. I
Lesson Plan 2 -June 21 - ONTH Summer Imm. I Topic
Rm. 25 Pronunciation Practice
I Time Period
90 Minutes Goal i To continue to improve listening and speaking skills to be able to use outside the classroom
1 - - - - - - - - - - - - + '-=--a,---n_d_to-,---,-b-,e_fa.....m---,=iliar with the Southern California dialect, through the use of minimal pairs.
1. Students will have strengthened the accuracy of their speech using /II, IiI, IfI, and Ivl
Objectives
sounds.
2. Students will have maximized their reasoning skills by determining what sound they
hear.
3. Students will have communicated with each other to maximize their listening skills.
I
Teaching Procedures
Time
Materials
Warm up Activity
-Review words from previous day. -Words will be written on the board from activity 1, II/ and Iii. -Pass out worksheets to each student. -Have students listen to me say each word. -Will read words from column 1 and then column 2. 20 mins
White boardl Handouts Lecture
-Ask students if they heard luhl, lawl, IgI, or IkI sounds outside the classroom. -Switch over to today's sounds. -Give short example of the difference between /1/ and IiI, and IfI and Iv/. 10 mins Class Discussion
-Work on activities 2-4 on handout for II! and IiI, (5 min). -Work on activities 1-4 on handout for IfI and lvI, (10 min). 15 mins Class Activity
-Have students work on activity 5 on both sheets in pairs. -I will walk around the room and listen for pronunciation. 30 mins Closure
15 mins -Get the whole class back together. -Call on individual students to read the sentences in activity 4 with their partners to see if the student catches the right pronunciation. -Allow time for questions. -Tell them to listen for these sounds outside the classroom and write down as many as they can. !
Lesson Plan 3 -June 23 - ONTH Summer Imm Topic
Pronunciation Practice
Time Period
90 Minutes
. Goal
Objectives I
Rm 25 -------------------------~
To effectively train the mouth to correct common pronunciation errors. 1. Students will have learned correct pronunciation using tongue twisters.
2. Students will have familiarized themselves with English sounds through the tongue
twisters.
3. Students will have left the lesson with the understanding of why tongue twisters are
important in a language learning context.
Teaching Procedures
Time
Materials
Warm up Activity
-Ask students to list words they heard outside of class with sounds from the previous lesson.
-Read a tongue twister as fast as you can to get the class excited for the lesson.
-Have students repeat each word after hearing it and pick on a student or two to try the
tongue twister out.
15 mins
White boardl
Handoutsl
Laminated cards
Lecture
20 mins
-Introduce tongue twisters and why they are important in learning a dialect in a target
language.
-Practicing allows the muscles in the mouth to gain accuracy of the pronunciation.
-Write and example of a tongue twister on the board.
-Say it slowly so the class hears my pronunciation.
Class Discussion
15 mins
-Pass out two different tongue twisters to each student.
-Ask for volunteers to try and sound out each one.
Class Activity
25m ins
-Split class into groups of three to four.
-Pass out a different tongue twister to each group. Make sure no group gets the same one.
-Give about 15 minutes to each group to practice the tongue twister.
-Walk around and listen to the pronunciation, correcting if necessary.
-Answer any questions students may have.
Closure
-Each group will pick one brave student to say the tongue twister in front of the class.
-Students will catch pronunciation errors and try to help the student correct it.
-If that doesn't work, I will correct the error.
-HW- Write your own tongue twister. Explain to students not to worry about Part B and write
their own.
10 mins
Pronunciation
9"inimal Pairs /01 Ikl
words like BAG and BACK
'J
Activity 1
Listen to your teacher saying the words in Column 1 and Column 2 below.
Column 1
Column 2
bag
log
wig
snag
girls
grime
grease
gold
anger
stag
guards
back
lock
wick
snack
curls
crime
crease
cold
anchor
stack
cards
Activity 2
Listen to your teacher saying one of the words from Activity 1. Say if you think the word is in
Column 1 or Column 2.
Activity 3
Listen to your teacher saying two words from Activity 1. If the words are the same, circle S
below. If you think the words are different, circle 0 below.
1. S 0
2. S 0
3. S 0
4. S 0
5. S 0
6. S 0
7. S 0
8. S 0
9. S 0
10. S 0
Activity 4
Listen to your teacher reading the sentences below. Circle the word you hear.
1. Give me that Qag/back!
7. Be careful! Don't grease/crease it.
2. The logs/locks are enormous.
8. This dish is all gold/cold!
3. The wig/wick was too short.
9. His anger/anchor certainly didn't help.
4. There weren't any snags/snacks.
10. The guards/cards arrived too late.
5. The
girl~/curl~
were blonde.
11. The city is full of grime/crim~.
6. Have you ever seen such a big stag/stack?
Activity 5
Imagine you are the teacher now! Work with a partner and repeat the activities above. Then
swap roles.
A freely photocopiable EnglishClub.com worksheet (9 Liz Regan for www.englishclub.com
Pronunciation
Minimal Pairs IAI 101
words like BUS and BOSS
EnflishClub.com
Activity 1
Listen to your teacher saying the words in Column 1 and Column 2 below.
Column 1
Column 2
bus
gun
puppy
shut
sung
cut
luck
colour
boss
gone
poppy
shot
song
cot
lock
collar
Activity 2
Listen to your teacher saying one of the words from Activity 1. Say if you think the word is in
Column 1 or Column 2.
Activity 3
Listen to your teacher saying two words from Activity 1. If the words are the same, circle S
below. If you think the words are different, circle D below.
1. S 0
2. S 0
3. S 0
4. S 0
5. S 0
6. S 0
7. S 0
8. S 0
9. S 0
10. S 0
Activity 4
Listen to your teacher reading the sentences below. Circle the word you hear.
1. Do you like the new bus/boss?
2. She would like to have a puppy/poppy.
3. I don't know why they ~hutlshot it.
4. That is a big cutlcot!
5. He doesn't like that colour/collar.
6. She had no luck/lock, unfortunately.
Activity 5
Imagine you are the teacher now! Work with
swap roles!
a partner and repeat the activities above. Then
A freely photocopiable EnglishClub.com worksheet 19 Liz Regan for www.englishclub.com
Pronunciation
Minimal Pairs III li:1
words like FIT and FEET
fn,lishClub.com
Activity 1
Listen to your teacher saying the words in Column 1 and Column 2 below.
Column 1
Column 2
fit
feet
beans
leek
sheep
cheap
heat
eat
seen
week
bins
lick
ship
chip
hit
it
sin
wick
Activity 2
Listen to your teacher saying one of the words from Activity 1. Say if you think the word is in
Column 1 or Column 2.
Activity 3
Listen to your teacher saying two words from Activity 1. If the words are the same, circle S
below. If you think the words are different, circle D below.
1. S 0
2. S 0
3. S 0
4. S 0
5. S 0
6. S 0
7. S 0
8. S 0
9. S 0
10. S 0
Activity 4
Listen to your teacher reading the sentences below. Circle the word you hear.
1. They need more bins/beans.
2. Do you want a lick/leek?
3. He wants to buy the ship/sheep.
4. I can't give you this chip/cheap.
5. You mustn't _
hit/heat
. _ ­ it.
6. He does i1:L§.§.1 sometimes.
7. It was a long wick/week.
Activity 5
Imagine you are the teacher now! Work with a partner and repeat the activities above. Then
swap roles.
A freely photocopiable EnglishClub.eom worksheet 1:;) Liz Regan for www.englishclub,eom
Pronunciation
Minimal Pairs IfI Ivl
words like FAN and VAN
fnflishClub.com
Activity 1
Listen to your teacher saying the words in Column 1 and Column 2 below.
Column 1
Column 2
fan
off
fine
fault
safe
lift
calf
file
van
of
vine
vault
save
lived
carve
vile
Activity 2
Listen to your teacher saying one of the words from Activity 1. Say if you think the word is in
Column 1 or Column 2.
Activity 3
Listen to your teacher saying two words from Activity 1. If the words are the same, circle S
below. If you think the words are different, circle 0 below.
1. S 0
2. S 0
3. S 0
4. S 0
5. S 0
6. S 0
7. S 0
8. S 0
9. S 0
10. S 0
Activity 4
Listen to your teacher reading the sentences below. Circle the word you hear.
1. She bought a new fimLYl:!I}.
2. He took a lot off/of it.
3. He thought it was a very big fine/vine.
4. There was a large fault/vault in the ceiling.
5. It was an excellent §9felsa\[~.
6. We lift/lived it up.
Activity 5
Imagine you are the teacher now! Work with
swap roles.
a partner and repeat the activities above. Then
A freely photoeopiable EnglishClub.com worksheet
Liz Regan for www.englishclub.com
Betty Botter's Better Batter
Betty Botter had some butter, "But, " she said, "this butter's bitter. If1 bake this bitter butter, It would make my batter bitter. But a bit ofbetter butter, That would make my batter better. If
So she bought a bit ofbutter
Better than her bitter butter ­
And she baked it in her batter;
And the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit ofbetter butter.
Peter Piper picked a peck ofpiclded pepper, a peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck ofpiclded pepper, where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked? How many cuckoos could a good cook cook, if a good cook could cook cuckoos? A good cook could cook as many cuckoos as a good cook could, if a good cook could cook cuckoos. You've no need to light a night-light On a light night like tonight, For a night-light lights a slight light, And tonight's a night that's light. When a night's light, like tonight's light, It is really not quite right To light night-lights with their slight lights On a light night like tonight. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Three witches were watching three watches. Which witch was watching which
watch?
Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an
imaginary menagerie?
I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish,
but if you wish the wish the witch wishes,
I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.
Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
Instructions
PART A
1. Write your full name, including any nicknames you may have:
2. Now choose one of the names to use for this activity
(names that begin with b, d, 1, m, p, s, or t are easiest).
PARTB
Pass your paper to the person on your right. Write one answer for number (3) for the
paper you just received. Your answer must begin with the first sound in the person's
name (e. g. Mary - made a mess). Then pass the paper again and \\Trite an answer for (4),
again using the same sound that begins the name. Continue doing this until all the blanks
on all the papers are full. You should have lots of different answers from all the people in
your group when your paper comes back to you!
3. What did slbe do?
-------------------------------
4. Where? ____~_____________________
5. When? ___________________________
6. Why? because ______________________
because
because
----~
---~.
PARTe
Now use your paper to make funny tongue twister combinations. How many can you
create? Which one is the funniest?