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Unit 13 detailed teaching pronunciation and general phonology. Pronunciation in the learning environment may be lacking as it is usually focused on individual words and not the flow of words together in the form of a sentence. This is also true when single words can be comprehended as whole sentences as the pronunciation may change the context of the sentence. Phonology is the science of the classification and physical properties of sounds. Phonology when referred to English teaching indicates the whole sound system of the language. This lesson primarily focused on the stress, rhythm and intonation utilized in English. Intonation is the variation in volume and pitch of a word or sentence. There are three main intonation forms, the rise/fall, fall/rise, and flat intonation. Each form conveys important contextually relevant information within a sentence. Proper teaching of these intonation will improve fluency of the language both verbal comprehension and verbal speaking. The word or syllable that receives a slight pause/increase of volume indicates that it has been stressed. In verbal English, the area of stress in a sentence may have drastic implications for the overall meaning of that sentence. There are a variety of rules dictating where a stress should appear in a word. These rules should be considered as rules of thumb because they often have exceptions found. Therefore it is best for students to develop a natural inclination towards where a stress should appear in a sentence. Generally speaking, there are more unstressed than stressed syllables within a given sentence. In the spoken word there exists many more informal conjunctions or joining of syllables than appears in written text. It is important to convey this to the students. It is imperative that the teacher commits to memory the phonetic alphabet. It is a Rosetta stone-esque concept that allows for all unique phonemes both vocal and not to be decipherable within a unique code. The correct usage of this alphabet will greatly aid the students journey towards proper pronunciation. Each phoneme can be classified by its particular articulation. Articulations are formed by manipulating the vocal apparati in our vocal tracts, i.e. The tongue, lips/teeth, glottis, palate etc. While not totally necessary in exhaustive information to be given to the student, its utilization as a teaching tool for some exotic phonemes (from the perspective of the student) is tantamount.
