What Is The Phonetics

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology.Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented' The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is subdivided into...  [Read more]

Phonetics has been defined by Roach (1992) as the 'scientific study of speech' (Roach, 1992: 81.) It is concerned with how speech sounds are formed, how we use them in our spoken language and how we can record these speech sounds using written symbols. Phonology on the other hand has been defined by Roach (1992) as 'the study of the sound systems of languages' (Roach, 1992: 82.) According to Roca and Johnson (1999), the way in which we speak is somewhat similar to playing a recorder. This is because when you play a recorder you have to blow air from your lungs, as you do when you speak. However, to play a tune, you cannot simply blow air into the recorder; you must have your fingers over specific holes. Therefore, when we speak, we have to interfere with the air that comes out...  [Read more]

Phonetics and its Uses in Foreign Language InstructionPhonetics is the study of the physical aspects of speech. It is broken down into three categories: articulatory phonetics deals with the way in which speech sounds are produced, concerning itself with the actual organs involved in speech (vocal tract, tongue, lips, etc.); acoustic phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds, such as the properties of sound waves and the acoustics of speech; and auditory phonetics analyses the way in which humans perceive sounds, and involves the anatomy and physiology of the human ear and brain (Nicole Dehe, 'Phonology and Phonetics,' 1-2). Phonetics looks only at sounds themselves, rather their meanings or the context in which they are used, while the study of sound systems...  [Read more]

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology. Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented? The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is ...  [Read more]

In order to learn to read either a native or foreign language, the reader must be able to identify words quickly and accurately. This process is known as decoding. Decoding words involves changing what the reader sees printed on a page into spoken language. The reader then decodes the word by sounding it out, using the context around the word for clues about it's meaning. In order to sound out words, a reader must be able to relate specific spellings with specific sounds. Phonics is the process of relating the sounds of the words to their spellings. There are many ways to teach phonics awareness and use. However, most types of phonics instruction focus on the sound- spelling relationships so that the new reader can come up with an approximate pronunciation of the word and...  [Read more]

Pronunciation instruction is perhaps the most difficult aspect of English teaching. There are no simple answers as to how, when, or how long, it should be taught. However, this article hopes to present a different way of teaching the phonetics of English. My undergraduate work was not in English or even general education, but the performance of music. I learned from experts in the production and education of sound, and I feel the techniques they used may be applied to the instruction of English phonetics. By utilizing techniques used in college level music performance education, it is hoped a teacher may improve the effectiveness of phonetic instruction in their English class.While a student in one of the leading tuba studios in the country, my teachers utilized one...  [Read more]

Phonetics and its Uses in Foreign Language Instruction Phonetics is the study of the physical aspects of speech. It is broken down into three categories: articulatory phonetics deals with the way in which speech sounds are produced, concerning itself with the actual organs involved in speech (vocal tract, tongue, lips, etc.); acoustic phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds, such as the properties of sound waves and the acoustics of speech; and auditory phonetics analyses the way in which humans perceive sounds, and involves the anatomy and physiology of the human ear and brain (Nicole Dehe, ?Phonology and Phonetics,? 1-2). Phonetics looks only at sounds themselves, rather their meanings or the context in which they are used, while the study of...  [Read more]

During the late seventeenth century while James, Duke of York, was renaming New Amsterdam. The vowel ' as in 'man' was lenghtening in certain contexts. In words like 'laugh' and 'path' and 'pass' wich end in unvoiced fricatives, in words like 'dance'and 'plant', which end in a nasal and an s or t, and in words where the ' was followed by r, that short vowel began to grow long. The older pronunciation of 'dance was d'ns, wholly acceptable today to english speakers outside the cultural area dominated by London, then it became d':ns. It was not until the nineteenth century, that this long ' decided to migrate to the back of the mout and become the α: which is charachteristic of southern speech today. It is a source of mockery, or reluctant admiration, among provincials and...  [Read more]

Trainees will be given detailed handbooks for the following areas of the course: These high quality materials are the basis for the input sessions and will provide the trainees with valuable reference resources. The center provides course handbooks and materials for the course, as well as two A4 folders which should be organized as follows: These logs form a record of the course and will be checked during moderation. During input sessions you will receive numerous handouts and may want to take your own notes as well. We suggest dividing the file under the following headings:  [Read more]

  There are two issues that need to be stressed when working with the international phonemic alphabet. First is the fact that we are no longer concerned with how a word is traditionally spelled. Additionally we need to stress that we are only concerned with the sounds needed to correctly produce a word. So rather than numerous spellings, which can often be pronounced in different ways, we have one symbol representing one sound. Once we can isolate a sound, rather than juggling various spellings, we can work with our students on how to say that sound. Doing that successfully is related to manner and place of articulation, which will be covered shortly. To get a better understanding of the phonemic alphabet, let's take a look at our chart. In the bottom half of our chart we have our...  [Read more]

  A better way to go about imparting how to make sounds or what sounds are utilized in a word, is this international phonemic alphabet. Now we have as mentioned one symbol being used in all the words which share that same sound. Now once we get a little bit more familiar with our phonemic alphabet we can also show how different our different sounds can be as in this symbol for ?ooh?, this symbol for ?ow? and this symbol for ?uh?. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the...  [Read more]

  Leslie is a Canadian English teacher at a junior high school in the Japanese countryside. In this TESOL review, Leslie tells us she is looking to open her own English language day care centre at her home and with this in mind she took the 120-hour certificate course with ITTT as well as the 50-hour young learners course to bring her qualifications up to date. Hopefully for Leslie this will be the first step on a rewarding career as the owner of a successful English language school in Japan. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word variety. This word is used as a noun and describes a state of being different or diverse. The words diversity and variation can be used as synonyms for variety. The word comes from the Latin word varietas. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. Unit 13 covered the teaching of pronunciation and phonology. I was unfamiliar with many of the concepts in this unit such as; applied phonetics,...  [Read more]

(1) 'The world is your classroom' is the TEFL International motto and four fun weeks with us is your ticket to living your dreams abroad, in exciting locations all over the world. Some people are attracted to a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Course for various reasons. Some people see the opportunity to help underprivileged people to learn English, some wish to travel extensively and some are in it for the good money that is offered in some countries. A TEFL Qualified Teacher can work with students of all ages, provided they meet the chosen countries visa requirements. A TEFL Qualified Teacher can travel the globe and earn a comfortable living teaching. A TEFL Qualified Teacher can also earn some very good money if they decide to work in countries...  [Read more]

To embark upon yet another career at the ripe old >?age of 51, may seem like madness to most people. However, most >?people would not have given up a successful 27 yr career in Nursing >?as I had done 7 yrs previously. This was to take a fitness >?qualification that enabled me to have??a “midlife” crisis, and >?become a fitness professional and eventually a Club Manager. >?However, the realization that advancing middle age was not >?conducive to teaching aerobics classes forever, led me to the >?beautiful island of Phuket in March 2007. My plan was to qualify as >?a TEFL teacher and remain on the island for a year at least, >?practicing my newly aquired skills. Yes, I could have done...  [Read more]

As a global language, English has been popularly taught as the second language in China for quite a few years. Now there are more Chinese people learning English on various purposes, such as applying for a higher paid job, studying and living abroad, or establishing business with western countries. According to my experience of learning and teaching English, it is harder to master English pronunciation than English grammar for Chinese students. Chinese grammar may appear quite simple compared to that of many highly-inflected Western languages (e.g. Russian, Latin, etc.), or even the low-scale verb conjugations, for instance, of English (e.g. "swim, swam, swum") because of the lack of inflections. (1) Even though there are similarities between...  [Read more]

As a global language, English has been popularly taught as the second language in China for quite a few years. Now there are more Chinese people learning English on various purposes, such as applying for a higher paid job, studying and living abroad, or establishing business with western countries. According to my experience of learning and teaching English, it is harder to master English pronunciation than English grammar for Chinese students. Chinese grammar may appear quite simple compared to that of many highly-inflected Western languages (e.g. Russian, Latin, etc.), or even the low-scale verb conjugations, for instance, of English (e.g. "swim, swam, swum") because of the lack of inflections. (1)Even though there are similarities between English alphabet and Chinese one...  [Read more]

  This diary entry was completed after Chantelle finished unit 15. Unit 15 looks at different ways of evaluating and testing your students and the importance of doing so. Types of test covered include placement tests, progress tests, diagnostic tests, and practice tests. The unit also looks at the different external examinations students are likely to take such as TOEFL and IELTS. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This chapter that with teaching...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word tenet. This word refers mainly to princibles of a religion or philosophy. Some synonyms for tenet can include principle, belief or doctrine. The word comes from the Latin word tenere meaning ‘he holds’. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. I learned a lot about phonemics and how to teach pronunciation. The hardest part for me was how to figure out how to translate phonemics without...  [Read more]

  Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This topic deals with areas of STRESS, RYTHM, INTONATION and the International Phonetic Alphabet. This unit has provide much insights on the linguistics aspect that we have taken for granted or learnt subconsciously from our environment. I know them but I would not be able to teach nor explain them to a non-native speaker. Every part of this unit is difficult and much time has been needed to digest the...  [Read more]

  In this video we'll be looking at the international phonemic alphabet and how it's used in the classroom. There are other phonemic alphabets but this is the most popular and the system, which is most widely used. You may have seen some of these symbols before as any good dictionary will supplement standard English spellings with the phonemic spellings to aid in pronunciation practice. Here we have a situation where we have what are called phonemes and each phoneme represents a sound within the English language. How is this helpful? Well, what it does is help students understand how to say words rather than simply relying on the often archaic English spellings. To illustrate this point let's for a moment put ourselves in the shoes of our students when trying to understand how to...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word armada. This word refers to a large fleet of warships. The word has been in use ever since the Spanish naval forces lost against England in 1588. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This unit covers the importance of proper pronunciation, despite being typically overlooked in an English language class. This includes the importance of intonation and word stress, the usage International...  [Read more]

  The idiom "elbow room" refers to having enough room to move in or having the ability to act freely, for example: The concert was so crowded that there was hardly any elbow room at all. This means, there were so many people at the concert that you could barely move. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. One of the most useful resources in teaching Phonology in the ESL classroom is the International Phonetic Alphabet. The IPA provides a harmonized...  [Read more]

  Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This unit gave me the opportunity to review the complexities in the world of phonetics. When I was first introduced to this material in my linguistics course of college, my professor explained how the human mouth and vocal chords affect articulation and I believe that this helped the information resonate with me more effectively. Therefore, based upon that learning experience and the suggestions in this unit,...  [Read more]

For the native Japanese speaker, English poses a couple distinct problems in pronunciation. The first being the basic pronunciation of l and r. As is stated in Nakama 1: 'the [r] sound in Japanese'is neither [l] nor [r] in English(p. 12).' The Japanese speaker has difficulty separating and pronouncing the sounds of l and r as he or she has a predisposition to pronounce them as a hybridized sound being both l and r. Another difficulty in English pronunciation for Japanese speakers is the non-phonetic/non-pictographic nature of English. The twp basic Japanese alphabets, the Hiragana and Katakana, are phonetic alphabets, the Hiragana used for Japanese words and particles, while the Katakana is used for foreign words transferred into Japanese. Given these two alphabets,...  [Read more]

  Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This unit was my least favorite so far and it was way too long. I didn't think it was necessary to give us all the scientific terms for the inside of our mouths. That would have been really useful and entertaining if i wanted to become a dentist, but that is not the case. We do not need to know the scientific terms in order to make certain sounds with our mouths and we aren't going to teach that in a...  [Read more]

  Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. Phonetic is the most tough, different ways of using it is been explained.Its a good way in teaching an individual sounds and it can be fun both to teachers and students. Pronunciation is a must and it is been very nicely explained in this chapter.Most pronunciation a a result tends to concentrate on individual sounds it is also an integral part of teaching. Intonation carries a message in the sentence. it...  [Read more]

  Eugenio is working in Japan as an English teacher and recently completed our 120 hour TEFL course. He enjoyed the course and was able to try the new-learned techniques in his classroom. He also worked closely with his tutor and was able to finish the course within a few weeks. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This unit went over how to teach students proper forms of pronunciation in english. It included lessons on phonetics, how people...  [Read more]

  Shem is from the USA and is currently living in Japan having previously taught English in Africa. In this TEFL review Shem tells how he really enjoyed taking the online TEFL course with ITTT and recommends the course with tutor support and videos as he found the videos to be really helpful in preparing him for what to expect in the English teaching world. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This lesson on phonology and pronunciation discusses the...  [Read more]

  Mira is from Australia and completed the 120-hour online course without tutor support with ITTT. In this TEFL review she tells us how the flexibility offered by ITTT’s online course meant that Mira was able to complete the course at her own pace, fitting her study time around her busy work schedule. She completed the 20 units within four and a half months. Mira has learned a lot from the course including lesson planning, student assessment, vocabulary and grammar and is looking forward to putting all she has learned to use in the classroom. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching....  [Read more]