Aspects of Teaching and Learning Phonetic Symbols

p;2. Dictation An old exercise, remains one of the most common ways of testing learners'  pronunciation. This method is based on the assumption that, most often,  listening and speaking are interrelated. If the learner has a deviant  pronunciation of a word, he will not understand it when it is read  appropriately. For instance, the person who reads "sword" as /swCd/ or  "island" as /'izl[nd/ will not understand the two words if they are read  as /sC:d/ and /'ail[nd/. Dictation may appear in different forms on the basis of testees' levels.  Following designs can be used for students of a lower grade. ● Same or different? Listen to pairs of syllables or words and judge whether they are same or  different. A. /sIt/ — /sIt/ B. /bQt/ — /bU:t/ C. hut — hat D. six — sex ● A or B or C Choose the syllable or word you hear 1. A. /sCk/ B. /sAk/ C. /sQk/ 2. A. cat B. cut C. cart 3. A. foot B. food C. fat ● Find odd members Choose the syllable or word which is different from the other two. 1. A. /pCt/ B./pCt/ C. /pC:t/ 2. A. bid B. bit C. bid 3. A. ship B. ship C. sheep A cloze test may be given to students of a higher grade. The words to be  filled are replaced with blanks or initial letters. One precaution to take  here is that the context should not be too supportive. A context that is  too supportive will leak out the correct word. 3. Written test There is no essential difference between dictation and written exam. As  for the latter, it has nothing to do with outside factors. The testee is  requested to fulfill the paper by virtue of his own knowledge of phonic  symbols. ● Find out the odd members. Find out the word whose underlined part read differently from the other  two. 1. A name B what C Kate 2. A hello B meet C Green 3. A this B fine C nice ● Classification of pronunciation Classify the following words by vowels. car, bus, cup,four, name, door, bar, play,  「ei」____________________ 「Q 」 ____________________ 「a:」____________________ 「 C:」 ____________________  Besides the models referred to, there are numerous other forms to be  adopted. Above methods are mainly designated for mass-examination. If possible,  individual test is apparently more satisfactory. Specific levels can be  given by the performance of the testee. e.g. Level A: appropriate pronunciation, articulate speech, excellent stress  and intonation Level B: generally appropriate pronunciation, petty mistakes but tolerable Level C: not very appropriate pronunciation, occasional mistakes Level D: poor pronunciation, frequent mistakes If condition permits, another choice is to record all the students' speech  and make a full assessment of their pronunciation after audition. But it  should be done under the domination of the teacher, not by themselves.  This may produce unreal or unnatural results.

Here the writer presents a few superficial views of teaching phonetic  symbols which are far from complete. Comments and suggestions devoutly to  be wished.

Appendix: Common Phonetic Errors From Students PHONETIC SYMBOLS KNACKS SAMPLE WORDS  READ AS /T/ Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth "they" /dei/ /T/ Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.  "clothe" /kl[Uz/ /A/ Move tongue to a lower front position.  "fan" /fen/ /A/ Keep tongue front and jaws apart.  "cat" /kB:t/ /A/ Keep tongue front & low and jaws apart. "ran"  /rQn/ /C/ Keep mouth round and sound short.  "not" /nC:t/ /C/ Keep mouth round and tongue back.  "god" /gUd/ /Q/ Tongue low central. Lips relaxed.  "bus" /bAs/  /v/ Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip.  "van" /fAn/ /v/ Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip.  "very" /'werI/ /I:/ Spread lips more and keep tongue high. "seat"  /sIt/ /W/ Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.  "think" /sINk/ /h/ Quickly push air from throat out of mouth.  "hot" /hUt/ /z/ Voiced. Tip of tongue behind top teeth.  "rise" /rais/ /F/ Voiceless. Friction. Front of tongue to palate.  "push" /pUs/ /r/ Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. "merry"  /'melI/ /r/ Sides of tongue to back teeth. Tip points up.  "right" /lait/ /n/ Tongue touches alveolar ridge. Nasal.  "soon" /sU:l/ /dV/ Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.  "page" /peitF/

Bibliography David Dalton, Some Techniques for Teaching Pronunciation Dwight Bolinger & Donald A. Sears, Aspects of Language Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching Jerry Coker, Traditional Phonics Johanna Rubba, Phonics Kenji Kitao, Difficulties of Testing Speaking Rod Ellis, Understanding Second Language Acquisition. 时迈，《中学英语如何落实素质教育思路的探讨之一、之二、之三》 王新华，《音标教学 — 英语入门的一把金钥匙》 杨绍周，《问题、思考、改进 — 使每个学生学好英语》 

     

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