Increasingly, Chinese students are pursuing their studies abroad in English-speaking countries, such as the USA, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Despite the fact that they have studied English as a compulsory subject for a number of years and have passed multiple English proficiency tests, many still find it is difficult to communicate well in…

Describes use of strong and weak vowel forms in English and suggests use of tape recordings and drills to teach weak forms to English as a second language classes. (BK)

English pronunciation lessons and exercises for Spanish speakers are presented. The lessons are designed with the phonological characteristics of both the native and target languages in mind. The lessons cover consonants and consonant clusters, vowels and diphthongs, stress and pitch, and rapid speech phonology. A chart is provided which…

Ways in which pronunciation of English as a second language can be taught through listening are presented, involving such activities as: identification tasks; minimal pair sentence tasks; inference, word counting, and dictation tasks; and stress and intonation tasks. (CB)

The communicative approach used in the teaching of second languages is also effective in teaching pronunciation of English as a second language. Communicative principles and activities in the areas of consonants and vowels, contractions, recued expressions and linking, suprasegmentals, and monitoring are discussed. (CB)

Describes techniques used for teaching French language students to recognize, discriminate between, and pronounce the four French nasal vowels. Includes twenty tongue-twisting sentences exemplifying the different vowels. (MSE)

A study examines two major types of vowel systems in languages, centripetal and centrifugal. English is associated with the centripetal system, in which vowel quality and quantity (rhythm) are heavily influenced by stress. In this system, vowels have a strong tendency to move toward the center of the vowel area. Spanish is associated with the…

The sound system of English is described in all its complexity, from the relationship between spelling and pronunciation to the rules of connected speech, focusing on the methods and rationale of teaching pronunciation of English, particularly to English as a second language learners. (CB)