English Phonetics and Phonology - Week 9: Vowel Contrasts

Introduction: Hello and welcome to the Week 9 of the course English Phonetics and Pholology for the Bachelor's in English Teaching at ULACIT term IIIC 2023. This week we will finish our study of the English vowel system by sharing your vowel contrast games and activities. We will also review some content from last week regarding the subtle but fundamental difference between /ə/, /ʌ/, /ɝ/, and /ɚ/. 

Today's Goals: 

• Interpret transcriptions of song lyrics and write them in Standard English.
• Share your consonant contrast game.
• Complete a guided exploration task to practice stressed and unstressed syllables and the /ə/, /ʌ/, /ɝ/, and /ɚ/ phonemes. 

Guiding Questions: 

• How does syllabus stress affect the pronunciation of other parts of a word?
• How do you determine primary and secondary stress?
• What is R-coloring?

Task 1: /rid ænd ɪntɝprɛt ə poʊəm/

Let's start with a little warm up as always. Here you will read an interpret a poem and also write transcriptions of your partners' song lyrics in Standard English. Click on your group link and follow the instructions in the document. 

• Group Link: CLICK HERE 

Task 2: /jur ˈvæwəl ˈkɑntræst geɪmz/

In order to wrap up our study of the English vowel system, let's take a moment to share your vowel contrast games and activities that you prepared for homework. Follow these steps.

• Explain your game or activity.
• Lead your partners through the game or activity.
• Say some comments about what you liked about it. 

Task 3: /hændz ɑn præktɪs/

We have many vowel sounds and symbols to learn. The best way to get better at this is to practice. Open your group document below and complete the tasks with your partners. 

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

References: Many of the exercises in the practice section were borrowed or adapted from the following sources.

Clark, R. & Yorkey, R. (2011). Teaching North American English Pronunciation. Pro Lingua Associates.

Dale, P. & Poms, L. (2005). English Pronunciation Made Simple. Pearson Education.

Underhill, A. (1994). Sound Foundations: Learning and Teaching Pronunciation. Macmillan.