Some techniques to improve english intonation for students in grade 11

THANH HOA EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING SERVICE
 HAM RONG HIGH SCHOOL
INITIATIVE EXPERIENCE
SOME TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE ENGLISH INTONATION FOR STUDENTS IN GRADE 11
Author: Trinh Thi Ly
Job title: Teacher
Group: English
 THANH HOA SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019 
 INDEX
1. Raise an issue........................................................................................................1
1.1. Reasoning base....................................................................................................2
1.2. Practical base.......................................................................................................2
1.3. Scope of studying special subject........................................................................2
1.4. Study objects.......................................................................................................2
1.5. Study techniques.................................................................................................2
2. Table of content....................................................................................................2
2.1. Identifying English intonation..........................................................................2
2.1.1. Definition.........................................................................................................2
2.1.2. Reasons to use English intonation....................................................................3
2.2. The techniques of English intonational tone.......5
Technique 1: Falling intonation..................................................5
a. Statements...............................................................................................................5
b. Commands .............................................................................................................6
c. Wh-questions..........................................................................................................6
d. Exclamations..........................................................................................................7
e. Tag questions (confirmation).................................................................................8
Technique 2: Rising intonation...............................................................................8
a.Yes-No questions.....................................................................................................9
b. Tag questions (real questions)................................................................................9
c. Echo questions......................................................................................................10
Technique 3: Rise-Fall intonation................11. a. Alternative questions............................................................................................11
b. Lists (rising, rising, rising, falling )..........12
c. Unfinished thought...............................................................................................13
d. Conditional sentences...............................................................14
Technique 4: Fall-Rise intonation.........................14
a. Hesitation/ Reluctance..........................................................................................14
b. Politeness- Doubt- Uncertainty....................................15
2.3. The limitation and measures of the special subject......................................16
2.3.1. The limitation of the special subject..............................................................16
2.3.2 The measures of the special subject................................................................16
2.4. The result of practical teaching.....................................................................17	
3. Summary and suggestions.................................................................................18
1. Raise an issue
1.1. Reasoning base.
We know that communication is very keen role in any field, whether it is business, medicine, transportation, technology, trade or marketing. Language has a great impact on the division of the different traditions and cultures of different people. We learn more about the traditions, cultures and customs of different people around the world through travel and learning. For this effective communication is a necessity. English language empowers people from around the world. The internet also plays an important role in promoting English as the standard language. Through the pages of various social networks people connect with each other from anywhere in the world, mostly through English. This is because this language is accepted worldwide. English is also essential for air traffic control and flight crews. English is globally accepted and known by all. Globalization covers all aspects of life. Deep understanding is very important in every field. Without proper communication it is not possible to be in connection. Millions of people consider English as their first language; two thirds of them prefer it as a second language. In addition, billions of people are in the process of learning. English has become the most popular international language in the world nowadays. It is used as the official one in many different countries. In Vietnam, English is also considered as an indispensable language in all domains, especially in education. Therefore, it has been taught in primary, secondary, high schools, colleges and universities and has become a compulsory subject during study process so far. In order to be more authentic and sound like a native speaker of English, it is important that upper secondary school students should learn how to use intonation. In today’s world, English is the most widely spoken language and it is gaining more and more importance every other day because of the technological developments and diplomatic reasons. It is also beneficial for upper secondary school students to be familiar with intonation in that, knowing about usage of intonation in English makes it easier to understand a communication between native speakers of English. I have chosen “intonation” as the subject of my study because I think it is one of the most important aspects affecting the pronunciation of upper secondary school students. In fact, most students of a foreign language transfer their native intonation patterns “i.e. the melody of speech utterances” to the new language and retain them even after they have improved in other aspects. Consequently, though most students may have exposed to English for quite some time, their English is usually far from authentic. Intonation is closely interrelated with other factors- not only grammar and vocabulary, but also non- linguistic factors like the roles of the speaker and hearer (who is talking to whom, in what capacity and in what type of situation). This means that a given sentence can have different intonation patterns in different situations. This problem with intonation is quite common in Vietnam because English is not so widely used and there are not that many native speakers of English living there. Another reason is that nearly most of the English teachers in Vietnam are getting their education in the country and they are not given the chance to spend some time in UK or any other European countries. Teaching of intonation gains more importance in countries like Vietnam because there is not a natural environment for acquiring the intonation of English. Thus, we, English teachers, should explain every aspect of intonation to our students to make the best of it. My aim is to draw out the rules in which English intonation is prefered. In this experience, I also hope to apply these rules to a few exercises which are not mentioned in upper secondary schools.
1.2. Practical base.
From the reality of teaching English, I find that students always have a great need for English precise pronunciation. In order for negotiation of meaning be present in a communication, being understood by an English speaker is as important as understanding him/her. This makes another reason showing that, apart from grammar and vocabulary, intonation is among the crucial things to be learned by upper secondary school students. Mastering and using the rules of English intonation effectively will help students diversify English expressions to serve communicative goal.
1.3. Scope of studying special subject.
I can say that intonation is a wide term covering important aspects of a language and a framework of English intonation should include four major intonational features: intonation units, stress, tones, and pitch range. In this experience, I only focus on the phenomena of intonation in English with “tones”.
1.4. Study objects.
I study the phenomenon of intonation in English with “tones” aiming at students in upper secondary schools.
1.5. Study techniques.
1.5.1. Statistical technique.
I use this technique to list some special rules, exercises of the phenomenon of intonation in English with “tones”.
1.5.2. Analysed technique.
I use this technique to clarify the rules used in exercises of the phenomenon of intonation in English with “tones”.
1.5.3. Compared technique.
I use this technique to distinguish the rules of used in exercises of the phenomena of intonation in English with “tones”.
2. TABLE OF CONTENT
2.1. Identify English intonation.
2.1.1. Definition.
Intonation is about how we say things, rather than what we say, the way the voice rises and falls when speaking, in other words the music of the language. Just as words have stressed syllables, sentences have regular patterns of stressed words. In addition, the voice tends to rise, fall or remain flat depending on the meaning or feeling we want to convey (surprise, anger, interest, boredom, gratitude, etc.). Intonation therefore indicates the mood of the speaker.
A unit of speech bounded by pauses has movement, of music and rhythm, associated with the pitch of voice. This certain pattern of voice movement is called “tone”. A tone is a certain pattern, not an arbitrary one, because it is meaningful in discourse. By means of tones, speakers signal whether to refer, proclaim, agree, disagree, question or hesitate, or indicate completion and continuation of turn-taking, in speech. In other word, when we speak, we constantly vary the pitch of our voice. Tone is overall behaviour of pitch in a syllable.
 Tones
 Simple tones Complex tones
 Level tones Moving tones Fall-rise tone Rise-fall tone
 (⎯) (∨) (∧)
 Falling tones Rising tones
 (↘) (↗)
It appeared in the our teaching experience that only four types of tones can be efficiently taught to non-native speakers of English:
Falling intonation
Rising intonation
Rise-Fall intonation
Fall-Rise intonation
2.1.2. Reasons to use English intonation.
We can say that intonation is a wide term covering important aspects of a language and it has a big impact on the pronunciation of students. Although this subject is taught in primary, secondary and high schools in Vietnam, Vietnamese students are more likely to have problems in sounding like native speakers of English. Furthermore, they have difficulty in understanding native English speakers with whom they have never had a chance to communicate before. Also, as Vietnamese students are not exposed to the language during their daily life, it is not likely that they grow a sense of awareness about how it is like to pronounce words like native speakers do. So, as language teachers, we had better give explicit information about intonation patterns and concentrate on communicative aspects of language and try to make students be active during the classes. The more they use the language, the better they pronounce. 
The term intonation refers to a means for conveying information in speech which is independent of the words and their sounds. Central to intonation is the modulation of pitch, and intonation is often thought of as the use of pitch over the domain of the utterance. However, the patterning of pitch in speech is so closely bound to patterns of timing and loudness, and sometimes voice quality, that we cannot consider pitch in isolation from these other dimensions. The interaction of intonation and stress — the patterns of relative prominence which characterise an utterance — is particularly close in many languages, including English. For those who prefer to reserve ‘intonation’ for pitch effects in speech, the word ‘prosody’ is convenient as a more general term to include patterns of pitch, timing, loudness, and (sometimes) voice quality. In this study, however, intonation will be used to refer to the collaboration of all these dimensions, and, where necessary, the term ‘melody’ will be used to refer specifically to the pitch-based component. Intonation is used to carry a variety of different kinds of information. It signals grammatical structure, though not in a one-to-one way; whilst the end of a complete intonation pattern will normally coincide with the end of a grammatical structure such as a sentence or clause, even quite major grammatical boundaries may lack intonational making, particularly if the speech is fast. Intonation can reflect the information structure of an utterance, highlighting constituents of importance. Intonation can indicate discourse function; for instance most people are aware that saying ‘This is the Leeds train’ with one intonation constitutes a statement, but, with another, a question. Intonation can be used by a speaker to convey an attitude such as friendliness, enthusiasm, or hostility; and listeners can use intonation-related phenomenon in the voice to make inferences about a speaker’s state, including excitement, depression, and tiredness. Intonation can also, for instance, help to regulate turn-taking in conversation, since there are intonational mechanisms speakers can use to indicate that they have had their say, or, conversely, that they are in full flow and don’t want to be interrupted. Intonation is not the only linguistic device for which pitch is recruited by languages; many languages use pitch to distinguish words. In languages around the world as diverse as Thai, Hausa (Nigeria), and Mixtec (Mexico), words are distinguished not only by vowels and consonants but also by the use of one of a limited set of distinctive pitch patterns or heights on each syllable. Such languages are called tone languages. A number of other languages, such as Swedish and Japanese, make a more limited use of pitch to distinguish words. These languages might best be called lexical accent languages. All tone languages and lexical accent languages also have intonation, but in general the greater a language’s use of pitch for distinguishing words, the less scope it has to develop an elaborate intonation system. English, on the other hand, is not a tone language or lexical accent language, and is generally agreed to have relatively complex intonation.
Here are some reasons why we need to use intonation patterns correctly:
✔ Using intonation will make sound more friendly, approachable and empathetic.
✔ Using intonation will enable you to ask questions clearly and effectively.
✔Using intonation will enable to speak with a pace that sounds natural to the listener.
2.2. THE TECHNIQUES OF ENGLISH INTONATIONAL TONE.
Technique 1: Falling intonation (↘)
A falling tone is by far the most common used tone of all. It signals a sense of finality, completion, belief in the content of the utterance, and so on. A speaker, by choosing a falling tone, also indicates to the addressee that that is all he has to say, and offers a chance (turn-taking) to the addressee to comment on, agree or disagree with, or add to his utterance. However, it is up to the addressee to do either of these. This tone does in no way solicit a response from the addressee. Nonetheless, it would be polite for the addressee to at least acknowledge in some manner or form that he is part of the discourse. The pitch of the voice falls at the end of the sentence. Falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern in English. It is commonly found in statements, commands, Wh-questions, exclamatory sentences, and tag questions. 
a. Statements :
Examples:
*They expected me to finish my work ↘early.
*My mother likes me to do my ↘homework.
*Nice to meet ↘you.
*I’ll be back in a ↘minute.	
*We should work together more ↘often.
Exercises and keys of statements:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each sentence and practise reading aloud these sentences :
1. My friends expected him to buy a new house.
..
(My friends expected him to buy a new ↘house.)
2. She likes her parents to pay money.
(She likes her parents to pay↘ money.)
3. She doesn’t live here anymore.	
(She doesn’t live here ↘anymore.)
4. Dad wants to change his car.
(Dad wants to change his ↘car.)
5. Here is the weather forecast.
(Here is the weather ↘forecast.)
b. Commands:
Examples:
*Write your name ↘here.
*Show me what you’ve ↘written.
*Leave it on the ↘desk.
*Take that picture ↘down.
*Throw that ↘out.
Exercises and keys of commands:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each sentence and practise reading aloud these sentences :
1. Put your books on the table.
..
(Put your books on the ↘table.)
2. Take your hands out of your pockets.
(Take your hands out of your↘ pockets.)
3. Go and see a doctor.	
(Go and see a↘doctor.)
4. Take a seat.
(Take a ↘seat.)
5. Hand in your assignment.
(Hand in your ↘assignment.)
c. Wh- questions:
Examples: 
*What country do you come↘from?.
*Where do you ↘work?.
*Which of them do you ↘prefer?.
*When does the shop ↘open?.
*How many books have you ↘bought?.
Exercises and keys of Wh-questions:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each question and practise reading aloud these questions :
1. What do people often do to prepare for Tet?
..
(What do people often do to prepare for ↘Tet?)
2. How many solutions did the expert offer?
(How many solutions did the expert ↘ offer?)
3. Why can’t women in the world limit the size of their family?	
(Why can’t women in the world limit the size of their ↘family?)
4. Where can you find these scenes?
(Where can you find these ↘scenes?)
5. When did he become the first official female champion?
(When did he become the first official female ↘champion?)
d. Exclamations:
Examples: 
*How nice of ↘you!
*That’s just what I ↘need!
*You don’t ↘say!
*What a beautiful ↘voice!
*That’s a ↘surprise!
Exercises and keys of Exclamations:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each exclamatory sentence and practise reading aloud these sentences :
1. Watch out!
..
(Watch ↘out!)
2. What a wonderful holiday!
(What a wonderful ↘ holiday!)
3. What pretty girls!	
(What pretty ↘girls!)
4. How well he swims!
(How well he ↘swims!)
5. How thick is the book!
(How thick is the ↘book!)
e. Tag questions:
Tag questions are statements requesting confirmation or inviting agreement rather than questions, in which case we use a falling tone at the end.
Examples: 
*He thinks he’s so clever, doesn’t ↘ he?
*She’s such a nuisance, isn’t ↘ she?
*I failed the test because I didn’t revise, did ↘ I?
*It doesn’t seem to bother him much, does ↘ it?
*You like it, don’t ↘ you?
Exercises and keys of tag questions:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each tag question and practise reading aloud these questions :
1. You live here, don’t you?
..
(You live here, don’t ↘ you?)
2. No one likes snakes, do they?
(No one likes snakes, do↘ they?)
3. Human beings have made efforts to protect the environment, 
haven’t they?	
(Human beings have made efforts to protect the environment, haven’t 
↘ they?)
4. People are killing endangered animals for fur, skin and food, aren’t they?
(People are killing endangered animals for fur, skin and food, aren’t ↘ they?)
5. The competition was sponsored by the Students’ Parents Society, wasn’t it?
(The competi