How to teach English intonation

1. INTONATION nagaRAJU

2. Say ‘Hello’ - to a friend you meet regularly - to a friend you haven't seen for 10 years - to a neighbor whom you don't like - to a 6 month old baby - to someone doing what he shouldn't - to know if someone is listening (phone)

11. Boy: Are you busy tonight? Girl: Not really. Why? Boy: I was thinking of going to a movie? Girl: Great! Let’s go! ROLE PLAY

13. hot > boiling good > fantastic interesting > fascinating ‘ Is Hyderabad hot?' 'Hot? It was boiling!!!' (higher pitch) INTENSIFYING ADJECTIVES

15. “ I am.” ( I prominent - “Who’s coming?”) “ I am. ” ( am prominent - “You’re not coming, are you?”) PROMINENCE

16. I thought she might consider a new handbag. I thought she might consider a new handbag. I thought she might consider a new handbag. I thought she might consider a new handbag. I thought she might consider a new handbag. I thought she might consider a new handbag. I thought she might consider a new handbag . SENTENCE STRESS

17. I thought she might consider a new handbag. Not someone else. I thought she might consider a new handbag. I am not sure. I thought she might consider a new handbag. Not another person. I thought she might consider a new handbag. It's a possibility. I thought she might consider a new handbag. She should think about it. it's a good idea. I thought she might consider a new handbag. Not just a handbag. I thought she might consider a new handbag . Not something else.

18. Where patterns associating intonation and grammar are predictable, highlight them. See them as starting-points, rather than as rules. Some examples: Wh questions: falling intonation Yes/No questions: rising intonation Statements: falling intonation INTONATION & GRAMMAR

19. Create awareness of the strong link between the two. Rules are difficult. Let learners recognize the effect of intonation changes. Utter a word e.g., ‘coffee‘ - 'interested' (varied tone); 'uninterested' (flat). Similarly, 'enthusiastic', 'bored', 'surprised', 'relieved'. Learners identify and describe the difference. Let students practise in pairs, guessing each other's attitude. INTONATION & ATTITUDE

20. We went for a ride in the ` car . I must get my ` hair cut. You must take them ` home . Help your ` self . We’ll meet you at the ` sta tion. I like your new ` dress . That’s the best shop for ` shoes . The birds are sing ing in the ` trees . It would be bett er to ` leave it. It’ll soon be ` spring .

21. We went for a ride in the ` c a r .

22. I must get my ` h a i r cut.

23. You must take them ` h o m e .

24. Help your `s e l f.

25. We will meet you at the ` s t a t i o n.

26. I like your new ` d r e s s .

27. That’s the best shop for `s h o e s.

28. The birds are sing ing in the ` t r e e s.

29. It would be bett er to ` l e a v e it.

30. It’ll soon be ` s p r i n g .

31. Ravi plays foot ball every Sat urday after ` noon . What time does the night -train for ` Hyd erabad leave? How far is it from here to ` Chen nai? Why don’t you do as I sug ` ge sted? It’s been a very en joy able e vening for ` all of us. Where did you say you had put my ` glass es? He pro mised to send a tele gram on his a ` rri val. Which is the best way to get to the sta tion from ` here ?

32. , Does he? , Doesn’t he? , Shall I? , Shan’t I? , Will they? , Won’t they? , Should we? , Shouldn’t we? , Is it? , Isn’t it? ,Do they? , Don’t they? , Can he? , Can’t he?

33. Have they , gone ? May I come , in ? Is it , yours ? Are you a , fraid ? Are you on the , phone ? Have you got e , nough ? Was it , you ? Can you , see ? Have you heard the , news ? Do you , know ?

34. That’s , right . Don’t , trou ble! Please sit , down ! That’s , all. If you , like . I’m so , so rry. Good , bye. Good , morn ing. O , K ! That’s the , way .

35. The beautifu l Mountain appeared transfixe d in the distance . (14 syllables) He can come on Sunday s as long as he doesn't have to do any homework in the evening . (22 syllables) The beautiful Mountain appeared transfixed in the distance. He can come on Sundays as long as he doesn't have to do any homework in the evening . Even though the second sentence is approximately 30% longer than the first, the sentences take the same time to speak. This is because there are 5 stressed syllables in each sentence. From this example, you can see that you needn't worry about pronouncing every word clearly to be understood. You should however, concentrate on pronouncing the stressed words clearly.