Pronunciation Targets

Target 1 Word Stress English speech can be hard to understand if you stress, or emphasize the wrong syllable in a word. COMmunication vs. communiCAtion

Target 2 Thought Groups These divide longer sentences into phrases. Each phrase or thought group has its own melody, one strongly stressed word, and a slight pause at the end. “Tracy,” said the teacher, “was late”. Vs. Tracy said, “the teacher was late.”

Target 3 Focus Words The stressed word in a thought group is the focus word. Jane’s birthday is July 28 th. I thought is was July 30 th. I thought Marie’s birthday was the 28 th.

Target 4 Final Sounds and Linking Speech can be hard to understand when final sounds or syllables are missing. Ex. My ______ is broken. Buy or Bike Small words such as “the” link or connect words in a thought group together so that your speech flows smoothly. Don’t forget them.

Target 5 Speech Rhythm: Sentence Stress and Unstress Make your speech easier to understand by exaggerating the contrast between stressed and unstressed words. Stress the words that contain most of the meaning- the content words, such as nouns and verbs. I FOUND a DOLlar in my POCKet.

Target 6 Intonation Use intonation or speech melody to organize your speech. Did you find her?

Target 7 Consonant Sounds Target pairs of sounds you find challenging. Ex. f and v, r and l.

Target 8 Vowel Sounds The most important about pronouncing vowels is to emphasize the stressed ones. SAL ad