Free ESL at Cincinnati State! 4.30.12

Stress-Timed or Syllable-Timed? What is a syllable? Sy-lla-ble = 3 syllables Or-ange = 2 syllables Foot = 1 syllable What is stress? I don’t know what stress is, Rebecca!

Stress-Timed vs. Syllable-Timed Languages! Stress-Timed Language Syllable-Timed Languages English Finnish German Icelandic Mandarin Chinese Cantonese Chinese Swedish French Norwegian Dutch …and many more! Italian Spanish Discuss: Is YOUR native language, or 2nd or 3rd language, stress-timed or syllable-timed? Does this explain for any difficulties you have with intonation/word stress in English??

Do you remember: True or False? The MORE syllables in a sentence, the MORE time you need to pronounce the sentence. (In English.) Explain your answer!

False! It depends on the number of “stressed words”! Dogs chase cats. The dogs chase cats. The dogs chase the cats. The dogs will chase the cats. The dogs will be chasing the cats.  If the number (#) of stressed words is the same, you need approximately the same amount of time!

Remember! English is a stress-timed language, NOT a syllable-timed language! If you can remember that English is stress-timed, then English will not be so stressful for you. Ha, ha! vs.

Not all of the words are stressed! Do you know how we classify/divide words in sentences in English? CONTENT words (stressed) Function / structure words (unstressed) Let’s check out this website!

Rules for Sentence Stress in English The basic rules of sentence stress are: CONTENT words are STRESSED! Function / structure words are unstressed. The time between stressed words is always the same…

Content Words (STRESSED!) Words used for MEANING Example Main verbs Sell, give, employ, decorate, buy, borrow, study, work… Nouns Education, employment, shower, embarrassment, goal, dream, grammar… Adjectives Beautiful, crazy, frustrating, interesting, blue, sorrowful, excited, hard-working… Adverbs Well, poorly, quickly, loudly, skillfully, never, always, sometimes… Negative auxiliary verbs Don’t, aren’t, can’t, won’t, wouldn’t…

Function/ Structure Words (unstressed) Words used for GRAMMAR Example Pronouns He, we, they, I, you, she, he, it, we… Prepositions On, at, into, in, around, across, under… Articles A, an, the Conjunctions And, but, or, because… Auxiliary (helping) verbs Am, are, is, have, has, can, could, must, should…

An Exception to the Rule! Sometimes we can stress a word that would normally be only a structure word, for example, to correct someone’s understanding. “She speaks Spanish, doesn’t she?"
"No, she doesn’t, but SHE does.”

Vocabulary Drill! Syllable: ________ Don’t, can’t, shouldn’t, etc. Stress / intonation: ________ One or more pieces of sound in a word Grammar: ________ The system of rules to organize meaning in a language Content: ________ He, she, it, we, they, you, etc. Polyglot : ________ The main ideas (of a speech/text/etc.) Auxiliary / helping verb: ________ Somebody who speaks multiple languages Articles: ________ Emphasis to show importance in syllables, words and sentences Pronouns: ________ Nouns: ________ Can, will, am, is, are, should, have, has… Negative auxiliaries: ________ The, a, an Ideas, places, or things

Ranking Items What does it mean, to rank something? Ex. My favorite kinds of music: Bollywood Ambient World Fusion African…

An Example CNBC Highest Paying Jobs 2011 Listed with average annual salary: 1. Doctors and Surgeons: $165,720-$225,390 2. Chief Executive Officer (CEO): $173,350 3. Dentists: $158,770 4. Lawyers: $129,440 5. Natural Sciences Manager: $129,320 6. Petroleum Engineer: $127,970 7. Architectural Engineering Manager: $125,900 8. Computer and Information Systems Manager: $123,280 9. Marketing Manager: $122,720 10. Financial Manager: $116,970 11. Airline pilot, copilot and flight engineer: $115,300 12. Sales Manager: $114,110 13. Industrial-Organizational Psychologist: $114,040 14. General and Operations Manager: $113,100 15. Physicist: $112,020 (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.) Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_highes t_paying_jobs#ixzz1tYd62EsY

These Items are Ranked Incorrectly! How do you think these cities are RANKED according to average hourly wage? Why?? Discuss and make lists in your groups! Boston, Massachusetts Seattle, Washington New York, NY (Metropolitan) San Jose, California Chicago, Illinois Washington, D.C. Honolulu, Hawaii Dallas, Texas Cincinnati, Ohio

These Items are Ranked Incorrectly! City Average Hourly Wage Ranking Boston, Massachusetts $28.56 3 Seattle, Washington $26.45 5 New York, NY (Metropolitan) $27.49 4 San Jose, California $32.62 1 Chicago, Illinois $23.62 6 Washington, D.C. $29.95 2 Honolulu, Hawaii $21.68 8 Dallas, Texas $21.89 7 Cincinnati, Ohio $20.50 9

What is a paragraph? 3 paragraphs A paragraph is a short piece of writing that includes one (or maybe two or three) main ideas. A paragraph includes 5-7 complete sentences! After writing a paragraph, always check your paragraph for mistakes (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.) 3 paragraphs

What is a complete sentence? This is a complete sentence. A complete sentence includes at least 1+ subject (noun, pronoun) and at least 1+ verb! Verb! Subject!

Complete Sentences? Incomplete (Fragment) Complete! Aomar from Algeria. Is from Afghanistan. Adriana clubbing on the weekends. Monika an iPad. Katka from Czech Republic. Our teacher, Rebecca, from Cincinnati. Sothea a customer service job. Is from Senegal. Is an incomplete sentence!

What is a paragraph? 3 paragraphs A paragraph is a short piece of writing that includes one (or maybe two or three) main ideas. A paragraph includes 5-7 complete sentences! The first sentence (topic sentence) usually introduces your main idea. After writing a paragraph, always check your paragraph for mistakes (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.) 3 paragraphs

Writing a Paragraph Write a paragraph in which you explain: 1) whether/if your native language is stress-timed or syllable- timed. 2) any problems you have with intonation/word stress in English! Give an example (or more than one example)! Also, ask any questions you may have about English intonation/word stress.

Example Paragraph My name is Abdoulaye. I am from Mauritania. I speak five languages, but in this paragraph I will write about my fourth language, French. French is a stress-timed language. English is also a stress-timed language. This is good news for me. Unfortunately, I often cannot understand which syllables are stressed in English words. For example, when I read a new word like “mania,” I do not know which syllable to stress when I pronounce the word. I need to practice speaking my English with Native Speakers of English who can help me with my pronunciation. One question I have is, are there any rules for the pronunciation of English words?

Pronunciation Rules  To Be Continued! Type of Word Pattern Examples Most 2-syllable nouns Stress on FIRST syllable CONtext, PAper, Visa Most 2-syllable verbs Stress on SECOND syllable apPLY, creATE, reLAX Most 3-syllable words ending in: -ATE, -IZE, -ISE FANtasize, EXercise, REalize, MODernize, CElebrate Most 4-5 syllable words ending in –ATE or -OUS Stress on the SECOND syllable conTINuous, eNORmous, apPREciate, exTERminate Words that end in suffixes such as –ic, -ical, -ual, -tion, -ity, -ogy, -ian, -tal Stress on the syllable BEFORE the suffix aniMAtion, creAtion, phySIcian, maGIcian, MUsical Words that end in suffixes such as –eer and -ee Stress on the FINAL syllable engiNEER, pioNEER, guaranTEE, forSEE

Practice! In groups, add more examples to each category. Practice your pronunciation aloud, and think about STRESS!

Do reasons for learning English vary (change) according to country? Do all people have the same reasons for learning English (the same language learning goals)? What do you think?

This speaker is discussing WHY so many people want to learn English! English Mania! What is mania??? = Mania?!

What do you think?! In your groups, discuss: Do you agree with the speaker’s ideas? Do you think his description of “English mania” is accurate or true? Why or why not? Do you think that every country has a different need for English? Do you think that “English mania” is a good thing for the world? Why or why not? What happens when languages disappear and nobody speaks them anymore??

Complete this table on PAPER and give it to me before you leave! What do I know about…? What did I learn from this class / last class about…? What do I still want to learn about…? Content and function/structure words Complete Sentences Paragraphs Pronunciation Rules

Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory http://www.butterflyshow.com/ Also, remember about the Free ESL Conversation Group on Mondays and Tuesdays, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in ATLC 102!

Check your email! Today, I emailed everybody a list of language learning websites to help you with writing, reading, listening and speaking in English! I will email you this PPT as well!

Have a wonderful week and weekend! Homework: Pay attention to the intonation patterns of Native Speakers (NS) of English! etc. Which words did you notice? Optional: If you would like to write down your observations/thoughts about these intonation patterns, I would be happy to give you feedback on your writing.