Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

1. Understand the development of pronunciation skills as a process that involves determination of purpose, selection and adjustment of strategies, comprehension checks, and integration of prior with new knowledge to address the purpose.
2. Recognize how stress, intonation, and rhythm are used in spoken English.
3. Produce stress, intonation, and rhythm of spoken English to communicate meaning.
4. Produce understandable intermediate level English and identify pronunciation problems that interfere with communication.

Class time includes a combination of lecture, listening, pronunciation activities, and discussion. Other activities, such as interviews, role plays and group projects reinforce content and language topics. Homework includes preparation for all the above as well as background reading and study for quizzes and tests.

The following assessment strategies may be used to determine a student’s competency in pronunciation:

Speaking

1. Grade short prepared presentations in terms of intelligibility.
2. Assess impromptu speaking assignments in terms of intelligibility.
3. Evaluate pronunciation using online voice recording applications, such as Wimba.
4. Assess student communication in group or pair work, such as discussions or group presentations.
5. Evaluate rhythm by listening to students read a poem.
6. Conduct one-on-one oral interviews of each student.
7. Assess assignments requiring communication with fluent speakers of English, such as surveys, interviews or conversation groups.
8. Evaluate student skits or role plays in terms of intelligibility.
9. Assess students’ in-class participation.

Listening

1. Assess listening exercises (final consonants, sound substitutions, reductions)
2. Assess complete sentence and fill-in-the-blank dictations
3. Test students’ ability to distinguish English phonemes (sounds)

Other

1. Evaluate comprehension of readings related to lectures/class discussion
2. Factor in attendance/tardiness as part of the grade

A.  Consonants, Vowels, Stress and Intonation

B.  Grammar and Vocabulary

C.  Critical Thinking Skills

D. Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

Competencies and Skills

A.  Consonants, Vowels, Stress and Intonation

1.  pronounce word endings to enhance comprehensibility

2.  recognize common sound substitutions: e.g. i/I, ʌ/æ, θ/s and l/r sounds

3. produce contrasting phonemes needed to enhance comprehensibility

4.  recognize syllables and be able to separate words into syllables to aid 

     comprehension

5. recognize and select the appropriate words that carry the stress within a sentence

6. understand and use English intonation patterns and pauses in statements, questions, imperatives, and exclamations

7. understand and produce common reduced speech

8. correct own mispronunciation following a teacher’s model

9.  use the IPA to improve speaking skills

10.  identify and orally produce most of the sounds in the IPA (consonants, vowels, diphthongs)

B.  Grammar and Vocabulary

1.  distinguish and use commonly confused verbs (do and make, say and tell)

2.  use correct word order

3.  use verb tenses accurately to describe events in the past, present, and future

4.  use question and negative forms correctly

5.  use some common idioms, phrasal verbs, and collocations

C.  Critical Thinking Skills

1.  avoid plagiarism

2.  use strategies to reinforce and develop listening/speaking skills

3.  read and follow directions

4.  recognize own L1 interference in pronunciation

D.   Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

1. use a variety of non-verbal and verbal cues to indicate comprehension or a breakdown of comprehension

2. pay attention to listener’s responses and reactions to check comprehension

3. adjust vocabulary, volume, pace, eye contact or body language based on listener needs  

4. begin to develop strategies to achieve intelligibility