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AN ANALYSIS OF PRONUNCIATION MATERIALS AND
EXERCISES IN REBECCA M. DAUER’S ACCURATE
ENGLISH AND ITS CONTRIBUTION FOR
TEACHING PRONUNCIATION
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement
for Gaining the Degree of Bachelor in English Language Education
By :
RAHMAT EDI SETIAWAN
Student’s Number : 073411044
EDUCATION FACULTY
WALISONGO STATE INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES
2011
THESIS PROJECT STATEMENT
I am, the student with the following identity:
Name : Rahmat Edi Setiawan
Student Number : 073411044
Department : English Language Education
certify that this is definitely my own work. I am completely responsible for the
content of this thesis. Other writer’s opinions or findings included in the thesis are
quoted or cited in accordance with ethical standards.
Semarang, June 20, 2011
The Writer
RAHMAT EDI SETIAWAN
Student Number: 073411044
MOTTO
.
“...Allah does not change a people’s lot unless they change what is in their
hearts...”
(QS. Ar-Ra’du: 11).1
1Departemen Agama RI, Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya, (Bandung: CV. Diponegoro,
2000), p. 199.
DEDICATION
I have the deepest excitement of dedicating this thesis to:
1 My beloved mother (Khasanah) and father (Nur Rosyid), thanks for
giving me love, pray, support, advice, and everything, love you so
much.
2 Shohibul alamah al Haq, Abi Asyhadi al Maghfurlah, thanks for your
love.
3 Mas Syahid and Mas Fattah, thanks a lot for the inspiration.
4 My brothers and my sisters (Mas Hedi, Mbak Sutri, Novita Sari, Reza
Syaifur Rohman)
5 Abah Subkhi Abadi al Hajj, Ummi Mulyati, and Gus Arif Muslihuddin
who always give me good advice.
6 My Second family in Miftahussa’adah (Pak Ali, Pak Salman, Pak
Imam, Kg. Sorien, Kg. Jhon, Kg. Gun, Kg. Wahib, Kg. Zainuri, Kg.
Salam, Kg. Iman, Kg. Sardi, Umam, Arlon, Habib, Ivo, mbak. Tri,
mbak Muna, mbak A’am, Indah, mbak Titi, mbak Zahro, mbak Ziya,
Naili, mbak Eva, Khamim, etc.), keep spirit to do the best.
7 The warriors of Affection Community Management (Zudit and Wahib
(er_RASMUSE), Sonief, Iman, and Rozi (ARZOENA), Gus Pulung,
Raden Ikhsan, Yahim, and Gus Aziz (POLLY), Ferdin, Joko, Ryan,
Pato (LOST CONTROL)) Don’t be ever tired to get success.
8 All of my friend in TBI 2007, especially they are in class B. You all
are the best for me.
9 My best friend, Maftuchah an Nikmah. Reach your best future, girl.
10 My living partners in Sony Sugema College, LP3i Course Center, and
MTs MIFTASA Mijen. Thanks for your understandings.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Bismillahirrohmanirrohim
The first of all, the writer would like to express his sincere thanks to
almighty Allah SWT who has given health, blessing, inspirations, and guidance to
the writer in finishing this thesis with the title: “An Analysis of Pronunciation
Materials and Exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate English and Its
Contribution for Teaching Pronunciation”
This thesis is arranged or made to fulfill one of requirements to get the
degree of Bachelor of Islamic Education in English Language Department of State
Institute for Islamic Studies Walisongo Semarang (IAIN Walisongo). The aim of
this study to analyze what aspects are correct to decide whether the pronunciation
materials and exercises in Accurate English, A Complete Course in Pronunciation,
written by Rebecca M. Dauer and published by Prentice Hall Regents, are
appropriate in teaching pronunciation or not.
The writer realizes that he cannot complete this thesis the guidance,
advice, suggestion, and encouragement for many people during the writing on
thesis. In occasion, the writer would like to thank to:
1) The Dean of Tarbiyah Faculty of IAIN Walisongo Semarang Dr. Suja’I,
M.Ag.
2) Siti Tarwiyah, S.S, M. Hum. as the head of the English Department of
Tarbiyah Faculty IAIN Walisongo Semarang
3) Muhammad Nafi’ Annury, M.Pd. as the First advisor who always gives
attention and good guidance in arranging this thesis.
4) Dr. Musthofa, M.Ag as the second advisor who also gives attention and good
guidance in arranging this thesis.
5) The lectures of the English Department of Tarbiyah Faculty IAIN Walisongo
Semarang that have given knowledge and experiences to the writer.
6) All of my friends who give spirit and motivation to the writer to finish this
thesis and everyone who helps the writer finishing this thesis.
Finally, the writer realizes that this thesis is still less perfect. The writer
hopes any suggestions and criticisms to make it perfect. The writer hopes this
thesis can be useful for the improvement of English teaching learning process,
especially for the writer himself and for the readers in general.
The writer,
Rahmat Edi Setiawan
Student Number: 073411044
ABSTRACT
Title : An Analysis of Pronunciation Materials and
Exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate English
and Its Contribution for Teaching Pronunciation
Writer : Rahmat Edi Setiawan
Student Number : 073411044
The smallest unit of a language is the sound. Pronunciation is the way how
sounds are produced. Pronunciation not only refers to the speech sounds in the
mouth, but also stresses the way how sounds are noticed by hearing. In learning
English, we must pay attention to pronunciation because it is an urgent aspect of
each individuality. So, pronunciation in the second language curriculum is an
integral part of oral communication.
The objective of the research was to analyze in what aspects the
pronunciation materials and exercises in Accurate English, A Complete Course in
Pronunciation, written by Rebecca M. Dauer and published by Prentice Hall
Regents, are appropriate in teaching pronunciation.
In this research, the researcher used library research approach, which
analyzed materials and exercises (textbook evaluation) or content analysis. The
sources of data in this analysis were the pronunciation materials and exercises
found in “Accurate English, a complete course in pronunciation written by
Rebecca M. Dauer and published by Prentice Hall Regents.”
The result of analysis shows that the aims of pronunciation materials in
Accurate English are to support learning and teaching, as information for students,
to support learning and teaching and to give influence on students’ understanding;
the type of the pronunciation materials in Accurate English is published materials;
there are several methods which the researcher considers should be used to teach
the pronunciation materials in Accurate English text book. They are the silent
way, audio lingual method, and communicative language teaching; there are clear
teacher’s guides, and help on method activities, there are sufficient provision
made for test and revision. It shows that the pronunciation materials in the text
book are teachable; the levels of students’ understanding are various. They are
elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels; the aims of pronunciation
exercises in Accurate English are to follow-up of students' understanding, to
measure students' skills, and to provide feedback and motivate students to study
harder, especially in pronunciation; there are several exercises which apply the
Controlled Exercise, while the other exercises which are apply the Guided
Exercise; the characteristics of the pronunciation exercises in Accurate English
are inputting material used in the task, roles of the participants, actions or what is
to happen in the task, monitoring after actions, and outcomes as the goal of the
task, feedback given as evaluation to participants; the language skills which are
involved in Accurate English are all language skills; Listening, Speaking,
Reading, and Writing; and most pronunciation exercises in Accurate English are
appropriated with the pronunciation materials in the textbook.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title ……………….…………………………………………………………. i
Thesis Statement ……………………………………………………….......... ii
Ratification Note………….……………………………………………………... iii
Advisor Note ………………………………………………………………...... iv
Motto …………………………………………………………………………...... vi
Dedication ……………………………………………………………………... vii
Acknowledgement …...………………………………..……………………. viii
Abstract ………. …………………………………..………………………… x
Table of Content ………………………………………………………………. ………… xi
Chapter I : Introduction …………………………………………………..
1
A. Background of The Research ………………………………. 1
B. Question of The Research ………………………………..... 3
C. Objective and Benefit of The Research ……………………. 3
D. Previous Research ………………..……………………....... 4
E. Theoretical Framework …………………………………… 6
F. Method of The Research ………............................................ 15
Chapter II : Overview of Pronunciation and Related Language Skills
19
A. Overview of Pronunciation ……………………………… 19
B. Overview of Related Language Skills ……………………. 23
Chapter III: Description of Accurate English Text Book ………...…….
25
A. Introduction to Accurate English Text Book ……...……... 25
B. General Description of Materials in Accurate English Text
Book ……………………………...……………………….
C. Types of Exercises in Accurate English Text Book ...…….
27
29
Chapter IV : The Appropriateness of The Pronunciation Materials
and Exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate English
for Teaching Pronunciation ……………………………….
32
A. The Pronunciation Materials and Exercises in Rebecca M.
Dauer’s Accurate English ………………….…………......
32
B. The Appropriateness Aspects of Pronunciation Materials
and Exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate English
for Teaching Pronunciation ………..…………………......
73
Chapter V : Conclusions and Suggestions ………………..……………….
78
A. Conclusions ……………………………………………...... 78
B. Suggestions ……………………………………………...... 80
References
List of Table
List of Picture
Curriculum Vitae
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of The Research
English is one part of the educational curriculum in Indonesia that
should be mastered by teachers, especially English teachers, then, taught to the
students. As we have seen, English is the international language. In Indonesia,
English is the first foreign language. This is one of the required subjects from
elementary school to university level. It does not just play a role in students
learning process, but also has an important role for teacher in English teaching
process. In Indonesia, many people who cannot speak English take English
courses for their profession demands. This is a sign that English has been an
important language in achieving a better career.
As a foreign language, English has four skills (reading, listening,
writing, and speaking) that have to be understood even mastered by the
students. From these skills, listening is a skill that felt difficult to be mastered,
because it needs more attention and concentration to comprehend the sounds
(listening material). Besides, it is because listening is primarily crucial oral
communication for humans.
Allah Azza wa Jalla said in His sacred Book:
“And the example of those who disbelieve is as that of him who shouts to the
(flock of sheep) that hears nothing but calls and cries. (They are) deaf, dumb
and blind. So they do not understand”. (Al Baqarah/2: 171)1
1 M. Quraish Shihab, Tafsir al-Mishbah, (Jakarta: Lentera Hati, 2002), vol.1, p. 383.
2
From the verse above, it can be concluded that hearing carefully (listening) is
a process to start mind. Equally, by listening we can learn and understand
many lessons, especially, conveyed from someone’s speech.
The smallest unit of a language is the sound. Pronunciation is the way
how sounds are produced. Pronunciation not only refers to the speech sounds
in the mouth, but also stresses the way how sounds are noticed by hearing.2 In
learning English, we must pay attention to pronunciation because it is an
urgent aspect of each individuality. So, pronunciation in the second language
curriculum is an integral part of oral communication.
Book is the most important resource which teachers use in their
teaching. Therefore, the available of text book is essential in education. A
textbook has a great role in teaching and learning process. It is like a guide for
teacher in teaching and it can be a reference for learners in learning. A text
book should be able to adapt materials and exercises to be suitable for the
conditions.3 Thus, whatever the teaching method is used, a teacher must make
a text book as guidance in the instruction because, basically, other teaching
resources, such as the internet, are originated from the role of the book.
Accurate English is a textbook and reference guide to the English
pronunciation as it is spoken by educated native speakers in fluent speech.
Theory and materials is reinforced by several exercises such as practicing
dialogues, reading passages, and oral presentations. The goal of this book is to
improve students’ English pronunciation and listening comprehension so that
they can understand easily what native speakers say in both formal and
informal situations. Accurate English is divided into introductory materials
and four main sections – vowels, stress and rhythm, consonants, and
intonation. Teachers, thus, can focus on what their students need.4 Because of
these problems, researchers tried to compare the quality of this book with the
2 Jack Richards, et.al., Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics, (London: Longman,
1990), p. 232. 3 Razia Fakir Muhammad, “ Effective Use of Textbook : Neglected Aspect of Education in
Pakistan “, Journal of Education for International Development, (31 September 2007), p. 66. 4 Rebecca M. Dauer, Accurate English, a Complete Course in Pronunciation, (New
Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1993), p. vii.
3
other pronunciation books in the teaching and learning pronunciation.
Researchers saw that the teachers rarely use this book in teaching
pronunciation.
Overcoming the habits of native language, especially in pronunciation,
is not easy. It requires understanding, continuous practice, and the desire to
change. Learning that are designed to help learners modify their speech-
pronunciation patterns and develop effective language skills often describe an
interaction of the learner-teacher partnership. In pronunciation, the teacher
does not teach but facilitates learning by using learner-centered way.5
B. Questions of The Research
In this research, the researcher analyzed pronunciation based on the
following major questions:
1. In what aspects are the pronunciation materials in Accurate English
appropriate for teaching pronunciation?
2. In what aspects are the pronunciation exercises in Accurate English
appropriate for teaching pronunciation?
C. Objective and Benefit of The Research
The objective of the research was to analyze in what aspects the
pronunciation materials and exercises in Accurate English, A Complete
Course in Pronunciation, written by Rebecca M. Dauer and published by
Prentice Hall Regents, are appropriate for teaching pronunciation.
There are also benefits in this research for several elements connecting
with teaching and learning process. They are as follows:
5 Joan Morley, Pronunciation Pedagogy and theory: New Views, New Directons,
(Alexandria: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc, 1994), p. 88.
4
1. For the researcher.
For the researcher, it is expected that it will be useful knowledge and
experience for the researcher when he will begin his profession as a
teacher in teaching pronunciation in the future time.
2. For the teacher
By doing this research, the researcher hopes that it will be useful to
give contribution of developing and improving teaching especially in
teaching pronunciation. Moreover, the researcher hopes teacher can use
some appropriate materials and exercises in teaching pronunciation.
Therefore, the students will get better achievement.
3. For the students
By appropriate materials and exercises in teaching pronunciation
hopefully the students will improve their English skills. They may
improve their English since they can learn English through a lot of sources
that they like and understand easily such as practice their English sounds
with some interesting methods prepared by the teachers in teaching
pronunciation.
D. Previous Research
There are some previous researches which related to this research, they
are:
The research thesis was be written by Nugrahani, S.A. (2201403021),
a student from Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Bahasa dan
Sastra, State University of Semarang. His research title is The Reading
Materials in Look Ahead Textbook for The Tenth Year Students of Senior High
School, An Analysis Texts of Generic Structure and The Lexicogrammatical
Features in year of 2008. This study analyzed the materials, which are found
in the textbook. The result of the research is that there are 20 reading materials
in Look Ahead text book. Based on the result, the conclusion of the study
5
explained that the textbook is relevant to the objectives of English teaching,
especially in reading skill.6
The similarity between her research and the writer’s is on the research
approach. The difference is on the objective of the research; her objective
research stresses reading skill, while the writer stresses pronunciation.
The research thesis was be written by Nur Laelatut Taqwa (3104224),
a student from Faculty of Tarbiyah, State Institute for Islamic Studies
Walisongo, Semarang. Her research title is Analysis of Speaking Exercises in
Look Ahead I, An English Course for Senior High School Student Year X
Published by Erlangga in year of 2009. The result of the research is the
speaking exercises in the ‘Look Ahead 1 “ are relevant with some criteria of
speaking exercise in term of kinds of test, kinds of speaking classroom, teach
ability, the aims, kinds of practice exercise.7
The similarity between her research and the writer’s is on the research
approach. The difference is on the objective of the research; her objective
research stresses speaking skill, while the writer stresses pronunciation.
The research thesis was be written by Ema Yanuarti (04420077), a
student from Faculty of Language and Art Education, IKIP PGRI, Semarang.
Her research title is The Use of Reading Aloud in Teaching Pronunciation (A
Case Study of The Sixth Grade Students of SD N Sendangguwo 03 Semarang
in The Academic Year 2008/2009) in year of 2008. In this research, she used
reading aloud as a drill in teaching pronunciation. The result of this study is
reading aloud is effective to teach pronunciation. It is proved by percentage of
post-test after being taught by reading aloud is good.8
6 See in Nugrahani, S. A. (2201403021), “The Reading Materials in Look Ahead
Textbook for the Tenth Year Students of Senior High School, An Analysis Text of Generic
Structure and the Lexicogrammatical Features.” Unpublished Thesis, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa
Inggris, Fakultas Bahasa dan Sastra, State University of Semarang, 2008. 7 See in Nur Laelatut Taqwa (3104224), “Analysis of speaking exercises in Look Ahead
I, an English Course for Senior High School Student Year X published by Erlangga.” Faculty of
Tarbiyah, State Institute for Islamic Studies Walisongo, Semarang, 2009. 8 See in Ema Yanuarti (04420077), “The Use of Reading Aloud in Teaching
Pronunciation (A Case Study of the Sixth Grade Students of SDN Sendangguwo 03 Semarang in
6
The similarity between her research and the writer’s is on the objective
of the research, it is teaching pronunciation. The difference is on the research
approach and method of collecting the data.
E. Theoretical Framework
1. Text Book
a. Definition of Text Book
Hornby defines “textbook is a book that gives instruction in a
branch of learning.”9 A textbook is to help the teacher in explaining
the lesson and make his or her students easier in understanding the
lesson given. Each lesson needs at least one textbook and a teacher
may use some additional books to support this textbook and to have
his or her students discuss some materials and exercises.
There is a relation between teacher and textbook. The relation
between teacher and textbook is important and it is an interaction that
can bring to reach teaching and learning aims.10
A text book provides
a plan for learning, a clear description of what is to be learned in the
classroom as a resource place of materials and exercises. The text
book is best seen as a resource in gaining objectives that have already
been set in learners’ needs.
b. The Functions of Text Book
A text book has many functions for teachers in order to run the
teaching and learning process well, or it has an important role for
students in teaching and learning process. Grant in his book, Making
The Most of your Textbook, says that textbook has several useful jobs,
there are as follows:
the Academic Year 2008/2009).” Faculty of Language and Art Education, IKIP PGRI, Semarang,
2008. 9 Hornby, et.al., Textbook. Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English,
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1974), p. 893. 10
Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting ELF Teaching Materials, (London:
Heineman Educational Press, 1984), p. 1.
7
1) It can identify what should be taught or learned.
2) It can indicate what methods should be used.
3) It can provide materials needed.
4) It can help the teacher to explain.
5) It can act as very useful learning- aid for the students. 11
c. Kinds of Text Book
Grant categorizes a text book into two categories. They are
traditional course books, and communicative course books.
1) Traditional Course book
The traditional course book tries to get students to learn the
language as a system. It has several characteristics as follows:
a) It emphasizes the forms or patterns of language (grammatical
feature) more than the communicative functions of language.
b) It focuses on reading and writing activities, rather than
listening and speaking activities.
c) It often deals with the use of first language.
d) It emphasizes the important of accuracy.
e) It focuses on syllabus and examinations.
f) It interests some teachers, because it seems easy to use.
2) Communicative Course books
Communicative course book has the following
characteristics:
a) It emphasizes the communicative functions of language.
b) It tries to prepare the students’ needs and interests.
c) It emphasizes skills in using the language.
d) It usually has a good balance among the four language skills,
but many emphasize in listening and speaking.
e) It is very specific in its aims.
f) It reflects the language of everyday life.
g) It encourages work in groups or pairs.
11
Neville Grant, Making The Most of Your Textbook, (New York : Longman, 1989), p. 8.
8
h) It emphasizes not only accuracy, but also fluency. 12
Based on Grant’s opinion, the researchers concluded that the
second category is suitable for use by teachers to teach pronunciation
because pronunciation is a part of language and one of language
functions is as communication among the people. In addition, the
second category does not just learn the theory as a system, but also
encourages the students to practice what they have learned.
2. Auditory Learning
a. Definition of Auditory Learning
According to Bobbi Deporter and Mike Hernacki “Auditory
learning is learning by listening.”13
It means that auditory learning is a
learning style which a person learns through listening. Auditory
learning is a teaching method that designed toward students whose
learning style is aimed more toward the acquisition of information
through hearing rather than by sight.
Auditory learners must be able to hear what is being said in
order to understand and may have difficulty with instructions written.
They also use their listening and repeating skills to choose the
information sent to them. The use of audio media strongly supports
mastery learning. Slow learning students who can play again and
repeat the parts that have not mastered. On the other hand, students
who can learn quickly can go forward as the rate of learning speed.14
b. The Techniques of Auditory Learning
Learning materials recorded have been widely available for a
variety of disciplines. For example, voice recording of various music
types can be used to tell to children, play, role play, songs, and others.
Although there is no standard procedure on the use of audio materials,
12
Neville Grant, Making The Most of Your Textbook, p. 13-14. 13
Bobbi Deporter and Mike Hernacki, Quantum Learning, (New York: Dell Publishing,
1992), p. 113. 14
Azhar Arsyad, Media Pembelajaran, (Jakarta: PT. Raja Grafindo Persada, 2003), p.
148.
9
it should be served by following the usual steps done when using the
material in other forms. The steps are as follows:
1. Preparing ourselves. Teachers plan and prepare themselves before
the presentation of the material. The ways to prepare ourselves are
by examining and trying out the material, making notes about
important things covered in the audio material, and deciding what
will be used to increase interest, attention, and motivation of
students.
2. Arousing students' readiness. Students are led to have a readiness
in hearing, for example by giving early comments and questions;
identifying the material, participants, or condition that occurs
during production; discussing with students about topic so
causing some key questions where the answers can be obtained
from the audio material.
3. Listening to audio material. Guide students to have the experience
of hearing with the appropriate time. Encourage students to listen
quietly, to focus on audio material, to listen with an opened mind
and a will, and to link what is heard by the questions discussed.
4. Discussing audio material. After hearing the material, an informal
discussion is started by asking general questions.
5. Following-up program. In general, discussion and evaluation,
after listening to the material, terminate hearing activities.
However, it is expected students will be motivated to learn more
about the lesson by reading a text book, watching a movie having
connection, or doing other activities related to the contents of the
audio material. 15
If the techniques were readily implemented by each teacher,
the teacher will make it into a creative teacher, will not give up to
create something different and new to teaching and learning
process, so that students will feel happy and will not feel the
15
Azhar Arsyad, Media Pembelajaran, p. 149 – 151.
10
boredom faced the content being learned. Especially in learning
pronunciation, students will be able to better understand the
material because in addition to reading a text book, they can hear
what were said native speakers through the audio learning.
Audio media relates with the development of skills related to
aspects of listening skills. Skills that can be achieved with the use of
audio media include:
1. Concentrating and sustaining attention.
2. Following the briefing.
3. Doing the power of analysis.
4. Determining the meaning of context.
5. Choosing relevant and irrelevant information.
6. Summarizing or restating the information. 16
In addition, the use of audio media should be considered in the
teaching of foreign languages. Students can listen to recorded voice of
native speakers which are studied as a model in practice of
pronunciation. Voice and pronunciation of the students themselves
were recorded and compared with existing models (sound recordings
of native speakers). Students can record their voice during practice so
they are able to listen back to recordings of their voice, to analyze and
to improve the aspects considered less.
3. Teaching Pronunciation
There are various factors figuring clearly in renewal of pronunciation
teaching. One is a growing recognition of learner problems and supplying
learner needs. The second factor is the emergence of new instructional
designs in pronunciation teaching.17
In teaching pronunciation, the teacher should pay attention to some
areas in which phonemic differences in second language may not be
solved because of interference from first language habits. The teacher
16
Azhar Arsyad, Media Pembelajaran, p. 44. 17
Ramelan, English Phonetics, (Semarang: IKIP Semarang Press, 1985), p. 68.
11
should aim to establish the ability to hear the sound difference in order the
learners are able to differ it well.18
Linguists have shown that language in
mainly speech and recent approaches to language teaching including the
teaching of pronunciation.
Strevents commented in the realm of Pronunciation, the
interrelations between learning and teaching are intricately entwined.
Every word, every syllable, every sound uttered by the teacher may
contribute to the learning of pronunciation, not only when the
teacher is deliberately and overtly concentrating on teaching
Pronunciation, but equally when he believes that he is the putting the
weight of the teaching onto questions of grammar or vocabulary, or
when he is just easing the class a long by an exchange of greetings,
or telling a little story.19
Morley stated that the aim of teaching pronunciation in order that
students are hoped to be able to improve their understandings to the speech
features. Second, students are able to communicate using English with
another people. Their self-confidence, hopefully, will be increased through
teaching and learning process of pronunciation. In another word, students
will be taught how to use speech organs correctly, it is important because
when people are speaking a language, they can convey the message or
information. In addition, learners are going to study how to modify their
speech.20
Pronunciation is important for students who learn English because it
includes sub-components of English language skills, particularly speaking
and listening. Like makhorijul huruf in Arabic, with good pronunciation,
we can speak with native speakers fluently. In addition, we can also listen
to what they say it well. Therefore, the quality of teaching pronunciation is
needed for the process of teaching and learning English.
There are some techniques for teaching pronunciation:
18
Lim Kiat Boey, An Introduction to Linguists for The Language Teacher, (Singapore:
Singapore University Press, 1975), p. 96. 19
Joan Morley, Pronunciation Pedagogy and theory: New Views, New Directons,
(Alexandria: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc, 1994), p. 67. 20
Marcus Outlowsky, “Pronunciation: What Are The Expectations?” The Internet TESL
Journal, Vol. IV, Number 1, January 1998, p. 3. http://itesllj.org/articles/outlowsky-
pronunciation.html, on Sunday, December 20, 2009.
12
a) Allowing clear practice in production and giving feedback to individual
learners to solve their problems.
b) Allowing discussion on learning strategies for pronunciation which can
be drawn up in the classroom.
c) Making a communicative exercise for learners to deliver their speech.
d) Convincing the learners because many language learners usually feel
uncertain with their pronunciation.
e) Making activities with learners in order to be very useful and fun.
f) Paying attention to the accuracy of students' pronunciation.
g) Some activities should be an integral part of any language teaching as
they make pronunciation an active element of the learning process. 21
The researcher agrees with the combination of text book and auditory
learning in the process of teaching and learning pronunciation. Text book
is as a theory of learning and a source of activities for learner's practice.
While through auditory learning, students can practice what they have
already got from the text book.
a. Pronunciation Material
Material is information or ideas in a book. The careful selection
of materials is important for teachers in teaching activities. Materials
exist in order to support learning and teaching, so they should be
designed to suit the students and the processes involved.22
A teacher must be careful in choosing the material in the text
book to teach their students later. He must be able to customize the
material to the level of student understanding. If students are difficult
to understand the material that has been taught, it means that the
material was ineffective. If it happens, the teacher must be creative in
using teaching methods to convey the material to students. It greatly
affects aspects of learning and student understanding.
21
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. III, No. 1, January 1997,
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Dalton-Pronunciation.html, on Thursday, November 4, 2010. 22
Djoko Susanto, Teaching Indonesian Language in Australia, A Methodological
Perspective of Primary English Teaching in Indonesia, (Malang: UIN Malang Press, 2009), p. 39.
13
Types of materials can be classified into four: a) published
materials; b) teacher-produced materials; c) authentic materials; and d)
students materials. These will be discussed below.
a) Published materials refer explicitly to textbooks. The teacher
efforts use the published materials are to make them: (a) attractive
– in terms of topic, lay out and illustration; (b) reliable – in terms of
overall choice and sequencing of what is taught, the correctness of
information, and the dependability of the exercises and activities;
and (c) user-friendly – in giving students security for class work
and homework. Published materials, however, cannot provide (a)
insight – into the interest and needs of any specific students; (b)
decisions – about which materials to use, and which to change;
supplement, or leave out; (c) creativity – to use the materials as the
students learn to speak for themselves.
b) Teacher-produced materials. In most teaching situation, the most
important role of teacher-produced materials is to bridge the gap
between the classroom and the world outside. In such cases, the
results of teacher-produced materials should be that: (a) the use of
the target language is related to the world outside the classroom;
and (b) there is authentic communication between learners.
c) Authentic materials refer to examples of language that were not
originally produced for language learning purposes but which are
now being used in that way. There are two reasons why authentic
materials are so important. The first reason is language itself.
Authentic materials represent the actual goal of language learning
including the difficulties that learning materials avoid. All learners
have practice in meeting the real challenges. Even at the early
stages, students should learn how to respond to language which
they do not fully understand. The second reason is motivation.
Authentic materials bring the means of learning and the purpose of
14
learning closer together, and this establishes a direct link between
the world outside and the classroom.
d) The last type of materials is student materials. There are two ways
of thinking about students materials: (a) learning materials
produced by the students – the students use their own knowledge
and personal background to produce learning materials for their
classmates; (b) students as materials – for example the classroom
contains real people wearing their clothes, and this can be the basis
of extended practice. 23
b. Pronunciation Exercise
“Exercise is activity intended for training or testing.”24
Exercise
is a follow-up of students' understanding to the material that has been
taught by the teacher. This is to measure students' skills in
understanding the material. In addition, the exercise also aims to
provide feedback on the students and motivate students to study
harder.
In practice of exercise, there are two kinds of the practice
exercise, they are:
a) Controlled exercise
A practice exercise in which the learners are told exactly is
what to do and how to do it. It is hoped the learners will do the
exercises correctly and will gain useful knowledge about the
language.
b) Guided exercises
Practice exercise in which the learners are told what to do and
then are given advice on how to do it. The learners have to make
23
Djoko Susanto, Teaching Indonesian Language in Australia, A Methodological
Perspective of Primary English Teaching in Indonesia, p. 40-41. 24
Hornby, Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, Third edition, (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2005), p. 149.
15
same decisions of their own words and to create their own
expressions. 25
In the pronunciation exercises, the teacher will evaluate the
production of the phonemes, vowels and consonants, the stress and the
intonation pattern of the target language.
F. Method of The Research
All research methods must need several book resources to make perfect
their researches. In this research, the researcher used library research approach
because the researcher has purpose to analyze if the pronunciation materials
and exercises in Accurate English, A Complete Course in Pronunciation,
written by Rebecca M. Dauer and published by Prentice Hall Regents, are
relevant with some pronunciation aspects in teaching pronunciation or not.
Library research is collecting library data which is representative and
relevant with object study; it can be book, journal, magazine, or newspaper.26
In library research, literature is more than just serving the functions that exist
in the field research. Library research uses book resources to the research data
collection. What is called with the library research is the series of activities
related to methods of library data collection
At least, there are 4 main features of the library research that need to be
considered by potential researchers and the four traits that will affect the
nature and methods of research:
1. Researchers deal directly with the text / numeric data rather than with
direct knowledge of the field / witnesses (Eyewitness) in the form of
events, people or other objects.
2. The data libraries are "ready-made". This means that researchers do not go
anywhere, except only dealing directly with the source material which is
already available in the library.
25
Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting ELF Teaching Materials, (London:
Heineman Educational Press, 1984), p. 82. 26
Sutrisno Hadi, Metodologi Research, (Yogyakarta: Andi Offset, 2004), jil. I, p. 63.
16
3. The data library is generally a secondary source. It means that the
researchers obtain material from second hand materials and original data
from the first hand in the field.
4. The condition of library data is not limited to space and time. This means
that whenever the researchers come and go, this data will never change
because it is already a data "dead" stored in the written record. 27
The sources of data in this analysis were the pronunciation materials
and exercises found in “Accurate English, a complete course in pronunciation
written by Rebecca M. Dauer and published by Prentice Hall Regents.” The
researcher analyzed whether pronunciation materials and exercises in
“Accurate English, a complete course in pronunciation written by Rebecca M.
Dauer and published by Prentice Hall Regents,” are appropriate in teaching
pronunciation or not.
The researcher used documentation study as data collection from
research project process. Document study refers to technique of collecting data
by gathering, reading, classifying, simplifying, and analyzing documents.28
As
a society that expresses the written word, we have many types of written
documents. Letters, notes, textbooks, newspapers, magazines are all
potentially useful documents. Documents are primarily written texts which
relate to some aspects of the research.
The technique in collecting data in this analysis included several
activities:
1. Reading
The first step of data collection procedure was reading the “Accurate
English, a Complete Course in Pronunciation”, written by Rebecca M.
Dauer and published by Prentice Hall Regents, 1993. The researcher read
all materials and exercises in the text book to find out what materials and
27
Mustika Zed, Metode Penelitian Kepustakaan, (Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia,
2004), p. 4. 28
http://www.answer.com/topic/documentationstudy%20data, on Sunday, October 31,
2010.
17
exercises are considered as the data. The data is taken from the materials
and exercises in the textbook.
2. Classifying
After reading the materials and exercises in the text book, the next
step was classification. The read and identified data was then classified
based on the competency and skill which are emphasized in the materials
and exercises of the text book.
3. Simplifying
To simplify the data, the researcher summarized the materials and
selected some exercise kinds in the text book and they will be analyzed.
4. Analyzing
The last activity of data collection was analyzing the summarized
and selected materials and exercises in the text book to find out whether
they are based on some aspects in teaching pronunciation or not.
In this research, the researcher needed several references which could
help to finish this research. It was purposed to help the researcher in data
collection and data analysis. There were some searches that the researcher did
in collecting references, among them as follows:
1. Looking for some books connecting with the research in library.
2. Looking for data or information connecting with the research from
internet.
3. Looking for some theses connecting with the research from library.
In this research, the researcher used library research approach, which
analyzed materials and exercises (textbook evaluation) or content analysis.
The text book analyzed was Accurate English, A Complete Course in
Pronunciation, written by Rebecca M. Dauer and published by Prentice Hall
Regents, to find out whether they are appropriate in teaching pronunciation or
not.
Content analysis simply defines the process of summarizing and
reporting written data, the main contents of data, and their messages. In other
18
word, it is a proper procedure for analysis, examinition and verification of the
contents of written data.29
The data has been collected since August 2010. In this research, the
researcher wanted to discover and analyze if the pronunciation materials and
exercises in Accurate English, a complete course in pronunciation, are
relevant with some pronunciation aspects in teaching pronunciation or not. by
the reason that the research will be appropriate by using library research as
research approach and documentation study as source of data collection also
using content analysis to analyze the collected data. These data could not be
expressed in numbers because this is library research, including qualitative
research. Therefore, the researcher made the procedure and time line of the
research result in sentences.
29
Louis Cohen, et.al., Research Method in Education, (USA: Routledge, 2007), p. 475.
25
CHAPTER III
DESCRIPTION OF ACCURATE ENGLISH TEXT BOOK
This chapter represents the description of the analyzed text book, Accurate
English, and the theories that support the writing of this thesis.
Accurate English, a complete course in pronunciation, was written by
Rebecca M. Dauer and published by Prentice Hall Regents, Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey 07632, in 1993. This text book has about 246 pages which consist of
contents, introduction, general description of materials, types of exercises, how to
use audio tapes, six teen chapters, for further reading, glossary, and index. In this
chapter, however, the researcher wrote down only four sections which include the
introduction ̶ about describing the purpose of writing the text book, most of the
material and exercises that will be discussed, and problems and solutions when
students learn pronunciation; general description of materials - drawing materials
to teach (for teachers) and to study (for students); types of exercises - there are
several types of exercises hoped to be able to help teachers and students in
teaching and learning pronunciation; and how to use audio tapes - cassette tape
describing recording the which accompanies the text. More detailed discussion
will be discussed below.
A. Introduction to Accurate English Text Book
Pronunciation is the way in which a language or a particular word or
sound is spoken. It reflects the present view that pronunciation in the
English as a Second Language curriculum is an integral part of oral
communication.
A textbook has a great role in teaching and learning process. It is like
a guide for teacher in teaching and it can be a reference for learners in
learning. English course book is considered to be the course of the study, the
guide on methods of instruction and the source of language.
26
Accurate English is a textbook and reference guide to the English
pronunciation as spoken by educated native speakers in fluent speech. The
vowels, consonants, rhythm, and intonation of English are taught using the
rules of articulatory phonetics. Students are led to learn these rules with
their own vocal system, using kinesthetic, visual, and auditory feedback.
Theory is reinforced by numerous practice exercises through phrases to
dialogues, reading passages, and oral presentations. In addition, spelling
patterns and rules for stress placement are included. The aim of this book is
to enable students to improve their English pronunciation so that they can
understand easily what native speakers say in formal and informal
situations.
This is suitable with other sources that explain the definition and the
role and function of the text book. Hornby defines “textbook is a book that
gives instruction in a branch of learning.”1 A textbook is to help the teacher
in explaining the lesson and make his or her students easier in understanding
the lesson given. Each lesson needs at least one textbook and a teacher may
use some additional books to support this textbook and to have his or her
students discuss some materials and exercises. The textbook should also
make suggestions for adapting activities and materials appropriate to their
specific context. The suggestions regarding alternative methods, approaches
and resources will facilitate teachers in their decision making regarding the
relevance of these activities and resources for their contextual realities.
Greene and Petty states that the functions of textbook are to give a
consistent reflection of a point of view; to serve as a source of teaching
context; to serve as a source of teaching method; to provide interesting drill;
to provide source of evaluation material.2
1 Hornby, et.al, Textbook. Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English,
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1974), p. 893. 2 See in Wahyu Tri Setyabudi, Text Structure Analysis of Text Types in English on Sky 2
for Junior High School Year VII, Published by Erlangga, Unpublished BA Thesis, Universitas
Negeri Semarang, 2007. P. 19.
27
This book is designed especially for adults who are non-native
speakers of English – in short, anyone who wants to achieve a near-native
accent. The level of the book is from elementary to advance. The book can
be used as the main text in a semester-long pronunciation course, as a
additional text in a listening-speaking, teacher-training, or speech
communication, as a teacher resource book, or private study.
Solving the habits of one’s native language, in pronunciation as well
as in other areas of language learning, is not easy. It requires understanding,
intensive practice, and the desire to change. Students may achieve a certain
level of communicative competence in everyday situations but still not be
well understood by native speakers in an intellectual discussion. Both
fluency and accuracy are necessary.
B. General Description of Materials in Accurate English Text Book
Material is information or ideas in a book. The careful selection of
materials is important for teachers in teaching activities. Materials exist in
order to support learning and teaching, so they should be designed to suit
the students and the processes involved.
In Accurate English, there are several overview and suggested plan of
materials to teach (for teachers) and to study (for students), they are:
a) Introduction and Diagnostic Speech Sample
In this chapter, each student should try to read the diagnostic
passage and to give a short speech in front of the class. Students
working with a private tutor might also want to record the vowels and
consonants in sentences and a reading for stress. The teacher can then
ask class members what problems they noticed in each other’s speech
and why some people were more difficult to understand than others.
b) Phonetic Alphabet and Vowels
The phonetic alphabet should be introduced (at least briefly) to
point out the difference between spelling and pronunciation and to
28
encourage students to use their dictionaries. Chapter 3, “Vowel
Overview”, follows logically because the vowel symbols tend to be
the most difficult to learn and clearly demonstrate the difference
between phonetic symbols and orthographic letters. Chapter 4 gives
intensive practice with vowels and their spelling, focusing on /ɪ, ə, ɚ,
ʊ/, which tend to be difficult for most students. Chapter 5 briefly
reviews the phonetic alphabet and vowels with dialogues for
additional practice of difficult vowel contrasts.
c) Stress and Rhythm
The chapters on stress and rhythm follow those on vowels
because vowel reduction is easier to explain after /ɪ/ and /ə/ have been
covered. Chapter 6, “Stress”, is very important. The teacher can try to
elicit the rules for stress placement by putting some examples on the
board, and the tables can be assigned for homework or lab. Chapter 7
is labeled “advanced” and can be skipped if time is limited or if the
vocabulary might present problems. The specific noun-verb word
pairs are not so important in themselves, but they do help students
understand vowel reduction. Chapter 8, “Rhythm”, is very important.
Most students are unaware that they must reduce function words and
link words together. Chapter 9 (advanced) involves breaking rules and
may be omitted in a class comprised of students who get upset or
confused by exceptions to rules.
After introducing compound nouns (Chapter 10) and reviewing
rhythm (Chapter 11), the teacher may choose to jump ahead to
intonation (Chapter 16) before going on to consonants. This order is
preferred if students are having more difficulty with intonation than
with consonants.
d) Consonants
Chapter 12 gives an overview of how consonants are made.
Most students can be led to produce the consonants correctly at least
once, even if they cannot integrate the new sounds into all words at
29
this point. This gives them confidence that they can do it and enables
them to master the individual sounds (Chapter 15) more quickly.
Chapter 13, “Differences Between Voiced and Voiceless
Consonants”, is important. Although some students have little
difficulty with aspiration, nearly all need work on vowel length. The
pronunciation of <ed> and <s> endings (Chapter 14) is also very
important and can be done at any time, although it is easier to explain
after the differences between voiced and voiceless consonants have
been understood. Chapter 15 gives intensive practice with consonants
that cause the most problems.
e) Intonation
This chapter covers the two most important aspects of
intonation, the location of sentence stress and basic pitch patterns.
Since stress and intonation are closely related, this chapter can be
done right after covering stress and before consonants. However,
when intonation is done at the end, it allows some review of stress and
rhythm.
C. Types of Exercises in Accurate English Text Book
“Exercise is activity intended for training or testing.”3 Exercise is a
follow-up of students' understanding to the material that has been taught by
the teacher. This is to measure students' skills in understanding the material.
In addition, the exercise also aims to provide feedback on the students and
motivate students to study harder.
In the Accurate English book, there are several types of exercises
hoped to be able to help teachers and students in teaching and learning
pronunciation. The types are:
3 Hornby, Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, Third edition, (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2005), p. 149.
30
a) To Do
These sections should be done in class together with the teacher
in an atmosphere of play and self-discovery. It takes some time to
develop awareness of one’s own vocal organs.
b) Practice
The minimal pair sentences can be taught in various ways; the
same order does not always have to be used.
1. Review how the sounds are made and the main differences
between them.
2. Students repeat each sentence after the teacher.
3. The teacher reads only one sentence randomly selected from
each pair and asks the class to indicate which they heard by
putting up one or two fingers.
4. The class breaks into pairs, preferably from different language
backgrounds, and practices the sentences.
Practice objectives to serve the physical component of learning.
This objective is the dimension of speech- pronunciation study and
includes the following three kinds of practices:
1. Speech-pronunciation practice. For maximum effect, speech-
pronunciation instruction must go far beyond imitation; it calls
for a mix of practice activities. Three kinds of speech practices
can be included from the very beginning; (a) imitative practice,
(b) rehearsed practice, and (c) different speaking practice.
2. Pronunciation-oriented listening practice. Specialized speech-
oriented listening tasks can help learners develop their auditory
reaction, their different listening skills for dimensions of speech-
pronunciation communicability, and their overall aural
comprehension of English.
31
3. Pronunciation sound-spelling practice. ESL students must learn
to relate spoken English and written English fluently and
accurately. 4
c) Exercises
These exercises can be done in class together, for homework, or
in groups. Homework exercises that are difficult may be checked
orally or from answers written on the board. Dialogues are good
practiced in pairs or threes (one listens and criticizes) or recorded in
the laboratory.
d) Oral Presentations
It is recommended that students give speeches at regular
intervals during the course to give them the opportunity to integrate
what they have learned into their speaking. These speeches can be
given at any time to fit in with the course schedule. Students should be
given about a week to prepare. 5
4 Joan Morley, Pronunciation Pedagogy and Theory: New Views, New Directons,
(Alexandria: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc, 1994), p. 83. 5 Rebecca M. Dauer, Accurate English, a Complete Course in Pronunciation, (New
Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1993), p. ix.
19
CHAPTER II
OVERVIEW OF PRONUNCIATION AND RELATED LANGUAGE
SKILLS
This chapter discusses general information about the pronunciation - which
includes the definition of pronunciation, the features of pronunciation, and the
problems of pronunciation. Then, this chapter also discusses the overview of
language-related skills - including speaking and listening.
A. Overview of Pronunciation
1. Definition of Pronunciation
“Pronunciation is the way in which a language or a particular word
or sound is spoken.”1 Pronunciation not only refers to the speech sounds in
the mouth, but also stresses the way how sounds are noticed by hearing.2
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or
the manner in which someone utters a word. A word can be spoken in
different ways by various individuals or groups, depending on many
factors, such as: the area in which they grew up, the area in which they
now live, if they have a speech or voice disorder, their ethnic group, their
social class, or their education. There is no single standard in
pronunciation. There are a number of regional pronunciations used in
different areas of different countries. It is accepted because cultivated
speech can exist in all regions.3
The researcher was interested in examining pronunciation because
the pronunciation is the basic of achievement of listening and speaking
1 Hornby, Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, Third edition, (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2005), p. 343. 2 Jack Richards, et.al., Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics, (London: Longman,
1990), p. 232. 3 Abraham and Betty Lass, Dictionary of Pronunciation, (New York: The New York
Times Book Co., 1976), p. 9.
20
skills are good. With good pronunciation, someone will be able to speak
well with native speakers and will understand what were said by them.
2. The Features of Pronunciation
In order to study how something operates it is often useful to break it
down into its constituent parts. The following diagram shows a breakdown
of the main features of pronunciation.
Features of Pronunciation
“Phonemes are the different sounds within a language.”4 Although
there are little differences how individuals express their sounds, we can
still describe reasonably how each sound is produced. When considering
meaning, we see how using one sound of word can change the meaning of
the word. It is a principle which provides us the number of phonemes in a
particular language.
The set of phonemes consists of two categories: vowel sounds and
consonant sounds. However, these do not necessarily correspond to the
4 Gerald Kelly, How to Teach Pronunciation, (Edinburg: Pearson Education Limited,
2000), p. 1.
Triphtongs
Diphtongs
Long
Short
Single
Unvoiced
Vowels
Voiced
Consonants
Sentence
Word
Stress Intonation
Suprasegmental
Features Phonemes
Features of
Pronunciation
21
vowels and consonants we are familiar with in the alphabet. Vowel sounds
are all voiced, and may be single, or a combination, involving a movement
from one vowel sound to another; such combinations are known as
diphtongs. An additional term used is triphtongs which describes the
combination of three vowel sounds. Single vowel sounds may be short or
long. The symbol /:/ shows a long sound. Consonant sounds may be voiced
or unvoiced (voiceless). Voiced sounds occur when the vocal cords in the
larynx are vibrated. If you are producing a voiced sound, you will feel
vibration, while if you are producing an unvoiced sound, you will not feel
it.5
Phonemes, as we have seen, are units of sound which we can
analyze. They are also known as segments. Suprasegmental features, as
the name implies, are features of speech which generally apply to groups
of segments, or phonemes. The features which are important in English are
stress, intonation, and how sounds change in connected speech.
Regarding to individual words, we can identify and teach word
stress. The stresses in words are usually indicated in dictionaries.
Regarding to utterances, we can analyze and teach intonation as well as
stress. Stresses give rhythm to speech and can make prominent to the
listener. Intonation, on the other hand, is the way in which the pitch of the
voice goes up and down in an utterance. Utterance stress and intonation
patterns are often linked to the communication of meaning.6
The significant choices are available to speakers is in intonation.
Intonation serves both to separate the stream of speech into blocks of
information (called tone units) and to mark information within these
units as being significant. In English, there is a fundamental
association between high pitch and new information. Intonation also
serves to signal the connections between tone units. Typically, a rise
in pitch at the end of the tone unit (that is, after the last stressed
word) implies some kind of continuation a fall in pitch suggest
completion.7
5 Gerald Kelly, How to Teach Pronunciation, p. 2.
6 Gerald Kelly, How to Teach Pronunciation, p. 3.
7 Scott Thornbury, How to Teach Speaking, (London: Longman), p. 24.
22
All parts that are in the features of pronunciation are much related to
one another in expressing a word or sentence. In addition, they greatly
affect the meaning in English which has many variations in letters, words,
tone and rhythm, which in fact is different with Indonesian, when people
say it.
3. Problems of Pronunciation
If someone wants to learn a foreign language, he must be going on
meet with all kinds of learning problems. These difficulties have to solve
with the learning of the new sound system, the learning of the unfamiliar
ways of arranging the foreign words into sentences. Here, we will focus
our attention only on the problems concerned with pronunciation.
Pronunciation as a sub-component of language skills is one of a number of
serious problems faced by the learners of English as a foreign language.
The comparison between Indonesian and English for the most
problematic words shows that a factor that may cause the pronunciation
problems of English sounds are: (1) There are sounds in English which are
phonemic, but they are not phonemic in Indonesian, (2) There are some
sounds which do not exist in Indonesian, but they exist in English, (3)
There are sounds which are voiced in English but they are voiceless in
Indonesian, (4) There are sounds which pronounced with stress and
rhythm in English, but not in Indonesian. Another indication of the cause
is the unfamiliarity of the students toward the words.8
According to Ramelan, the difficulties encountered by the student in
learning a second language are caused by:
a) The different elements found between his language and the target
language.
b) Different elements in sound system between the native and the foreign
language.
8 Siti Fatimah, http://karya-ilmiah.um.ac.id/index.php/sastra-inggris/article/view/7231,
on Friday, December 24, 2010.
23
c) Sounds which have the same phonetic features in both languages but
differ in their distribution.
d) Similar sounds in the two languages, which have different variants or
allophones9.
e) similar sounds in the two languages which differ only slightly in their
phonetic features. 10
B. Overview of Related Language Skills
1. Speaking
Speaking is productive skill consist of verbal utterance production
which derives attention both in first and second language, the purpose is
to share idea or meaning, speaking also requires some skills like
pronunciation and structure. In order to understand speaker’s meaning.
“Speaking requires both knowledge and skill.”11
It means that not
only knowing how to assemble phrases or sentences with particular
formula, but also how to produce and adapt them in here and now
situation. This means to make decision rapidly, implementing them
smoothly and adjusting speech as unexpected problems might appear.
Speaking is a part of integral from overall of person of personality,
expressing the speaker environment, strata of social and their additional
background. Speaking is the ability to speak, to express articulator sound
or words to expressing also submit minds, ideals, and feeling.
Speaking has three common intensions. They are:
1. To inform
When the speaking is used to convey ideas, minds or to inform
anything to the listener.
9 A conditioned variant of a significant group of sounds which occurs in a fixed and
predictable environment. 10
Ramelan, English Phonetics, (Semarang: IKIP Semarang Press, 1985), p. 7. 11
Sumardiyani and Zulfa Sakhiyyah, Speaking for Instructional Purpose a Handbook,
(Semarang: IKIP PGRI Press, 2007), p. 10.
24
2. To entertain
When speaking is used to make the listener happy.
3. To persuade
When speaking is used to persuade the listener in order to follow
speaker’s ideas or minds. 12
2. Listening
Listening is a fundamental language skill, but it is often ignored by
foreign and second language teachers. Listening needs more attention
and concentration to comprehend the sounds (listening material). It can
be said that listening is not a passive skill; the process of listening is a
complex process in which many things happen simultaneously inside the
mind. Listening includes comprehension of meaning words, phrases,
clauses, and sentences. Then, listening activity needs integrating skill of
language, such as pronunciation, vocabulary mastery, and grammatical
features.
How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness,
and on the quality of your relationships with others. The reasons why we
should have good listening are to obtain information, to understand, for
enjoyment, and to learn.13
People need to practice and acquire skills to be good listeners,
because a speaker cannot throw you information in the same manner that
a dart player tosses a dart at a passive dartboard. Information is an
intangible substance that must be sent by the speaker and received by an
active listener.14
So, we can say that listening is the ability to identify and
understand what others are saying.
12
Martin Bygate, Speaking, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 5. 13
http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm, on Friday, June 3, 2011. 14
http://www.casaaleadership.ca/mainpages/resources/sourcebook/listening-skills.html,
on Friday, June 3, 2011.
32
CHAPTER IV
THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE PRONUNCIATION MATERIALS
AND EXERCISES IN REBECCA M. DAUER’S ACCURATE ENGLISH
FOR TEACHING PRONUNCIATION
This chapter shows the analysis and result of the text book which consist
of three sections. The first section is the pronunciation materials and exercises in
Rebecca M. Dauer‟s Accurate English. The second is the appropriateness aspects
of pronunciation materials and exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer‟s Accurate English
for teaching pronunciation.
A. The Pronunciation Materials and Exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English
In this research, the researcher analyzed the pronunciation materials
and exercises based on several overview and suggested plan of materials and
the types of exercises in the Accurate English book. It is hoped to be able to
help teachers and students in teaching and learning pronunciation, they are as
follows:
Overview Explanation
1. Introduction
and
Diagnostic
Speech
Sample
(Chapter 1)
a. The Speech Process
1. Spoken Language
Speech is process that involves several stages,
beginning with the speaker‟s ideas and ending with the
understanding of those ideas by the listener:
a. The speaker thinks, decides he or she is going to
say and puts the ideas into words and sentences of
a particular language.
b. The speaker‟s speech organs move. The lungs
push air up through the larynx and into the mouth
and nose.
32
33
c. The sound travels through the air. Sometimes, the
sound is changed into electrical signals and then
is changed back into sound waves by an electrical
speaker.
d. The listener hears the sounds when the sound
waves hit his or her ear.
e. The listener understands the message. The
listener‟s brain identifies specific speech sounds,
interprets them as words and sentences of a
particular language, and figures out their
meaning.
Speech is not only a mental activity but also a
muscular activity. By observing the speech organs
carefully, feeling what is happening, and listening
critically to the sound that you produce, you can
become conscious of what you are doing and what you
should be doing to improve your own speech.
2. Written Language
The sound waves that come out of the mouth
when someone is speaking are continuous. There are
no spaces among words as in writing. Sounds
gradually change from one to another and stop only
when there is a pause. Languages have different
writing systems or orthographies that analyze the
continuous flow of speech and break it down into a
limited number of visual symbols. English uses only
twenty-six letters, plus punctuation marks and spaces,
to represent the entire language. The same letter is
often used in more than one way. Sounds blend
together with preceding and following sounds and are
pronounced differently depending on the neighboring
sounds, the overall stress pattern, and the rate of
speech.
It is important to become aware of the differences
34
between spoken and written language. You may
mispronounce a word, not because you cannot say it
correctly, but because it has an unusual spelling
pattern or because it looks like a word in your own
language where the letters represent different sounds.
Many spelling rules are given in this book to help you
learn the correct correspondence between sounds and
letters.
b. Language Variation
All speakers of the same language do not speak
exactly alike, and the same speaker may speak differently
in different situations. Language varies or changes in
regular ways according to the speaker‟s style and the
geographic area that he or she comes from.
1. Stylistic Variation
The style of speaking includes differences between
formal and informal speech, slow and fast speech,
careful and casual speech, “correct” (or standard) and
“incorrect” (non-standard) speech. A native speaker
can speak in different styles depending on the
situation. What is acceptable in one style may be
considered an error in another style. The style of
speech that this book is based on is that used by
educated speakers, in connected speech, at a normal
rate of speed.
2. Geographic variation
People from different parts of the country speak
with accents that show which region they come from.
An accent includes minor differences in vocabulary,
grammar, and especially pronunciation. The accent
that this book is typically used on national television
and radio news programs. Although non-native
speakers are generally expected to use a standard
accent, becoming aware of regional variation can help
35
their listening comprehension and analytic ability.
Language also changes over time; we do not speak
the same way as our grandparents. These historical
changes are sometimes responsible for stylistic and
geographic variation. An older pronunciation might be
used in a more formal style, or older pronunciations
may be preserved in rural areas or remote towns.
c. Self-Analysis
In this point, the students should think about some
questions to help them analyze their problems speaking
English, including sounds, syllables, stress and rhythm,
intonation, grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary,
content, and self-confidence.
d. Diagnostic Speech Sample
In this point, the students are asked to give a short
speech. They, then, tell or describe the most important
details of the story. The following is the example of
formal speech in Accurate English text book:
“Learning to speak a foreign language fluently and
without an accent isn‟t easy. In most educational systems,
students spend many years studying grammatical rules,
but they don‟t get much of a chance to speak. Arriving in
a new country can be a frustrating experience. Although
they may be able to read and write very well, they often
find that they can‟t understand what people say to them.
English is especially difficult because the pronunciation
of words is not clearly shown by how they‟re written. But
the major problem is being able to listen, think, and
respond in another language at a natural speed. This takes
time and practice.”
e. Analysis of Problems
Here, the students are able to analyze their abilities in
solving difficulties or problems such as vowels,
consonants, stress placement, vowel reduction, rhythm,
36
length, and timing, linking and pausing, intonation,
sentence stress, and pitch pattern.1
2. Phonetic
Alphabet and
Vowels
(Chapters 2 -
5)
a. Pronunciation Materials
1. The Phonetic Alphabet
a. English Spelling
The spelling patterns given in this book fall
into three main categories. The usual spelling
patterns for a sound, given first, are found in the
largest number of words. Less common spelling
patterns, given next, apply to only a limited set of
words. Finally, exceptional spelling patterns are
used only in the few words listed.
The goal is not for students to memorize how
every spelling pattern is pronounced. The goal of
learning spelling rules and the phonetic alphabet
is for students to become familiar with the most
common patterns and or exceptions that they may
not be aware of, to break an often incorrect
association between a letter and a sound, and to
begin to trust their ears rather than their eyes
when they learn new words.
b. The Phonetic Alphabet
English spelling or orthography is the
traditional way that words are written in English
using the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet. This
system is very complex and does not represent
very well how English words are spoken today.
Sometimes the same sound is spelled many
different ways, and sometimes different sounds
are written the same way. More than one letter
often represents a single sound.
1 Rebecca M. Dauer, Accurate English, A Complete Course in Pronunciation, (New
Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1993), p. 1-10.
37
The phonetic alphabet is a writing system in
which each letter corresponds to a different sound
in the language. A word that is written in the
phonetic alphabet will always be pronounced
exactly the way that it is written, since the same
sound is always represented by the same letter.
The phonetic alphabet consists of the letters of the
Latin alphabet plus a number of special letters
and symbols.
2. Vowel Overview
a. Production of Vowel
1. Tongue Position
Vowels can be high (close) or low
(open). In high vowel, the tongue is pushed up
high so that the upper surface of the tongue is
very close to the roof of the mouth. In a low
vowel, the tongue is flattened out and the
mouth is more open so that the top of the
tongue is much farther away from the roof of
the mouth.
Vowels can be either front or back. In a
front vowel, the front part of the tongue is
pushed forward, and the tongue can be easily
seen in a mirror. In a back vowel, the highest
point of the tongue is the back, and the whole
tongue moves back in the mouth.
A vowel that is neither front nor back is
called a central vowel. Some languages do not
have central vowels, so they are often difficult
for non-native speakers. To make a central
vowel, your tongue needs to be in the middle,
between high and low and between front and
back.
38
In most vowels, the tip of the tongue is
down. However, the tongue tip is raised up
and pulled back. The whole tongue is bunched
up, and the back is raised into a high central
position; the tongue tip lifts up a little, but it
never touches the roof of the mouth.
2. Lip Position
The lips can be rounded or unrounded
(spread). In a rounded vowel, then sides of
both lips are pushed in. in an unrounded
vowel, the sides of the lips are pulled out, as in
a smile.
If the lips are neither rounded nor
spread, their position in neutral; the lips are
relaxed, similar to when you are not talking.
3. Voicing
In English, all vowels are voiced, that
is, the vocal folds are vibrating while you
make vowel sounds. Even very short vowels
are voiced and are the center of a syllable.
This is important for determining how many
syllable a word has.
4. Pure Vowels and Diphthongs
In pure or simple vowels, the quality of
the vowel stays about the same from the
beginning to the end. In diphthongs, the
quality of the vowel changes; they start out
sounding like one vowel and end up sounding
like another vowel. In order to show this in the
phonetic alphabet, two letters are used to
represent the approximate beginning and
ending sounds.
39
5. Vowel Length
How long a vowel is in English depends
on several factors. The two most important
factors are the following sound and stress.
The length of the vowel changes
depending on the following sound. Besides,
vowels are shorter when they are unstressed
than when they are stressed (when followed by
the same sounds). Many vowels also change in
quality when they are unstressed.
3. Vowels in Detail
This chapter gives intensive practice with vowels
and their spelling, focusing on /ɪ, ə, ɚ, ʊ/, which tend
to be difficult for most students. In a shorter course,
the teacher might want to do just the exercises in class
and assign the spelling rules for students to review on
their own. It is often the orthography, not a physical
limitation, which is the source of students‟
pronunciation problems.
4. Review of the Phonetic Alphabet and Vowels
This chapter shortly reviews the phonetic alphabet
and vowels with dialogues for additional practice of
difficult vowel difference.
b. Pronunciation Exercises
1. Exercise
Say the following English words aloud and write
the phonetic symbol for the underlined sound. Check
in groups or with your teacher.
Example: shoe /ʃ/ why /ai/
1. Father 5. Map 9. Say
2. Cheap 6. Clock 10. Weather
3. Ship 7. Move 11. High
4. Bought 8. Sir 12. Usually
40
2. To Do
Try going back and forth between /i/ and /ǽ/
several times while observing your mouth in a mirror.
Then try it again silently and try to feel it. Say /i-ei-ɛ-
ǽ/ slowly and continuously. Your mouth should be
opening and your tongue should be moving slowly
down. Concentrate on the movement of the tongue;
you will probably feel that it moves less than from /i/
to /ǽ/.
3. Practice
Be sure to make /ei/ different from /ɛ/ before
voiceless consonants, where they are both short. The
tongue position is lower and the mouth is more open
for /ɛ/. Silently alternate between /ei/ and /ɛ/.2
/ei/ /ɛ/
a. Did they taste it? Did they test it?
b. Where‟s the paper? Where‟s the pepper?
c. He laid them aside. He led them aside.
d. I think he‟ll fail. I think he fell.
e. Let me see you later. Let me see you letter.
3. Stress and
Rhythm
(Chapters 6 -
11)
a. Pronunciation Materials
1. Stress
a. Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
English words can be made up of one
syllable, two syllables, or many syllables. In all
words of two or more syllables, one syllable is
more prominent, louder, or more noticeable than
the other syllables in that word. This strong
syllable is stressed (accented), and the other
weaker syllables are unstressed (unaccented).
Stressed syllables sound louder, are usually
2 Rebecca M. Dauer, Accurate English, a Complete Course in Pronunciation, p. 12-59.
41
longer, and have clearer vowels and stronger
consonants. In a word said in isolation, stressed
syllables are higher pitched; in sentences, a pitch
change often occurs on stressed syllables.
Unstressed syllables sound softer, are usually
shorter, and are frequently reduced or centralized.
The pitch doesn‟t change direction on unstressed
syllables.
The English writing system does not tell you
which syllables are stressed, although many other
languages use an accent mark to show stress. We
will use the symbol /‟/ at the beginning of
stressed syllable. Stressing the correct syllable in
a word is just as important as pronouncing the
sounds correctly. Words and phrases can have
different meanings depending on which syllable
is stressed.
b. Vowel Reduction
You may have already noticed that when we
move the stress in English, we often change the
vowel quality. Vowels in unstressed syllables
immediately before or immediately after stressed
syllables are usually reduced. This is a very
important characteristic of English, and it makes
the difference between stressed and unstressed
syllables very clear in the spoken language.
c. Dividing Words into Syllables
Non-native speakers whose language does not
use the Latin alphabet sometimes have trouble
deciding how many syllables are in a word. To
figure out the number of syllables in a word, you
need to count the number of separate vowel
sounds. In most words, vowels alternate with
42
consonants, so this is easy to do. For
pronunciation, a general way of dividing words
into syllables is to divide between a vowel and
following consonant or between two consonants
in the middle of a word. The symbol /./ can be
used to show the approximate syllable boundary.
The important thing in English is the number of
syllables and which one is stressed, not the
precise location of the syllable boundary.
d. Stress Placement in Words of Two or More
Syllables
In order to understand which syllable stressed
in a word is, it is necessary to know something
about how words are made. Words are composed
of prefixes (beginnings), suffixes (endings), and
roots (base forms or stems).
Prefixes are syllables added to the beginning
of a word, such as un-, de-, dis-, pre-, re-, micro-.
Suffixes are syllables added to the end of a word,
such as –ly, -ment, -ness, -ful, -able, -logy.
Prefixes can change the meaning of a word
(unhappy means not happy), and suffixes can
change the meaning and the part of speech
(develop is a verb, but development is a noun). A
word can have several prefixes and/or suffixes.
The root is the center of a word, without
prefixes and suffixes, and carries its basic
meaning, such as care in careful, carefully,
careless. Roots are generally one or two syllables
long.
Compounds are words that have more than
one root, each of which can exist as a word by
itself, such as newspaper (news + paper). Many
43
compounds are written as two words, such as gas
station, washing machine, etc.
Rules for stress placement in words of two
or more syllables are:
1. Stress the first syllable of two-syllable nouns.
Example: „table, „mother, „climate, „record,
„insect, „distance, „preview.
2. Stress the root of two-syllable verbs and
adjectives.
a. The second syllable is the root in:
Verbs: ap‟pear, be‟gin, con‟clude,
de‟fine, dis‟card, em‟ploy, ex‟plain,
in‟vent, etc.
Adjectives: a‟live, e‟nough, ex‟treme,
etc.
b. The first syllable is the root in:
Verbs: „harden, „suffer, „offer, „finish,
„punish, „damage, etc.
Adjectives: „useful, „cloudy, „thirsty,
„jealous, „proper, „active, etc.
c. Stress the root of other two-syllable
words, such as adverbs and
prepositions.
Example: a‟bove, be‟low, be‟fore,
be‟sides, un‟til, per‟haps, „often,
„quickly, etc.
d. Some nouns are stressed on the root
44
instead of the prefix and are exceptions
to rule 1:3 be‟lief, de‟sign, ex‟cuse,
mis‟take, re‟sult, sur‟prise, suc‟cess.
3. Stress words of more than two syllables
according to their suffix.
a. Stress the suffix in words ending in –ee,
-eer, -ese, -ette, -esque, -ique, and verbs
ending in –ain.
Example: emplo‟yee, volun‟teer,
vietna‟mese, pictu‟resque, enter‟tain.
b. Stress the syllable immediately before
the suffix in words ending with –ial, -
ual, -ian, -ion, -cient, -ious, -uous, -ic, -
ical, -ity, -ify, -itive, -itude, -logy, -
graphy.
Example: of‟ficial, per‟mission,
re‟ligious, pro‟ficient, e‟lastic,
„practical, mi‟nority, e‟lectrify,
re‟petitive, „attitude.
c. Stress the second syllable before the
suffix in words ending with –ate, -ize, -
ary.
Example: con‟gratulate, un‟fortunate,
„standardize, „secretary.
d. Stress does not change but remains on
the same syllable as other forms of the
word, when most other suffixes are
3 Words borrowed from foreign languages are often stressed on the last syllable: ci’gar,
ga’rage, bro’chure, and mo’rale.
45
added, such as –able, -al, -ed, -en, -er, -
est, -ful, -ing, -ish, -ist, -ism, -less, -ly, -
ment, -ness, -ous, -y.
Example: pro‟fessional (pro‟fession),
be‟lievable (be‟lieve), „beautiful
(„beauty), „happiness („happy),
em‟ployment (em‟ploy), „punishment
(„punish), of‟ficially (of‟ficial),
con‟gratulated (con‟gratulate).
4. Stress compound nouns on the first element
(first word).
Example: „fireman, „typewriter, „gas station,
po‟liceman, „wastepaper basket.
5. Stress two-word verbs more strongly on the
last word.
Example: pick „up, turn „off, drop „out, put
a‟way, do ‟over.
6. Stress reflexive pronouns on the last syllable.
Example: my‟self, your‟self, him‟self,
them‟selves, our‟selves, youyr‟selves.
7. There is no sure rule for figuring out where to
stress words of more than two syllables
which do not fall into the above categories.
In general, nouns and three-syllable
adjectives tend to be stressed on the first
syllable. However, some long words may be
stressed on the first syllable of the root. This
includes verbs beginning with prefixes such
as inter-, over-, under-, circum-, counter-.
Other words are stressed on the same
syllable as a shorter related word.
46
a. Stress on the first syllable:
Adjectives: „confident, „difficult,
„excellent, „possible, „natural, „negative,
„relevant, „similar.
Nouns: „alphabet, „benefit, „character,
„democrat, „energy, „influence,
„interview, „laboratory, „microphone,
„origin, „preference.
b. Stress on the first syllable of the root:
Example: bi‟lingual, com‟parative,
de‟velop, e‟mergency, im‟portant,
inde‟pendent, intro‟duce, over‟come,
un‟natural.
c. Stress the same as a related word:
Example: de‟clarative (de‟clare),
„decorative („decorate).
2. Stress (Advanced)
a. Stress and Vowel Reduction in Noun-Verb Word
Pairs
1. Two Syllable Nouns and Verbs
Certain two syllable words are stressed
on the first syllable when they are nouns and
on the last syllable (the root) when they are
verbs. This is a special case of the first two
stress placement rules.
When nouns are used like adjectives
(before other nouns), they retain stress on the
first syllable. When <ing> or <ed> are added
to verbs to make adjectives, stress remains
on the second syllable. When other endings
are added, such as <er> or <or>, the stress
tends to be the same as the most closely
47
related word.
Not all two-syllable words that are
both nouns and verbs follow this stress rule.
Stress is on the first syllable for both the
noun and verb form of accent, comfort,
purchase, promise, and rescue. Stress is on
the second syllable for both the noun and
verb form of control, surprise, and many
words beginning with the prefixes <de, dis,
re>, such as delay, demand, desire, dispute,
report, result, and review. Either syllable can
be stressed in research and detail.
2. Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives Ending in <ate>
Words ending in <ate> that are three or
more syllables long are stressed on the third
syllable from the end. In adjectives and
nouns, the <ate> ending is reduced to /it/, but
in verbs, the <ate> ending is pronounced as
/eit/. The vowel is also reduced in adverbs
ending in <ately>, such as fortunately.
b. Alternation of Reduced and Full Vowels
In English, there is a tendency to alternate
full vowels and reduced vowels. In many long
words, the stressed syllable and alternating
syllables have full vowels, while the rest of the
syllables have reduced vowels.
Many dictionaries and English language
books consider unstressed full vowels to have
“secondary stress” and mark it with the symbol
/,/. If you have difficulty in pronouncing very
long words, it might help you to think of these
vowels as being a “little” stressed. Thus, you can
break down a long word into two shorter words
48
when you first try to say it: ‘photo ‘graphic.
However, in continuous speech, full vowels with
“secondary stress” are normally not stressed.
c. Disappearing Syllables
The vowel immediately after the stressed
syllable is usually reduced. In some very common
words, when two or three unstressed syllables
follow a stressed syllable, the unstressed syllable
immediately after the stressed syllable is dropped
altogether. This is especially common before <r>.
3. Rhythm
a. Stress in One-Syllable Words
When we speak naturally, words are parts of
phrases and longer sentences. What we hear is a
sequence of syllables in time, like notes in music.
The time relationships among syllables make up
the rhythm of language.
Ordinary language also has a rhythm, but it
is not as clear or as regular as in poetry. Every
language has its own rhythm. The rhythm of
English involves an alternation of strong or
stressed syllables and weak or unstressed
syllables. The stressed syllables are longer,
clearer, and sometimes higher pitched; the
unstressed syllables tend to be shortened and
reduced. A stressed syllable is usually preceded
or followed by one or two unstressed syllables.
This alternation is not as strict as in poetry. In
most ordinary speech, there may be from zero to
four unstressed syllables between each stressed
syllable.
One-syllable content words are usually
49
stressed. Content words are nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and adverbs. They carry the basic
meaning of a sentence. One-syllable function
words are usually unstressed and reduced.
Function words include articles, prepositions,
pronouns, conjunctions, and auxiliary verbs. They
show grammatical relationships and are difficult
to translate. Their meaning can change greatly
depending on how they are used in a sentence.
In order to achieve a good rhythm in
English, you need to slow down, stretch out, and
very clearly pronounce one-syllable content
words and the stressed syllables of longer words.
And you must reduce unstressed function words
and other unstressed syllables. The two most
common mistakes made by non-native speakers
are pronouncing one-syllable content words too
quickly, by rushing them or dropping final
consonants, and not reducing function words and
unstressed syllables enough. As a result, the
listener will have difficulty perceiving which
syllables are stressed and unstressed. It is
extremely important to make a clear difference
between stressed and unstressed syllables when
you are speaking English.
Good rhythm in English, as in any language,
also means speaking at a regular speed with
correct phrasing and pausing. Speaking at a
regular rate allows your listener to predict where
the next stress will fall. Grouping function words
together with content words into phrases helps the
listener establish grammatical units. Pausing lets
the listener know where major grammatical units
50
end and gives the listener time to figure out the
meaning.
The following one-syllable words are
usually unstressed:
1. Articles: a, an, the.
2. Pronouns: I, me, my, he, him, his, she, her,
they, them, their, you, your, we, us, our, it,
its.
3. Prepositions: at, by, for, from, in, of, on, to
(when they are followed by noun objects)
4. Conjunctions:
a. And, but, so, or, nor.
b. That, where, which, who, as, if (when
they introduce dependent clauses)
5. Auxiliary verbs:
a. Am, is, are, was, were, be, been, have,
has, had, do, does, did, can, will, would,
could, should (when they are
affirmative and followed by a main
verb)
b. Be as a linking verb (followed by an
adjective or noun phrase)
The following one-syllable words are
usually stressed:
1. Nouns: house, book, day, etc.
2. Adjectives: big, small, fat, etc.
51
3. Verbs:
a. Main verbs: eats, comes, came, go, etc.
b. Negative auxiliary verbs: don‟t, can‟t,
won‟t, aren‟t, etc.
c. Auxiliary verbs used alone (not
followed by a main verb)
4. Adverbs: fast, well, now, here, up, down, etc.
5. Numbers: one, two, three, etc.
6. Question words: what, where, when, who,
why, how, etc.
7. Demonstratives : this, that these, those (when
used like adjectives or pronouns)
b. Weak Forms: Reducing Function Words
Many function words have two
pronunciations, a strong form and a weak or
reduced form. The strong form has a full vowel
and is used only for emphasis or at the end of a
sentence (before a pause). The unstressed weak
form is normally used in the middle of a sentence
or phrases.
c. Rhythmic Grouping: Pausing and Linking
1. Pausing
Good rhythm in English involves not
only making a clear difference between
stressed and unstressed syllables but also
grouping syllables together into larger units.
That is, you must pause in the right places
and link words together within a phrase.
Knowledge of English grammar and of
52
the meaning of the passage is necessary to
figure out where to pause. Pause occurs
before punctuation marks; before
conjunction; between grammatical units such
as phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Every pause group must contain at
least one stressed syllable. Therefore, you
cannot pause between unstressed function
words and the content words they go with.
Pauses can be marked with a vertical line (׀).
2. Linking
Within pause group, words should be
linked or blended together so that they sound
like one word. In normal speech, there are no
“white spaces” between closely connected
words. Linking means that words should be
joined smoothly to each other without adding
extra sounds or omitting final consonants.
a. Linking a final consonants to an initial
vowel
If a word ends in a consonant and
the next word begins with a vowel, use
the consonant to begin the syllable of
the following word.
b. Linking two vowels
If a word ends in a vowel and the
next word begins with another vowel,
go from one vowel right into the other
without stopping your voice.
c. Linking two consonants
If a word ends in a consonant and
the next word begins with another
consonant, go directly from one
53
consonant to the next without releasing
the first one or adding a vowel sound
like /ə/. During the first consonant,
begin moving your tongue silently
inside your mouth into the position for
the following consonant.
4. Rhythm (Advanced)
a. Breaking the Rules
1. Stressing function words
Sometimes the rules for stressing one-
syllable content words and not stressing
function words are broken. In poetry,
function words are sometimes stressed to
maintain the regular rhythm of a line. In
normal speech, a function word may be
stressed in order to emphasize it or call
attention to it for a special reason.
2. Removing stress
In conversational speech and
especially fast speech, one-syllable content
words and common two-syllable function
words are sometimes not stressed in order to
improve the rhythm of a sentence that
several stressed syllables in a row. Native
speakers prefer an alternation of stressed and
unstressed syllables rather than a long series
of stressed syllables. Thus, an English
speaker might only stress every other word
in the following sentence.
b. Words with Variable Stress
The stress in some compounds and words
stressed on the last syllable can move depending
on their location in a sentence. Before a pause
54
they are stressed on the last syllable, but when
followed by a stressed syllable, their stress moves
to the first syllable to create an alternating
rhythm.
1. Numbers, compounds adjectives, compound
adverbs, nouns with final stress
Stress the last syllable when it occurs
at the end of a sentence or phrase; that is,
before a pause or a possible pause. Stress the
first syllable when it is immediately followed
by another word in the same phrase. This
usually happens when the word is
functioning as an adjective and is followed
by a noun stressed on the first syllable.
2. Two-word verbs
A two-word verb is a verb plus adverb
that has a special meaning. English has many
two-word verbs such as wake up, put on, put
away, pay back, do over, turn down, hand in,
figure out.
When the verb and adverb are not
separated, one of the stresses is lost. They
become one word with one stress. When the
verb and adverb are not separated and they
are followed by a noun object, either the verb
or the adverb can be stressed according to
the overall rhythm of the sentence.
5. Stress in Compound Nouns
a. Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a sequence of two or
more words that together have a new meaning
and function as a single noun. The second
element or word of the compound is a noun,
55
while the first element is usually a noun but may
also be another part of speech. A compound noun
may be written as one or two words. The first
element describes the second noun, and it is
always singular.
A compound noun is pronounced like a
single word. There is only one main stress, which
falls on the first element. The stressed syllable is
higher in pitch than the other syllables when the
word is said.
b. Introduction to Intonation
The alternation of stressed and unstressed
syllables creates the beat or rhythm of English.
Rhythm is the time pattern of speech. Intonation
in the melody, the tune, or the changes in the
pitch of the voice. In speaking, syllables can be
spoken on a higher or lower pitch, and the voice
can rise, fall, or remain the same during the
production of syllables.
Intonation and stress are closely related. Not
only do we need to know the direction of the
change in pitch if any, but we also need to know
where the pitch change takes place. In English,
every pause group contains one major fall or rise
in pitch that begins on a stressed syllable.
Normally, the fall or rise occurs on the last
stressed syllable before a pause. This combination
of stress and major pitch change is called
sentence stress. Since stress occurs on content
words, this means that the sentence stress or
major pitch change usually occurs in the last
content word before a pause.
This basic intonation pattern, a rise or fall
56
beginning on the last stressed syllable before a
pause, is the normal pattern of English. There are
other intonation patterns where the pitch pattern
and/or its location are different, but they have
special meanings.
c. Compound versus Non-compound Constructions
Sentence stress is important in showing the
difference between a compound noun and a
sequence of words, such as an adjective plus a
noun or a verb plus a noun.
A compound noun is pronounced like one
word. It is stressed on the first element only.
When compound nouns occur at the end of a
sentence, the first element receives sentence
stress. In a phrase made up of an adjective plus a
noun, both words are stressed and the last word
receives sentence stress. This same pattern is also
used in other sequences of two words before a
pause, as in verbs followed by nouns.
Sometimes the same combinations of words
can be used either as a compound noun with a
special meaning or as an ordinary sequence of
two words. There is a difference in both rhythm
and intonation.
6. Review of Stress and Rhythm
This chapter shortly reviews the stress and
rhythm by listening and marking the stresses in the
available reading passages.
b. Pronunciation Exercises
1. Exercise
Mark the stress and circle any underlined vowels
that are reduced to /ə/ or /ɪ/.
a. Table, vegetable, unfortunate, relate, page,
57
cottage, rain, mountain, place, palace, canal,
electrical.
b. Ice, justice, mile, fertile, engine, fine, bite,
favorite, alive, negative.
c. Today, total, mouse, famous, season, alone, plant,
instant, prevent, recent.
2. Practice
Practice some of these words in sentences.
a. The band re’corded a new ‘record yesterday.
b. He pre’sented his wife with a beautiful ‘present.
c. They‟re con’ducting an investigation into his
‘conduct.
d. The criminal ‘suspect was sus’pected of robbing
three banks.
e. The ‘desert is so dry that it is usually de’serted.
3. Oral Presentation
Prepare a short two-minute speech about a place
that you like and that your classmates might want to
visit some day. It could be your favorite city, your
hometown, a resort, a place you have visited, or a
place that you like to go to on weekends. Include an
introduction, a detailed description, and a conclusion.
Be sure to make it clear what is special about this
place and why you like it. Write out your speech and
mark in the stresses. Practice it aloud several times
concentrating on stress, rhythm, and pausing. Go for
smoothness, regularity, and clarity. When you give
your speech in class, look up and talk to your
audience. Put your main points on cards if necessary,
but don‟t read.
4. To Do
Try tapping to a sequence of alternating long and
short syllables, such as /‟dɑ də ‟dɑ də ‟dɑ də/. This
58
same sequence can be said with various intonation
patterns, or even whispered, and the rhythm remains
the same.4
4. Consonants
(Chapters 12 -
15)
a. Pronunciation Materials
1. Consonant Overview
a. Production of Consonants
Vowels can be described by the position of
the tongue and lips. In vowels, the air flows out of
the mouth continuously; the tongue and lips
simply shape the air flow. Consonants are sounds
that interrupt or restrict the flow of the air.
1. Voicing
All consonants are either voiced or
voiceless. In a voiced sound, the vocal folds
in the larynx are vibrating while the sound is
being made. In a voiceless sound, the vocal
folds are not vibrating.
2. Manner of articulation
To articulate means to make sound.
The articulators are the organs in the mouth,
such as the tongue or lips that approach each
other in order to produce a sound. The
articulators may stop the air completely or let
a relatively small or large amount of air pass
through.
3. Air path
Most consonants are central; there is a
single air path down the middle.
4. Timing
Most sounds are maintainable. You
can hold or prolong the sound as you have
breath.
4 Rebecca M. Dauer, Accurate English, a Complete Course in Pronunciation, p. 60-118.
59
5. Place of articulation
Look in a mirror while you say the
consonants in each group, both aloud and
silently, in order to see, hear, and feel them.
2. Differences between Voiced and Voiceless Consonants
a. Aspiration of Initial Voiceless Stops /p, t, k/
The voiceless stops /p, t, k/ are aspirated at
the beginning of stressed syllables.5 This means
that there is a period of voicelessness, like breath
or /h/, after the stop is released and before the
vocal folds begins to vibrate for the following
vowel.
b. Vowel Length and Final Consonants
Stressed vowels are lengthened before final
voiced consonants. This is especially noticeable
in one-syllable words. Extra length can be
indicated by the symbol [:] after the sound.
c. Final Voiceless Consonants
Final voiceless stops are not aspirated in
normal speech. They are cut off very quickly
before a pause or linked to following sounds.
Before a pause, the difference between voiced
and voiceless consonants in English is signaled
more by vowel length and the differences
discussed above than by an actual difference in
voicing. Final voiced consonants may in fact be
completely voiceless. If you have difficulty
pronouncing any of the voiced consonants in final
position, try lengthening the vowel and
substituting a weak version of its voiceless
5 However, /p, t, k/ are not aspirated after /s/, as in speak, stop, scare, split, strong, and
scream.
60
counterpart.
3. <ed> and <s> Endings
a. Adding <ed>
The <ed> or <d> that is added to a regular
verb to form the past tense in English is
pronounced in different ways depending on how
the verb ends. The <ed> ending is pronounced as
a separate syllable /id/ only in verbs that end in
/d/ or /t/. in all other verbs, the <e> is silent, and
only the sound /d/ or /t/ is added.
/d/ is voiced and /t/ is voiceless. When <ed>
or <d> is added to a verb that ends in a voiceless
sound (except /t/), it is pronounced /t/, when it is
added to a verb that ends in a voiced sound
(except /d/), it is pronounced /d/.
b. Adding <s>
The <s>, <es>, or <‟s> that is added to a
noun or verb to form the plural, possessive, or
third person singular present tense in English is
pronounced in different ways depending on how
the word ends. In all other words, the <e> is
silent, and only the sound /s/ or /z/ is added.
c. Consonant groups
Adding <ed> or <s> to the end of a word
can sometimes result in a very long sequence of
consonants. In English, words can end in up to
four consonants and begin with as many as three
consonants so that it‟s possible to have seven
consonants in a row in some sentences.
There are several ways to make consonant
groups easier to pronounce in fluent speech:
1. Link the final consonant to a following vowel
2. Hold the final consonant and go right on to the
61
following consonant
3. Pronounce final /t/ as a glottal stop when it is
followed by a consonant
4. Omit one of the consonants, but not final
grammatical <ed> or <s>
5. Slow down and pause after the word
4. Consonants in Detail
This chapter gives intensive practice with
consonants that cause the most problems. Individual
sections can be done in any order. In a short course,
the teacher might go over just few contrasts in class,
such as /ɵ-δ/ or /l-r/, and skip the spelling exercises.
The fast speech rules can be done at any time.
a. Fast Speech Rules
When people speak their native language
quickly and informally, their pronunciation
changes. This is often considered to be “sloppy”
or “lazy” speech and is corrected by some
teachers. Most of the following fast speech rules
are just further applications across word
boundaries of what goes on within some words
already. Using fast speech rules can make some
sequences of consonants easier to pronounce.
1. Simplification of consonant groups
In fast speech, final /t/ and /d/ are
often very reduced or omitted in groups of
three or more consonants across word
boundaries. This is especially common in
62
words whose base form ends in /d/ or /t/, but
sometimes even the <ed> ending can be
dropped. This should not be done when the
following word begins with a vowel, to
which the consonant can be linked.
2. Omission of /t/ after /n/
In fast speech, /t/ is often omitted
after /n/ in unstressed syllables of common
words and place names.
3. Palatalization across word boundaries
In fast speech, palatalization occurs
across word boundaries within phrases,
particularly with auxiliary verbs and the
common words you and your.
4. Further reduction of function words
In normal English, unstressed
function words have weak or reduced forms.
Many auxiliary verbs have standardized
contractions in which the reduced vowel is
omitted, leaving the final consonant: <‟s, „m,
„re, „ve, „d, „ll>. In fast speech, the auxiliary
do can also be much reduced, although it is
never written as a contraction.
b. Pronunciation Exercises
1. To Do
Compare /r/ and /z/ (rip, zip), /w/ and /v/ (wine,
vine), /y/ and /ʒ/ (major, measure) to feel the
difference between a smooth approximant and a
noisy fricative. Compare /r/ in rain, train, and drain.
After /t/ and /d/, /r/ becomes a fricative.
63
2. Practice
Aspirate the initial voiceless stops in column 1.
Pay special attention to /p/.
Voiceless (aspirated) Voiced (unaspirated)
/p,t,k/ /b,d,g/
a. I think it‟s cold. I think it‟s gold.
b. I need to go pack. I need to go back.
c. He‟s going to tie it. He‟s going to diet.
d. Her curls are lovely. Her girls are lovely.
e. He‟s quite a pig. He‟s quite big.
3. Exercise
Decide if the following sounds are voiced or
voiceless and give an example word for each sound.
a. /l/ e. /ð/ i. /ə/ m. /ʃ/
b. /z/ f. /f/ j. /s/ n. /v/
c. /m/ g. /ʒ/ k. /dʒ/ o. /tʃ/
d. /k/ h. /d/ l. /p/ p. /ǽ/
4. Oral Presentation
Choose one of the following topics for a three-
minute speech.
a. Pretend you are running for political office. Tell
us why you should be elected.
b. You have applied for a job. Tell your
interviewer why you should be hired.
c. Your own topic that you can support by causes
and reasons.
Prepare an outline that includes an introduction,
three major reasons, and a conclusion. Practice your
speech aloud several times. Concentrate on
pronouncing the consonants clearly, as well as
improving your overall rhythm, linking, pausing, and
64
non-verbal communication. If possible, have your
speech videotaped.6
5. Intonation
(Chapter 16)
a. Pronunciation Materials
1. Intonation and Sentence Stress
Intonation is the melody of speech, the changes
in the pitch of the voice over time. Intonation is
fundamentally different from the other aspects of
speech that we have talked about. Consonants, vowels,
and stress have no meaning apart from the words they
belong to. Intonation, on the other hand, can convey
meaning directly. Besides being closely connected to
grammar and words, it can express a speaker‟s
emotion, relationship to the listener, and attitude
toward what he or she is saying.
a. Intonation groups
The span of speech over which an
intonation pattern extends is called an intonation
group. It must include at least on stressed
syllable. An intonation group is the same as a
pause group or a potential pause group as
discussed before. It represents a way of dividing
up spoken language into units of information
similar to the way punctuation is used in written
language. Depending on the number of phrases
and clauses and the speaker‟s rate of speech, a
sentence may be made up of one or several
intonation groups.
b. Neutral location of sentence stress
Every intonation group contains one major
change in pitch (a fall or rise), which begins on a
6 Rebecca M. Dauer, Accurate English, a Complete Course in Pronunciation, p. 119-218.
65
stressed syllable. This combination of stress and
pitch change is called sentence stress.7 Normally,
sentence stress occurs on the last stressed syllable
of an intonation group.
Sentence stress is extremely important in
English. One word must clearly stand out over the
others in an intonation group. A common mistake
by non-native speakers is either to put a major
pitches change on every stressed syllable or to
have no one word with a major pitch change.
Having one clear sentence stress helps the listener
to figure out which words belong together in
clauses and phrases and where the end of an
intonation group is. A second common mistake is
putting sentence stress in the wrong place. These
errors confuse the listener. If this happens, your
listener will think that you mean something else.
Because of the structure of English, the last
content word in an intonation group is usually a
noun or verb. When the last content word is an
adverb, the preceding content word often receives
sentence stress instead of the adverb. In these
cases, the adverb appears to be a minor addition
to the sentence.
2. Neutral Pitch Pattern
Most intonation groups begin on a low to mid
pitch and jump up a little to mid or between mid and
high on the first stressed syllable. Following syllables
are about mid pitch and gradually fall until the syllable
with sentence stress. From the sentence stress to the
end of the intonation group is the most important part
7 Sentence stress is also called primary stress, accent, the tonic, or the nucleas of a tone
group (intonation group).
66
of an intonation pattern in English. At that point, there
is either a major fall or a major rise in pitch.
a. Fall (high to low)
Jump up to high at the beginning of the
syllable with sentence stress, and then let the
pitch fall rapidly until it reaches low at the end of
the intonation group. It‟s not necessary to jump
up very high, but the stressed syllable must begin
higher than the previous unstressed syllable, and
the intonation pattern must and very low. This is
harder to do on short one-syllable words like sit
or like because you have a very short time to fall
from high to low.
The fall is normally used at the end of
factual statements and commands and at the end
of information questions. In reading aloud, it is
used before periods (.), colons (:), and semicolons
(;). The fall indicates finality, completeness, and
certainty.
Four kinds of mistakes are typically made
by non-native speakers. One is simply falling
without jumping up first; this makes you sound
uninterested, unfriendly, or superior to your
listener. It also makes it difficult for the listener to
determine where the sentence stress is. Be careful
not to begin the intonation group too high, save
your highest pitch for the end of the intonation
group. Another mistake is falling only to mid, this
makes you sound unsure of yourself or unfinished
and it might be confused with the low rise. A
third mistake is rising on the stressed syllable
instead of jumping up to it, this makes you sound
overly enthusiastic or not serious. Finally, some
67
students rise instead of fall on information
questions.
b. Rise (low to high)
Begin the syllable with sentence stress at
low or mid and rise sharply to high at the end of
the intonation group. The sentence stressed
syllable in the intonation group, there is a long
rise on it. When unstressed syllables follow the
sentence stressed syllable, each one is a little
higher than the preceding syllable. Although high
in pitch, these syllables should be softer and
shorter than the stressed syllable, and there should
be no rose on them.
The rise is normally used on yes-no
questions. Non-native speakers usually do well on
the rise. The main mistake is that high unstressed
syllables following the sentence stress can sound
like they are stressed if they are too strong or
rising.
c. Low-rise (low to mid)
Begin low to mid and rise slightly to about
mid or between mid and high at the end of the
intonation group. The low-rise is similar to the
rise, but it doesn‟t and as high. The low-rise is
used for all words but the last in a series and for
any mid-sentence pause, such as the end of an
introductory phrase, a dependent clause, or a long
subject. It is often used before a comma (in
reading) or before coordinating conjunctions such
as and and or. The low-rise indicates that you are
not finished speaking, that you plan to continue
after pausing, or that what you are saying is
incomplete or dependent on something else. A
68
common sentence pattern is a low-rise followed
by a fall. In conversation, the low-rise is used on
words like yes or uh huh to show that you are
listening and to encourage the speaker to continue
talking.
d. Fall-rise (high to low to mid)
Jump up to high or mid on the syllable with
sentence stress, fall to low, and then rise to mid at
the end of the intonation group. The fall-rise is a
combination of a fall followed by a low-rise.
The fall-rise is similar in meaning to the
low-rise and can be used in most of the same
situations. Like the low-rise, it indicates
incompleteness and can be used before any mid
sentence pause when the speaker intends to
continue or connect his or her ideas to following
information. Thus, it‟s often used before commas
and coordinating conjunctions. This pattern
allows you to jump up on the stressed syllable,
fall, and then add a rising tall if you decide to
pause but want to continue your sentence.
The main mistake made by non-native
speakers on the low-rise or fall-rise is to simply
fall. This makes it sound as if you are at the end
of a sentence when you aren‟t. Your listener
might have difficulty knowing which clauses and
phrases belong together in the same sentence.
3. Moving Sentence Stress
The “rules” given in the last section are only
general guidelines. In fact, sentence stress can fall on
any word in a sentence, and any intonation pattern can
be used on any kind of sentence. It all depends on
what the speaker means. Intonation can change the
69
meaning of a sentence just as much as words can.
Sentence stress, the major fall or rise, normally
falls on the last stressed syllable before a pause.
However, sentence stress can be moved to any word in
the sentence that you want to call attention to or
emphasize for any reason. It can even be moved onto a
word that is usually unstressed.
In a fall, as in statements and information
questions, jump up to high on the word you want to
emphasize, then immediately fall and say the rest of
the sentence on a low pitch. The syllable with sentence
stress is often lengthened. When the word to be
emphasized is the same word that would normally
receive sentence stress, it is very high in pitch. In the
rise, begin on a mid pitch, jump down on the syllable
with sentence stress, and then rise immediately and
keep rising steadily on all following syllables.
a. Sentence stress for focus
Sentence stress is moved in order to focus
on a particular word in the sentence. When
sentence stress is in its normal position, on the
last content word, no particular word or part of
the sentence stands out.
b. Sentence stress on new information
Sentence stress is also moved to separate
new information from old information. Old
information is what the speaker assumes the
listener already knows, either because it was just
mentioned in a previous sentence or because it is
part of the physical situation. Sentence stress will
fall on the new information. If the old information
is repeated, it will not receive sentence stress.
c. Sentence stress for contrast
70
Sentence stress can also be moved to show
contrast between two words or between a word
and its possible opposite. Often sentence stress
will fall on both words that are being compared.
d. Sentence stress to insist or deny
Finally, sentence stress can be moved to
insist that something is true or to deny something
the listener thinks is true. You are correcting what
the listener has said or implied, so you need to
emphasize that part of the sentence. Sentence
stress may even fall on words that are not usually
stressed, such as auxiliary verbs or prepositions.
4. Changing the Pitch Pattern
The other way that we can a vary a neutral
intonation pattern is by changing the pitch used on a
particular kind of sentence. We can change it
completely, such as using a rise in place of a fall. Or
we can change it a little, such as by making a fall into
a low fall.
a. Rise on statements
A rise is normally used on yes-no
questions. In informal English, a rise can change
a statement into a question with no change in
word order.
b. Rise on information questions
Information questions normally ask for
particular types of information and are said with a
fall. These are called echo questions because they
ask the listener to repeat something that he or she
just said, to repeat information that the speaker
should know. The answer will usually be a
repetition of the previous sentence. Usually,
sentence stress also moves to the question word in
71
echo questions.
c. Low fall
In normal polite speech, there is a jump up
or step up at the beginning of the sentence
stressed syllable before the fall in statements and
information questions. If the fall begins at the
same level or below the preceding syllables, the
speaker appears to be uninterested, not excited,
distant, or not very involved. The low fall may
show boredom, unfriendliness, or even anger,
especially on an information question. It is used
on strong commands by people of superior rank
to people of inferior rank. A low fall on a
question can show impatience and turn it into a
command.
d. Rise-fall
In the normal fall, the beginning of the
sentence stressed syllable is high, and the voice
immediately begins falling. In the rise-fall
pattern, the pitch on the stressed syllable in begun
mid to high but keeps rising to high or extra high
and then falls later. This is accompanied by
lengthening the stressed syllable and pronouncing
it louder than usual. The rise-fall can show that
the speaker is really impressed, strongly affected
emotionally, or surprised, and is often used for
exclamations.
However, the rise-fall can also be used to
protest, challenge, disapprove of, disagree with
strongly, or complain about something someone
has said or done. It‟s often used in family
arguments. The rise-fall can also be used when
the speaker is being ironic or sarcastic, when he
or she means exactly the opposite of what he or
72
she is saying.
Although the rise-fall can make a speaker
sound really interested and enthusiastic, it can
very easily sound insincere or negative. Non-
native speakers should avoid using the rise-fall
unless they are very certain they are using it
properly.
e. Mid level
A mid level or slightly falling pitch is
normally used on unstressed syllables and
stressed syllables in the middle of an intonation
group before the sentence stress. If it occurs
before a pause, it shows hesitation, as if the
speaker hasn‟t decide how to finish the sentence
or how to relate what has been said to what will
follow. Non-native speakers will sound very
indecisive, hesitant, and unsure of themselves if
they don‟t use a clear rise or fall at the end of
intonation groups.
5. Choice Questions and Tag Questions
a. Choice question
Choice question are questions that begin
with an auxiliary verb and ask the listener about
two or more choices connected by the word or.
When the listener is asked to choose only one of
the choices, it ends in a fall, like an information
question, which also asks for just one bit of
information.
b. Tag questions
Tag questions are questions that begin like
a statement, but finish with an auxiliary verb and
a pronoun. In actual conversation, tag questions
can be confusing even for native speakers. Often
73
they are not answered directly.
b. Pronunciation Exercises
1. To Do
Repeat each of the following pitch patterns
several times on the vowel /ɑ/. Put your hand on your
larynx to feel it moving up and down. Pitch patterns
are shown between two lines that represent the top and
the bottom of the speaker‟s range. Lines indicate
stressed syllables and small dots represent unstressed
syllables.
2. Practice
Listen for the pitch beginning on the stressed
syllable to the end of the word or phrase. Listen
carefully to the end of the word or phrase: falls end
low; rises end high. Syllables before the stressed
syllable are mid or low.
Fall Rise Level
a. An „apple An „apple? An „apple…
b. To‟morrow To‟morrow? To‟morrow…
c. „Now „Now? „Now…
d. Hel‟lo Hel‟lo? Hel‟lo…
e. Im‟possible Im‟possible? Im‟possible…
3. Exercise
Mark in the stress and underline the syllable that
normally receives sentence stress.
a. I‟d like to see a movie.
b. It start at eight o‟clock.
c. He‟s a very handsome man.
d. I don‟t have time to help you.
e. You shouldn‟t give up.
4. Oral Presentation
We are often called upon to explain an idea to
someone who is not familiar with it or to demonstrate
74
our knowledge in a particular area. Choose a topic that
would probably not be very familiar to your audience
and explain or teach about this topic in a three to five
minute speech. Here are some suggestions:
a. A problem, theory, idea, or mechanism in your
field of study
b. Some aspect of a hobby or special interest of
yours
c. Some special customs or traditions in your
country
Limit your topic to just a few main points, and
select only the most important or interesting details to
discuss. Make an organized outline, and practice your
speech aloud several times. Use good rhythm and
intonation, moving sentence stress to focus on new or
important information.8
B. The Appropriateness Aspects of Pronunciation Materials and Exercises
in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate English for Teaching Pronunciation
Based on Neville‟s opinion, an appropriate text book should has eight
aspects, they are communicative, aims, teachable, available, level, teacher
impression, student interest, tried and tested.9
After analyzing pronunciation materials and exercises in Rebecca M.
Dauer‟s Accurate English, there are some results below:
1. The Result of Pronunciation Materials in Rebecca‟s M. Dauer‟s
Accurate English.
a. The aims of the materials.10
8 Rebecca M. Dauer, Accurate English, a Complete Course in Pronunciation, p. 219-241.
9 Neville Grant, Making The Most of Your Textbook, ( New York : Longman, 1989 ), p.
119. 10
Djoko Susanto, Teaching Indonesian Language in Australia, A Methodological
Perspective of Primary English Teaching in Indonesia, (Malang: UIN Malang Press, 2009), p. 39.
75
There are several aims of pronunciation materials in Rebecca
M. Dauer‟s Accurate English. They are to support learning and
teaching as the material‟s aims, as information or ideas for
students, to support learning and teaching and to give influence on
students‟ understanding, also affecting aspects of learning and
students‟ understanding.
b. The type of the materials.11
The type of the pronunciation materials in Rebecca M.
Dauer‟s Accurate English is published materials.
Published materials refer explicitly to textbooks or course
books. The materials are hoped to make students attractive,
reliable, and user-friendly.
c. The methods should be used to teach the materials.12
There are several methods which the researcher considers
should be used to teach the pronunciation materials in Accurate
English text book. They are the silent way because it shares many
of the same essential principles as the cognitive code and makes
good use of the theories underlying discovery learning that
describing pronunciation value, audio lingual method, it can help
learners are able to produce language forms and patterns that they
have never heard before, communicative language teaching, this
teaches students how to use the language is considered to be at
least as important as learning the language itself.
d. Are the materials teachable or not?
Most of the pronunciation materials in Rebecca M. Dauer‟s
Accurate English, a complete course in pronunciation published by
prentice hall regents, are teachable for teacher to teach students.
11
Djoko Susanto, Teaching Indonesian Language in Australia, A Methodological
Perspective of Primary English Teaching in Indonesia, p. 40. 12
Diane Larsen and Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1986), p. 2.
76
There are clear teacher‟s guides, and help on method activities,
there are sufficient provision made for test and revision.
e. The levels are appropriate with the materials.
In the chapter one, the level which is appropriate with the
material is elementary level because the students only try and give
speech sample, then, they discuss problem or difficulty which they
get. The next chapters, the levels of students‟ understanding are
intermediate and advanced levels because the students have to
repeat, listen, make, use, choose, compare, and say the points of the
materials have been taught by the teacher.
2. The Result of Pronunciation Exercises in Rebecca‟s M. Dauer‟s
Accurate English.
a. The aims of the exercises.13
There are several aims of pronunciation exercises in Rebecca
M. Dauer‟s Accurate English. They are to follow-up of students'
understanding to the material that has been taught by the teacher, to
measure students' skills in understanding the material. In addition,
the exercises also aim to provide feedback on the students and
motivate students to study harder, especially in pronunciation.
b. The kinds of the exercises.14
There are several exercises which apply the Controlled
Exercise, while the other exercises which are apply the Guided
Exercise. It shows that there are most of the exercises encourage
students to try to speak in their own words and sentences.
c. The characteristics of the exercises.15
The characteristics of the pronunciation exercises in Rebecca
M. Dauer‟s Accurate English are inputting material used in the task
13
http://www.brainyquote.com/words/ex/exercise162589.html. Wednesday, June 22,
2011. 14
Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting ELF Teaching Materials, (London:
Heineman Educational Press, 1984), p. 82. 15
Christpher N.Candlin, Tasks for Second Language Speaking Test, ( England : Pearson
Education Limited, 2003 ), P. 51.
77
because the teacher takes certain materials and gives instruction in
each of materials, roles of the participants because these show what
the command for students in doing the assignment or task after
learning some materials, actions or what is to happen in the task
because it contains an instruction for students what they have to do,
monitoring after actions, outcomes as the goal of the task because
it can be seen the results are appropriate with the purposes of
materials, feedback given as evaluation to participants because the
teacher has to give an evaluation for the result of students‟
assignments.
d. The involved language skills.
The language skills which are involved in Rebecca M.
Dauer‟s Accurate English are all language skills; Listening,
Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
The students have to try listen carefully on the cassette or
teacher‟s direction. Besides, they have to try to make the sentences
by their own words and then speak or tell their sentences aloud.
The students also read the available reading passages in the text
book. The last, they also write the phonetic transcriptions which
are available in the text book‟s exercises.
e. Appropriateness with the materials
Most pronunciation exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer‟s
Accurate English are appropriated with the pronunciation materials
in the textbook. It is proved with there are no mistakes of exercise
places in each material. Furthermore, the exercises have been done
are discussed back in the nest material, which is still connecting
with the material which has been learned before.
78
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions
Based on the discussion of the data analysis, result, and opinions in
the previous chapter, the conclusions can be described that the pronunciation
materials and exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate English, a complete
course in pronunciation published by prentice hall regents are relevant with
the aspects of the aims of the materials, the types of the materials, the
methods should be used to teach the materials, the materials are teachable or
not, the levels are appropriate with the materials, the aims of the exercises,
the kinds of the exercises, the characteristics of the exercises, the involved
language skills, appropriateness with the materials. All aspects are divided
into two categories, the pronunciation materials in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English and the pronunciation exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English.
They can be seen from the result of analysis showing that:
1. The Pronunciation Materials in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate English
a. The aims of the materials.
The aims of pronunciation materials in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English are to support learning and teaching as the material’s
aims, as information or ideas for students, to support learning and
teaching and to give influence on students’ understanding, also
affecting aspects of learning and students’ understanding.
b. The type of the materials.
The type of the pronunciation materials in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English is published materials.
c. The methods should be used to teach the materials.
There are several methods which the researcher considers
should be used to teach the pronunciation materials in Accurate
79
English text book. They are the silent way, audio lingual method, and
communicative language teaching.
d. Are the materials teachable or not?
There are clear teacher’s guides, and help on method activities,
there are sufficient provision made for test and revision. It shows that
the pronunciation materials in the text book are teachable.
e. The levels are appropriate with the materials.
The levels of students’ understanding are various. They are
elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels.
2. The Result of Pronunciation Exercises in Rebecca’s M. Dauer’s Accurate
English.
a. The aims of the exercises.
The aims of pronunciation exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English are to follow-up of students' understanding to the
material that has been taught by the teacher, to measure students' skills
in understanding the material, and to provide feedback on the students
and motivate students to study harder, especially in pronunciation.
b. The kinds of the exercises.
There are several exercises which apply the Controlled
Exercise, while the other exercises which are apply the Guided
Exercise.
c. The characteristics of the exercises.
The characteristics of the pronunciation exercises in Rebecca
M. Dauer’s Accurate English are inputting material used in the task,
roles of the participants, actions or what is to happen in the task,
monitoring after actions, and outcomes as the goal of the task,
feedback given as evaluation to participants.
d. The involved language skills.
The language skills which are involved in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English are all language skills; Listening, Speaking,
Reading, and Writing.
80
e. Appropriateness with the materials
Most pronunciation exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s
Accurate English are appropriated with the pronunciation materials in
the textbook.
B. Suggestions
Based on the results of this research, it indicates that the
pronunciation materials and exercises in Rebecca M. Dauer’s Accurate
English, a complete course in pronunciation published by prentice hall
regents are relevant with some aspects and may be irrelevance in other
aspects. Some suggestions for the teaching and learning English are
proposed as follows:
1. To the writer
When arranging an exercise in a text book, it is better to
consider some aspects of the each material.
2. To the teacher
It is necessary for the English teacher more selective in
choosing of text book as guide in teaching learning process.
3. To the students
To improve language skills, especially in good speaking and
listening, the students have to practice their pronunciation through
exercises in either oral or written.
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KEMENTERIAN AGAMA
INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI WALISONGO
FAKULTAS TARBIYAH
Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka Ngaliyan Telp/Fax. (024) 7601295, 7615387 Semarang 50185
TRANSKIP KO KURIKULER
Nama : Rahmat Edi Setiawan
Nomor Induk Mahasiswa : 073411044
No Nama Kegiatan Jumlah
Nilai Keterangan
1 Aspek Keagamaan dan Kebangsaan 14
2 Aspek Penalaran dan Idealisme 80
3 Aspek Kepemimpinan dan Loyalitas 22
4 Aspek Pemenuhan Bakat dan Minat 8
5 Aspek Pengabdian pada Masyarakat 12
Jumlah 136
Semarang, 12 April 2011
A.n. Dekan,
Pembantu Dekan III,
Ridwan, M.Ag.
NIP. 19630106 199703 1 001
KEMENTERIAN AGAMA
INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI WALISONGO
FAKULTAS TARBIYAH
Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka Ngaliyan Telp/Fax. (024) 7601295, 7615387 Semarang 50185
SURAT KETERANGAN Nomor: In.06.3/D3/PP.00.9/ /2011
Assalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb.
Dekan Fakultas Tarbiyah IAIN Walisongo Semarang menerangkan dengan
sesungguhnya bahwa :
Nama : Rahmat Edi Setiawan
Tempat/Tanggal Lahir : Demak, 28 Desember 1989
Nomor Induk Mahasiswa : 073411044
Program/Smt/Tahun : S.1/VIII/2011
Jurusan : Tadris Bahasa Inggris
Alamat : Mranak RT. 1 RW. I Wonosalam Demak.
Adalah benar-benar telah melaksanakaan Kegiatan Ko Kurikuler dan nilai kegiatan
dari masing-masing aspek sebagaimana terlampir.
Demikian Surat Keterangan ini dibuat, dan kepada pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan
diharap maklum.
Wassalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb.
Semarang, 12 April 2011
A.n. Dekan,
Pembantu Dekan III,
Ridwan, M.Ag.
NIP. 19630106 199703 1 001
CURRICULUM VITAE
Name : Rahmat Edi Setiawan
Place, Date of Birth : Demak, December 28, 1989
Home Address : Ds. Mranak Kec. Wonosalam Kab. Demak
Recent Address : Kel. Wonolopo Kec. Mijen Kota Semarang
Educational Background :
o SD N Mranak 02 Demak
o MTs. NU Demak
o MA NU Demak
o English Department, Education Faculty, State
for Islamic Studies Walisongo Semarang
Organization Experience :
o Coordinators of Talent and Interest Department
PMII Rayon Tarbiyah (2008-2009)
o Coordinators of Society Relationship
Department LSB IAIN Walisongo (2007-2009)
o Coordinators of Society Relationship
Department ESC IAIN Walisongo (2008-2010)
o Coordinators of Cadres Department eLIKIS
MIFSA Mijen (2007-2010)
o Secretary of bulletin LENTERA MIFSA Mijen
Thus, these curriculum vitae are made by the writer correctly.
Semarang, June 20, 2011
The writer