2.2 The empirical examples of the Warming-up

In addition to special exercises, in order to substitute, maintain and improve the pronunciation of students, memorization of tongue twisters, rhymes, poems, dialogues, excerpts from prose and reading aloud passages of texts studied in the textbook are widely used. These types of works pursue two goals: to achieve, firstly, the maximum correct pronunciation and, secondly, its fluency.

Accordingly, two stages of work are distinguished.

At the first stage, the text is memorized under the guidance of a teacher, as a result, students receive an assessment for the correct reading. Only after this the second stage of work begins, aimed at accelerating the reading of the poem / dialogue / passage from the text that has already been learned: the student is required not only correct, but also fluent pronunciation.

The exercises listed above and similar to them are used at all levels of training, although their purpose is somewhat different: at the initial stage, their goal is to develop auditory and pronunciation skills; at the middle and senior stages, they are aimed at preventing errors. Therefore, they should be performed when mastering new language material, before appropriate exercises in oral speech and before reading texts.

For the same purpose, at the beginning of each lesson, it is recommended to perform the so-called phonetic exercises, in which the teacher includes the most difficult phonetic material from the upcoming lesson: one or another rhythmic-intonation model, a group of sounds, etc. Charging may include 1-2 assignments of the above types, which are performed by the student and the choir, and in turn.

Exercises aimed at the formation of rhythmic-intonation skills in various types of sentences: interrogative, motivational, complex and complex sentences.

When assessing the correctness of a student's speech, one should distinguish between phonetic and phonological errors. The former distort the sound quality, but do not violate the meaning of the statement; the second distort the content of the statement and thereby make the speech incomprehensible to the interlocutor. In accordance with the accepted approximation, the presence of errors of the first kind is allowed in the student’s speech and is not taken into account when evaluating the answer, while phonological errors are regarded as a violation of the correctness of speech.

Sounds of the English language in comparison with Russian: / d - t /

The sound / d / is pronounced in the words day, did, mad. A significant difference from Russian / d / is that when pronouncing Russian sound, the front part of the tongue is pressed against the inner surface of the upper teeth and gums, and the very tip of the tongue is slightly lowered (say the word “home” and track the position of your articulating apparatus - do you feel?) .

When pronouncing English / d /, the blunt tip of the tongue should be pressed to the alveoli (tubercles above the teeth) at a right angle.

Task number 1. Practice the correct articulation in the following words:
dog	/ dɒɡ /
doll	/ dɒl /
dos	/duːz/
dry	/ draɪ /
desk	/ desk /
dark	/ dɑːk /
date	/ deɪt /
darn	/ dɑːn /
doctor	/ ˈdɒk.tər /
middle	/ ˈmɪd.ə l/

Another important difference from Russian / d /: the consonants of the English language are not softened in front of the front vowels (such as Russian e, i etc.). If in the word “sofa” we say soft / d /, then in the word “Did” - the sound / d / will be hard, as rock

Tip: first pronounce the consonant (according to the rules that we learned above), and then raise the middle back of the tongue to pronounce the next vowel.

Task number 2. Practice pronouncing solid / d / in front of vowels of the front row in words:

did / dɪd /

dish / dɪʃ /

destroy / dɪˈstrɔɪ /

deal / diːl /

dear / dɪə^r /

deep /diːp/

ditsy /ˈdɪt.si/

dint /dɪnt/

dibs /dɪbz/

digital /ˈdɪdʒ.ɪ.t^əl/

English consonant pronunciation / t /

Now we will learn how to pronounce / t /, which will be quite simple, since it has the same articulation as / d / - we bring the blunt end of the tongue to the alveoli at a right angle.

But there is another important detail - the aspiration of sound (or aspiration, as they usually say). More about this English sound in the video:

Task number 3. Practice proper articulation in the following words:

table / ˈteɪ.b^əl /

time / taɪm /

take /teɪk/

tail / teɪl/

talk / tɔːk /

tap / tæp /

task / tɑːsk /

taste / teɪst /

tan / tæn /

ton / tʌn /

I also note that the force of aspiration depends on the position:

1. the aspiration will be stronger before the stressed vowel: tea / tiː /

2. weaker than an unstressed vowel: water /ˈwɔː.tər/

3. at the end of words almost without aspiration: cat / kæt /

4.without aspiration after sound / s /: best / best /

The sound / t / also does not soften in front of the vowels of the front row. So, in the word “Tina” we say soft Russian / t /, but in the word “team” - solid English / t /.

Task number 4. Practice pronouncing solid / t / in front of the front row vowels:

tip /tɪp/

tea /tiː/

teach /tiːtʃ/

team /tiːm/

tear /teə^r/

teal /tiːl/

teen /tiːn/

till / tɪl /

tic /tɪk/

tint / tɪnt /

Twin sounds in English: no stun

And now the last difficulty two of these sounds share in two: the lack of stunning at the end of the word. For a Russian, it’s very difficult: “code” and “cat” sound the same for us. In English, the loudness of sound has a meaningful function: if you stun the sound, you change the meaning of the word. Classical examples: bud - but (plant bud - union “but”), bad - bat (bad - bat), kid - kit (child - kit), etc.

Tip: clearly pronounce all consonant sounds in accordance with the reading rules. For example, listen to singer Taylor Swift in the song “Bad Blood”.

Cause baby now we got bad blood

You know it used to be mad love

Task number 5. Here is a set of words ending in / d / and / t /. Speak them according to transcription without stunning the sound / d / at the end.

mid  /mɪd/ mitt  /mɪt/

mad  /mæd/ mat  /mæt/

feed  /fiːd/ feet  /fiːt/

cad  /kæd/ cat  /kæt/

cod  /kɒd/ cot  /kɒt/

bod  /bɒd/ bot  /bɒt/

bid / bɪd/ bit  /bɪt/

bad  /bæd/ bat  /bæt/

bed  /bed/ bet  /bet/

wed  /wed/ wet  /wet/

wad  /wɒd/ what  /wɒt/

fad  /fæd/ fat  /fæt/

had  /hæd/ hat  /hæt/

hod  /hɒd/ hot  /hɒt/

led  /led/ let  /let/

add  /æd/ at  /æt/

English tongue twisters

Finally, work out a few tongue twisters. For convenience, the sound / d / is marked in bold in them:

• Dan’s Dad is a good driver.

• Dolly Dale dances with Davy Dail, Davy Dail dates to Dolly Dale.

• If a doctor is doctoring a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring have to doctor the doctor the way the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doctor the way he usually doctors?

Now sound / t /.

• The trip by train took tiresome twenty two hours.

• Take ten pretty teapots and put twenty two plates on the table.

• Tim told Tom a true story about twenty-two tall trees. That Tim planted at a mountain top.

Pronunciation of English consonants / z - s /

The sound / z / is pronounced in the words zone, his, rose. It differs from ours / s / in that when pronouncing the Russian sound, the tip of the tongue is wide, and is located at the base of the lower front teeth, and the air passes through the gap between the front of the tongue and the teeth (say the word “umbrella” and follow the position of your articulating apparatus) .

For the English sound / z /, the tip of the tongue again rises closer to the alveoli (but does not touch them), and the air passes through the gap formed between the alveoli and the tip of the tongue.

Tip: put the tip of the tongue closer to the alveoli. Pay attention that you should feel a stream of air going straight ahead, and not in different directions.

Learn English Sounds

Task number 1. Practice proper articulation in the following

words:

zoo /zuː/

zone /zəʊn/

zap /zæp/

zany /ˈzeɪ.ni/

zoom /zuːm/

bozo /ˈbəʊ.zəʊ/

rose /rəʊz/

result /rɪˈzʌlt/

reason /ˈriːzən/

president /ˈprezədənt/

The following important point is similar to the previous group of sounds: / z / is not softened. The word “winter” we will pronounce with a soft / z ’/, while in the word“ zipper ”- / z / hard.

Tip: first finish the articulation of the consonant and only then lift the middle back of the tongue to pronounce the next vowel.

Task number 2. Practice pronouncing solid / z / in front of the front row vowels in words:

zero   /ˈzɪə.rəʊ/

zipper /ˈzɪp.ə^r/

zinc /zɪŋk/

zing /zɪŋ/

zip /zɪp/

zit /zɪt/

uzi /ˈuː.zi/

zebra /ˈzeb.rə/

lazy /ˈleɪ.zi/

hazy /ˈheɪ.zi/

Muffled sound / s / in English

Articulatively, it is pronounced the same as / z /, but without the participation of a voice. The difference from Russian / s / is the same - the tip of the tongue is raised to the alveoli, and the sound is formed by a stream of air passing through the narrow gap between the tip of the tongue and the alveoli.

Another difference is the sound / s / is stronger and longer than Russian: it is pronounced more intense, energetic and long, especially in the final position: miss.

Tip: put the tip of the tongue closer to the alveoli, and note that English / s / is a longer sound than Russian.

Task number 3. Practice the correct articulation in the following words:

sad /sæd/

safe /seɪf/

sail /seɪl/

soon /suːn/

sake /seɪk/

salad /ˈsæl.əd/

son /sʌn/

salt /sɒlt/

some /sʌm/

say /seɪ/

Once again, the sound / s / is not softened. For example, the word “power” is pronounced with soft / s /, and “seen” with hard.

Task number 4. Practice pronouncing solid / s / in front of the front row vowels:see /siː/

sit /sɪt/

seem /siːm/

sea /siː/

six /sɪks/

suit /sjuːt/

silk /sɪlk/

silly /ˈsɪl.i/

sing /sɪŋ/

sister /ˈsɪs.tə^r/

Paired sounds in English: exercises

Once again, I repeat about a typical mistake for us - to stun the final sound and thus change the meaning of the word: buzz - bus (buzz - bus), rise - rice (rise - rice). Listen to how loudly the sound / z / is made by Stephen Curtis Chapman in the song “His Eyes”.

His eyes are always upon us; His eyes never close in sleep. And no matter where you go, You will always be in His eyes, in His eyes.

Task number 5. You know it. Practice clearly pronouncing the correct sound at the end of the word.

buzz  /bʌz/ bus  /bʌs/

rise  /raɪz/ rice  /raɪs/

as   /æz/ ass   /æs/

bags  /bægz/ backs  /bæks/

noise  /nɔɪz/ voice  /vɔɪs/

wise  /waɪz/ nice  /naɪs/

nose  /nəʊz/ overdose  /ˈəʊ.və.dəʊs/

close  /kləʊz/ lachrymose  /ˈlæk.rɪ.məʊs/

those  /ðəʊz/ adipose  /ˈæd.ɪ.pəʊs/

blouse  /blaʊz/ mouse  /maʊs/

advise  /ədˈvaɪz/ vice  /vaɪs/

cause  /kɔːz/ sauce  /sɔːs/

limbs  /lɪmz/ bits  /bɪts/

his  /hɪz/ miss  /mɪs/

To conduct phonetic exercises at the beginning of the lesson

In order for the speech to be clear, legible and understandable, work with tongue twisters can provide invaluable assistance. They are the best way to achieve clarity of speech at any pace, since there can be no pace faster than a tongue twister.

Using tongue twisters in a foreign language lesson will help the teacher work out the pronunciation of individual consonants in a relaxed playful way, especially those that are not in the Russian language. To improve or correct pronunciation, we offer the following stages of work with tongue twisters.

English tongue twisters for practicing sounds

Sound / z /

• He rouses, opens his eyes, rises and goes to Zoe.

• A Zulu zoologist visited Zurich zoo on Tuesday to examine dozens noisy zebras, dozens lazy lizards and dozens crazy chimpanzees from a desert on Zanzibar.

Sound /s/

• Sue is sixteen this summer and Cecile was seventeen last Sunday.

• Swan swam over the sea, swim, San, swim. Swan swam back again. Well swum, Swan!

• A single singer sings a sad song about sixty-six sisters sitting by the sea at sunset.

Thus, we can say that the exercises in this case are phonetic. So, when compiling and conducting phonetic exercises, it is advisable to proceed from the nature of pronunciation difficulties.

Songs are also used to control the memorization of words on a topic. Thus, they include lexical and grammatical phenomena that are not included in the list of productively (actively) acquired language means. Songs are read aloud. Pupils should not repeat, read or write anything; they do not understand the meaning and content of their activity. You can start a poem / song in different ways:

• this must be done in order to listen and tell what kind of poem it is, what it is said about, where the action takes place. etc;

• the teacher presents the poem or song by ear, accompanies reading with gestures, facial expressions, visibility, helps to understand the meaning and content. At a more advanced stage of work on the language, children can use printed texts.

• after the texts presented together with the teacher try to translate the text line by line, and then read / speak it together with the teacher or after the teacher. The mode of speaking can be different: accompanied by claps, gestures, movements and others;

• during collective memorization of the text (at the initial stage of work on the language), the game “Forgetful teacher” is possible: the teacher starts the line of the poem, and the end “forgets”, the students suggest the end.