Teaching English Intonation AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT A Master’s Dissertation by Tahir Ali Khan School of Language and Literature, King’s College Aberdeen TEACHING ENGLISH INTONATION (an action research project) A master’s dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of MLitt in English Linguistics for Advanced Teachers of English at the University of Aberdeen by TAHIR ALI KHAN Supervised by: Dr Mark Garner School of Language and Literature, University of Aberdeen 2010 Teaching English Intonation by Tahir Ali Khan Abstract Intonation is an area of language that is seldom explored from the perspective of teaching This dissertation will examine the different contours of intonation and the transferability of intonation through teaching for non-native speaker of English Through action research the participants of this research project will try to explore the best way to teach intonation Being research participants at the same time they will also try to devise a framework for teaching intonation In order to this two cycles of teaching will be devised in order to ensure that the second round will be free of the flaws of the first session of teaching In order to check if the teaching sessions have any bearing on the improved practice two types of data will be collected One in the form of researchers’ individual journals and the other in the form of audio pre-test and post-test consisting of 12 sentences and short interviews to be conducted before and after each round of teaching This data will then be analysed qualitatively as well as quantitatively The qualitative data from Journals showed that most of the participants felt an improved sense in practice while voicing their areas of difficulty Whereas the audio data was judged by three volunteer native-speakers which was then quantitatively analysed for statistical significance through SPSS The audio results were also promising especially when it comes to the spontaneous interviews, whereas, though the sentences showed improvement, statistically speaking the probability was around 50% Though inconclusive in its findings due to several constraints of time and other resources that the project suffers from it was still highly appreciated and student researchers participated enthusiastically Further research incrementing on the findings of this research will hopefully bring a positive change in intonational pedagogy Declaration The work submitted in this dissertation is the result of my own investigation, except where otherwise stated It has not already been accepted for any degree, and is also not being concurrently submitted for any other degree Tahir Ali Khan We/I endorse the declaration by the candidate Dr Mark Garner To my visionary Mother who means the world to me! i Acknowledgement The greatest thanks, by far, go to my supervisor Dr Mark Garner who has been a constant source of encouragement, and inspiration His constant support throughout the project as well as during my stay at the university has been instrumental and without his guidance this work would not have come to fruition Many a sincere thanks go to Dr Haishang Jiang for his insightful teaching sessions during the undertaking of this project I cannot thank fully Dr Barbara Fennell for her kind support during my time at the university To Dr Mercedes Durham and Dr Robert McColl Miller for their help during my course of study I shall always remain indebted Thanks are also due to all the staff at the school of language and literature, University of Aberdeen Last but not least thanks to all of my family and friends, especially my elder brother Zard Ali Khan, whose encouragement and support has brought me to study here in the UK ii Contents Dedication i Acknowledgments ii Contents iii Figures and Tables v Chapter I: Introduction Background Research Aim and Focus Value of This Research Chapter II: Literature Review What is Intonation? Form of Intonation English Intonation Models of Intonation and Research in Applied Linguistics Research Methodology: Action research 11 Studies in Teaching Intonation 12 Conclusion 14 Chapter III: Research Methods 15 Introduction 15 Research Strategy 16 Research Paradigm 17 Data Collection: Site and Sampling Method 22 Data Collection Techniques 24 Framework for Data Analysis 25 Chapter IV: Findings & Discussion 27 Description of Findings 27 Journals’ Data 27 Interest about the Programme 29 Participants' Attitude Towards the Teaching 30 Participation of the Students 31 Comments or Feelings of the Effectiveness of the Teaching/Teacher/Methods 32 iii Can you apply what you have learned in everyday speech? And in what ways? 36 Impact of the Teaching and Personal Feelings about the Whole Learning (General feelings) 37 Audio Recorded Data 40 Discussion of the Results 47 Journals’ Data 47 Audio Data 48 Conclusion 49 Appendix A: Round Teaching Material from EnglishPronunciation in Use (Advanced) 50 Appendix B: Pre-Test and Post-Test Sentences for Utterance with Context & Round Task2 (Interview) 53 Appendix C: Criteria for Judges (Pre- and Post-Test) 56 Appendix D: Consolidated Audio Results from Judges 58 Appendix E: Pitch Variation Across the Participants’ Utterances 61 References 79 iv Figures and Tables Figure/Table Page Intonational Notation Schemes Bot and Mailfret (1982) Experimental Results McNiff’s Latest Action Research Process McNiff’s Original Action Research Process Table Round Correlations Table Round Correlations Table Round Sentences Correlations Table Round Sentences Correlation Table Round Sentences Pairs Samples Test Table Round Sentences Pairs Samples Test Table Round Interviews Correlations Table Round Interviews Correlations 13 19 20 42 44 45 45 46 46 46 47 v Introduction Background Being the undisputed lingua franca of the world English language has reached almost every corner of the world with more and more people learning it for so many reasons Even countries where English has no colonial history are now turning to English in order to understand the rich knowledge of science and technology available mostly in English only The domain of research is almost solely occupied by the English language with researchers bound to present their fresh research in English so as to be able to reach a global research audience According to a British Council report the number of people learning English will reach its peak in the next 10-15 years which might be as early as 2010 with some estimated billion people from around the world learning English (Graddol, 2006) In the wake of these developments the area of English Language Teaching (ELT) has grown tremendously with hundreds, if not thousands, of titles coming to the market every year English language is hence the most researched language in the world From the largest historical dictionary (the Oxford English Dictionary) to the publication of a thesaurus in 1852 English language has been setting standards for all other languages Same is the case with the ELT material with grammar books for natives as well as non-natives of the language in mass production since the nineteenth century Situation during the colonial era and the ensuing economic and technological superiority of the English speaking countries during the post colonial period up to the present day has revolutionised the ELT and learning resources Almost all aspects of the English language have been meticulously investigated in the previous century Take any aspect of the English language and you can find a host research material As for as applied linguistics is concerned there is abundance of resource material on almost every aspect of the English language Yet the illusive nature of intonation has been a reason for its being left in the hands of theoreticians only with no or very few pedagogical examples in the everyday ELT material Even handbooks on the pronunciation of English language and books about English phonology usually make a cursory mention of the subject only This situation has lead to an almost freeze on intonation teaching in the wider ELT community Despite this virtual stagnation in applied linguistics on intonation the value and importance of intonation in linguistic meaning is attested to by researchers as well as ELT practitioners alike Audio data corrupted due to technical fault A_PST_S_EGO_05 …EGO_06 A_PST_S_ELH_05 …ELH_06 A_PST_S_MUB_05 …MUB_05 A_PST_S_QZH_05 …QZH_06 A_PST_S_SKA_05 …SKA_06 A_PST_S_TAK_05 …TAK_06 A_PST_S_TDE_05 …TDE_06 A_PST_S_XWA_05 …XWA_06 Sentence Mary! I'm going to fall They're getting married? You're having me on A_PST_S_APO_07 …APO_08 A_PST_S_DAV_07 …DAV_08 Audio data corrupted due to technical fault Audio data corrupted due to technical fault A_PST_S_EGO_07 …EGO_08 A_PST_S_ELH_07 …ELH_08 A_PST_S_MUB_07 …MUB_08 A_PST_S_QZH_07 …QZH_08 67 A_PST_S_SKA_07 …SKA_08 A_PST_S_TAK_07 …TAK_08 A_PST_S_TDE_07 …TDE_08 A_PST_S_XWA_07 …XWA_08 Sentence 10 No, they won't Italy will It's great! I will buy a new car now A_PST_S_APO_09 …APO_10 A_PST_S_DAV_09 …DAV_10 Audio data corrupted due to technical fault Audio data corrupted due to technical fault A_PST_S_EGO_09 …EGO_10 A_PST_S_ELH_09 …ELH_10 A_PST_S_MUB_09 …MUB_10 A_PST_S_QZH_09 …QZH_10 A_PST_S_SKA_09 …SKA_10 A_PST_S_TAK_09 …TAK_10 A_PST_S_TDE_09 …TDE_10 A_PST_S_XWA_09 …XWA_10 68 Sentence 11 You haven't cleaned it yet What did you say to me last time? You should be responsible for the cleanliness of the flat 12 I guess so I don't know what I'm going to now, though A_PST_S_APO_11 …APO_12 A_PST_S_DAV_11 …DAV_12 Audio data corrupted due to technical fault A_PST_S_EGO_11 …EGO_12 A_PST_S_ELH_11 …ELH_12 A_PST_S_MUB_11 …MUB_12 A_PST_S_QZH_11 …QZH_12 A_PST_S_SKA_11 …SKA_12 A_PST_S_TAK_11 …TAK_12 A_PST_S_TDE_11 …TDE_12 A_PST_S_XWA_11 …XWA_12 Round Pre-Test Sentence I haven’t heard from Wendy at all, she was supposed to be here at B_PRE_S_AMA_01 …AMA_02 B_PRE_S_APO_01 …APO_02 B_PRE_S_DAV_01 …DAV_02 That printer was replaced yesterday 69 B_PRE_S_EGO_01 …EGO_02 B_PRE_S_ELH_01 …ELH_02 B_PRE_S_QZH_01 …QZH_02 B_PRE_S_SKA_01 …SKA_02 B_PRE_S_TAK_01 …TAK_02 B_PRE_S_TDE_01 …TDE_02 B_PRE_S_XWA_01 …XWA_02 Sentence Would it be all right if I bring you the book in the evening I’m sure things will get better for you soon B_PRE_S_AMA_03 …AMA_02 B_PRE_S_APO_03 …APO_04 B_PRE_S_DAV_03 …DAV_04 B_PRE_S_EGO_03 …EGO_04 B_PRE_S_ELH_03 …ELH_04 B_PRE_S_QZH_03 …QZH_04 70 B_PRE_S_SKA_03 …SKA_04 B_PRE_S_TAK_03 …TAK_03 B_PRE_S_TDE_03 …TDE_04 B_PRE_S_XWA_03 …XWA_04 Sentence This information is very interesting, Mrs Cross I really don’t want to give up the course, but it looks like I have to B_PRE_S_AMA_05 …AMA_06 B_PRE_S_APO_05 …APO_06 B_PRE_S_DAV_05 …DAV_06 B_PRE_S_EGO_05 …EGO_06 B_PRE_S_ELH_05 …ELH_06 B_PRE_S_QZH_05 …QZH_06 B_PRE_S_SKA_05 …SKA_06 B_PRE_S_TAK_05 …TAK_06 B_PRE_S_TDE_05 …TDE_06 71 B_PRE_S_XWA_05 Sentence This ladder is very high …XWA_06 You can’t be serious, are they honestly getting married? B_PRE_S_AMA_07 …AMA_08 B_PRE_S_APO_07 …APO_08 B_PRE_S_DAV_07 …DAV_08 B_PRE_S_EGO_07 …EGO_08 B_PRE_S_ELH_07 …ELH_08 B_PRE_S_QZH_07 …QZH_08 B_PRE_S_SKA_07 …SKA_08 B_PRE_S_TAK_07 …TAK_08 B_PRE_S_TDE_07 …TDE_08 B_PRE_S_XWA_07 …XWA_08 Sentence I think I might have won the second prize 10 Yes, you are right, they will win the game B_PRE_S_AMA_09 …AMA_10 B_PRE_S_APO_09 …APO_10 72 B_PRE_S_DAV_09 …DAV_10 B_PRE_S_EGO_09 …EGO_10 B_PRE_S_ELH_09 …ELH_10 B_PRE_S_QZH_09 …QZH_10 B_PRE_S_SKA_09 …SKA_10 B_PRE_S_TAK_09 …TAK_10 B_PRE_S_TDE_09 …TDE_10 B_PRE_S_XWA_09 …XWA_10 Sentence 11 I can’t believe you still haven’t done it 12 The exam wasn’t hard B_PRE_S_AMA_11 …AMA_12 B_PRE_S_APO_11 …APO_12 B_PRE_S_DAV_11 ….DAV_12 B_PRE_S_EGO_11 …EGO_12 B_PRE_S_ELH_11 …ELH_12 73 B_PRE_S_QZH_11 …QZH_12 B_PRE_S_SKA_11 …SKA_12 B_PRE_S_TAK_11 …TAK-12 B_PRE_S_TDE_11 …TDE_12 B_PRE_S_XWA_11 …XWA_12 Round Post-Test Sentence I haven't heard from Wendy at all, I hope she's all right That I can't believe it! Just my luck! B_PST_S_AMA_01 …AMA_02 B_PST_S_APO_01 …APO_02 B_PST_S_DAV_01 …DAV_02 B_PST_S_EGO_01 …EGO_02 B_PST_S_ELH_01 …ELH_02 B_PST_S_QZH_01 …QZH_02 B_PST_S_SKA_01 …SKA_02 B_PST_S_TAK_01 …TAK_02 74 B_PST_S_TDE_01 …TDE_02 B_PST_S_XWA_01 …XWA_02 Sentence I am sorry Amanda I promise it won't ever happen again I am sorry to hear that but I know how you feel, it happened to me before B_PST_S_AMA_03 …AMA_04 B_PST_S_APO_03 …APO_04 B_PST_S_DAV_03 …DAV_04 B_PST_S_EGO_03 …EGO_04 B_PST_S_ELH_03 …ELH_04 B_PST_S_QZH_03 …QZH_04 B_PST_S_SKA_03 …SKA_04 B_PST_S_TAK_03 …TAK_04 B_PST_S_TDE_03 …TDE_04 B_PST_S_XWA_03 …XWA_04 Sentence Thank you, you're far too kind Mrs Cross B_PST_S_AMA_05 It all happened so fast, I just don't know what to …AMA_06 75 B_PST_S_APO_05 …APO_06 B_PST_S_DAV_05 …DAV_06 B_PST_S_EGO_05 …EGO_06 B_PST_S_ELH_05 …ELH_06 B_PST_S_QZH_05 …QZH_06 B_PST_S_SKA_05 …SKA_06 B_PST_S_TAK_05 …TAK_06 B_PST_S_TDE_05 B_PST_S_XWA_05 Sentence Mary! I'm going to fall …TDE_06 …XWA_06 They're getting married? You're having me on B_PST_S_AMA_07 …AMA_08 B_PST_S_APO_07 …APO_08 B_PST_S_DAV_07 …DAV_08 B_PST_S_EGO_07 …EGO_08 76 B_PST_S_ELH_07 …ELH_08 B_PST_S_QZH_07 …QZH_08 B_PST_S_SKA_07 …SKA_08 B_PST_S_TAK_07 …TAK_08 B_PST_S_TDE_07 …TDE_08 B_PST_S_XWA_07 …XWA_08 Sentence It's great! I will buy a new car now 10 No, they won't Italy will B_PST_S_AMA_09 …AMA_10 B_PST_S_APO_09 …APO_10 B_PST_S_DAV_09 …DAV_10 B_PST_S_EGO_09 …EGO_10 B_PST_S_ELH_09 …ELH_10 B_PST_S_QZH_09 …QZH_10 B_PST_S_SKA_09 …SKA_10 77 B_PST_S_TAK_09 …TAK_10 B_PST_S_TDE_09 …TDE_10 B_PST_S_XWA_09 …XWA_10 Sentence 11 You haven't cleaned it yet What did you say to me last time? You should be 12 I guess so I don't know what I'm going to now, though responsible for the cleanliness of the flat B_PST_S_AMA_11 …AMA_12 B_PST_S_APO_11 …APO_12 B_PST_S_DAV_11 …DAV_12 B_PST_S_EGO_11 …EGO_12 B_PST_S_ELH_11 …ELH_12 B_PST_S_QZH_11 …QZH_12 B_PST_S_SKA_11 …SKA_12 B_PST_S_TAK_11 …TAK_12 B_PST_S_TDE_11 …TDE_12 B_PST_S_XWA_11 …XWA_12 78 References Altrichter H., Posch P & Somekh B (1993) Teachers Investigate Their Work: An Introduction to the Methods of Action Research, London: Routledge Bailey, K M., & Ochsner, R (1983) A methodological review of the diary studies: Windmill tilting or social science? 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Intonation (1972), Harmonsworth: Penguin Books Pp 53-82 34 Richards K (2003) Qualitative Inquiry in TESOL, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan 35 Roach, Peter (1991) English Phonetics and Phonology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 36 Roach, Peter (2009) A Little Encyclopaedia of Phonetics Retrieved from http://www.cambridge.org/elt/peterroach/resources/Glossary.pdf 37 Somekh B (2006) Action Research: a Methodology for Change and Development, Berkshire: Open University Press 38 Wei, Li & Moyer, Melissa G (2008) The Blackwell Guide to Research Methods in Bilingualism and Multilingualism, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 39 Wells, J.C (2006) English Intonation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press p 40 Wicklund, Robert A & Duval Shelley (1971) 'Opinion Change and Performance Facilitation as a Result of Objective Self-Awareness' in Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Volume Issue p 319-342 41 Yong, Cao (2004) How can I improve the pronunciation and intonation of the firstyear English Majors to meet the demand of the New English Curriculum? Retrieved on May 25, 2009 from http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/moira/Cao%20Yong.htm 81 [...]... segmental errors in foreign learners’ pronunciation of English but they do not do so with regard to intonation as they don’t realise that intonation can be erroneous too They assume that with regard to intonation you mean what you say and not what you think you are saying And because several patterns of intonation are possible in English a wrong choice of intonation patterns may, sometimes, lead to unforeseen... (d) the “interlinear-tonetic transcription” (Cook: 2002, 103) English Intonation O’Connor and Arnold, (1973) argue that English intonation is based on three major premises that: (1) intonation is significant; accordingly, one can utter the same utterance with different intonation patterns and as a result he can capture different meanings, (2) intonation is systematic; the idea of systematization stems... present ELT material on intonation inform us about the very limited role of intonation Its teaching practice inside the classroom environment is almost nonexistent The issue of intonation is sidelined more so by the fact that English is now a global language with more and more second language teachers of English coming to meet the demands of the growing number of people turning to English Being non-native... number of research objectives envisioned by this research study for the teaching of English intonation especially to: 1 Identify the important intonation patterns necessary for the teaching of English to students of other tongues 2 Evaluate critically the models and frameworks of teaching Intonation within the context of English language teaching and try to devise course material and teaching practice... native-like intonational standing complemented by their views themselves in several ways 4 Formulate recommendations with regard to the teaching of Intonation in English language classes One important aspect of this research work is associated with objective 3; i.e the opportunity to give a fresh insight into the teaching of intonation in an English language teaching programme; to study the importance of intonational... then focuses on intonation in English and its five different forms followed by the a summary of the different models of intonation and the research in applied linguistics It also informs about action research and the rationale for its being used for this project Finally it provides a brief introduction of some of the studies in teaching intonation and their limitations Native speakers of English according... or five levels (c) listeners' perceptions of intonation, which means that listeners hear intonation according to internal phonological categories inside their brain patterns rather than according to acoustic phonetic realities In case where the learner’s L1 has different intonation patterns than English he is likely to have difficulty in mastering his L2 intonation In this respect results in Kees de... echoes in Dickerson (1989) Thus Levis (1999) comes up with four principles for intonation teaching materials namely: (a) that intonation must be taught in context, (b) that intonational meanings must be generalizable, (c) that the teaching of intonation should be subordinate to larger communicative purposes and (d) that intonation be taught within the context of real language 10 Research Methodology:... teachers of English as a second language an investigation into intonation teaching would serve two purposes Firstly an experiment of this kind would open up new vistas of transfer of intonational skills to second language learners, in our case experienced users of English Secondly being in direct contact with the native speakers the participants of this experiment would learn natural contours of intonation. .. of the voice; accent” and records the first use of intonation in English language by Thomas Newte in “A tour in England and Scotland in 1785”: “The people of Inverness…are not only free from that unfortunate intonation of Aberdeenshire…but speak the English language with greater purity than they do in any other part in Scotland.” In linguistic terms intonation is classed under the suprasegmental phonology