ELP 102: Advanced Pronunciation II

Spring 2009

 

 

Instructor:

DJ Kaiser

E-mail: 

djkaiser@artsci.wustl.edu

Web Site:

http://artsci.wustl.edu/~djkaiser/102

 

Section 01: 

Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:00 – 7:30 AM

Lopata House, Room 10

 

 

Course Objectives

ELP 102 focuses on word-level pronunciation issues.  A brief introduction to issues of rhythm, primary phrase stress, and intonation will also be covered, but not be the primary focus.  ELP 102 concentrates on accuracy at the word level.  Students learn rules that assist in predicting word stress in unfamiliar words.  Through careful study of word-endings and parts of speech, you will learn helpful clues that can dramatically increase your ability to predict where the major stress of unfamiliar words should fall.  Students also work with transcription to focus on correct consonant and vowel articulation.  With all features learned in class, the eventual goal will be to put these features into your everyday speaking.

 

 

Attendance 

You are expected to attend every class and participate actively.  In-class activities are vital for your success in changing your pronunciation.  If you know you will miss class, please contact me ahead of time (by e-mail at djkaiser@artsci.wustl.edu) to let me know the reason for your absence.  More than three unexcused absences will lower your final grade to D (or F in the case of the pass/fail option).  Please let me know as early as possible about conflicts (out-of-town trips, doctor’s appointments, etc.)  An e-mail fifteen minutes before class for something you have known about for over a week is not acceptable.  Whether the absence is excused or unexcused, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and arrange to make it up.

 

 

Course Materials

1.      Hahn, L. and Dickerson, W. Speechcraft: Discourse Pronunciation for Advanced Learners.  Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.  1999. (Available at the Barnes and Nobles on the Medical Campus)

 

 

Recordings

You will often be given recording assignments to complete at home.  These will be reading lists of words or sentences to gain focused practice on sounds and topics being covered.  You are expected to go back and listen to yourself after recording an assignment.  If you find errors that you know that you can correct, go back and record the assignment again.  You will receive feedback on your recorded assignments.  You may complete your recordings in one of two manners:

 

1)      Recorded on your computer as an MP3 (preferable) or .wav file.  These files must be burned onto a CD-R or CD-RW and handed in (do NOT e-mail me audio files, they are too large.)  The Humanities Digital Workshop in Eads 007 has computers with recording equipment and CD Writers.  You can bring your own blank CD-Rs or purchase them for $1 each in Eads 007.

2)      Recorded on a standard-size audiocassette using a standard audiocassette recorder (do NOT use the Tandberg machines in Eads 007.)

 

Make certain that you use you label your audiocassette tape or CD-R with your name.  If you record any assignment out of order, please provide a list of the order in which you recorded each assignment.  Microcassettes, MiniDiscs, and other audio file formats will NOT be accepted.  Assignments will only be accepted on the specified due date.

 

For both recording methods, record a test of your voice and listen to it before recording the entire assignment.  I must be able to hear your voice clearly with the volume at a medium setting.  If the background noise is louder than your recorded voice, your recording will be returned and you will need to re-record the entire assignment in order to receive credit.  Always check your recording volume before you begin recording.

 

 

Project Work

This class includes project work.  We will work with lessons on specific groups of words that are related to a topic or theme.  You will be assigned to create your own list of related words.  You will have two projects to do during the semester and a final project at the end of the semester.  Projects must be turned in on their due date.  Late projects will lose points.

 

 

Final Project

Part of your final assessment will be a final project like the first two projects.  This project will be related to your field of study.  You will also prepare a short lesson to present in class and teach your fellow students the words in your project.

 

 

Individual Practice

You will spend 3 hours per week in class and 165 hours per week outside of class.  Therefore, if you want to improve your pronunciation you must devote a significant amount of time and attention to your pronunciation outside of class.  You are expected to:

 

  • monitor your speech outside of class,
  • ask close friends to give you feedback on your pronunciation (especially sounds recently covered), and
  • regularly speak English outside of class. 

 

New pronunciation skills are difficult for adult learners to master.  In order to change your pronunciation, you will have to consistently listen to yourself and practice on your own.  For more advice about your role in improving your own pronunciation, see section G-1 of Speechcraft and the introduction to Practical Pronunciation: Consonants and Vowels.

 

 

Policy on Cell Phones and Beepers

Beepers and cell phones cause a disturbance in the classroom.  You are expected to silence or turn off all noise-making communication devices before class.  If your cell phone or beeper goes off during class, you will receive a warning.  On the second occurrence and any other instances after, you will lose a full point from the 10 percentage points for attendance and participation.

 

 

Grades 

Your grade in this course will be based on the following:  

 

  • Attendance and participation                 10%
  • Tape completion                                   10%
  • Project One                                          10%
  • Project Two                                         10%
  • Quizzes                                                20%
  • Midterm                                               10%
  • Final exam/Final Project                        30%

 

 

The Instructor's Expectations of Students

§         Attend each class

§         Arrive to class on time

§         Notify the instructor when you will not be in class (this includes when you are not in class due to religious or cultural celebrations or holidays)

§         English only in the classroom

§         No dictionaries in class (if you do not understand a word, ask or write it down to look up after class)

§         Turn assignments in on time

§         Read all assigned readings before class (never during)

§         Respect your fellow classmates and the instructor

§         Make sure you are giving other students an opportunity to participate in class discussions

§         Do not chew gum or eat food in class (drinking a beverage is OK)

§         Do not work on assignments or read the newspaper after class has started

§         Give honest feedback to the instructor at the end of the course

 

If you have any questions, please let me know so that I can help you.

 

 

 

ELP 102: Advanced Pronunciation II Day Planner

 

The following schedule is tentative and may change due to class size, time constraints, or shift in focus due to student needs

 

In order to view all the notes and handouts correctly, you must have the font “SILDoulos IPA93” installed on your computer in the Fonts folder of the System folder.  This font is free and available for download from the Internet.  Instructions and the link for the files are at: http://www.sil.org/computing/fonts/ipareadme.html [quick link].  To check if the font has installed properly on your computer, restart and open up a new Microsoft Word document.  In the Fonts menu, look for the font “SILDoulos IPA93.”  If you see that font listed exactly as listed here, it should be installed correctly.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

If you have any problems accessing the materials, e-mail djkaiser@artsci.wustl.edu.

 

 

Day

Date

Topic

Speechcraft

Assignment/Assessment

Tape Assignment

1

Monday, January 12

Course Overview

Making Audio Recordings

 

Pronunciation Quiz; Complete the Diagnostic Recording in Eads 007

 

2

Wednesday, January 14

Consonant and Vowel Packet / Consonant and Vowel Intro OHPs

[Answer Key]

 

 

 

 

Monday,

January 19

NO CLASS

ML KING

 

 

3

Wednesday, January 21

 

G-3 / G-4

 

Diagnostic Recording Due

4

Monday, January 26

Transcription

 

Practice Transcription

 

5

Wednesday, January 28

Transcription with days and months [Answer Key]

W-1 Word Stress; W-2 Neutral & Basic Endings

Complete days and months transcription [Answer Key]

Record days and months (T1)

6

Monday, February 2

The 50 States / States Trivia

W-3 -ed and S-endings

 

 

7

Wednesday, February 4

State Trivia Answers;

Transcription II

W-4 Key and Left Syllables

Project One is assigned / Transcription Test Handed Out in Class

Record State Trivia & Transcription II Practice (T1)

8

Monday, February 9

Possibly begin Numbers

W-5A KSR

Transcription Test Due in Class

 

9

Wednesday, February 11

Palatals in English /

Numbers

W-5B KSR (student handout / W-5 Practice)

 

Record Numbers Practice (T2)

10

Monday, February 16

Practice with Numbers / Practice combining KSR and palatals

KSR Article Practice & Blank List / KSR list and transcriptions

ANSWERS to KSR Practice [Article / List]

Record Letters & Spelling; Asia Practice (T2)

11

Wednesday, February 18

Asia

W-6A V/VC

Sample Project Prep

 

12

Monday, February 23

 

 

Present Project One in class

Project One Recording

13

Wednesday, February 25

 

 

Present Project One in class / Assign Project Two

Turn in Recording One

14

Monday, March 2

Europe

W-6B V/VC

Do Article Practice: Article [Key] / Grid [Key]

Record Europe Practice (T2)

15

Wednesday, March 4

Europe Review

 

Handout 2-Rule Test

Article Key / Grid Key

 

 

Monday, March 9

Spring Break

No Class

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 11

Spring Break

No Class

 

 

16

Monday, March 16

 

 

Midterm

(Midterm Info) / Turn in Take-Home Take

 

17

Wednesday, March 18

Middle East

W-7A LSR

Assign Final Project

 

18

Monday, March 23

Symbols and Numbers

W-7B LSR / 3 Rules Review / 4 Rules Grid

 

 

19

Wednesday, March 25

Symbols and Numbers Practice / North America

Rhythm (Packet / OHPs)

 

Record Symbols and Numbers Practice (T3)

20

Monday, March 30

 

 

Present Project Two in class

 

21

Wednesday, April 1

 

 

Present Project Two in class

Turn in Recording Two

22

Monday, April 6

Symbols and Numbers / South America

Rhythm (Packet / OHPs)

Rhythm Supplement

 

 

23

Wednesday, April 8

Africa

Rhythm (Packet / OHPs)

Rhythm Supplement

Discuss Rhythm Quiz (Practice Test / Cheat Sheet)

Record Rhythm Practice (T3)

24

Monday, April 13

Intonation (Packet / OHPs)

Please complete Course Evaluations on-line at: http://evals.wustl.edu

Quiz on Rhythm and Transcription in class / Final Stress Rule exam handed out

 

25

Wednesday, April 15

 

 

Final Project Presentations

 [Zhen, Murphy, & Jiyi]

 

26

Monday, April 20

 

 

Final Project Presentations

[Xiaoyu & Alfred]

Turn in Recording Three

27

Wednesday, April 22

Final Class Wrap-Up

 

Final Project Presentations

[Shuoyan & Yang]

Turn in final stress rule exam

 

 

Final Written Exam Article (made available later in the semester)

Final Written Exam Grid (made available later in the semester)

  • For the Word file, you may highlight the cells in the table and under the menu “Table” select the “Sort…” option to alphabetize the words.
  • I have also included each vowel letter with a stress mark over it in the Word file so that you may cut and paste these characters if you do not want to write the stress marks by hand.
  • Good luck!!