The 'mmm' Technique: A Simple Method to Teach Word Stress and Intonation in English | Schemes and Mind Maps Mathematics

2021 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 27

americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum

TEACHING TECHNIQUES

A Simple “mmm” Technique

to Teach Word Stress and

Intonation in English

by ART TSANG

Word stress and intonation are important

phonological features of the English language.

Many English as a second/foreign language

(ESL/EFL) learners face difficulties grasping

these features, hindering their effective

communication in English. ESL/EFL learners

are often unaware of word stress, even though

it may exist in their first language. When

teachers first introduce word stress or correct

learners’ problems with stress (e.g., /ɪˈsteɪt/

versus /ˈɪsteɪt/ in estate and /ˈdɪskaʊnt/

versus /dɪsˈkaʊnt/ in discount), some learners

find it difficult to distinguish the differences

in stress.

Intonation, meanwhile, is a broader and more

complex topic that can go beyond the word

level, and it can be one of the most difficult

topics to teach in English pronunciation.

Although intonation exists in different languages,

it is language-specific. Therefore, regardless of

one’s first language (whether intonation exists

or not), learners may encounter difficulties with

English intonation. Swan and Smith (2001) is a

reference for understanding specific difficulties

learners with different first languages have.

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

THE “MMM” TECHNIQUE

Having noted the difficulties faced by EFL

learners in my years of teaching English

pronunciation, I came up with a way to

assist them in learning to (1) distinguish

between stressed and unstressed syllables

(i.e., awareness and listening) and

(2) imitate others’ intonation as closely as

possible (i.e., speaking). Honing learners’

skills in (1) and (2) can produce significant

results. First, learners will perhaps make

fewer mistakes with word stress. Second,

they become better equipped to understand

information carried by cues in intonation in

spoken English (e.g., what a speaker wants

to emphasize). A third result is that learners

are able to convey information more

effectively by using appropriate intonation

in English.

This article describes a simple method to

teach pitch, a feature common to both

word stress and intonation. The technique

can be used by native and nonnative

The technique can be used by native and nonnative

English-speaking teachers and is applicable to students of

different levels and language backgrounds.

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americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum 2 0 2 1^ E N G L I S H^ T E A C H I N G^ F O R U M 27

TEACHING TECHNIQUES

A Simple “mmm” Technique

to Teach Word Stress and

Intonation in English

by ART TSANG Word stress and intonation are important phonological features of the English language. Many English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) learners face difficulties grasping these features, hindering their effective communication in English. ESL/EFL learners are often unaware of word stress, even though it may exist in their first language. When teachers first introduce word stress or correct learners’ problems with stress (e.g., /ɪˈsteɪt/ versus /ˈɪsteɪt/ in estate and /ˈdɪskaʊnt/ versus /dɪsˈkaʊnt/ in discount ), some learners find it difficult to distinguish the differences in stress. Intonation, meanwhile, is a broader and more complex topic that can go beyond the word level, and it can be one of the most difficult topics to teach in English pronunciation. Although intonation exists in different languages, it is language-specific.Therefore, regardless of one’s first language (whether intonation exists or not), learners may encounter difficulties with English intonation. Swan and Smith (2001) is a reference for understanding specific difficulties learners with different first languages have. A POSSIBLE SOLUTION: THE “MMM” TECHNIQUE Having noted the difficulties faced by EFL learners in my years of teaching English pronunciation, I came up with a way to assist them in learning to (1) distinguish between stressed and unstressed syllables (i.e., awareness and listening) and (2) imitate others’ intonation as closely as possible (i.e., speaking). Honing learners’ skills in (1) and (2) can produce significant results. First, learners will perhaps make fewer mistakes with word stress. Second, they become better equipped to understand information carried by cues in intonation in spoken English (e.g., what a speaker wants to emphasize). A third result is that learners are able to convey information more effectively by using appropriate intonation in English. This article describes a simple method to teach pitch, a feature common to both word stress and intonation. The technique can be used by native and nonnative

The technique can be used by native and nonnative

English-speaking teachers and is applicable to students of

different levels and language backgrounds.

28 E N G L I S H^ T E A C H I N G^ F O R U M 2 0 2 1 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum

In this simple “mmm” technique, all one has to do is transform

all the sounds—in a word or a sentence—into /m/.

English-speaking teachers and is applicable to students of different levels and language backgrounds. Pronounced as /m/, “mmm” is a sound that should be easy for speakers of any background to produce. Phonetically known as a voiced bilabial nasal, /m/ is produced by closing the lips. It appears in words such as mum (at both the beginning and the end) and is used as an interjection, as in, “Mmm, I see what you mean.” In this simple “mmm” technique, all one has to do is transform all the sounds—in a word or a sentence—into /m/. By turning everything into /m/, learners will find it much easier to tell a higher pitch from a lower one and to imitate intonation patterns. This is because learners need not invest mental resources on other linguistic aspects such as pronunciation (i.e., other sounds) and vocabulary; they simply need to utter the sound /m/, which requires little effort. Psychologically, students will also feel less embarrassed and anxious as they might when asked to repeat certain words or sentences; this is because everyone is saying /m/, and pronunciation is not a problem. To make it easier for learners to understand the technique, I usually challenge them to say the target word or sentence without opening their mouth, which results in all the /m/ sounds. The following are the specific steps teachers can follow and adapt. Examples are also provided. THE STEPS OF THE “MMM” TECHNIQUE 1. Start easy with two-syllable words familiar to all the learners. Write the words out (see the left column of the chart in Figure 1) and ask learners to enunciate them. The phonetic symbols in the chart are for teachers’ reference only; it is not necessary for the learners to know them. 2. Ask learners to pronounce these words with their mouths closed. The word happy should now sound exactly the same as after (i.e., two /m/, with the first at a higher pitch). Likewise, ago and balloon should sound the same (i.e., two /m/, with the second at a higher pitch). Challenge learners to come up with an explanation for this and to provide more examples in both categories. The explanation can be found in the second column in Figure 1, with the capital M referring to a syllable with a higher pitch and the lowercase m indicating a syllable with a lower pitch. (Note that this is not conventional; I have created this for pedagogical purposes.) It is important to point out that in English, Target word The “mmm” Transcription happy Mm ˈhæpi ago mM (^) əˈɡəʊ after Mm ˈɑːftə balloon mM (^) bəˈluːn Figure 1. Examples of target words with the “mmm” technique applied

30 E N G L I S H^ T E A C H I N G^ F O R U M 2 0 2 1 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum

The use of just /m/ … is conducive to learners’ concentration

on the target topic (e.g., loudness, length) rather than on

other issues, such as vocabulary and pronunciation.

An example is, “These aren’t real frogs, are they?” (This was spoken by Harry Potter on the train near the beginning of the movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone .) Although many intermediate and advanced learners are probably already aware of the rise in intonation in the question tag “are they,” many may not be aware that in this question, frogs has a lower pitch. Learners will likely be able to demonstrate this pitch if they “mmm” the sentence with you.You can follow up by explaining why certain words are stressed and others are not. It is worthwhile for both teachers and learners to pay close attention to word stress and intonation while watching movies or video clips.They can select examples to share with the class and practice with the “mmm” technique. Multiple opportunities for practice with “mmm” may be necessary, especially in the beginning when learners are being introduced to pitch.You can choose target items specifically addressing the challenges learners have. To maximize the benefits, teachers should capitalize on this “mmm” technique to improve learners’ sensitivity towards the use of pitch in English, which in turn should improve their pronunciation, listening, and overall speaking skills. WHAT’S NEXT? After using the “mmm” technique with pitch, teachers can try it with other phonological aspects. For instance, loudness can be distinguished by a louder /m/ and a softer /m/; length, meanwhile, can be distinguished by a longer /m/ and a shorter /m/. The use of just /m/, as mentioned, is conducive to learners’ concentration on the target topic (e.g., loudness, length) rather than on other issues, such as vocabulary and pronunciation. REFERENCE Swan, M., and B. Smith, eds. 2001. Learner English: A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Art Tsang has taught EFL for more than ten years. He is currently an English teacher educator in the Faculty of Education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He specializes in researching and teaching listening, speaking, and pronunciation. Figure 3. A pitch diagram for the sentence “I don’t want that.”

The 'mmm' Technique: A Simple Method to Teach Word Stress and Intonation in English, Schemes and Mind Maps of Mathematics

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Partial preview of the text

Download The 'mmm' Technique: A Simple Method to Teach Word Stress and Intonation in English and more Schemes and Mind Maps Mathematics in PDF only on Docsity!

TEACHING TECHNIQUES

A Simple “mmm” Technique

to Teach Word Stress and

Intonation in English

The technique can be used by native and nonnative

English-speaking teachers and is applicable to students of

different levels and language backgrounds.

In this simple “mmm” technique, all one has to do is transform

all the sounds—in a word or a sentence—into /m/.

The use of just /m/ … is conducive to learners’ concentration

on the target topic (e.g., loudness, length) rather than on

other issues, such as vocabulary and pronunciation.