ESOL Sc/E1.1a Use stress & intonation to make speech comprehensible

- develop awareness of word stress and place stress on the correct syllable in familiar words

– develop ability to place stress on key words in utterances

– understand that English has many
unstressed vowels and be able to
approximate the sound of the schwa

– be able to approximate appropriate intonation patterns, e.g. to indicate politeness

station, computer, appointment
 

Can I smoke here?
I only speak a little English.
Can I go home at 11 o’clock today?
 

Can I see the manager, please? (with rising intonation)

• Learners construct a short dialogue in small groups around the topic of smoking to identify intonation and stress, e.g. Can I smoke here? Identify how this question is spoken in order to correspond with the answer No smoking here – over there. Thank you. They repeat the dialogue, paying attention to stress. New sentences and phrases are added to show stressed syllables, e.g. outside, manager, teacher. Learners practise in pairs.

   

• Learners listen to simple sentences (e.g. A Twix, please. A biscuit, please. A cup of tea, please. A cup of tea with sugar, please) and clap on the stressed syllables, to identify the importance of unstressed vowels in connected speech. Learners then focus on where the stress comes in the sentence and repeat sentences with correct stress. They listen to sentences with contrasting stressed and schwa vowels – e.g. Who’s it for? It’s for you. (schwa sound in second for) – and repeat.