Module 9: Pronunciation Teaching

← Back to course

Sounds, Stress, and Intonation

Pronunciation has three main layers — individual sounds, stress, and intonation. Each one affects how clearly a speaker is understood.

Tesol120_9-2.png

Minimal pairs

Tesol120_9-3.png

Teaching tip: Use minimal pairs to help students hear and produce the difference between two similar sounds.

Tesol120_9-4.pngTesol120_9-5.pngTesol120_9-6.png

Teaching tip: Use your voice dramatically when modeling intonation. Exaggerate the rise and fall so students can hear the pattern clearly.

Tesol120_9-7.png

Pronunciation is more than sounds. Word stress and intonation often have a bigger impact on intelligibility than individual sounds — so teach all three layers, not just consonants and vowels.

✓By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

  • Explain the three layers of pronunciation — sounds, stress, and intonation
  • Identify minimal pairs and use them in teaching
  • Describe how word stress and intonation affect meaning
PrevNext