Unit 7 Lesson Plan (With Notes for Teachers) Vowels: Diphthongs Date: Oct. 28-31 Class: Classes 1, 2 & 3, Grade 2002 Subject: English Pronunciation for Communication Purpose: The students will learn vowels: diphthongs in English. Objectives: Students will be able to: Define - in their own words a definition for Vowels: Diphthongs; Compare – based on the understanding of the basic concept, compare them with other vowels; Practice – imitate the sounds and do practice. Resources/Materials: Textbook: Wang, Guizhen, An English Pronunciation Course, Higher Education Press, Beijing, 2000; Handouts: illustration of the phonemes in focus; Recordings of native speakers Activities and Procedures: Stimulating: Begin by asking the class to find out how much the students know about what they are required to learn. Make sure that it serves the purpose of stimulating the students to think about the issue and have the desire to find out the answers themselves. Display examples by playing the recording of the native speakers showing the typical pronunciation in English. Ask the students to listen to the tapes to make a good discrimination of the sounds in focus. Have the students imitate the sound in focus. Have the students share what they have learned by reading out the practice materials in pairs. Have the students listen to the conversations recorded by native speakers of English and try to get the sounds in focus correct in their pronunciation. Have the students practice the guided conversation. Ask them to pay special attention to the sounds in focus in speech. Highlight the language function in the conversation in the practice. Have several pairs of the students present their conversation in the class. Comment on the students’ performance by highlighting the achievement of the students and the efforts they need for the improvement. Ask the students to do more practice after class and get ready for presentation during the next session. Notes for Teachers Vowels: Diphthongs In this unit, we will learn the diphthongs in English. There are eight diphthongs in English. Diphthongs are sounds which consist of a movement of glide from one vowel to another. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about all the diphthongs is that the first part is much longer and stronger than the second part. Take /a(/ as an example. Most of this diphthong consists of the [a] vowel, and only in about the last quarter of the diphthong does the glide to [(] begin. As the glide to [(] happens, the loudness of the sound decreases. As a result, the [(] part is shorter and quieter. The English diphthongs can be shown in the following diagram (P69): Diphthong centring closing ending in ( ending in ( ending in ( (( e( (( e( a( (( (( a( The following is a description of the eight English diphthongs (70). /(( e( ((/ /(( e( ((/ are called centring diphthongs because they all glide towards the [(] (schwa) vowel, as the symbols indicate. The starting point for /((/ is a little closer than [(] in bit, bin. /e(/ begins with the similar vowel sound as the [e] of get, men. /((/ has a starting point slightly closer than [(] in put, pull. / e( a( ((/ /e(/, /a(/ and /((/ the three diphthongs that glide towards [(]. /e(/ begins with the same vowel sound as the [e] of get, men. /a(/ begins with an open vowel which is between front and back; it is quite similar to the [(] in words like cut, bun. The starting point of /((/ is a little more open than [(:] in ought, born. The closing diphthongs have the characteristic that they all end with a glide towards a closer vowel. Because the second part of the diphthong is weak, they often do not reach a position that could be called close. The important thing is that a glide from a relatively more open towards a relatively more close vowel is produced. /(( a(/ /(( a(/ are the two diphthongs that end with a glide towards [(]. So as the tongue moves closer to the roof of the mouth there is at the same time a rounding movement of the lips. This movement is not a large one, again because the second part of the diphthong is weak. The vowel position for the beginning of /((/ is the same as for the "schwa" vowel [(]. The lips may be slightly rounded in anticipation of the glide towards [(], for which there is quite a noticeable lip-rounding. /a(/ begins with a vowel similar to [(:] but a little more front. There is slight lip-rounding during the glide towards [(]. Pronunciation difficulties with the diphthongs Most Chinese EFL learners have little problem with most of the diphthongs, but the following two are particularly important to ensure correct pronunciation. Make sure that you have a correct starting point. For example, /((/ start with an [(] which is neither [i:] nor [(]. It is a sound which is a little bit closer than /(/ in big. Make sure that the diphthongs end with a glide. One of the problems with some of the learners is the production of pure vowels where a diphthong should be pronounced. For example, some learners find it difficult to make a clear distinction between /e/ and /e(/. 元音: 双元音 本单元介绍的是英语的双元音。双元音与单元音不同之处在于：单元音在发音时发音器官自始至终保持某一固定位置，如/e/, /e/在发音时牙床的开张度居半合与半开之间，发音过程中舌位与唇型一直保持同样的位置不变,直至发音结束。双元音又称“滑音”，即在发音过程中发音器官的位置或形状有所变化，从一个单元音滑向另一个单元音，如/e(/, 发/e(/这一双元音就是从发/e/开始，朝/(/的方向滑动，构成/e(/。 发双元音时要注意两个问题：一是双元音必须一口气完成，如果中断，就会形成两个音素而不再是一个双元音了, 如将/e(/发成:/e/ /(/。二是要注意:英语双元音的两个成分中，位于前面的音发音通常清晰响亮，位于后面的则较轻,甚至有点模糊，英语的双元音的发音就是这样从第一个成分开始然后滑向第二个成分. 如/e(/. 英语有8个双元音。根据发音特点，我们可以将他们分为三组： 双元音 中向双元音 合口双元音 以/(/结尾 以/(/结尾 以/(/结尾 (( e( (( e( a( (( (( a( /((/ /e(/ /((/在发音时从各自的起点朝着中元音的方向移动,故称中向双元音, /e(/ /a(/ /((/ /((/ /a(/这五个音在发音过程中,口形从开到合, 因此被称作合口双元音。 请看双元音的发音舌位图(见课本P70)。 /((/ /e(/ /((/是中向双元音. /((/在发音时舌位从[(]滑向[(], 双唇扁平，牙床从半合到半开。要注意,这个双元音的第一个成分是[(]而不是[i]:/ ((/. /e/的第一个成分是一个半开前元音,发音时双唇保持扁平：/e(/. /((/发音的起点是[(], 舌头位置高，圆唇. 在发音过程中，舌头朝[(]的方向移动，双唇往两边拉开: /((/。 /e(/ /a(/ /((/ /((/ /a(/是合口双元音, 其中/e(/ /a(/ /((/是朝着[(]的方向移动,而/((/ /a(/则是朝着[(]的方向移动。/e(/在发音时舌头位置以[e]为起点，朝着[(]的方向移动。注意：是“朝着[(]的方向移动”,但不是非达到[(]不可. 牙床开始时半开，逐渐收拢。/a(/发音起点为前元音[a], 舌位低,牙床全开，双唇中常,发音时朝着[(]的方向移动,即牙床逐渐收拢，双唇往两边拉开：/((/的发音起点为后元音[(],牙床近乎全开，双唇稍圆,然后舌头朝着[(]的方向移动, 即牙床逐渐闭合,双唇从圆到扁平：/((/. /((/ /a(是朝着[(]的方向移动的合口双元音. /((/的发音以中元音作为起点，朝后元音[(]的方向移动，唇形从中常到略圆,牙床渐合。总的说来，/((/音在发音时滑动的幅度并不大: /((/。 /a(/的发音以[a]作为起点，朝后元音[(]的方向移动，此处的[a]音稍后于/a(/的起点，准确地说，它位于/a(/的起点和[(]之间。发音时牙床全开，双唇中常,随后舌位朝[(]的方向滑动,牙床逐渐收拢，双唇呈圆状，从[a]到[(]滑动幅度较大，牙床从开到合: /a(/. 我国学生在学习英语双元音时主要应注意以下两点： 1. 确保所发双元音的起点准确无误. 以/((/为例, 该音的起点更接近[(]而非[i:], 发音时，勿将其发得太长、太紧: /((/. 又如/((/, 该音的起点为[(]而非[u:]: /((/. 确保发音过程中的“滑动”,缺了“滑动”则不成其为双元音了。以/e(/为例,如果缺少了发音过程的滑动, /e(/就成了/e/, pain与pen就没什么区别了。 掌握好以上发音要领，我们就能学好英语的双元音。