Unit 8 Lesson Plan (With Notes for Teachers) Stressed Syllables & Unstressed Syllables Date: Nov.4-8 Class: Classes 1, 2 & 3, Grade 2002 Subject: English Pronunciation for Communication Purpose: The students will learn stressed syllables & unstressed syllables in English. Objectives: Students will be able to: Define - in their own words a definition for stressed syllables & unstressed syllables. It is a revision and therefore, easy for most of the students; Compare – based on the understanding of the basic concept, compare stressed and unstressed syllables in words and sentences; Practice – imitate the stress patterns and do practice. Resources/Materials: Textbook: Wang, Guizhen, An English Pronunciation Course, Higher Education Press, Beijing, 2000; Handouts: illustration of stress patterns and rhythmic pattern; 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 stress in focus. Have the students imitate the stress patterns 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 stress correct in their pronunciation. Have the students practice the guided conversation. Ask them to pay special attention to the stress 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 Stressed Syllables & Unstressed Syllables In this unit, we will learn more about stressed syllables & unstressed syllables. We now have a general view of the sounds in English. We know how important correct pronunciation is to successful communication. We also learned a little about the fact that we need to master other important aspects of the spoken English in order to achieve successful communication. Stress and rhythm are two essential elements. Every time you dance, sing, or clap your hands you emphasize or stress particular beats or sounds. In speech, stress may be defined as the degree of intensity of loudness placed on a sound; that is, the amount of force one puts on a syllable or word to give it importance. Stress is such an important feature of spoke English that it determines not only the rhythmic flow of words, but also the quality of the vowels. Correct word and sentence stress in spoken English can mean the difference between good communication and no communication at all. Three types of stress can be found in English: primary, secondary, and zero. The term primary stress refers to the strong emphasis a speaker puts on the most important syllable of a particular word. Secondary stress refers to a less strong emphasis on the next most important syllable. Zero stress refers to any syllable that receives no stress, and it is also called unstressed syllable. In other words, an unstressed syllable receives no intensity or loudness at all. The frequent occurrence of unstressed syllable is one of the fundamental characteristics of spoken English, and the one that most distinguishes English from Chinese. A stressed syllable may contain any one of the vowel sounds except the schwa, but any vowel except the diphthongs /a(/ and /((/ can be reduced to /(/ or /(/. In spoken English, there are many more unstressed syllables than there are stressed syllables. This explains why the two vowels, /(/ and /(/, are the most frequently used vowel sounds in spoken English. 重读音节和非重读音节 在前面几个单元中，我们学习了英语的44个音素。我们非常清楚，正确的发音是口头交际成功的重要因素。与此同时，我们也非常清楚地认识到，仅有正确的发音还不够，当音素相连形成音节，进而形成单词与语句的时候，我们需要用英语所特有的重音模式和节奏规律将这些音素与音节说出来，才能表达出语句的含义。这一单元我们学习的是英语的重音: 英语单词和句子中的重读音节与非重读音节。 我们在听英语语句的时候，有一些单词或音节听起来比其周围的单词或音节要响亮些，这就是我们通常说的重读。换句话说，重音是指一个词或音节的发音比周围的词或音节的发音费的劲要大。一般说来，重读的单词或音节一般音调较高，延续时间较长，当然，指的是元音较长。总之，音节与音节之间的区别，最根本的是在于重读和非重读之间的区别。重音是英语口语的一个重要特点，每个单词都有其固定的重音模式，此外，重音还具有两大语义功能。一是我们可以通过重音区别两个相似的单词：`import （名词）im`port （动词）。The car is a foreign import.这部车是进口货。 We import all our coffee. 我们所有的咖啡都是进口的。 二是我们可以通过重音强调一个音节或单词。I said in the desk, not on the desk. 我是说在书桌里面而不是在桌面上。掌握英语的重音规律可以使语言的表达准确到位，同时语句重音模式也是话语节奏的基础。 英语的重音可分为三个级别：主重音、次重音与零重音。主重音就是我们通常说的重音；零重音就是我们通常指的非重读音节。次重音当然指的就是居于两者之间，既不是重读音节，又有别于非重读音节。举个例子：在一些多音节单词中，我们常常可以听到次重音，如，满足（动词）`satisfy （名词） ‘satis`faction。 句子中也存在次重音。如果将I was 'working 'hard (yesterday. 这句话读成： I was 'working (hard yesterday. 句中的最后一个单词yesterday失去了句子重音，但是，该单词所含的三个音节中，第一个音节仍然显得比其他两个音节重一些，因此，可以称其为次重音。 在学习英语的重音规律时, 一是要清楚在一连串的音节中哪些是重读音节,哪些是非重读音节，单词的重音错位可能造成对词义的误解,也可能使人完全听不懂你在说什么。二是要注意将非重读音节读成真正的“零重读”, 即非重读音节听起来要轻, 要弱. 我们还将注意的是，在自然流利的英语口语中，非重读音节的数目通常大于重读音节数,因此，自如地掌握英语的重音对提高口语的流利程度大有帮助。此外，由于重音的转移可能使元音的读音发生一些变化，我们还应该注意到这样一个事实：重读音节中所含的元音可以是除央元音/(/以外的任何一个元音, 但是，除了/((/ /a(/之外，任何一个元音都可以因为失去重音而被弱化为/(/或/(/. 正因为如此，这两个元音就成了在英语的所有音素中出现频率最高的音素.