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Anjuman I Islam's
Begum Sharifa Kalsekar Girls' English High School

ACTION RESEARCH

Understanding Pronunciation

Introduction

1. English is a language of International communication.

2. It deals with intelligibility, comprehensibility, interpretability, while the speaker produces sound patterns for the understanding of the listener.

3. Clear pronunciation is extremely essential in spoken communication.

Pronunciation Overview

Pronunciation refers to the phonology of the language-or the meaningful perception and production of the sounds of that language and how they impact the listener. It includes various features that make up the production of sounds.

Essential factors affecting the learning of Pronunciation

1. Accent: An accent is the cumulative auditory effect.
2. Stress Intonation: Stress intonation and rhythm deals with research and teaching focus on vocal effects, sound and intonations.
3. Motivation and exposure: Motivation and exposure is extremely important for learning proper pronunciation. Learners need a considerable drilling and repetition because practice makes the learning perfect.
4. Conversation: Teachers can help their children with new and innovative strategies to initiate and maintain conversation.
5. Expert Guidance: Expert guidance is the proper training and help provided to the learner
6. Conclusion: Pronunciation can be one of the most difficult parts for a language learner. It can be concluded with careful preparations and integration.

Evaluation of the Students

1. Learners had problems in reading with proper pronunciation. They were unaware about the important features of pronunciation sounds of vowels and consonants, phonology, linking words, stress intonation patterns and pitch.
2. Mispronunciation of words was very frequent including errors in articulation and intonations.

Learners Observation:

1. Helps in identifying the problems in the learners.
2. Noting the learner’s responses.
3. Deciding on the activity according to the knowledge and awareness of the learner’s.
4. Diagnosing the problems and applying the required remedial measures according to level and requirements of the students.

ACTION  RESEARCH

STD VII

PROBLEM NO 1

UNDERSTANDING PRONUNCIATION

IMPORTANCE OF PRONUNCIATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

English language play a very important role in the day communication as it is used for international communication. The speakers of English are able to exchange meanings effectively and communication easily .The speakers of English can achieve.

1) Intelligibility (Speakers produces different sound pattern of English)

2) Comprehensibility (listener understands  the meaning of speaking)

3) Interpretability (listener understands the purpose of speaker).

Clear pronunciation is essential in spoken communication effective communication cannot take place where there are inaccuracies in vocabulary and grammar.

Pronunciation is referred to the phonology of the language and production of the sounds of that language and the impact on the listener.

Presentation -I- Contextualizing Pronunciation

STEP– I

The learners are introduced to the overall theme of Time and Change and to the focus sound ai and ei words are listed are on the B.B.  And learners repeat them after the teacher.

The teacher asks the students to suggest other words containing the focus sounds.

STEP-II

The teacher asks the students to give examples of the ways in which modern life is different from the era of their grandparents.

STEP-III

The teacher play a short audio recording of a text students provide feedback on the changes and give examples of words containing the sounds ai and ei from the text.

STEP-IV

The students check their dictionaries to match focus words with their meanings. They then reinforce the pronunciation of the focus sounds by listening to single words. Then the students listen to individual words and identify which focus sound they hear.

STEP-V

Group discussion among the students about changes over the past 25 years in 4 areas relating to themes .

1. Communication (2) Transportation (3) Education (4) Entertainment each group report back to the rest of the class on their discussion.

Teacher provides feedback on their pronunciation of the focus sound within the overall theme. Teacher focused on both macro and micro aspect. This enables the students to practise pronunciation at both discourse and single sound levels within a communicative activity.

 IA. Listen as you read the text about Time and change.

Time and Change

  It’s right to say that life has changed. The pace and style of life today is not the same as it was in our grandparent’s day. Science has changed the way of life in almost every place on earth at quite an amazing pace. I’m sure can relate many changed that have taken place in your lifetime.

We now have machines that reduce work and make, more free time available each day. We’ve gained better ways to fight crime and to take away pain. We can now travel great distances at an amazingly fast pace by plane or train, where people of the past had to allow a lot of time to hike, ride or sail to faraway places. We can now communicate instantaneously by e-mail rather than waiting many waiting many days to

Receive letters by regular mail. Yes- It’s impossible to deny that the pace and style of life has changed in many ways.

MATERIALS USED BY THE TEACHER

IA. In part- I -> Focus on what the speaker says about the topic

                         (Any passage from the text bk)

                         Explain in short the summary of the passage

        Part – I -> Focus on how words are pronounced

                         (Read the passage loudly in the classroom)

                         Underline the difficult word from the passage read and

                         Repeat the words loudly.

I B. Write the underline words in the text next to the correct meaning below

I B Listen and check the answer to IB

Repeat the words after the speaker

I C. Now discuss the following questions

1) Why has life changed since our grandparents day?

2) What examples dose the text give of ways that life has changed?

Which words contain the sound ai / ? which contain the sound / ei / ? .

Right   say      life         pace    style   same   place

Mail    gained    time   crime    hike    sail      deny

PART – II FOCUS PRONUNCIATION

II (A) Listen to the underlined vowel sound in the following words

REPLY –II (A) PAUSE THE RECORDING AFTER EACH WORD

Write the words in the correct list below, according to the underlined sound

Don’t be confused by the spelling. You need to listen to the pronunciation of the words

II (B) Listen to the questions

Mark where sounds are deleted to form contractions

1) How has communication changed in the last twenty five years?

2) How has transportation changed in the last twenty five years?

3) How has education changed in the last twenty five years?

4) How has entertainment changed in the last twenty five years?

5) What changes have taken place in your life in the last five years?

6) How do you think science will change our lives in the next five years?

LEARNER OBSERVATION

EVIDENCE  BEFORE & AFTER ACTIVITY

NAME OF THE STUDENT

1. Shaikh Ruba Adil

PROBLEM :-Evidence Before activity

She identified herself –namely incorrect syllable stress for eg correct, cassette.

SOLUTION:-

She would benefit from awareness – raising regarding the use of (neutral vowel) to help avoid errors such as pronouncing people as people.

She has the tendency to use an o sound for A or OU.

Evidence After Activity

She is able to identify herself correctly syllable stress is done correctly.

For e.g. correct, cassette, pronunciation, don’t, don’t.

2.Marfani  Shifa Tosif

PROBLEM:-

Her major problem is incorrect word stress eg Com/fort/able incorrect word stress is before

SOLUTION:-

  To focus on the sound and understand stress at word level focus on word ending as unclear finals that may be a grammatical error or a pronunciation error

The S at the end of understands needs to be available.

Evidence after activity

She is able to understand stress at word level understand the end words.

3. Khan  Alina Zahoor

Problem:-

She needs to open her mouth wider and to use her lips more. The formation of constant sound such as M and N are still problematic.

Solution

She needs to from the sound L more clearly.

Usually-usuarry

Carefully-carefurry

EVIDENCE AFTER ACTIVITY

She is able to open her mouth wider and is able to use her lips. After the practice of constant sound able to pronounce properly

4.Khan Azkiya Rais

Problem

Lack of differentiation between (as seen in risten for listen another is that between W and V for eg boice for voice.

SOLUTION

Would benefit from learning how to say words such as Language and pronunciation accurately.

EVIDENCE AFTER ACTVITY

Able to listen and pronounce the words properly identify the difference between the words.