Unit03 Consonants：Fricatives and Affricates

Unit3LessonPlan(WithNotesforTeachers)Consonants:FricativesandAffricatesDate:Sept.30Class:Classes1,2&3,Grade2002Subject:EnglishPronunciationforCommunicationPurpose:Thestudentswilllearntheconsonants:“fricatives”and“affricates”inEnglish.Objectives:Studentswillbeableto:1.Define-intheirownwordsadefinitionfor“fricatives”and“affricates”;2.Compare–basedontheunderstandingofthebasicconcept,comparethemwithotherconsonants;3.Practice–imitatethesoundsanddopractice.Resources/Materials:1.Textbook:Wang,Guizhen,AnEnglishPronunciationCourse,HigherEducationPress,Beijing,2000;2.Handouts:illustrationofthephonemesinfocus;3.RecordingsofnativespeakersActivitiesandProcedures:1.Stimulating:Beginbyaskingtheclasstofindouthowmuchthestudentsknowaboutwhattheyarerequiredtolearn.Makesurethatitservesthepurposeofstimulatingthestudentstothinkabouttheissueandhavethedesiretofindouttheanswersthemselves.2.DisplayexamplesbyplayingtherecordingofthenativespeakersshowingthetypicalpronunciationinEnglish.3.Askthestudentstolistentothetapestomakeagooddiscriminationofthesoundsinfocus.4.Havethestudentsimitatethesoundinfocus.5.Havethestudentssharewhattheyhavelearnedbyreadingoutthepracticematerialsinpairs.6.HavethestudentslistentotheconversationsrecordedbynativespeakersofEnglishandtrytogetthesoundsinfocuscorrectintheirpronunciation.7.Havethestudentspracticetheguidedconversation.Askthemtopayspecialattentiontothesoundsinfocusinspeech.8.Highlightthelanguagefunctionintheconversationinthepractice.9.Haveseveralpairsofthestudentspresenttheirconversationintheclass.10.Commentonthestudents’performancebyhighlightingtheachievementofthestudentsandtheeffortstheyneedfortheimprovement.11.Askthestudentstodomorepracticeafterclassandgetreadyforpresentationduringthenextsession.NotesforTeachersConsonants:FricativesandAffricatesThisisUnit3.Inthisunit,wearegoingtolearntwogroupsofconsonants:fricativesandaffricates.Atthesametime,wearegoingtolearnhowtodescribeanobjectandtolearnhowtotalkaboutone’sjobwithappropriatepronunciationandintonationinEnglish.IntroductionWhatdoyouknowaboutfricativesandaffricatesinEnglish?Well,ifthestopscompletelyblocktheairstreamforatimeinthepronunciation,thefricativesonlypartiallyblockit,thuscausingthefriction-likenoisecharacteristicofthesesounds.Thereareninefricativeconsonants,formingthelargestsetofconsonantsinEnglish./t/and/d/areaffricatesounds,whichyouproducebyblockingoffthebreath-streambetweenthetongueandgumridge,forastopandafricative.Thetermaffricatemeansblend,inthiscase,consistingofastopandafricative./t/and/d/arethetwoEnglishaffricatesandtheydifferprimarilyintermsofvoicing./f/and/v//f/and/v/arelabio-dentalsounds./f/isvoicelessand/v/isvoiced.Theyarefricativesoundsthatyouproducebyforcingthebreathstreambetweenyouupperteethandlowerlip.Theycanbeusedatthebeginning,middleandendofwords./f/isnotaproblemsoundformostofthestudentsbut/v/maysometimescauseproblems.Itmaysubstituteforanotherbilabialsuchas/w/,orabilabial/b/maybesubstitutedfor/v/.Thereisalsoatendencytodevoice/v/,especiallyattheendsofwords.//and////and//areinterdentalsounds.Theyarefricativesthatyouproducebysqueezingthebreathstreambetweenyourtongueandteeth.//isvoicelessand//isvoiced.Thesesoundstendtoappearrelativelylateinthespeechofchildrenandcauseconsiderablestressforbothnativeandnon-nativespeakersofEnglish.AlthoughthespellingseemstobehighlyconsistentinEnglish,thefactisthatthethcombinationisusedforboth//and//.Theycanbeusedatthebeginning,middleandendofwords.Theproblemwith//aremanyandvaried.Adentalized[t]occurswhenthereisinsufficientbreathsupport.Witha/f/or/s/substitution,theproblemisnotwithairflowbutwithplacement.Thissoundwillrequireconsiderableefforttostabilizeinallcontexts.Theproblemwith//isquitesimilar.Withinsufficientairflow,adentalized[d]willoccur.Placementdifficultiesresultina/v/or/z/substitution.DevoicingmayalsobeacommonproblemsinceEnglishorthographyusesthelettersthforboth//and//.Thefollowingstepsareusefulinthepronunciationdrillforthesetwoconsonants:1.Lookinamirrorandsaythe[]sound.2.Makesureyoucanseetheedgeofyourtongueprotrudingbetweenyourteeth.Say[]again.3.Saythe[]soundoverandoveragain.Don'tmoveyourtonguebetweensounds.Trythefollowing:[]…[]…[]…[]…thin[]…[]…[]…[]…thanks[]…[]…[]…[]…thoughtThesamemethodcanbeappliedtothepracticeof[]sound./s/and/z//s/and/z/arealveolarsounds.Theyarefricativesthatyouproducebyforcingairbetweenyourtongueandtheupperorlowerfrontteeth./s/isvoicelessand/z/isvoiced./s/isoneofthemostusefulsoundsinEnglishbecauseithasanimportantgrammaticalfunctioninformingpossessives(Kate's),thirdpersonsingular,presenttenseverbs(sits),andplurals(seats).Although/z/isnotasfrequentinEnglishspeechas/s/,itperformssimilargrammaticalfunctionsinmarkingpossessive(Susan's),thirdpersonsingular,presenttenseverbs(runs),andplurals(dogs).Both/s/and/z/havebeenrankedasthemosttroublesomesoundsinEnglish,butitisrarelyaseriousproblemfortheChineseEFLlearnersoncetheirgrammaticalrolesaremastered.Theycanbeusedatthebeginning,middleandendofwords.With/s/and/z/,themainproblemcomesfromtheomissions,wh