Thursday & Friday classes 09/04 & 10/04 Pronunciation

I'm utterly helpless: I've left my book in a taxi. The big blue book I bring to class is where I make notes of the class, its number, place, time and, most importantly, what we talked about and the words we learned. On Saturday I seem to have dropped it in the taxi and, without it, I find it very difficult to remember which lesson was which, and what words we used for the first time.

So please bear with me [be understanding; support me; have patience] if I don't get this right.

The first part of the lesson was taken up, once again, with pronunciation. I know this is not an oral English class as such and the focus of this course is to get you speaking English with confidence. That's why I don't correct mistakes like he/she when translating "ta", and other little slips of the tongue.

I am convinced that the best way to learn English is just to speak it: if you keep getting corrected each time you speak its very easy to lose confidence. I am just happy if you can communicate your ideas to us: that is, after all, the whole purpose of language.

However, involving the whole class, without singling out[choosing;picking on] one particular person can also help, I think, now that you have become a little more talkative in class. That's where tongue twisters are very handy[useful] as they concern themselves with the actual building block of language: the way certain sounds are said.

However, I can only give you these things to practice by yourselves: I can't do that for you. As you know, I am a terrible drawer: I wish I could draw those neat little diagrams that appear in Speech books and which show the exact placing of the tongue in your mouth so its easily understood. The best I can do is to try to describe how to make the sound and try a sort of picture on the board which, even I have to admit, is probably not very helpful.

However:
the sound "th" which is the trickiest for many people as it is only made in a few languages, is one that's easy for you do practise by yourselves. As I suggested in class: say this in front of a mirror. The rounded tip [end] of your tongue should be visible[ able to be seen] in between your upper and lower teeth. As you get more proficient[expert] in making this sound you will realise it can be made just by placing the tip of the tongue underneath your top teeth. But the important thing to understand is that this is not a voiced sound. It is only made by blowing out air. Not by our vocal chords. So practice with a candle or lighter if you like. If you can blow out the flame by pushing air out you are making the "th" sound in the right way.

The way to make the "th" sound in words like "them" "they" "this" "that", is to put your tongue into the exact position for soft "th" ("Cathy" "thinks" etc) but this time use your vocal chords as if you are making the "err" sound. You don't have to blow air out. The correct sound is made when your tongue, underneath your top teeth, actually cuts off the sound!

Another sound which is difficult for many is the "r" sound. Once again, I wish I could draw! To make this sound, your tongue is drawn back a little so that the tip of your tongue is in the middle of your mouth. It should very slightly curve towards BUT DOESN"T TOUCH the roof of your mouth. Instead, the sides of your tongue should be touching your top back teeth. If you isolate the sound made it sounds very like the sound made in the Chinese word for "play". It is a sound very familiar to those from the North of China.

The sound usually substituted for the correct "r" sound is "l". So people say "lolly" instead of "lorry". But both sounds are made in different ways.

The "l" sound is made by opening your mouth a little more than for "r". This time the tip of your tongue should rest at the point where the roof or your mouth ends and your teeth begin. So actually the top side of your tongue is touching the roof of your mouth and the underside of your tongue is touching your teeth.

For this reason the quick change over in "Red lorry, yellow lorry" between the two sounds is ideal practice. And not to worry - we did not come up with these tongue twisters just for second language speakers, but for native English speakers. We have to practise them ourselves too, because many of us do make mistakes even though its our own native language!

O.K., now I know we discussed different things in the second half of both classes, but the pronunciation this week was really the most important.

I also told both classes (I hope) that this week I would be giving you a topic for a mini-assignment. That means that this is NOT the one you will be graded on, but one on which, I hope, we can see where mistakes or misunderstandings about essay-writing are occurring and get them sorted out before I give you your term assignment. You will have two weeks to do this essay and I expect you to use that time for research. If you do not include at least five different sources in your Bibliography you will lose points.

I will be very strict in marking these assignments and will fail to give a mark to anyone who simply cuts and pastes stuff from the Internet; or who researches in Chinese Google and then hits the "translate" button. This ALWAYS results in complete rubbish as the translator treats each word as translatable, rather than phrases or idioms. Of course, anyone who plagiarises will fail the assignment. I will NOT accept any essays that are handwritten, so be warned! I will also deduct marks from people who keep talking about the human race as if it is composed solely of men (e.g."MAN has always reached for the stars"." Throughout the history of Mankind") and I will also deduct marks if the assignment is not set out in the way I specified in the article "How to Write an Essay...." i.e. double spaced, correct punctuation, numbered pages, names on the correct side and stapled on the correct side.

O.k., that may sound draconian[unnecessarily strict] but it is the world-wide standard. No-one out there makes allowances for some Chinese students doing things differently, I'm afraid. Also, you have had many weeks to go over that essay and to absorb all the information in it.

O.k., guys. I am clinging on to the fact that maybe I didn't drop my blue book in the taxi after all, but left it in the last, small shop I visited. I certainly hope so because I feel completely lost without it.

Also, without it I have no idea of which classroom to go to, so I would really appreciate it if someone from each class would just remind me where I go on Thursday and where I go on Friday. Oh dear, I seem to be really turning into the absent-minded Professor people make fun of in books and movies, don't I?