Kennesaw State Intensive English Program
Level 4 Pronunciation
Jeannie Beard, PhD jbeard2@kennesaw.edu
4A UV 2001 T/TH 10:00 – 11:30
4D UV 2001 T/TH 4:45-6:15
Level 4 Pronunciation Syllabus
Day 1: Jan 12
Introduction My name is Jeannie Parker Beard and I am an instructor of English at Kennesaw State University. I have taught English Composition at Kennesaw State for over three years. I am a native of Kennesaw, Georgia, and my parents still live in the home where I grew up right down the road from the university. I have two degrees from Kennesaw State, the first is a Bachelor’s of Arts in English, and the second is a Master’s of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW). While working on my master’s, I had an internship tutoring ESL students at Kennesaw State’s ESL Study and Tutorial Center, located on the fourth floor of the Sturgis Library. In 2012, I completed my PhD in English at Georgia State University. My areas of specialization are Rhetoric and Composition and new media studies. My research interests are in the use of technology in the English classroom.
I also enjoy making videos for educational as well as personal purposes. I believe that we can use multimedia technologies and social media to inspire more active and engaged global citizens and a create better future for us all. My hobbies are reading, writing, watching documentaries, cooking, hiking and camping. I love to be outdoors. I have been married to my college sweetheart for almost ten years and we have a three-year-old son and a young dog with brown and black stripes. I love organic food, meeting new people, and spending time with my friends and family. I look forward to getting to know my new students in the Intensive English Program here at my alma mater, Kennesaw State University.
Student Introductions
21 Accents by Amy Walker
Accents: Standard British, Cockney, British RP, Irish, Northern Irish, Scottish, Italian, German, Czech, Russian, French, Australian, New Zealand, Heavy Ocker Australian, Texan, Californian, Northwest, Toronto, Brooklyn, Deep Southern, and Trans-Atlantic.
Perfect Pronunciation Learner’s Dictionary
Ship or Sheep: Learning with Minimal Pairs
The Chaos: A Poem About English Pronunciation: by Dr. Gerald Nolst Trenite aka Charivarious (1870-1946)
Day 2: Jan 14
Jay Walker: The World’s English Mania
Homework: Choose one of your favorite songs in English and look up the lyrics. Print or write out the lyrics and practice reading the lyrics out loud. Bring your lyrics to class and be prepared to share your song and speak your lyrics in class.
Day 3: Jan 20
Mistakes can be good, right? Quizlet is a wonderful free learning tool for all students. Try searching for terms like: English vocabulary, pronunciation charts, English Sounds, Academic English, Academic vocabulary, Learn English
Join Level 4 Vocabulary Kennesaw IEP
Share Song Homework
Chapter 10
Day 4: Jan 22
Chapter 10 cont.
Homework: Choose a paragraph from the Pronunciation Practice Readings that is challenging for you. Please choose a paragraph with the sounds that you feel you need to work on the most. First practice reading the paragraph and then record yourself reading the paragraph. You can make the recording on your phone or computer. You can also make a video of yourself reading the paragraph. Send the recording to me at jbeard2@kennesaw.edu. Listen to my recordings of the paragraph and try to improve your pronunciation of the words in the reading.
Day 5: Jan 27
Practice Paragraphs
Sample prompts:
What would you like to accomplish over the next five years?
What was your favorite movie of the last year? Use details and examples to explain what you liked about the movie.
What is your favorite academic subject and why do you like it? Give details and examples to support your answer.
Describe the qualities that you think makes someone heroic. Use specific examples and provide details to support your explanation.
What are some of the advantages and/or disadvantages of having three or more generations of family living together in one house?
The second speaking question is similar to the first task, but now you will be asked to give your opinion about a familiar topic. The question always presents you with 2 choices, 2 possible actions, or 2 opposites sides of something. You must choose which of the 2 you prefer and be able to support your choice. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It’s a test of how well you can express your point of view, how convincing an argument you can present.
Sample prompts:
Some people prefer to live in a cool climate while others prefer to live in a hot climate. If you had the choice, where would you prefer to live and why?
Some companies require people to dress in suits or ties. Others allow casual dress. Which one would you prefer? Use examples and personal experiences to support your answer.
Many universities offer exchange programs that allow certain students to complete a portion of their studies in a different part of the world. What do you think the value of such a program is? Would you take part in an academic exchange if given the opportunity?
Some college and university students believe it is important to focus solely on their academic studies, while others see extracurricular activities such as clubs and sports as a valuable part of their educational experience. Which approach do you think is best?
Chapter 11 Well Said
Homework: Prepare answers for 3 TOEFL questions. Practice pronunciation. Be prepared to speak for 1 minute on each of the topics of your choice on Thursday.
Day 6: Jan 29 TEST
What have you learned this week? 30 sec – 2 minutes recording
TOEFL Questions:
What goals do you hope to accomplish in the next 5 years? 1-2 minutes recording
Pronunciation Practice Paragraph 1-2 minutes recording
Day 7: Feb 3
Syllable Stress Practice and Focus Words
Chapter 11 Well Said Intro pp. 99-112
TOEFL Practice Question
Paragraph Practice/Recording
Pronunciation Practice: Identifying Sounds to Work On
Measurements for the House: When my wife and I bought our new house, we took measurements of every room. Again and again, we measured the rooms to make sure we would not have problems with any furniture. I held one end of the measuring tape and my wife held the other. Sometimes we would measure to the center of the room, then the other half. It was interesting because I never knew how large square footage really was.Soon we were ready to bring our furniture sets. Luckily, my wife and I had several special sets, different from each other. For example, I had a living room set and he had a bedroom set. We tested each large piece of furniture in one or two rooms, then let the movers head home. We had to change a few things ourselves, but overall, our move went very well. We now have a small, yellow house with plenty of furniture.
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Language Learning: It is always difficult, not at all simple, to learn a new language. Language learning is a lifelong process of listening for the sounds of vowels and consonants and developing one’s knowledge about language rules. Most people have to complete several classes to speak clearly. While learning new rules, some problems reveal little differences between languages. These subtle points can feel almost laughable, but they tell of culture choices that happen when people are living in different worlds. A student will only be truly glad when real progress leads to fluent speech.
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The Galapagos: The Galapagos Islands are famous for their animals. The whole ecosystem is special. The islands have plains or fields where the komodo dragons stride across the land. In the water there are coral reefs with bright yellow and blue colors. Seals play and slip from one place to another. Sea turtles travel for miles to the Galapagos to lay their eggs. They leave their eggs in the sand and slowly return to the sea. The Galapagos Islands also have special bird species, such as the flightless cormorant and the swallow-tailed gull. Most gulls are diurnal, but the Galapagos swallow-tailed gulls are nocturnal. At night, they fly in circles over the sea and look for squid and nocturnal fish.
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Children: Children like to play in different ways. Some children play pretend games with dolls and stuffed animals. Some build multi-floored buildings with wooden blocks. Some like to watch airplanes flying through the clouds. Some like to steer remote controlled planes through schoolyards and playgrounds. Young athletes will lift themselves on parallel bars or line up for relay races. Many children like being told old stories by aunts, uncles or other family members. Still other kids love to watch the flames of a fire. At long last, the flames lie low and there is only a golden glow.
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Girls in America: It is difficult for girls in America to prepare for the future. Many girls watch too much TV and as a result believe that dressing well, driving a great car, having a lot of friends and being pretty will guarantee success in life. However, they are too young to realize that these values arise from the wealth of TV actors. As they become more grounded and grow up, they can see that product-advertising clearly dictates the appearances on TV. Of course, some girls have a hard time accepting reality and carry their dreams of material fortune into adulthood. Only later do they realize how a person can be strong through moral character.
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Spring Baby: This woman has a new baby. Her name is Ruth. The baby’s name is Theo. Ruth buys many things for Theo. When she is at the drugstore, she buys this and that. When she is at the mall, she buys this and that. Theo’s date of birth is May 6, 2009. Ruth wanted Theo’s birthday to happen in Spring. Ruth’s favorite month is May. Theo is her first baby.
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The Office: This is a downtown office. It is Thursday. There are many people at the office. There is a long line of people. It is a doctor’s office. This doctor is expensive. In the months of January and February, he is cheap. He helps poor people in the winter months. There is a stethoscope around his neck. There is a pen in his shirt pocket.
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The Dentist: This woman has very bad teeth. She brushes her teeth a lot, but she likes chocolate and sugary drinks. She is always seeing the dentist. This is because the dentist always finds cavities during her checkups. Over the years, she also had several root canals. She did not put caps on the teeth because she could not afford them. The dental insurance plans usually cover $1,500, if that much. $1,500 is the total needed for both a root canal and a cap for one tooth. She even had one tooth removed because it was so rotten. They gave her a lot of painkillers and yanked the tooth from her mouth. She does not like all these tooth problems. Anyway, she is thankful that she lives in an age of painkillers and clean offices!
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Taking the Bus: This family takes the bus every day. They take the bus to their English class. These are the adults in the family. They are between thirty and fifty years old. Every day they take bus number three. They get on the bus and think. They look at all the other people. People are wearing everything from thick jackets to thin hats. It is autumn and the weather is changing. It is difficult to choose a jacket that is not too thick and not too thin. Many people wear several shirts in the morning. Then they take off one or two shirts when the sun is high in the sky.
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Cure for HIV: An HIV positive American was cured through a bone marrow transplant that used cells from a doner with a rare genetic mutation. Though this cure cannot work well for everyone, scientists are encouraged to persevere in their efforts to find a cure. HIV was first discovered 30 years ago, and fortunately this virus is no longer a death sentence. Antiretroviral AIDS drugs now allow people to live relatively normal lives. Still, scientists worldwide are searching for a cure with renewed vigor.
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Day 8: Feb 5
Chapter 11
Poems
Day 9: Feb 10
TOEFL Questions Homework Review
Chapter 12
Fun With Fiddle Faddle And Other Pronunciation Pairs
Day 10: Feb 12
Chapter 12 Well Said
Homework: Find a poem that you like and practice reading it. Choose a poet from your own country or culture if you want and read about the poet. You may choose to translate a poem from your own language into English or find an English translation of the poem, or use a poem that was written in English.
Here is a great website for finding poems and learning about the poets: Poetry Foundation
Tongue Twister Database: The EFL Playhouse
Final IEP Project Guidelines: Due Mar 3
Video Option
Create a short video: 1-3 minutes on a topic of your choice
- Choose any topic and write a short script for the topic
- Read your script as a voice over for your video.
- You may also just record yourself speaking on your topic on your cell phone and use this as your video.
- For the best grade, add music, text and pictures to your video! Look at my examples of student work to create a great video that you can be proud of and share with others!
Topic Ideas:
- Your field of study or major
- Current issues in your country or area of study
- topics in science, business or technology
- social issues: poverty, racism, war, religious intolerance, pollution, corruption
- geography and travel
- any problem in the world and the possible solutions
- fashion, music, art, food
- advice for a person studying English in the United States
- personal rights & freedom
- news and media
- language learning
- culture and cultural differences
Pronunciation & Listening Class Requirements
- You must speak in your video for at 1-2 minutes! You should write a script and practice what you will say in your video.
- Pronunciation and speaking should be clear and easy to understand
- Show knowledge and understanding of the topic you are speaking about
- Use vocabulary you have learned in this session as much as possible
- Watch student examples for ideas
Vocabulary Class Requirements
- You must use at least 20 words from our list of vocabulary words
- You may use the words to write a script and then read the script, or you can use the words as text for the video.
- Watch student examples for ideas
Presentation Option
If you do not choose to do a video project, then you must come prepared to give a 3-5 minute speech on a topic of your choice (see suggestions above).
- You must have a visual presentation using good design (Haiku, Prezi, or PowerPoint but if you use PowerPoint it needs to be done very well!)
- You must have a clear intro, body points, and conclusion for your speech
- You must practice your delivery of the speech before giving it.
- You must speak for at least 3 minutes and not more than 5 minutes.
- You may not show content from YouTube or other websites. There will not be time.
IEP Student Videos YouTube Playlist
Day 11: Feb 17
Chapters 11 & 12 in Well Said
Day 12: Feb 19
Poetry Presentations
Day 13: Feb 24
Pronunciation Practice
Write scripts for final project/Conference & discussion with teacher/Group discussion on projects
Day 14: Feb 26
Practice speaking script for video/presentation
Day 15: Mar 3
Work on video
Day 16: Mar 5
Last day of class
Bring food if you want!
Watch videos and presentations!