Subject: DICTION – IN – ENGLISH

Term: THIRD
Session: 2023/2024
School: CHRISLAND SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Class: YEAR TEN
THIRD
TERM
BEGINS
 Scheme of Work
Week 1: Revision

Week 2: Stress Patterns

Week 3: Intonation

Week 4: Nasal Consonants

Week 5: Consonants before /j/

Week 6: Mid-term Break

Week 7: Emphatic Stress

Week 8: Vowels /i:/ and /ɪ/, /e/ and /æ/

Week 9: Oral Presentation

Week 10: Revision

• Week One

• Diction - in - English

Revision
 ........ :
T3 WK 1 Topic : Revision

Group Exercise
Group A: Name ten Group B: What makes
articulators. Associate monophthongs differ
five of them with two from diphthongs?
consonant sounds each.

Group C: Discuss all a Group D:

speaker needs to make Differentiate between
a good impression on consonant and vowel
the public. sounds.
HOME
Class Exercise
Instruction: From the options lettered A to D, choose the right answer.

1. _______ plays a vital role in oral presentation.

a. Confidence
b. Beauty
c. Expensive clothes
d. Height

2. In conversation, conveying the right meaning depends on ______.

a. intonation
b. innovation
c. intention
d. indentation

3. “To convey to the listener if a response is expected or not.” This statement

describes the _______ of intonation.
a. discourse function
b. discuss function
c. discus function
d. disease function HOME
........ :
T3 WK Topic : Revision
1
4. There are _______ major functions of intonation.
a. two
b. four
c. seven
d. nine

5. A listener can tell how a speaker feels owing to the ______ function
of intonation.
a. non-existent
b. grammatical
c. discourse
d. attitudinal

6. Enabling a listener to recognise the grammar and syntactic

structure of what a speaker utters refers to the ______ function of
intonation.
a. non-existent
b. grammatical
c. discourse
d. attitudinal HOM
E
........ :
T3 WK Topic : Revision
1
7. The ______ function of intonation deals with the effect of
prominence on syllables that are stressed.
a. non-existent
b. grammatical
c. accentual
d. attitudinal

8. There are different types of intonation but _____ are most

widely used.
a. twelve
b. twenty
c. two
d. ten
HOM
E
........ :
T3 WK Topic : Revision
1

9. The rise tone sounds like ______.

a. an order
b. an exclamation
c. a question
d. an answer

10. The fall tone is used when the speaker needs to ______.
a. express certainty
b. ask a yes/no question
c. initiate greeting
d. show that a statement is incomplete

HOM
E
 ........ :
T3 WK 1 Topic : Revision
From the options lettered a
to d, choose the word that
has the same vowel sound 13. buoy
as the underlined letter(s). a. buy
b. curl
11. reign c. dental 15. clear
a. pine d. coil a. cord
b. pain b. Nigeria
c. height 14. cure c. high
d. sleight a. devour d. fare
b. wire
12. sigh c. poor
a. veil d. says
b. begin
c. try
d. eight
HOME
 ........ :
T3 WK 1 Topic : Revision
From the options lettered a
to d, choose the word that 18. quay
has the same vowel sound
a. enter
as the underlined letter(s).
b. machine
16. come c. content 20. crude
a. boss d. ache a. crust
b. bone b. gold
c. rust 19. board
c. hoot
d. from d. rout
a. roster
17. good b. dog
a. wrote c. suck
b. put d. afford
c. flood
d. foul HOME
Home Exercise
Fill in the gaps with words which have the vowel /ʌ/.
_________ knows what happens if you give a full bottle of coke a vigorous shake and
then _________ the top. So the children of Benchill primary school in Manchester
dived for _________ when visitor Kim Wade flexed her ________. Wade, head of
Manchester Schools Behaviour and Support Service, resisted the temptation to
open the bottle and let the fizz drench the pupils. She had made her point; the
frothing of the drink was a metaphor for the ________ and explosion of temper.
Benchill's children were having a session on anger management. The lesson was
to help children identify and cope with the rages that life in the classroom and
playground can provoke.
cover people arms loosen everyone all who
build-up nobody unscrew fists brains muscles
HOM
E
 WEEK 2

Stress
Patterns
pal•e•o•LITH•ic
Topic-based Picture: Discussion
 Topic-based Picture: Did you think of
these?
desert (n) = dry dessert (n)= sweet
desert (v) = abandon
landscape food
 Learning Objectives
Learners should be able to:
1. Define the concept of stress;
and
2. Discuss the rules guiding stress patterns.
Topic-Based Picture
Enquiry Question
Why is stress good for English?
(Refer to video seen today.)

HOME
 ......:
T3 WK
2
TOPIC : STRESS PATTERNS

Point: Syllables
A syllable is a unit of
uninterrupted sound
composed of a central Point : Stress

peak of sonority
(usually a vowel) and Point : Suffixes
the consonants that
cluster around this
central peak. Point : Stress Patterns
 Topic-based Text

Stress is an important feature in English

Language. It is the degree of force,
volume and clarity with which a
syllable in a word is uttered.
 Topic-based Text

It can also be defined as the degree of accentual

prominence a certain syllable has.

Stress features include being louder, longer and

having a noticeably different pitch.
 Topic-based Text

Stress helps to pronounce words correctly. It can be

referred to as a grammatical device in English.

It serves as a mark of the function of words in spoken

English.
 Topic-based Text

Levels of Stress
1. Main/Primary stress;
2. Secondary stress; and
3. Unstressed.
 Topic-based Text

Types of Stress

Word Stress Sentence stress

Identifies the syllable that Identifies words that are
is stressed in a word. stressed in a sentence.
Topic-based Text

The stress pattern of a word is the

way all the syllables are stressed in it.

Stress in English words varies from word

to word. In some, it falls on first syllable
while in others, on the second, third or
fourth syllable.
Topic-based Text

Stress on English words is not tied to

a particular syllable for the whole
sentence. Rather, each stress pattern
must be learned differently.
Topic-based Activity

Listening to an audio file on

stress patterns
 Topic-based Text

Activity
https://www.qu
ia.com/quiz/135
3578.html
 Topic-based Text

Simple Rules
1. For two-syllable nouns, we generally
stress the first syllable.
Examples are _____, _____,
and _____.
 Topic-based Text

2. For two-syllable verbs, we generally

stress the second syllable.
Examples are _____, _____, and _____.
 Topic-based Text

3. For two-syllable adjectives, we

generally stress the first syllable.
Examples are _____, _____, and
_____.
 Topic-based Text

Exceptions to the Rule

1. Nouns – balLOON, deSIGN, ______
2. Verbs – EDit, OPen, ______
3. Adjectives – oPAQUE, oBESE, ______
 Topic-based Text

A Polysyllabic Word
1. having or characterised by words of more than three
syllables
2. having many syllables
3. having more than one syllable
 Topic-based Text

NOTE
1. A polysyllabic word has only one stressed syllable.
(There could be a "secondary" stress in some words. But
a secondary stress is not like the main/primary stress and
this is only used in long words.)

2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants.

 Topic-based Text

Simple Rules
1. In words with the suffixes -ive and -ion, the main stress is
generally on the syllable immediately before the suffix.
Word Examples:
-ive -- aBORtive, reFLEXive, conDUcive
-ion -- sepaRAtion, reLAtion, explaNAtion
 Topic-based Text

NOTE THESE
Word Examples:
-ive -- repreSENtative, arguMENtative, imPErative
 Topic-based Text

2. The -ic suffix has the stress on the syllable

before the suffix as well.
Word Examples:
fanTAStic, eLAStic, photoGRAPHic,
monoLITHic, polysylLABic
 Topic-based Text

3. For three-syllable "ate" verbs, the first

syllable is stressed.
Word Examples:
GRAduate, CELebrate, EStimate
 Topic-based Text

4. For polysyllabic "ate" verbs, the second

syllable is stressed.
Word Examples:
comMUnicate, acCUmulate, eXAggerate
 ......:
T3 WK 2 Topic : Stress Patterns

Group Activity
Pronounce these
words.
picturesque
advantageous
impersonate
alleviate
representative
nepotism 41
 Class Exercise
https://www.en
glishclub.com/p
ronunciation/w
ord-stress-
quiz.htm

Home Exercise
Why is stress an important
factor in English Language?
 WEEK 3

Intonation
 Learning Objectives
Learners should be able to:
1. Define intonation;
2. Identify the functions and types;
and
3. Apply the rules.
 Topic-based Text

Intonation is not, as some erroneously think, the ‘twisting of

one’s tongue’ to sound foreign. Neither is it an affectation to
impress one’s friends or look good before an audience.
 Topic-based Text
Intonation is the
variations in the pitch and tone of a speaker’s voice and
its purpose is to make it easier for the listener to
understand the meaning a speaker
is trying to convey.
Topic-based Discussion

FUNCTIONS OF INTONATION
By functions, we mean – uses, application.
There are four (4) major functions:
1.) Attitudinal function;
2.) Accentual function;
3.) Grammatical function; and
4.) Discourse function.
 Topic-based Text

1. Attitudinal function 2. Accentual function

Intonation enables the Intonation helps to
speaker to express produce the effect of
emotions and attitudes
prominence on syllables
and this adds a special
which are stressed.
meaning to spoken
language as a difference
from its written counterpart.
 Topic-based Text
3. Grammatical function
The listener recognises the 4. Discourse function
grammar and what is Intonation can signal to the
being said by using the listener what is to be taken
information contained in as “new information”
intonation: e.g. placement of within the act of speaking
boundaries between and it can also make the
phrases, clauses and listener feel what kind of
sentences, difference response is expected.
between questions and
statements, etc.
Topic-based Text

What happens when intonation is lacking?

1. Every syllable will be said on the same level pitch
resulting in a flat tone.
2. No pauses.
3. No changes in speed and loudness.
4. Meaning is not conveyed.
Such would be speech produced
by a “mechanical speech device”.
 LINKS and GLIDES

Links and glides make connected speech possible.

The English language is rhythmic, therefore words
are said in company. This means that speakers of
English must link words. This linking is done as:
vowel to vowel;
consonant to consonant; and
consonant to vowel.
 Links and Glides

The linking ‘r’

When a word ends in a vowel sound with a
final ‘r’ (as a letter), linking is done if the
next starts with a vowel sound e.g. war of,
father is, mother and, sister is, wear it.
Other forms include future is, where are,
lure it, failure in e.t.c.
 Links and Glides

Any consonant can be linked

to an opening vowel to
achieve connected speech, e.g.
bag of, rice and stew,
men are, e.t.c
 Links and Glides

Glides
Simply put, glides are the smooth movements from an end vowel to
an opening vowel. Using linking consonants /j/ and /w/, glides are
achieved.
Examples
1. Who /w/ are you?
2. I /j/ am the diction teacher.
3. Who /w/ is he?
4. He /j/ is my friend.
 Links and Glides

Benefits of links and glides

1. Aids rapid or spontaneous speech.
2. Helps the speaker say words in company.
3. Helps a speaker achieve rhythm and intonation.
 Exercise One: Let’s Read Right!

Shopping hours in Britain are changing. Until

a few years ago, shops opened at nine o'clock in
the morning and closed at half past five or six
o'clock in the evening. Some also closed for an
hour for lunch. In many towns, shops were
closed on Wednesday afternoons.
On Sundays, nothing was open. But now some
shops are open longer hours. Some shops,
stores and many supermarkets never close! If
you need a litre of milk or some snacks at
midnight, you can easily buy it.
Exercise Two
https://www.englishc
lub.com/pronunciatio
n/linking-quiz.php
 ......:
T3 WK 3 Topic : Intonation

Exercise Three
Which five sections require a linking
consonant?
1.For a growing number of
environmentalists, the humble plastic bag
has become public enemy number one- an
unnecessary evil that must be stopped.
2.They are also likely to be up to three times
heavier than traditional bulbs.
 ......:
T3 WK 4

/ŋ/ /m/

Week 4

Diction - in - English

Nasal Consonants

/n/
 Learning Objectives
Learners should be able to:
1. Define nasals;
2. Articulate them;
and
3. Give their spelling variants (in word
examples).
 ......:
T3 WK 4 Topic : Nasal Consonants

The 24 consonants are divided

into:
plosives;
nasals;
fricatives;
affricates; and
approximants.

A nasal consonant is a consonant

produced completely or partly
through the nose.
 ......:
T3 WK
4
Topic : Nasal Consonants

To articulate nasal consonants, the soft

palate (or velum) must be lowered to allow
air to escape past it and a closure must be
made in the oral cavity to prevent air from
escaping through it. Thus, air escapes only
through the nose.
 ......:
T3 WK
4
Topic : Nasal Consonants
Consonant /m/
1. It’s nasal by manner of
articulation.
2. By place of articulation,
it’s bilabial.
 ......:
T3 WK 4 Topic : Nasal Consonants

Consonant /n/
1. It’s a nasal sound.
2. By place of
articulation, it’s
alveolar.
 ......:
T3 WK 4 Topic : Nasal Consonants

Consonant /ŋ/
1. It is nasal.
2. By place of
articulation, it’s velar.
 ......:
T3 WK TOPIC : NASAL CONSONANTS
4
Class Activity: Pairing
/m/ /n/
1. __________ nine
2. mat __________
3. __________ gnaw
4. acme __________
5. __________ scene
6. simmer __________
7. __________ done
8. me __________
9. __________ gain
10. mock __________
 ......:
T3 WK 4 Topic : Nasal Consonants
Exercise
Spelling Variants
/m / /n/ /ŋ/
1. ____ 1. ____ 1. ____
2. ____ 2. ____ 2. ____
3. ____ 3. ____ 3. ____
4. ____ 4. ____
5. ____ 5. ____
6. ____ 6. ____
7. ____ 7. ____
8. ____ 8. ____
Week Five
Diction - in - English

Consonants before /j/

/j/
 ......:
T3 WK 5 Topic : Consonants before /j/

/j/ is a consonant sound which is an

approximant by manner of articulation
and palatal by place of articulation. It
basically occurs only at the initial
position.

This sound is added when certain

consonants come:
1. Before the monophthong /u:/
(beautiful, news, dues, duty, allude,
illusion);
 ......:
T3 WK 5 Topic : Consonants before /j/

2. Before the monophthong /ɔ:/ or the diphthong /ʊə/

(allure, curator, pure); and

3. Before /ə/ (zillion, million).

In these words, as the consonant /j/ is pronounced, it ought

to appear in the transcription.
 ......:
T3 WK 5

Class Exercise

Read both passages carefully. Can you find words

with /j/ placed between the initial consonant and
the vowel sound?
For a growing number of environmentalists, the humble
plastic bag has become public enemy number one- an
unnecessary evil that must be stopped. Since it was
introduced in the 1970s, it has become part of our lives.
Globally, we carry home between 500 billion and a trillion
every year. That is 150 bags a year for every person on Earth.
Claire Wilton says they are 'a waste of resources in that we
use them once and throw them away'. Plastic bags can also
have a devastating effect on wildlife. The government of
Himachal Pradesh is taking a hard line. There, being caught
in possession of a polyethylene bag could get you seven years
behind bars and a fine of £1000.
It will also reduce your annual electricity bill. This is
because traditional bulbs only use 10% of the
electrical energy to produce light, while the remaining
90% is wasted as heat. Low-energy bulbs are also
known as compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs. CFLs
are also likely to be up to three times heavier than
traditional bulbs, which may make them unsuitable
for some light fittings, so you should always check
these before changing your bulbs.
 ......:
T3 WK 5 Topic : Consonants before /j/

Home Exercise
Identify five consonant sounds which
come before /j/ in English words.
 ........ :
T3 WK 7

Week Seven

Diction - in -
English

Emphatic
Stress
KATRINA loves pink shoes.
Katrina LOVES pink shoes.
Katrina loves PINK shoes.
Katrina loves pink SHOES.
 ......:
T3 WK 7 Topic : Emphatic Stress

The main question here is which syllable or

word of a particular sentence is most
strongly stressed.

Note that emphatic stress is also called

sentence stress.
 ......:
T3 WK
7
Topic : Emphatic Stress

Class Exercise
The word that receives the emphatic stress or
sentence stress is in capital letters. Choose the
question to which the given sentence is the
appropriate answer.
 ......:
T3 WK 7 Topic : Emphatic Stress
1. The senator wants to buy the new HOUSE.
a. Does the senator want to buy the new school?
b. Does the president want to buy the new house?
c. Does the senator want to sell the new house?
d. Does the senator want to buy the old house?
 ......:
T3 WK 7 Topic : Emphatic Stress
2. Martha is looking for a job that will last TEN years.
a. Is Susan looking for a job that will last ten years?
b. Is Martha looking for a job that will last ten months?
c. Is Martha looking for a vacation that will last ten
years?
d. Is Martha looking for a job that will last five years?
 ......:
T3 WK 7 Topic : Emphatic Stress
3. Mrs. Brown’s children eat POTATOES on
Wednesdays.
a. Do Mrs. Peter’s children eat potatoes on
Wednesdays?
b. Do Mrs. Brown’s children eat rice on Wednesdays?
c. Do Mrs. Brown’s nephews eat potatoes on
Wednesdays?
d. Do Mrs. Brown’s children eat potatoes on
Thursdays?
 ......:
T3 WK 7 Topic : Emphatic Stress
4. Marion purchased a blue CARPET at the mall.
a. Did Marion sell a blue carpet at the mall?
b. Did John purchase a blue carpet at the mall?
c. Did Marion purchase a blue gown at the mall?
d. Did Marion purchase a blue carpet at the shop?
 ......:
T3 WK 7 Topic : Emphatic Stress

5. The old penalty clause was WELL explained by the

lawyer.
a. Was the old constitutional clause well explained by the
lawyer?
b. Was the old penalty clause poorly explained by the
lawyer?
c. Was the new penalty clause well explained by the lawyer?
d. Was the old penalty clause well explained by the soldier?
Week Eight

Diction - in - English

Vowels /i:/ and /ɪ/; /e/

and /æ/
 ......:
T3 WK
8
Topic : Vowels

Week Eight

Diction - in - English

Vowels /i:/ and /ɪ/; /e/ and /æ/

Objectives 2. Identify their spelling
Students should 2. Give their properties; and
variants; and
be able to:
Classifying the Vowel Sounds of English
1. Tongue height - According to the vertical
position of the tongue.

2. Frontness vs. backness of the tongue - According

to the horizontal position of the highest part of the
tongue.

3. Lip rounding - Whether the lips are rounded (O-

shape) or spread (no rounding) when the sound is
being made.

4. Tenseness of the articulators - The amount of

muscular tension around the mouth when creating
vowel sounds. ‘Tense’ and ‘lax’ are used to describe
this.
 ......:
T3 WK
8
Topic : Vowels

Properties of the Vowels

1. /i:/ is:
a. the first monophthong or pure vowel;
b. a long sound;
c. a close front vowel; and
d. articulated with lips slightly spread.
 ......:
T3 WK
8
Topic : Vowels

2. /ɪ/ is:
a. the second pure vowel;
b. a short sound;
c. a close front vowel.
d. produced with lips slightly spread.
 ......:
T3 WK
8
Topic : Vowels

3. /e/ is:
a. the third monophthong;
b. a short sound;
c. a mid-close front vowel; and
d. articulated with lips slightly spread.
 ......:
T3 WK 8 TOPIC: VOWELS

4. /æ/ is:
a. the fourth monophthong;
b. a short sound;
c. an open front vowel; and
d. produced with lips slightly spread.
Exercise
1. The vowel /e/ appears as:

‘ei' in _____ ( heifer, neither)

‘ue’ in _____ (guest, quest)

‘ie' in _____ ( friend)

‘eo’ in _____ ( jeopardy, Seoul)

‘ea’ in _____ (séance, dreamt)

HOME
2. The vowel /ɪ/ appears as:

‘ea' in _____ (feast)

‘y’ in _____ ( rhythm,)

‘ui' in _____ (builder, suite, fluid)

‘ei’ in _____ (receive, foreign, seize)

‘o’ in _____ ( women)

‘i in-----------(omicron)
HOME
3. The vowel /i:/ appears as:

‘i' in _____ (interest, mist, litre)

‘ui’ in _____ ( mosquito, conduit)

‘e' in _____ (eclipse, beginner, oven)

‘eo’ in _____ (4 leotard, people)

‘uay’ in _____ ( quay, Quayle)

HOM
E
4. The vowel /æ/ appears as:

‘a' in _____ (village, chat)

‘ai’ in _____ (plaid, staid, laid)

‘i' in _____ ( meringue)

HOME
Revision Exercise
Instruction: From the options lettered A to D, choose the right answer.

1. _______ plays a vital role in oral presentation.

a. Confidence b. Beauty
c. Expensive clothes d. Height

2. In conversation, conveying the right meaning depends on ______.

a. intonation b. innovation
c. intention d. indentation

3. “To convey to the listener if a response is expected or not.” This

statement describes the _______ of intonation.
a. discourse function b. discuss function
c. discus function d. disease function

HOM
E
4. There are _______ major functions of intonation.
a. two b. four c. seven d. nine

5. A listener can tell how a speaker feels owing to the -

______ function of intonation.
a. non-existent
b. grammatical
c. discourse
d. attitudinal

6. Enabling a listener to recognise the grammar and

syntactic structure of what a speaker utters refers to the
______ function of intonation.
a. non-existent b. grammatical
c. discourse d. attitudinal
HOM
E
7. The ______ function of intonation deals with the effect
of prominence on syllables that are stressed.
a. non-existent
b. grammatical
c. accentual
d. attitudinal

8. There are different types of intonation but _____ are

most widely used.
a. twelve
b. twenty
c. two
d. ten

HOM
E
9. The rise tone sounds like ______.
a. an order
b. an exclamation
c. a question
d. an answer

10. The fall tone is used when the speaker needs to ______.
a. express certainty
b. ask a yes/no question
c. initiate greeting
d. show that a statement is incomplete

HOM
E
From the options
lettered a to d, choose
the word that has the
same vowel sound as 13. buoy
the underlined letter(s). a. buy
b. curl
11. reign c. dental 15. clear
a. pine d. coil a. cord
b. pain b. Nigeria
c. height 14. cure c. high
d. sleight a. devour d. fare
b. wire
12. sigh c. poor
a. veil d. says
b. begin
c. try
d. eight
HOM
E
From the options
lettered a to d, choose
the word that has the 18. quay
same vowel sound as a. enter
the underlined letter(s).
b. machine
16. come c. content 20. crude
a. boss d. ache a. crust
b. bone b. gold
c. rust c. hoot
19. board
d. from d. rout
a. roster
17. good b. dog
a. wrote c. suck
b. put d. afford
c. flood
d. foul HOM
E
From the options
lettered a to d, choose
the word that has the 23. rather
same consonant sound a. thyme
as the underlined
letter(s). b. that
c. thin 25. tax
21. pillar d. thought
a. receipt
a. thimble
b. prowess b. asked
c. photo 24. cast c. mugged
d. nephew a. touched d. fetch
22. sing b. paved
a. sand c. axe
b. queen d. asked
c. quinine
d. sank HOM
E
From the options
lettered a to d, choose
the word that has the
same consonant sound 28. rise
as the underlined a. blitz
letter(s). b. loose
c. pizza 30. who
26. bar a. white
d. dissolve
a. comb b. where
b. plumb
29. yam c. whist
c. grab
d. lamb a. symbol d. whose
b. unity
27. same c. pyre
a. isle
d. buried
b. dice
c. daze
HOM
d. dies E
From the options lettered a to d, choose the word which rhymes
with the given word.
A B C D
31. averse rehearse revise reverts reviews

32. mountain country fountain bounty contain

33. tension season prison equation mention

34. father platter further rather later

35. labour cater neighbour mirror terror

From the options lettered a to d, choose the word with a different
stress pattern.
A B C D
36. comment despite purchase genuine

37. diverse defer challenge profess

38. exhibit confidence satisfy devastate

39. refugee referee understand importance

40. continent opponent exciting ingredient

From the options lettered a to d, choose the word with
the given phonetic symbol.
A B C D
41. /ə/ bathe faith mother length

42. /tʃ/ mission shoe attach character

43. /t/ begged carve urge attend

44. /i:/ equation addition impression pressure

45. /z/ consist insist design reverse

From the options lettered a to d, choose the word with the
monophthong /ʊ/.
A B C D
46. good brooch food moon

47. mood foot quiz quit

48. coup build hook onions

From the options lettered a to d, choose the word with the

diphthong /əʊ/.
49. brooch pool fool flood

50. queen quote quill quest

LET’S RECALL

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