AJ2201 Phonetics and Phonology A

Faculty of Education
Autumn 2021
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Irena Hůlková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Irena Hůlková, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Timetable of Seminar Groups
AJ2201/01: Wed 22. 9. to Wed 15. 12. Wed 10:00–11:50 učebna 64, I. Hůlková
AJ2201/02: Tue 21. 9. to Tue 14. 12. Tue 8:00–9:50 učebna 64, I. Hůlková
AJ2201/03: Tue 21. 9. to Tue 14. 12. Tue 10:00–11:50 učebna 64, I. Hůlková
AJ2201/04: Thu 23. 9. to Thu 16. 12. Thu 14:00–15:50 učebna 64, I. Hůlková
AJ2201/05: Wed 22. 9. to Wed 15. 12. Wed 8:00–9:50 učebna 64, I. Hůlková
Prerequisites
B2 according to SERRJ + enthusiasm and interest.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to raise the student's awareness of problems a Czech student and future teacher of English can have in the area of individual sounds. Potential problems are identified and intesively dealt with in the form of school and home drills based on the worksheets available in the e-learning course (Moodle). An integral part of the course is the individual work with the student and individual home practice. The notion of phoneme is introduced and the phonetic alphabet presented and further practised on a regular basis in phonemic transcriptions (from a written text as well as from dictation), which are checked and commented on thoroughly at the beginning of each lesson with special regard to the acoustic differences of sounds existing in both languages.
A midterm face-to-face consultation is required, when each student has to read a short English text aloud and subsequently they get immediate feedback and advice what they should improve and work on in terms of their English pronunciation.
Learning outcomes
The student will be able to 1. pronounce all 44 phonemes in British English correctly and describe how they are produced;
2. distinguish between Czech and English phonemes and explain the main differences between them;
3. use phonemic transcription in the following ways: transcription from dictation, transcription from a written text and reading from transcription;
4. put theory regarding the correct pronunciation into practice when teaching English at any level.
Syllabus
  • The following areas will be covered:
  • - introduction to phonetics and phonology, phonemic chart, phonetic alphabet
  • - the most frequent sound in English: the schwa /ə/
  • - English open /æ/ in contrast with the English /e/ and with the Czech "e"
  • - English vowels such as /ɪ/ x /i:/, /ʊ/ x /u:/, /ɒ/ x /ɔ:/ and /ʌ/ x /ɑ:/
  • - English diphthongs in words like "go" /əʊ/, "here" /ɪə/, "there" /eə/ and pure /ʊə/ and changes in their contemporary use
  • - pronunciation of endings (past tense, plural and the third person singular), voiced x voiceless consonants at the end of words
  • - aspiration
  • - English voiceless and voiced "th", i.e., /θ/ and /ð/
  • - English velar /ŋ/ (ng)
  • - /v/ versus /w/
  • - /r/ in British versus American English; silent /r/ in British English
  • - dark /ɫ/ versus clear /l/
Literature
    required literature
  • ASHTON, Helen and Sarah SHEPHERD. Work on your accent. First edition. London: Collins, 2012, iii, 151. ISBN 9780007462919. info
  • BAKER, Ann. Ship or sheep? : an intermediate pronunciation course. Illustrated by Leslie Marshall. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, v, 168. ISBN 052128354X. info
  • ROACH,P.English Phonetics and Phonology.Cambridge:Cambridge university Press,2000.ISBN 0-521-78613-14
  • The course is based on individual handouts available in the moodle course for each lesson. These handouts are obligatory for both class and home work, and are accompanied by their audio recordings.
    recommended literature
  • O'CONNOR,J.D. Sounds English.Longman,1991.ISBN 0-582-01439-5
Teaching methods
drill, listening & repetition, discussion, transcription, one-to-one consultations
Assessment methods
The course finishes with a credit/zápočet obtained by students who actively participate in the lessons and meet the following requirements:
- regular attendance strongly recommended
- home practice and home assignments - mainly transcriptions
- taking all online quizzes in our Moodle course
- taking a midterm test (consisting of transcription from a written text and dictation) - pass mark = 70%
- midterm one-to-one consultation
- final one-to-one consultation and credit test (comprising transcription from a written text and dictation). The pass mark is 70 per cent.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
Teacher's information
http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2447
The framework of the course is based on individual handouts/worksheets which are available for each lesson in the e-learning course at moodlinka.ped.muni.cz. These handouts are to be printed out and brought along to class, where they will be worked with.

You can also purchase all the handouts/worksheets mentioned above as a spiral bound booklet – size A4 at Mr. Liška’s Copy Centre at 13 Křížová Street, just round the corner from the Faculty (9 Poříčí) and opposite the tram stop Poříčí (next to a shoe shop), check:

http://www.kcliska.sweb.cz/oteviracidoba.php.

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Some of the information above may change depending on the COVID-19 situation in the country.

The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, autumn 2020, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/autumn2021/AJ2201