ESL 504: Representative Syllabus
ESL 504 is a comprehensive course in American English pronunciation. A full range of topics at the sound, word, and phrase level are covered. The course is divided into three five-week segments. Each segment includes work at all three levels and culminates in student presentations (a five-minute mini-lecture on a beginning level topic in the student¡¯s field of study). The mini-lectures are recorded and students are asked to evaluate their performance and to attend a teacher-student conference.
Commonly covered topics (the order of introduction may vary)
Sound-level topics: Vowel and consonant work is determined by student need, but the following sounds appear regularly: /l/, /r/, clusters, theta, eth, yogh, d-yogh, script a, open o, /iy/.
Word-level topics: word stress (alternations), predicting word stress according to word endings, compound constructions (compound nouns, compound numbers, names)
Phrase-level topics: message units, alternating rhythm, fast speech phenomena (linking and trimming), primary stress, intonation, and rhythm and intonation in specific discourse domains, such as various question types and comparison-contrasts.
Week 1 Introduction to the course and diagnostic testing
Weeks 2-5 Various topics at the sound, word, and phrase level.
Assignment: Mini-lecture 1
Assignment: Mini-lecture 2
Assignment: Mini-lecture 3