Pronunciation Instruction: Intonation

Prominence and intonation are key to conveying meaning in spoken English. The words speakers choose to highlight and the movement of pitch in the voice signal to the listener what is important and indicate the speaker’s attitude and emotion. These spoken cues are often enhanced by the use of body language, providing the listener with visual cues to interpret the main points of the message. In this classroom demonstration, the teacher uses a TEDtalk video to give learners practice listening for and analyzing prominence and intonation while also observing the impact of the speaker’s body language to her message.

Watch the More than Words: Adult ESL Pronunciation Activities for Conveying Meaning through Intonation video here.

Find more pronunciation activity ideas in the Pronunciation Instructional Support Kit. Download the kit below