Lesson 2: Intonation | English Phonetics for Academic Presentations

Lesson 2: Intonation

In this research-based training series, we cover advanced speaking skills to improve your academic presentations for international audiences. Our focus will be on vocal factors that research indicates can impact the ability to convey our message effectively: intonation, stress and vowel length. These are key phonetic features that help multilingual presenters communicate effectively with globally and linguistically diverse colleagues.

These particular skills have been chosen for two reasons:

1. Studies demonstrate they impact speaker intelligibility – in other words, the ability to be understood by listeners.

2. They are relatively easy and simple to learn.

Lesson 2 covers a key factor in speaker intelligibility: intonation (Wennerstrom, 2018; Jenkins, 2001; Zsiga, 2013).

What is intonation?

Intonation refers to pitch movement. Watch this video to learn more!

References:

Jenkins, Jennifer (2000). The Phonology of English as an International Language: New Models, New Norms, New Goals. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 6 Pedagogic priorities 1: Identifying the phonological core, pp 123-163.

Wennerstrom, Ann (2018). Intonation and language learning. In Okim Kang, Ron Thomson, & John M. Murphy (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary English Pronunciation. Routledge, 154-168.

Zsiga, Elizabeth C. (2013). The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. Wiley-Blackwell.