(Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm) some techniques to improve english intonation for students in grade 11

THANH HOA EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING SERVICE

HAM RONG HIGH SCHOOL

INITIATIVE EXPERIENCE

SOME TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE ENGLISH
INTONATION FOR STUDENTS IN GRADE 11

Author: Trinh Thi Ly
Job title: Teacher
Group: English


INDEX
1. Raise an issue........................................................................................................1
1.1. Reasoning base....................................................................................................2
1.2. Practical base.......................................................................................................2
1.3. Scope of studying special subject........................................................................2
1.4. Study objects.......................................................................................................2
1.5. Study techniques.................................................................................................2
2. Table of content....................................................................................................2
2.1. Identifying English intonation..........................................................................2
2.1.1. Definition.........................................................................................................2
2.1.2. Reasons to use English intonation....................................................................3
2.2. The techniques of English intonational tone…………………………….......5
Technique 1: Falling intonation…………………..................................................5
a. Statements...............................................................................................................5
b. Commands .............................................................................................................6
c. Wh-questions..........................................................................................................6
d. Exclamations..........................................................................................................7

e. Tag questions (confirmation).................................................................................8
Technique 2: Rising intonation...............................................................................8
a.Yes-No questions.....................................................................................................9
b. Tag questions (real questions)................................................................................9
c. Echo questions......................................................................................................10
Technique 3: Rise-Fall intonation……………………………………................11.
a. Alternative questions............................................................................................11
b. Lists (rising, rising, rising, falling )………………………………………..........12
c. Unfinished thought...............................................................................................13
d. Conditional sentences…………………...............................................................14
Technique 4: Fall-Rise intonation……………………………….........................14
a. Hesitation/ Reluctance..........................................................................................14
b. Politeness- Doubt- Uncertainty…………………………....................................15
2.3. The limitation and measures of the special subject......................................16
2.3.1. The limitation of the special subject..............................................................16
2.3.2 The measures of the special subject................................................................16
2.4. The result of practical teaching.....................................................................17
3. Summary and suggestions.................................................................................18


1. Raise an issue
1.1. Reasoning base.
We know that communication is very keen role in any field, whether it is business,
medicine, transportation, technology, trade or marketing. Language has a great
impact on the division of the different traditions and cultures of different people.
We learn more about the traditions, cultures and customs of different people around
the world through travel and learning. For this effective communication is a
necessity. English language empowers people from around the world. The internet
also plays an important role in promoting English as the standard language.
Through the pages of various social networks people connect with each other from

anywhere in the world, mostly through English. This is because this language is
accepted worldwide. English is also essential for air traffic control and flight crews.
English is globally accepted and known by all. Globalization covers all aspects of
life. Deep understanding is very important in every field. Without proper
communication it is not possible to be in connection. Millions of people consider
English as their first language; two thirds of them prefer it as a second language. In
addition, billions of people are in the process of learning. English has become the
most popular international language in the world nowadays. It is used as the official
one in many different countries. In Vietnam, English is also considered as an
indispensable language in all domains, especially in education. Therefore, it has
been taught in primary, secondary, high schools, colleges and universities and has
become a compulsory subject during study process so far. In order to be more
authentic and sound like a native speaker of English, it is important that upper
secondary school students should learn how to use intonation. In today’s world,
English is the most widely spoken language and it is gaining more and more
importance every other day because of the technological developments and
diplomatic reasons. It is also beneficial for upper secondary school students to be
familiar with intonation in that, knowing about usage of intonation in English
makes it easier to understand a communication between native speakers of English.
I have chosen “intonation” as the subject of my study because I think it is one of
the most important aspects affecting the pronunciation of upper secondary school
students. In fact, most students of a foreign language transfer their native intonation
patterns “i.e. the melody of speech utterances” to the new language and retain them
even after they have improved in other aspects. Consequently, though most
students may have exposed to English for quite some time, their English is usually
far from authentic. Intonation is closely interrelated with other factors- not only
grammar and vocabulary, but also non- linguistic factors like the roles of the
speaker and hearer (who is talking to whom, in what capacity and in what type of
situation). This means that a given sentence can have different intonation patterns
in different situations. This problem with intonation is quite common in Vietnam

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because English is not so widely used and there are not that many native speakers
of English living there. Another reason is that nearly most of the English teachers
in Vietnam are getting their education in the country and they are not given the
chance to spend some time in UK or any other European countries. Teaching of
intonation gains more importance in countries like Vietnam because there is not a
natural environment for acquiring the intonation of English. Thus, we, English
teachers, should explain every aspect of intonation to our students to make the best
of it. My aim is to draw out the rules in which English intonation is prefered. In this
experience, I also hope to apply these rules to a few exercises which are not
mentioned in upper secondary schools.
1.2. Practical base.
From the reality of teaching English, I find that students always have a great need
for English precise pronunciation. In order for negotiation of meaning be present
in a communication, being understood by an English speaker is as important as
understanding him/her. This makes another reason showing that, apart from
grammar and vocabulary, intonation is among the crucial things to be learned by
upper secondary school students. Mastering and using the rules of English
intonation effectively will help students diversify English expressions to serve
communicative goal.
1.3. Scope of studying special subject.
I can say that intonation is a wide term covering important aspects of a language
and a framework of English intonation should include four major intonational
features: intonation units, stress, tones, and pitch range. In this experience, I only
focus on the phenomena of intonation in English with “tones”.
1.4. Study objects.
I study the phenomenon of intonation in English with “tones” aiming at students in
upper secondary schools.

1.5. Study techniques.
1.5.1. Statistical technique.
I use this technique to list some special rules, exercises of the phenomenon of
intonation in English with “tones”.
1.5.2. Analysed technique.
I use this technique to clarify the rules used in exercises of the phenomenon of
intonation in English with “tones”.
1.5.3. Compared technique.
I use this technique to distinguish the rules of used in exercises of the phenomena
of intonation in English with “tones”.
2. TABLE OF CONTENT
2.1. Identify English intonation.
2.1.1. Definition.
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Intonation is about how we say things, rather than what we say, the way the voice
rises and falls when speaking, in other words the music of the language. Just as
words have stressed syllables, sentences have regular patterns of stressed words. In
addition, the voice tends to rise, fall or remain flat depending on the meaning or
feeling we want to convey (surprise, anger, interest, boredom, gratitude, etc.).
Intonation therefore indicates the mood of the speaker.
A unit of speech bounded by pauses has movement, of music and rhythm,
associated with the pitch of voice. This certain pattern of voice movement is called
“tone”. A tone is a certain pattern, not an arbitrary one, because it is meaningful in
discourse. By means of tones, speakers signal whether to refer, proclaim, agree,
disagree, question or hesitate, or indicate completion and continuation of turntaking, in speech. In other word, when we speak, we constantly vary the pitch of
our voice. Tone is overall behaviour of pitch in a syllable.
Tones
Simple tones

Complex tones

Level tones
Moving tones
Fall-rise tone Rise-fall tone
(⎯)
(∨)
(∧)
Falling tones
Rising tones
(↘)
(↗)
It appeared in the our teaching experience that only four types of tones can be
efficiently taught to non-native speakers of English:
 Falling intonation
 Rising intonation
 Rise-Fall intonation
 Fall-Rise intonation
2.1.2. Reasons to use English intonation.
We can say that intonation is a wide term covering important aspects of a language
and it has a big impact on the pronunciation of students. Although this subject is
taught in primary, secondary and high schools in Vietnam, Vietnamese students are
more likely to have problems in sounding like native speakers of English.
Furthermore, they have difficulty in understanding native English speakers with
whom they have never had a chance to communicate before. Also, as Vietnamese
students are not exposed to the language during their daily life, it is not likely that
they grow a sense of awareness about how it is like to pronounce words like native
speakers do. So, as language teachers, we had better give explicit information about
intonation patterns and concentrate on communicative aspects of language and try

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to make students be active during the classes. The more they use the language, the
better they pronounce.
The term intonation refers to a means for conveying information in speech which is
independent of the words and their sounds. Central to intonation is the modulation
of pitch, and intonation is often thought of as the use of pitch over the domain of
the utterance. However, the patterning of pitch in speech is so closely bound to
patterns of timing and loudness, and sometimes voice quality, that we cannot
consider pitch in isolation from these other dimensions. The interaction of
intonation and stress — the patterns of relative prominence which characterise an
utterance — is particularly close in many languages, including English. For those
who prefer to reserve ‘intonation’ for pitch effects in speech, the word ‘prosody’ is
convenient as a more general term to include patterns of pitch, timing, loudness,
and (sometimes) voice quality. In this study, however, intonation will be used to
refer to the collaboration of all these dimensions, and, where necessary, the term
‘melody’ will be used to refer specifically to the pitch-based component. Intonation
is used to carry a variety of different kinds of information. It signals grammatical
structure, though not in a one-to-one way; whilst the end of a complete intonation
pattern will normally coincide with the end of a grammatical structure such as a
sentence or clause, even quite major grammatical boundaries may lack intonational
making, particularly if the speech is fast. Intonation can reflect the information
structure of an utterance, highlighting constituents of importance. Intonation can
indicate discourse function; for instance most people are aware that saying ‘This is
the Leeds train’ with one intonation constitutes a statement, but, with another, a
question. Intonation can be used by a speaker to convey an attitude such as
friendliness, enthusiasm, or hostility; and listeners can use intonation-related
phenomenon in the voice to make inferences about a speaker’s state, including
excitement, depression, and tiredness. Intonation can also, for instance, help to

regulate turn-taking in conversation, since there are intonational mechanisms
speakers can use to indicate that they have had their say, or, conversely, that they
are in full flow and don’t want to be interrupted. Intonation is not the only
linguistic device for which pitch is recruited by languages; many languages use
pitch to distinguish words. In languages around the world as diverse as Thai, Hausa
(Nigeria), and Mixtec (Mexico), words are distinguished not only by vowels and
consonants but also by the use of one of a limited set of distinctive pitch patterns or
heights on each syllable. Such languages are called tone languages. A number of
other languages, such as Swedish and Japanese, make a more limited use of pitch to
distinguish words. These languages might best be called lexical accent languages.
All tone languages and lexical accent languages also have intonation, but in general
the greater a language’s use of pitch for distinguishing words, the less scope it has
to develop an elaborate intonation system. English, on the other hand, is not a tone
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language or lexical accent language, and is generally agreed to have relatively
complex intonation.
Here are some reasons why we need to use intonation patterns correctly:
✔ Using intonation will make sound more friendly, approachable and empathetic.
✔ Using intonation will enable you to ask questions clearly and effectively.
✔Using intonation will enable to speak with a pace that sounds natural to the
listener.
2.2. THE TECHNIQUES OF ENGLISH INTONATIONAL TONE.
Technique 1: Falling intonation (↘)
A falling tone is by far the most common used tone of all. It signals a sense
of finality, completion, belief in the content of the utterance, and so on. A speaker,
by choosing a falling tone, also indicates to the addressee that that is all he has to
say, and offers a chance (turn-taking) to the addressee to comment on, agree or
disagree with, or add to his utterance. However, it is up to the addressee to do either

of these. This tone does in no way solicit a response from the addressee.
Nonetheless, it would be polite for the addressee to at least acknowledge in some
manner or form that he is part of the discourse. The pitch of the voice falls at the
end of the sentence. Falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern in
English. It is commonly found in statements, commands, Wh-questions,
exclamatory sentences, and tag questions.
a. Statements :
Examples:
*They expected me to finish my work ↘early.
*My mother likes me to do my ↘homework.
*Nice to meet ↘you.
*I’ll be back in a ↘minute.
*We should work together more ↘often.
Exercises and keys of statements:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each sentence and practise reading aloud these
sentences :
1. My friends expected him to buy a new house.
……………………………………………………………..
(My friends expected him to buy a new ↘house.)
2. She likes her parents to pay money.
……………………………………………………………
(She likes her parents to pay↘ money.)
3. She doesn’t live here anymore.
………………………………………………………………
(She doesn’t live here ↘anymore.)
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4. Dad wants to change his car.
………………………………………………………………

(Dad wants to change his ↘car.)
5. Here is the weather forecast.
………………………………………………………………
(Here is the weather ↘forecast.)
b. Commands:
Examples:
*Write your name ↘here.
*Show me what you’ve ↘written.
*Leave it on the ↘desk.
*Take that picture ↘down.
*Throw that ↘out.
Exercises and keys of commands:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each sentence and practise reading aloud these
sentences :
1. Put your books on the table.
……………………………………………………………..
(Put your books on the ↘table.)
2. Take your hands out of your pockets.
……………………………………………………………
(Take your hands out of your↘ pockets.)
3. Go and see a doctor.
………………………………………………………………
(Go and see a↘doctor.)
4. Take a seat.
………………………………………………………………
(Take a ↘seat.)
5. Hand in your assignment.
………………………………………………………………
(Hand in your ↘assignment.)
c. Wh- questions:

Examples:
*What country do you come↘from?.
*Where do you ↘work?.
*Which of them do you ↘prefer?.
*When does the shop ↘open?.
*How many books have you ↘bought?.
Exercises and keys of Wh-questions:
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Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each question and practise reading aloud these
questions :
1. What do people often do to prepare for Tet?
……………………………………………………………..
(What do people often do to prepare for ↘Tet?)
2. How many solutions did the expert offer?
……………………………………………………………
(How many solutions did the expert ↘ offer?)
3. Why can’t women in the world limit the size of their family?
………………………………………………………………
(Why can’t women in the world limit the size of their ↘family?)
4. Where can you find these scenes?
………………………………………………………………
(Where can you find these ↘scenes?)
5. When did he become the first official female champion?
………………………………………………………………
(When did he become the first official female ↘champion?)
d. Exclamations:
Examples:
*How nice of ↘you!

*That’s just what I ↘need!
*You don’t ↘say!
*What a beautiful ↘voice!
*That’s a ↘surprise!
Exercises and keys of Exclamations:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each exclamatory sentence and practise
reading aloud these sentences :
1. Watch out!
……………………………………………………………..
(Watch ↘out!)
2. What a wonderful holiday!
……………………………………………………………
(What a wonderful ↘ holiday!)
3. What pretty girls!
………………………………………………………………
(What pretty ↘girls!)
4. How well he swims!
………………………………………………………………
(How well he ↘swims!)
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5. How thick is the book!
………………………………………………………………
(How thick is the ↘book!)
e. Tag questions:
Tag questions are statements requesting confirmation or inviting agreement rather
than questions, in which case we use a falling tone at the end.
Examples:
*He thinks he’s so clever, doesn’t ↘ he?

*She’s such a nuisance, isn’t ↘ she?
*I failed the test because I didn’t revise, did ↘ I?
*It doesn’t seem to bother him much, does ↘ it?
*You like it, don’t ↘ you?
Exercises and keys of tag questions:
Put the symbol “↘” at the end of each tag question and practise reading aloud
these questions :
1. You live here, don’t you?
……………………………………………………………..
(You live here, don’t ↘ you?)
2. No one likes snakes, do they?
……………………………………………………………
(No one likes snakes, do↘ they?)
3. Human beings have made efforts to protect the environment,
haven’t they?
………………………………………………………………
(Human beings have made efforts to protect the environment, haven’t
↘ they?)
4. People are killing endangered animals for fur, skin and food, aren’t
they?
………………………………………………………………
(People are killing endangered animals for fur, skin and food, aren’t ↘
they?)
5. The competition was sponsored by the Students’ Parents Society,
wasn’t it?
………………………………………………………………
(The competition was sponsored by the Students’ Parents Society, wasn’t ↘
it?)
Technique 2: Rising intonation (↗)
This tone is used in genuine “Yes/No” questions where the speaker is sure that he

does not know the answer, and that the addressee knows the answer. Such Yes/No
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questions are uttered with a rising tone. The pitch of the voice rises at the end of a
sentence. Rising intonation invites the speaker to continue talking.
a. Yes/no questions: (Questions that can be answered by “yes” or “no”.)
Examples:
*Do you like your new ↗teacher?
*Have you finished ↗already?
*May I borrow your ↗dictionary?
*Do you have any ↗magazines?
*Do you sell ↗stamps?
Exercises and keys of “Yes/no-questions”:
Put the symbol “↗” at the end of each question and practise reading aloud these
questions :
1. Have you talked to her?
……………………………………………………………..
(Have you talked to ↗her?)
2. Do you like this picture?
……………………………………………………………
(Do you like this ↗ picture?)
3. Are you going to celebrate your wedding anniversaries in the future?
………………………………………………………………
(Are you going to celebrate your wedding anniversaries in the ↗future?)
4. Did you take a gift for the host?
………………………………………………………………
(Did you take a gift for the ↗host?)
5. Were there any decorations?
………………………………………………………………

(Were there any ↗decorations?)
b. Tag questions: (Tag questions that show uncertainty and require an answer
[real questions]).
Examples:
*We have met already, ↗haven’t we?
*You like fish, ↗don’t you?
*You are a new student, ↗aren’t you?
*The view is beautiful, ↗isn’t it?
*He didn’t come to class for three days, ↗did he?
Exercises and keys of “Tag questions”:
Put the symbol “↗” at the end of each question and practise reading aloud these
questions :
1. You have talked to her, haven’t you?
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……………………………………………………………..
(You have talked to her ↗haven’t you?)
2. You like this picture, don’t you?
……………………………………………………………
(You like this picture, ↗ don’t you?)
3. You are going to celebrate your wedding anniversaries in the future,
aren’t you?
………………………………………………………………………………..
(You are going to celebrate your wedding anniversaries in the future,
↗ aren’t you?)
4. You took a gift for the host, didn’t you?
………………………………………………………………
(You took a gift for the host, ↗didn’t you?)
5. There were some decorations?

………………………………………………………………
(There were some decorations, ↗ weren’t there?)
c. Echo questions:
Echo question is a type of direct question that repeats part or all of something
which someone else has just said. We use echo question because we have not heard
or understood what they said or because we are surprised by what the speaker has
told us.
Examples:
*A: I got a full mark in my last test.
B: Oh! Did ↗ you?
*A: John has got married.
B: Has ↗ he?
*A: I met Brad Pitt.
B: You met ↗ who?
A: Brad Pitt.
B: You don’t say!
Exercises and keys of “Echo questions”:
Put the symbol “↗” at the end of each question and practise reading aloud these
questions :
1.
A: I’m going to Turkey this summer.
B:Are you? That’s great.
A: ……………………………………………………………………………
B: ……………………………………………………………………………
(A: I’m going to Turkey this summer.
B:Are ↗ you? That’s great.)
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2.

A: I went to Iceland to visit the volcanoes.
B: You went where? To visit what?
A: ……………………………………………………………………………
B: ……………………………………………………………………………
(A. I went to Iceland to visit the volcanoes.)
B: You went ↗where? To visit ↗what?)
3.
A: My new iphone cost me $800.
B: Your new iphone cost you how much?
A: ……………………………………………………………………………
B: ……………………………………………………………………………
(A: My new iphone cost me $800.
B: Your new iphone cost you ↗how much?)
4.
A: What do you want?
B: What do I want? I just want a cup of coffee.
A:…………………………………………………………………………….
B: ……………………………………………………………………………
(A: What do you want?
B: What do I ↗want? I just want a cup of coffee.)
5.
A: I’m quitting school.
B: You are quitting school?
A: That’s right.
B: That’s an interesting thing to do.
A:…………………………………………………………………………….
B: ……………………………………………………………………………
A:…………………………………………………………………………….
B: ……………………………………………………………………………

(A: I’m quitting school.
B: You are quitting ↗school?
A: That’s right.
B: That’s an interesting thing to do.)
Technique 3: Rise-Fall intonation (↗ ↘)
When there are two or more syllables in the tail, the syllable immediately following
the tonic syllable is always higher and any following syllables are low.
a. Alternative questions:
Examples:
*Are you having ↗ soup or ↘salad?
*Is John leaving on ↗ Thursday or ↘Friday?
*Does he speak ↗ German or ↘French?
*Is your name ↗ Ava or ↘Eva?
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*Would you like↗ some ice cream or ↘some cake?
Exercises and keys of “Alternative questions”:
Put the symbol “↗” or “↘”at the end of each question and practise reading
aloud these questions :
1. Does she work in the city or in the suburb?
……………………………………………………………..
(Does she work ↗in the city ↘in the suburb?)
2. Is this the front or the back of the dress?
……………………………………………………………
(Is this ↗ the front or ↘ the back of the dress?)
3. Which do you prefer, with or without salt?
………………………………………………………………
(Which do you prefer, ↗ with or ↘ without salt ?)
4. Are we eating ↗ in or ↘ out this evening?

………………………………………………………………
(Are we eating ↗ in or ↘ out this evening ?)
5. Are these trains or buses from the airport to Belgrade?
………………………………………………………………
(Are these ↗ trains or ↘ buses from the airport to Belgrade ?)
b. Lists: (rising, rising, rising, falling)
Intonation falls on the last item to show that the list is finished.
Examples:
*We have got ↗ apples, pears, bananas and ↘ oranges.
*The sweater comes in ↗ blue, white pink and ↘ black.
*I like ↗ football, tennis, basketball and ↘ volleyball .
*I bought ↗ a t-shirt, a skirt and a ↘ handbag.
*You need ↗ a pen, a pencil and some ↘ paper.
Exercises and keys of “ lists”:
Put the symbol “↗” or “↘”at the end of each listing statement and practise
reading aloud these listing statements :
1. I enjoy playing tennis, climbing mountain and flying kites.
……………………………………………………………..
(I enjoy ↗ playing tennis, climbing mountain and ↘ flying kites.)
2. I would like some eggs, some milk, some cheesse and some bread.
……………………………………………………………
(I would like ↗ some eggs, some milk, some cheese and some ↘ bread.)
3. People are killing endangered animals for fur, skin and food.
………………………………………………………………
(People are killing endangered animals for ↗ fur, skin and ↘ food.)
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4. At present, most of our energy comes from fossil fuels such as oil, coal
and natural gas.

………………………………………………………………
(At present, most of our energy comes from fossil fuels such as ↗ oil, coal
and ↘ natural gas. )
5. Other alternative sources of energy are the sun, water and the wind.
………………………………………………………………
(Other alternative sources of energy are ↗ the sun, water and ↘ the wind.)
c. Unfinished thought (partial statements):
In the responses to the following questions, the rise-fall intonation indicates
reservation. The speaker hesitates to fully express his/her thoughts.
Examples:
*Do you like my new handbag? Well the ↗ leather is ↘ nice…(but I don’t like it)
*What was the meal like?Hmm, the↗ fish was ↘ good….. (but the rest wasn’t
great).
*So you both live in Los Angeles? Well ↗ Alex ↘ does….. (but I don’t).
*Do you enjoy my new hairstyle? Well, the ↗ style is ↘ trendy….. (but I don’t like
it).
*Did you see the film last night? Hmm, the ↗ name of the film is ↘ attractive….
(but I don’t like the action of the main character).
Exercises and keys of “unfinished thoughts”:
Put the symbol “↗” or “↘”at the end of each statement and practise reading
aloud these questions :
1. So you both live in London? I do…(but Mary lives in York).
……………………………………………………………..
(So you both live in London? ↗ I ↘ do…( but Mary lives in York).)
2. What was the new teacher like? Hmm, he is young…. (but his
teaching method is incomprehensive).
……………………………………………………………
(What was the new teacher like? Hmm, ↗ he is ↘ young…. (but his
teaching method is incomprehensive). )
3. So you both got prizes in the national exam? Well, Mary did…. ( but I

didn’t).
………………………………………………………………
(So you both got prizes in the national exam?Well, ↗ Mary ↘ did… (But I
didn’t).)
4. Do you like working for the company? Well, the salary is good…. (but
the people don’t get on well with each other).
………………………………………………………………
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(Do you like working for the company? Well, the ↗ salary is ↘ good… (but
the people don’t get on well with each other). )
5. Does he speak English well? Well, his voice is strong and clear…. (but
we don’t like his pronunciation).
………………………………………………………………
(Does he speak English well? Well, his ↗ voice is ↘ strong and clear…..
(but I don’t like his pronunciation). )
d. Conditional sentences:
The tone rises in the first clause and falls gradually in the second clause.
Examples:
*If he ↗ calls, ask him to leave a ↘ message.
*Unless he ↗ insists, I’m not going to ↘ go.
*If you have any ↗ problems, just ↘ contact us .
*If it doesn’t ↗ rain, I will come to ↘ see you.
*If I had a ↗ car, I would drive to ↘ work .
Exercises and keys of “ Conditional sentences”:
Put the symbol “↗” or “↘”at the end of each conditional sentence and practise
reading aloud these conditional sentences :
1. If the weather is good, we will have lunch outside.
……………………………………………………………..

(If the weather is ↗ good, we will have ↘ lunch outside .)
2. If he had listened to me, he wouldn’t have failed in the exams.
……………………………………………………………
(If he had ↗ listened to me, he wouldn’t have ↘ failed in the exams.)
3. If I had known about the job, I would have applied for it.
………………………………………………………………
(I I had ↗ known about the job, I would have ↘ applied for it.)
4. If that factory closed down, many people would be out of work.
………………………………………………………………
(If that factory ↗ closed down, many people would be ↘ out of work . )
5. If you didn’t come, they would be very disappointed.
………………………………………………………………
(If you didn’t ↗ come, they would be very ↘ disappointed .)
Technique 4: Fall-Rise intonation (↘ ↗)
Fall-rise intonation describes how the voice falls and then rises.
The main function of fall-rise intonation is to show that the speaker is not certain of
the answer they are giving to a question, or reluctant to reply. It is also used in
polite requests or suggestions.
a. Hesitation/ reluctance:
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Examples:
*So you’d be willing to confirm that?...Well….I ↘ sup↗pose so….
*You didn’t see him on Monday? I don’t quite ↘re↗member…
Exercises and keys of “ Hesitation/ reluctance”:
Put the symbol “↘” or “↗”at the end of each Hesitation/ reluctance question
and practise reading aloud these questions :
1. A: Did Dan answer his question?
B: I suppose that he’s busy.

A:………………………………………………………………………
B:……………………………………………………………………
(A: Did Dan answer his question?
B: I ↘sup↗pose that he’s busy.)
2. Can I go out tonight? Oh, I suppose so.
………………………………………………………………………………
(Can I go out tonight? Oh, I ↘sup↗pose so.)
3. Will Gillan marry him? I believe so.
………………………………………………………………………………
( Will Gillan marry him? I ↘be↗lieve….)
4. The project won’t be completed in three years? Well, I consider
that…..
………………………………………………………………………………
(The project won’t be completed in three years? Well, I ↘con↗sider
that…..)
5. I don’t agree with it, but I suppose that it’s for the best.
………………………………………………………………………………
(I don’t agree with it, but I ↘sup↗pose that it’s for the best.)
b. Politeness- Doubt- Uncertainty: (You are not sure what the answer might
be.)
Examples:
*Perhaps we could ↘vi↗sit the place?
*Should we ↘co↗py the list?
*Do you think it’s ↘al↗lowed?
Exercises and keys of “ Politeness- Doubt- Uncertainty”:
Put the symbol “↘” or “↗”at the end of each question Politeness- DoubtUncertainty and practise reading aloud these questions :
1. Do you think this cause should be deleted?
……………………………………………………………………
(Do you think this cause should be ↘de↗leted?)
2. Perhaps we could discuss the matter carefully?

...........................................................................................................................
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(Perhaps we could ↘dis↗cuss the matter carefully?)
3. Should students repeat this sound?
...........................................................................................................................
(Should students ↘ re↗peat this sound?)
4. Would you held me to record some examples of everyday
conversations?
………………………………………………………………………………
(Would you like to help me ↘re↗cord some examples of everyday
conversations?)
5. Should we spend a week preparing for our concert?
………………………………………………………………………………
(Should we spend a week ↘pre↗paring for our concert?)
2.3. The limitation and measures of the special subject.
2.3.1. The limitation of the special subject.
During the process of teaching at high schools, not only teachers but all students
also have trouble teaching and studying intonation. Although intonation is a
paralinguistic device in vocal communication and it reveals many facets of the
communication process taking into consideration all factors present in the discourse
context it is an indispensable part of speech in fact, the English intonation
phenomena is not introduced in the textbook, which makes both teachers and
students feel confused, uncertain and lack of confidence. Speech without
intonational features is no more than a machine output. The intonational specifics
of the English language is problem- causing ingredients of English for both
Vietnamese teachers and students of English. More importantly, the absence of
studies and drilling on intonation in course book becomes a great handicap on the
internationalization of target language intonation by the non-native teachers of

English. The absence of word-grouping is likely to result in non-fluent speech, with
pauses occurring in unnatural places to facilitate the solving of linguistic problems
rather than to serve the purpose of signaling information structure.
2.3.2. The measures of the special subject.
Because incorrect intonation can result in misunderstandings, speakers losing
interest or even taking offence. To improve the limitation, it is important for both
teachers and students to take in the rules of intonation in English.
Teachers:
Teachers should study, discover and search for document, reference books related
to intonation constantly.
They usually study all rules on intonation in order to classify them in the order of
difficulty. As a result, they will find the most suitable teaching methods and apply
them to teaching students effectively.
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They should provide students with models- don’t be afraid to exaggerate their
intonation.
They should ask students to have a 2-minute conversation in pairs as “robots”
(elicit the word using a picture if necessary) with no intonation. When they then go
back to speaking normally, point out that the difference is made by intonation- this
is what gives movement to our voices.
They should spend more time working on their students’ intonation as part of
pronunciation learning.
They should apply it to both written and spoken expressions in order for
considerable communicative skill.
Learners:
To obtain intonation carefully, learners need to understand its rules. Moreover, they
find it necessary to do as many exercises as possible and search for different kinds
of reference books, information sources on internet so that they can widen ,

improve their knowledge and meet the need for recent exam levels.
They know how to classify the rules of information on their own, which helps them
find the best ways to learn effectively.
They should store their own learning experience by exchanging with other teachers
and friends to enrich English intonation and enhance the ability to speak fluently
and listen correctly.
2.4. The result of practical teaching.
When doing a research on the special subject, I carried out a practical teaching in
class B6 and B8. As a consequence, the students made progress in recognising in
English intonation as referred.
The preceding and following results applied to English intonation:
Class
Level
The structures of special passive voice
Before applying
After applying
Good
6.81%
13.68%
Fairly good
40.90%
52.27%
11B6
Average
50%
34.05%
The number
Weak
2.29%
0%

of students: 44
Weaker
0%
0%
Good
2.27%
4.54%
Fairly good
34.1%
47.72%
11 B7
Average
56.81%
45.45%
The number
Weak
4.54%
2.29%
of students: 44
Weaker
2.28%
0%
3. Summary and suggestions.
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3.1. Summary:
Studying the rules of English intonation allows understanding semantic content and
playing an important part in classifying various and complex phenomenon of
English intonation. Consequentially, it is the rules of English intonation that

improve students’ speaking skill , help them comprehend the meaning of
conversations in every situation in daily life and motivate their interest in learning
English.
3.2. Some suggestions:
With the above experience, I suggest that Educational and Training Service apply
English intonation in upper secondary school. This is a practical need from both
teachers and students with a view to improving both teaching and learning English
effectively and meeting social demand of job markets.
XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG
ĐƠN VỊ

Thanh Hóa, ngày 22 tháng 4 năm 2018
CAM KẾT KHÔNG COPY.

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REFERENCE BOOKS
1. English 10
2. English 11
3. English 12
4. Sources from internet:
- Intonation from English Grammar Today
https: // dictionary. Cambridge.org>intonat…
- Intonation- Tieng anh 123.com: https: // m.tieng anh 123.com> 8203-bai 61…

- How English learners can improve intonation
https: // www.britishcouncil.org>how-eng...
- Intonation/TeachingEnglish/British Council/ BBC
>int…
- Intonation in English Pronunciation/ learn English today
https: //www.learn-english-today.com>in…
- Intonation Patterns in English- Youtube
https: //m.youtube.com> watch
- Introduction to Intonation/ English Pronunciation Lesson-Youtube
https: //m.youtube.com>watch
5. The Introduction systems of English by Paul Tench
6. English Intonation by J.C.Wells
7. Intonation and its parts by Dwight Bolinger
8. Prosodic Systems and Intonation in English