Prosodic Patterns in English Conversation

by Nigel G. Ward, Cambridge University Press, 2019

Resources on Prosody for Scientific and Engineering Purposes

I have co-taught various Introduction to Prosody courses at the LSA Linguistics Institute, ACL, and elsewhere. Course Materials , Youtube Video Tutorial Series

Resources for Teaching the Prosody of English as a Second Language

Learners of English often need help with prosody. Whereas existing resources mostly target lexical and syntactic aspects, communicative effectiveness requires mastery of the prosodic patterns for pragmatic and interactional functions. Teaching these is a challenge (c.f. my thoughts on pedagogy of prosody, presented at TESOL 2023). Below, organized by the chapters of the book, are lesson plans and handouts for some essential prosodic patterns:

Chapter 2: Expressing Contrast with Bookended Narrow Pitch Regions

• ESOL Lesson Plan
• Two talk abstracts, with audio examples

Chapter 3: The Minor-Third Pattern

• ESOL Lesson Plan
• Summary Sheet
• 6 minute video for teachers
• 5 minute video for learners, and its script
• Dan Coren's essay on doorbells

Chapter 6: Late Pitch Peak and its Functions

• ESOL Lesson Outline
• ESOL Handout

Chapter 7: Expressing Positive Assessment

• ESOL Lesson Plan
• Worksheet

Chapter 11: Turn-Taking Constructions

• Backchanneling: ESOL Lesson Plan, Backchannel Facts Website
• Turn-Taking: ESOL Lesson Outline; Mock Interview Materials: part 1a, part 1b, part 2a, part 2b

New: Breathy Voice and its Functions

• Lesson Plan
• Handout
• Audio Examples, etc.
• Video of the Conference Paper

Other Resources on Dialog Patterns and Prosody

• English Conversational Grunts Website
• English Pronunciation Guide's listing of videos on the suprasegmentals of English
• Clicking and Tutting: Extraordinary sounds in everyday talk, lecture by Richard Ogden