Mastering Fluency and Delivery 2 What are intonation, stress and rhythm?

Group of people playing drums during daytime
Image Credit
Pixabay via Pixabay

This lesson focuses on intonation, stress and rhythm, to sound more natural as you speak.

Introduction

You’ve probably heard the words intonation, stress and rhythm in other courses. Can you give an example or definition for each?

Discuss the above with your student.

  • Intonation: The rise and fall of the voice when speaking.
    • E.g.: You’re the best!—rises at the word best.
  • Stress: An extra force used when pronouncing a specific word or syllable.
    • E.g.: CA-nada; IN-dia; My name is BOB.
  • Rhythm: A strong, regular repeated pattern of sounds.
    • E.g.: Think about how some poems are read. Here’s an excerpt from Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss [lower-case i for stress visuals]:

DO you LIKE green EGGS and HAM?
i DO not LIKE them, SAM-i-AM.
i DO not LIKE green EGGS and HAM.
WOULD you LIKE them HERE or THERE?
i WOULD not LIKE them HERE or THERE.
i WOULD not LIKE them ANYwhere.
i DO not LIKE green EGGS and HAM.
i DO not LIKE them, SAM-i-AM.

Warm Up

Discuss these situations with your teacher.

  1. You are in an exam, and you want to ask the examiner to repeat herself. What do you say? Focus on your intonation.
  2. You are in a loud, crowded conference room, and you want everyone’s attention. What do you say? Focus on what words you stress. 
  3. Read the following poem out loud. Focus on your rhythm.

There once was a child in Spain
Who loved to play in the rain.
One day he tripped
And broke his hip,
And now he's in serious pain!

The answers may vary, but here are a few.

  1. Excuse me, could you speak louder, please↗? (The intonation should go up at please, not down.)
  2. HELLO! Let’s BEGIN! (This should be said loudly!)
  3. This is a limerick—the rhythm is:
    • ta-DA, ta-DA, ta-DAAAA
      ta-DA, ta-DA, ta-DAAAA
      ta-DA, ta-DA
      ta-DA, ta-DA
      ta-DA, ta-DA, ta-DAAAA

If your student is interested, try writing a limerick! The rhyme pattern is AABBA, five lines long with one stanza, and is usually comedic in nature. Find more information here.

Language
  1. Intonation is used to stress certain words or show emotion. It’s how our voices go up or down.
  • Yes-No questions have a rising tone at the end.
    • E.g.: Do you like working at your company↗?
  • Other types of questions have a falling tone.
    • E.g.: How are you↘?
  • Sometimes, the intonation can both rise and fall.
    • E.g.: Can I get you some coffee↗, a cup of tea↗, or a glass of water↘? 
  1. Stress is used to show the importance of the information given and can even change the meaning of the phrases!
    • E.g.: I LOVE you! has a different meaning from I love YOU!
  • Stress is also used to show comparison.
    • E.g.: I can see that the GENERAL financial statement looks correct, but THIS NUMBER seems off. 
  1. Rhythm in English comes from both the intonation and word stress above. Clap along to the words you hear:

Teacher: HOW are YOU↗? (pause)
Student: FINE↘. HOW are YOU↗?

This should be self-explanatory, but if you have extra time, ask your students to come up with examples of Yes-No questions or questions with lists.

You can also give more examples with longer sentences to show how stress can change meanings of sentences. A good example is the sentence, "She didn't steal your money":

  • She didn't steal your MONEY. [She stole something else.]
  • She didn't steal YOUR money. [She stole someone else's money.]
  • She didn't STEAL your money. [She borrowed your money.]
  • She DIDN'T steal your money. [Stop saying she did!]
  • SHE didn't steal your money. [Someone else stole it.]
Practice

Try the Warm Up section again. Taking what you learned, focus on your intonation, stress, and rhythm. 

 

At-home study: Read a story or poem in English out loud, paying attention to your intonation, stress, and rhythm.