Introduction to Phonetics
3 credits
Professor Karen Steffen Chung

Please see Karen Chung's homepage at:
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/
for more information.

Eligibility:

This course is primarily designed for future English teachers in the education program 教育學程; non-education DFLL students are also encouraged to join this class, particularly those planning to continue in linguistics. Other students with adequate background (completion of or concurrent enrollment in an introductory linguistics course or its equivalent) may also enroll, up to the class size limit of 35 students. Priority will be given first to education students and second to regular DFLL students. Students lacking the requisite background should speak with the professor on the first day of class to determine whether they are suited to taking this course. The second semester may or may not be offered this year, depending on the number of students who plan to take the course for credit - it must be at least five.


Course overview:

This course is designed to train future English teachers and others in the phonetics and correct pronunciation of standard American English. It will offer a solid grounding in phonetic theory, but the main emphasis will be on sharpening students' sensitivity to the sounds of language, and on actual practice, mainly through oral reading of the textbook, class discussions, and practice dictations.

Each student will keep a pronunciation journal to record problem areas of pronunciation, and will be expected to take class notes on material not covered in the textbook, to be handed in as an assignment. A significant portion of the work for this class will be done online independently.

A test will normally be given after the completion of each chapter to review and solidify the material covered. Various written assignments will be given, including exercises from the text and ones requiring the use of various kinds of software. A dictation will be given most Wednesdays, first hour. This is to sharpen your sensitivity to the sounds of English, and also to identify problem areas you need to work on. Because of its diagnostic function, grades on the dictations will often not be very high, especially at the beginning. For this reason, they will *not* count heavily toward your final grade. Your grades should however gradually improve over the course of the semester.

Practice dictations are available here:
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/phonetics/dictations.htm

Grade calculation:

Grades for the course will be based on class participation, written work and other assignments, chapter tests, a final exam, attendance, progress made, and attitude.