Intonation,stress and rhythm

Intonation: It is the rise or fall of the voice in speaking. Intonation helps us to show our feelings or attitude to what we are saying or to what someone else says. There are two main types of introduction in English falling tune and rising tune. The falling tune is often shown by a downward arrow(↘) while the rising tune is shown by an upward arrow (↗)

The falling Tune: this is commonly used for statements, commands and questions that begin with words like where, what, when, how, which.E.g.

Statements:

1. Heaven and hell are real.
2. DLHS is a mission school.
3. You do not have an excuse not to succeed.

Command:

1. Go out now!
2. Do your homework.
3. Eat your food.

Questions with Wh-words:

1. Where will you spend eternity?
2. What is your dream?

The rising tune: it is commonly used for yes/no questions, polite request, and listing. E.g.

Yes/no questions:

1. Is she your model?
2. Are you ready to pay the price to who God want you to be?

Polite requests:

1. Could you lock the box, please?
2. Will please, cook the lunch?

Listing:

1. James was given a pencil, an exercise and a box of crayon.
2. Josephine washed, spread, and ironed his clothes.

When we are listing items, the voice rises (rising tune) until we come to the last item and then the voice falls (falling tune)

STRESS:

To understand what is meant by stress, we explain syllable. Syllable is any of the unit which a word may be divided, usually consisting of a vowel sound with a consonant before or after it. E.g

House,mouth,door——- one syllable

Cup-board, class-mate, ta-ble ——— two syllables

Im-por-tant, be-lie-ver, me-ta-phor———- three syllables

e-lec-tri-ci-ty, ma-ni-pu-late————– four syllable

Stress is an extra force used when pronouncing a particular word or syllable. To stress a syllable is to make it more strongly to make it louder and prominent than the other syllables making up the word. The syllable that is pronounced strongest is known as the stressed syllable. It is represented by capital letter. E.g re-fu-GEE, un-der-STAND, PLEA-sure, sta-TE-gic, PO-si-ti-ve-lyetc .

Some words of two syllables that function as noun and verb are stressed thus

NOUN                                                                                                 VERB

IM-port                                                                                               im-PORT

EX-port                                                                                               ex-PORT

CON-duct                                                                                           con-DUCT

EX-cort                                                                                               ex-CORT

SUB-ject                                                                                             sub-JECT

The noun is stressed on the first syllable while the verb on the second syllable.

RHYTHM:

It is a strong, regular repeated pattern of sound. English is by nature a rhythmic language: there is rhythm in all spoken English, whether poetry, prose or simple conversation.

Many of those who use language well have a natural ear for rhythmic patterns: they know how to make the language sing. If we consider the great speeches of Winston Churchill, or Martin Luther King, we can see that one of the things that raise simple public speaking to the level of oratory is the ability of the speaker to use rhythmic devices to reinforce meaning and control the emotions of the audience.

This, too, is what we as poets hope to do, whether we choose to use the traditional metrical forms or write in free verse. In order to do this better, it helps if we have an understanding of the nature of the language we are using.

ASPECT:  STRUCTURE

TOPIC: Question Tag

CONTENT:

Question Tag is a short question which follows a statement either to get agreement (Yes)  or disagreement (No) .These are usually a kind of Yes or No questions. They are attached (or tagged on) to the end of a statement. If the statement is positive, the question tag will be negative and if the statement is negative, the question tag will be positive. For example:

Positive Statement

1. You are a student ,aren’t?
2. Sola ate the cake, didn’t she?

Negative Statement

3. You are not a student, are you?
4. The girls are not rude, are they?

The subject of the verb in the statement is usually repeated in the tag.

He is here, isn’t he?

Use ‘It’ only when the subject being referred to is a little baby, an animal, an object or an abstract noun thus:

1. The dog has eaten its food, hasn’t it?
2. My baby is sleeping, isn’t it?
3. A good idea is vital to progress, isn’t it?
4. The rain is heavy today, isn’t it?

Answer tag questions

1. You are leaving now, aren’t you?

No, I am not or yes, I am.

2. The dog has eaten its food, hasn’t it?

No, it hasn’t or yes, it has

3. My baby is sleeping, isn’t it?

Yes, it is   or No, it isn’t

4. You bring them every day, don’t you?

Yes, I do or No, I don’t

EVALUATION:

Give a suitable statement to these question tag.

1. __________________, didn’t he?
2. __________________, will they?

ASSIGNMENT:

Do exercises A, B and C on page 78 and 79, unit 18 in the NEW OXFORD JS 2 Workbook.

ASPECT: Composition

TOPIC: Types of Features of Formal Letters

Content:

Formal letters are letters written on someone on official or business matter. Hence, they are known as official or business letters.

EXAMPLES OF FORMAL LETTERS

1. Application for Employment.
2. Letter for Permission.
3. Letter of Apology.
4. Application for Admission to Educational institutions
5. Petitions to a Government office.
6. Letters of complaint to the police.
7. Letters of inquiry to a company.
8. Letter commenting on Editorials of Newspapers.
9. Applications for suppliers to manufacturing company.
10. Letter of Invitation.

Features of Formal Letters

1. Address of the writer with date.
2. The recipient’s/ receiver’s address
3. The salutation.
4. The heading / title.

5.The body of the letter/ content.

6.The complimentary close or subscript.

EVALUATION

1. Mention 3 examples of formal letters
2. Outline the features of a formal letter.

ASPECT: Literature

TOPIC: Myth and Legend

Content:

Myth is a traditional story about heroes or supernatural beings, often attempting to explain the origins of natural phenomena or aspects of human behaviour. It is widely held but mistaken belief. It is a widely held but mistaken belief. It is a narrative that through many retelling has become an accepted tradition in a society. It explains when the world began, how human being and animals came to being, how divine and human interact.

Legend: it is a story that has been passed down for generations, especially one that is presented as history but is unlikely to be true. They are traditional narratives or collections of related narratives, regarded as historical fact but are a mixture of fact and fiction. They are believed by both narrators by both narrator and audience; it covers a variety of subject: saints, wolves, ghosts and other supernatural creatures, adventures of real heroes and heroine.

EVALUATION:

1. Explain the concept myth?
2. What is legend?

Vocabulary Development/ Comprehension

Content:  Read the passage on pages 22 and 23, unit 3 in NEW OXFORD JS 2 to learn vocabularies associated with administration 1.

Comprehension

 Topic: “One Pendulum to Another”

Read the comprehension passage on pages 25, unit 3 in NEW OXFORD JS 2.

EVALUTION: Do exercises A and B on page 11in NEW OXFORD JS 2 Workbook.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT: Do the exercises on CONTINUOUS WRITING and PUNCTUATION on pages 11 and 12 in NEW OXFORD JS 2 Workbook.