Speech Work: Intonation/Stress – JSS2 English Lesson Note (Second Term)

Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice in speech, also called variation in pitch. It shows the speaker’s attitude or mood and makes speech interesting. This note covers intonation and stress, regular and irregular verbs, speed reading techniques, an informal letter and the drama text Dangerous Rewards.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. explain what intonation is and use a falling or rising tune correctly in statements, commands and questions;
2. explain what stress is and mark the stressed syllable in common words;
3. tell regular verbs from irregular verbs and give their past tense and past participle forms;
4. name and describe the three techniques of speed reading: surveying, scanning and skimming;
5. write an informal letter to a friend about a school event.

What is intonation?

Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice in speech, which is the variation in pitch.

• Pitch: how high or low the voice sounds.
• Purpose: it shows the attitude or mood of the speaker to the audience.
• Effect: it affects the understanding of a message and makes speech interesting.
• Mode: whatever mood the speaker is in, intonation changes the level of pitch.

What are the two main tunes in English?

There are two main tunes in English: the falling tune (↘) and the rising tune (↗).

How do we give commands?

Commands end with a falling tune.

1. Close the door at once! (↘)
2. Get out of here! (↘)
3. Don’t touch the broom! (↘)

How do we make statements?

Statements end with a falling tune.

1. Deborah is a beautiful girl (↘)
2. The students are working hard (↘)
3. The people at the meeting stole the car (↘)

How do we ask questions?

Wh- questions fall, and yes/no questions rise.

1. Why did you come here? (↘)
2. Whose book is this? (↘)
3. How did you get there? (↘)
4. What is your name? (↘)
5. Who is your mother? (↘)
6. Is this your book? (↗)

What is stress in speech?

Stress is the extra force or loudness given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a sentence.

What is word stress?

Word stress is the strong syllable in a word of two or more syllables. Capital letters show it below.

• Two syllables: TEAcher, MOther, beLIEVE, aGAIN.
• Three or more syllables: eduCAtion, beautiful (BEAUtiful), imPORtant.
• Noun and verb pairs: a REcord (noun) and to reCORD (verb); a PREsent (noun) and to preSENT (verb).

What is sentence stress?

Sentence stress is the stress placed on the important words in a sentence.

• Stressed words: nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs carry the meaning.
• Weak words: small words such as the, a, of and is are said quickly.
• Example: The STUdents are WORKing HARD.
• Emphasis: stress on a different word can change the focus, as in “Is this YOUR book?”

What are regular and irregular verbs?

A verb is regular if it forms its past tense and past participle with ‘ed’, and irregular if it does not.

What are regular verbs?

Regular verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding ‘ed’ (or ‘d’ if the verb ends in e).

What are irregular verbs?

Irregular verbs do not add ‘ed’ to form their past tense and past participle.

• Note on hang: when it means to kill by hanging, it is regular: hang, hanged, hanged.
• Same form: some irregular verbs, such as cut and broadcast, do not change at all.

What are the techniques of speed reading?

There are three techniques of speed reading: surveying, scanning and skimming.

1. Surveying: looking at the features of a text, such as the title, author and date, before you read it.
2. Scanning: looking through a text quickly to find keywords or information. After scanning, you should know if the text refers to things you want to know about.
3. Skimming: looking quickly through a text to get a general impression of what it is about. You can do this by reading the title, the sub-titles and the first sentence, without using a dictionary.

• Why they matter: skimming and scanning are important academic reading skills, even for native English speakers.

What is the difference between skimming and scanning?

How do you write an informal letter to a friend?

An informal letter is a friendly letter written to a friend or relative, in simple and warm language.

What are the parts of an informal letter?

• Sender’s address: written at the top right.
• Date: written below the address.
• Salutation: a greeting such as “Dear Ade,”.
• Body: the message, in short paragraphs.
• Closing: an ending such as “Yours sincerely,”.
• Signature: the writer’s first name.

What does a sample informal letter look like?

Title: Letter to a friend about your school inter-house sport.

7, Adesanya Street,
Ile-Epo,
Oke-Odo,
Lagos.
13th May, 2015.

Dear Ade,

It is a pleasure writing to you at this time. How are you and your studies? I hope all is well over there in Abuja. Bola called and suggested that we should all meet during this coming festive period.

The purpose of writing is to inform you about my school’s recent inter-house sport, which came up on 12th April 2015 at Oke-Odo school field. It was colourful and eventful.

At exactly 10:00 am, we all marched to the field, accompanied by two big horses and the “Brigade boys” with their steady, inviting musical instruments, which attracted the attention of the passers-by.

The programme commenced immediately with prayer, and recitation of the national anthem and the school anthem. These were followed by colourful march pasts by the different houses, with different displays in the hope of winning in the end.

In addition, students from different houses participated in games such as relay races, 200m races, 1,200m races, high jumps, throwing javelins, etc.

Some companies sponsored the programme, such as Milo, Indomie Noodles, Skye Bank plc, MTN, Nestle Castle, etc. There were other activities, but time will not permit me to explain them all.

In all, Yellow House came first, followed by Red House, then Green House, and finally Blue House. As I have said earlier, it was great fun and very eventful. I believe you would like to witness the next one. Till the festive time, remain great.

Yours sincerely,
Moses.

What is Literature in English: Dangerous Rewards about?

Dangerous Rewards is the recommended drama text for this class.

Use it to study:

• Theme: the main idea or message the writer wants to pass across.
• Plot: the order of events in the play, from beginning to end.

Evaluation

1. What is intonation?
2. Say whether the voice rises or falls in each of these: a statement, a command, a question beginning with “Why” or “Who”, and the question “Is this your book?”
3. What is stress? Mark the stressed syllable in “teacher” and “believe”.
4. What is the difference between regular and irregular verbs? Give two examples of each, with their past tense and past participle.
5. Name the three techniques of speed reading and explain the difference between skimming and scanning.

Assignment

Pick out the regular and irregular verbs from the following words, using a table with the headings Regular and Irregular:

1. Open
2. Take
3. Walk
4. Sit
5. Dance
6. Drive
7. Shut
8. Strike
9. Attack
10. Flow
11. Cut
12. Lie
13. Know
14. Ring
15. Hide
16. Wash
17. Fall
18. Show
19. Climb
20. Kick