PRACTICING 'SPOT THE DIFFERENCE' TO RELEASE STUDENTS’ BOREDOM IN LEARNING SUPRA-SEGMENTAL PHONEMES

Maria Cholifah*
Kanjuruhan University of Malang, East Java



Phonemic particles that we have so far been considering such as vowels, consonants, diphthongs, etc. are called segmental phonemes. They contribute to the meaning of a speech segment. Apart from this class of segmental phonemes, there is another class of particles that’ play equally important role. These are supra-segmental phonemes.
Features of stress, pitch, intonation and juncture comprise this class, and are said to be ‘overlaid’ on the segmental units. It is difficult to imagine human communication without these features. They invariably accompany our speech and lend the additional dimension which is mote immediately and directly understood. These features convey the speaker’s identity, attitudes, emotional states and his/her evaluation of how he/she is being received. Often, in the totality of communicational situation, a listener does not pay so much attention to the words as she/he does to the rise and fall of pitch, volume of voice, stress and pauses, and so on.


In pronouncing words, some mistakes or errors from the speaker can cause problem (Johnson, 2001: Kelly, 2001). For example, Kelly (2001:11) believes that “the inaccurate use of supra-segmental elements, such as stress or intonation, can also cause problems.” Based on these ideas, the writer will try to talk about how to practice the supra-segmental phoneme by using ‘spot the difference’ picture.
If students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) fail to produce sentences in appropriate pitch and intonation, this will hinder this understanding of the intended meaning (Hebert, 2002: 188).
One of the efffective ways that works is by practicing ‘spot the difference’ activity in the class. It is two almost identical pictures and the students have to find the differences between the pictures. In pairs the students should compare the two almost different pictures, they should be able to discover the differences. They are also great for practicing 'prominence' - the stresses in utterances. One of the functions of prominence is to help contrast or correct information. This picture difference activity is ideal for this.

THEORETICAL BASIS
In this section, the writer will divide the discussion into four parts: stress, intonation, juncture and ‘spot the difference’ picture

Stress
Stress is the emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a word or phrase. According to O’Grady (1989:39), stress is a cover term for the combined effect of pitch, loudness and length-the result of which is vowel prominence. English stressed vowels are higher in pitch, longer, and louder than unstressed ones. For example, distinctions occur between verbs and nouns e.g. ‘insult and in’sult – ‘rebel and re’bel. In such cases the noun is always stressed on the first syllable while the verb is stressed on the second syllable. Similarly, the stress may distinguish between an adjective and a verb e.g. ‘abstract and ab’stract.
O’Grady (1989:40) also states that there are three kinds of stress, primary, secondary, tertiary stress.
1. Primary stress: The characteristic of stressed syllable that results from pitch movement or tone and gives the strongest type of stress. Ex: around
2. Secondary stress: It is weaker than primary stress but stronger than unstressed syllable. Ex: photographic
3. Unstressed : The weakest characteristic of stressed syllable. Ex: poetic

Intonation
Pitch movement in spoken utterances that is not related to differences in the word meaning is called intonation O’Grady (1989:37). Another definition, Hasan (2000:63) states that intonation is the sound pattern of phrases and sentences produced by pitch variation in the voice. There are four kinds of intonation:
1.Rising Intonation means the pitch of the voice increases over time [↗]
This intonation or tone conveys an impression that something more is following. Example: |I came to her house | (but she was not at home)
2.Falling Intonation means that the pitch decreases with time [↘];
The falling tone gives an impression of finality. No more sentence to be said. Example : |That is all my speech |
3.Dipping Intonation falls and then rises [↘↗];
This tone shows limited agreement, response with reservation, uncertainty, or doubt. Example : |I am not sure |
4.Peaking Intonation rises and then falls [↗↘]
This tone is used to convey strong feelings of approval, disapproval or surprise. Example : |What is the hell? |

Hasan (2000:63) also shows the function of intonation,
1.Attitudidal Function : Expresses our feeling, attitudes, emotions .
2.Accentual Functions : Intonation has accentual function, it implies that the placement of stress is somewhat determined by intonation.
3.Grammatical Functions : The listener is better able to recognize the grammar and syntax structure of what is being said by using the information contained in the intonation.
4.The Discourse Functions of Intonation : Intonation can indicate when the speaker is indicating some sort of contrast or link with material in another tone unit and kind of response is being expected from him.

Juncture
Juncture is a joining or a joint. It’s also a point or line at which two bodies are joined. It is used to refer to the manner of transition from one vowel or consonant to another. There are two kinds of juncture, namely internal and terminal juncture.
1. Internal Juncture is identifies a type of juncture that occurs within a phrase. Linguists recognize two internal juncture:
a. Internal Close Juncture is the normal transition from one phoneme to the next within an utterance. Example:“TRAIN” the close juncture is determined by the manner of transition / t / to / r /.
b.Internal Open Juncture is manner of transition which contrasts with close juncture. It is a phoneme since it serves to keep meanings apart. Example : A NAME : / n é y m /,

2. Terminal Juncture refers to a juncture that occurs at the end of sentences and phrases. This is also called External Juncture. There are three terminal junctures .The three junctures are “FINAL”; they close utterances or parts utterances.
‘Spot the Different’ Picture
According to Wikipedia, Spot the difference is a name given to a puzzle where two versions of an image are shown side by side, and the player has to find differences between them. Usually, the image on the left is the original, and the image on the right has the alternates.

TEACHING PROCEDURE

- Pre-Teaching
1. For introduction, the teacher shows pictures and gives the example how to use spot the difference from two pictures.

- Whilst-Teaching
1. The teacher divides the students to work in group, then the teacher gives the pictures about spot the difference differently.
2. The teacher asks the group to show the difference between two pictures.
3. After discussing in pairs, the teacher asks each of the group to present in front of class. Other groups can give comments from the picture.

- Post-Teaching
1. The teacher gives feedback to the students. It covers about the mistakes which the students make while practicing it.

REFLECTION
Hammerly (1982) states that to love second language teaching or learning, it is necessary to try various teaching techniques with the hope that something will work. It is also important to select a method or technique based on any linguistic theory that the teacher is truly familiar. Using ‘Spot the Difference’ picture is one of techniques used by the writer to release the student’s boredom in learning suprasegmental phoneme. This technique is interesting to be applied for the students of English Literature and English Education Department.

CONCLUSION
An English teacher should be more creative to look for a way that may be applied in teaching suprasegmental phoneme. It is hoped that another teacher can use other media to teach suprasegmental phoneme, therefore the students will not get bored in the teaching and learning process.

REFERENCES
Brown, D. 2001. Teaching by Principles : An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. New York: Longman.

Hasan, A.D. 2000. Problems of Teaching English Sound System. ELT : Directions and Orientations. Rajshahsi University.

Hebert, J. 2002. Prac TESOL: It’s Not What You Say, but How You Say It! In C.J. Richards & W.A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching : An Anthology of Current Practice (pp. 188-200). New York : Cambridge University Press.

Johnson, K 2001. An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching/. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Kelly, G. 2001. How to Teach Pronunciation. Harlow: Longman.

O’Grady, W., & Dobrovolsky, M. 1989. Contemporary Linguistic Analysis : An Introduction. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman.

www.wikipedia.com. Accessed at 23 Februari 2011.

*English Phonology lecturer on Kanjuruhan University of Malang
This article was presented on the 3rd National English Language Teachers and Lecturers (NELTAL) Conference, March 2011
State University of Malang
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