Chapter I communicative Competence as a skill needed for communication

Sensitivity to the sound system

• How often do you notice, focus on and/or correct the following in what your students say?

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  Phonetic confusion (pin vs. bin)
  
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  Problems with consonant clusters (str or nch)
  
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  Interference from the written form (half)
  
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  Failure to use the weak form
  
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  Incorrect word stress
  
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  Incorrect intonation
  

If students are to make themselves easily comprehensible, there is a need to work on their pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation from the start.

Remember that lengthy but infrequent attention to stress and intonation is less effective than short tasks that are built into the overall teaching programme and often as introductory "warming up" activities, end of lesson relaxers, or simply as and when the need arises in response to errors.