45 FREE Intonation, Rhythm and Stress Worksheets
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FREE Intonation, Rhythm and Stress Worksheets

Intonation, rhythm, and stress worksheets

Intonation, rhythm, and stress are a major part of learning how to speak English well. Students should be given plenty of speaking practice during their classes and may occasionally need special lessons devoted to these topics. We have 45 such activities on Busy Teacher. This intonation worksheet, for example, is a well organized role play activity you can use to give your students practice using English in a real life situation. The activity includes all directions and teaching materials including a script.

Intonation, rhythm, and stress become very important topics for advanced learners.

Beginners should be taught what syllable of new words are stressed but are not expected to have excellent intonation or rhythm when it comes to speaking or reading aloud. Advanced learners may have an excellent understanding of English but having incorrect intonation and rhythm when they are speaking will prevent them from coming across that way. Slash reading is an excellent method to practice this with intermediate and advanced learners. For slash reading, have students place slashes where a native speaker would naturally pause. “I have been studying math, / science, / and history / for many years. /” You can also use arrows to give students some guidance too. In the example above the arrows would go down, down, up, and down. These are some very simple approaches to a complex topic.

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What Is Intonation?
In linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation does distinguish words. Intonation, rhythm, and stress are the three main elements of linguistic prosody. Intonation patterns in some languages, such as Swedish and Swiss German, can lead to conspicuous fluctuations in pitch, giving speech a sing-song quality. Fluctuations in pitch either involve a rising pitch or a falling pitch. Intonation is found in every language and even in tonal languages, but the realisation and function are seemingly different. It is used in non-tonal languages to add attitudes to words (attitudinal function) and to differentiate between wh-questions, yes-no questions, declarative statements, commands, requests, etc. Intonation can also be used for discourse analysis where new information is realised by means of intonation. It can also be used for emphatic/contrastive purposes.
Freebase CC-BY
Source: Intonation on Freebase, licensed under CC-BY
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/ɔ/ Pronunciation

/ɔ/ Pronunciation

Anastasiia
, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
  You can use this list to practice the /ɔ/ pronunciation sounds, or as a list of words to be careful when pronouncing. There is a list of word phrases that vary only by one having th ...
1 Views 17,694 BegElem
International Phonetic Alphabet With Expressions

International Phonetic Alphabet With Expressions

, , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
  This resource shows each of the 44 International phonetic alphabet symbols with phrases or sentences illustrating each example. It can help to practice speaking each IPA symbol as it's u ...
1 Views 12,157 Pre-IntIntAdvExam
International Phonetic Alphabet Symbols With Example Words

International Phonetic Alphabet Symbols With Example Words

, , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
  This resource shows each of the 44 International Phonetic Alphabet symbols with phrases or sentences illustrating each example. It can help to practice speaking each IPA symbol used in E ...
1 Views 8,357 ElemPre-IntIntAdvExam
Rhymes Match

Rhymes Match

Helen Close
, , , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
  Learn how to pronounce rhyming words when the spelling is different by matching lists of rhyming words to their pronunciation. Students need to listen carefully to hear the correct match ...
1 Views 16,303 Pre-IntIntAdv
IPA Flashcards PPT

IPA Flashcards PPT

, , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
These IPA flashcard powerpoint slides can help students learn & review the international phonetic alphabet. There are three sample words and their phonetic spellings for each sound/symbol, th ...
1 Views 35,472 All
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Poetry Worksheet - Writing Rhyming Lines

Poetry Worksheet - Writing Rhyming Lines

M. Crowe
, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
This is a creative writing prompt to help English as a Second Language students practice rhyming words, with a minor emphasis on poetry rhythm. Familiar words with multiple familiar words as rhyme ...
1 Views 31,308 Elem
How To Speak To Be Understood - A Funny Conversation Activity

How To Speak To Be Understood - A Funny Conversation Activity

Sylwia
, , , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
An amusing idea of how to practice intonation and communication. The students are asked to put the missing punctuation marks, make dialogues according to some specific clues, use their imagination ...
1 Views 127,009 Pre-IntInt
The Spoken Essay: Structure and Persuasion in Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech

The Spoken Essay: Structure and Persuasion in Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech

Todd Davis
, , , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
FDR's request to Congress to declare war on Japan in retaliation for the attack on America is historic and iconic, as much for the structure of the speech as for the gravity of the attack itself. ...
1 Views 25,067 IntAdv
English Pronunciation for Spanish Speakers

English Pronunciation for Spanish Speakers

Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
I have taught several students whose first language is Spanish, and this worksheet is one I have designed to help them practise some of the sounds in English that they seem to find most challengin ...
14 Views 58,505 All
Pronunciation/ Short and Long Vowels

Pronunciation/ Short and Long Vowels

, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
This is a worksheet for practicing short and long vowels. It includes two activities. First, the students are asked to find the stress in some words. Next, they are asked to use their dictionaries ...
6 Views 45,939 Elem
Movie Worksheet: How to Pronounce UK Place Names - Anglophenia Ep 23

Movie Worksheet: How to Pronounce UK Place Names - Anglophenia Ep 23

, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
This is a game-like worksheet for students to work on phonetics. Watch the video, listen to how different places in the UK are pronounced and then try to match them with their pronunciation. Suita ...
3 Views 27,031 AdvExam
Writing, Speaking and Pronunciation

Writing, Speaking and Pronunciation

Carmen
This is a worksheet for elementary level students (specially to kid audience). The task is explained inside the document attached for more references on how to do the exercise. There are 6 rows wi ...
7 Views 31,984 Elem
American Headway Elementary Listening Practice

American Headway Elementary Listening Practice

, , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
Extensive listening practice for America Headway Elementary. The file provides the link where audio tracks are available for download. For each track I wrote the related questions. Exercises range ...
5 Views 25,214 Elem
Song Worksheet: Counting Stars by One Republic

Song Worksheet: Counting Stars by One Republic

, , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
How to teach with music and lyrics: listen to this song , fill in the blanks with these words in the box.You can sometimes use them several times.Then find the rhyming words .Finally find the ...
13 Views 47,420 Int
The Chaos, Poem for Pronunciation (PowerPoint)

The Chaos, Poem for Pronunciation (PowerPoint)

Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
Gerard Nolst Trenité (1870-1946), who wrote under the pseudonym of Charivarius, was a Dutch writer, traveler and teacher. In 1922 he wrote The Chaos (also often known by its opening line, D ...
9 Views 39,440 Pre-IntIntAdvExam
Pronunciation of Car Makes - Phonetic Transcription

Pronunciation of Car Makes - Phonetic Transcription

, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
You can use this worksheet as a handout just to make your ss aware that car makes are pronounced differently in English. I did it as a matching exercise: you cut it into pieces and ss task was to ...
10 Views 27,991 IntAdv
The Sounds [tʃ] [ʃ]

The Sounds [tʃ] [ʃ]

, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
Pronunciation practice with digraphs. Give worksheets to the students with the words that include letters "sh" and "ch". The task is to indicate how the letters "sh" and “ch” are prono ...
2 Views 24,676 Pre-Int
Song Worksheet:Iris by Goo Goo Dolls (Function Words Reduction)

Song Worksheet:Iris by Goo Goo Dolls (Function Words Reduction)

, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
This a cloze exercise based on the song Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, and its purpose is to have students practice listening to function words that are reduced, contracted, or pronounced with weak sounds ...
8 Views 18,366 Int
Intonation, Stress and Voice Tonality

Intonation, Stress and Voice Tonality

» Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
I created this worksheet as a starter at my lesson on public speaking, but it might be used as a warmer or a part of any lesson where ss have to speak. It contains the information on how importan ...
22 Views 63,861 ElemPre-IntIntAdv
The Chaos (the Pronunciation Poem Ready to Be Printed)

The Chaos (the Pronunciation Poem Ready to Be Printed)

Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you would be speaking English better than the most native speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a French man said he'd prefer six ...
23 Views 44,150 ElemPre-IntIntAdv
Public Transport Early Reader and Activities

Public Transport Early Reader and Activities

, , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
A 4 page early reader and additional activities for review of sightwords and to introduce vocabulary for public transport. Sight words: a, the, see, I, look, at, can. Vocabulary:&nb ...
10 Views 29,951 Beg
The Chaos- Poem for Pronunciation

The Chaos- Poem for Pronunciation

Intonation, Rhythm and Stress,
Gerard Nolst Trenité (1870-1946), who wrote under the pseudonym of Charivarius, was a Dutch writer, traveler and teacher. In 1922 he wrote The Chaos (also often known by its opening line, D ...
18 Views 113,557 ElemPre-IntIntAdv
Phonic Sounds

Phonic Sounds

, , Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
This is a tutorial  worksheet related to the english sound /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/. The tutorial will help the students to understand  each phonic sound with examples. The pictures used in th ...
8 Views 24,295 BegElemPre-Int
Phonetic Challenge

Phonetic Challenge

» Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
Useful when you are teaching phonetics/sounds of English - helps students to see how the phonemes work. Takes only a few minutes but is a great pair or small group activity. Can be modified if you ...
12 Views 21,047 Elem
Countries and Nationalities PPT

Countries and Nationalities PPT

, Intonation, Rhythm and Stress
This ppt has a short conversation that could be read by students using several intonations. You can ask ss to read the conversation laughing, crying, scared etc. Then, it includes "guessings" abou ...
16 Views 28,453 ElemPre-Int

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