Listening decoding 02 Consonant Death - the case of 't'

Summary

In this second video of Richard Cordray's four-part series on listening decoding, he discusses 'consonant death' using the example of 't' in 'pretty much allowed'. He explains the difference between goals for listening and pronunciation, emphasizing the need for learners to understand fast, authentic speech. Activities include matching speech extracts to sentences and practicing consonant deletion. Cordray suggests publishers interested in his 'Listening Decoding in Use' series should contact him.

Takeaways

• 🎥 **Video Series Introduction**: This is the second video in a four-part series by Richard Cordray on listening decoding.
• 🏫 **Conference Cancellation**: The ayat Ethel conference in Manchester was canceled, prompting the creation of these videos as an alternative to Cordray's workshop.
• 📚 **Book Reference**: The rationale and further explanations for the workshop activities can be found in Cordray's book, 'A Syllabus for Listening Decoding'.
• 🔊 **Consonant Death Focus**: The video specifically addresses 'consonant death', using the example of the consonant 'T'.
• 🗣️ **Authentic Speech vs. Production**: The goal of listening instruction is to help learners understand fast, messy, authentic speech, which is more varied than the speech they need to produce.
• 📈 **Activity Types**: The video introduces various activities to demonstrate consonant death, including greenhouse versions of sentences and matching exercises.
• 🌿 **Greenhouse to Jungle**: Activities progress from clear, separate pronunciation (greenhouse) to more natural, connected speech (jungle).
• 🔍 **Listening vs. Phonetic Detail**: The focus is on 'reasonable hearing' rather than fine phonetic detail when dealing with authentic speech.
• 🎧 **Matching Activity**: Learners match spoken extracts to written sentences, emphasizing the process over getting the right answer.
• 🌟 **Embracing Messiness**: The value is in becoming comfortable with the unpredictability and 'messiness' of speech, not in precision.
• 🚫 **Retirement Notice**: Cordray is retiring from active participation in ELT and will not be authoring or publishing the 'Listening Decoding in Use' series, but is open to publishers interested in the rights.

Q & A

Who is Richard Cordray?

Richard Cordray is a speaker from Birmingham, United Kingdom, who was an active member of the ELT (English Language Teaching) profession.

What was the reason for turning the workshop content into YouTube videos?

The workshop that Richard Cordray was supposed to conduct at the canceled ayat Ethel conference in Manchester was turned into YouTube videos because it was to be his last act as an active member of the ELT profession.

What are the handouts and worksheets related to?

The handouts and worksheets are related to the content of Richard Cordray's four-part series of listening decoding videos.

What is the main focus of the second video in the series?

The main focus of the second video is 'Consonant Death', specifically the case of the consonant 'T'.

What is meant by 'Consonant Death'?

Consonant Death refers to the phenomenon where certain consonants, like 'T' in the example given, may be dropped or not pronounced in fast, natural speech.

What is the difference between the goals for listening and pronunciation?

The goal for listening is to help learners understand fast, messy, authentic speech, which is varied and unpredictable. Pronunciation, on the other hand, focuses on producing speech that is clear and intelligible.

What does Richard Cordray mean by 'reasonable hearing'?

'Reasonable hearing' refers to the ability to understand speech in real-time without the need for fine phonetic detail or machine analysis.

What is the purpose of the 'greenhouse' versions of sentences?

The 'greenhouse' versions of sentences are carefully pronounced with each word and segment distinct, serving as a starting point before applying the rules of connected speech.

What exercise is suggested for practicing consonant death?

One exercise suggested is to fill in the gaps between prominent syllables with a noise related to the words they represent, then listen to the full sound substance without the visual aid of the words.

How does the matching activity in the video help learners?

The matching activity helps learners by making them listen to speech extracts and match them to the correct sentences, enhancing their listening skills and familiarity with the natural flow of speech.

What is the overall purpose of the exercises in the video?

The overall purpose of the exercises is to make learners comfortable with the 'unruliness and messiness' of speech, rather than aiming for precision in pronunciation.

What are some other exercise types mentioned in the script?

Other exercise types mentioned include the 'botanic walk', which involves moving from greenhouse to garden to jungle speech, and combining consonant death with 'foul play', which involves playing with vowels.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Listening Decoding and Consonant Death

Richard Cordray introduces the second video in his four-part series on listening decoding, focusing on the concept of 'consonant death' using the word 'tea' as an example. Due to the cancellation of the ELT conference, he has decided to share his workshop content through YouTube videos. The video discusses the rationale behind the types of activities and theories in his workshop, which can be further explored in his book 'A Syllabus for Listening Decoding.' The video contrasts the goals of listening and pronunciation, emphasizing that learners need to understand fast, authentic speech that may lack clarity. It uses the example of 'tea' to illustrate how consonant death occurs in spontaneous speech and in textbook examples, showing how the 't' sound can disappear in faster speech.

05:03

🌿 Greenhouse to Garden: Connected Speech Exercises

This section describes an exercise where participants fill in the gaps between prominent syllables with a noise related to the words they represent. The exercise involves matching extracts of sentences to their full versions, focusing on connected speech. The video emphasizes that the goal is not to achieve perfect accuracy but to become comfortable with the natural messiness of speech. The summary includes examples of how to transition from clear, separate pronunciation (greenhouse version) to more natural, connected speech (garden version) and suggests that learners should practice with different speeds and variations to become accustomed to the unpredictability of real speech.

10:04

🏙️ Advanced Listening Exercises and Foul Play with Vowels

The final paragraph discusses advanced listening exercises, including 'knock out the t's' and combining consonant death with 'foul play,' which involves manipulating vowels. The video stresses the importance of understanding fast, messy speech for listening comprehension, which differs from the need for clear pronunciation. The exercises are designed to help learners practice listening to and producing speech with reduced clarity, preparing them for real-world communication. Richard Cordray also announces his retirement from active participation in ELT and invites publishers interested in his workshop material to contact him.

Keywords

💡Listening Decoding

Listening decoding refers to the process of understanding spoken language by interpreting the sounds and words heard. In the context of the video, it is a focus of the workshop and the series of videos, aiming to help learners understand fast and messy authentic speech. The script mentions activities designed to improve listening decoding skills, such as matching speech extracts to sentences.

💡Consonant Death

Consonant death is a phonetic phenomenon where a consonant sound is not pronounced or is very faintly pronounced in connected speech. The video uses 'T' as an example to illustrate how consonant death can occur, especially in fast speech. The script provides examples from spontaneous speech and textbooks to demonstrate this concept.

💡Authentic Speech

Authentic speech refers to natural, conversational speech that people use in everyday life, as opposed to the more controlled speech used in language classrooms. The video emphasizes the importance of helping learners understand authentic speech, which can be fast, messy, and varied.

💡Greenhouse Versions

Greenhouse versions are a teaching technique where each word and sound is pronounced clearly and separately, akin to how plants are carefully nurtured in a greenhouse. The script uses this term to describe the practice of pronouncing sentences with distinct enunciation before applying the rules of connected speech.

💡Foul Play

In the video, 'foul play' is a playful term used to describe the manipulation of speech sounds for teaching purposes. It involves changing vowels in conjunction with consonant death to create different words, as seen in the example where 'a little bit' becomes 'a lot cool water polo bot, guru boot'.

💡Vocal Gymnastics

Vocal gymnastics are exercises that involve practicing speech sounds quickly and repeatedly to improve fluency and listening skills. The video encourages learners to engage in vocal gymnastics at speed to become comfortable with the messiness of speech, rather than focusing on precise accuracy.

💡Sink Decoding

Sink decoding is a term used in the video to describe the process of understanding speech by focusing on the overall meaning rather than individual sounds. It is part of the rationale for the activities and theory behind the workshop, as explained in the speaker's book.

💡Intelligibility

Intelligibility is the quality of being easily understood, especially in speech. The video discusses the difference between the goals for listening and pronunciation, noting that learners need to understand fast, messy speech but only need to be intelligible when they speak.

💡Messiness

Messiness, in the context of the video, refers to the irregularities and unpredictability of natural speech. The script emphasizes that learners should become comfortable with the messiness of speech through practice, as it is a natural part of spoken language.

💡Jungle

The term 'jungle' is used metaphorically in the video to describe the complex and varied nature of fast, natural speech. It contrasts with the 'greenhouse' versions of speech and is part of the progression from controlled, clear speech to understanding spontaneous speech.

💡Botanic Walk

A botanic walk is an exercise mentioned in the video where learners move from clear, controlled speech (greenhouse) to more natural, varied speech (jungle) and back again. It is a way of practicing the transition between different speech styles.

Highlights

Introduction to a four-part series on listening decoding by Richard Cordray.

The cancellation of the ayat Ethel conference in Manchester led to the creation of these videos.

Content from a canceled workshop is being shared through YouTube videos, handouts, and worksheets.

The focus is on 'consonant death', particularly with the example of the consonant 'T'.

The importance of understanding fast, messy, authentic speech in listening decoding.

The difference between the goals for listening and pronunciation mastery.

An example of 'consonant death' with the word 'pretty' losing the 'T' sound.

The use of slow, careful, and fast versions of sentences to demonstrate consonant death.

The concept of 'reasonable hearing' in real-time listening.

An activity involving 'greenhouse versions' of sentences to practice listening decoding.

The process of filling in gaps between prominent syllables with related noise.

A matching activity to connect speech extracts with their corresponding sentences.

The answer key for the matching activity, demonstrating the connection between sentences and extracts.

The value of the activity is in the journey, not just the correct answer.

The importance of being comfortable with the fuzziness and messiness of speech.

Exercise types like the 'botanic walk' to move between different speech versions.

Combining consonant death with 'foul play', which involves playing with vowels.

Richard Cordray's retirement from active participation in ELT and the potential for a publisher to take up his work.

The upcoming video in the series will focus on 'polar risk' with the case of 'pain' and 'car'.

Transcripts

hello so here is the second video of my

four-part series of listening decoding

in use so I'm Richard Cordray of

Birmingham in the United Kingdom

the ayat Ethel conference in Manchester

was canceled this year and my workshop I

was to have been my last act as an

active member of the ELT profession so

I've decided to turn some of the content

into four short YouTube videos with

handouts and worksheets available on the

speech and action website so this is the

second video consonant death the case of

or rather their consonant death the case

of tea

the rationale and further explanations

of the types of activity and the types

of theory behind this workshop can be

found in my book a syllabus for

listening decoding

the sink decoding in use is a

publication design it does not exist it

doesn't yet have a planned future the

idea is that we could have 50 or 60

short units demonstrating amongst other

things a fate of consonants and

particularly consonant death and I'm

going to take the example of T and show

the kind of activities that would appear

if such a book we're to come into

existence so this is listening decoding

in use consonant death the case of a

case of T but before we go on I must

remind you that lists for listening and

pronunciation the goals for mastery are

different our goal as teachers of

listening is to help our learners

understand fast messy authentic speech

which is much more varied and

unpredictable than what they need to

produce in order to be intelligible this

is a quotation from a book published ten

years ago and it is a quotation we have

still yet to come to terms with

so consonant death the case of tea if

you look at the speech unit below the

speaker we could go you're pretty much

allowed to do anything but very commonly

pretty when used like this loses that

loses the tea you're pretty much allowed

to do anything you're pretty much

allowed to do anything

so that was an example from spontaneous

speech but this is an example from a

textbook so one of the great things

about Hugh Diller and hundred Walker's

outcome series is they include slow

careful and fast messy versions of some

sentences and one of the sentences they

use is given in red here and this is

their recording and were sitting there

crying and were sitting there crying

now we'll hear a faster version and

we're seeing they're crying and we're

seeing they're crying and the tea is

much less clear but actually you'll find

that it's not there at all sitting there

sounds like sing there sing that and

we're seeing they're crying seeing that

and we're seeing they're crying now it's

important to realize that here we're not

dealing with fine phonetic detail what

we're dealing with is what I term a

reasonable hearing so if you have

phonetic expertise and access to a

machine analysis you may determine that

the the tea has occurred that something

is there in the sad substance that

represents the tea but for real-time

listening a reasonable hearing of these

extracts is one in which the is absent

you're pretty much allowed to do

anything so now we'll go into this

activity and we will start with

greenhouse of versions of these four

sentences so greenhouse versions mean

each word is separate and each segment

of each word is carefully pronounced she

gave him a sheet of paper I need a

little bit of food now I think it is

getting hot in here

it is just a matter of time you know in

the garden we apply the rules of

connected speech to these same sentences

she gave him a sheet of paper I need a

little bit of food now I think it's

getting hot in here

it's just a matter of time you know one

of the exercises I would have

experimented with had the Manchester

conference taken place is that we would

have workshopped this activity so we

fill the red gaps between the prominent

syllables with a noise which is somehow

related to the words they represent so

here we go

she gave paper I need food now I think I

got in here it's just time you know and

now we're going to plug the gaps but not

with a site substance filling in where

the red X's are but you'll hear the full

sound substance of each speech unit a b

c and d but without the aid of the site

substance without the aid of seeing the

words so here we go she gave him a sheet

of paper i needle the food now I think

it's getting hot in here it's just a

matter of time you know so all of these

things are preparation for a matching

activity the activity here is to match

the extracts given at the bottom of the

page to the sentences which are given in

the table towards the top of the page so

you have to match sentence a with its

extract below and on the handout what

you have to do is simply to write pay

next to the relevant extract be next to

the relevant extract etc so let's have a

listen it's going it's going

so in which sentence does that belong

vinícius finishes which center does that

belong to

and the mayor of the mayor of which

sentences that belong to

live which sentence does that belong to

and here's the answer key it's getting

goes with see my fingers getting hot in

here

I think it's gain I think he's going I

think he's getting hot in here and the

second extract the mission it goes with

a she gave him a sheet of paper

she gave him a sheet of paper and D and

the next extract goes with D a matter of

a matter of it's just a matter of time

you know it's just a matter of time you

know

lastly

the live I need a little bit of food now

so that goes with B and here's a site

substance version of the answer sheet so

a in more careful speech would be she

gave him a sheet of paper and B is I

need a little bit of food now and C is I

think it's getting hot in here and D

it's just a matter of time you know so

okay getting to the right answer is not

the point the value is in the making of

the journey the overall purpose is to

make learners familiar and comfortable

with the unruliness and messiness of

speech and they should do this by doing

vocal gymnastics at speed and should not

aim to be too precise accuracy is not

the point being comfortable with

fuzziness and messiness is the point

other exercise types doing the botanic

walk moving from green house the garden

to jungle and back again for example a

little bit of a little bit of a little

bit a little bit of a little bit of head

cetera another exercise type is

illustrated here where learners

themselves knock out the t's in the

crush zone of column three it is the

second biggest city in my country I

think that is a kind of greenhouse

version

it's the second biggest city in my

country I think

it's the second biggest in my country I

think

another exercise type can be seen where

we combine constant death and foul play

and by foul play I mean playing with the

vowels so we get a little bit we get it

with constant death a little bit and

then we change the vowel a little bit a

little bit a lot cool water polo bot

guru boot now remember we're practicing

the Miss why because for listening at

pronunciation the goals for mastery are

different so our learners need to

understand fast messy authentic speech

which is much more varied and

unpredictable than what they need to

produce in order to be intelligible

remember that okay so in these four

videos I'm demonstrating design ideas

for a future publication but I am

retiring from active participation in

ELT so I will neither be authoring nor

publishing listening decoding in use so

if you work for a publisher who might be

interested in buying the rights to this

design do encourage them to get in touch

via my website the next video in the

series is the polar risk the case of

pain and car