{"id":633,"date":"2019-10-28T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T00:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tutor.engoo.com\/blog\/?p=633"},"modified":"2021-03-30T05:49:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T05:49:45","slug":"are-you-correcting-these-pronunciation-mistakes-%f0%9f%97%a3%ef%b8%8f-part-iii-nuclear-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tutor.engoo.com\/blog\/pronunciation\/are-you-correcting-these-pronunciation-mistakes-%f0%9f%97%a3%ef%b8%8f-part-iii-nuclear-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Correcting These Pronunciation Mistakes? \ud83d\udde3\ufe0f Part III: Nuclear Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s common knowledge that we should pause when speaking. However, if you listen closely to any conversation, you\u2019ll notice that people don\u2019t make clear pauses. How do they still understand each other?<\/p>\n

Nuclear Stress in Conversation<\/h1>\n

The key lies in something called \u201cnuclear stress.\u201d According to international communication experts<\/a>, nuclear stress mistakes are a common cause of miscommunication. For example, here's a conversation<\/a>, in which a student asks her classmates for a blue pen.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

The student meant to say \u201cDo you have a blue one?\u201d but she mispronounced \u201cone\u201d as \u201cvun.\u201d As you can see, however, that wasn\u2019t the main problem here. The problem was that she stressed the wrong word, and when she stressed the right one (\u201cblue\u201d), her classmates understood her just fine.<\/p>\n

But how is nuclear stress different from sentence stress or word stress? As we covered in Part II of this series<\/a>, pauses divide a sentence into chunks. For example, the sentence, \u201cEggs are a good source of protein\u201d can have two or three chunks, depending on when we pause:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. eggs \/ are a good source \/ of protein<\/li>\n
  2. eggs \/ are a good source of protein<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Each chunk has a keyword that is more important than the other words. For example, in the chunk \u201care a good source,\u201d the keyword is \u201csource,\u201d and in the chunk \u201cof protein,\u201d the keyword is \u201cprotein.\u201d When speaking, we stress these keywords (or their main syllable):<\/p>\n

    EGGS \/ are a good SOURCE \/ of PROtein<\/p>\n

    The stressed word or syllable in each chunk is said to carry \u201cnuclear stress,\u201d because it is the \u201cnucleus\u201d (center) of the chunk.<\/p>\n

    So how do we teach nuclear stress?<\/p>\n

    Teaching Nuclear Stress in Conversation<\/h1>\n

    We can of course teach nuclear stress when reading articles together. However, it\u2019s even more valuable to teach nuclear stress in conversation. Most of the times, students do not know how improper nuclear stress interferes with their pronunciation!<\/p>\n

    So the important thing is to let students know how<\/em> they sound. For example, if you\u2019re teaching a French student who speaks too quickly and without pauses, you can try something like this:
    \n\"\"<\/p>\n

    Showing your student what they sound like will be much more effective than simply telling them, \u201cPause and stress keywords when you speak!\u201d (Plus, your student will probably get a good laugh!)<\/p>\n

    Then, show them how to apply proper stress. You can do this by capitalizing the stressed words:
    \n\"\"<\/p>\n

    (If your student needs extra help with stress, capitalize only the stressed syllables: \u201cHEL-lo. \u2026. I\u2019m learning ENGlish to work in ENGland.)<\/p>\n

    However, don\u2019t expect to catch every stress mistake in conversation. Just remember that they happen, and next time you miss something your student says, consider asking them to repeat what they said more slowly, listening specifically for pausing and nuclear stress<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    \ud83d\udc4b That\u2019s it for now!<\/h1>\n

    Now that you\u2019ve read this piece, you\u2019ll probably notice nuclear stress mistakes everywhere. If you apply our suggestions when providing feedback to your students, you\u2019ll be sure to impress them!<\/p>\n

    For more essential pronunciation feedback, check out the previous parts of this series:<\/p>\n