An edusemiotic approach to teaching intonation in the context of English language teacher education

4.1.1 Diacritical signs

Natural languages, as Saumjan (2017: 3) expressed, “are so richly endowed with a large number of various signs that without diacritic elements it would be impossible to remember all the signs.” Since “stress is marked in the orthography with a special diacritic” (Protopapas 2016: 2), various diacritical signs can be designated for each type of stress within an edusemiotic perspective. Along with this, the phonetic transcription of the words can also be provided. Primary stress is indicated by an acute accent (´), secondary stress is shown by circumflex accent (ˆ) while tertiary stress is displayed by grave accent (`), and weak stress is demonstrated by a caron (inverted circumflex) accent (ˇ):

Primary Stress /´/ – téach             Secondary Stress /ˆ/ – ôutdáte

Tertiary Stress /`/ – lìngûistĭcs           Weak Stress /ˇ/ – sŭpport (v)

4.1.2 Prosodic typography

According to Rosenberger-Shankar (1998), the active recognition of speech and prosody – “the temporal and dynamic characteristics of which are, to some extent, transferred to font representation” (Rosenberger-Shankar 1998: 7) – is utilized by prosodic typography in the design of a font. It portrays the individual and contextual aspects of speech not represented by printed typography. Prosodic characteristics such as stress can be indicated through capitalized or de-capitalized letterforms. To add further emphasis, the stressed syllables can also be displayed in bold fonts. This can be exemplified as follows:

Lexical Stress – CHÁPter – / tʃæp.tɚ /

Prosodic Stress – This chapter discusses PÓwer. / ðɪs tʃæptər dɪskəsəz páwər /

4.1.3 Acoustic diagrams

A diagram, as cited in Gangle (2017: 51), in Peircean semiotics, “is an iconic representation of relations that through manipulation and experimentation becomes capable of generating new knowledge concerning its represented object (Gangle 2016; Stjernfelt 2007). Such iconic signs “are essential tools for grasping abstract forms instantiated in experiential data” (Gangle 2017: 51). As Danesi (2017: 68) stated, “expressed in language, we would not be able to see the possibilities that a diagram presents to us through its visual structure.” Additionally, diagrams may also indicate relations that may or cannot be expressed through language; therefore, the utilization of acoustic diagrams to demonstrate stress can be an excellent opportunity to facilitate the teaching of this complex-in-nature suprasegmental feature.

Such acoustic diagrams can help language learners and teachers visualize the stressed syllable (the first in Figure 1 and the second in Figure 2) and thus grasp this prosodic quality, which may not otherwise be illustrated or represented in linguistic forms as clearly as it can be, using acoustic diagrams. In edusemiotic terms, the mental representation of stress types can best be illustrated through acoustic diagrams.

Figure 1:

Chápter.

Figure 2:

Occúr.

4.1.4 Gestural features

Termed by Kendon (1983) as gesticulation, gestures were rearranged by McNeill (2000) into a continuum as follows:

Gesticulation → Emblems → Pantomime → Sign Language

This continuum possesses several dimensions, including the movement’s relationship to speech, linguistic properties, and the character of the semiosis (Loehr 2004). In Kendon’s model, stressed syllables are indicated by a stroke. Just like a stroke, the stressed syllables can be illustrated by the snap of a finger or other paralinguistic features (pitch span, voice range placement, tempo, loudness, voice setting, articulatory setting and precision, lip setting, segment and syllable timing, and pauses; Brown 1990) such as the tone of voice since understanding a natural language can indeed benefit from paralinguistic information (Chen 2009).

4.1.5 Cuisenaire rods

Suggested initially as mathematics learning aids (Gattegno 2011), Cuisenaire rods can serve as objects manipulated for the teaching of both lexical and sentential stress. Different in size and color, these rods might represent stressed and de-stressed syllables, thus functioning differently from their original purpose. Edusemiotically states that these rods (objects) can be attributed to new meanings to teach a complex-in-nature subject – intonation (stress, pitch, and juncture). In this sense, rods can play a facilitative role in teaching a complex subject through a meaning-making process established by teachers and students. Each rod, changing in size and color, can indicate the number of syllables, thus enabling young learners to grasp a complex subject. “By acquiring new and changing old meanings, signs and sign systems become better adapted to their purpose of creating interpretants” (Nöth 2014: 12); therefore, rods can acquire new meanings here as indicators of syllables and serve a transformative function. The utilization of rods in teaching stress can be exemplified as in Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3:

Cuisenaire rods 1.

Figure 4:

Cuisenaire rods 2.

With such examples as practice, rods can provide a conducive atmosphere to learn to recognize stressed and de-stressed syllables, distinguish between types of stress, and drill in a transformative and retainable manner.

4.1.6 Lego^® and Duplo^® bricks

Easy to find and visually stimulating, Lego and Duplo bricks can be a practical and versatile means of teaching stress. Utilizing two different types of bricks – small (square) and large (long) bricks and preferably in different colors – accurate stress patterns of words can be “built” (Ross 1996). The stressed syllables can be illustrated through extra bricks placed, as can be exemplified as in Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 5:

Lego bricks 1 (adapted from Ross (1996)).

Figure 6:

Lego bricks 2 (adapted from Ross (1996)).

Figures 5 and 6 show that the bricks can be utilized to indicate primary and secondary stress phonemes, especially with problematic words. The three bricks placed on top of one another represent the stressed syllable (primary stress) in Figure 5, while the second bricks built on top of each other signify secondary stress, with numbers three and two indicating primary and secondary stress phonemes, respectively. Students can be given a list of problematic words and asked to construct appropriate bricks following the selected words. Matching stress patterns to words (Taylor 1993) or listening practice to check whether students have understood (Rogerson and Gilbert 1990) can also be implemented in language classrooms.

Lego or Duplo bricks can also be exploited to teach sentential stress, as illustrated in Figure 7, or phrasal stress, as in Figure 8. Initially introduced as small playthings, Lego and Duplo bricks can be edusemiotically benefited in the teaching of stress as “signs can be polysemic, that is they may connote more than one meaning” (Semetsky 2017: 2). Such learning can be considered memorable since the “very essence of human memory is that human beings actively remember with the help of signs” (Semetsky 2017: 3).

Figure 7:

Lego bricks 3 (adapted from Ross (1996)).

Figure 8:

Lego bricks 4 (adapted from Ross (1996)).

4.1.7 Numerical clues

Another way to use edusemiotics in teaching stress is by using numbers attributed to each stress type. Murphy and Kandil (2004) introduced to their students that numeric systems can be utilized to identify stress patterns. Although such a system may not sound efficient, it can be considered pedagogically appealing since it might serve as an educative tool. Pierrel (2010: 45) also proposed a numerical system shown in Table 1. The number attributed to stress levels is indicated between slashes to avoid misinterpretation.

An example of this numerical system to indicate stress patterns in lexical items from an edusemiotic perspective can be as follows:

benefit /ˈben.ɪ.fɪt/ – /102/ indivisibility /ˌɪndɪˌvɪsɪˈbɪlɪti / – /2030100/

It must be noted here that numbers – used initially as mathematical objects to count yet utilized for multiple other purposes – go through a transformative process in this numerical system and acquire another function. Numbers in this system represent stress levels, which are believed to facilitate the teaching and learning of a complex-in-nature subject. Visuals such as acoustic diagrams can also be incorporated into this numeric system to add a visual dimension. As Nöth (2010) maintains, teaching and learning are embedded in semiosis; therefore, it can be asserted that numbers or any other types of signs and objects can be manipulated for education within the dynamics of semiosis.

4.2.1 Graphical symbols

Indexical signification, according to Legg (2017: 33), “is essentially dyadic since it involves a direct connection between an indicator and what it indicates.” In this sense, arrows can also be considered dyadic as the arrow type and what it indicates are interrelated. Arrows may be used as indexical signs to teach pitch phonemes to indicate the direction of the voice in utterances. In line with the types of pitch (intonation) contours, then, there can be several types of arrows attained to the kind of pitch contour as shown in Table 2.

Not all rises or falls arise from the stressed syllables in utterances. Some occur due to pitch phonemes; therefore, teaching different pitch phonemes or intonation units through indexical signs such as arrows is essential. Such signs can allow language teachers and learners to distinguish between the intonation units of question types (Yes-No or Wh-questions) or statements.

4.2.2 Numerical cues

Just as in teaching stress phonemes, numerical cues can also benefit the learning of pitch phonemes. The basic pitch levels provided by Hagen and Grogan (1992: 128) can provide language learners and teachers with opportunities to learn and teach through numerical cues as an educative tool.

As Levis (1999: 47) expressed, “individual speakers of English vary considerably in the pitch intervals that they use, but the general pitch system of four levels remains very much the same.” For this reason, this four-level pitch system can be considered practical, teachable, learnable, and pedagogically appealing. Additionally, depending on the type of utterance (statement or question) and stress patterns, these pitch levels can be embedded into acoustic diagrams of the selected statements and questions and eventually presented.

4.2.3 Techno-visual cues

The interdisciplinary nature of edusemiotics (Semetsky 2017) aims at cooperation between diverse fields and incorporation into research findings to further the quality of education – viewed as a semiosis where both learners and teachers are living signs in an attempt to become more developed signs – through signs, symbols, and indices. In this regard, defined as “a semiotic discipline that studies the nature and use of computer-based signs” (Andersen 1990: 1), computer semiotics or digital semiotics, which surmounts the mediation of signs and the way signs develop into signs of communication and “involves the development and use of interactive digital media technology, mathematical techniques of analysis and scientific visualization for modeling and analyzing multimodal phenomena” (O’Halloran et al. 2013), can be exploited in the teaching of pitch patterns through the utilization of several software packages including WASP (Huckvale 2003), PRAAT (Boersma and Weenink 2004), Visi-Pitch (Kay Elemetrics 2004), Speech Viewer (IBM 2004), etc. Considering the need for intonation instruction with ample verbal and nonverbal contexts for more precise meaning (Pickering 2018; Spaai and Hermes 1993), and along with the fact that pitch visualization technology can be incorporated into intonation teaching by (1) the provision of visual feedback, (2) the provision of authentic and extensive speech, (3) the chances of record and analysis of speaker interactions, and (4) monitoring student progress (Chun 1998: 81; Liu and Tseng 2019), speech visualization technologies can be beneficial in teaching pitch phonemes as can be exemplified in Figures 9–12.

Figure 9:

PRAAT display (adapted from De Jong and Wempe 2007: 54).

Figure 10:

VisiPitch display (adapted from Chun 1989).

Figure 11:

WASP display (adapted from Levis 2012: 5437).

Figure 12:

IBM Speech Viewer display (adapted from Bernard-Opitz et al. 2001: 139).

Although they have different names, these software packages have something in common. They allow for the comparison and contrast of speaker utterance with a model (often that of a native speaker), thus providing language learners and teachers with both audio and visual feedback while practicing specific pitch patterns. Since edusemiotics encompasses both natural and invented signs (Semetsky 2012) along with adopted signs (i.e., computer signs), the exploitation of all types of signs for educational purposes may well be considered within the edusemiotic perspective; therefore, employing such signs in the teaching of intonation – pitch phonemes in particular – can be of great assistance to both language teachers and learners in a meaning-making process during which a complex-in-nature subject is negotiated.

4.2.4 Typographical cues

As Keyes (1993) stated, typography and color significantly affect the communication effectiveness of technical documents, and adding typographical cues such as typefaces, underlining, or letter spacing can help the audience understand. Other scholars also suggested similar findings (Mayén 2013; Ozcelik et al. 2010) in that typographical and spatial cues facilitate learning and memory. Bearing this in mind, it is plausible to claim that semiotic elements as typographical cues can be exploited in teaching a complex-in-nature subject, namely, pitch patterns. This is exemplified in Figures 13 and 14.

Figure 13:

Typographical cue 1 (adapted from Wells 2006: 209).

Figure 14:

Typographical cue 2 (adapted from Wells 2006: 209).

Figures 13 and 14 are examples of high-level and high-falling heads with a continuous high pitch from the onset to the other head syllables in Figure 13. At the same time, there is a high pitch from the onset yet a gradual decrease to a mid-pitch in Figure 14 (Wells 2006: 209). In the illustration of such abstract information, typographical cues such as boldfaced dots with curved lines can help convert this abstractness into knowledge – which can be considered a meaning-making process.

4.2.5 Gestural features

Intonation and gesture are so intertwined that they are considered “sister systems” by having a common origin in pragmatics (Snow 2017: 183). Gestures act as a bridge from nonverbal communication to the utterances of words. Indeed, intonation is “a hybrid system with properties of communication that is sometimes verbal and sometimes nonverbal” (Snow 2017: 181). This inextricably interwoven relationship between intonation and gesture may also be exploited in educational settings. As a component of intonation, for instance, pitch phonemes can be taught using semiotic elements as gestural features (raising eyebrows/fingers in high pitches while lowering them in low pitches). Consider the following example:

In an argumentative and rhetoric manner, the speaker asks “Does he need it?” with it rising to a falsetto. The hearer, expected to say no, is accompanied by eye-contact, raised eyebrows, mouth left open and corners upturned, hands out-flared and palms up, head shaking, as the rising intonation insists on a reply. This example includes five elements of gesture along with intonation. (Bolinger 1986: 205–206)

It suggests that various types of gestures are employed alongside diverse intonation patterns. With this in mind, it can be assumed that multiple types of intonation are already intertwined with a diverse range of gestures in interpersonal communication across varied settings.

4.3.1 Graphical symbols

Arrows of diverse types can be viewed as indices in that there is a relation between the kind of arrow and what it indicates. Therefore, this type of relationship is said to bear indexical signification (Legg 2017). Just as arrows can be employed in the teaching of pitch phonemes, they can also be exploited to teach juncture phonemes since the dyadic relationship between the type of arrows and junctures can, to some extent, be illustrated using various arrows, as displayed in Figure 15.

Figure 15:

Graphical cues for teaching juncture phonemes (adapted from Demirezen 2013: 207).

Punctuation marks are conventional signs or typographical cues that help distinguish a phrase or statement, exclamation or interrogative, and the beginning and end of a sentence. In this sense, punctuation marks often align with the types of juncture phonemes (Demirezen 2013). Take the following appositive as an example:

The professor, who is from Cambridge, lectures on theoretical semiotics.

/The professor → who is from Cambridge → lectures on theoretical semiotics↓ /

In the example above, the commas refer to incomplete utterances or short pauses and, therefore, require a sustained terminal juncture displayed by a rightward arrow. At the same time, the period at the end terminates the utterance and thus necessitates a falling terminal juncture illustrated by a downward arrow. As such, many words, phrases, clauses, and sentences can be analyzed using semiotic clues, which makes understanding an abstract concept easier.

The categorization in Figure 15 is much more common than other typologies such as plus (indicated by + sign and referring to internal open juncture), single bar (displayed by /|/ sign and referring to a level pitch before a break), double bar (demonstrated by /||/ sign and referring to an upturn in pitch and a break), and double cross (shown by /#/ sign and referring to a downturn pitch that often comes at the end of an utterance) junctures that correspond to syllabification and differences in intonation (Malmkjaer 2010; Trask 1996). No matter what type of graphical symbols or cues are used, what is more salient is the integration of such semiotic cues for teaching a complex-in-nature subject – intonation – from an edusemiotic perspective. It can, therefore, be assumed that such teaching is considered a semiosis, a meaning-making process whereby diverse types of semiotic elements are exploited to negotiate meaning between teachers and students for educational purposes.

4.3.2 Acoustic diagrams

Since diagrams can provide language learners and teachers with diverse opportunities for grasping and teaching abstract concepts through visual aids (Danesi 2017; Gangle 2017), acoustic diagrams may as well be utilized in the teaching of juncture phonemes in that they can help learners visualize the pauses in speech which can best be seen in an acoustic diagram. Language learners and teachers can benefit significantly from acoustic diagrams about the discernment of suprafixes (word pairs that can only be distinguished by the stress placed on the first or second syllable) and types of sentences (declaratives or interrogatives).

The examples in Figures 16 and 17 can help language users distinguish between the grammatical demarcations of two homographs. With the help of an acoustic diagram, even a millisecond pause and the density of the vibrations on the stressed syllables can make it more tangible for language users to understand. Despite being relatively apparent in speech, the juncture in utterances can also be visualized through acoustic diagrams as illustrated in Figure 18.

Figure 16:

Increase (v).

Figure 17:

Increase (n).

Figure 18:

Sustained and falling terminal juncture.

As illustrated in Figure 18, where the straight lines in the diagram represent the pauses (milliseconds in length), which are characterized by punctuation marks (comma and period) in writing, two types of junctures (sustained and falling terminal) can be discerned using acoustic diagrams.

4.3.3 Typographic codes

Another means of teaching to differentiate between types of juncture (especially syllabic juncture) is to provide language learners with patterns such as VCV and VCCV, which stand for vowel-consonant-vowel and vowel-consonant-consonant-vowel, respectively. Such typographic codes might help language users categorize the words under each pattern and deconstruct the syllables from the head. Below are illustrated examples of the syllable structure patterns that can be presented to the learners using typographic codes. Using these capitalized letterforms, which stand for vowels and consonants and represent the pattern when combined, language teachers and learners can benefit from semiotic cues in this meaning-making process.

There is, in fact, a system of codes in action here. Codes (abbreviated forms) are the conventions for communication that provide a framework within which signs (typographical features) make sense (Chandler 2022). According to Chandler (2022: 149), codes are not simply “conventions” of communication, but they “organize signs into meaningful systems which correlate signifiers and signifieds.” Typographic codes can be regarded under textual codes, which Chandler (2022) proposed along with social and interpretative codes. As for Table 4, the hyphens on either side of all codes except VCV-closed refer to the fact that there might be another letter or letters. The difference between -VCCV- doublet and -VCCV-different is that the third header in the first code contains the same consonant (tt), while the consonants are different in the latter (pt). Long and short in -V/CV- and -VC/V- as well as -VVCV- refer to long and short vowels. Several other patterns can be added to this system of codes, which is possible, however, to the extent that the target language structure (here English) allows for.

4.3.4 Jigsaw syllables

Phoneme segmentation jigsaws can also serve as edusemiotic elements for the teaching of junctures – syllabic juncture in particular. Defined as the separation of words into individual sounds, phonetic segmentation (Bear et al. 2017) is an ability that needs to be developed in language learners to differentiate between English sounds. The typographic codes presented earlier can be supported with visuals using jigsaw syllables.

The jigsaw syllables displayed in Figures 19–21 can greatly support teaching to differentiate between individual sounds. In other words, they might assist both learners and teachers in learning and teaching syllable segmentation – syllable junctures – enriched in images which “belong to a category of signs, and from a semiotic point of view an image is an icon, or representation, of the real world” (Semetsky 2013: 2) as well as jigsaw pieces, which can make learning more entertaining within an edusemiotic perspective. The use of jigsaw syllables is meaningful here in that they represent the components of a whole. There is, indeed, a complementary relation between the subject and object (Semetsky 2015). To state differently, a different-shaped jigsaw piece represents each segment, and when combined, they form and represent a whole that makes sense. Thus, language learners and teachers can carry out a meaning-making process.

Figure 19:

Jigsaw syllabic juncture 1 (retrieved from www.sparklebox.co.uk).

Figure 20:

Jigsaw syllabic juncture 2 (retrieved from www.sparklebox.co.uk).

Figure 21:

Jigsaw syllabic juncture 3 (retrieved from www.sparklebox.co.uk).