Unmarked Stress Patterns and Marked Stress Patterns

In English pronunciation, we can say that there are unmarked stress patterns in our speech and marked stress patterns in our speech. In marked stress patterns, the speaker adds extra stress, or extra volume, to a word in order to more effectively communicate. Words in unmarked stress patterns do not carry any added stress or extra volume. In order for ESL students to maximize intelligibilty in their pronunciation, using marked stress patterns is important. Marked stress patterns are key in native English speaker speech. Likewise, marked stress patterns are important in learning and teaching English pronunciation.

Using marked stress patterns can help ESL students better understand the contrast between function words (grammar words or structure words) in English and content words (important words or words that provide information). There is always a contrast in volume between content words and function words, with content words being louder. However, in the course of everyday speaking, this contrast can be rather subtle and easily go unnoticed. It should be noted that in marked stress patterns, it is possible for function words to receive more stress or more volume than content words. In addition to the contrast between marked stress patterns and unmarked stress patterns the contrast between function words and content words is an important point of focus in teaching English pronunciation, and in helping ESL students improve their pronunciation.

Excerpts from Answers.com

Literary Dictionary

stress, the relative emphasis given in pronunciation to a syllable, in loudness, pitch, or duration (or some combination of these). The term is usually interchangeable with accent, although some theorists of prosody reserve it only for the emphasis occurring according to a metrical pattern (see metre). In English verse, the metre of a line is determined by the number of stresses in a sequence composed of stressed and unstressed syllables (also referred to as strongly stressed and weakly stressed syllables). In quantitative verse, on the other hand, the metrical pattern is made up of syllables measured by their duration rather than by stress.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

In phonetics, an emphasis given to a syllable of speech by making it louder than the rest of the word. This emphasis may have no meaning; for example, Czech words are regularly stressed on the first syllable. It may, however, distinguish the meanings of similarly spelled but differently pronounced words; for example, permit is stressed on the first syllable as a noun and on the second as a verb. It may also be applied to a word to express its importance in a sentence. See also intonation.

When teaching the various meters in poetry, we use what is considered stress and unstressed syllables. I believe this is pretty much the same as what you are discussing here. This often is difficult for students to comprehend because natural voice intonation is not always evident, but is exaggerated in the various meters. I usually begin by going around the classroom and having each student say his or her name. It helps them to recognize syllable breakdown as well.

Permit can be stressed two ways-per' mit (as a license) or per mit' (to allow).

I really like the information regarding stress patterns. I am working with Chinese university students to improve their oral English and find their English vocabulary is extensive. They recognize which syllable to accent in individual words but when they put together a sentence or a paragraph they struggle with not speaking in an almost robotic cadence. Is there someplace I can go to get additional examples. I hate to re-invent the wheel if someone has already done this. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Mary
Guangzhou, P.R.C.

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Originally Posted by MaryBrown

I really like the information regarding stress patterns. I am working with Chinese university students to improve their oral English and find their English vocabulary is extensive. They recognize which syllable to accent in individual words but when they put together a sentence or a paragraph they struggle with not speaking in an almost robotic cadence. Is there someplace I can go to get additional examples. I hate to re-invent the wheel if someone has already done this. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Mary
Guangzhou, P.R.C.

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Give them some ready made sentences with IPA transcriptions of connected speech versions. That way, they know why many functors are not stressed, content words stressed, etc.

Once they master common phrases and sentences, you can have them speak and correct them.