Intonation rules in ELT textbooks

In this paper we examine in detail the two rules of intonation perhaps most commonly found in ELT textbooks, those concerning intonation in lists and intonation in questions. We begin by arguing that the rules given are inadequate as descriptions of what occurs in naturally-occurring speech. We then go on to offer alternative analyses of the various patterns of intonation found in lists and in questions, using the discourse intonation model (Brazil 1985, 1994). In conclusion we suggest that, as teachers and materials writers, we need to provide learners with descriptions of intonation which will allow them to understand the communicative significance of the patterns of intonation identified in such rules, and of the exceptions to those rules.