"Discourse Intonation is both too complex for learners to accept, and
too simplified to be useful."

Discourse Intonation (DI) is in essence mechanically simple (it
consists basically of a small number of two-way or three-way choices)
and conceptually simple (the available choices are closely related to
broad pragmatic categories). It can seem over-simple as a description
and over-complex as a working model because it allows for considerable
speaker interpretation and exploitation, and therefore speakers'
choices are often not entirely - or not at all, even - predictable.

In my 'English Pronunciation in Use - Elementary' (CUP 2007) I've
tried to give learners three ways into DI:

1. Fall-rise for 'old' information vs. fall for 'new' information, as
a basic rule of thumb, e.g.
A: Edinburgh's one of my favourite places in England.
B: But Edinburgh isn't in England(FALL-RISE), it's in Scotland(FALL).

Variations on this include paraphrasing information, e.g.
A: That wine costs L 100!
B: Yes, it's expensive(FALL-RISE) ......

- and making selective reference to 'old' info, e.g.
A: I thought that film was really good.
B: Well, I thought the music(FALL-RISE) was good.

2. In narrative, fall-rise for past continuous (background) vs. fall
for past simple (events), e.g.
I was lying in bed last night(FALL-RISE starting on 'bed') and I heard
a knock at the door(FALL).
(This pattern seemed most relevant at elementary level, but it seems
to me to be pervasive in a lot of two-clause structures - e.g.
conditionals.)

3. Characteristic phrasal uses of intonation, presented as idiomatic,
e.g. in listening signals: Oh? / Really? / Did you? / Was it? (RISE)
That's great! / That's amazing! / That's terrible! (FALL)

I hope that learners will, in their various ways, begin to grasp:

1. the abstract system underlying intonation choices, based on
examples where the choices are amenable to clear empirical validation,
but extending to examples where there's a greater role for speaker
exploitation.

2. the use of contrastive intonation in a common composite grammatical
structure.

3. the characteristic use of intonation patterns in conversational
routines.

And I hope sensitisation to these will prime learners to listen out
for and identify intonation patterns (not necessarily "Ah, that's a
fall-rise", but probably rather "Ah, that sounds like when my teacher
says 'Actually, ....'") and find support for the generalisations
introduced in the book - as well as counter-examples, of course!

Jonathan