Here you'll find our pronunciation-specific activities, tips, theory and techniques resources.

Activities

Drilling Target Sounds

• Level: all

• Age Group: Secondary or University

• e-Learning Mode: Live and Non-live

• # of Students: As many students as needed

Instructions:

Although it is difficult to give students individualized feedback on their pronunciation, it is not hopeless. With small enough classes live lectures can have an element of teacher says-students repeat but assessing accuracy is difficult. Using messaging systems capable of recording small sound bites (such as Whatsapp and Wechat) students can record themselves saying target words or sentences provided by the teacher. Students can then be directed to sites such as Sounds of Speech (app also available) for specific sound difficulties or MimicMethod for sound pair drilling that students can follow along with.

Credit: Teachingeslonline

Practicing Sounds in Extended Speech

• Level: Multi-level

• Age Group: College

• e-Learning Mode: Non-live

• # of Students: As many students as needed

Instructions:

Goal: Give students lots of opportunities to shadow your speaking and use ppt to help them see words as well as hear them. Allow them to hear others’ pronunciation and learn how to evaluate their own pronunciation.

Preparation: determine the sounds/ features you want to focus on, find contrasting sounds or features to help students hear the target sound more clearly, arrange several types of exercises and record them.

Recording: A typical process would be (1) to read target sound in words (e.g. words with initial /s/, sing, sign, sight ), with pauses for repetition, as if class was repeating and (2) ask students to read the word aloud first, pause and then read the word yourself, allowing them to notice and correct themselves. Then use the same process with the word and its contrasting sound (e.g. /s/ and /z/, sit/zit, sip/zip). Next, build up students’ confidence using the sound in extended speech by using the same process with the word in a sentence, with a repetition of the word with the target sound at the beginning of the sentence (e.g. “sit” “sister” I asked my sister to sit with me.). Finally, use this process reading a short passage, allowing students to practice the words with the target sound before the passage. Record the assignment at the end.

Evaluation: Ask each student to go through the lesson, and then record a list of several words and then the passage and send them to you. Randomly select* 10-20% of student recordings to listen to; then listen and record the students’ work and your feedback. Post the feedback recording for the whole class, ask students to listen to the feedback and then evaluate their own recording. You could have them send you a written evaluation of their recording or not; if you collect it, simply mark it as completed or not. (*Your selection could be intentional also.)

For more advanced students: You could do a similar procedure with suprasegmental features such as intonation or sentence stress. Begin with sentences and then use passages.

Credit: Gretchen Nauman