B - What to Teach
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 October 2023
Summary
The tips in this section are concerned with the content of what we teach in pronunciation classes – the phonology of English. We deal here with issues such as whether and how to use phonemic symbols, what to do about accent variation, and what aspects of connected speech and intonation to cover.
What aspects should I teach?
14 Be selective
15 Don't be afraid to simplify
Consonants and vowels
16 Show how sounds are made
17 Show how phonemes change meaning
18 Understand that sounds vary in context
19 Be aware of accent variation
Sounds, symbols and spelling
20 Decide whether to use phonemic symbols
21 Be clear about what phonemic symbols represent
22 Show how the chart is organised
23 Help learners notice spelling patterns
Connected speech
24 Focus on word stress
25 Help learners to notice rhythm
26 Raise awareness of connected speech
Stress and intonation
27 Be clear about sentence stress
28 Decide how to approach intonation
29 Connect intonation and context
Integrating pronunciation
30 Integrate pronunciation with grammar and lexis
31 Integrate pronunciation with listening
32 Bring more pronunciation into a busy course
14 Be selective
Don't teach pronunciation points ‘because they exist’, teach them because they are useful. Don't try to solve a pronunciation problem if your learners don't have that problem.
When you’re choosing a pronunciation point to present to your class, think in terms of problems and solutions. Try to make sure that the solution you are offering matches a problem that your learners are likely to have. Offering solutions where there isn't a problem is the wrong way round, like the tail wagging the dog.
To put it another way: we need to be selective about what we present to our classes. We don't need to teach a pronunciation point simply because it exists, or because we’ve got a great piece of material on that topic. The point of pronunciation teaching is not to cover everything, but to cover what's needed.
The temptation to teach everything is at its strongest where there is a clear set of items – the phonemic alphabet being a good example. When the symbols are packaged into their cells in the chart like chocolates in a box, they all seem to have equivalent importance. That is not a helpful impression.
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- Information
- Mark Hancock’s 50 Tips for Teaching Pronunciation , pp. 28 - 66Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020