Teaching Pronunciation - a short course

Working on pronunciation can be enjoyable and rewarding, and it is one of the most important ways we can use face-to-face class time. This course aims to give participants an overview of the main issues in pronunciation teaching, including questions of accent, suitable models and evaluation. We will look at the different features of pronunciation including sounds, stress, connected speech and intonation. We will look at different classroom techniques for teaching these features, from communicative games and puzzles to chants and speaking activities. We will also consider how to integrate these activities into class work in other areas such as grammar and listening. Participants will have the opportunity to work with tools and resources and get ideas for creating their own lessons and materials, tailor-made to their own students’ needs. At the end of the course, participants will leave with a broad awareness of the issues and concepts in pronunciation teaching, and confidence in their own ability to work on pronunciation with their own classes.

Who is the course suitable for?
This course is aimed at teachers of English who wish to:
• broaden their knowledge of the various issues involved in teaching pronunciation
• increase their range of pronunciation teaching strategies and skills
• develop their ability to tailor their teaching to their students’ specific needs
Participants should have a minimum language level corresponding to B2 on the Common European Framework.

What will the course include?
As a course participant, you will receive a pre-course questionnaire which should be returned prior to the course. This is to ensure that the areas of most relevance to you are integrated into the course content. Throughout the course, you will be invited to reflect on your own professional context and experience.

In addition to developing your language skills, the course will include content drawn from some or all of the following areas:
• Accents of English
• Pronunciation models and evaluation
• Creating a pronunciation syllabus
• Teaching tools and resources
• The phonemic chart
• Spelling and pronunciation
• Syllables and stress
• Connected speech and intonation
• Communicative pronunciation activities
• Creating games and puzzles
• Chants, drills and speaking activities
• Integrating pronunciation into other syllabus elements