We often present at ELT conferences and events. Just select the title below if you're looking for the handout or download from a talk or workshop you have attended.
In this talk, I will try to explain and illustrate the following conclusions:
1. Not all pronunciation features are of equal importance for intelligibility.
2. The more common an accent variant, the more likely it is to be understood.
3. English has become a global lingua franca: “post-ELF” pronunciation teaching assimilates this fact.
At the beginning of the workshop, participants will do a paused transcription activity to bring the listening processes employed by expert listeners to a level of consciousness. Expert listeners usually understand what they hear with a seemingly high degree of automaticity and lack of effort.
Findings of research into the processing of spoken language point to the constructive nature of listening. In this talk, we’ll look at how L1 listening comprehension is influenced by various elements and compare this to the L2 listening endeavour. We’ll also exchange ideas on how we could possibly exploit this information when teaching listening to adults.
What does pronunciation teaching look like, once we assimilate the basic fact that English is a global lingua franca? In this presentation, we will explore that question. We will look at which aspects of pronunciation are essential for intelligibility and which aspects are more optional. We will look in more detail at how this distinction manifests itself on a phonemic chart.
Mark says: BrELT is "A Global ELT Community Made by Brazilians", and apart from energetically connecting teachers in online chats and sharing forums, they organise "On the Road" events, which people can attend in person. This year's edition is in São Paulo and I have been invited to be the first speaker on the day. This is what I plan to speak about:
The video below is Mark Hancock's webinar for TESOL Spain, explaining the Sound Chart and how to teach with it. The topics and minute-counter references are given below, so you can pick and watch the sections which interest you most.
Findings of research into the processing of spoken language point to the constructive nature of listening. In this talk, we’ll look at how L1 listening comprehension is influenced by various elements and compare this to the L2 listening endeavour. We’ll also exchange ideas on how we could possibly exploit this information when teaching listening to adults.
Do you remember the millennium bug? We were all warned that on new year’s day of 2000, our computers would cease to function properly. Didn’t happen. What DID happen around that time however was a quiet but seismic shift in assumptions about the goals of pronunciation teaching.
What exactly are we doing when we’re listening? In this session, we’ll try a little transcription experiment to find out. We’ll see that listening is not quite as passive, automatic or effortless as it may appear. We’ll then consider the difficulties of listening to speech in a non-native language before reflecting on the implications of our observations for classroom teaching.
