Talks, presentations and workshops

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.

Pronunciation for Iconoclasts

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Saturday, October 14, 2017 - 10:00
Venue: 
Joint PronSIG / GI SIG event
Location: 
Africa Centre, London
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Pronunciation for Iconoclasts - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/pronunciation-iconoclasts

Pronunciation teaching is sometimes held back by an unhelpful insistence on the phonetic detail of target models. Some features, such as the schwa for example, seem to almost acquire the status of icons. What happens if we knock these icons off their pedestals? This presentation will start a day of talks brought together by IATEFL's Pronunciation SIG and Global Issues SIG.

The Complete Pronunciation Workout

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Friday, October 13, 2017 - 16:00
Venue: 
The Language Show, TEFL stage
Location: 
London
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
The Complete Pronunciation Workout - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/complete-pronunciation-workout-2

Pronunciation teaching can be a joy, but we need to get away from listen-and-repeat routines and approach it from fresh angles. In this lively presentation, we will try out a variety of activities, from puzzles and games to workouts and raps. There's a PDF of the slides below, as well as the backing rhythm used in the rap. Thanks to Sergio Juan Gomez for the photo!

The Vowel Hexagon

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Thursday, September 28, 2017 - 12:30
Venue: 
Universidad Nacional de la Plata, V Jornadas Internacionales de Fonetica y Fonologia
Location: 
Buenos Aires
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Calendar of events by day - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/calendar/day/2016-03-12

In this talk, I will present a pedagogical chart of English vowels set in a hexagon figure. I will explain the rationale behind the design, which is based on a system of rings and spokes, with the long vowels in the outer ring, the short vowels in the inner ring and the schwa at the centre.

Zoom Webinar

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 - 14:00
Venue: 
Zoom Room, 14:00 Argentina time
Location: 
Buenos Aires
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Zoom Webinar - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/zoom-webinar

This webinar has been organized by Stella Palavecino of the IES en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramon Fernandez and hosted by Veronica Pintos of the British Council, both in Buenos Aires. Here's a summary of the main argument. You'll find the slides on a pdf below, and an MP3 of the rap, and a second karaoke version.

Accent: are we bovvered?

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 - 10:15
Venue: 
IATEFL Glasgow
Location: 
Boisdale 1, Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC) Exhibition Way, Glasgow G3 8YW
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Accent: are we bovvered? - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/accent-are-we-bovvered

There is a write-up of this talk here. Accent can be a problem in English teaching. Which accent do we take as a model? Must it be a native-speaker accent? Must it be a prestige accent?

The Complete Pronunciation Workout

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Friday, March 17, 2017 - 11:30
Venue: 
Nationaal Congres Engels
Location: 
Ede, Netherlands
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Mark Hancock The Complete Pronunciation Workout Ede

Sometimes pronunciation deserves more than a passing correction or one-off task. In this workshop, we will see how pronunciation points can be worked on from various different angles, in coherent and enjoyable task sequences. Participants will try out example activities and discuss them. You can download the slides below.

Listening as a Creative Process

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Saturday, March 4, 2017 - 10:45
Venue: 
TESOL-Spain 40th Annual Convention
Location: 
Universidad Miguel Hernandez, Elche
Extra info: 
Handouts and downloads
Listening as a Creative Process
Findings of research into children’s processing of spoken language illustrate the creative nature of listening. What do we mean by ‘listening as a creative process’ and how can we use this when teaching listening to adults? In this workshop, we’ll look at some techniques which help learners develop transferrable skills and strategies and take them beyond a ‘one-off’ listening experience.

A Live Lesson in Pronunciation

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Friday, March 3, 2017 - 19:00
Venue: 
TESOL Spain
Location: 
Elche
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
A Live Lesson in Pronunciation - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/live-lesson-pronunciation

Come and watch an author/teacher attempt to give series of mini pronunciation lessons in front of a live audience! In doing so, I hope to be able to demonstrate the more collaborative, negotiated, discovery-led approach which I’ve been trying in recent years. This session is suitable for teachers, and participants who wish to work on their own pronunciation – or both! Download below...

Pronunciation for Listeners

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Monday, February 6, 2017 - 14:00
Venue: 
University of Chester
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Pronunciation for Listeners - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/pronunciation-listeners-1

In this session, we look at pronunciation from the perspective of listening. Find the slides on a PDF below. Here are links to some of the materials used in the talk.

The "Lost" Rap

A song-based Mondegreen activity

Surreal soundscapes: the weird world of the learner listener

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Saturday, February 4, 2017 - 10:45
Venue: 
Stafford House Annual Conference, opening plenary
Location: 
19 New Dover Rd, Canterbury CT1 3AH
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Surreal soundscapes: the weird world of the learner listener - hancockmcdonald.com/talks/surreal-soundscapes-weird-world-learner-listener

For the native listener, homophones, puns, misheard lyrics and the like are the occasional source of delight. For the learner listener, they belong to the surreal soundscapes they inhabit for much of the time. This talk will explore the intersection between pronunciation and listening, in order to identify what it is that makes listening so tricky and weird for the individuals in our classes.

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