How can we teach phonemic symbols to beginners and young students without causing confusion?

by | Dec 8, 2018 | 2. The Physicality of Pronunciation & Proprioception, 3. How to use the Sound Foundations Chart, 5. Question & Answer; General Issues, Trinity Diploma Pron Questions

Another question from teachers on the Diploma programme at Oxford TEFL (click for info) The short answer? Don’t teach the symbols, but help learners discover the sounds. And when they are able to say a sound close to the target sound, you can point at the sound on the...

Diversity, pronunciation, and being ‘correct’

by | Dec 3, 2018 | 3. How to use the Sound Foundations Chart, 4. Connected Speech & Comfortable Intelligibility, 5. Question & Answer; General Issues, Trinity Diploma Pron Questions

Two questions from teachers on the current Diploma programme at Oxford TEFL (click for info) Q1 Is there room for diversity in terms of the idea of the ‘right ‘or ‘correct ‘pronunciation? Q2 What if teachers, even having decided a pronunciation...

What metalanguage should one use with the pronunciation chart?

by | Aug 21, 2018 | 2. The Physicality of Pronunciation & Proprioception, 3. How to use the Sound Foundations Chart, 5. Question & Answer; General Issues, Trinity Diploma Pron Questions

Further questions raised by teachers on the online Trinity Diploma at Oxford TEFL. The themes here are 1) at what age to start using the pron chart, and 2) what to do about pron meta language and explaining pron. Ana Castro writes: In my teaching experience I’ve...

Consonants or vowels first?

by | Jun 20, 2018 | 2. The Physicality of Pronunciation & Proprioception, 3. How to use the Sound Foundations Chart, 5. Question & Answer; General Issues, Trinity Diploma Pron Questions

This post continues with questions raised by teachers on the online Trinity Diploma at Oxford TEFL. The themes here are 1) whether to deal with consonants or vowels first; and 2) the use of phonemic symbols. Consonants or vowels first? Q1: While learning the sounds...