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Welcome back to Teach English Now.
In this module, we covered barriers to pronunciation as well as strategies for
teaching pronunciation.
But first we use the concept of recycling to review principles that we had discussed
in previous modules and apply them to pronunciation.
>> Recycling.
Here, at Arizona State University, the importance of recycling and
sustainability is constantly being stressed.
So it makes sense that we'd advocate for recycling here in this course, too.
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Honestly though that was a much better strategy than having our poor panelists
take a quiz on material they had never studied.
Like Art did in the earlier quiz shows.
I think that a few weeks of hard core rehabilitation
>> Art called it a resort.
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So, back to our useful strategy of recycling.
We looked at para-linguistics, regionalisms, reductions and language ego.
All in relation to pronunciation.
Remember that we talked about how pronunciation, stress, and
intonation aren't explicitly taught in the classroom because teachers and
linguists often view them as para-linguistic features.
Those elements that are often considered outside the normal linguistic elements.
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In terms of regionalisms.
We discussed that there are many varieties of English.
And how as English language teachers.
We should avoid favoring one accent over another.
Or giving preference to one speaker over another.
Because of their accent.
>> [COUGH] Yes Jessica, a good point.
Once again we saw how Art had to keep himself in check in this area as he seemed
to admire Ona's accent maybe a bit too much
>> [LAUGH] Obviously.
Changing an old habit is an ongoing process for Art.
[LAUGH] So
next we talked about how frequently reductions occur in pronunciation,
with speakers often dropping sounds off completely in natural conversation.
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So, these four principles.
Para-linguistics, regionalisms, reductions and language ego,
give us a foundational background in some of the important aspects of pronunciation,
and what can make pronunciation hard.
>> Next we examine some barriers to pronunciation by relating these barriers
to our example of Joseph Conrad,
a famous author with a high level of language proficiency.
Who also retained a strong Polish accent.
Some variables that can contribute to accent include interference or transfer of
your first language Age, a natural or innate phonetic ability, and language ego.
If you need to review these variables feel free to go back to video two and
watch it again.
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Intonation, stress, and
reductions are other variables that can affect pronunciation.
If you recall intonation refers to variations of pitch that can occur in
different languages and can change the meaning of our words or expressed.
Approval or disapproval?
>> Really?
>> Really.
>> Really?
>> Really.
So meaning doesn't always come from the words that we say.
Rather meaning can come from our intonation and
variations in pitch and in addition to intonation, stress.
The emphasis put on different syllables within a word or
phrase can make pronunciation more challenging.
Reductions in spoken language are quite common and
include assimilation's when sounds change and blend together.
And lexical elisions when speakers drop sounds or in the middle or
at the end of words.
The last barrier involves how your particular accent might determine
how you are perceived by other people.
Those with accents that are not considered prestige accents might want to change or
try to eliminate their accents all together.
>> Yes, Shane.
And with these barriers to pronunciation,
teachers have to think about how they can best serve their learners.
And help them overcome these challenges.
We presented some strategies that teachers can use for teaching pronunciation.
Either in a mini lesson format to the whole class or spot corrections for
individual learners.
For lessons with the entire class, teachers might
first want to look at what the class is struggling with as a whole and
develop mini lesson based on those challenges.
Providing a small phonemic chart and giving an explanation of the basic sounds
in English can help students when you're practicing various pronunciation concepts.
A phonemic chart or vowel chart
can also be useful in getting students to start monitoring their own language.
>> When teaching the whole class,
you might want to use the three-step model of comparing, identifying and producing.
You can use tongue twisters, dialogue, and
specific articulation activities during these mini lessons.
>> Another method to practice pronunciation with the whole class
is to have a discussion on spoken language versus written language.
You can incorporate the idea of connected and reduced speech forms and
look at examples.
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If you recall, connected speech is exactly like it sounds.
When spoken, words can run together.
Whereas reduced speech is when sounds and
sometimes entire words are omitted when speaking.
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>> Remember what was said about corrections too.
Something that our poor clarification was still struggling to let go
of after working with her therapist.
>> Her friend Shane,
she worked with her friend on control issues regarding corrections.
>> Yes, Jessica, thanks for clarifying that.
Anyway,back to our topic.
Spot corrections can also be done for individual learners.
Although more attention should be given to correcting global errors rather than
local ones.
If you recall, global errors are errors that interfere with meaning.
While local errors are minor.
And they don't interfere with meaning.
A phonemic chart can come in handy when doing spot corrections because you can
review sounds with individual learners that you previously introduced and
practiced with the whole class.
Eventually you can guide learners to start noticing and
correcting their own mistakes.
To start monitoring their own language.
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>> Well, that's it for our summary of pronunciation.
Now, it's your turn to express your ideas with the writing prompt.
After you finish the writing prompt and reviewed your peers it'll be time for
a check point quiz.
Don't hesitate to go back and
review the materials from this unit or jump on the discussion boards
if you have any questions that you would like to ask your fellow learners.
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>> In the next module, we will be reviewing all of the concepts from this
course, to prepare you for the 25 question checkpoint quiz.
Thanks again for joining us here at Teach English Now, and
we look forward to seeing you next time.
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