1. /θriːtaɪps əv prəːn
ʌn.siːe
ɪ.ʃən klæs
A practical look at pronunciation teaching
Martins Fontes Auditorium – January 24, 2014
Higor Cavalcante

2. LEFT
RIGHT
PLAYS
PLACE
TAUGHT
THOUGHT
SHIP
SHEEP
TWO
CHEW

3. LEFT
RIGHT
SING
THING
LOOK
LUKE
D
G
MEN
MAN

4. Why teach pronunciation?
• Mispronunciation of certain phonemes can be
extremely difficult to understand;
• The inaccurate use of suprasegmental elements, such
as stress or intonation, can also cause problems;
• Students (often) like to have their pronunciation
mistakes brought to their attention.

5. Why don’t we teach it (more often)?
“Pronunciation can be an overlooked area of language
teaching, partly because teachers themselves may feel
more uncertain about it than about grammar or
lexis, worried that they don‟t have enough technical
knowledge to help students appropriately.”
X
Learning Teaching, Jim Scrivener (p 271)

6. Drilling
“In its most basic form, drilling simply involves the
teachers saying a word or structure, and getting the class
to repeat it. Being able to drill properly is a basic and
fundamental language teaching skill.”
X
How to Teach Pronunciation, Gerald Kelly (p 16)

7. Chaining
Back chain
...told him.
...would‟ve told him.
...I would‟ve told him.
If I‟d seen him...
If I‟d seen him, I
would‟ve told him.
Front chain
X
If I‟d seen him...
If I‟d seen him, I
would‟ve...
I would‟ve...
I would‟ve told him.
If I‟d seen him, I
wouldn‟ve told him.

8. Other types of drilling
‘Open pair’ drilling
S1: Have you ever
been to Paris?
S4: Yes, I have.
S5: Have you ever
been to NY?
S2: No, I haven‟t.
etc.
Substitution drilling
X
T: It‟s on the corner.
Ss: It‟s on the corner.
T: on the table.
Ss: It‟s on the table.
T: under the chair.
Ss: It‟s under the
chair.

9. From reactive to planned teaching:
Three types of pronunciation classes
X
• Integrated lessons (together with... everything else)
• Remedial lessons (based on class difficulties)
• Practice Lessons (focused on one area)
How to Teach Pronunciation, Gerald Kelly (p 14)

10. X
Integrated Lessons

11. Used to
Lead in: Discuss whether students have pics of
themselves as children. Discuss what used to be different
(work on /ju:stə/).
Presentation: Board a few examples after drilling them.
Point out that negative/interrogative are pronounced
/ju:stə/.
Practice: Find someone who. (questions on board)
Production: Sentences about childhood.
X

12. Other integrated lessons
•
•
•
•
•
•
Object pronouns (elision of /h/; not stressed)
Third conditional (contraction of auxiliaries)
Simple past (pronunciation of ‘ed’; elision of /t/ and /d/)
Simple present (pronunciation of ‘s’ as /s/, /z/ and /ɪz/)
Introducing/describing oneself (intonation)
Ability (sentence stress/weak forms)
X

13. X
Remedial Lessons

14. Examples
• Delayed correction
• Drilling
• Song
• Discussion
• Listening work
Grammar
Vocabulary
X
Appropriacy
Pronunciation

15. X
Practice Lessons

16. Examples
•
•
•
•
•
Hancock’s map (warm-up to this session)
Phonology Hangman
Taping students’ English
(Live) listening activities
Songs (With or Without You for ‘th’; any song for weak
forms)
X

17. Connected Speech
93 million miles from the sun
People get ready, get ready
„Cause here it comes, it‟s a light
A beautiful light, over the horizon
Into our eyes
Oh, my, my how beautiful
Oh, my beautiful mother
She told me: „son, in life you‟re gonna go far
If you do it right, you‟ll love where you are‟
X

18. Words of wisdom
Attempting to completely eradicate a foreign accent is an unrealistic
goal.
X
The native language not only affects the ability to produce English
sounds but also the ability to hear English sounds.
It’s as if learners hear the second language through a ‘filter’, the filter
being the sound system of the native language.
While practice in pronunciation may not make perfect, ignoring
pronunciation totally can be a great disservice to language learners.

19. X
Many thanks! And a
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

20. Bibliography
How to Teach Pronunciation, Gerald Kelly
Teaching American English Pronunciation, Ehrlich & Avery
X
English Phonetics and Phonology, Peter Roach
Sound Foundations, Adrian Underhill

21. Next courses:
Pronunciation for teachers – March 14 to June 20
X
CPE prep. – February 14 and 15
CAE prep. – February 14
TDC & TKT – February 14

22. Contact info:
higor@higorcavalcante.com
X
www.higorcavalcante.com
www.facebook.com/higorcavalcante
teacherhigor
teacherhigor