How can you !nd a place for pronunciation along with
all the other things you have to teach? (This will be
discussed in the next section.)
- Resources: Someone else may have already chosen the
textbooks and other materials that you will use, and you
seldom have control over the technology that’s available
in the classroom. You have to !nd the strong points in
what you have and be resourceful in using it.
- Outside forces: Depending on where you’re teaching,
school administrators, the local Board of Education, or
the national Ministry of Education may specify what is to
be taught. Parents and others in the community often
have expectations about what will be included and
emphasized in teaching. Even standardized achievement
or entrance tests can in$uence what and how you teach.
- Tradition: In some teaching situations, the traditional
ways of teaching don’t emphasize pronunciation. Other
teachers may not appreciate it if you try to make
changes. They may feel that by trying something new
you’ll undermine their authority or make them look old-
fashioned, or they may honestly believe that the
traditional way is best. Whatever the reason, trying to
change well-established teaching styles can be di#cult.
Tact and cooperation will usually get better results than
lectures and confrontation.
In some cases we may be able to change these limitations by
working with school administrators, parents, and others. In
other cases, however, we’ll just have to learn to accept
limitations that we can’t change and !gure out how to work
around them. If computer equipment isn’t easily available,
we can substitute low-tech methods. If the textbook doesn’t
include much pronunciation practice, we can supplement
with bits of pronunciation practice as a part of reading,
listening, speaking, or grammar lessons.
Finding time for pronunciation teaching
Teachers sometimes say, “I don’t have time to teach
pronunciation. There’s too much in the curriculum already!”
Teaching pronunciation really is important—too important to
ignore because we’re busy. Pronunciation practice doesn’t
have to take a lot of time if you combine it with other parts
of your language lessons. Here are some ideas for !tting
pronunciation in with other types of practice.
Starting or ending a lesson: Do a quick bit of
pronunciation practice as a warm-up at the beginning of
class, as a closing activity, or for a change of pace between
other activities. Many of the activities in Chapters 7 and 13
can be adapted for a quick pronunciation review. For
example:
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