- Read the text to the class (or play a recording, if one is
available) before you ask students to read aloud. Give
them a good model of what it’s supposed to sound like.
- Think about suprasegmentals as well as individual sounds
and words. What thought groups, intonation, and linking
should be used?
- As they listen, have students mark up the text, indicating
pauses, intonation, or linking. Give them careful
instructions beforehand about what they should be
listening for. It’s di#cult to try to hear everything at
once. After listening, have students compare their
markings with a partner. Knowing that they’ll have to
check their work with a classmate helps keep students
more accountable.
- Have students read aloud to a partner^ instead of to the
whole class. This is less public and much less stressful,
and it gives more learners a chance to practice.
- Have students read to themselves using listening tubes.
These let students hear their own voices while reducing
the noise they can hear from the rest of the class. (See
Chapter 7 for information about listening tubes, sources,
and instructions for making your own.)
- If the class is reading something that includes realistic
conversation, such as a play or a story with lots of dialog,
use it as an opportunity for students to act out the play or
reenact the conversation from the story. Emphasize not
only the pronunciation of individual words, but also the
way words are linked, where pauses naturally occur, and
what kind of intonation !ts the grammar, meaning, and
emotion of the conversation.
- Take some time to talk about^ phonics—the systematic
relationship between written letters and spoken sounds—
when particular spelling patterns or problems come up.
Especially in lower-level classes, this can help students
make sense of the complex spelling system of English so
they can predict the pronunciation of new words better.
When teaching speaking: In Chapter 7 we looked at some
examples of speaking activities that we can use to practice
pronunciation. We can use these same types of activities—
information gaps, questions and answers, logic puzzles, role
plays, and many more—to practice pronunciation during a
speaking lesson. If you plan a practice activity so that it
contains vocabulary with particular sounds, words that link
together in a particular way, or grammatical patterns that
match the intonation you want to practice, students will be
practicing pronunciation of those things as they speak. Draw
attention to these pronunciation points when you give
instructions for the activity so students will notice them as
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