Tuesday, September 2, 2014

BC0914: Teaching Tip

Pronunciation / Intonation

Pronunciation & intonation are very important elements when learning English. Placing stress on the correct syllable or word in a sentence can drastically change its meaning.

On the right hand side of my whiteboard I have a section for Pronunciation. Here, I write the word, the phonetic spelling as well as the word itself broken up into easy-to-read-and-pronounce chunks.

Eg: "valuable" = "val-yoo-bill"

(Many students are unfamiliar with the IPA, but that's another post altogether. )

I use a different coloured marker and draw a circle over the syllable or word that needs to be emphasized.

I encourage students to do the same when they're reading, especially out loud.

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