How To Write Pronunciation Activities: Training Course For ELT Writers, #23

By Laura Patsko and Katy Simpson

Pronunciation is the super-power of ELT! So say Laura Patsko and Katy Simpson, co-authors of this eBook which sets out to give teachers and materials writers the tools for writing pronunciation activities, both receptive and productive. Laura and Katy remind us of the importance of integrating pronunciation into any set of materials, making it a routine part of a lesson rather than a special occasion, or add-on. The authors also emphasize the need to vary pronunciation activity-types, and provide clear instructions for writing a range of different activities that go beyond 'listen and repeat'. Whether you're writing for your own classes or for publication, this eBook will guide you in choosing an activity type, writing clear rubrics, staging the activity and extending it for homework or self-study. Finally, the 'Useful Resources' section at the end will be of invaluable help to all materials writers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ELT
• Release date: Feb 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370253609

Book preview

HOW TO WRITE PRONUNCIATION ACTIVITIES

Laura Patsko and Katy Simpson

TRAINING COURSE FOR ELT WRITERS

Other titles by ELT Teacher 2 Writer

Core modules

How ELT Publishing Works

How To Plan A Book

How To Write And Deliver Talks

How To Write Audio and Video Scripts*

How To Write Critical Thinking Activities*

How To Write Primary Materials

How To Write Reading and Listening Activities*

How to Write Secondary Materials

How To Write Speaking Activities*

How To Write Vocabulary Presentations And Practice*

How To Write Writing Activities*

Market-specific modules

How To Write Business English Materials**

How To Write Corporate Training Materials**

How To Write EAP Materials**

How To Write ESOL Materials**

How To Write ESP Materials**

How To Write Exam Preparation Materials

Component modules

How To Write Film And Video Activities

How To Write For Digital Media

How To Write Graded Readers

How To Write Teacher’s Books

How To Write Worksheets

Our paperbacks

How To Write ESOL Materials

How To Write Reading and Listening Activities

How To Write Excellent ELT Materials: The Skills Series (This title is a compendium containing the six titles marked with a single asterisk in the list above.)

How To Write Excellent ELT Materials: The ESP Series (This title is a compendium containing the five titles marked with a double asterisk in the list above.)

For further information, contact us via our website at eltteacher2writer.co.uk

How to Write Pronunciation Activities

By Laura Patsko and Katy Simpson

© 2018 ELT Teacher 2 Writer

www.eltteacher2writer.co.uk

Contents

About the authors

Aims

Section 1: An overview of L2 pronunciation materials

1.1 The importance of pronunciation materials

1.2 The challenges of writing pronunciation materials

1.2.1 Lack of space dedicated to pronunciation

1.2.2 Lack of learner awareness

1.2.3 Lack of teacher awareness

1.3 Overcoming the challenges

1.3.1 Creating space for pronunciation

1.3.2 Raising learners’ awareness of pronunciation features

1.3.3 Supporting teachers in using pronunciation materials

1.3.4 Sourcing appropriate audio/video

1.4 Pronunciation pitfalls

Section 2: Understanding learners’ pronunciation needs

2.1 Accents and pronunciation

2.2 English as a Lingua Franca

2.3 Pronunciation for listening vs. pronunciation for speaking

2.4 Phonics

Section 3: The sensitive nature of pronunciation

3.1 The power of accents

3.2 Accents and identity

3.3 Building learners’ confidence

Section 4: How to approach pronunciation sections

4.1 Integrating pronunciation

4.1.1 Speaking

4.1.2 Listening

4.1.3 Reading

4.1.4 Writing

4.1.5 Vocabulary

4.1.6 Grammar

4.2 Syllabus design across different levels

4.3 Allophones and using learners’ L1 as a resource

Section 5: How to design pronunciation activities

5.1 Choosing activity types

5.2 Awareness-raising exercises

5.3 Staging pronunciation exercises

5.4 Writing rubrics

5.5 The phonemic chart

5.5.1 Disadvantages of using phonemic symbols

5.5.2 Advantages of using phonemic symbols

5.5.3 Five tips for using phonemic symbols

5.6 Activity design checklist

Section 6: How to go beyond the exercises on the student’s page

6.1 Designing homework tasks

6.2 Designing supplementary materials

6.3 Writing for specific markets

Section 7: Useful resources

7.1 Examples of pronunciation-specific books for teachers and learners

7.2 Pronunciation websites for teachers and learners

7.3 Finding suitable pronunciation role models online

7.4 Examples of student’s books with good pronunciation sections

Section 8: Conclusion

Glossary

About the authors

[author photo]

Laura Patsko and Katy Simpson co-author a blog about pronunciation and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) at elfpron.wordpress.com, which aims to bridge the gap between research and the classroom. They have spoken together about pronunciation and ELF at conferences and training events around the world, including at annual IATEFL conferences and the British Council Seminar Series. They have also published a number of articles on the topic for popular ELT blogs and teachers’ journals. They tweet as @ELF_pron.

Laura Patsko is a teacher trainer and pedagogy researcher, currently based in the UK, and specializes in the use of English as lingua franca, pronunciation teaching and the practical applications of linguistic research. She has written numerous articles and two book chapters (both 2017) on pronunciation and ELF, and given numerous international presentations, workshops and webinars on this topic. PDFs and videos are available at laurapatsko.wordpress.com. She sub-edits Speak Out!, the journal of the IATEFL Pronunciation Special Interest Group, and tweets as @lauraahaha.

Katy Simpson is a teacher, teacher trainer, and materials writer currently based in Japan. She has worked in the UK, Thailand and Dubai, where she first developed an interest in the use of English as a Lingua Franca. In 2016 she set up an online school aimed at students who use English internationally, at myenglishvoice.com, which publishes self-study materials aimed at developing students’ listening and pronunciation skills. My English Voice was a finalist in the 2017 British Council ELTon Awards for Innovation in Learner Resources. She tweets as @KatyELT.

Aims

The aims of this book about pronunciation activities are to:

1. understand key principles for writing your own pronunciation activities.

2. understand which features of pronunciation are likely to be most important for clear speech.

3. analyse examples of different types of pronunciation activities.

4. learn how to choose the most appropriate types of pronunciation activities.

1. An overview of L2 pronunciation materials

1.1 The importance of pronunciation materials

When asked which of the four skills pronunciation is related to, most people would probably say speaking. Some might add listening. How many would include reading and writing?

The fascinating thing is that better phonological awareness can increase proficiency in all four skills areas. For example, research by Walter (2009) demonstrated that having an ‘unreliable L2 phonological inventory’ led to ‘poor L2 processing of written text’ (2009, p.4). When we read proficiently, we store words temporarily in a ‘phonological loop’, from where they are matched to words in our L2 lexicon. If our representation of the sounds of words in our L2 mental lexicon is poor, this can impede the matching process while reading. Walter (2009) concluded that teaching pronunciation can actually improve learners’ reading skills.

As for speaking and listening, it stands to reason that learners who are uncertain of how to pronounce a word or structure might avoid using it during conversation, or even be unable to recognise it when they hear it, despite being otherwise confident of its meaning and use. Similar problems can occur in learners’ writing, where they might misspell words they would be perfectly comfortable saying, or mistakenly believe words are homophones, such as were and where, perhaps due to their similar spellings or due to lack of awareness or instruction regarding English phonemic differences and spelling patterns. (For more on the relationship between written and spoken forms, see section 2.4 on phonics.) Thus, a learner’s knowledge of vocabulary and grammar is incomplete