Teacher Discussion Forums

[ErinMcGrail]

I teach high school conversation. I was wondering what people think about pronunciation drills- if they are effective? and how to implement them in a class.

[Masha Bell]

With so many English letters having unreliable sounds (good food, hear heard heart, should shoulder shout) they are absolutely essential.
I hope u can use words from the Sight Words page on my website www.englishspellingproblems.co.uk to help with that.

Making students aware in short sessions of the letters and combinations which are problematic for reading can only do good.

[Cgreagori]

It's also a great idea to have the students take notice of what their mouths are doing while they're saying their pronunciation drills (i.e. where their tongues are, what shape their mouths are making, if the sound is silent or vocal). This will help them to remember how they should be saying the different words.

[relaxandspeak]

I am not a huge believer in the use of limericks and tongue twisters for articulation.
More useful would be to implement tips on speaking clearly.

Try http://www.relaxandspeak.com/resources/accenttips.html

for more tips on clarity and expressiveness

[danielwelsch]

I make them dictate sentences to each other. Very slowly, with the best pronunciation possible. It puts social pressure on them to make themselves understood, and my low level people end up pronouncing much better than most.

Good luck,
Daniel.