Mispronunciation? search for a balanced way to assist

yehudaelbo · Post by **yehudaelbo** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:08 pm

Hi all,
My name is Yehuda and I'm a first year student at Levinsky college in Isreal.
During the year we participate in active teaching in a training school as an assistant teachers.
That experience made me realize there are many cases of mispronunciation among children.
My interest is in finding a balance when encountering such cases in the matter of correcting\not correcting? everytime? in what ways or methods will it be helpfull to my training teacher?
appreciate your answers

Sally Olsen · Post by **Sally Olsen** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:56 pm

If I can't understand the word or sentence then I try to guess what the student is saying and say it out loud as long as I know the student won't react. If the student is shy or sensitive I would usually let it go but make a note and try to practice with the class in some fun game or chant. You can also have students talk on tape or on the computer and have them listen. They might pick up their error or might if you play the tape in a month or so. Most mistakes will be corrected as they grow so I wouldn't worry.

A more difficult problem is if the teacher is teaching them the wrong thing. I found this quite often with native speaking English teachers and the students will defend their teacher unto death -the same with parents. But no one will continue if it is necessary to speak clearly.