Job Discussion Forums

guty · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 365 Location: on holiday

I worked with several teachers in the gulf who just couldnt ever say
"Ill get this round"

Capergirl · Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:23 pm Post subject:

Any word with an r in the middle of it poses a problem for my Russian and Angolan students. A couple of days ago, we were doing a lesson on letter writing and one of the students asked me if it was okay to substitute sincerely for "regrets" (or at least that is what I'd thought he'd said). Eventually, we cleared up the confusion. It was regards that he has been trying to say. Rolling the r made the word sound like "regrads" (or regrets). The students, however, insisted that they were saying it exactly as I was. Rolling Eyes

Like arioch36, my students also have trouble distinguishing between certain words that are similiar like smile and smell, bed and bad, noun and known, etc.

Snoopy · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 185

When trying to teach Arab students, one has to attempt to counteract the effects of their Egyptian schoolteachers. All those extra syllables and the expectation of being sold the test papers. Yes, I am being racist. It is all based on experience.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

I wonder whether Americans in general know how to pronounce LOCH as in Loch Nessi? Laughing

As for my Chinese learners, they simply can't differentiate between long and short syllables (sleep versus slip, this versus these), nor do they recognise diphtongs - arioch's example was a case in point, others include: Ride versus red, mind versus mend and so on;
the TH is another tricky sound, as is R as in walk which routinely gets pronounced as work.

Lanza-Armonia · Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:03 pm Post subject:

Kurochan, I thank you...

LA

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Caper,
if your students are having problems with 'smell' and 'smile' then( I'm linking threads here) fart in the classroom.

"Today, class I'm going to smell.

Now I'm going to smile"

They'll soon learn the difference

leeroy · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 777 Location: London UK

A note left to my father by his (Polish) cleaner..

curveegrrl · Joined: 07 May 2003 Posts: 39 Location: Utsunomiya, Japan

guest of Japan - How would the students say my name?? Ka-bi-ga? That would be fun too.

The worst for me is when I start picking up the students' mistakes. Pronunciation and grammar. I caught myself reading "very" as "wery" the other day. And I don't use nearly as many articles as I used to.

guest of Japan · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 1601 Location: Japan

ka bi ga ru. The r sound is a mix between an l and an r.

You're not alone in butchering your native tongue.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397