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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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 Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 11:54 pm Post subject: Students who think your teaching is wrong... |
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Has anybody had this problem?
Two of my adult students do not believe that "fort" and "effort" are pronounced differently. They think I am wrong, because the spelling for the two is the same.
So they continue pronouncing it wrong and I have just given up trying to correct them.
Does anyone else get this?
Its just ridiculous when you get occasional students who are adamant they know more about english than you do.  |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:24 am Post subject: |
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| Two of my adult students do not believe that "fort" and "effort" are pronounced differently. They think I am wrong, because the spelling for the two is the same. |
Tell them, in front of the rest of the class: 'Obviously you are right. In 20+ years of speaking English I must have somehow misunderstood the rule stating that parts of words that are spelled the same are always pronounced the same. To be consistent--English IS a language of logic, as we all know--the opposite must also be true, of course. Can you demonstrate to the class how 'two' and 'too' are pronounced differently, since they are spelled differently?'
Or you could just, you know, assert your role as teacher and note they are PAYING you to instruct them, which only makes any sense if they stipulate you know more than they do about the subject in question. If they don't believe that they should quit the class, the sooner the better. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:34 am Post subject: |
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Get some Korean words then.
For example "읽다", to read. It is spelled ilkda, but you don't say the "k". Make them explain why you don't say "ilk da". |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:45 am Post subject: Re: Students who think your teaching is wrong... |
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| Julius wrote: |
Has anybody had this problem?
Two of my adult students do not believe that "fort" and "effort" are pronounced differently. They think I am wrong, because the spelling for the two is the same.
So they continue pronouncing it wrong and I have just given up trying to correct them.
Does anyone else get this?
Its just ridiculous when you get occasional students who are adamant they know more about english than you do. |
Put some effert in to making the fort and you will find that it really does take some effort
lol... you are correct and so are they.
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:20 am Post subject: |
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| Time for a lesson on the use of schwa. |
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chasmmi
Joined: 16 Jun 2007
Location: Ulsan
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 2:47 am Post subject: |
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| Just use the word castle instead of fort and all will be fine |
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thegadfly
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 2:49 am Post subject: Re: Students who think your teaching is wrong... |
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| Julius wrote: |
Has anybody had this problem?
Two of my adult students do not believe that "fort" and "effort" are pronounced differently. They think I am wrong, because the spelling for the two is the same.
So they continue pronouncing it wrong and I have just given up trying to correct them.
Does anyone else get this?
Its just ridiculous when you get occasional students who are adamant they know more about english than you do. |
Actually, I have met many Koreans that DO know quite a bit more about English than many of the "English teachers" I have met in Korea. In this case, it seems like your students are on the wrong end of things, and it should be easy enough to explain it in a way that your students can understand....
It is actually less of a "pronunciation" thing than an "intonation" thing (you know, as another posted mentioned, unaccented syllables often take a schwa sound, rather than the "proper" vowel sound?) -- to pronounce it the way you say they are pronouncing it, they are stressing the wrong syllable...and there you have a different way to approach it... |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 3:13 am Post subject: |
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| Just ignore them and think of the money. |
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Dodge7
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 4:04 am Post subject: |
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Have they still not figured out, after 10 years of learning English probably that the letter "O" is the most versatile vowel in the alphabet? It can sound like an 'E' as in doctor. It can sound like an 'A' as in doctor, it can sound like 우, as in lose, AND it has its own sound as in open.
I think you had to point this out from the beginning though, teacher. |
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liveinkorea316
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 4:49 am Post subject: |
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| Just show them the dictionary. The words fort and effort have different phonetic transcriptions. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 6:56 am Post subject: |
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And then they insist on using american pronunciation and spelling as if it was the only correct way.
The whole american monomania here gets real old real quick.
According to koreans... Americans must logically be right and correct in everything relating to grammar, because they are the strongest nation. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 7:31 am Post subject: |
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| Julius wrote: |
And then they insist on using american pronunciation and spelling as if it was the only correct way.
The whole american monomania here gets real old real quick.
According to koreans... Americans must logically be right and correct in everything relating to grammar, because they are the strongest nation. |
I am American and I don't pronounce fort and effort the same. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with using an internet dictionary voice to correct them.
make them repeat after it five or six times, ask if they understand, then make them repeat five or six more times. |
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thebektionary
Joined: 11 May 2011
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| Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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| find a tv show or song where the word "effort" is said and let them hear it. |
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