Cinderella new college manchester ways of pronunciation teaching (adrian underhill)

EAQUALS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Budapest 24–26 April 2014

Pronunciation: Integrating the Cinderella of language teaching

Adrian Underhill

Blogs:

adrianpronchart.wordpress.com demandhighelt.wordpress.com

In a nutshell:

Pronunciation is not integrated Learners offered a disabled language product

Learners and teachers pay a price for this

Not integrated because we try to teach it like V and G which are cognitively taught.

Yet Pron is not primarily cognitive

It is primarily physical It must be taught physically…

more like teaching dance

Pronunciation is everywhere

It infuses all language related activity:

Reading Writing

Speaking Listening Thinking

Remembering

This endless, inevitable and unobserved repetition reinforces L1 Pron, sticking it to L2

In spite of this pronunciation is neglected

Pronunciation is the Cinderella

of language teaching.

Her two beguilingly attractive sisters, Grammar and Vocabulary,

have cornered language learning because they fit the cognitive paradigm we prefer.

G & V provide a complete matrix for getting

the right words in the right order

BUT…. It’s only a 2-dimensional matrix

The 3rd dimension is neglected

Pronunciation is the 3rd dimension that gives volume

and body to the 2-dimensional matrix

Grammar and Vocabulary have been extensively developed over the last 50 years

Pronunciation has not …

We have created a dis-integrated approach: Pron slot, Pronunciation unit

“Now practise your pronunciation” Pronunciation corner, and so on

I think there is a reason…

Two apparent complications make pronunciation difficult to teach and learn: Problem 1 Pronunciation is seen as mysterious, endless. It lacks a thinking tool or map Problem 2 Pronunciation is either cognitively taught when it should be physical, muscular, like teaching dance or it is taught by repetition which assumes learner is free of the grip of L1 pron. Otherwise that grip is further reinforced.

A possible resolution to 1st problem:

The chart It provides a map, a thinking tool, a complete gestalt, an all-in-one view This can be demonstrated in a few minutes

A possible resolution to the 2nd problem Physicality Teach pron physically, as a subtle inner dance. Reconnect with the muscles that make the difference. This also makes it visible. We have to develop proprioception: the inner knowing or sensing of what the muscles are doing. This can also be demonstrated in a few minutes

The muscle buttons

1. Tongue (moving forward and back)

2. Lips (spreading and bringing back, or rounding and pushing forward)

3. Jaw + tongue (moving them up and down)

4. Voice (turning it on or off, to make voiced or

unvoiced sounds)

Integrated pronunciation teaching… What might it look like?

- Provide pron at point of purchase

- Cannot retrofit pron (eg in ‘pron slots’)

- Exploit the ubiquitousness of pron

- And its systemic impact on all skills

- It is not what we do now only more of it

- And it is not more time consuming

- It is re-abled language worthy of human mind

- Sts say: “Thanks, that’s what I came for…”

Further information:

Blogs: adrianpronchart.wordpress.com demandhighelt.wordpress.com Charts: From Macmillan Online: Links to demos, videos etc in handout App: SOUNDS The pronunciation app v3 Book: Sound Foundations (Macmillan)

SOUNDS: The Pronunciation app

Helps students and teachers to study, practise and play

with British and American pronunciation

Quizes that use all four skills Phonetic and Qwerty keyboards

Summary

Allow a style of teaching that integrates:

Physicality: More like dance than like mathematics

The chart: as geographic map, worktable and pron whiteboard

Few materials needed

Visual dictation is default classroom activity Mistakes are the syllabus

We do not teach the symbols or the chart Allows full integration of pron