Teach English in Gaspé - TEFL Courses

Pronunciation issues are an expected problem in both multi-lingual and monolingual classrooms. There are particular pronunciation problems depending on the native tongue of the students. For example, many learners of Asian descent have difficulty with –l and –r sounds. For learners whose native language is brazilian Portuguese, sounds such as –r and –th present the most trouble, based on our experience teaching english to adult learners in brazil. Students are unfamiliar with the –th sound, as this does not exist in brazilian Portuguese; rather –th sounds like –f (e.g. think—“fink”). It is difficult for students to train themselves properly as to where to place their tongue and even to recognize their mistakes. Some students, especially male students, refuse to pronounce the –th sound correctly because they think it sounds “homosexual”. This, in my opinion, is a cultural issue and can be a sensitive topic of discussion with some. I find it is best to explain that in the united states, homosexuals do not have a different dialect than heterosexual Americans. Showing a series of mini-clips from television shows and asking students to identify the sexuality of characters has made this point effectively clear. Also, simply telling students that you do not understand what they are saying if they repeatedly mispronounce the –th sound works effectively as well. Difficulty with an –r sound stems from the fact that the letter –r in brazilian Portuguese is most commonly pronounced as an –h, almost silent (e.g. Rock in Rio—“Hock in Hio”). Some students are better than others at remembering the correct pronunciation of the letter –r, as it does exist in their native tongue, but others have more trouble. For most, they do not realize that they are making a mistake because the “-h” sound is so natural. Even some english teachers of brazilian origin forget the correct pronunciation at times (or do not know the correct pronunciation) and therefore teach students incorrectly. With adult students, it is more difficult to train them on the correct pronunciation as their native language is so engrained. There are several teaching methods to use with students to hone in on those pronunciation problems that are most common. Most activities are appropriate for all ages, but the following are based on our experience teaching adults, both in group and individual classes: Songs are fun and stimulating for students, as you can cater to students' musical preferences. I find that song activities, especially for pronunciation sake, are most effective when accompanied by a worksheet for students to follow along. To make sure students pay special attention to problem sounds, you can leave those specific words blank and ask students to fill in the correct answer (with the correct spelling!). Tongue Twisters are interactive and students usually respond with enthusiasm. They enjoy learning common english tongue twisters and dissecting the meaning of the saying as well. It is fun to exchange tongue twisters in different languages as well. Students tend to respond even more positively when the teacher stumbles with pronunciation! Choral repetition and drilling are not the most thrilling activities for students, but often times the most effective. In my opinion, this does not work well with large groups of students because it is hard to account for each individual's participation. To avoid this, I often ask students to repeat after me as a group two or three times and then ask individual students to repeat after me one at a time. The teacher must be sensitive to those students most reluctant and offer an alternative if a student is that uncomfortable (e.g. recording). There are many more activities for students with particular pronunciation difficulties, but the above mentioned are among the most popular and effective. There are many obstacles in overcoming pronunciation problems, such as monolingual vs. multi-lingual, age, classroom size, etc. The teacher must be aware of these obstacles and react to meet the needs of each student.