Give it a Go: Teaching Pronunciation to Adults

Lynda Yates & Beth Zielinski. Give it a Go: Teaching Pronunciation to Adults 2009. Published & distributed by the AMEP Research Centre on behalf of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Macquarie University Sydney NSW Table of Contents Introduction Part One Chapter 1: Pronunciation for adult learners Chapter 2: Approaches to pronunciation teaching for adults Part Two Understanding pronunciation issues for learners Chapter 1: Stress patterns Chapter 2: Consonants Chapter 3: Vowels Chapter 4: Identifying goals for learners Part Three Strategies and activities for teaching pronunciation Chapter 1: Preparing for pronunciation Chapter 2: Strategies for stress Chapter 3: Putting sounds into practice Part Four Pronunciation issues for learners from different language backgrounds Annotated Bibliography While there are a number of resources which suggest some wonderful activities for teaching pronunciation, it can be difficult to know where to start. This is particularly the case for teachers who have missed out on - or only had passing acquaintance with - the theory behind pronunciation, that is, the background knowledge to understand what learners are doing and why. Our aim is to provide teachers with both practical teaching ideas and the theoretical knowledge that will help them understand what is happening with their students' pronunciation and why. In this volume, we therefore bring together a brief and accessible overview of how pronunciation works in English, some explanations of the particular difficulties faced by learners from different backgrounds, and activities that teachers can use to help adult language learners to improve their pronunciation. Throughout, we have provided examples of real adult learners to illustrate aspects of their pronunciation and help teachers understand how to address them in their classes. Table of contents: Introduction Part One * Chapter 1: Pronunciation for adult learners * Chapter 2: Approaches to pronunciation teaching for adults Part Two: Understanding pronunciation issues for learners * Chapter 1: Stress patterns * Chapter 2: Consonants * Chapter 3: Vowels * Chapter 4: Identifying goals for learners Part Three: Strategies and activities for teaching pronunciation * Chapter 1: Preparing for pronunciation * Chapter 2: Strategies for stress * Chapter 3: Putting sounds into practice Part Four: Pronunciation issues for learners from different language backgrounds