ELTWeekly Issue#31, Free eBook: English Next
By Tarun Patel
English Next was commissioned by the British Council and written by researcher David Graddol – a British applied linguist, well known as a writer, broadcaster, researcher and consultant on issues relating to global English.
The new report argues that we are already in a very new kind of environment and a new phase in the global development of English. What are the new rules and who will be the winners and who will be the losers? In this new study David Graddol suggests some of the answers by analysing demographic and economic trends in the Twenty First-Century which affect Global English and language policies worldwide and will influence its future.
Download ‘English Next’ ebook by visiting this link: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resources/books/english-next
August 29th, 2009
ELTWeekly Issue#31 Contents
By Tarun Patel
- Article: Making Effective Use of Short Stories in English Or Foreign Language Teaching
- Book of the Week: The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher
- Research Paper: New Experiment in Old Laboratory
- Article: Dictation in The English Language Classroom: Techniques of Dictation
- ETRC Announces ‘Online Contest for English Teachers 2009?
- Feedback.
ELTWeekly Issue#31, Article: Making Effective Use of Short Stories in English Or Foreign Language Teaching
By Tarun Patel
Making Effective Use of Short Stories in English Or Foreign Language Teaching
A Proven Method of Language Acquisition
One of the most effective long-term methods of learning a language is that of an on-going series of readings. In fact, among the ways native speakers of English, French and other languages continue to improve and grow their first language (L1) skills, reading ranks very high up on the list. Whether or not language learners are able to wade through a complete book or novel, reading short stories is a time-proven method of language learning and acquisition.
Edgar Allan Poe
The “invention” of the short story, then Horror story and the Detective mystery story are all credited to Edgar Allan Poe who first began publishing series of less-than-book-length stories in the mid-1830s. Many of his most popular and famous stories have been passed down through the decades and filmed as full-length feature films. Among the more noteworthy of his Horror and Detective / Mystery stories are these, my personal choices:
• The Fall of the House of Usher published September 1839
• William Wilson published in 1839
• The Murders in the Rue Morgue published in April 1841
• A Descent Into the Maelstrom published May 1841
• The Masque of the Red Death published in May 1842
• The Pit and the Pendulum published October 1842
• The Tell – Tale Heart published January 1843
• The Gold Bug published June 21, 1843
• The Black Cat published August 19, 1843
• The Premature Burial published July 31, 1844
• The Purloined Letter published in 1844
• The Cask of Admontillado published November 1846
Detailed information on Edgar Allan Poe, his life and his collected works is available from the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.
But why are short stories so useful and effective in English language teaching and learning?
Advantages of Short Stories in English Language Teaching and Learning
There are several distinct advantages in using short stories in ELT. The principal advantages include but are not limited to:
• The controlled length of short stories
• The concise writing with carefully selected vocabulary and lexis
• The use of contemporary or colloquial language
• Insertion of authentic, natural dialogue
• Short stories typically maintain high interest and attention levels
But Will Language Learners Read?
With the difficulty normally associated with getting foreign language learners to read, short stories quite readily lend themselves to capturing and holding the often brief attention spans of learners in societies which are predominantly non-reading ones. Get the learners interested in the story’s beginning and leave it from the, Poe will more than likely do the rest with his inimitable, attention-grabbing style and in-depth visual imagery.
Consider this terrifying excerpt from “The Pit and the Pendulum”:
“Down – steadily down it crept. I took a frenzied pleasure in contrasting its downward with its lateral velocity. To the right – to the left – far and wide – with the shriek and the plunge of a damned spirit; to my heart with the stealthy pace of the tiger! I alternately laughed and howled, as the one or the other idea grew predominant. Down – certainly, relentlessly down! It vibrated within three inches of my bosom! I struggled violently, furiously, to free my left arm.”
You can feel and imagine the ravings of a man slowly being tortured to death as he waits to be slowly, methodically sliced in two by the descending cold steel from which, it seems, he has no escape.
Use of Short Stories in English Language Teaching – A Never-Ending Supply
A virtually unending supply of fresh, original short stories is almost always available from a broad range of reference sites and resources such as short story contests online and in print, online and print libraries, both public and private, author and writing websites – and, Public Domain repositories like Gutenburg. English language teachers and learners need never lack for fresh, original short stories to read or use for language teaching or language learning.
Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, prolific writer, expert author and public speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 120 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” and English language teaching and learning information at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Contact the author at the above blog address for more information.
ELTWeekly Issue#31, Book of the Week: The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher
By Tarun Patel
The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher
by Harry K. Wong
Book Description
The best-selling book ever on classroom management and teaching for student achievement with over 3.3 million copies sold. The book walks a teacher, either novice or veteran, through structuring and organizing a classroom for success that can be applied at any time of the year at any grade level, pre-K through college.
The book is used in thousands of school districts, in over 100 countries, and in over 2,000 college classrooms. It’s practical, yet inspiring. But most important, it works!
The new 4th edition includes updated research, photos, and more examples of “how-to” along with an implementation DVD, “Using THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL” featuring Chelonnda Seroyer.
This is the most requested book for what works in the classroom for teacher and student success.
More Details
- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Harry K. Wong Publications; 4 edition (January 1, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0976423316
- ISBN-13: 978-0976423317
- Price: $20.98
About the Author
Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong are award-winning teachers and new teacher advocates. Harry is a native of San Francisco and is arguably the most sought-after motivational speaker in education today having given some 3000 presentations to over a million people. He has been called “Mr. Practicality” for his common sense, user-friendly, no-cost approach to managing a classroom for high-level student success. The March 2006 issue of Instructor magazine named him one of the 20 most admired people in education along with Maya Angelou, Howard Gardner, and Oprah Winfrey. He has received numerous other teaching honors.
Rosemary is from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her classroom success led to her selection as one of the first Mentor teachers in California. She has received many Silicon Valley business honors and the Southeastern Louisiana University Distinguished Alumni Award.
Profits from the sale of their book fund “The First Days of School Foundation.” That foundation has built and funds the 250 student “Wong Mean Reth Learning Academy” in the jungles of Cambodia.
Customer Reviews
I recently received a copy of the newly revised version of The First Days of School, and I love it! I’m enjoying it so much that I don’t want to rush through it. I read it a little at a time, savoring it like a wonderful piece of chocolate. Everything is clearly written, and much of what is written is quite profound in its simplicity. I love the sidebars with extra information and inspirational stories, as well as the internet links to additional resources. The page layout is attractive and easy to read. Many people are familiar with this book as a “must have” for beginning teachers, but as a 27-year veteran, I can say that this book is just as powerful today as it was when I first read it years ago. There is much wisdom tucked inside its pages!
Last night I sat down and started reading this book from the beginning and somewhat past midnight I had to force myself to put it down to go to sleep.
Why is this? It’s not that it’s such a sweeping, romantic epic — my
other bedtime reading just now is War and Peace. (Also quite good!)
Partly because I’m just very interested in teaching and everything to do
with it. But there’s something also about how it exactly models the
behaviors and attitudes the authors are trying to cultivate. It’s extremely well organized and well-paced — in a nutshell, well-managed. It’s also very inviting and warm. To make advice about posting assignments somehow draw you further into the text is quite an achievement.Erica Schoenberger
Professor
Dept of Geography and Environmental Engineering
The Johns Hopkins University
I am a high school science teacher. My principal gave my a copy of this book when I started teaching 13 years ago. Since then, I have read it every August before I start the school year.
I enjoy reviewing the components of good teaching (positive expectations, classroom management, and lesson mastery). However, my favorite part is the section called, The Teacher as a Professional. It helps me maintain a positive and professional attitude during the school year which is not always easy to do. Thank you Harry and Rosemary Wong for inspiring me to be a teacher-leader, not a worker!
ELTWeekly Issue#31, Worldwide ELT Events
By Tarun Patel
International Conference on Language Education Policies, Finland, June 7-10, 2010
(ICLET Announcement)
1st call for abstracts
We would like to invite you to the international conference on Who needs languages? Micro and macro perspectives into language education policies in Jyväskylä, Finland, June 7-10, 2010. The conference is hosted by the Centre for Applied Language Studies, Department of Languages and the Language Centre at the University of Jyväskylä. The conference offers fresh outlooks on language education policy, acknowledging its multidisciplinary and multidimensional nature, and its social, cultural and economic dimensions. Where and by whom are language education policy decisions made, explicitly and/or implicitly? How do educational systems respond to challenges of multilingual societies? Critical views will be presented in order to understand the current developments and challenges of language education from both micro and macro perspectives. The conference is simultaneously the 28th International Summer School for Applied Language Studies at the University of Jyväskylä.
The keynote speakers are Joseph LoBianco (University of Melbourne, Australia), Clara Keating (Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal), and Sue Wright (University of Portsmouth, England). In addition, workshops will be organised by invited speakers.
The programme of the conference consists of plenary sessions, invited workshops, parallel paper sessions, and poster sessions. We encourage participants to discuss issues which focus on the conference theme. Proposals for papers (20 min + 10 min for discussion) and posters should not exceed 500 words. The paper and poster proposals are submitted via the conference website (see the link at www.jyu.fi/kieliverkosto). The submissions open on October 15, 2009.
The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010. Notification of acceptance or rejection will take place by February 28, 2010, after the conference board has reviewed the submissions.
We look forward to seeing you in Jyväskylä in 2010!
For further details and pre-registration, please visit: https://www.jyu.fi/hum/laitokset/solki/tutkimus/projektit/kieliverkosto/ajankohtaista-1/conference
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19th IATEFL Hungary Conference, October 2-4, 2009
The organizing committee of the 19th annual IATEFL Hungary Conference cordially invites the members of IATEFL-Hungary and all English teachers around the world to take part in their annual conference in Budapest, 2-4 October 2009.
The title of the conference is: ‘Global skills for global needs: facing challenges in 21st century classrooms’
In our globalised world English is the language which reaches across cultures. Thus, language educators cannot ignore the many various contexts in which English is used, taught and learned when thinking about the pedagogical implications that govern everyday practice. We invite you to think together with us and explore the ramifications of English as the world language and to find solutions for possible tensions between global and local issues. Are schools ready for the challenge? Find out yourself.
If you are interested in the topic of the conference and would like to meet your colleagues at a relaxed and professionally refreshing event, join us in October.
For more information and registration forms, please go to the IATEFL Hungary website.
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ELTWeekly Issue#31, Quote of the Week
By Tarun Patel
“A teacher affects eternity he can never tell, where his influence stops.”
- Henry Brooks Adams
ELTWeekly Issue#31, Video: TESOL Methods
By Tarun Patel
In this video an EFL expert demonstrates the use of colour charts to teach English.
ELTWeekly Issue#31, Research Paper: New Experiment in Old Laboratory
By Tarun Patel
New Experiment in Old Laboratory
by G.ManjulathaDevi, Asst Prof English, Jyothishmathi Institute of Technology &Science, Karimnagar, Ph.D scholar, Kakatiya University.
E-mail: gmanjulatha@gmail.com or manjuratna1812@gmail.com
Abstract
New techniques are never incontentious in teaching for the objective of teaching is to provide everything to students they require to learn and apply what they learn. Language learning has often been argued as something that can be learnt instead of being taught. Traditional methods of teaching would acquaint the students to rules that are essential to follow while using the language, but provide little possibilities to apply what they have learned in the supervision of the taskmaster, who affectionately corrects their mistakes and teaches how to present themselves immaculately. A new approach has been longed for that would bolster confidence in learners and continue any recipe of learning not as a tedious labour but as a jovial and admiring activity. Communicative Language Approach has thus achieved significance as its salient feature is to involve the students in activities and therefore help them hone their skills by strengthening their morale to interact with people which is done in amicable teaching-learning environment.
Introduction
The glimpses at teaching methods, since we have started either to outwit or to fawn on the teaching techniques or strategies, which have been attributed to teaching a language, will unfold the fact that no teaching method is self-perpetuating. But undeniably, when students experiment with what they are learning from instruction, and discovering from exposure to the examples that are provided by the teachers, they become adept. It is only through such experimentation that students become able practitioners of language. Hence the responsibility of the instructor is to foster a practice-based study environment with orientation towards “more participatory experimental techniques.” (Knowles 1970, p. 45)
Objective of Communicative Approach
The main objective of Communicative Approach is to introduce opportunities in the classroom to communicate in second or foreign language to impart the ability to students to communicate in it in the real life situations. Traditional and Grammar-Translation methods have fulfilled the purpose of language learning to some extent and to compensate this deficiency, Communicative Method has been initiated as a new endeavour, through which the students acquire the consciousness of their body language, which will of course, leave a mark on the communicatees to study the mind of the speaker. The approach heartens the judicious use of the language and exchange of knowledge and therefore broadens the thinking faculty of the learners to strengthen their expression.
Communicative activity enlightens students’ responsibility in the participation of a performance the class, so the communicative class is generally in hurly-burly situation. It is largely done through speech and therefore, students’ raise of voice to make it audible to every presenter in the classroom, might present a picture of chaos to the classroom “Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may feel they gain confidence in using the target language in general, students are more responsible managers of their own learning.” (Larsen-Freeman 1986 )
Obviously learner is the leading light in learning process and fruits of learning are witnessed when the process of learning is not felt as a onerous activity. The complexity in learning, apart from being handicapped with poor or inadequate facilities, has its roots in the psychological state of the learner. Identification of the learners with a bend of reluctance and antipathy towards learning will efface their grudge or inferiority complex, when they are affectionately encouraged to take part in using the language.
The learners feel thrilled to participate in the activities that are set by the teachers, which they usually encounter in their regular life.. This is the method, through which, many of their doubts regarding facing certain situations, are clarified. Students feel contented because their communication problems, which make them embarrassed, are solved. The teacher continues to create more and more real life situations in the classroom and train the students to make themselves affable through spoken language and communicative language. Margie S. Berns states,” language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with the society. In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)” (Berns, 1984;p. 5 ) to study the minds of the speaker and develop communicative competence of students.
The performance of the job of learning ought to be allowed to be done by the learners themselves and the instructor should just be a facilitator of any intricacies that the process of learning might contain. This ‘learning by experience’ certainly offers its fruits of success in learning programme.Besides, identifying the obstacles that would obstruct learning need to be understood by the teacher to help the students obviate them to make their way clear for learning.
Not concentrating on the mistakes of students, acknowledging their achievements, maintaining rapport with them, and pronouncing endearments to students, are the dazzling characteristics of the instructor in Communicative Language Teaching which, with all its fixation on a student, does not seem to him a reproacher of his/her deficiencies. The invitation for the students’ total involvement in the activities with the kind extension of the cooperation of the instructor is strikingly observable in Communicative Approach which is, of course, done with a high ambition of making the students capable of expressing themselves in order to get the response.
The attractive feature of CLT as Larsen states is that, “Activities in Communicative approach often carried out by students in small groups.” (Larsen-Freeman sighted in Rao capital 2002, P. 87) These activities provide students opportunities to communicate actively and meaningfully in a second or a foreign language class
Another noteworthy attribute of CLT is “its learner centered and experience based teaching.” (Richards and Rodgers cited in Rao, 2002, p. 88) In the CLT class the teachers, along with the students are managers of learning. The teacher does not play the role of a dictator, orator, administrator or ruler but an organizer, facilitator and enlightener and saviour, therefore the students feel relaxed and confident and learning under such circumstances gains momentum.
The Application of Communicative Approach
“Teachers in communicative classroom will find themselves talking less and listening more- becoming more facilitators of their students, learning.” (Larsen-Freeman,1986) Any approach to language teaching will be effective, when the learners are involved in learning programme. According to Littlewood ‘many aspects of language will take place only through natural process, which operate when a person is involved in using the language for communication’( Littlewood, 1981) There is actually no scope for any chagrin to the educators, when they realize the root cause for the undercurrent of antipathy to learning among student community, which is because of the students’ nil participation and teachers’ total participation that ought to be vice-versa in attaining the objectives of learning.
Woddowson points out the root of the problem, ‘the learners’ deficiency in the ability to actually use the language lies in the approach itself’. (Woddowson, 1972) The learners will reveal the fund of their knowledge, when they are the participants in the activities, and it cannot be denied that their amount of learning which a consequence of their understanding is conditioned by their reading or listening. Ellis says whether the learner is a good or a poor one depends largely on his/her understanding of the language. (Ellis,1997) In Communicative Approach the learners take control of their learning and assume responsibility for their success or failure.
Reading in Communicative Approach
In Communicative Approach the traditional procedure of reading done by the teacher, while the students listen shifting their attention from observing the words printed as long as the teacher reads to listen to explanation following reading is edified. Students and teachers read together the reading material. Later they discuss together what they have read. This is to ensure that the students have comprehended the global structure of the reading material. Predictive reading activity and jigsaw reading activity can be organized to improve reading clarity of discussion about discursive and grammatical structure of the reading material and develop ability to predict.
a) Predictive reading activity
This is suitable to improve narrative comprehension. Students in groups read the narrative. Then they are asked to predict what happens next. Students in groups discuss among themselves and come to an understanding. Every group reads out its predictions to other groups. The other groups feel amused if they find their predictions similar, otherwise they argue to convince why their predictions are agreeable and others disagreeable. This is how the whole class is involved in communicative activity. All students, through exchange of ideas will improve their skill.
ii) Jigsaw reading activity
The reading material is given in paragraphs to all groups of students in the class. Each group has to identify the main ideas in the paragraphs given to it or predict what could be there in the antecedent paragraph. The group has to identify the cohesion among the sentences in the paragraph. Students do this activity by discussing with their group mates. Later one group will read out what their main ideas are and other groups will take a note of them. Likewise every group will prepare the main ideas and predictions and while they read out the other groups will prepare a report. At the end they will sum up their predictions and main ideas for global understanding.
iii Follow-up activities
The teacher asks questions about the material to get the feedback from students after their reading activity.
Tests to Improve Communicative Competence
A good test will measure the goals and objectives of the course. Assessment should test how well the learners fare when using English in their target situation. Students should be clear about what they are expected of when being tested. They should be informed in what communicative activity they are tested and what language item is tested, whether it is pronunciation or clarity or brevity of speech or intonation or vocabulary or stress. They are meant to be objective. However, Ellis and Johnson point out: “the assessment of oral communication skills- usually by giving an oral test is by its very nature subjective.” (Ellis and Johnson,1994:46) Communicative skills are tested in the way communicative language simulates real life communicative situations.
The objectives and reasons in the test should be clear to the tester and testeein the following way:
1. The purpose of the test
2. The learner’s standard
3. The length of time
4. The type of skills tested.
5. The tasks required.
6. The test methods used.
7. The way the test is assessed
Benefits of Communicative Approach
Communicative refers to activities of different types. These activities may be mere dialogues which are generally presented in usual situations.(For example, enquires of train or bus or
flight timings at bus station or railway station or air port, school admission, referring to fees and other details, route enquires like way to post-office or police-station etc.) In other case the term communicative refers to open dialogue activities (conversations) Hence the approach is as :
Ø Interaction
Ø Application of grammar
Ø Skill
a) Communicative Approach as Interaction
Communicative approach eliminates harangues of a teacher. It is an attempt to explode the hidden worthy ideas, abilities of students which is made by both parties; the learners and the pedagogues after making which, both the parties will enjoy the benefit of extra learning.
Communication happens after the input has been delivered. This is the production of language in groups. Students during interaction will produce the language that may need refinement. They may use vocabulary improperly, for example; ‘The construction of my house is in climax stage.’ Careful observation of teacher is to take a mental note of the quality of language produced, and instant implementation of methods to make it intact would help the students to greater extent. They realize not any kind of production is communicative, it should be meaningful also. Saying about anything in pairs or groups is not enough to make the utterance communicative. The interaction needs to be meaningful.
b) Communicative Approach as Application of Grammar
In communicative approach there is stress on the proficiency rather than on knowledge of second language. Most text books contain grammar headers in their tables of contents, which seems to be in contradiction with communicative manifesto. There is a big effort in language acquisition and not on learning that has priority in this teaching strategy.
“Proficiency or communicative competence is the availability to understand and convey information and feelings in a particular situation for a give purpose. In the Natural Approach we determine, for example, if the student is about to ask a native speaker how to get from one location to another understand the directions given by the native speaker. Accuracy is a small part of proficiency, but in no sense is it the only goal on not available course or even a prerequisite for the development of communicative proficiency.”
Terrell (2002)
There is no language without grammar component in it. Since it determines the correction of the language before communicative activity either grammar input is given and through output it can be assessed or later the activity, finding the need, grammar can be taught as per requirement where it is neglected because of which the language is impaired. Both strategies fetch satisfactory results in communicative approach.
Communicative Approach as skill
Krashen and Terrell argue that to acquire communicative competence the key component of the course must be to allow the student to use the language for real communication, and the exercise and drill are neither necessary nor sufficient. (Krashen &Terrell 1983)
It is almost impossible to single text book revolving round the four language skills. (Listening, speaking, reading and writing) They can be considered communicative the way they are traditionally used in classroom: “speaking, reading, writing or listening without purpose cannot be communicative [...] to be communicative, an activity in the classroom must have some informational outcome or social purpose.”(Van Patten)
Nunan stipulates that if language is a system for expressing meanings and if different learners have different communicative ends in the view, then surely their different communicative ends should be reflected in the things that learners are taught. (Nunan 1999) Language is a skill. It is developed only through practice. It is necessary to make the students read, write and speak the language as much as possible. The mistakes of the students should be carefully noted and be given explanation about the correctness of the language. They should be allowed to win the battle of learning and therefore develop confidence in themselves.
Conclusion
Although traditional grammar translation method is lampooned, it cannot be concluded that CLT is suitable for all studies in all areas. It will be more troublesome to those students who have studied in rural areas, where they have no sufficient exposure to language, and therefore cannot participate in activities that are meant for enhancing their communication skills. They feel inferior and long for the expiry of the hour. They are more convenient to listen and reproduce than to create and interact. Hence it is necessary for teachers to decide which teaching methods are to be implemented to benefit the language learners.
References
Knowles, M. (1970) The modern practice of adult education. New York: Association Press
Richards, J.C. and Rodgers, T. (1986), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: A Description and Analysis, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge
Littlewood, W. (1981), Communicative Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press
Widdowson, HG (1972), “The Teaching of English as Communication.” English Language Teaching 27, 7: 15-19 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ellis, R.C. (1997), Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Krashen, S. (1988), The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. London: Longman
Numan, D. 1999 Second Language Teaching &Learning. Boston: Heinle &Heinle Publication
Krashen, S. &Terrell,T.D. (1983), The Natural Approach, Pergamon
Larsen-Freeman.D. (1986) “Techniques and principles in language teaching.”Oxford University Press
Berns, M.S.(1984). Functional approaches to language and language teaching: Another look. In S.Savignon & M.S.Berns (Eds). “Initiatives in communicative language teaching.A book of readings”(pp,3-21). Reading MA: Addison-Wesley.
**ELTWeekly would like to thank G.ManjulathaDevi for contributing this research paper.
ELTWeekly Issue#31, Research Paper: How to teach English Pronunciation to Non-native Speakers of English: Some Useful Techniques
By Tarun Patel
How to teach English Pronunciation to Non-native Speakers of English: Some Useful Techniques
by A. RAMESH BABU (Assistant Professor in English in Kamala Institute of Technology and Sciences, Huzurabad, Karimnagar. A.P. – India)
I would like to think about a few relevant questions to discuss some useful techniques of teaching English pronunciation. First, is it necessary to teach English pronunciation to non-native speakers of English, properly in countries where English is taught as a second or a foreign language like India or Africa? I think the answer is undoubtedly ‘yes’. Whatever language we speak, we should pay special attention to the sound system of that particular language. Every language has its own peculiar features different from others providing it language-specific uniqueness. In India, when we speak English, we should, as far as, like the English and not like the speakers of Hindi/Telugu/Bengali/Kashmir/Marathi or any other language.
My second question is that in which English do we speak? Should we aim at speaking R.P. (i.e. Received Pronunciation of English) or any other variety of English? I would suggest that we should aim at speaking R.P. as long as we do not have standard General Indian English or other English and our goal should be to speak an internationally intelligible and acceptable standard of English. In a county like India, we have as many varieties of English, Urdu English, Kashmiri English, Telugu English and Tamil English etc. It is therefore necessary to speak English which is free from regional influences and which is intelligible and acceptable at the national and international levels. That is, I think, England Pronunciation.
My third question is that who should teach English pronunciation? A teacher who is systematically trained in phonetics in a reputed institute like EFLU is an ideal teacher for the purpose. Those who are interested in English literature and have a sound knowledge of the sound system of English can also teach English pronunciation effectively. We can not say that the teachers who have many certificates and many years of experiences in teaching field can teach very well but it is depend on the teacher’s hard work. But those who have no interest in English language teaching of the sound system of English, they can’t teach English pronunciation effectively.
Teaching of English pronunciation lies outside the scope of English language or literature programmers or schedules in many universities in India. It is quite ironical in the sense that the moment a non-native English teacher utters a word of a sentence in the class; she/he teaches the pronunciation of that word or sentence without even knowing it. Most of the English teachers in India pronounce in General Indian English and this
insensible and unintentional teaching of English leads to the teaching of wrong pronunciation which is profusely injurious. Here are some myths about the English language:
1. English words are not pronounced as they written.
2. There are no rules to English pronunciation.
3. Good readers don’t “sound out” words.
4. Sounding out is incompatible with understanding.
5. People who learning to sound out don’t learn a “slight” vocabulary.
If a teacher teaches in R.P, the students may not understand the words because students are habituated to pronounce in Indian English. Teachers’ mispronunciation of words or sentences is thus reflected in the speech of their students. Most of the times, English teachers are the only models to imitate for many students in the class. How can students of literature appreciate the music of Shelley’s poems when they are not consciously aware of the stress, rhythm and intonation patterns of English? Knowledge of the sound system of English not only promotes better English pronunciation but also helps in understanding and explanation of a literary text. I think it is necessary to teach English pronunciation consciously and effectively. The fact is that Spoken English has inevitably a vital role to play in the teaching of English literature. Spoken English must be taught as a part of academic discipline in our colleges and universities. If it is not, the students do not try to pronounce in R.P. We know that the teaching of English pronunciation should not be neglected, whatever be the aim of our teaching English-language or literature. We cannot avoid teaching or learning English in our universities, colleges and schools because English is a library language, link language in our multilingual country. When we introduce new grammar or vocabulary, it is important to teach our students how to pronounce the word or grammatical structure. Not only does it help them become intelligible speakers of English, it also improves their own understanding of the language.
Now our main alarm is: How to teach English in the present scheme of the things in India? To answer this important question, following are a few suggestions:
There are several theories on how to teach English pronunciation.
Most of them involve rote memorization of the pronunciation of vocabulary words and drilling. These methods can work well for some students, particularly those with mother tongues similar to English, but may leave a large portion of other classes.
The correct method for teaching English pronunciation
To teach pronunciation, start at the beginning, and break the words down into their smallest components. These are called phonemes. Phonemes are the distinct sounds that
help us differentiate words; the /p/ in pat and pan versus the /c/ in cat and can. Begin by letting students listen to these differing sounds until they can identify the various ones in class exercises. Then they can start trying to articulate on a basic level.
It is like a child learning to speak, though at an accelerated speed; phonemes are combined into words, words are strung into sentences. The process is fine tuned over time, by hearing and vocalizing the varying sounds, and intonation and syllable stress will follow. You can find diagrams of the proper way to hold the lips and tongue to properly form more difficult sounds like ‘g’ and ‘r’. These can help reduce frustration among the students when you teach sounds that are articulated inside the mouth, and watching videos of English speakers will help them to start developing proper facial expressions.
A diagnostic test, in order to detect the pronunciation problems of the students, should be conducted before teaching pronunciation. This would help in pinpointing their areas of difficulty and concentration on specific remedial measures to eradicate those problems.
Students should be taught to articulate English sounds clearly. Hence the phonetic symbols of these sounds should be introduced to the students without going into the details of phonetic terminologies and descriptions in order to avoid confusion. This would help students consult English pronouncing dictionaries for difficult words, and avoid spelling pronunciation.
Word stress should be taught while teaching vocabulary. A change in word stress leads to a change or even loss in meaning of the word. Students should therefore be given practice, rather rigorous practice, in word stress. Since in English is both fixed and free, it is difficult for non-native speakers to decide which syllable to stress.
If you have a mixed ethnic class, have the students take turns teaching each other words and phrases from their varying languages; this will foster understanding and patience as they hear different languages spoken with foreign accents. Remember, Japanese spoken with an English or American accent will sound just as different to them as accented English does to a native English speaker. This will also help them improve their pronunciation skills.
Get tapes of English speakers from around the world. Have the class listen to them, then to you as you repeat the dialogue. They can impersonates you and the speakers on the tapes, and see the differences as well as the similarities. These can all be fun group activities to include in your daily curriculum.
Pronouncing every word correctly leads to poor pronunciation! Good pronunciation comes from stressing the right words – this is because English is a time-stressed language.
Here’s How:
English is considered a stressed language while many other languages are considered syllabic. In other languages, such as French or Italian, each syllable receives equal importance (there is stress, but each syllable has its own length). English pronunciation focuses on specific stressed words while quickly gliding over the other, non-stressed, words. Stressed words are considered content words:
Nouns e.g. kitchen, Peter
principal verbs e.g. visit, construct
Adjectives e.g. beautiful, interesting
Adverbs e.g. often, carefully.
Non-stressed words are considered function words:
Determiners e.g. a, an, the
Auxiliary verbs e.g. am, is, are, was, were
Prepositions e.g. before, of, in, on
Conjunctions e.g. but, and, though
Pronouns e.g. they, she
Tips:
1. Remember that non-stressed words and syllables are often ’swallowed’ in English.
2. Always focus on pronouncing stressed words well, non-stressed words can be glided over.
3. Don’t focus on pronouncing each word. Focus on the stressed words in each sentence.
English word stress is fixed in the sense that the primary stress always falls on a particular syllable (with a few exceptions which are determined by the rhythmic pattern of the sentence in which the words occur),e.g.
?money , ?father , a?cross a?bout ,
a?head a?go, ,millio?naire, ci?garatte, syste?matic,
In English, word stress is free in the sense that it is not associated with a particular syllable of a word since sometimes primary stress falls on the first syllable, e.g.
?danger, ?valid, ?normal, ?politics, ?photo, etc.
Sometimes on the second syllable, e.g.
restri’ction, par?ticular, a?way, etc.
Sometimes on the third syllable, e.g.
nume’ration, poli?tician, culti’vation
mecha’nician, distri’bution..etc.
Sometimes on the fourth syllable, e.g.
Assim’ilation, asso’ciation, intelli’gentsia, etc
Sometimes on the fifth syllable, e.g.
Intelligi’bility, systemati’zition, and so on.
Sometimes words of the same root have different stress patterns, e.g.
‘Photograph, pho´tographer, photo´graphic phot´ogenic,
´politics, pol´litical, ´politician,
´normal, ab´normal, abno´rmality.
Sometimes words of the same root have the same stress patterns e.g.
Pro´fession, pro´fessional, pro´fessionalism,
o´rigin, o´riginal,
re´vive, re´vival, re´vivalism,
revo´lution, revo´lutionary, revo´lutionize.
Sometimes a change in the stress changes the grammatical function of the same word e.g.
´object(noun) ob´ject(verb) ´record(noun) re´cord(verb)
Similarly in compound words, sometimes primary stress falls on the first element as in
´backboard, ´grandfather, etc.
Sometimes on the second element e.g.
how´ever, after´noon.
While teaching grammar, sentence stress and rhythm can be taught effectively. English has a stress-timed rhythm. In an English sentence, the stressed syllables occur at regular intervals of time irrespective of the number of unstressed syllables between any two stressed syllables, and the time taken between the two stressed syllables is roughly the same. Faulty stress patterns and broken rhythm normally disturb the characteristic English rhythm and distort the meaning of those sentences. This is an area which is most important as well as difficult for foreign learners of English. Hence sentence stress and rhythm should be taught carefully with sufficient practice in the articulation of contracted and weak forms in the class room; they should be trained to stress all content words (meaning bearing elements) and to leave all functional or grammatical words (non-meaning elements) unstressed in a sentence. The teacher should show the stress by making a decisive downward gesture with a closed fist to indicate the stressed syllables.
Intonation can also be taught along with the teaching of grammar. There are rising tones and falling tones in English. Rising tones can be effectively taught while teaching Yes/No questions and falling tones can be taught while teaching statements. Like phonetics, intonation is also practicable. Unless we practice intonation, we can not use the correct tones in sentences. Grammatical functions of intonation should be taught effectively and rigorously using gestures and hand movements. Foreign learners of English are normally misunderstood because of the use of faulty intonation patterns. Sufficient practice is therefore needed while teaching intonation. Same words spoken with rising tune can be polite request and with a falling tune can be an order or a command and may lead to confusion and serious misunderstanding. A sentence can be spoken definitely, hesitantly, angrily or kindly: it can also be uttered with or without interest. These distinctions are generally highlighted by the tunes one uses while speaking. These tunes add something to the words(even though the words remain the same in the meaning without any change) and what is added is the speaker’s feelings at a particular moment. This way of using tunes can be defined as intonation. Intonation can be shown by upward or downward movements of the hands. Teachers should not explain intonation: they should demonstrate it. Facial expressions can also be exploited while teaching various attitudinal functions of intonation. Such techniques although simple, are more effective and more fun for students than complex system of written transcription.
Students should also be provided with a certain amount of training in listening and understanding different varieties of Standard English so that they are able to follow these forms of English, particularly R.P. For this purpose, listening hours could be arranged periodically with proper organization and preparatory work outside the class hours when gramophone records/audio/video cassettes of R.P. speakers re easily available all over India.
These are some techniques of teaching pronunciation in the English classrooms. There could be many more suggestions in this direction. If the proposed techniques are used effectively with that our students will speak English more clearly and efficiently with an intelligible and acceptable accent at the national and international levels. Students are normally attracted towards good pronunciation. We, as teachers, have to make the students to speak in R.P. English so that they even try to speak in the accurate English. It is a general observation that they find it an interesting activity and love devoting time and energy to learning English pronunciation. This shows an earnest desire to improve their English pronunciation. Teachers of English should not disappoint them. In fact they should exploit the students’ enthusiasm for their own success as effective teachers and to produce better English speakers. Teaching pronunciation can be a rewarding experience for yourself as well as your students, and devoting just a fraction of the class time each day will yield great results.
** ELTWeekly team would like to thank A. RAMESH BABU for contributing this research paper.
ELTWeekly Issue#31, Article: Dictation in The English Language Classroom: Techniques of Dictation
By Tarun Patel
Dictation in The English Language Classroom: Techniques of Dictation
by Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi
Dictation is a classroom task where a word, phrase, or sentence is spoken aloud by the teacher or heard from the voice on the audio recorder and the learners are asked to write it down.
Dictation is a new methodology for an age-old exercise. This is an attempt to put a useful but now undervalued area of work back on the language teaching map and to endow it with a methodology that makes it attractive to a broad range of teachers and learners within current approaches to language learning and teaching.
How a variety of dictation exercises can be used in an English Language class room so as to make it more appealing and interesting for the learners. Some of the tasks are as following:
I Sounds, Spellings and Pronunciations
II Text reconstruction
III The Telephone
IV Using the student’s text
V Single word dictations
VI Finding about each other
VII Thinking about meaning
VIII Where on the page?
IX Community Language Learning
I. SOUNDS & SPELLINGS
A learner who hears the sound /s/ during a dictation can write:
s, ss, se, ‘s, c, ce, sc, st, sw, ps, etc.
Look at these words with sound /s/
Us
Pass
Promise
John’s
Recite
Once
Science
Listen
Sword
Psychology
Thus a learner ought to know the different usage of the sound /s/ in order to spell correctly and this can only be achieved with practice.
Sounds, spellings and punctuation: -The tasks in this section concentrate on different aspects of the speaking or writing of English
1. Silent letter
2. Past endings
3. Interference
4. Listening for word stresses
5. Firing questions
6. Program punctuation
II. TEXT RECONSTRUCTION
Text reconstruction gives learners practice in writing with the help of a text.
1. Whistle gaps
2. Words dictation story
3. Cheating dictation
4. Cheating with mime
5. Piecing it together
6. Dictogloss
7. Mutual dictation
III. THE TELEPHONE
The telephone is an excellent device to be used as an aid for dictation.
1 Taking a message
2 Quick calls
3 Telephone tree
4 Seeking information
5 Instant lesson
IV. USING THE STUDENTS’ TEXT
Learners already have enough vocabulary to create their own texts. They themselves prepare the texts which are later dictated to them.
1. Adjective
2. Word by word
3. Before and after
4. What have I done?
5. Opinion poll
6. Half the story
7. Student story
V. SINGLE WORD DICTATION
This deals with vocabulary and offers a variety of revision and deepening exercises.
1 Connections
2 Collocations
3 Words change
4 Sounds American
5 The senses
6 Word sets
7 Picking your words
VI. FINDING OUT ABOUT EACH OTHER
Dictation can be integrated with other activities of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It can exploit the personal language and experience of the learner.
1. The Teacher’s autobiography
2. About myself
3. How can you say that?
4. Who can you say what to?
5 Stairs
VII. THINKING ABOUT MEANING
English Language is full of ambiguities. Make the learners play with meanings and make judgments about what things mean and if they mean anything.
1. Associations
2. Does it mean anything
3. Translating ambiguity
4. Qualifying sentences
5. Him or Her?
VIII WHERE ON PAGE?
In picture dictation’ we have a fairly common communication game in which students’ comprehension is checked by their ability to reproduce on paper the spatial and descriptive information that has been dictated to them. In normal use, language behaviour is generally accompanied by other activity involving the eye, the hand, the brain, etc. There is a lot to be said for reproducing this complexity in the learning situation.
IX. COMMUNITY LANGUAGE LEARNING
This is more of a communicative process. Learners dictate to each other thus developing the skills of Speaking, Listening, and Writing.
1. Student transcription
2. Community Language Learning for larger classes
3. Shadow Community Language Learning
Dictation of any kind provides a nice blend of listening, writing and checking through reading. This appeals to students whether they learn primarily in an auditory or visual or kinesthetic way.
1. Words on a picture
2. Import / export
3. Handguns
4. Around and about
5. Picture Dictation
6. Time Dictation
Dictation, thus, is a well-tried technique. This technique serves as a bridge from traditional learning to exciting new ways of teaching. It is a useful area for self -study now with available programs on computers and Microtext.
MICROTEXT: – When should the machine react to a mistake?
The moment a wrong letter is typed in?
At the end of the word in which there is a mistake.
At the first full stop.
At the end of the passage.
How should the machine react?
By writing the word correctly in a box at the top of the screen.
By flashing a question mark over the wrong letter.
By writing the sentence at the top of the screen with the type of error identified. Eg: word, segmentation, punctuation, spacing, spelling etc.
How should the machine react to mistakes from a sensory point of view?
Jumping letters
Burglar alarms
Sound effects
Music
Colour
Thus today in this world of technology, a microtext can be a useful device to aid learners in their spellings and pronunciation. Dictation today has taken on a new skill, which is the skill of Listening. There could be pre-listening tasks, while-listening tasks and post-listening tasks. The above Dictation tasks can easily be categorized under these Listening tasks. With the advent of occupations and professions like Medical Transcription, Legal transcription, Call Centers etc, developing the skill of listening has become all the more important be it in the garb of Dictation or Listening.
** ELTWeekly would like thank Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi for contributing this article.