12: Pronunciation

Best Practice 12: Pronunciation

The teacher should always model the pronunciation of new vocabulary. Not only is this something all students want help on but also, a little pronunciation work can be an especially effective filler activity to round out those last few minutes at the end of a class. Here are some tips:

DO: Get the students to repeat it, all together like in a chorus until they get it nearly right.

DO NOT: Exaggerate the pronunciation of a word for emphasis; this often confuses students.

DO: Model the word again after choral repetition and ask individual students to repeat the word one by one.

DO NOT: Worry if they cannot do it perfectly: who is?

If things get complicated, here are some tips:

• Put the word on the board and

-ask the students how many syllables it has

-then practice some stress placement (ask them which is the stressed [strong] syllable).