Module teaching and integrating language skills lesson 1

Literature:
Liz Driscoll, Teaching listening Extra, Cambridge University Press 2004. P-54.


MODULE1. TEACHING AND INTEGRATING LANGUAGE SKILLS

LESSON 6
Theme: Integrating phonology in Language skills classes
Objective: to raise participants’ awareness of different approaches to teaching phonology.
Time: 10 min
Materials: board
► Procedure: Ask Ss the following questions and elicit a few random answers after each question:
∼ Are you being taught English phonetics in year 3 ?
∼Are the phonetic rules important? And why ?
Establish that although not every teacher of English teaches phonetics as a subject, all teachers talk with their students and that means that indirectly they teach phonology through such features as pronunciation, intonation, accent and so on. Say that sometimes teachers regard phonetics and phonology as not important for their classes, but in real life situations accent, pronunciation and intonation become important factors influencing communication.
∼ What is the difference between phonetics and phonology?
Possible answer

Differentiate between phonetics as the study of sounds in a language and how they are made and phonology which is an umbrella term covering all the supra-segmentals including stress, intonation, rhythm etc as well as the pure pronunciation of words and phonemes.

Ask Ss the following questions and elicit a few random answers after each question:

∼ How did your teachers teach pronunciation?
∼How would you like to have been taught and to be taught ?
∼ What standards of pronunciation do you follow?
∼ Do you think that students of English should try to sound like native- speakers?
Most Ss will probably admit that they follow British or American pronunciation standards. Most Ss will probably say ‘yes’. Clarify what particular accent Ss want to adopt and why.
Establish that different accents, intonation patterns, pronunciation, etc are known as ‘phonological features’. Suggest that there are different activities focused on different phonological features.