Speaking / Conversation / Pronunciation Workshop (50 mins)
Prosody Interventions 101 in the Online or Offline Speaking Fluency Classroom
Although there is sufficient research supporting the usefulness of helping students to become more intelligible with speaking, until recently, few teachers offered direct instruction of pronunciation beyond the syllable level. Increasingly, more instruction is being offered, however, due to lack of confidence or practical training, teachers continue to shy away from dealing with pronunciation in their classrooms. This workshop is meant to fill some of the gaps in training and build interest in interventions with pronunciation. The presenter will demonstrate how to use short readings and listening passages to teach prosody (particularly supragegmentals). The methods used have been implemented at high school, university, and with adults (CEFR A1~C1). Preliminary data point to a deepening of student understanding of the tendencies inherent in English speaking, increased ability to catch the topic and main ideas while listening, improved awareness of own weaknesses, and greater motivation to improve own intelligibility.
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Julia Christmas is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of International Economics at the University of Niigata Prefecture. Her research interests include Content and Language Integrated Learning, Academic Writing in CLIL settings, Pronunciation, and Professional Development for in-service Japanese Teachers of English. Contact email: jchristm@unii.ac.jp