Linda Grant Shares Teaching Strategies that Work

What is your professional background and your current position?
It’s hard for me to believe, but I’ve been pursuing my interest in both first and second language phonology for over 35 years. Before ever hearing of ESL, I got a B.S. in Speech Pathology and an M. A. in Audiology and worked in that field for seven years.

In 1979, it was my good fortune to enter the field of ESL, but it was quite by accident. The director of the Language Institute at Georgia Tech, who was a neighbor, happened to mention that he needed an ESL instructor immediately. Intrigued, I suggested that my background might be a fit, was hired, and taught ESL at Georgia Tech for the next seventeen years!

Having entered ESL through the back door, I did more than my share of professional development.  One workshop in the early 80s stands out. It was conducted by Joan Morley, the “founding mother of ESL pronunciation.”  That workshop cemented my special interest in ESL pronunciation and gave me the incentive to begin developing materials for pronunciation classes, which I ultimately reworked into my first text, Well Said.

I served for a few years as assistant director of ESL at Emory University.  Currently, I consult, conduct workshops, teach part-time in the graduate Applied Linguistics program at Georgia State University, and write. My most recent publications are Well Said Intro (2007) and Well Said, 3rd edition, (2009).

K-12 teachers often comment that they have very little time to devote to helping learners with pronunciation. How important is it that pronunciation improvement be included in the ESL curriculum?
Time is a problem. In fact, lack of time and teachers’ lack of preparation in pronunciation are two of the most common reasons pronunciation gets short shrift, whether in K-12 or higher ed classrooms.

When teachers don’t have the time for pronunciation, they may resort to drilling, haphazard correction, or addressing topics as they arise. Or they may use texts that claim to integrate pronunciation but do little more than insert tiny pronunciation practice boxes, much as afterthoughts, at the ends of the chapters – after students have done all of their speaking and listening.

None of these methods produce positive or lasting results. Some can be downright discouraging.  Like any other language skill in the curriculum, pronunciation deserves more than lip service (no pun intended). Pronunciation needs to be given sufficient time and it needs to be taught in a systematic, principled way if we want our students to internalize learning. It does not help to correct a student’s pronunciation in class unless the teacher has already taught that feature of speech.

Could you suggest a few resources for teachers who would like to learn more about how to teach pronunciation skills?
I have always believed that the best way to learn to teach pronunciation is to do it – to teach a dedicated pronunciation course two or three times - start to finish - with a good text and a good Instructor Manual.  Teachers would learn not only how to teach pronunciation but have an understanding of the sound system and how the parts interrelate. The Instructor Manuals accompanying Clear Speech, Targeting Pronunciation, and Well Said all offer novice pronunciation teachers substantial support.

Additional resources include the following:

Professional Reference Texts
Avery, P., & Ehrlich, S. (1992). Teaching American English pronunciation. Oxford:
. . . . . Oxford University Press.  [A good introductory text.]
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., & Goodwin, J. (1996). Teaching pronunciation: A
. . . . . reference for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. New York:
. . . . .Cambridge University Press. [Soon to be out in a new edition.]

Article
Levis, J., & Grant, L. (2003). Integrating pronunciation into ESL/EFL classrooms.
. . . . . TESOL Journal, 12 (2), 13-19.

Online
http://www.cambridge.org/elt/teacher-support/pdf/Gilbert-Teaching-Pronunciation.pdf
[a free, highly readable, practical booklet by Judy Gilbert on teaching the melody of speech]

If a teacher has limited time and must narrow topics to be covered, what are the key pronunciation components that should be addressed?
The core components would depend on factors such as the age, educational background, and learner goals. For example, topics would be different for students speaking English in non-native speaker – non-native speaker interactions than for students speaking English in native speaker – non-native speaker interactions.  Another example is that pronunciation for the purposes of clear speaking would be more important for young adults than for primary and middle school students.

However, clear speaking is not the only reason to teach pronunciation.  ESL students of all ages benefit from phonological awareness activities whether for clear speaking, listening comprehension, or reading development.  In general, most ESL teachers with learners from a variety of language backgrounds would meet the needs of most students by addressing any of these six concepts:

1. Thought groups or Chunking:  Speech is divided into thought groups, phrases, or chunks. Words within phrases are linked together.

2. Word Stress:  If word stress is not correct, a word may be misunderstood.

3. Vowels:  Vowels sounds in stressed syllables are clear; vowel sounds in unstressed syllables are not.

4. Rhythm:  Stressed syllables and words (content words) are generally longer; unstressed syllables and words (function words) take very little time.

5. Focus: Every phrase has a focus - often a new idea or a contrast - which usually has the highest pitch.

6. Consonants:  Final consonant sounds and final grammatical markers like –s and –ed convey meaningful information.

Can you suggest a few ways to integrate pronunciation into communicative speaking and listening activities?

1. One of the easiest ways is to teach word stress each time you teach a new vocabulary word of two or more syllables. Be sure the students can hear the stressed syllable.  Stretching a rubber band in sync with saying the stressed syllable helps reinforce the learning.

2. When presenting new vocabulary, instead of giving the words in print, dictate the words to the students. Better yet, dictate the words in typical phrasal contexts.  In this way, students develop a listening vocabulary, connect sounds and spellings, and and gain practice listening to words run together.

3. If you have transcripts of dialogs or listening passages, have students listen for and mark the text for one selected feature of speech: the focus words, the stressed words, words with –s endings, words with –ed endings, or thought group boundaries. Then they can integrate that one feature into oral practice.

4. If you are teaching a text with one of those notorious little pronunciation boxes at the end of the lesson, move the box toward the beginning of the lesson.

5. Do dictaions in chunks. Have students dictate what they wrote back to you in chunks.

You write in the 3rd edition of Well Said: "Changing your pronunciation, especially stress and rhythm, involves changes in breathing, facial expression, and movement. As a result, when you speak English, your might feel less Korean, Chinese, Russian...or Nigerian. In other words, you may feel less like yourself." Some instructors may not be aware that students may resist pronunciation change for fear of losing their accents and cultural identities. Do you think instructors should make it a point to reassure students that, as you expressed it, "...you can have speech that is accented AND clear."?

Students may not be aware that they are resisting pronunciation change either, so identity and accent are critical points to bring up.

First, there is little possibility that young adults and adult learners will ever adopt a native accent. Students need goals that are achievable.

Second, research has shown that accent and intelligibility are distinct. Speakers with strong accents can be highly intelligible. Students are relieved to learn that they don’t have to master every feature of the English sound system, just those interfering with intelligibility.

Most important, our speech patterns tell others who we are. Changing those patterns can pose a threat to one’s identity, and, consequently, affect one’s progress in pronunciation. Though some students claim they aspire to native-like accents, for those students who will never be entirely comfortable in the culture of the second or third language, it is comforting to know that they can retain their accents and be clearly understood -- or that they can adjust their pronunciation depending on the listener or the situation.

Thanks so much for including my interview in your newsletter!