1

Macmillan Online Conference 8 th November 2012

Make pronunciation physical, visible, audible!

Adrian Underhill
Visit my pron blog http://adrianpronchart.wordpress.com/

1.. Is pronunciation the Cinderella of language teaching? I have suggested that pronunciation is the CINDERELLA of language teaching in that it has been neglected, and become disconnected from other language learning activities. However I claim that if we pay attention to this Cinderella we will find something truly magnificent in terms of engagement for learners, impact on the rest of language learning, and enjoyment. I suggest that there are two significant ways to reconnect with pronunciation teaching 1. Students and teachers need a MAP in order to have a clear mental concept and sense of direction. The phonemic chart (see below) provides such a MAP because information about WHERE & HOW sounds are made is embedded in it. This chart is not just a list like some other charts. The arrangement of sounds on this chart tells you about how to make them. And the chart also becomes a worktable, a place to enquire and experiment, and where mistakes can become successes. 2. Pronunciation needs to be PHYSICAL. While grammar and vocabulary may somehow take place in the head, pronunciation is the physical aspect of language, it manifests through the body. Pronunciation is like an extraordinary dance, which has sequence, coordination, grace and beauty. This approach has a methodology to enable you and your students to discover and connect with the muscles that make the difference, to locate what I call the internal buttons. So, you can start by discovering and engaging the muscles that change the sounds. And this changes everything. And also since muscles work by moving, we gain access to the visibility of pronunciation. In summary I am proposing that by using a mental map and by making pronunciation physical we can demystify pronunciation, bring it in from the cold, and relate to it fully and profitably. 2.. The chart as map The chart contains information about HOW and WHERE sounds are made embedded into its design. Look at the TOP LEFT QUARTER of the chart. You will see the 12 vowels. Imagine that you are looking at a cross section of the mouth, from the side: The FRONT of the mouth (and the lips) are at the LEFT of this quadrant on the chart. The BACK of the mouth is at the RIGHT. The TOP of the mouth is along the top of that quadrant, and the BOTTOM of the mouth is the bottom. Straight away you can see the HIGH vowels (along the top line) and the LOW vowels (along the bottom line). And you can see the BACK vowels (to the right) and FRONT ones (to the left), and finally the two central vowels // and /3:/ in the centre This is helpful because the terms front and back refer to whether the tongue itself is front or back in the mouth, and high and low refer to whether the tongue is higher or lower in the mouth. This also corresponds with the jaw being more closed or more open. Now experiment a bit and see if

2
you can relate the position of the vowels on the chart to their position in your mouth when you say them. Remember too that neighbours on the chart are neighbours in the mouth. Now look at the first two rows of consonants below the vowels. There are 8 consonants in each row. Once again, the consonants made nearer the FRONT of the mouth are at the LEFT, and those made further BACK in the mouth are to the RIGHT. Note also that in these two rows the sounds are in unvoiced / voiced pairs.

Sound Foundations Pronunciation Chart Adrian Underhill Classroom poster available free from Macmillan ELT

3.. The physicality of pronunciation When you learn sport or dance you become more attentive to subtle muscular movements that you may not be aware of in ordinary activities. Pronunciation is no different. Here too we must help students connect with the muscles that make the difference. So, one of my first tasks during the first lessons with a new class (beginners, intermediate or advanced, teacher or student, native or non-native English speaker, its all the same) is to help them (re-)discover the main muscles that make the pronunciation difference, to locate the internal buttons that trigger the muscle movements. I do this starting with the vowels, and you can see and hear this at the link below. At the beginning it is enough to help students identify 4 such buttons (physically as well as cognitively) which enable them to get around the mouth and consciously find new positions of articulation. These muscle buttons are: 1. Tongue (moving forward and back) 2. Lips (spreading and bringing back, or rounding and pushing forward) 3. Jaw + tongue (moving them up and down) 4. Voice (turning it on or off, to make voiced or unvoiced sounds) This is the basic muscle kit you need to navigate round vowels and diphthongs, and it also transfers neatly to consonants and gets you round most of them.

3
If you would like to see and hear a demonstration of how I introduce the chart and the physicality of pronunciation try <http://www.macmillanenglish.com/webinars>

4.. How to introduce the pronunciation chart to your class The phonemic chart (pron chart) is to pronunciation what the whiteboard is to vocabulary and grammar: it is the essential workbench on which you work things out, experiment, analyse, clarify, check, test, gain insight, understand and create. However, the pron chart needs some introduction. It needs putting into circulation. You can do this two ways: Through the front door by directly teaching the sounds on the chart, and making up words and phases, or through the back door, by making use of sounds and words occurring naturally in the lesson and showing them on the chart (.by the way this is what you just said.). Once the student (and you) know their way round the chart you can get on with using it to integrate pronunciation anytime in any lesson. Here is a mix of front door and back door ways of introducing the chart: use all of them in any order and make more of your own. 1..Teach some of the sounds separately by saying them yourself, or by listening to them on a recording, or even my miming them. Have the students say the sound in isolation reasonably well, then indicate the sound on the chart 2.. Use a more opportunistic approach When a student makes a sound, perhaps while trying to pronounce a new word, and you realise it is a sound on the chart, - simply indicate that sound on the chart - tell them What you just said is this, - revise that new sound a bit later 3.. When teaching new vocabulary either write the word on the board in normal spelling, - then help the students to say it - then ask them How many sounds are there in that word? - they probably give slightly different estimates (eg 4, or 6 or 5. The point is they dont have to be right because the aim is for them to separate and identify the sounds in their inner voice. - then get the class to call out the sounds separately and in order (At this pint dont say the sounds yourself, but count them on your fingers for all the class to see) - finally ask a student to come to the chart and point out the sounds on the chart

Or say the word (or listen to a recording or in a dialogue) - then have the students say and practise it, - then you point out the word on the chart - then get one or two students to come to the chart and do the same.
When pointing out the sounds on the chart note these two rules: - The person who is pointing on the chart is silent - The rest of the ass should call out whatever sound is pointed at, right or wrong, allowing the student to correct him/herself 4.. Working with vocabulary and dictionaries, Give students some new words you want them to learn

4
- get them to find them in a dictionary - and notice the pronunciation - and say the words - then one student leaves the dictionary behind and goes to the chart to point out the word in phonemes. - if s/he makes a mistake - call another student -if she makes a mistake, give the pointer back to the first student, - and so on til the word is correctly spelt. 5.. Finding example words for the vowels - ask the students to draw an empty grid in their books, 4 squares wide and 3 squares deep. This represents the vowel grid containing the 12 vowels in the top left quadrant of the chart. - they write the phoneme symbol in the top corner of each box. - ask them to find one English word as an example for each vowel sound and write it in the correct box. They can do this for homework, or in pairs in class. - draw a big grid on the board and get everyone to come up and put their example words in the correct box in normal alphabetic spelling. Then you and the class can spend a few minutes checking them, seeing which words are in the right box, and which need to be moved to another. 6.. Simple sound game - invite students in turn to say any sound in English (!) - if in your opinion it is close enough, point to that sound on the phonemic chart - if not close enough, point outside the chart and say (as a tease) Sorry thats not English. And let them try it a little differently. 7.. Students names - instead of using vocabulary items, ask students to say their own names, with an English pronunciation (as an English speaker might say it). You can help them. - ask each to count the sounds in their name - and then come to the chart and point out their name on the chart. - this time of course everyone knows what sound the student is looking for, but still the same rules apply: the class say whatever is pointed at, wrong or right, while the person pointing does so silently, enabling them to hear what the class are saying and to correct if necessary 8.. Your familiar pronunciation exercises - do your usual pronunciation activities (for example minimal pairs) - identify the sounds you are practising on the chart - require students to come to the chart and point out the sounds or words you are practising. 9.. Give class instructions on the chart Sometimes give class your usual class instructions silently by pointing on the chart: Good morning! Please turn to page 45. OK heres the homework etc. How do you spell this word? etc

5
10.. Have a pron crib when you are starting out! - if you are not sure of the sounds, copy the pronunciation key from the front of your learner dictionary - keep it by you in class and consult it whenever you are uncertain - after a while youll find you dont need it

5.. Pronunciation and listening: using the Inner Ear and Inner Voice It is easy to think of pronunciation as just an aspect of the external speaking skill . But pronunciation activity also takes place internally, in your mind, when you do other language activities. For example:
When you read, your inner voice may be saying, and therefore pronouncing, the phrases. When you prepare to speak, an inner voice may be rehearsing the words, and therefore of course the pronunciation. When you write, you may be saying the phrases internally with your inner voice, and without thinking about it you are practising your pronunciation. Pronunciation is everywhere! And what about when you listen? Well, in this case your pronunciation is being tested all the time as you use sounds (and context) to recognise and discriminate sounds and words from each other, identifying them and fitting them into what you think is being said (and sometimes being confused by them). There is a relationship between what you can say with your mouth and what you can hear with your ears. Once you can say it, you can probably hear it, so developing pronunciation improves listening. Pronunciation affects everything! Here is a wonderful practice tip: It needs no teacher and takes no time! 1 Whenever you hear a word in English that interests you (on TV, in a shop, on the bus, at a movie, in school, in a song) just let your inner voice repeat that word a few times, so that you are hearing it internally in your minds ear! You make no external sound! Dont change the word, dont try to say it, Just let the word repeat in your minds ear, as if you are tasting it! Do this for 5 or 10 seconds, no longer. After you have done this a few times you may notice that you get better at hearing the word internally, and better at not changing the word, and better at letting it repeat itself in the original speakers accent. When you can do this, then add this second step: 2 Slow the word down in your inner ear, and simply count how many sounds it contains (for example the word how has 2 sounds, many has 4 sounds, contains has 7 sounds). It doesnt matter if you are wrong or right since the aim is to make yourself hear the sounds in a word, and by doing this you will get better at it. Again, dont take longer than 10 seconds. 3. Finally, put the sounds together to make up the word, listen to it internally again, and now, but only now, say the word (or phrase) aloud quietly to yourself (unless you want to surprise the people around you) The aim of this is to use your inner ear and your inner voice to develop your talent for sounding good when you speak, and for gaining confidence. If you have read this far, and you re interested in what this approach might offer, and would like further insight into how to do it in practice, you can see demonstrations, talks and classes online at the following links:

6
6.. Online links for ideas and demonstrations on using the phonemic chart Guided tour of the pron chart Plus demonstration of gestures and sound positions, and accompanying ppt notes. http://www.macmillanenglish.com/webinars and scroll down to 2010 WEBINAR ARCHIVE Youtube clips of some of my teacher training sessions. There are four here of between 3 and 5 minutes duration: http://www.youtube.com/macmillanelt Interview with Adrian on ELT and pronunciation http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/adrian-underhill/adrian-underhill-interview Book Sound Foundations: Learning and Teaching Pronunciation http://www.macmillanenglish.com/%5CCategory.aspx?id=28254 App, using the chart! Sounds: The Pronunciation App http://www.onestopenglish.com/skills/pronunciation/phonemic-chart-and-app/the-pronunciationapp/ My pron blog http://adrianpronchart.wordpress.com/ As a change from ELT you might like to hear Django Djazz , my jazz quartet: http://youtu.be/sGXbz4ZFbPg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6bY81nkoyE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfRgwWbASUY http://www.youtube.com/user/HotClubofHastings#p/u/0/poIsO5zk4BM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1VukTIY4sg