ESL Teachers: Help Your Students Improve Their Pronunciation, Listening and Reading Skills
How important is pronunciation? Very important, if your students want people to understand them! How about listening? It’s the most important way to get information in a new language. How about reading? Good students are good readers.
I want to tell you about an exciting method for improving all these skills at once—in just a few minutes a day! I use it often in my class.
You need a tape or CD read by a native speaker, and the script. The reading passages from ESL textbooks are very useful, and so are “talking books.”
* Tell your students that you’re going to help them improve their pronunciation, listening and reading skills. This will help them in both everyday conversation and ESL and academic studies.
* They listen to a short passage.
* Then they listen again, reading along with the tape. Tell them to speak in a low voice so they can both hear the tape and not disturb their classmates.
* They listen again, marking the stresses and pauses on the tapescript. (For information about stresses and pauses, please see ESL Students: Improve Your Oral Reading Skills here at ESLUnited.)
* Check the stresses and pauses as a group, replaying the tape as necessary.
* Students read along with the tape, paying attention to the stresses and pauses.
* Help them figure out the meanings of new words from the context.
* They read the passage again with the tape, this time focusing on the meaning.
* They listen again without looking. That’s it!
What are your students practicing with this method?
* Listening—for natural rhythm and pronunciation
* Listening—for meaning
* Pronunciation—they are practicing this skill with a native speaker. And s/he never gets tired of repeating the passage!
* Reading speed—they are practicing reading at the same speed as a native speaker
* Reading comprehension—by listening and reading at a normal rate of speed and with pronunciation similar to a native speaker’s, they increase their understanding.
An internet search of “paired reading” will give you varieties of this technique and inspiring success stories.
Try this method for a few minutes a day and see how fast your students’ pronunciation, listening and reading skills improve!
Margaret Welwood is an English as a Second Language Instructor, freelance writer and editor. She has taught English as a Second Language in Alberta, Canada, for over 25 years. She and her husband have raised five children and are now watching two grandchildren grow up into fascinating little people.
To sign up for Margaret’s free seven-part ESL vocabulary course for adults, click here: http://www.teachyouryoungchild.ca/registration_form.htm
To learn about how to prepare your young child for success in school, click here: http://www.teachyouryoungchild.ca
To read more of Margaret’s articles, click here: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Margaret_Welwood
I want to tell you about an exciting method for improving all these skills at once—in just a few minutes a day! I use it often in my class.
You need a tape or CD read by a native speaker, and the script. The reading passages from ESL textbooks are very useful, and so are “talking books.”
* Tell your students that you’re going to help them improve their pronunciation, listening and reading skills. This will help them in both everyday conversation and ESL and academic studies.
* They listen to a short passage.
* Then they listen again, reading along with the tape. Tell them to speak in a low voice so they can both hear the tape and not disturb their classmates.
* They listen again, marking the stresses and pauses on the tapescript. (For information about stresses and pauses, please see ESL Students: Improve Your Oral Reading Skills here at ESLUnited.)
* Check the stresses and pauses as a group, replaying the tape as necessary.
* Students read along with the tape, paying attention to the stresses and pauses.
* Help them figure out the meanings of new words from the context.
* They read the passage again with the tape, this time focusing on the meaning.
* They listen again without looking. That’s it!
What are your students practicing with this method?
* Listening—for natural rhythm and pronunciation
* Listening—for meaning
* Pronunciation—they are practicing this skill with a native speaker. And s/he never gets tired of repeating the passage!
* Reading speed—they are practicing reading at the same speed as a native speaker
* Reading comprehension—by listening and reading at a normal rate of speed and with pronunciation similar to a native speaker’s, they increase their understanding.
An internet search of “paired reading” will give you varieties of this technique and inspiring success stories.
Try this method for a few minutes a day and see how fast your students’ pronunciation, listening and reading skills improve!
Margaret Welwood is an English as a Second Language Instructor, freelance writer and editor. She has taught English as a Second Language in Alberta, Canada, for over 25 years. She and her husband have raised five children and are now watching two grandchildren grow up into fascinating little people.
To sign up for Margaret’s free seven-part ESL vocabulary course for adults, click here: http://www.teachyouryoungchild.ca/registration_form.htm
To learn about how to prepare your young child for success in school, click here: http://www.teachyouryoungchild.ca
To read more of Margaret’s articles, click here: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Margaret_Welwood
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