Phonetics for English Language Teachers

PELT – Phonetics for English Language Teachers

General Description:
With focus on the American variant, this course contrasts the phonological systems of Portuguese and English, giving an account of the major pronunciation problems our Brazilian students have. This course also enables teachers to handle pronunciation problems more effectively in class.

Course Content:
·The vowels of American English and the vowels of Brazilian Portuguese.·The consonants of American English and the consonants of Brazilian Portuguese.
·The syllable structures of Portuguese and English, Epenthesis (e.g. GOODee, BUTee, etc.)
·Features of Connected Speech (reduction, linking, assimilation, etc.)
·The origins of our students problems: the role of L1, the role of L2, etc.)
·Transcriptions (using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA))
·How to teach pronunciation (-ED ending, ‘have’ in modal perfects, ‘l’ in final position, silent-e rule, disappearing sounds, linking, awareness-raising, etc.)
·Features of Connected Speech (reduction, linking, assimilation, etc.)
·Transcriptions (using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA))

Dynamics:
Through the use of TPR, Cuisanaire rods, Silent way, drilling, listening practice, ‘odd one out’ exercises, fluency practice and many other techniques, the participants will go through the motions of pronunciation teaching with subsequent discussions of the topics presented.