DEVELOPINGTEACHERS.COM - WEEKLY TEACHING TIP - 12th May 2008

BOOKS RECOMMENDATIONS - related to the Tip below:

Speaking Clearly - P.Rogerson & J.Gilbert (CUP)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developteac

Sound Foundations - Adrian Underhill (Heinemann)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developteac

Pronunciation Practice Activities - M. Hewings (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developteac

Pronunciation Games - M.Hancock (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developteac

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http://www.developingteachers.com/books/reading.htm
Click on one of the books to get to the .com or .co.uk site or
use the search box at the bottom of the page.
To see the recommended book index:
http://developingteachers.com/books/review_index.htm

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To download the trial version of the excellent mind mapping
software & to find out more:
http://www.imindmap.com/developingteachers/

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TEACHING TIP
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Content listening

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This week we revisit & expand the area of tone units. Initially
for our students, pronunciation is all about listening &
comprehension. Our students want to understand everything,
thinking that if they miss something they won't understand the
message. As with reading, they don't transfer their mother tongue
skills. To show them that native speakers don't hear everything,
try out the following awareness activities:

Telegrams
This is a fun activity to use as a warmer & also as an
introduction to prominence.

Ask the students to write a three or four word telegram in secret
- elicit an example to give them the idea. When all have one
written, assign roles in pairs of sender & receiver. The receiver
sits in front of the sender with her/his back to the sender who
writes, letter by letter, the telegram on their partner's back
with a pen. Not with the nib - the other end so that the student
'receiving' the message can feel each letter being drawn on
her/his back.
While the message is being conveyed the receiver can write each
letter down. When all of the telegram has been written they check
to see if it has been received correctly. Then the students
change roles.

After this you could then ask the students to write their
telegrams out in full & then you could tell them about prominence
(sentence stress). E.g. we hear the prominent words - the content
words (nouns, verbs..) - not the grammar words (prepositions,
auxiliaries..). The content words carry the important
information. This is the first function of prominence - to convey
important information. The idea of telegrams is the same.
Then you could transfer this all to a listening activity - the
students listen to isolated utterances & have to mark the
stressed words/syllables. They then see if they could get the
message across with just these words - telegram style!

http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips13.htm

Thought groups
A really useful way to help our students with their listening is
to help them become aware of 'thought groups' - a term from the
excellent phonology book for learners 'Speaking Clearly' -
Rogerson & Gilbert - (CUP). These are sometimes called 'tone
units' or 'sense groups'.

Rogerson & Gilbert define 'thought groups':

'When we speak, we need to divide speech up into small 'chunks'
to help the listener understand messages. These chunks or thought
groups are groups of words which go together to express an idea
or thought. In English, we use pauses & low pitch to mark the end
of thought groups.'

A very nice way to highlight the importance is through an
activity in 'Speaking Clearly' that looks at mathematical
equations. Compare the following:

(A + B) x C = Y (A plus B, multiplied by C, equals Y)

A + (B x C) = D (A, plus B multiplied by C, equals D)

Say these two equations to yourself & note when you have to
pause. Each pause means an end of a thought group & the start of
another. You have the same words, but said in different groups,
you have different results.

So how it is interpreted depends how the utterance is separated
into chunks. The speaker chooses when to pause to make the
message clearer for the listener.

After an activity like this, there are a series of equations read
out which when calculated give an answer. If the thought groups
have been interpreted correctly, then the right answer will be
given.

(2 + 3) x 5 = 25

2 + (3 x 5) = 17

With a listening text, after explaining the concept of thought
groups with examples on the board, get your students to mark the
groups on a short text. Then they can listen to the tape to see
if they were right.

We mark the groups with slash marks at the beginning & the end of
each group. Here is a short text, similar to one in the book,
with the thought groups marked:

a. /Who shall we invite to the party?/

b. /Well, //we could ask Helen./

a. /OK,// but what about Ben?/

b. /OK// we could ask Helen & Ben,// & don't forget Josh./

a. /Yes,// Josh.// What about Sarah & John?/

b. /OK.// So,// that's Helen & Ben,// Josh //& Sarah & John./

a. /Yes./

The division of the thought groups in line 6 tells us that Josh
will be going on his own but Helen will go with Ben & Sarah with
John.

http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips20.htm

To get hold of 'Speaking Clearly' - P.Rogerson & J.Gilbert (CUP):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developteac


Listening
A procedure through listening/viewing:
1. Begin with a video with the sound turned off & the students
try to work out what is happening from the situation & the body
language - choose a fairly obvious scene.

2. Make telegram dialogues for the students to listen to. They
will immediately see that not all is necessary to understand the
message. The students then have their own one-word conversations.

3. Play a dialogue above their level & simply ask for the general
idea. In the feedback discuss whether it is necessary to get more
information in some situations. And in which situations is
detailed listening vital.

4. Continue incorporating extensive gist tasks into the listening
skills work you do in class. This will build up confidence & make
listening an enjoyable activity in class.

5. Along the way, introduce  the tone unit idea above - from
'Speaking Clearly' or your own tape. And then introduce the idea
of the tonic syllable - the last major stressed syllable in the
tone unit, where the tone changes - & secondary stresses. These
are the words that are used in the telegram activity. If you look
at the dialogue above you will see the stresses in bold - please
see the Current Tip page for this:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/currenttip.htm
More on tonic syllables & secondary stress in a future Tip.

If our students are aware of what is involved in the process of
listening, they'll be much more efficient listeners. And of
course the same goes for all the other skills as well.  

What do you think? Any more ideas, please post for all in the
Forums at:
http://forum.developingteachers.com/index.php?topic=1545.0

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The unofficial Limerick Day, the birthday of Edward Lear, is on
May 12th - check out the past Tip -'There once was an English
teacher':
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips51.htm

And on the 18th it's Museum Day - for the past Tip:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips82.htm

And also see Alicia's speaking lesson around the theme at:
http://www.developingteachers.com/plans/alicia/museums.htm