Practical and Effective Techniques for Teaching English Pronunciation

Learn practical and effective techniques for teaching English pronunciation. Explore the "Pronunciation for Teachers" course on Eduling Speak to enhance your teaching skills!

April 21, 2025 Webinar

Why Teaching Pronunciation Must Integrate Listening and Speaking

"Without listening and speaking, there is no pronunciation." This insight was shared by Dr. Linh Phung during the webinar Pronunciation Made Practical for Teachers, hosted by the Community of English Teaching Practice (CEP). Teaching pronunciation cannot be separated from listening and speaking skills. Usually, the first step is training learners to perceive pronunciation features.

10 Practical Techniques for Teaching English Pronunciation

In the webinar, Dr. Linh introduced key techniques adapted from Murcia et al. (1996) in Teaching Pronunciation, along with some newer strategies:

1. Listen and Imitate

Students listen to a model and imitate the pronunciation.

2. Phonetic Training

Use pronunciation charts and diagrams to show how and where sounds are produced.

3. Minimal Pair Drills

Practice with word pairs that differ by only one sound (e.g., bet vs. bat) but with engaging activities that are gamified or involve movement.

4. Contextualized Minimal Pairs

Embed minimal pairs into sentences to help learners recognize sounds in a meaningful context.

5. Visual Aids

Use mirrors, rubber bands, even lollipops, and other visuals to assist with sound production.

6. Tongue Twisters

Practice tongue twisters and chants containing the target sounds for engaging practice.

7. Developmental Approximation Drills

Guide learners to gradually develop accurate pronunciation (e.g., producing /w/ before /l/).

8. Vowel and Stress Shifts

Practice shifting vowel sounds and word stress (e.g., PHOtograph vs. phoTOgraphy). This is an effective way to develop awareness of word stress.

9. Reading Aloud

Have students read poems and plays or dub movie scenes to practice intonation and pronunciation.

10. Recording and Feedback

Encourage students to record their speaking and receive feedback for improvement.

Additional Techniques for Teaching Pronunciation

In addition to these techniques, Dr. Linh emphasized:

• Pronunciation must be taught in context, not just through isolated word repetition and drills. Plus, too much drilling is boring!

• Listening and recognizing sounds within sentences and passages is necessary. For example, the Eduling Speak app has picture description tasks that require students to hear the difference between the l and r sounds to complete the task successfully.

• Technology and AI tools can make learning more engaging:

  • Use AI to list words containing the target sounds (e.g., /s/ and /z/).

  • Ask AI to create stories using words you provide to target certain pronunciation features

  • Have students listen to AI-generated stories and orally answer questions about the story, which prompts them to listen to the target features and use them in speaking

The Eduling Speak app integrates listening, speaking, reading, and writing with AI-powered interaction, making it easier for teachers to design effective pronunciation activities.

Key Steps for Teaching English Pronunciation

To teach pronunciation effectively, teachers can follow these steps:

1. Briefly introduce and analyze the sound features.

2. Train students to listen and recognize and discriminate sounds and features

3. Engage in controlled practice (e.g., creative drilling through engaging activities).

4. Provide guided practice through communicative tasks with information gaps (e.g. picture description that requires the perception and/or production of the target sounds).

5. Facilitate open communicative practice, creating opportunities to use the target pronunciation features in real conversations.

   
   

Integrating Phonics into Pronunciation Teaching

Phonics helps learners connect sounds to letters, but it’s important to remember:

• Apply phonics only for words students already understand. It's really backward to teach students to connect sounds and letter for words they don't know.

• Integrate phonics instruction into broader language development activities.

Explore the Pronunciation for Teachers Course on Eduling Speak

If you want to dive deeper and gain more tools for teaching pronunciation effectively, check out the Pronunciation for Teachers course on the Eduling Speak app!

Course Content Includes:

• Key pronunciation features for clear communication.

• Vowel systems based on the Color Vowel Chart and consonants based on their place and manner of articulation.

• Word stress, pausing, rhythm, and intonation.

• Common difficult sound pairs and teaching techniques.

• Practical exercises with AI and a final assessment.

Benefits:

• Learn through short, clear videos and easy-to-understand materials.

• Study and interact via a convenient mobile app.

• Earn a certificate from Eduling International Academy upon course completion.

👉 Vietnamese teachers can register here: https://forms.gle/qxg7AibUE2Uqy2xN8(Use coupon code: CEP25 for a special tuition discount!)

Teachers outside Vietnam can register here: https://www.eduling.org/product-page/course-guide-pronunciation-for-teachers

Ready to take your pronunciation teaching skills to the next level? Start with Eduling Speak today and help your students achieve confident, accurate English pronunciation!