Pronunciation Skills Empowered by Poetry

Alliteration can cleverly enhance the appeal of a TESOL convention session title, but the specific mention of imaginary creatures will also capture the attention of this fantasy/sci-fi fan. How could I further resist when I realized two TESOLers in Tampa would combine pronunciation and poetry in their workshop? I love integrating poems into my own lessons. Not surprisingly, I decided to attend Faster than Fairies, Faster than Witches: Pronunciation Poetry in Practice, which was presented by Aviva Katzenell and Alisha Sarubbi from the Intensive English Institute at Florida Atlantic University.

The group assembled had committed to a nearly two-hour session, and the presenters got the energy going from the first moment they began snapping and introducing themselves in rhythm. I’ve used clapping to help students feel the rhythm of English, but I now think I’m going to use snapping as well. It’s fun. The strategy of clapping or snapping as common greetings are exchanged promotes automaticity. Try it, as Aviva and Alisha did, with expressions like “Nice to meet you.” The ladies spoke with reduction as well. (“Nice to meetcha.”)

The challenge of teaching place and manner of articulation was addressed, as learners can’t see the articulators at work. Aviva and Alisha demonstrated techniques for noticing certain pronunciation aspects. For voicing, a learner can place a hand on their throat and feel the vibrations or the absence of vibrations. That’s personally my favorite technique. As an alternative, the presenters showed how placing one’s hands over the ears also works.

One of my favorite takeaways was their “flooding” strategy that involves repetition of a target sound to build muscle memory. Basically, the teacher compiles a sizable list of words that targets a phoneme (for example, a final /s/). All the words include that phoneme except for two incorrect choices that are inserted somewhere in the middle or at the end (for example, they would use final /z/ instead). As the class does a choral reading of the words, the two “interlopers” should be noticed. The readers will likely stumble over the two words that don’t belong as they realize the pattern is broken both in sound in their use of their articulators. In fact, I loved this activity so much that I was inspired to try out a variation in a short-form video format. (Stay tuned on Instagram and YouTube!)

Aviva and Alisha selected Robert Louis Stevenson’s “From a Railway Carriage” to consolidate -s final endings. (By the way, there are multiple oral readings posted on YouTube.) They stressed the benefit of noticing for long-term memory as opposed to simply telling students what the rules are for final -s endings. The teacher can guide students to identify the three rules by grouping words from the poem according to their final sounds: /s, z, əz/. This leads into a sorting task with a partner, where additional words must be placed in the correct groups.

Students then read the poem in pairs aloud after marking up the text to reflect how the -s endings will be pronounced. Use of rhythm is supported by Stevenson’s skillful writing because the poem uses the rhythm of a train.

At the next level up, students develop awareness of thought groups, learning how content words are stressed and function words aren’t. The actions of snapping, clapping, and slapping are all possible ways to strengthen their sense of rhythm. A second oral reading is done at this points with awareness of two elements. The presenters noted how the scaffolding of their tasks reflected Judy Gilbert’s Prosody Pyramid.

Aviva and Alisha also led us through two tasks targeting connected speech. First, there was the noticing task. A short set of phrases from the poem were marked up to reflect linking between a final consonant sound and a following vowel sound (e.g., “Here is a child”). Once learners grasp the concept, they must then apply it by marking up additional lines (e.g., “Bridges and houses”) and saying the thought groups aloud. The presenters emphasized how connected speech aids comprehensibility.

In a final task, the ladies challenge their learners to apply the Prosody Pyramid to yet another line from Stevenson’s poem. In the proper order, students must identify:
a. a single thought group
b. the focus word of that group
c. the stressed syllable of that word
d. the peak vowel of that stressed syllable

For instruction of vowel sounds in American English, the presenters have wholeheartedly adopted The Color Vowel Chart by Shirley Thompson and Karen Taylor and use the Color Vowel approach, which includes the flooding and finger snapping techniques mentioned above. (I’ve recommended Shirley and Karen’s app, Blue Canoe, which is based on the chart. iOS users can use my affiliate link.)

Time flew by quickly during this workshop, but we had enough time to squeeze in some modeling and practice with a second poem, “The King’s Breakfast” by A. A. Milne. (That link includes an oral reading.) Similar tasks for consolidation, implementation, and application can be done for -ed endings. Again, the text should be marked up before students begin oral reading.

With both selections, it was demonstrated that children’s poetry is a complete pronunciation package, but more than that, this genre lowers affective filters. Learners can “enjoy the power of poetry without fear of pronunciation.” Furthermore, the use of illustrations activates their schema. The tasks modeled at this workshop were collaborative and effective; even participants who were previously unclear about the rules for -s and -ed endings left fully confident and ready to teach these aspects of pronunciation.

Many thanks to the efforts, resources, and positive energy of Aviva Katzenell and Alisha Sarubbi!

Featured image by Pexels from Pixabay