Fricatives and Affricates: Learning When to Go with the Flow

Two private students from two different countries with very different first languages have both been challenged by fricatives and affricates. As their teacher, I must explore all ways to guide them to clearer production. There have been some of those magical moments when instructions and production click. My ears confirm accurate production, and I’m flooded…

Don’t Avoid Contractions

I’ve had more than one student read the full form of a verb (they have) despite a text using the contraction (they’ve). Have you? Even advanced students have done this, and I think one reason is the ease of saying the full form, especially when the short form requires reduction or a glottal stop (e.g.,…

Feeling the Rhythm: Mastering Word Stress

Most of us have never likely sat at a drum set, so we’d be a bit lost if we were handed a set of drumsticks and told to play. However, drummers slip into that seat like a professional driver slides into racecar. So much of what those people do comes down to feeling — feeling…

Pairing Pronunciation with Sleep Habits

I’ve talked about sleep habits with many students over the years. It’s a topic everyone is familiar with, and the conversation naturally flows from our own patterns and observations. The conversation can take a humorous tone as we admit unhealthy practices or efforts to break bad habits. Eventually, someone comes forward as an “expert” and…

(H)ello? We Need (H)elp with Consonants.

Because we’re language teachers, our ears are trained to detect inaccuracies that could create difficulty or misunderstanding in spoken English. The challenge is how to help our students achieve clearer speech. I generally use a combination of drills, oral reading, and meaningful production such as short discussions that elicit target words. Listening tasks help confirm…

From Drills to Discussion: Practice with Vowel Sounds

Tips and ideas for teaching vowel sounds.

Who Wears Watches? (-s and -es endings)

Who still wears analog watches? Are smartwatches worth the expense? How easily can students discuss such questions with accurate pronunciation of the -s and -es endings? If you have learners who could benefit from practice saying and hearing the -s and -es endings, please view my handout. It’s designed for intermediate and advanced students. I’ve…

Pronunciation Challenge: Saying Unstressed Words

I’m no weightlifter. I use weights daily, but they’re limited to two- and three-pound free weights. However, I worked with heavier weights when I went through physical therapy, and I remember the challenge was not just to lift weights upward, but also to let them descend in a controlled manner. Lifting weights involves moving up…

Training to Hear Differences: Central Vowels and Diphthongs

I’d like to round out the set of materials I’ve been creating lately with one more handout. It’s easy enough to come up with a few words for any given sound on the spot, but having a ready-to-go list for each vowel sound is very useful. I plan to keep my PDFs handy for whenever…

Tuning In to Differences between Back Vowels

If you found the previous handout on front vowels helpful, I hope you’ll also be able to make use of this follow-up collection of drills for back vowels. These PDFs are meant for upper intermediate and advanced students. Again, I’ve included practice with individual words, phrases, and short sentences. Back Vowels_Practice Drills Featured image by…

All Ears: Learning to Hear Differences between Front Vowels

A good number of private students want to work on pronunciation, but we only meet once a week. Obviously, leaps and bounds don’t occur in the space of 30 or 60 minutes. Instead, small steps toward accuracy are taken through teacher-led training and independent practice over time. Weekly lessons are opportunities to check in with…

Last-Minute Ideas for the Holidays

We’re all counting down the days until the New Year. If you’re like me, you have a least a week of lessons left to teach before 2022. Are you open to a few timely suggestions? Short StoriesIn the previous post, I shared my plan to read L. M. Montgomery’s short story “Uncle Richard’s New Year…