Helping students to improve their pronunciation

Online teachers can help learners to develop their pronunciation in much the same way as face-to-face teachers do: by modelling pronunciation and giving learners the opportunity to practise that same pronunciation with feedback and tips from the teacher. There are tools that online teachers can exploit to benefit their students’ pronunciation.

Task

Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talk about how to help students improve their pronunciation in online lessons. Complete the sentences with a word in each gap.

1. A teacher can get close to the ______ to show the position of their mouth when producing a sound. The student can do the same to see if the position of their mouth is the same.

2. A student can ______ a lesson and listen back to evaluate and improve their pronunciation.

3. A teacher can use the ______ to show how words are linked together.

4. Students can listen and notice the pronunciation in online ______ and use it to improve their own pronunciation.

5. Students can use online tools such as Macmillan’s ______ app to practise pronouncing sounds.

Now, check your answers.

Reflect and share

What pronunciation challenges do your learners typically face? How might you help them with those challenges in a one-to-one lesson? Share your ideas in the comments.