In this workshop we will look at........Phonics and activities for teaching young learners to read.Phonetics and activities for helping students to develop listening and pronunciation skills.The schwa and how it helps students to improvelistening skills and pronunciation.

PhonicsEffective ways of teaching young learners to read.

Phonics refers to a method for teaching speakers of English to read and write that language. Phonics involves teaching how to connect the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters (e.g., that the sound /k/ can be represented by c, k, ck, ch, or q spellings) and teaching them to blend the sounds of letters together to produce approximate pronunciations of unknown words.

Children begin learning to read using phonics usually around the age of 5 or 6. Teaching English reading using phonics requires students to learn the connections between letter patterns and the sounds they represent. Phonics instruction requires the teacher to provide students with a core body of information about phonics rules, or patterns.The spelling structures for some alphabetic languages, such as Spanish, are comparativly easy, because there is nearly a one-to-one correspondence between sounds and the letter patterns that represent them. English spelling is more complex, because it attempts to represent the 40+ phonemes of the spoken language with an alphabet composed of only 26 letters (and no accents).

Synthetic phonics is a method employed to teach phonics to children when learning to read. This method involves examining every spelling within the word individually as an individual sound and then blending those sounds together. For example, shrouds would be read by pronouncing the sounds for each spelling "/, r, a, d, z/" and then blending those sounds orally to produce a spoken word, "/radz/." The goal of synthetic phonics instruction is that students identify the sound-symbol correspondences and blend their phonemes automatically.The National Research Council in the U.S.A examined the question of how best to teach reading to children and in 1998 published the results in the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children. They concluded that phonics is a very effective way to teach children to read at the word level, They found that phonics instruction must be systematic (following a sequence of increasingly challenging phonics patterns) and explicit (teaching students precisely how the patterns worked, e.g., "this is b, it stands for the /b/ sound").

The panel found that phonics instruction is an effective method of teaching reading for students from kindergarten through 6th grade, and for all children who are having difficulty learning to read. They also found that phonics instruction benefits all ages in learning to spell. They also reported that teachers need more education about effective reading instruction, both pre-service and in-service.

One of the most effective ways to start young learners reading in the classroom is to introduce them to phonics.A typical way to introduce phonics to young learners would be to have them match vocabulary words to letters/phonic sounds.

For example.Throughout the activity students should concentrate on producing the /a/ sound followed by the vocabulary word.AstronautAmbulanceAppleAntA simple activity would be to have the students run and touch the appropriate flashcard on the board.

This can be followed each class by reviewing previously taught vocabulary and then introducing the next letter of the alphabet. For example.A simple game would be to have the students sit in a circle, play music, and pass the flashcards around. When the music stops the students have to hold up their flashcard and shout out /b/ /b/ followed by the vocabulary word.Or you could have two sets of flashcards, have the students sit in a circle and pass the flashcards around. When a nominated student says /b/ /b/ followed by one of the vocabulary words, the students with the corresponding flashcards must stand up and change places.BatBoy.BallBaseball

Once you have introduced a few letters you can introduce an activity to check that your students can match the phonic sounds with the corresponding letters.Place three boxes at the front of the classroom.Scatter all of the vocabulary cards around the classroom.Take each flashcard out of the box and have the students repeat /a/ and the vocabulary and award a point if it is in the correct box.Put the students into teams of three or four and give them them 1 minute to pick up the flashcards and put in the correct box.

Once you have covered the whole alphabet it is possible to move on to reading and spelling simple consonant, vowel, consonant words.To start with you can introduce vocabulary words with the /a/ sound in the middle. For example.CatHatBatSs could start by sticking the correct word under the appropriate flashcard.RatSat

Once you have covered the whole alphabet it is possible to move on to reading and spelling simple consonant, vowel, consonant words.To start with you can introduce vocabulary words with the /a/ sound in the middle. For example.CatHatBatSs could start by sticking the correct word under the appropriate flashcard.RatSat

Then with the /e/sound as the vowel.PetVetWetJetSs could complete an activity where they have to stick the correct first consonant next to the /et/.

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You could then move on to simple CVC words with the /I/ sound in the middle and play a run and write game where the students have to run and write the correct letters by copying the word on the flashcard.FitBitLitHitPut the students into separate teams give them 1 pen for each team. Each student must run to the board and write one letter. The student must then pass the pen to the next student like a relay race.

F:\ELT conference\ff_intro.pdfF:\ELT conference\ff_book1.pdfThere are thousands of free phonics resources on the internet that you can use in your classes, here are a couple of examples from www.mes-english.com

We continue in this way, increasing the complexity of the phonic patterns in each class, always remembering to review what has been taught previously.Difficult consonant blends such as ///t/Can be taught in much the same way.Chandsh

ELT conference\Captain_Tsh.pdfSee how many you can guess!This is from www.teachchildrenesl.com

PhoneticsImproving pronunciation and listening in the ELT classroom.

Phonetics and phonetic symbols can be quite confusing for students so it is best to introduce them in stagesAn easy way to introduce phonetics to a class is to start by looking at past simple regular endings.

How many times in a class have you heard students say.......PlayedWatchedListenedWalkedUsing the /id/ sound?

Introduce the following phonetic symbols to the students by writing them on the board and drilling pronunciation.First as a group and then individually./Id//t//d/Divide the class into teams and give each team some money.Tell the teams they are going to bet on what they think the correct sound should be for the 'ed' ending. Introduce a past simple verb with a regular ending and have the students wager some of their money on a phonetic symbol.

/Id//d//t/The word isPlayedyNeededdLivedvWishedshEnjoyedCrunchedchChilledlHatedtRemember! It's the sound that the infinitive ends in, not the letter!

A voiced sound is one that vibrates in your throat when you say it. Let's do the touch test! The pronunciation depends on the sound at the end of the infinitive of the main verb and whether it is voiced or not.Touch your voice box/throat and say pack'. Now touch your throat and say save'Did you feel the difference?

/Id /infinitives that end in the sounds /t/ or /d/The final case is when the verb in the infinitive form ends in either a /d/ or /t/ sound. In this case, the ending is pronounced with the /Id/ sound. For example, the verb 'to land'. It ends with the /d/ sound, so the past tense of this regular verb is landed / /

Skits or role plays are a great way for students to practice speaking in the classroom. They are also a great way to review the phonemes and phonetic symbols you have been teaching.Here is a small A-B conversation using the past tense regular endings we have just been looking at.

A. Hi ____________ how are you?B. I'm okay thanks ___________ What about you?A. I'm not so good! I haven't finished my English homework! The teacher's going to go crazy at me! B. Haha! Last week he shouted at you so much that he nearly exploded! Why didn't you finish it?A. It's a long story! I stayed at home so I could finish my homework, but I got distracted and played on my Playstation for 3 hours! B. You played for 3 hours?! That's crazy! A. Well I still had time to finish my homework, but then I noticed that my mum was watching Hachiko: A dogs story so I watched it with her. B. You watched Hachiko: A dogs story? What's it about?A. It's about a Dog who waited for his owner after he had died. When the Dog died at the end I cried so much that I soaked the homework worksheet! I tried to read it but it was too wet, all the ink had blurred! B. That's the worst excuse I've ever heard! You cried so much that you soaked your worksheet!?The teacher will never believe you!A. Okay Mr perfect what about you? I suppose you completed your homework easily!B. Hmmmmm I finished it but it really confused me! Last week we studied all the past tense regular endings,played, dreamed, saved,passed, relaxed, baked, needed, added! I wanted to practice those, but the homework was all about past participles! A. Past participles? We haven't studied those! I'm glad I cried on my homework, it would only have confused me!B. Haha, I'm sure you're right!

Phonics charts here

Really need to print the copies if want to do activity

These phonetic symbols can be introduced and practiced as and when needed, depending on What vocabulary/grammar you are covering in class.When you have introduced sufficient phonetics into the classroom, students should be able to tackle any difficult areas of pronunciation by using the phonetics you have covered.In any good dictionary each entry is accompanied by phonetic transcription,If your students know their phonetic alphabet this is a really useful tool.Look at the paragraph on the next page and see if you can transcribe it using your phonetic alphabet. It's pretty difficult!

There is a police message for motorists in the Barnet area of London. A lorry has shed its load at the Apex Corner roundabout on the A1. You are asked to avoid the area as much as possible. South-bound traffic will be diverted for the next two hours. That is the end of the message.

As you can see, the phonetic alphabet seems like another language entirely, however, with patience, it can serve you well in improving your pronunciation.Here's the answer! How close were you?

Finally......The Schwa !

In stress-timed languages such as English, stresses occur at regular intervals.The words which are most important for communication of the message, that is, nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs, are normally stressed in connected speech.Grammar words such as auxiliary verbs, pronouns, articles, linkers and prepositions are not usually stressed, and are reduced to keep the stress pattern regular.

The Schwa is the most common sound in English, especially British English.Why?!For example, even simple questions from native speakers can be difficult for students.

What do you do?We should stress the important words.It is difficult to fit all of the words into a rhythm. So we can shorten/ unstress the none important words by using the shwa to make them fit.When students encounter native speakers, for example in the Cambridge listening exams, they often make simple mistakes with language that they know.It is really important for learners to understand unstress and the schwa.When students expect to hear all vowel sounds they sometimes fail to notice unstressed auxiliaries,leading to mistakes such as, 'What you do?' and 'They coming now.

A good way to introduce the concept of the schwa is by doing a fast dictation activity. You can also use it to review vocabulary and grammar at the same time.Firstly tell you students that you are going to read to them at normal speed, and that you won't repeat anything! Tell them to write what they hear, even if it's only one word. Then read out some sentences or questions including language recently studied in class.

Read the sentences and then give the students a few minutes to compare answers with one another. Read the sentences again and allow the students to make corrections. When you have finished, invite students up to the board to write the sentences. Allow other students to correct/offer opinions.

Say the first sentence again naturally, and ask learners which words are stressed. Repeat the sentence, trying to keep stress and intonation consistent, until learners are able to correctly identify the stressed syllables. Then point to the schwa on the phonemic chart and make a schwa sound.

1) How many brothers and sisters have you got?2) How often do you play tennis?3) What kind of music do you like?4) What time do you usually get up?5) How much does it cost?Here are the answers!Get students to repeat. Read the first sentence again and ask learners to identify the schwa sounds. Repeat the sentence naturally until students are able to do this. Ask them to identify the stress and schwas in the other sentences, working in pairs or groups.

Once this is done, you can drill the sentences by 'backchaining'

Ask your learners some comprehension questions!What kind of words are stressed?Content words, i.e. nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs.'Grammar words', i.e. auxiliary verbs, pronouns, articles, linkers, prepositionsDo stressed syllables ever contain schwa?What kinds of words are generally not stressed? Do you think this is more important for listening or speaking?No !Students usually say speaking, but actually listening and received pronunciation are more important.

Heres an example worksheet for the schwa.Sheriff Schwa!

Another good way to practice the schwa and sentence stress is to go to www.imsdb.com. Find a script from a movie and take a small 2 minute exert from it. Try and find the corresponding clip on Youtube. Have the students watch the clip and then give them 10/15 minutes to mark stressed words, find the schwa and notate their scripts.Run through the answers on the board. Give the students time to practice/make props and have them re enact the role play in class, Concentrating on stress timing and the schwa for full effect!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqVzRD_nWLQ

2. FADE IN: EXT. PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - WINTER MORNING.

A pretty, young Woman is standing on the street corner waiting for a bus. She's carrying books and looking very collegiate. A black stretch LIMOUSINE with darkened windows drives past, SLAMS ON ITS BRAKES, and backs up. The Young Woman stares at her reflection in the windows, wondering what this is all about.Finally, the REAR PASSENGER WINDOW zips down, revealing LLOYD CHRISTMAS, age 30. He's a pleasant-enough looking guy, if a little shaggy. He's wearing a dark suit. LLOYD Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the medical school? I'm supposed to be giving a lecture in twenty minutes and my driver's a bit lost.YOUNG WOMAN (heavy European accent) Go straight aheads and makes a left over za bridgeLloyd checks out her bodyLLOYD I couldn't help noticing the accent. You from Jersey? YOUNG WOMAN (unimpressed) Austria. LLOYD Austria? You're kidding. (mock-Australian accent) Well, g'day, mate. What do you say we get together later and throw a few shrimp on the barbie. The Young Woman turns her back to him and walks away. LLOYD (CONT'D) (to self) Guess I won't be going Down Under tonight... He SIGHS and zips the window back up. INT. LIMO Lloyd climbs through the driver's partition into the front seat. Then he puts a CHAUFFEUR'S CAP on his head and drives away. We see that HE'S THE DRIVER!

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