Teaching English Past Tense Pronunciation to ESL Learners

Teaching English past tense pronunciation is probably one of the more challenging parts of teaching the Simple Past to ESL students. It's certainly one of the more difficult things for students studying English to master. However, with a few simple pronunciation tips, ESL teachers can effectively design lesson plans and ESL learners can master pronunciation of the challenging "-ed" endings of Past Tense verbs and past participles.

When teaching English past tense pronunciation for regular Simple Past verbs, ESL and EFL students have to first be taught to add "-ed" to the end of the base form of the verb. This is easy enough for forming and spelling regular past tense verbs; the problem with pronunciation arises because students are often taught (or observe) that the "-ed" ending adds another syllable to the word. And then they always add another syllable to the past tense of the verb. For example, "worked" is erroneously pronounced "work/id/" with two syllables, instead of just one, "work/t/."

A second syllable with the "-ed" ending is only necessary when the last sound (not the last letter) is a /t/ or /d/, for example, "wanted," "decided," "needed," or "invited." The last sound for the words "want" and "invite" is /t/. The last sound for the words "decide" and "need" is /d/. These two sounds require that the added -ed ending be pronounced with an additional syllable.

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Teaching Speaking English Language Class

Teaching Speaking

Many language learners regard speaking ability as the measure of knowing a language. These learners define fluency as the ability to converse with others, much more than the ability to read, write, or comprehend oral language. They regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire, and they assess their progress in terms of their accomplishments in spoken communication.

Language learners need to recognize that speaking involves three areas of knowledge:

• Mechanics (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary): Using the right words in the right order with the correct pronunciation
• Functions (transaction and interaction): Knowing when clarity of message is essential (transaction/information exchange) and when precise understanding is not required (interaction/relationship building)
• Social and cultural rules and norms (turn-taking, rate of speech, length of pauses between speakers, relative roles of participants): Understanding how to take into account who is speaking to whom, in what circumstances, about what, and for what reason.

In the communicative model of language teaching, instructors help their students develop this body of knowledge by providing authentic practice that prepares students for real-life communication situations. They help their students develop the ability to produce grammatically correct, logically connected sentences that are appropriate to specific contexts, and to do so using acceptable (that is, comprehensible) pronunciation.

Material for this section was drawn from “Spoken language: What it is and how to teach it” by Grace Stovall Burkart, in Modules for the professional preparation of teaching assistants in foreign languages (Grace Stovall Burkart, ed.; Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1998)

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The Importance of Speaking Practice-English Speaking Skill

There are 4 key skills when you learn a language:

1. listening
2. speaking
3. reading
4. writing

Which one of these is the "Odd-One-Out"? Which one of these is different from the other three? The answer is speaking.

The other three you can do alone, on your own, without anyone else. You can listen to the radio alone. You can read a book alone. You can write a letter alone. But you can't really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be "dangerous" because men in white coats may come and take you away!!

That is why you should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak with. Where can you find people who can speak English with you? And how can you practise speaking when you are alone?
At School

If you go to a language school, you should use the opportunity to speak to your teachers and other students. When you go home, you can still practise listening, reading and writing, but you probably can't practise speaking. If your teacher asks you a question, take the opportunity to answer. Try to say as much as possible. If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students, try to say as much as possible. Don't worry about your mistakes. Just speak!
Conversation Clubs

Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another. Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you. They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee.
Shopping

If you are living in an English-speaking country, you have a wonderful opportunity. Practise speaking to the local people such as shop assistants or taxi drivers. Even if you don't want to buy anything, you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop. "How much does this cost?" "Can I pay by cheque?" "Which do you recommend?" Often you can start a real conversation - and it costs you nothing!
Pubs and Bars

Even if you don't live in an English-speaking country, there are often American, British, Irish and Australian pubs in many large cities. If you can find one of these pubs, you'll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language.
Language is all around You

Everywhere you go you find language. Shop names, street names, advertisements, notices on buses and trains... Even if you are not in an English-speaking country, there are often a lot of English words you can see when walking in the street, especially in big cities. And there are always numbers. Car numbers, telephone numbers, house numbers... How can this help you? When you walk down the street, practise reading the words and numbers that you see. Say them to yourself. It's not exactly a conversation, but it will help you to "think" in English. For example, if you walk along a line of parked cars, say the number on each car quickly as you pass it. Test yourself, to see how fast you can walk and still say each number. But don't speak too loud!
Songs and Video

Listen to the words of an English-language song that you like. Then repeat them to yourself and try to sing with the music. Repeat the words as many times as possible until they become automatic. Soon you'll be singing the whole song. Or listen to one of your favourite actors on video and repeat one or two sentences that you like. Do it until it becomes automatic. It's good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English.

Above all, don't be afraid to speak. You must try to speak, even if you make mistakes. You cannot learn without mistakes. There is a saying: "The person who never made a mistake never made anything." So think of your mistakes as something positive and useful.

Speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake, you know that you have made progress.English Speaking Skill, Chemot English Course, Weleh English Grammar

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Telling Stories - Sequencing Your Ideas- English Language Room

Telling stories is common in any language. Think of all the situations in which you can tell a story:

* Talking about your past to a friend
* Giving details about something that happened during a job interview
* Relating information about your family to your children
* Telling colleagues about what happened on a business trip

In each of these situations - and many others - you provide information about something that happened in the past. In order to help your audience understand, you need to link these ideas together. One of the most important ways to link ideas is to sequence them. Sequencing refers to the order in which events happened. These are some of the most common ways to sequence in writing or speaking:

Beginning:

Firstly,
First of all,
To start off with,
Initially,

Examples:

Firstly, I began my education in London.
First of all, I opened the cupboard.
To start off with, we decided our destination was New York.
Initially, I thought it was a bad idea, ...

Continuing:

Then,
After that,
Next,
As soon as / When + full clause,
... but then
Immediately,

Examples:

Then, I started to get worried.
After that, we knew that there would be no problem!
Next, we decided on our strategy.
As soon as we arrived, we unpacked our bags.
We were sure everything was ready, but then we discovered some unexpected problems.
Immediately, I telephoned my friend Tom.

Interruptions / New Elements to the Story:

Suddenly,
Unexpectedly,

Examples:

Suddenly, a child burst into the room with a note for Ms. Smith.
Unexpectedly, the people in the room didn't agree with the mayor.

Events Occurring at the Same Time

While / As + full clause
During + noun (noun clause)

Examples:

While we were getting ready for the trip, Jennifer was making the reservations at the travel agent's.
During the meeting, Jack came over and asked me a few questions.

Ending:

Finally,
In the end,
Eventually,
Lastly,

Examples:

Finally, I flew to London for my meeting with Jack.
In the end, he decided to postpone the project.
Eventually, we became tired and returned home.
Lastly, we felt we had had enough and went home.

When you tell stories you will also need to give reasons for actions. Here is some help with Source: http://esl.about.com

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Daily English Lesson

"catch-22"

I have sacrificed real life to be a celebrity and to give this art to people. It’s great, but it’s definitely a catch-22.”

- Rapper Kanye West on the challenges of being rich and famous.

Meaning

a problem with no good solution; when you need to have done something already in order to do it

Use

Poor Kanye West. It’s so hard being a celebrity. He has to drive all those fancy cars, wear all those expensive clothes, travel all over the world…

Hmm…that doesn’t seem so bad. But Kanye says that being a famous musician means he can’t have a normal, “real” life. At the same time, if he wanted a normal life, he’d have to sacrifice his music. He’s stuck in a no-win situation, a catch-22.

One meaning of the verb “to catch” is to trick or trap. So a catch-22 is a special kind of trap. One that involves a problem in your life that doesn’t have a simple, clear solution.

More often than not, a catch-22 refers to a situation in which it’s impossible to get the things without having them. Applying for jobs can be a catch-22. You can’t get a job without experience, but you can’t get experience without getting a job.

Joseph Heller invented the term catch-22 in his novel of the same name. The story is about about World War II soldiers who encounter frustrating situations. For instance, any soldier who is a crazy doesn’t have to fight. All you have to do is ask. But if you’re sane enough to ask, you’re considered sane enough to fight.

Examples

“The comedian Groucho Marx gave a perfect example of a catch-22 when he coined the famous phrase, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member!””

“Trying to find work when you’re young is a catch-22. You can’t get hired for a job without experience, but you can’t get experience unless you have a job!”

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Toelf Structure

Purpose of the TOEFL Test

The purpose of the TOEFL test is to evaluate the English proficiency of people who are non-native English speakers. In addition, international companies, government agencies, scholarship programs, and recruitment agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency.

CBT: The TOEFL test on computer combines many of the same question types as the traditional paper-based test with new question types that can be offered only in the computer format. This is an easy-to-use testing system for even the most basic computer users.

The Computer-Based TOEFL Test has 4 sections

Section 1: Listening
Section 2: Structure (Grammar)
Section 3: Reading
Section 4: Writing

1. Listening Comprehension:
Measures the ESL student's ability to understand North American English.

2. Structure & Written Expression
Measures the ESL student's ability to recognize language appropriate for standard written English.

3. Vocabulary & Reading Comprehension
Measures the ESL student's ability to understand non-technical reading material.

4. Essay Writing
Measures the ESL student's ability to express ideas in standard written English.

Scoring:

The score range on the CBT TOEFL Test is: 0-300. In other words, the highest possible total score is 300 points.

This breaks down in each section as a scaled score:

Listening: 0-30
Structure/Writing: 0-30
Reading Comprehension: 0-30
TOTAL SCALED SCORE: 0-300

The score from the essay in the Writing Section is included in the Structure score. The essay is graded on a scaled score of 0 to 6. 6 is the highest possible total score on the Writing Section. Note: The essay score is one sixth of the total test score.

Number of Questions in the test and the time to complete each section:

Tutorials: 7 untimed tutorials explaining in detail the exam procedure

Listening: 30 to 49 questions with 15-25 minutes to answer the questions. 40-60 minutes to complete entire section. The clock runs while you are answering questions, but not while you are listening to conversations and talks.

Structure: 20-25 questions with 15-20 minutes to complete the questions.

Reading: 44-55 questions with 70-90 minutes to complete the section (includes time spent reading passages and answering questions).

Writing: One assigned essay topic, with 30 minutes to write the essay.


How often can I take the CBT TOEFL test?

If I cancel my scores, can I take the test again?

You may take the CBT TOEFL test only once in any calendar month, even if you took the test and cancelled your scores. For example, if you test in May, you must wait until June to take it again. IMPORTANT: If you take the test more than once in a calendar month, your new scores will not be reported and your test fee will not be refunded. Violation of this policy may also result in additional action being taken.

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English Speaking Skill

Introduction
	Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode. It, like the other skills, is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words.

Listening Situations
	There are three kinds of speaking situations in which we find ourselves:
	interactive, partially interactive, and non-interactive.
	Interactive speaking situations include face-to-face conversations and telephone calls, in which we are alternately listening and speaking, and in which we have a chance to ask for clarification, repetition, or slower speech from our conversation partner. Some speaking situations are partially interactive, such as when giving a speech to a live audience, where the convention is that the audience does not interrupt the speech. The speaker nevertheless can see the audience and judge from the expressions on their faces and body language whether or not he or she is being understood.
	Some few speaking situations may be totally non-interactive, such as when recording a speech for a radio broadcast .

English Speaking Skill Micro-skills
	Here are some of the micro-skills involved in speaking. The speaker has to:
	pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so that people can distinguish them. This includes making tonal distinctions. use stress and rhythmic patterns, and intonation patterns of the language clearly enough so that people can understand what is said. use the correct forms of words. This may mean, for example, changes in the tense, case, or gender. put words together in correct word order. use vocabulary appropriately. use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situation and the relationship to the conversation partner. make clear to the listener the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, by whatever means the language uses. make the main ideas stand out from supporting ideas or information. make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what you are saying.

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