1. What are the characteristics of teaching-learning
materials (TLM)?
Teaching aids are cheap and easy to carry. Teaching aids
should be simple and able to adjust to classroom situations. Teaching aids make
lessons enjoyable and interesting for the students. These aids save time,
energy and the burden of a teacher. The characteristics of good
teaching-learning materials are The TLMs
need to be attractive to the children, Familiarity of TLMs will help to
introduce new concepts, Novelty of the material also attracts the children, and
the material should have utilitarian value. The role of TLMs in the classroom are to make learning
real, practical and fun for children. Teachers use TLMs to illustrate or reinforce a
skill, fact or idea. TLMs also help in bringing novelty and freshness in
classroom teaching as it relieves learners from anxiety, fear and boredom. The
TLM is a spectrum of educational materials that teacher uses in the classroom
to support specific learning objectives, to help students improve or reinforce
special skills and sometimes to make learning fun. In short, we can say
Teaching Learning Materials are must for constructive knowledge.
2.
Explain the different types of teaching aids.
The traditional teaching aids involve the usage of
blackboards, posters, globes, charts, textbooks, etc. However, as technology
grows, teaching aids have also improved a lot, and today's teaching aids are
classified into audio
aids, visual aids, mechanical teaching aids, audio-visual aids, and more.
Different
list of teaching aids classified as follows:
Traditional
Teaching Aids: Traditional teaching aids include learning through Books,
Periodicals, Blackboard etc.
Visual
Teaching Aids: Visual Teaching aids include posters, model, figure, chart,
graph etc. It also includes graphics such as diagrams, cut-outs, globe,
objects, cartoon, info-graphs, bulletin board, flannel board, picture, map and
others.
Mechanical
Teaching Aids: Mechanical teaching aids include an Audio teaching machine,
tape recorder, radio, motion picture, Projector, epidiascope, filmstrips.
Audio-Visual
Teaching Aids: This type of teaching aid includes video, Cassettes, Films,
television, and others.
Visual
Material Teaching Aids: Outline charts, organization charts, tabular
charts, flow charts etc. are also used in visual Material Teaching aids.
3.
List any two important teaching aids and
explain them in detail.
Visual aids are the most essential
teaching aid that teachers always use in their teaching-learning process every
day. Books, blackboards, indicators, pictures, maps, graphs, bulletin boards,
museums, projectors are necessary visual aids.
Books:
A textbook is
a collection of the knowledge, concepts, and principles of a selected topic or
course. It's usually written by one or more teachers, college professors, or
education experts who are authorities in a specific field. Most textbooks are
accompanied by teacher guides, which provide you with supplemental teaching
materials, ideas, and activities to use throughout the academic year.
Textbooks
provide you with several advantages in the classroom:
Textbooks
are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to be covered and the design of each lesson are carefully
spelled out in detail.
Textbooks
provide organized units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons
you need to cover a topic in some detail.
A textbook
series provides you with a balanced, chronological presentation of information.
Textbooks
are a detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell you what to do and when to do it. There are no
surprises—everything is carefully spelled out.
Textbooks
provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is
typically based on the latest research and teaching strategies. Good textbooks
are excellent teaching aids. They're a resource for both teachers and students.
Blackboard is a teaching aid with a reusable writing surface. The teacher
uses the blackboard to facilitate learning, improve reading skills and present
new lessons. The blackboard is probably the simplest, cheapest, most
convenient, and widely used non-projected visual aid in extension teaching.
Using Blackboard can be helpful to you and your
students. Blackboard is a course management system that allows you
to provide content to students in a central location, communicate with
students quickly, and provide grades in an electronic format to students.
4.
How do students commit spelling errors?
The major cause of the of learners' spelling errors is due to
the wrong
use of vowels and pronunciation. Why do
students commit spelling mistakes?
Due to deficiency of teachers' guidance, lack of
proper spelling instruction at schools, they do not know how to produce a word
correctly for appropriate spelling. Poor Reading and Listening Skill: According
to majority of the students, they committed spelling errors due poor reading
and listening skill. Common Spelling Errors and caused by students
due to Single/Double Letters. Sometimes, you may be getting confused in some
words as to whether you should put a single letter or double letters in those
words. ...
Silent
Letters. ...
Position of
'i' and 'e' ...
Confusion
with 'or' and 'er' ...
Writing How
you Speak. ...
Words that
Sound Similar.
5.
How can errors and mistakes be avoided in
class-room teaching/
A grammatical error is an instance of
faulty or controversial language use. It makes it hard for the reader to
understand what you're saying. One of the most common grammar errors is to have
a subject and a verb that don't agree in number. Whenever a sentence has a
single subject, it should use a singular verb (such as
"he is"). When a sentence has multiple subjects, it should use a
plural verb (such as "they are").
Pronoun mistakes occur in sentences where the pronoun
does not agree in number with the noun to which it
refers.
A modifier is a word or phrase that gives
the reader more information about a subject.
It's important to make sure your modifiers
are attached to the right subject in the sentence.
If they are not, the modifier becomes
a dangling modifier, which is a word or clause that's
attached to the incorrect subject.
Sentence fragments occur when you write a sentence that
doesn't include a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. If you've forgotten
to include a subject or a verb in the sentence, that means your sentence is
incomplete. That's why we call it a fragment—it's only one part of the whole.
There can either be an adverb, adjective, or pronoun
depending on how it is used, and usually indicates place.
Their is a plural possessive pronoun that
means “belonging to them.”
Mixing up which and that is
a common grammatical error made by experienced and novice writers alike. These
two words serve similar functions in a sentence, but they are not
interchangeable.
The word which should
be used to introduce non-restrictive clauses—an additional, but not essential,
part of a sentence.
The word that introduces
a restrictive clause, which is a necessary part of a sentence that cannot be
removed.
Who and whom are
two commonly confused pronouns. Who refers to the subject
of a sentence, while whom refers to the object of a
sentence.
6.
How do you rectify concord errors in English?
Concord is the relationship between the subject (Who or what the sentence is
about) and the verb in a sentence. If the subject is singular, the verb
must also be singular. If the subject is in the plural form, the verb must also
be in the plural form.
In the above sentence, the subject is “Group” and it is in the singular. (Do not
get confused by the word, “Boys, “ which is in the plural). The sentence is
about a group; boys are mentioned only as a way of specifying what the group is
made up of.
The verb in this sentence is, “Are
hoping.” The word, “Hoping,” is the main verb describing
the action being done and the verb, “Are,” is the auxiliary
verb helping us to quantify how many people are doing the action of
hoping. “Are,” refers to many people and therefore makes the verb plural.
The relationship between the subject and
verb is therefore faulty because we have a Singular
Subject-Plural Verb situation. To correct a concord error, one must always change the verb, not
the subject. What or who the sentence is about must not change just
because you want to have correct concord.
After changing the verb, “Are,” to the
singular form (“Is”), a Singular Subject-Singular Verb relationship
is created. The new corrected sentence thus reads:
The group of clever students is hoping to earn
distinctions in all their examinations.
What are
the possible mistakes that may be committed by teachers?
Mother Tongue Influence (MTI) is a major
challenge when teaching English to Indian students. This is because Indian
languages and English have different phonetic structures. In India, there are
many different dialects and languages spoken, each with its own unique set of
sounds and pronunciation patterns.
1. Don't use imprecise language in teacher talk.
Studies have shown that
teacher-talk helps students learn the terminology that they will later use and
provides a model for the students' own use of language. If you talk about
"words" or "doing-words" so will they.
INSTEAD, start with the basics. Don't talk about
"words" talk about nouns, verbs, adjectives etc.
Modelling should not stifle
students but
allow them to have fun with their work. Copying is passive, boring and although
it may tick boxes, feels a little bit like plagiarism. Modelling when done well can transform learning, but it is
complex and can go wrong. It needs to be an embedded technique that students
are used to, along with all the mistakes that they will make along the
way.
Grammar really does deserve better
treatment than this. Research shows that teaching grammar exercises by
worksheet or rote learning does not work. It is also boring and turns students off
learning. Drill should not
be banned but used as a tool in the correct place when needed.
By using a drill activity for writing,
then seeing it used in context before being asked to try it in their own
writing, the grammar is contextualised, helps with learning and helps with
the memory processes needed to learn. Do use drill, but like sugar, use
sparingly and for maximum effect.
Grammar in speech is just as important. When children from disadvantaged backgrounds start
school, not only do they have a disadvantage in the words that they know and
can understand but also a disadvantage in the grammatical constructions
that they use in speech. Speech has an impact on learning in two ways: the language they
hear and the language they use. If a student can't say it, then they won't
write it.
INSTEAD, make sure students use correct grammar in
their speech and are corrected if they do not. Sloppy speech = sloppy writing.
Give some
examples of common error committed while using ‘articles’ in English
7.
Common errors in the use of
articles
Incorrect:
We live in village.
Correct: We
live in a village. OR We live in the village.
Incorrect:
She works in pub.
Correct:
She works in a pub. OR She works in the pub.
A singular
common noun (e.g. boy, girl, tree, country, teacher, village etc.) must have an
article. A plural common noun can be used with or without an article.
Incorrect:
He is best player in the team.
Correct: He
is the best player in the team.
Incorrect:
She is fastest runner.
Correct:
She is the fastest runner.
The
definite article the must be used with superlative adjectives.
Incorrect:
The Paris is big city.
Correct:
Paris is a big city.
Incorrect:
I live in the Mumbai.
Correct: I
live in Mumbai.
If the noun
is proper it will take no article. Note that a proper noun is the name of a
particular person, place or thing. Examples are: Sam, Mary, India, Paris,
London etc.
Incorrect:
The iron is a useful metal.
Correct:
Iron is a useful metal.
Incorrect:
The gold is yellow.
Correct:
Gold is yellow.
Articles
are not used with material nouns. Examples are: gold, silver, iron, wheat, rice
etc.
Incorrect:
We should not make noise.
Correct: We
should not make a noise.
Incorrect:
I have an urgent business.
Correct: I
have urgent business. OR I have some urgent business.
Note these
fixed expressions.
Incorrect:
Do you sell eggs by kilo or by dozen?
Correct: Do
you sell eggs by the kilo or by the dozen?
8.
Suggest a few remedial strategies to avoid
errors and mistakes.
Use much if the
noun is non-countable (e.g., water, sand). Use many if the noun
is countable (e.g., oranges, children). For example:
I don't
have much money.
They own many houses.
few vs little
A very common English mistake is the wrong
use of little and few.
Remember that little refers to non-countable nouns,
and is used with the singular form to indicate that something exists only in a
small amount or to a slight degree. Few, on the other
hand, refers to countable nouns, and is used with the plural form to indicate
not many persons or things. For example:
I've got little money
left in my account.
Ben has few friends
in London.
some vs any
One way to avoid common English mistakes
is to keep in mind that you use some when the
context is positive and any when it is negative.
Additionally, use any in most cases when asking a question.
For example:
I have some money
/ I don't have any money
I put some jam
in the sandwich / I didn't put any jam
in the sandwich
some vs many
Use some in a
positive context when you don't want to specify the number or quantity.
Use many with countable nouns, when you want to
refer to a large but indefinite number. For example:
I bought some apples
/ I bought many apples.
She made some friends
in NY / She made many friends in NY
little vs less
Little refers to non-countable nouns, and
is used with the singular form. Less is the
comparative form of little. Use less in
comparative structures, especially before uncountable nouns. For example:
I have less homework
to do today than I had yesterday.
I have little homework
to do before I leave.
a little vs a lot
Use a lot for
non-countable nouns (e.g., jam, time) to indicate many, or a large number.
Use a little for non-countable nouns to indicate a
small number. Notice that a lot is followed by the word of (unlike a little).
For example:
I don't have a lot of
money.
I owe him a little money.
fewer vs less
Less is the comparative form of little.
It is used especially before uncountable nouns. Fewer is
the comparative of few. It is used before plural nouns.
For example:
Jeff drinks less alcohol
than John.
I have fewer pairs
of shoes than I used to have.
farther vs further
As a rule of thumb, use farther to
indicate physical distance and further to indicate
metaphorical, or figurative, distance. For example:
How much farther is
the sun than the moon?
The product needs further testing.
later vs latter
Use later when
referring to time. Use latter when referring to the
second of two persons or things mentioned previously. For example:
Brenda said that she would call me later.
"There are two kinds of worries:
those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on
the latter." (Duke Ellington)
last vs latter
Use latter to
refer to the second of two persons or things that have been mentioned. When
more than two have been mentioned, use last. For example:
He preferred oranges to apples, because
the latter were not as juicy.
He saw Leathal Weapon 1, 2, and 3 and
liked the last one most.
9. Explain error analysis in language learning
Error analysis is defined as a technique
for identifying, classifying, and systematically interpreting the unacceptable
form produced by someone learning a foreign language, using any of the
principles and procedures provided by linguistics. Error can be classified
according to basic type: omissive, additive, substitutive or related to
word order. They can be classified by how apparent they are: overt errors such
as "I angry" are obvious even out of context, whereas covert errors
are evident only in context. Errors analysis helps learners to create
connections between ideas and concepts. Errors analysis help teachers to
understand the weak lesson of the students so that they can improve them by
applying different teaching-learning methods. While interlingual errors are
caused mainly by mother tongue interference, intralingual or developmental
errors originate in the following factors: simplification, overgeneralization,
hypercorrection, faulty teaching, fossilization, avoidance, inadequate
learning, and false concepts hypothesized. The aim of error analysis is to
find and to know the characteristics of error that is done by students in their
writing and make reconstruction in the students writing. The error analysis is
not only done for correcting but also reflecting for the learning and teaching
strategies to be made.
10. What are the
various factors of committing errors?
The two major causes of error, coined by
the error analysis approach, are the Interlingual error which is an error made
by the Learner's Linguistic background and Native language interference, and
the Intralingual error which is the error committed by the learners when they
misuse some Target Language rules. It reveals that the errors found are
classified into 24 types, and the top ten most common errors committed by the
students are article, preposition, spelling, word choice, subject-verb
agreement, auxiliary verb, plural form, verb form, capital letter, and
meaningless sentences. Sources of error are divided into 5 types,
namely interlingual errors, intralingual errors, teacher-induced errors,
language-learning strategies, and communication strategies. Interlingual errors
are errors caused by the source language or language that the learner has.
There are many kinds of errors that may be produced by language learners, both
second and foreign languages. For example, spelling errors (mashroom, successfull,
deligent, etc), grammatical errors (I cooking fried rice, she have a lot of
money, game was begun, John reads book everyday, etc). According to Keshavarz
(2012: 89), errors are classified into 4 categories, namely orthographic
errors, phonological errors, lexico-semantic errors (errors between words and
meanings), and morphological-syntactic (errors between word forms and
grammar).In addition to the 4 categories of errors above, Kotsyuk (2015: 393)
added several categories of errors namely punctuation errors and style errors.
Punctuation errors are those related to punctuation such as periods (.), Commas
(,), semicolons (;), upper quotes ("), question marks (?), Exclamation
points (!), and so on. For example: each sentence usually ends with a question mark
(?). If there is a question sentence with an exclamation point (!) Then the
sentence has an error in its punctuation. Style errors are those regarding the
format that is not appropriate, for example, there is no space after the comma
punctuation (I have novels, drama, and poetry) or capital letters (john has
many books).
11. Is error a problem
or a teaching strategy? Offer your perspectives.
Controlled error is highly motivating in
the learning process because the possibility of undoing a wrong action,
without leaving sequelae, helps the learner to participate without fear,
reinforce knowledge and predict errors that have already been experienced in
each performance. Making mistakes is part and parcel of learning. If
used constructively, errors can be a wonderful tool in a teacher’s
stockpile of resources for instructing students. Another extensively used
resource is visual presentation — the art of conveying an idea or concept with
a picture, a diagram, or flow chart. A recent
study shows
that these two teaching aids can be combined to help students gain
a better understanding of abstract concepts. The study demonstrates that
when students are given a flawed diagram explaining a concept and
asked to spot and explain errors in it, they attain a better grasp of that
concept than those asked to learn with accurate diagrams. However, this
approach requires three specific conditions — that the symbology in
a diagram must be absolutely clear, that students must already have
a good understanding of the subject, and finally, students must be willing
to study such diagrams closely and thoroughly. The idea of deliberately
introducing errors, a concept known as ‘negative
knowledge’ or the ‘knowledge of how something is not, in contrast
to how it really is’ has been applied
in teaching mathematics, its use in classrooms to tackle conceptual
misunderstandings however, is not widespread. However, a student in
a hurry may simply memorize the wrong facts without bothering to check the
instructions accompanying the material. In conclusion, deliberately introduced
errors in visual aids can foster an error-tolerant classroom culture by showing
that learning from errors is not only possible, but also desirable.
12. Committing errors
are inevitable. Do you agree? – justify
Most, if not all, of your mistakes, can be
excellent learning opportunities. In fact, learning from failure is often the key to success.
By getting things wrong, you'll improve your skills and grow in various ways.
If you're learning, you won't go wrong. Foreign language learning is a process of
hypothesis and trial and error occurrence is inevitable. So the teacher
should learn to tolerate some errors, especially some local errors. Errors bear the
potential to improve knowledge acquisition, provided that learners are able to
deal with them in an adaptive and reflexive manner. However, learners experience a
host of different—often impeding or maladaptive—emotional and motivational
states in the face of academic errors.
When you,
or one of your team members, make a mistake:
Own up to
it. ...
Reframe
your mistake as an opportunity to learn and develop.
Review what
went wrong, to understand and learn from your mistake.
Identify
the skills, knowledge, resources, or tools that will keep you from repeating
the error.
Review your
progress.
11. Define
Stress and Intonation
Stress and intonation are important
elements of speaking that can greatly impact how a message is perceived by the
listener. Stress refers to the emphasis placed on particular syllables or
words, while intonation refers to the melody or pitch changes used in speech to
convey meaning.
Stress in
Speaking:
Stress is often used in speaking to convey
emphasis, contrast, and importance. By placing emphasis on a particular word or
syllable, speakers can draw attention to important information and convey
meaning more effectively. For example, in the sentence "I didn't say he
stole the money", the meaning can be changed depending on which word is
stressed. If the word "didn't" is stressed, it implies that someone
else said he stole the money. If the word "say" is stressed, it implies
that the speaker communicated the information in a different way, such as
through body language.
Practicing stress in speaking can help you
convey emphasis and importance in your message. Here are some ways to practice
stress:
Use stress in everyday speech: Make a
conscious effort to stress important words in your everyday speech. This can be
as simple as emphasizing key words when you're telling a story or making a
point.
Practice with tongue twisters: Tongue
twisters are a great way to practice stress because they often contain words
with multiple syllables. Try saying tongue twisters slowly and then gradually
increasing your speed while maintaining the correct stress patterns.
Record yourself and listen back: Record
yourself speaking and listen back to it. Pay attention to your stress patterns
and identify areas where you can improve.
Practice with poetry: Poetry often
contains stressed and unstressed syllables, making it a great tool for
practicing stress. Choose a poem and practice reading it aloud with the correct
stress patterns.
Practice with dialogue: Practice dialogue
with a partner and experiment with different stress patterns to convey
different emotions and attitudes. Focus on using appropriate stress patterns
for questions, statements, and exclamations.
Intonation in
Speaking:
Intonation refers to the melody or pitch
changes used in speech to convey meaning. It can include changes in pitch,
tone, and stress within a sentence or phrase. Intonation is particularly
important in conveying emotions and attitudes in speech. For example, a
high-pitched, excited intonation might be used to convey enthusiasm or joy,
while a low, monotone intonation might be used to convey boredom or
disinterest. In English, there are two main types of intonation patterns:
rising and falling. A rising intonation indicates a question or uncertainty,
while a falling intonation indicates a statement or assertion. For example, the
sentence "You're coming with me?" would typically have a rising
intonation, indicating a question, while the sentence "You're coming with
me." would typically have a falling intonation, indicating a statement.
Practicing intonation can greatly improve
your speaking skills and help you convey your message more effectively.
Effective use of stress and intonation in
speaking can greatly enhance the clarity and impact of a message. By
emphasizing important words or using appropriate intonation patterns, speakers
can help ensure that their message is received and understood as intended.
12. Write a note
on the sound system in English
The English Sound System is complicated
for a number of reasons. One is that English is in fact a “Creole”, a language
that has developed from several other languages, especially French, Latin and
Greek words being especially common.
Phonology is a word that comes from Greek,
and means the study of (logos) sound (phono). Phonetics is the writing of
sounds, and includes all of the sounds you can hear in a language whether they
are significant or not. Phonetic symbols are usually written in square brackets.
Phonemics is about the significant sounds in a language, and they are usually
written between slash brackets / /. For example, there are a number of
different /p/ sounds in English. There is the [ph ] sound that is generally
heard at the beginning of a word along with a small aspiration of air.
Every language has
a limited number of speech sounds. All speech sounds including the English
sounds are usually classified into two broad categories: vowels and consonants.
There are 24 consonants and 20 vowels in English language. The air comes out
freely through the mouth in the production of vowels. There is no partial or
complete closure of the air-passage. There is no narrowing in the passage,
which makes audible friction or noise. Therefore, vowels are voiced sounds. “A
consonant is a speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed,
and which forms a syllable combined with a vowel”. Many modern phoneticians and
linguists, such as Daniel Jones, Bloch, and Trager, agree that a consonant is a
sound that is articulated by a complete or partial closure of the breath.
During the production of a consonant, the movement of air from the lungs is
obstructed because of the narrowing or the complete closure of the air passage.
Thus, consonants are either voiced or voiceless.
13. List and name the
consonant sounds in English
Consonants There are 24 consonant sounds
in most English accents, conveyed by 21 letters of the regular English alphabet
(sometimes in combination, e.g., ch and th). THE CONSONANTS OF ENGLISH Sound:
English Consonant Sound & IPA symbols
Take a deep dive into each IPA
(International Phonetic Alphabet) Consonant Sounds with examples in common
English words. In the table below, you can listen to each English consonant
sound pronounced by a native English speaker.
|
Lips
(Bilabial)
|
Lips-Teeth
(Labio-dental)
|
Tongue-Teeth
(Dental)
|
Tongue-Gum Ridge
(Alveolar)
|
Tongue-Palate
(Palatal)
|
Tongue-Soft Palate
(Velar)
|
Throat
(Glottal)
|
|
Stops
|
p
b
|
|
Value
|
t
d
|
|
k
g
|
|
|
Fricatives
|
|
f
v
|
θ
ð
|
s
z
|
ʃ
ʒ
|
|
h
|
|
Affricates
|
|
|
|
|
tʃ
dʒ
|
|
|
|
Nasals
|
m
|
|
|
n
|
|
ŋ
|
|
|
Liquids
|
|
|
|
l
|
r
|
|
|
|
Glides
|
w
|
|
|
|
y
|
|
|
The Technical Names of the consonants are:
|
b
|
voiced bilabial stop
|
|
d
|
voiced alveolar stop
|
|
f
|
voiceless labiodental fricative
|
|
h
|
voiceless glottal fricative
|
|
k
|
voiceless velar stop
|
|
l
|
voiced alveolar lateral liquid
|
|
m
|
voiced bilabial nasal
|
|
n
|
voiced alveolar nasal
|
|
p
|
voiceless bilabial stop
|
|
s
|
voiceless alveopalatal fricative
|
|
t
|
voiceless alveolar stop
|
|
v
|
voiced labiodental fricative
|
|
w
|
voiced velar glide
|
|
z
|
voiced alveopalatal fricative
|
|
g
|
voiced velar stop
|
|
j
|
voiced palatal glide
|
|
ŋ
|
voiced velar nasal
|
|
dʒ
|
voiced palatal affricate
|
|
tʃ
|
voiceless palatal affricate
|
|
ʃ
|
voiceless palatal fricative
|
|
ʒ
|
voiced palatal fricative
|
|
θ
|
voiceless interdental fricative
|
|
ð
|
voiced interdental fricative
|
|
ʍ
|
voiceless velar glide
|
14. Transcribe the
following
Advertisement:
Spectacle :
Computer:
Education :
College :
Charger :
Food :
15. Explain Received
Pronunciation
Received
Pronunciation is a way of pronouncing British English that is
often used as a standard in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Received Pronunciation, also known as
"RP," is a British accent known as the "Standard
British" accent. It is spoken mostly in London and South East
England but is also the accent most often used in formal education and the
media (such as news broadcasts). The
Queen's own way of speaking became something of a hallmark of Received
Pronunciation which is otherwise called “Queen’s
English”. In RP there are 44 phonemes. Of these, 24 are
consonant phonemes, and 20 are vowel phonemes. From the fact that there are
many more phonemes in RP than the 26 letters of the English alphabet, it is
fairly clear that some phonemes have no predominant one-letter spelling.
Because RP is relatively clearly denned and is fully described, writers of
textbooks and dictionaries choose it, as a standard, to present to the learner.
And the learner, if given the choice, often prefers it, as something relatively easy to hear.
RP speakers
pronounce the h sound at the onset of words, whereas speakers of some other
British accents do not. For example, the RP
pronunciation for happy is /ˈhæpi/ and not /ˈæpi/, as
it is with other accents. Other examples of words with the vocalized h sound
include house /haʊs/, help /hɛlp/, and hello /həˈləʊ/.
16.
Write a short note on the role of language lab
in teaching pronunciation
The
language laboratory is a very helpful tool for practicing and assessing one's
speech in any language. It provides
a facility which allows the student to listen to model pronunciation, repeat
and record the same, listen to their performance and compare with the model,
and do self-assessment. Language
labs allow students to practice the language with
a much wider variety of activities and exercises based on the computer. Learning occurs in a structured way, in a real context and
visually attractive way that immerses the student in the language learning
environment and promotes language use. Self-learning: The structure of a language lab is user-friendly where a
student can learn and practice exercises of grammar, vocabulary, spellings,
etc. Better revision: Language lab software allows the students to revise the
matter learned in the classroom at home with the login facility. The components
of the Modern language lab are: A server
computer is installed to store all the information about the software. Software works on the local area network. Students have
audio and video facility. Students and teachers are provided a headset for
conversation
Advantages
Individualized Instruction. English Language labs offer individualized
instruction to students.
Interactive Learning. Language laboratories provide an interactive
learning experience that makes the learning process highly engaging. Language
lab saves time in teaching-learning process. As it is technology based, it
helps increase the confidence of the learners.
17. Explain Vowel
sounds in English:
A vowel
sound is “a speech sound in which the mouth is open, and the tongue is not
touching the top of the mouth, the teeth, etc., so that the flow of air is not
limited”. There are only five vowels in the English language, but there are
twenty vowel sounds in total. Out of the twenty, twelve are pure vowels and
eight of them are called diphthongs.
Pure Vowels
Vowels which have a single
vowel sound when pronounced are called pure vowels. The twelve vowel sounds we
have mentioned earlier are pure vowels.
List of Pure Vowels with Examples
The 12 vowel sounds in English have been provided below with examples:
|
Vowel sounds
|
Examples
|
|
/ʌ/
|
cut, butter
|
|
/aː/
|
park, far
|
|
/æ/
|
bat, fan
|
|
/ɒ/
|
goggles, fog
|
|
/ɔː/
|
more, warn
|
|
/ɜː/
|
bird, worm
|
|
/e/
|
pet, ten
|
|
/ə/
|
vendor, monitor
|
|
/ɪ/
|
sit, pin
|
|
/iː/
|
theme, fleet
|
|
/ʊ/
|
cook, put
|
|
/uː/
|
flute, boon
|
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are speech sounds formed by the combination of two vowel
sounds. They do not resemble the speech sound of either vowel sound, instead
form an entirely new speech sound.
List of Diphthongs with Examples
Given below is a table with the eight diphthongs in the English language:
|
Diphthongs
|
Examples
|
|
/aɪ/
|
fight, write
|
|
/aʊ/
|
plough, cow
|
|
/eə/
|
their, chair
|
|
/əʊ/
|
soak, rodent
|
|
/eɪ/
|
fate, pain
|
|
/ɪə/
|
here, cheer
|
|
/ʊə/
|
poor, sure
|
|
/ɔɪ/
|
toy, exploit
|
17. What is Phonetics?
1. The study of speech sounds, their production and
combination, and their representation by written symbols. 2. The description and analysis of the sounds of a
particular language. The
traditional method of describing speech sounds is in terms of the movements of
the vocal organs that produce them. The main structures that are important in
the production of speech are the lungs and the respiratory system,
together with the vocal organs. The airstream from the lungs passes between
the vocal cords,
which are two small muscular folds located in the larynx at the top of the
windpipe. The space between the vocal cords is known as the glottis. If the vocal cords
are apart, as they are normally when breathing out, the air from the lungs will
have a relatively free passage into the pharynx and the mouth. But if the vocal
cords are adjusted so that there is a narrow passage between them, the airstream
will cause them to be sucked together. As soon as they are together there will
be no flow of air, and the pressure below them will be built up until they are
blown apart again. Sounds produced when the vocal cords are vibrating are said
to be voiced, as
opposed to those in which the vocal cords are apart, which are said to be voiceless.
The air passages above the
vocal cords are known collectively as the vocal tract. For phonetic purposes
they may be divided into the oral tract within the mouth and the pharynx, and
the nasal tract
within the nose. Many speech sounds are characterized by movements of the lower
articulators—i.e., the tongue or the lower lip—toward the upper
articulators within the oral tract.
The major division in speech
sounds is that between vowels and consonants.
18. Discuss the
psychological factors that affect the learning of pronunciation.
Psychological
factors that affect language learning include: Parent's encouragement and motivation: Motivation plays a pivotal role in learning and it is an
academic reality. In fact, it serves to activate, guide, and maintain learning.
In a sense, motivation is an index of the eagerness of an individual to learn. Psychological factor is a factor that is mentally or
spiritually concerned with the aspects in students' acquisition. At least, four
of many factors, such as anxiety, attitude,
aptitude, and motivation influence the students' process of
language acquisition. The physiological factors include how people feel, their physical health, and their levels of
fatigue at the time of learning, the quality of the food and drink they have
consumed, their age, etc.
Pronunciation
is all about clear enunciation of individual sounds,
connected speech, rhythm, word, and sentence stress, chunking, and intonation. It involves the flow of language with appropriate pausing
for word stressing and sentence stress. Having good
pronunciation in English is an
essential aspect of effective communication and social integration. It takes time and practice to improve pronunciation, but
the effort is well worth it. Embrace the journey of learning, be patient with
yourself, and continuously strive to refine your pronunciation skills. Without correct pronunciation, the vocabulary that you know
will be less effective when communicating. Bad
pronunciation can lead to misunderstandings that may cause mishaps. Intonation. Intonation, stress,
pitch play key roles in pronunciation. In many respects it's not what we say,
but how we say it that conveys meaning. You
can teach or practise intelligibility with communication activities. Using the
/r/ and /l/ example, you can put pairs of words such as correct and collect into
a game in which success depends on the learner being able to hear and say the
difference.
You can teach optional
features of pronunciation to make words easier to say, such as saying gonna instead
of going to. Gonna may be easier for a learner
to say, and is closer to how many native speakers pronounce going to.
Essay Type
Questions:
1.
Teaching
Methods & Approaches:
Flipped Classroom: Method of
Teaching. This modern concept was introduced in 2007, where the teachers record
their lectures and then share them with the students. Flipped classroom is an
innovative teaching technique that works in contrast to traditional classroom learning.
Dialogic teaching: This
type of teaching method is the student-centered or
constructivist approach, which emphasizes active learning and puts the student
at the center of the teaching-learning.
Cooperative learning:
Group work is a cooperative learning strategy that allows
students with various learning levels to work together. As
the name suggests, cooperative learning involves a lot of
group work. However, it also requires a lot of structure and intervention, and
organization from the part of both the teacher and the students.
Game Based Learning: Learning activities
incorporate game mechanics and principles, known as game-based
learning. Learning activities help to increase the
interest of the learns learning the language in a fun way. Lack of attention
and lack of interest brings down the efficiency in learning.
Game-based learning is a type of teaching method that
involves the use of games, either digital or non-digital, to facilitate learning.
Personalised learning: When
a teacher adopts a “personalised learning” approach, students are
given the freedom to choose their learning method based on
their choice. Offering a personalised approach to teaching, it is a
student-centred method. This method sees the teacher observing and responding
to students’ learning activities. The goal of personalized learning is
to tailor instruction to the needs and interests of every student. They
received a learning plan based on their prior interest.
Classroom discussion: The most common type
of collaborative method of teaching in a class is classroom discussion.
Discussion-based learning. In discussion-based learning,
you facilitate the discussion while students talk through
problems in small groups.
Group Discussion Method.
In this group discussion method, there is an exchange of
ideas, thoughts, examples, etc., on a given topic among the students.
Lecture Method:
This is an age-old method of teaching where the teacher explains the content or
lesson orally, and the students take down notes accordingly. The lecture style
puts the teacher at the front of the classroom, delivering the content, while
the students take notes.
Differentiation: Differentiated
learning is a teaching method that tailors instructions to students depending
on their individual needs. Differentiation. Differentiation is
a teaching strategy that lets you assign tasks to students based on their
specific academic abilities and their learning capacity.
Blended learning: Blended
learning combines online learning with traditional
classroom instruction.Essentially, blended learning is a
combination of traditional face-to-face learning and
technology-based learning. At the heart of blended
learning is a philosophy of taking the time to understand each
student's learning style and develop strategies to teach to every learner.
Direct instruction: In this approach,
the teacher delivers the content by explicitly explaining a concept, rather
than relying upon the student to discover. This is one of the traditional
teaching methodologies, where direct instruction is given to
the students and rather than students allowing the student learn on themselves.
Kinesthetic learning: Kinesthetic
learning is a type of teaching method that involves physical activity
and movement to help students learn and remember new words, phrase, and
concepts.
Kinesthetic learning: It is
a great modern teaching method for all learners because it gives students more
ways to explore concepts and get hands-on, real-life learning experience. Kinesthetic learning, which values
movement and creativity over technological skills, is most commonly used to
augment traditional types of instruction.
Demonstrations: The
teacher shows students how to do something, often using props or materials.
Discussion: The
teacher encourages students to share the ideas that they have learned.
Montessori: Today,
the Montessori method is most popular in preschools,
kindergartens, and lower elementary grades. In this method, the teacher
prepares an ideal lesson content to be taught to students in a friendly
atmosphere. It offers a student-centred approach to learning for kindergartens
and pre-primary students.
Active learning: It puts students at
the center of the classroom with active learning strategies
— a teaching technique that increases student engagement in learning. It involves
students being vocal and physically active in the classroom. This can be as
simple as tasks that require them to move from their seats.
Collaboration: It
allows student to actively participate in the learning process
by talking with each other and listening to others opinions.
Brainstorming: It is a student-centered teaching method. Brainstorming refers
to a tactic or teaching tool in which the teacher engages the students asking
questions in rapid to elicit answers and attention from the students.
Inquiry-based Learning:
When it comes to teaching methods, inquiry-based learning has a
high priority because this teaching method urges students to ask many relevant
questions. In this approach, a teacher serves as a supporter and guide that
merely helps the students while they actively participate in inquiry. Inquiry-based
learning is a popular method of teaching in modern education. Inquiry-based
learning focuses on the student's participation in the learning process. This
learning technique urges ...
Problem Based Learning: Problem-based
learning is a type of learning that encourages
students to take charge of their education. It helps them to build problem-solving
skill.
Experiential learning: It is a great
teaching method because it encourages creativity, helps students learn from
mistakes, and fosters reflective thinking. The emphasis in experiential
learning is on the process of learning and not on
the product. A teacher can use experiential learning as an
instructional teaching.
Tactile Learning: The term “tactile”
signifies active collaboration and participation in an activity that an
educator demonstrates for the learners. Tactile learning is an
educating process of demonstration and real-time activities. This teaching
method also involves online classrooms. It is also known as kinesthetic
learning, because tactile learning takes place through
demonstrations and hands-on activities. This teaching method also applies to
online.
Team Teaching Method:
Rather than incorporating only one instructor for in-class activities, two or
more teachers collaborate to organise the class flow for better
learning. The biggest advantage of this
type of teaching method is that the students can work at
their own pace with so much ease. In this process, rather than involving only
one teacher in planning the class activities, two or more teachers plan the
class flow.
The Independent
learning method is a method of teaching in which students get full
control of their learning process. The teacher in this method can only be a
facilitator. In independent learning, students are in full
control of their learning, from choosing what they'll learn and how they'll
learn to evaluate themselves. Independent learning is the method
where the only involvement of the educator is to provide the course and be
present to answer queries.
2.
What is the difference between
micro and macro curriculum?
While the
micro focuses on the tiny details of a topic, the macro is the big picture, and too often, we can lose
sight of it. In curriculum design, macro means understanding where you want to
end up before you begin.
Difference Between
Micro-Teaching and Macro Teaching
The delivery of teaching
content could be done by teachers by blending micro-teaching and macro-teaching techniques.
The right blend of these teaching strategies has to be implemented to
continuously improve the learning outcomes of students along with the skills of
a teacher. Each method of micro and macro teaching offers its unique
benefits, shapes teaching strategies, provides different levels of learning
outcomes and creates customized evaluation parameters. Following is
the difference between micro and macro-teaching.
Micro-Teaching
A Teacher Delivers
Content for A Short Period Of Time (Usually 10 Minutes).
The Maximum Size of The
Learners/Participants Isn’t More Than 10 In Number.
Micro
Lesson Planning is Done For Daily Lesson Planning.
This Technique is
Used To Improve The Teaching Skills Of Pre-Service Teachers.
It’s Oriented Toward
Developing A Specific Skill At A Time For Teachers And Delivering A Limited
Concept To Students.
It Involves
Continuous and Instantaneous Feedback And Improvement Opportunities As The
Teaching Skill Sets Are Yet To Be Developed By The Teacher.
The
Learning Outcomes Are Measured for A Lesson Only.
The Focus Is Primarily on
Lesson Planning or A Small Section of A Lesson/Chapter, Focused Mainly on
Developing Teaching Skills And Receiving Instantaneous Feedback From An
Observer Teacher and/ or Students.
Macro-Teaching
A Teacher Delivers
Content for An Extended Period Of Time (Usually An Hour).
The Size of A Class
Is Usually 40 For School Classrooms And May Extend To A Higher Number If It’s A
Public Lecture.
It’s Used By
Experienced Teachers To Introduce Various Skills To Students Throughout The
Academic Year. For Example, Multiplication, Subtraction, Addition Concepts of Mathematics.
It Allows Teachers to
Introduce A New Syllabus To The Students At Once.
The Measurement of
The Learning Outcome Of A Learner Is Done For A Larger Syllabus And Usually
Through A Written Paper Format And Multiple-Choice Questions (Mcqs).
Macro-Teaching Is
More Forward-Planning-Oriented and Allows A Teacher To Stay On Track While
Delivering A Syllabus.
Lesson Planning for A
Longer Time Duration Is Done for Macro-Teaching.
3.
Discuss
the different types of tests
Understanding
different types of tests in education
Suppose you've ever been to
any educational centre. In that case, you know or must have interacted with a
teaching and testing system. Situations like when teachers teach a course then
provide a test or when instructors give tests before their lectures. Or even
combined the two situations.
Of course, various teachers
would test their students. Still, most instructors create tests to help measure
or gauge their students’ levels of understanding of certain learning materials.
And there are more to the advantages of educational testing, which this
articles cover.
Also, we have explained some
of the different types of tests in the education sector and how you can
effectively create them
What is educational testing?
Educational testing
determines students' knowledge, skills, and experience of particular course
material or content through tests or examinations. They aim to quantify
what learners know or understand.
Identify students’ strengths and
weaknesses: Through testing, students know the areas
they need to put more effort into. Also, it gives teachers a view of what or
areas they need to stress for better student understanding.
Learners become strong test-takers.
It’s common for some students to experience test anxiety. So the best strategy
for copping test anxiety is through encouraging students to take more
exams and tests.
Testing help measure
effectiveness. There are areas and situations when
school funding was determined by students’ performance on certain or state
examinations. Also, some states used students' or general students’
performances to promote or give merit raises to teachers.
Help determine awards and
recognitions. Most learning institutions have used
test results to choose who they give prizes. Some students would be lucky to
get a scholarship, especially when they perform well on the National Merit
Scholar tests.
Tests help determine academic progress and
ensure instructors and parents know their students' academic progress. For
instance, good
test results will mean growth, while poor results
indicate that more is needed to help meet the learning goals.
Types of test in education
Instructors can use various
types of tests to achieve their learning and course objectives or goals. We can
have:
Diagnostic testing
This test type is used to
identify what the learners know about a certain concept beforehand.
In other words, it’s a
pre-test that helps instructors determine the students' knowledge, strengths,
and weaknesses before the instruction. In other words, they allow instructors
to see the levels
of students’ proficiency before instructions. This test is
usually given at the start of a course and covers what the teachers are to
teach in the coming days.
Objective tests
These are tests in which
performances are measured against a specific standard set of answers. For
instance, there are right and wrong answers.
Examples of objective tests
include:
Multiple-choice tests
In these types of tests, a
statement of fact is made, followed by other alternatives; they can be four or
five. Out of these five options, four are distractors, and only the correct or
the best choice should be selected. This type of questioning is effective as it
can help measure different learning techniques.
Matching
As the name suggests, these
types of tests in education only require students to match two sets of items
that either form meaning or relate with each other. These tests help determine
and evaluate students’ ability to distinguish the similarities or associations
between symbols or objects.
These tests are most
commonly used when the course work contains several concepts like:
Definitions of terms
Pictures, objects, and
labels
Causes and effects
Scenarios and their
responses
Principles and situations to
which they apply
True or false
Instructors make a factual
or wrong statement with true or false items. Students respond on the
correctness of the sentence or information. They’re easy to create and can test
a variety of topics.
Subjective tests
These are tests without a
definite evaluation method. Instead, they are evaluated based on the opinion or
judgment of the instructor or examiner.
The tests present learners
with writing prompts or questions for which they have to demonstrate their
mastery of different learning objectives or goals in their responses.
When creating subjective
tests, it's important that instructors clearly and precisely phrase the
questions to elicit the kind of answers or skills they would want to measure.
Examples of subjective tests
are:
Problem-solving questions
Performance tests
Essays; short-answer and
extended-response essays. Though essays are time-consuming to administer or
score, they effectively measure higher cognitive skills.
Formative testing
Formative tests are the
types of tests in education that are used or given to learners throughout the
teaching or lecture process to demonstrate that the students have understood
the course
Summative tests
These are tests used at the
end of the year or course material to assess how much knowledge students have
acquired and how much they know or can do. It covers everything about the
learning material, from the first page to the ideas of the last pages.
Examples of summative tests
include:
Midterm or end-of-term tests
and exams
End of chapter or unit tests
Cumulative tasks like a
final project that goes for a certain extended period
Standardized tests to
demonstrate institutional accountability like the admission and progressive
tests that takes students to the next class or level of education
4.
Comment on the role of trainer in teacher training course
Teacher Trainer Responsibilities: Maintain and update curriculum and evaluation methods. Manage and maintain standards and procedures.
Manage students' behavior in the classroom. Create and maintain attendance and
discipline records. Trainers monitor clients' progress and adjust goals and schedules
accordingly, considering factors including attitudes, achievements, and
feedback. They document client progress and provide
clients with updates that include starting goals and achievements alongside
forward-thinking plans and goals. Trainee teachers who have earned their QTS will
be teaching for around 90% of the time as experienced teachers, with the other time spent on
key inductions. This means that you'll get valuable experience with the
expected daily work of any teacher. Instructors provide
teaching or training in a classroom setting or via a remote platform. They create and follow
lesson plans, choose any necessary curriculum or resource materials, explain
concepts and theories, and review assignments and examinations. Teacher motivation
and professional development are important factors to maintain the effective
teaching process. Hence, it might be interesting to know the role of these
in-service teacher trainings in improving teacher motivation and professional
development. Considering the importance of in-service teacher training at
school level education, the study attempts to find the role of in-service
teacher training in optimizing the teacher motivation as well as its role in
developing professional development, knowledge and self-efficacy among the
teachers. The study also focusses on the difference of in-service teacher
training effectiveness between public and private school teachers. The study
may be useful for the school administrations and training organizations to
improve their teacher training programs. The findings of the study may also be
helpful for the teacher trainers to see which elements of the teacher training
are more motivating for the teachers and what kind of attitude teachers have
towards these in-service training programs. The study may also be helpful for
the future researchers and policy makers in researching and reforming the
education system. In-service teacher
training as an opportunity for the teachers to develop a sense to create change
in themselves. Therefore, considering in-service teacher training as an
independent variable, the study finds its influence on teacher motivation,
teaching skills, communication and technological skills, social and financial
benefits, and self-efficacy and performance of the participant teachers.
5.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Teaching
Aids
1) Supplement in verbal
instructions.
2) Teaching
aids makes learning permanent.
3) Teaching
aids provide variety.
4) Teaching
aids are helpful in attracting attention of the students.
5) Teaching
aids saves time and energy.
6) Teaching
aids encourages the healthy classroom interaction.
7) Teaching
aids helps the teacher to create situations for teaching the beginners.
8) Teaching
aids are helpful in creating positive environment for discipline.
9) Teaching
aids are helpful in meeting individual differences.
10)
Teaching aids helps in providing speech training to the pupils.
11)
Teaching aids enable the children to retain language items for a longer time.
12)
Teaching aids gives vividness to the learning situation.
13)
Teaching aids makes the abstract ideas concrete and thus help in making learning more effective.
14) Teaching aids provide good
substitutes for the real objects as
they make learning equally meaningful.
15) Teaching aids help in the development
of various skills such as, how to draw
a diagram of the topic among the students.
6. Importance of Teaching Aids
Long lectures can bore
students, leading to distractions. But, by using engaging teaching aids,
teachers can spark an interest in their students. Different types
of teaching aids work well with different ways of teaching. In
this blog, we’ll explore the different types of teaching aids along
with highlighting the importance of teaching aids.
Teaching aids facilitate the
learning of students in various ways. Teachers use different teaching aids to
make their students listen attentively and interestingly. The traditional
teaching aids involve the usage of blackboards, posters, globes, charts, textbooks,
etc.
However, as technology
grows, teaching aids have also improved a lot, and today’s teaching aids are
classified into audio aids, visual aids, mechanical teaching aids, audio-visual
aids, and more.
Types of Teaching Aids
Hands-on aids, such as
models and puzzles, allow students to learn by doing, which can be really fun
and effective.
Technology-based aids,
including educational apps and interactive whiteboards, bring lessons to life
and make learning interactive.
Audio aids, like recordings
and podcasts, help improve listening skills and understanding.
1. Traditional Teaching Aids
Traditional teaching aids,
as the name suggests, have been used for teaching for a long time. These
teaching aids were so important when no technology came into existence. Still,
some of them are used by schools nowadays, and they include blackboards, books,
flashcards, maps, globes, etc.
2. Visual Aids
Visual aids include teaching
by means of visuals. To improve clarity, teachers rely on visual aids for
teaching and use materials like graphs, charts, projectors, models, and
diagrams.
Nowadays, teaching and
learning are shifted online, and here visual aids refer to presentation slides,
pictures, etc. Visual aids help students in grabbing concepts easily, and they
are clearer and more understandable than textbooks.
3. Audio Aids
Audio aids help a lot in
learning languages where communication and listening are important. Auditory
learning makes the students develop their listening skills. It may involve
playing a paragraph in audio, making your students listen to it and answer your
questions, or playing some calm music in your classroom to make your students
feel relieved and more.
4. Audio-visual aids involve
the usage of videos, films, documentaries, etc., to enhance the process of
teaching. Sometimes students may find it difficult if you demonstrate
everything by using words or images. They would find it easier when they watch
it live.
Usage of audio-visuals
provides them with a live experience of learning and makes them understand
everything better.
Importance
Of Teaching Aids
Teachers make use of various types
of teaching methods to elevate the process of teaching in an
easier way. Teaching aids can even make difficult subjects look easier.
Apart from using only
textbooks, the usage of various aids will make your students more interested in
learning. Below are some points to prove why teaching aids are important in the
process of teaching.
1. Remember Concepts Easily
Students who tend to forget
the concepts easily will benefit from the usage of teaching aids in the
classroom. When teaching aids are used, teachers not only define everything
orally, but they use practical methods to make students understand better, such
as models, graphs, etc.
Teaching aids also
make learning more interesting, and students tend to remember the concepts
longer if they learn them with interest.
2. Effective Demonstration
There might be some topics
that cannot be taught only using words and textbooks. They might need some
effective ways to get demonstrated deeper. Those kinds of topics can be easily
taught by using different teaching aids.
For example, teaching human
anatomy can be easily done using teaching aids.
3. Makes Complex Concepts Easy
Students sometimes skip
topics that are harder to understand and learn. Such topics can be easily
taught using the appropriate teaching aids. Teaching aids help them to
understand complex concepts in a faster way.
4. Improves Thinking Skills
Using teaching aids teachers
can develop
thinking skills in students. Instead of assuming something in their
mind, students can actually see and understand how an experiment is performed.
5. Adopting Innovation in Education
Since teachers
and students love innovation in learning, they won’t find
classrooms boring anymore because of the usage of various teaching aids.
Final Thoughts
Conclusion: Teaching aids help
a lot to make learning attractive. Instead of relying only on textbooks and
blackboards for teaching, teachers should make use of other interesting
teaching aids to encourage their students. Nowadays, technology helps a lot in
making learning easier, and it has introduced a lot of new teaching aids which
assist the process of teaching.
6.
Analyse the role of black board as a visual aids in the art of
teaching
Blackboard is
a teaching aid with a reusable writing surface.
The teacher uses the blackboard to facilitate learning, improve reading skills
and present new lessons. The blackboard is probably the simplest, cheapest,
most convenient, and widely used non-projected visual aid in extension
teaching.
Even the most formal lecture
is supplemented by means of visual aids, and lecture notes are also a form of
teaching aid.
1.1 The Chalkboard
Chalkboards are not just
enlarged 'scribbling pads'. Effective use of a chalkboard does not occur
accidentally, it has to be planned and the basic techniques must be practiced.
The chalkboard is one of the oldest and best-known teaching aids and it is essential
for all educators to master the technique of using it. Although they may be
used informally for the explanation of a problem or for a quick calculation for
the whole class to see what is going on, they can be put to much better use.
A chalkboard provides the
educator with an inexpensive and adaptable visual aid which lasts indefinitely.
All that is required for its continued use is a ready supply of white and
colored chalk.
1.2 The uses of the
chalkboard
A framework of the lecture
may be set out on the board and can then be filled in during the class.
Sections of the framework can be rubbed out for revision purposes, the students
are then required to fill in the missing parts.
It provides a means of
progressing from simple to complex ideas and developing each explanation point
by point.
Diagrams, symbols, charts
and even more complicated drawings can be added at the appropriate time to
bring life and meaning to the subject.
Questions or problems to be
discussed can be listed on the board. New or difficult words can be written
down so that the students can copy them or become familiar with them.
Space is provided for the
lecturer to record suggestions from the students as the class proceeds.
Tests can be written up on
the board.
1.3 Effective chalkboard
utilisation
Writing and drawing should
be sufficiently large, clear and visible to all.
The entire surface of the
chalkboard must be visible to all.
Where possible, summaries,
words, sentences, figures or diagrams should be put up as they arise in the
lesson. Label an elaborate drawing or diagram clearly as the lesson unfolds.
Boards and erasers should be
kept clean.
Lighting should be as such
to prevent glare.
Lecturers should take care
to speak to the class and not to the board.
7.
How are the modern teaching aids useful in the present-day
teaching?
The
teaching aids can improve the reading, writing and communication skills of the
learners. In an easy illustrative way, the teaching aids can also reinforce
whatever ideas, facts or skills have already been learnt by them. User friendly
and interactive teaching aids help to remove the anxiety, fear, boredom or any
other complex negative feeling which the learners may develop while learning in
the centre or class. Modern teaching aids include models, Audio-visual-Films
and documentaries, digital storytelling, Grassroots comics, Radio or
Television, Educational CDs and DVDs Projectors, Computers and Laptops,
Computer based Educational Games, interactive white Board also called smart
boards and many other devices currently in use.
Flannel Board: Flannel
Board consists of a piece of flannel stretched tightly over a strong backing of
plywood. The items to be depicted on the flannel board should be pasted with
small piece of sand paper glued behind the item so that it can be made to stick
on the flannel board. Depicting pictures or materials on a flannel Board
facilitates the movement of the items from one place to another.
Magnetic
Boards are also very handy teaching aids: Magnetic Board is a
modification of the flannel Board. Instead of flannel, a metallic sheet is
fixed on the plywood. Small magnets are used to hold the materials to be
exhibited on the metallic boards.
Grassroots
Comics are often used as teaching aids: Grassroots Comics are
different from the mainstream comics. These comics are made by common people
themselves. These comics are photocopied and distributed amongst the learners
in the center or in the class room. This encourages the learners to learn.
Grassroots Comics are inexpensive and method used is not complicated. You just
require a pen, paper and access to a copying machine to produce one. One more
important thing in these comics is the proximity of source of the
communication and the learners. Comics are stories which are told with
images and text that contains a lot of speech and dialogue. They become
“grassroots” comics when they are made by an Instructor or teacher from the
local area. Such comics deal with local issues, and use local languages as well
as local visual culture and metaphors.
Digital Story-telling is an innovative
teaching aid: Storytelling is the traditional form of communication. Digital
story telling is the modern expression of ancient art of storytelling. Digital
stories usually takes the form of relatively short story of less than 8
minutes. It combines narrated piece of personal writing, photograph and still
images and a musical sound track. The role of Instructor or teacher in the
centre would primarily be in using digital stories to make the
teaching-learning environment lively and educational
Radio and Television also find a place
amongst the modern teaching aids: At present several Radio
stations including FM and community Radio regularly produce episodes for all
types of people including beneficiaries of Literacy centre in remote areas.
Based on numerous experiments and studies the broadcasts have been made as self-sufficient
and feasible to ensure that the messages of the broadcast reach the learners in
Literacy centre when the necessary assistance is not provided by the
instructors or teachers. Listening to broadcast of dramas, narration of
stories, rendering of classical, instrumental and light music helps towards
harmonious development growth of learners and make them fit to be useful
members of society.
Documentaries and Films are also used as
teaching aids: A documentary film is defined as non-fiction motion picture
dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, economic or
other subjects. It may be photographed in actual occurrence or may employ
partial re-enactment, still animation, slow motion or other techniques, as long
as the emphasis is on factual content and not on fiction.
Projectors, VCRs, VCPs and DVD Players as
teaching aids: Projectors, VCRs, VCPs and DVD Players are used for digital
story-telling or during lectures, discussions, film or documentary shows and so
on.
Computers: Today,
Computers in its various forms like desktops, laptops, tablets, etc have
assumed great importance at all levels of education. This is the basic machine
on which all other electronic media of learning depend.
Interactive Electronic White board
or Smart Board: Interactive Electronic White Boards of today also known as Smart
boards are the latest and modern aids that can be used in the classroom or
literacy centre. These need a Computer, an overhead projector and preloaded
educational software. The electronic white board is user friendly, offering a
lot of interaction to its user. It is a colorful aid in the hands of the
instructors or teachers. With interactive white boards, instructors can teach
and save their content with important points which they want to revise and save
it in computer files that cannot be done through traditional boards
8.
Information technology in teaching
Using information technologies students
can decide about their studies, learning time, place and resources in a better
way. Students can work in more supportive environments, seek help from teachers
and fellows, and share their learning experiences and ideas in romantic and
productive fashion. In turn these new media enable new type of messages and
experiences, such as interpersonal interactions in immersive synthetic
environments lead to the formation of virtual communities. The innovative kinds
of pedagogy empowered by these emerging media and experiences promoted the
opportunities of distance education and at present virtual education and
eliminated the barriers of distance and time. New and innovative learning
experiences would be enhanced and encouraged by these technologies, as by
virtual communities, which exist by interactions across the globe through
global network of computers round the clock. The global sharing of experiences
would make possible the group presentation form of instruction in distance
education. Distance education encompasses and relies on the use of information
technologies to make learning more productive and more individualized, to give
instruction a more scientific base and make it appropriate & more
effective, learning more immediate and access to resources more equal. These
remarkable aspects can expand the quality and quantity of instructional
resources. They can provide real access to experts in universities, research
laboratories, the business community, government agencies and political
offices. Information technologies can promote the opportunities of
restructuring the teaching learning process. These can transform teaching and
learning by offering alternatives to the teacher provided information, access
to virtually unlimited resources and opportunities for real world
communication, collaboration and competition. Traditional lectures and
demonstrations can become web-based multimedia learning experiences for
distance learners. Web can enrich the learning resources and institutions
refocus from teaching to learning, from teacher to learner. It can create
learning environment throughout the world by networked learning communities.
Networks may create educative environments embedded in democratic philosophy of
instruction and helping learners learn. Learning may take place more
effectively and dynamically in educative environments where teacher and
learners are open to each other to interact and exchange information and
experiences in a friendly way. Educative environments can enhance and shape the
teaching learning process to achieve the desired goals. There is a natural
tendency for students to learn and learning can accelerate, in interactive and
encouraging environments. Accelerating the encouraging environments may be
psychological climates and students’ interactions can create them. Interactions
of students can make learning environment more effective and meaningful and
‘much of learning takes place in a meaningful environment’. Learners may get
immediate feedback and reinforcement through web-based learning. The
psychological fashion of such reinforcement and expectancy also influences the
potential for any given behaviour and/or learning to occur. Desired learning
always requires access to qualitative and latest information resources and web
confirms the increased access to such resources at students’ pace. Internet and
WWW provide learners latest relevant information at their own pace and they can
form a virtual community of learners at global level. Teaching organizations are
adopting information and communication technologies specially the computers,
World Wide Web, teleconferencing and educational television because of their
cost effectiveness, access and flexibilities of choices. Students Use
Information Technologies to: 1. Participate in a media revolution, profoundly
affecting the way they think about and use information technologies. 2. Improve
the ways of learning in new learning fashions 3. Extend the ability and skills
of applying their learning in real situation. 4. Working in groups for
cooperative and collaborative learning 5. Developing self-learning habits at
their own pace and time. 6. Learn with the teacher rather by the teacher. 7.
Develop inquiry-learning habits. 8. Use right information at right time to achieve
right objective. 9. Review and explore qualitative data. 10. Exchange learning
experiences and information with others students and teachers living anywhere
in the world.
9.
Elucidate
the importance of Teacher’s attitude towards correcting Errors and Mistakes:
Assessment in general is closely connected
with Language Assessment, which can be done through language tests. A test is a
method of measuring a person’s ability or knowledge on a given domain. Tests
are prepared by administrators; students prepare for them, and they know that
their answers will be measured through correcting errors and mistakes. A
language test is a way to judge what students know, in order to help them
improve their performance and give them a criteria for success. To help
teachers not only correct spelling, grammar, lexical and other mistakes but
also these corrections might be accompanied by certain comments on the content
of the written work, showing the student where the work was effective and where
it was not. There are different procedures to help teachers to correct written
work: 1 – The correction of all the mistakes 2 – The correction of the mistakes
selectively 3 – Underline the mistakes; write the nature of the mistake, the
student has to correct them. - First phase, underline the mistakes and write
the right symbol in the margin on the same line. - Second phase, underline the
mistake and do not write the symbol. This helps the students find the type of
the mistake themselves - Third phase, write the symbol on the margin, next to
the line where the mistake is, but do not show exactly where the mistake is,
and show only the line. This helps the student find the mistake, helped by the
symbol put on the margin. - Fourth phase, put a cross (X) on the margin, put as
many crosses as mistakes are in a line. The students will find the mistake and
the type, knowing how many mistakes are in one line. - Fifth phase, put a cross
next to the line in the margin, but do not show how many mistakes are. This is
a more difficult way of correction; it makes the students think about mistakes,
knowing that there is something wrong in a particular line. 1. Sometimes the
teachers may leave the students find their own mistakes, leaving to them a
certain amount of time to find and correct their mistakes, sometimes called
self-correction.. This is a traditional procedure for the correction of the
mistakes in a written work. 2. The correction of the mistakes selectively: This
procedure presupposes that the teacher corrects not all the mistakes but only
those that the teacher has decided to focus on, for example, the tenses of the
verbs, articles, etc. There are cases that the teachers use only one way of
correction, because they get used to it, it is easier and are swamped by
routine. There are also teachers that do not accept the self-correction
procedure. The procedure of self-correction helps the students develop critical
thinking towards their written work. Every teacher selects himself the
procedures of correction the mistakes according to the interests and needs of
his students. There is a general agreement among researchers that having the
teacher correct every error on students’ written work is not the most useful
way of providing corrective feedback. and can help where students do not know
what is wrong.
10. Discuss on various
possible errors and mistakes committed by students
Your instructor may or may
not mark errors in your paper if he’s more concerned with its argument or
structure than he is with sentence-level correctness; he could also decide an error
is not serious. Some instructors may even see the errors listed below as
stylistic options. However, a large-scale study found that these errors are the
most likely to attract readers’ negative attention. Before
handing in your papers, proofread them carefully for these errors:.
1.
Wrong Word
Wrong word errors take a
number of forms. They may convey a slightly different meaning than you intend.
So use your thesaurus and spell checker
with care. If you select a word from a thesaurus without knowing its precise
meaning or allow a spell checker to correct spelling automatically, you may
make wrong-word errors.
2.
Missing Comma after an Introductory Element
Use a comma after every
introductory element—whether word, phrase or clause—to clarify where it ends
and the rest of the sentence begins. When the introductory element is very
short, you can skip the comma, but including it is never wrong.
Without a comma after the
introductory element, it’s hard to see the location of the subject (“they”) in
this sentence:
3.
Incomplete or Missing Documentation
Documentation practices vary
from discipline to discipline. But in academic and research writing, it’s
a good idea to always cite your sources: omitting documentation can result in
charges of plagiarism.
4.
Vague Pronoun Reference
A pronoun (e.g., he, this,
it) should refer clearly to the noun it replaces.
5.
Spelling
Even though technology now
reviews much of our spelling for us, one of the top 20 most common errors is a
spelling error. That’s because spell checkers cannot identify many
misspellings, and are most likely to miss homonyms (e.g., presence/presents),
compound words incorrectly spelled as separate words, and proper nouns,
particularly names. After you run the spell checker, proofread carefully
for errors.
6.
Mechanical Error with a Quotation
When we quote other writers,
we bring their voices into our arguments. Quotation marks crucially show
where their words end and our own begin.
7.
Unnecessary Comma
We often have a choice about
whether or not to use a comma. But if we add them to our sentences when
and where they are not needed, then we may obscure rather than clarify our
meaning. Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements that are necessary
to the meaning of the words they modify. Do not use a comma before a
coordinating conjunction
(and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet). Do not use a
comma before the first or after the last item in a series. Do not use a comma
between a subject and verb. Do not use a comma between a verb and its object or
complement. Do not use a comma between a preposition and its object.
8.
Unnecessary or Missing Capitalization
Capitalize proper nouns and
proper adjectives, the first words of sentences, and important words in titles,
along with certain words indicating directions and family relationships. Do not
capitalize most other words.
9.
Faulty Sentence Structure
If a sentence starts out
with one kind of structure and then changes to another kind, it will confuse
readers. Maintain the grammatical pattern within a sentence. Each
sentence must have a subject and a verb, and the subjects and predicates must
make sense together.
10.
Unnecessary Shift in Verb Tense
Verbs that shift from one
tense to another with no clear reason can confuse readers.
11.
Unnecessary or Missing Apostrophe (including its/it's)
To make a noun possessive,
add either an apostrophe and an s (Ed's phone) or an apostrophe alone
(the girls’ bathroom). Do not use an apostrophe in the possessive pronouns
ours, yours, and hers. Use its to mean belong to it; use it's only
when you mean it is or it has.
12.
Poorly Integrated Quotation
Quotations should be
logically and smoothly integrated with the writing around them, the grammar of
the quotation complementing the grammar of the neighboring prose. They
usually need to be introduced (with a signal phrase) rather than dropped abruptly
into the writing.
13.
Missing or Unnecessary Hyphen
A compound adjective
requires a hyphen when it modifies a noun that follows it.
14. Sentence Fragment
A sentence fragment is part
of a sentence that is presented as if it were a complete sentence.
11.
Few steps for correcting errors and mistakes:
Learners make mistakes and
reinforce them because they produce sentences (1) too carelessly or (2) too
early. You will avoid mistakes if you follow rules:
Rules of error-free speaking
and writing
Use simple language. Some
beginners try to build very complicated sentences with things like the present
perfect tense or conditionals. They make horrible mistakes. Don’t do this!
Right now, your goal is not to express your thoughts freely; your goal is to
learn the language.
Be slow and careful. In
the beginning, you should write very slowly. If you need 2 hours to write an
e-mail message with 10 correct sentences, that’s okay. That’s how long it
should take if you’re just starting to write. You should check if your
sentences are correct by using a dictionary and the Web. And you should look
for example sentences to imitate.
When you’re speaking, it’s
okay to build a sentence for some time in your head before you open your mouth.
If you’re not sure
how to say something, don’t say it. (This applies to both
grammar and pronunciation.) If you can’t say something correctly, it’s almost
always better not to say it. You don’t want to teach yourself the wrong way to
say it. You can try to look for the correct sentence in a dictionary or on the
Web but when speaking, usually you don’t have time for that. So it’s a good
idea to say something else — something that you know is correct.
When writing, always
look things up. Whenever you’re not sure how to use a word, look it up in
a good dictionary to find example sentences with it. When you’ve written
something, and you are not sure if it’s correct, search for it on the Web with
Google. If the phrase is found on many pages, then it is probably correct.
Dictionaries and Google should be your everyday tools, and you should use them
even many times in one sentence (especially if you’ve just begun writing in
English).
Know where you can screw up. Sometimes
learners don’t even realize how different English is from their native
language. When speaking, they translate word
for word from their native language, and they think their sentences
are okay.
When reading or listening to
English, use the “pause
and think” technique: Pay close attention to things like word order,
articles, prepositions, and tenses. Compare sentences in English with
equivalent sentences in your native language. Notice the differences in words
and in word order. This will make you more careful when speaking in English,
because you will realize which parts of your sentences can be wrong and should
be double-checked.
It is much better to
be slow and correct than be fluent and make a lot of
mistakes. Why? Because if you are slow and correct, you can easily improve
your speed and become fluent and correct. But if you are fluent and make a lot
of mistakes, it is much harder to fix your mistakes and become fluent and
correct.
12.
Enumerate some of the practical difficulties of
teaching phonetics for Indian students.
This is
because Indian languages and English have different phonetic structures. In
India, there are many different dialects and languages spoken, each with its
own unique set of sounds and pronunciation patterns. So, students have a hard time adapting to standard English
pronunciation. Use of Mother tongue.
Non-native English speakers may
pronounce words differently than native speakers. This can happen either
because they apply the speech
rules of their mother tongue to English
("interference") or through implementing strategies similar to those
used in first language acquisition. They
may also create innovative pronunciations for English sounds not found in the
speaker's first language.
The extent to which native
speakers can identify a non-native accent is linked to the age at which
individuals begin to immerse themselves in a language. Scholars disagree on the
precise nature of this link, which might be influenced by a combination of factors,
including: neurological plasticity, cognitive development, motivation, psychosocial
states, formal instruction, language learning aptitude, and the usage
of their first (L1) and second (L2) languages.
English is unusual in that
speakers rarely produce an audible release between consonant
clusters and often overlap constriction times. Speaking English
with a timing pattern that is dramatically different may lead to speech that is
difficult to understand.
Phonological differences
between a speaker's native language and English often lead to neutralization of
distinctions in their English. Moreover, differences in sound inventory or
distribution can result in difficult English sounds being substituted or
dropped entirely. This is more common when the distinction is subtle
between English sounds or between a sound of English and of a speaker's native
language. While there is no evidence to suggest that a simple absence of a
sound or sequence in one language's phonological inventory makes it difficult
to learn,[6] several
theoretical models have presumed that non-native speech perceptions reflect
both the abstract phonological properties and phonetic details of the native
language
Indian
students are prone to their mother tongue. It creates a major problem. They are
taught other subjects in their native languages and English fall in their ears
only in the case of English. They do not get enough opportunities to speak
English in or outside the class rooms. In short, English learners frequently encounter the
issues such as incorrect intonation and incorrect stress and accent.
Many
non-native speakers have trouble pronouncing these clusters, especially if
their native language does not have them or has different rules for them. They may insert or delete vowels, change or omit
consonants, or simplify the clusters to make them easier to say
The three
main patterns of intonation in English are: falling
intonation, rising intonation and fall-rise intonation. Intonation is about how we say things, rather
than what we say, the way the voice rises and falls when speaking, in other
words the music of the language. Just as words have stressed syllables, sentences
have regular patterns of stressed words.
The focus
of a pronunciation class should be on reducing their accent so that their
pronunciation will not affect comprehensibility. The areas of pronunciation
teachers should focus on are vowel and
consonant sounds, word, and sentence stress, linking sounds, and intonation.
13. Elaborate the important features of teaching Pronunciation:
Pronunciation
is often the first thing that native speakers notice when they interact with
non-native speakers. Poor pronunciation can make it difficult for native
speakers to understand what non-native speakers are saying, leading to
frustration and communication breakdowns.
Pronunciation
also plays a role in shaping our students' confidence and self-esteem. When
students feel confident in their pronunciation, they are more likely to
participate actively in class and engage in conversations with native speakers.
Why Teach
Pronunciation from the Very First Lesson:
Pronunciation
is best taught when it is closely tied to meaning and context. The earlier
students are exposed to pronunciation, the more opportunities they have to
practice and internalize the language's sounds, stress, and intonation
patterns.
It's easier
to teach and correct pronunciation when students are first learning new words
and phrases, rather than trying to go back and fix bad habits later.
Effective
Techniques for Teaching Pronunciation in the Classroom:
Modelling:
One of the most effective ways to teach pronunciation is to model the correct
pronunciation for students. As the teacher, you should be a good model of the
language and use the correct sounds, stress, and intonation when speaking.
Repetition:
Encourage students to repeat words, phrases, and sentences after you.
Repetition helps students to internalize the correct sounds and stress
patterns.
Minimal
pairs: Minimal pairs are two words that differ by only one sound. This
technique helps students to focus on the individual sounds of the language and
to improve their discrimination skills.
Tongue
twisters: Tongue twisters are a fun and effective way to practice specific
sounds and stress patterns.
Pronunciation
drills: Pronunciation drills are exercises that focus on specific sounds,
stress, and intonation.
14.
Vowel and
Consonant Sounds in English:
The English Language has 44 English sounds. They
can be divided into two main categories: consonants and vowels. A consonant
sound is a sound where the airflow is stopped, either partially or completely,
when the sound is uttered.
On the other hand, a vowel sound is a sound where
the airflow is unstopped when the sound is produced. The vowel sounds are the
rhyme or shift of our language. Monophthongs and diphthongs are the two
categories of vowel sounds. Vowel sounds are also divided into long vowel
sounds and short vowel sounds.
In English, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y are the
vowel letters. The rest of the letters in the alphabet represent consonants
such as b, d, g, n, r, s, and t. some consonants produce more than one sound.
A vowel is a speech sound where the mouth is open
and the tongue doesn’t touch the top of the mouth, the teeth, etc. so that the
flow of air is not limited. A vowel is a sound made by blowing air out of the
mouth without closing your mouth or teeth.
The English vowel sounds are written with letters
in the English alphabet. All English words have vowel
letters. They are vowels in English: A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. Y is
“sometimes” a vowel because the letter Y presents both vowel and consonant
sounds, like ‘fry’.
Six vowel letters are used to indicate the 13-15
vowel sounds in English. This means the vowel sounds are more than letters in
the English alphabet. Monophthongs and diphthongs are the two main categories
of vowel sounds.
Monophthong
A monophthong is simply a vowel. The word mono
represents one and phthong represents a sound. This means that monophthong
represents one vowel sound in the word. If you notice the position of the
tongue, the mouth will stay the same when these words are uttered.
In English – /i:/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /u:/, /e/, /ə/, /ɜ:/,
/ɔ:/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɑ:/ and /ɒ/ are 12 pure vowels or monophthongs. let’s check
the list of 12 pure vowel sounds with some examples
|
Monophthong
|
|
Sound
|
Examples
|
|
/i:/
|
heap, leap, feet, seat, read, beat, peak, seek
|
|
/ɪ/
|
lift, hit, kit, pick, bill, fill, till, him, pin
|
|
/ʊ/
|
Food, Fool, Cool, Cook, look
|
|
/u:/
|
To, You, New, Who
|
|
/e/
|
Bet, Met, Pet, Set, Bend, Lend, Send
|
|
/ə/
|
The, About, Could, Us
|
|
/ɜ:/
|
Earl, Pearl, Sir, Worm, worth
|
|
/ɔ:/
|
Mall, Hall, Shall, Fall, Tall, Wall
|
|
/æ/
|
hand, Land, Sand, Cat, Mat, Pat, Sat
|
|
/ʌ/
|
But, Up, One, Much
|
|
/ɑ:/
|
Start, Ask, Large, After
|
|
/ɒ/
|
Of, On, From, Not
|
What is a
Consonant
A consonant is a sound that is produced by blocking
air from flowing out of the mouth with the teeth, tongue, lips or
palate. Consonants may come alone or in clusters but have to be connected
to a vowel to form a syllable.
English has 21 consonant letters, for 24 consonant
sounds in most English accents: H, J, K, L, M B, C, D, F, G, N, P, Q, R,
S, T, V, W, X, Z and (sometimes Y). The letter ‘y’ produces a consonant
sound if at the beginning of a word ‘yellow’ but a vowel sound if at the end of
a word ‘sunny’.
Consonant Digraphs
Digraphs are two letters that produce just one
sound. These are the seven basic consonant digraphs; ch, ck, th, sh, ph, ng,
wh. Yet, some digraphs have more than one pronunciation. ‘ghosts’ are some
digraphs like ‘wr’ and ‘gn’ because the first letter is not pronounced. Let’s
check the list of the digraphs with examples:
|
|
Digraph
|
Examples
|
|
Ch
|
Makes the sound /t∫/ in Chair , /k/ in chorus and
/sh/ in chute
|
|
Ck
|
which makes the sound /k/ sound as in click
|
|
Ff
|
which makes the sound /f/ sound as in stuff
|
|
Gh
|
which makes the sound /g/ sound as in yoghurt or
/f/ as in enough
|
|
Gn
|
which makes the /n/ sound as in reign and foreign
|
|
Kn
|
which makes the /n/ sound as in know and knot
|
|
Ll
|
which makes the /l/ sound as in hall
|
|
Lm
|
which makes the /m/ sound as in calm and palm
|
|
Mb
|
which makes the /m/ sound as in dumb and thumb
|
|
Ng
|
which makes the /ŋ/ sound as in ring and hung
|
|
Ph
|
which makes the /f/ sound as in photo, and
elephant
|
|
Sh
|
which makes the /ʃ/ sound as in splash and sheet
|
|
Ss
|
which makes the /s/ sound as in less and grass
|
|
Ss
|
which makes the /ʃ/ sound as in assure and
issue
|
|
Th
|
which makes the /θ/ sound as in three and myth
|
|
Th
|
which makes the /ð/ sound as in that and them
|
|
Wh
|
which makes the /w/ sound as in where and where
|
|
Wr
|
which makes the /r/ sound as in wreck
|
|
Zz
|
which makes the /z/ sound as in jazz and buzz
|
|
Dg
|
Which makes the sound /ʤ/ as in edge and wedge
|
|
Ng
|
which makes the /nʤ/ sound as angel
|
|
Nk
|
which makes the /ŋk/ sound as in link
|
Teaching pronunciation:
Manner of Articulation refers to the “how” of
making sounds. There are six different ways or manners of articulation. Place
of Articulation refers to the ‘where’ of pronunciation. It is the location
where sounds are made. Let’s check the below charts that show the manner and
place of articulations of consonants and vowels.
15.
Suggest few ways through which English pronunciation can be
improved:
When people can’t understand
you because your pronunciation is not on point, they may not get a good first
impression of you, especially at work. Who likes someone who
speaks and only a few can understand?
Communication is an interactive process:
speaking and hearing, talking and listening, coding and transmitting your
message, and receiving and decoding others’ message.
When you can’t pronounce
English words correctly (and I will elaborate on that further below in this
article), you receive negative vibes from the people
around you since they can’t understand most of what you say.
It can have a dramatic
impact on your psychology. You may feel embarrassed and awkward.
You may even doubt yourself if you can speak good English. Self-doubt and fear are
the roots of all evil with motivation.
Once you get demotivated to
invest in your English communication skills, that’s it. You get into a rabbit
hole of self-punishment, doubt and shyness. And it needs a lot
of guts (or the professional help of a native
English coach) to get out of it and rebounce.
Now you know it’s important to
learn and practice how to pronounce English words correctly.
Speaking of right or wrong, I
have to assure you about something: there is no such thing as perfect
pronunciation. Even native English speakers make mistakes, or they
have a different accent that makes them sound different. And it’s OK.
Your goal shouldn’t be to sound
like a native English speaker but to speak as closely as possible to a standard
pronunciation so that people (both native and non-native
speakers) can understand what you say. Pick the one that fits your style and
professional goals and go for it. I teach British pronunciation because I was
raised in the UK.
Pronunciation VS accent: What you need to know
Pronunciation is about making
the sounds of the letters and articulating words
using your tongue, lips, and throat. It’s also about stressing the
right parts of the words and sentences and making your voice go up or down as
you speak (this is intonation).
In any case, keep in mind that
pronunciation is a physical skill and not a mental
one. It is how you use your muscles (tongue, lips
and throat, remember?). So, take it easy and approach your pronunciation
with mindfulness. You need to learn the proper ways to
improve it.
Learning what the correct
pronunciation is practising and noticing how you pronounce words and what
mistakes you make, working on improving your pronunciation.
1.
Use the IPA
First things first, you need to
start by learning how words are pronounced. You all know how to pronounce
English words, but it is often just the accumulation of listening experience.
With time and the more you practice your English taking part in conversations,
you get how to pronounce the words. This way is risky as you never know if you
got it right when you heard a native English speaker talking. This is why I
suggest learning to use the IPA,
the International Phonetic Alphabet. It is a tool to help you
understand how to say the words rather than spell them.
2.
Discover your mistakes
Now that you know how to do
your homework with the IPA’s help, you are ready to start exploring how well
you do it. You need the theory but also real examples, like watching how native
speakers pronounce English words. For example, watch a TV show or a TED talk on
YouTube with a native English speaker do the talking. Notice how they make
their mouth and lips when they pronounce certain sounds in words. Maybe their
lips are stretched open, or they are round. Of course, you can’t see how they
use their tongue or throat but noticing how they form their lips is a surefire
way to get it right. Then stand in front of a mirror and practice sounds and
words. Combine the IPA sounds and how the native speakers you watched do it.
Try to imitate them.
3.
Break down words into sounds
Now comes the fun part:
practising and improving your pronunciation. A good way to start is to break
down words into sounds. Rather than pronounce the whole word at once, often
mumbling if it is a long word, break it down into syllables and the syllables
into sounds. Practice each syllable and sound one by one and then go over it
again and again. Then try pronouncing the whole word again, all at once.
4.
Visualise
OK, now, this is tricky yet
handy. If you have studied how you should pronounce a word that you find
difficult, try to picture it. Close your eyes and visualise how you must put
your tongue and lips to make the sound. If you have watched how native English
speakers pronounce the difficult phoneme “sh”, like in the word “English”,
visualise that you need to make your lips round and project them a little bit
forward. Then say the word while executing the moves.
5.
Read aloud: Reading aloud certainly improves one’s pronunciation.
6.
Practice with tongue twisters: In order achieve good effort in
pronunciation, often practice tongue twisters.
