I immediately I would suggest that the teachers turn to the Eight Instruction Strategies to improve ELLs success. These eight recommendations are excellent guidelines for the conductors of this project. The recommendations are from M. Early, Consonants Stops
Learn about the phonological challenges facing ELLS based on their L1.
Point out difficulties to your ELLs and assure them that other ELLs are also experiencing similar difficulties.
Make your ELLS aware of what’s important and why it’s important: e.g., If they don’t pronounce the final consonants, they will not be understood.
After demonstrating the target pronunciation, have your student Ells practice sounds by looking into a mirror.
Congratulate your ELLs on their effort (even if far from target).
Have your ELLs practice words in isolation (e.g., minimal pairs): first by listening/perceiving and then by speaking/producing.
Have Ells practice minimum pairs sentences in context: first by listening/perceiving and then by speaking/producing.
After responding briefly to a teachable moment, plan a short mini-lesson (5 minutes in length) for the next day. (slide 18) These allowed the members of the project to have a basis for producing appropriate materials and fairly perceiving achievements as they occur. As assessments develop, Table 4.2 Classification of Vowels ( Celce-Murcia, Brinton, Goodwin, & Griner, 2010) is an excellent tool for you to use and share with your students. I loved that authors provided the visuals of the mouth positions. The visuals will allow students to understand the physicality of pronunciation. By adding the mirror technique to these visuals, you are adding another area of pronunciation development. As we assess our students, we must remember that most ELLs take my years to compile enough English language experience to become competent English speakers. • If you had a chance to do the course project again, what would you do differently and why? I considered this question as we were preparing our information for presentation. I love my group and the information design of our project. During the process, I considered how I could have been done differently if I was an individual project. I found this project to have a few stumbling blocks as a group project. I wanted more one-on-one time with the student. I yearned to try my ideas and techniques. As a member of a group, compromise is required. I was very interested in the concept of working with an adult subject. I ponder if their want to succeed was higher than a K-12 subject. Could I have had a stronger effect of on the life of an adult ELL? Would it have benefited their career and family life? Would I have been able to develop meaningful lessons to sprout their confidence level? I enjoyed doing observations at the Hoover Library with their adult program. • Explain how this course has changed your way of thinking about teaching pronunciation to language learners. (By rereading the discussion forums and reading reaction journals, you can probably identify a baseline of your thoughts before having experienced any changes.) Before this course, I was a blank slate. This was not a positive at the time, because I lacked confidence in the topic matter. Throughout the exercises and discussion, I have built a broader knowledge of teaching phonology. Basics like the parts of the mouth were foreign to me. Once I learned them, I was able to apply that knowledge to sound production. This information base allows me to have …show more content…
I have compiled a variety of information pertaining to this topic, and can confidently use it as the need arises. I have concluded that there are more non-standard varieties within the United States of American than most people are aware. I found the diversity of speech, a comforting aspect of our society. It showed me traditional, individualism, and pride. These three items remind me how my students feel about their culture and language. I think this realization is and will be a benefit to my students in the future and