By Olga Smith
There are a number of different strategies for teaching English pronunciation. I would like to offer the method that we use in our apps and books. It was developed by Linda James, LRAM, R.A.M. Dip. Ed. Linda has been teaching speech (Received Pronunciation), which in the past was called the Queen’s English, Oxford English or BBC English) in leading London drama schools for more than 20 years and elocution lessons to foreign professionals for more than 30 years.
In our elocution apps and books, each lesson begins with an illustrated description of the speech organ position, followed by practical exercises. The exercises consist of words, phrases, sentences, tongue twisters, verses and passages.
Here are some essential tips for teachers of English pronunciation:
Start slowly with the list of words and concentrate on the target sound, then move to phrases and sentences without losing the sound
Use the rhythmical exercises to develop fluency
Students who took elocution lessons based on our apps and books told us that they really enjoyed them due to the following reasons:
Its' an amazing language from classical literature and poetry as well as everyday English which students find extremely effective and interesting.
Each chapter has a substantial volume of exercises to master one English sound or a particular speech pattern such as consonant elision, for example.
The way this book is written is fun, easy and effective. Many English textbooks are written in a dull and boring way. We use non-predictable sentences and lots of rhymes which are wonderful for teaching English pronunciation.
In conclusion, I would like to say that when students have fun when they find the material interesting and amusing they are more likely to enjoy the learning process and to achieve better results.