Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't been active in the discussions but I've had a couple of hectic weeks. Anyway, regarding the week's discussion question
When using an authentic audio or video it is important to use only ‘native speakers’. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons.
I think it depends on the lesson's aim, if the aim is teaching pronunciation then, arguably, native speakers should be used. But if it's to create an opportunity for learners to get exposed to the language then authentic English should be used but not necessarily native speakers.
'Native speakers' is such a broad term, there's no accent more native than another.
Authentic audio should include English that is used in real life and create the opportunity for the learners to practise the language in a real context.
Aya, what about non-native speakers with very high fluency teaching pronunciation? Sometimes these people have enormous knowledge and actually understand why many mistakes happen.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was taught English at university, we had a two-semester course on Phonetics and Phonology. We were taught using contrastive methods, so whatever we learned about English pronunciation was also related to how Polish people speak. Actually, it was quite useful later, because we knew what kind of mistakes we could expect and what remedies to offer.
I totally agree with you. As I said 'arguably ', some students have this idea that they should be taught pronunciation by native speakers. I don't necessarily agree with this but it's an opinion.
ReplyDeleteRoman Ociepa I agree with you. I'm currently tutoring an Arab individual and being able to relate some of the terminology, for example, the doubling of the consonant in 'bigger', helps him understand the concept. Similarly, my Urdu speakers also get the idea when I use the related concept in Urdu - for example the silent 'b' in plumber in American English
ReplyDeleteAya, I agree with you somewhat. I prefer to have native speaker sound tracks when it comes to pronunciation - not so much for words but for intonation and stress. But on the whole, I am a proponent of using anything that can be easily accessed and I try to expose learners to a variety of accents.
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