The weekly column

Article 106, July 2002

Better English Pronunciation
Reflections on Teaching Goals & Scope

By Connie Chow

Overview

The following outlines how an EFL class was set out with due regard to course description stipulated by the educational institute, learner objective(s) and instructor's pedagogical approach.

The Backdrop

I was asked to take up the new class almost urgently. The short notice did not put me off, though I had not taught similar courses before.

First things first: for every programme, there should be a proper goal, a curriculum and materials. I was given the standard teacher's kit, which was not much help. The objective is, of course, to teach the English sounds and phonemes. The audiotape is too old to play; the white noise of which is such a nuisance that it strains the ear. The CD, of another title, plays all right, but the speaker speaks with a heavy local accent, which is far from satisfactory.

I scanned through teaching aids and materials I have been collecting and using for some time and formed certain ideas. Am I going to teach phonemes, not to speak of phonetics? Is it good enough to go through the English sounds word by word? Language is to be spoken and, needless to say, understood when spoken to.

The institute is attended by adults from a low socio-economic background and, most likely, quite elementary in their English standard as well as general literacy level, too. Hong Kong is an EFL society. Though English is studied from early childhood onward, the learning outcome often does not match the intense effort.

What the Audience Says

A class teacher needs his/her audience as much as the reverse, if not more. I could not wait to see my students before making up my mind. The preliminary assessment would include age, occupation, level and class size. Furthermore, I have to open my eyes and ears to gauge whether they are active learners, how motivated they are and what they expect from the class and from me. The kind and depth of student involvement certainly affects my pedagogical approach.

Although it is not a common practice in EFL classroom in Hong Kong, I am convinced that learners should be consulted as to their learning objectives, course content and how the classes are to be conducted.

The Consensus

In the first session, we briefly introduced one another, and discussed what the students wanted from the course. I was also interested in their past EFL experience and difficulties they perceived. The class was small and one of them was hard put to spell out the English letters.

We managed to reach consensus on the goals of our class:

• the English sounds, which are quite different from those of local Cantonese dialect;
• phonemes and phonetic transcription
• correspondence between spelling and pronunciation, whereby I forewarned them that the matching was only at best a rough one.

To try out the CD, I played the first lesson. Responses were not keen, as expected. Students said they did not understand and the words did not make sense either. We agreed that we would not use the course book or audio aid.

As mentioned previously, I favour a communicative approach. Words alone cannot do the job well; they must be stringed into meaningful expressions and sentences. I would base my teaching on authentic materials and eventually include simple everyday dialogues that students may come across themselves.

Quite a few myths needed to be dispelled; one being that once they know the English sounds, they would be able to speak English better, which is far from true. Twelve hours in-class time would not do the magic. Communication is two-way, and EFL learners should strive to know something about the English speaking people and culture.

As for the classroom practice, I requested their collaboration among themselves and with me, including intensive class participation, homework preparation and contribution in class. They were expected to work in pairs and teams; we were a learning community. I would like them to be active learners and grow independent of me, the classroom teacher. They were asked to contribute in terms of personal views, share experience and raise queries. For adult classes, student input is indispensable to make it fun, rewarding and motivating.

The Hidden Curriculum

The course did not explicitly cover the following aspects, but, as I see them, they indispensable for any EFL studies:

• learner autonomy;
• self-awareness with respect to learning style and attitude;
• sustenance of interest beyond the bounds of the classroom;
• cultivating interest in English-speaking people and cultures;
• social aspects of language learning, namely meeting other EFL learners and communicating with English speakers;
• self-exploration, that is, language as a means of intrapersonal communication.

Still A Long Way to Go

Not unlike any other EFL classes, although Better English Pronunciation started apparently well, a couple of students dropped out without legitimate reasons - the World Soccer Cup may have been one. As the course rolled on, I found learner motivation was anything but intrinsic. Once it was discovered that the journey would take quite a while and real effort was demanded of them, learners began to wonder why they started it in the first place. Learner motivation has always been a major challenge for classroom teachers, but it is not within my scope of discussion here.

About the Author

Connie Chow (homelyconnie@ctimail3.com) is EFL certified, and currently teaches part-time at a vocational institute in Hong Kong.

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