How to Apply Visual Aids in Pronunciation Teaching
Part of new teaching methodology involves integrated skills, or using several aids to produce the correct language. Many teachers shy away from using visual aids because they think it might be difficult to transfer to pronunciation (typically considered only to involve listening and mimicking). But there are many ways to add visual aids to your pronunciation teaching.
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Things You'll Need
- Phonetic chart
- Flash cards
- Markers
- Rubber bands
- Toothpicks or colored blocks
- Mirror
- Feather
- Handouts or a computer lab
Instructions
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Find an appropriate phonetic chart (see Resources) or make your own. Draw or find a picture for each phonetic sound (a house for 'H,' for example) and put it up in the classroom. When you hear a pronunciation problem, point to the picture and make any necessary corrections.
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Bring in realia to highlight problem areas. Use a banana and a pear to practice differences between 'B' and 'P' in a circle chant. Hand the first student the banana and say the word. Have her repeat it and hand it to the second student. Give them the next piece until they come back to you.
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3
Get colored rubber bands to practice minimal pairs (long and short sounds) by stretching the rubber bands for longer sounds and then having the students practice with you.
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4
Use a feather, a mirror or a candle to show voiced and unvoiced sounds. When the correct aspiration is made, the result is movement or breath on the mirror.
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Make flash cards with pictures and words with phonetic spelling below and use them for drills. For particular problems, make signs to hold up when you hear a mistake and have the students self-correct.
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Practice word or sentence stress by using colored toothpicks or blocks. For example, use red blocks to highlight where the stress is, and give a word-by-word dictation for students to use the blocks of where the stress is.
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Revise the pronunciation regularly in the classroom, by using worksheets or interactive pronunciation activities on the Internet (see Resources).
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Tips & Warnings
Have the students make the pictures for the phonetic chart themselves and put them up around the classroom to use as a chart, to personalize it.
Don't focus on phonetics too heavily, or the students could get frustrated.
