Pronunciation consists of combining phonemes (units of sound) into segments and syllables and imbuing them with stress, intonation, rhythm, and connected speech features. Syllables and stress are the building blocks of rhythm. In this interactive course, you will learn several practical and effective ways to help students heighten awareness of syllables and stress to improve their pronunciation of words, phrases, and sentences. You will practice each technique from both a learner’s and a teacher’s perspective. Sample exercises and resources will be provided, along with strategies for integrating these techniques into lessons that will also improve learners’ vocabulary, grammar, listening comprehension, and oral production. Between the facilitated virtual sessions, you are encouraged to try some of the tools and techniques with learners.

In Part 1 (a two-hour facilitated virtual session on March 22, 2021, from 1:00 to 3:00pm), we focus on syllables and word stress and how English compares to other language systems. You will learn and practice how to give students tools to identify and produce syllables and stress appropriately, with specific attention given to online instructional strategies.

In Part 2 (a two-hour facilitated virtual session on March 29, 2021, from 1:00 to 3:00pm), with heightened knowledge of and a familiarity with the tools, we broaden our focus to include pausing, phrase stress and rhythm, and the teaching of these elements of pronunciation to learners in both in-person and online contexts.

In Part 3 (a one-hour facilitated virtual session on April 12, 2021, from 1:00 to 2:00pm of learning. You will have an opportunity to share your successes, challenges, and questions with colleagues and the instructor.