ELT MOOC by Jason R. Levine on WiziQ. This is a professional development massive Open Online Course in listening and pronunciation techniques. MOOC team organisers: Dr. Nellie Deutsch Sylvia Guinan

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4. Overview of This Presentation
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Introduction
About me & RealLife English
Pronunciation Awareness
A Few Techniques
Sound Morphing, Shrinking & Linking
Content vs Function Words
The Mimic Method
Reverse Accent Mimicry
Listening Strategies
Bringing it Together

5. Knock Knock Jokes

6. Knock Knock Jokes Warning:
Knock Knock Jokes Are CHEESY Humor
(CHEESY & CORNY = poor quality, poor taste, cheap)

7. More Cheesy Knock Knock Jokes
Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there?
Me: Police
You: Police who?
Me: Police let me in. It’s cold out here!
Please let me in. It’s cold out here!

8. Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there?
Me: Harry
You: Harry who?
Me: Harry up, It’s cold out here!
Hurry up, it’s cold out here!

9. Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there?
Me: Nana
You: Nana who?
Me: Nana your business!
None of your business!

10. Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there?
Me: Scold (name)
You: Scold who?
Me: Scold enough to go ice-skating out
here!
It’s cold enough to go ice-skating out
here!

11. Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there?
Me: Orange (name)
You: Orange who?
Me: Orange you gonna let me in? It’s cold
out here!
Aren’t you gonna let me in. It’s cold
out here!

12. Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there?
Me: Claire
You: Claire who?
Me: Claire the way. I’m coming through!
Clear the way, I’m coming through!

13. Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there?
Me: Jenny
You: Jenny who?
Me: Jenny’d any help opening the door?
Did you need any help opening the
door?

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18. RealLife English
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19. Transcend and include
“Learn the rules like a pro, • Sometimes
convention/rules prevent
so you can break them like
us from being our best
an artist.” –Picasso
• But we must recognize and
respect why they are there
in the first place (but not
be limited by them.)
• This is applies to language
learning and teaching (use
grammar to help you but
don’t be a grammar Nazi.)

20. For many events, 80% of the effects
come from 20% of the causes.
• 80% of the land owned by 20% of the population
• 80% of the sales come from 20% of the clients
• 20% of your relationships produce 80% of your
value
• 80% of the successful learners come from 20% of
the teachers
• 20% of the activities produce 80% of the results
• Does this apply to pronunciation/accent reduction
training?

21. The Fluency Gap
• Native speakers speak differently than most people
learn in school, seemingly faster, words together
• Incomprehensible, confusing for most learners
• We speak in chunks, we cut and shorten certain
words, we morph our sounds, we shrink and link
• Few people are learning the musicality of the
English language (rhythm, stress, intonation) that
guides the way natives speak
• Few teachers are giving students a framework to
deal with this and respond.

22. My objectives when I teach this:
1. Build awareness: learners should be aware of this
fluency gap from early on in their learning process
2. Develop the tools to respond when they don’t
understand by teaching the fluent use of survival
phrases- lower affective filter/ proper attitude
3. Simultaneously teach the grammatical structure
and comprehension of these sound chunks in a
systemized and intuitive way.
4. Fluent comprehension and use of these in
appropriate and meaningful contexts. (integrate
them into class)

23. What is our role as teacher?
• Coachesinspire, motivate, guide
• Facilitators- flipped
classroom, blended learning
• Psychologists- help them deal
the psychological challenges
• Mentors – give them guidance
• Trainers- help them develop
the technical skills

24. 1. Develop awareness from early
on in the process
For Both Listening Comprehension AND Pronunciation Training

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26. Do we need great pronunciation
to be fluent?
• Yes and No
• Let’s look at
both sides

27. Argument 1: No, pronunciation
is not that important
• Communication is the key to fluency
• We all have accents
• Your accent is a representation of where
you are from
• Foreign accents are cute ;0)
• Any other reasons?

28. Argument 2: Yes, pronunciation
is very important
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It makes communication easier
It increases comprehensibility
It improves confidence
It improves social integration

29. More arguments for
improved pronunciation
• With effective practice, improvements
can be quick and dramatic
• 80/20 principle
• A lot of learners believe it’s important

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32. N. Arizona Accent Training Study
• 12 hours of accent training over a 6 week
period (2 hours per week)
• Learners of mixed levels
• 47.7% INCREASE in comprehensibility among
learners (native speaking judges)
• Suggests 80/20 rule – 80% of the effect comes
with 20% of the effort

33. Why aren’t more people teaching this?
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34. Spoon Feeding Our Students
• By not speaking enough English in class
• By not giving them the tools to respond when they
don’t know.
• By not showing them how English is really spoken

35. Objectives: (1) Relax, (2) have fun, (3) Recognize
the sounds behind the worlds (aren’t vs orange)
Me: Knock Knock
You: Who’s there
Me: Orange
You: Orange who?
Me: Orange you gonna let me in?

36. The Huge Importance of Confidence
“Fake it until you make it.”
• Fear is the first and biggest
barrier to learning (affective
filter)
• Students have this idea that they
need to be perfect
• Mistakes are a natural part of
the process
• It is our job to teach confidence

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38. 1. Learn the phrases (memorization, repetition)
2. Put the words together until they come out
3. Imitation/mimicry of native pronunciation until
they are fluent with these phrases
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Sorry (Pardon, excuse me), Can you repeat (slower) please
What does ________ mean? (“wha-duz _____ mean?”)
How do you say? (“how-da-ya say ________?”)
What do you mean? (“wha-da-ya mean by _______?”)
(Extra) Do you know what I mean? (“know what I mean?”)

39. Fluent Survival Phrases Protect The
Learner and Give them Tools to Respond
When They Don’t Understand

40. Immediate effect of fluent use
of survival phrases
• Increased confidence in native speaking situations
(it’s a huge psychological step) + cultural fluency
• Pronunciation paradigm broken
• Students more comfortable with the use English in
the classroom (affective filter lowered)
• They will naturally start to listen and imitate (“what
does _________ mean?”)
• These phrases promote a curiosity for the language
that enables them to investigate and experiment

41. Technique #3: Greetings & Goodbyes
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How are you doing? (“How-ya-doin?”)
How have you been? (“How’uv-ya-been?)
It was good to see you. (“it was good-a-see-ya”)
Thank you, I appreciate it (“I apprecia-dit”)
• We use these all of the time (start/end every
conversation with confidence)
• Repetition, functionality, small bits of fluency
• Gives students something to work w/ from day 01.

42. Start and End Every Conversation
with Confidence

43. Technique #4: Tour of the
Tenses Fluency Exercise
Framework for to learn the conjugation of tenses through repeated
use in meaningful context. Native-like pronunciation training

44. Example 1:
Future SimpleGoing to  (“gonna”)
Context: At the end of class (talking about weekend).
Give it lots of structure with first application
Question: What are you going to do this weekend?
“whad-ur-ya gonna do this weekend?”
Answer: I’m going to ____________
“I’m gonna watch the soccer game”

45. Repeated use in meaningful contexts to teach
(1) Grammatical competence
(2) Lower and remove affective filter
(3) Fluency chunks & Scripts
(3) Imitate native pronunciation

46. Example 2:
Simple Past (A)Did
Context: at the beginning of class, first class of the
week.
Question: What did you do on the weekend?
“What-dju-do on the weekend?”
Answer: I watched a movie, I did my homework, I
hung out with my friends.

47. Continued
Application
• Introduce, practice, and
learn both written and
spoken (formal writing)
• Use it to teach listening
comprehension, mimicry/imitation
(pronunciation), and reinforce the survival phrases
• Gradually remove the training wheels until it
becomes a quick, natural, and fluent conversation

48. Example 3:
Present Perf. Cont.
I Have been ____ing
Context: Beginning of class / Middle of the week
Question: What have you been doing (lately, this wk, etc)
“What’uve-ya-been doin’ lately“
Answer: I’ve been _________ing
“I’ve been ______ing”

49. Tour of the Tenses Objectives
• Integrate each tense into meaningful and
repeatable classroom routines that serve as
continual practice.
• Gradually teach each student to relax and
comprehend at normal speed and rhythm in
sound chunks.
• Systematically teach appropriate (formal and
informal) use of verb tenses through
writing, speaking, and pronunciation practice

50. Why Natives Speak Different
Than You Learned in School
1. Sound Morphing
2. The Hidden Rhythm of the English
Language (Shrinking and Linking)
3. Discourse Markers

51. 1. Sound Morphing
How native speakers
cut, shorten, bring
together, and leave out
words and sounds in the
English language.

52. • Examples: Gonna, Gotta, Wanna
• I Want to = I Wanna*
• You’ve Got to = You Gotta*
• I Want to = I Wanna*
• Three are just the most tangible examples
• This is just the tip of the ice-berg
*all of these are used in informal writing (NOT formal)

53. More Classic Examples
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Kind of = Kinda*
Sort of = Sorda
Let me = Lemme
Give me = Gimme
I don’t know = I dunno*
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda*
A lot of = A-lah-du

54. Formal vs Informal
• Native speakers use sound morphing in
spoken English in both formal and informal
contexts
• Native speakers are usually not conscious of
this
• Formality/Register is expressed in the
intonation of speech
• We should certainly focus on learning to write
properly (don’t use morphs)

55. Should You Use These?
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At least understand them
Teach students to understand them
Teach formal writing of this
Play around with them before using them
Music is a great way to implement them

56. 2. Shrinking and
Linking
Influenced by Jason Levine

57. Intonation/Stress
A. I didn’t say he stole the money
B. I didn’t say he stole the money
C. I didn’t say he stole the money
D. I didn’t say he stole the money
E. I didn’t say he stole the money
F. I didn’t say he stole the money
G. I didn’t say he stole the money

58. Content vs Function Words
Rachel Smith (Rachel’s English)

59. The Rhythm
of the English
Language
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English Stress timed language
Stressed Sounds are Content Words
Content words are longer, more emphasis
Unstressed Sounds are Function Words
Function words Shorter, flatter, quicker

60. Unstressed Function Words
Does he think I’ll come today?
“duz-e think all come da-day”
I think we’ll have to help them later tonight
“I think will hafta help-em la-der danight”
He can have a cat and dog, but he can’t have a horse
“he-cun-ave a cad-n-dog, buh-de cannav-a-horse”

61. Discourse Markers
Dynamic group of words or phrases that serve
as linguistic mechanisms to fill, pivot, give space
and rhythm to your speech and conversation.
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Like (kinda like)
You know?
Well
I mean
You see?

62. Using vs Not Using Discourse Markers
“I’m not totally fluent in Italian, but it’s similar to Spanish.
They aren’t exactly the same, but they have similar
grammar.”
“So, look, ya see, I’m not like todally fluent in Italian, ya
know? Bud-its-kinda-like Spanish, know wha-di-mean?
Well, I mean, they arend-exactly the same but they have
kinda like similar grammar you know?”

63. Justin Bieber Says Like A Lot

64. The Application of Discourse Markers
• Don’t abuse them (you’ll sound like an
adolescent)
• Experimentation is good, play around with them
• Observe native speech (TV shows might not
always give you this, but interviews, youtube, etc)
• Start integrating them into your English

65. Techniques Review
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Knock Knock Jokes
Survival Phrases
Greetings/Goodbyes
Tour of the Tenses
1. Imitation of Rap Music
2. Reverse Accent Mimicry

66. Language Learning Heroics:
Idahosa Ness Raps in 8 Languages
www.mimicmethod.com

67. The Mimic Method
www.mimicmethod.com
• Using RAP music to learn a foreign language
• Language is not a sequence of words, but a
sequence of sounds
• Master the sounds of the target language before
mastering the meaning
• The majority of phonemes (distinct speech sounds)
exist in several languages
• What makes each language different is its FLOW or
rhythm

68. Rhythmic Phonetic Training
www.mimicmethod.com
• Teaches the flow of the language by perfecting
their accent while singing
• Uses rap music- far superior than melodic/pop
• More vigorously highlights rhythms and sounds of
a language
• Develop muscularity, articulation w/ rap music
• Then pronunciation is on auto-pilot when
speaking
• The flow of connected speech cuts the syllables

69. Mimic Method Put to Use
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He is developing a product for English speakers
My experience with it
Free audio editing program
Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net)
Slow the song down
Record yourself, compare
Rap music, rhythm & flow
Conscious rap music
Fluency MC’s rap music

70. Reverse Accent Mimicry
Laurence M. Hilton: Speech Language Pathology
• “Humans possess an innate biological capacity
to hear, differentiate and mimic fundamental
prosodic and phonological characteristics of any
language.”
• Story 1 – Walking in France / Children making
fun of him
• Story 2- French Actor Speaking English
• You need to imitate a native English speaker
speaking your language with a thick accent

71. Application
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72. Active & Passive Listening
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Native Podcasts / EFL programs
TV shows-movies-video games
Music (Rap and any type of music)
Immerse your life in English- English For Life
Daily exposure
Convenient moments
Natural as possible
As relaxed as possible
Integrate it into your life, into who you are

73. Conclusion
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Build Awareness
Build Confidence
Don’t Spoon Feed Them
Try new things, make it fun
Experiment With Your Own Learning
Take Advantage of Available Resources