International Alphabet Sounds

  A better way to go about imparting how to make sounds or what sounds are utilized in a word, is this international phonemic alphabet. Now we have as mentioned one symbol being used in all the words which share that same sound. Now once we get a little bit more familiar with our phonemic alphabet we can also show how different our different sounds can be as in this symbol for ?ooh?, this symbol for ?ow? and this symbol for ?uh?. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the...  [Read more]

  There are two issues that need to be stressed when working with the international phonemic alphabet. First is the fact that we are no longer concerned with how a word is traditionally spelled. Additionally we need to stress that we are only concerned with the sounds needed to correctly produce a word. So rather than numerous spellings, which can often be pronounced in different ways, we have one symbol representing one sound. Once we can isolate a sound, rather than juggling various spellings, we can work with our students on how to say that sound. Doing that successfully is related to manner and place of articulation, which will be covered shortly. To get a better understanding of the phonemic alphabet, let's take a look at our chart. In the bottom half of our chart we have our...  [Read more]

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology. Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented? The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is ...  [Read more]

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology.Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented' The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is subdivided into...  [Read more]

Phonetics and its Uses in Foreign Language Instruction Phonetics is the study of the physical aspects of speech. It is broken down into three categories: articulatory phonetics deals with the way in which speech sounds are produced, concerning itself with the actual organs involved in speech (vocal tract, tongue, lips, etc.); acoustic phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds, such as the properties of sound waves and the acoustics of speech; and auditory phonetics analyses the way in which humans perceive sounds, and involves the anatomy and physiology of the human ear and brain (Nicole Dehe, ?Phonology and Phonetics,? 1-2). Phonetics looks only at sounds themselves, rather their meanings or the context in which they are used, while the study of...  [Read more]

Phonetics and its Uses in Foreign Language InstructionPhonetics is the study of the physical aspects of speech. It is broken down into three categories: articulatory phonetics deals with the way in which speech sounds are produced, concerning itself with the actual organs involved in speech (vocal tract, tongue, lips, etc.); acoustic phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds, such as the properties of sound waves and the acoustics of speech; and auditory phonetics analyses the way in which humans perceive sounds, and involves the anatomy and physiology of the human ear and brain (Nicole Dehe, 'Phonology and Phonetics,' 1-2). Phonetics looks only at sounds themselves, rather their meanings or the context in which they are used, while the study of sound systems...  [Read more]

Teaching adult true beginners from day one is an interesting challenge and requires a strategy which must be formulated in advance. Do you begin with phonics' Can you start with rote memorization' How can you approach people with different learning styles' What has been the students experience in school previously' There are many considerations but in the end a good plan smoothes the way to the first day. When teaching the alphabet the issue of using phonics comes to the forefront. Many programs use a system of phonics instruction along with grammar and vocabulary topics. Teaching the sounds rather than the letter names per say has advantages and disadvantages. The learner will make more progress in speaking skills when he starts by learning the sounds. He will be able...  [Read more]

  Here we have a set of five words, which all share one sound: the ?oh? sound, as in ?go?, ?show?, ?dough?, ?note? and ?boat?. They?re five different spelling patterns to tell our students so they can identify when to make the ?oh? sound. We can have a simple letter ?o?, ?ow?, ?ough?, ?o? with the magic ?e? which turns our vowel into what we knew as long sounds and the ?oa? as in ?boat?. Now, for a non-native learner, perhaps they can handle something like this. They remember that these spelling combinations help to produce the ?oh? sound and they can go about their business looking at the words and memorizing this knowing that these spelling patterns will produce the sound ?oh?. Now that?s okay until we get to a situation where we can also have words like ?to?, ?cow? and also...  [Read more]

As a global language, English has been popularly taught as the second language in China for quite a few years. Now there are more Chinese people learning English on various purposes, such as applying for a higher paid job, studying and living abroad, or establishing business with western countries. According to my experience of learning and teaching English, it is harder to master English pronunciation than English grammar for Chinese students. Chinese grammar may appear quite simple compared to that of many highly-inflected Western languages (e.g. Russian, Latin, etc.), or even the low-scale verb conjugations, for instance, of English (e.g. "swim, swam, swum") because of the lack of inflections. (1) Even though there are similarities between...  [Read more]

Phonetics has been defined by Roach (1992) as the 'scientific study of speech' (Roach, 1992: 81.) It is concerned with how speech sounds are formed, how we use them in our spoken language and how we can record these speech sounds using written symbols. Phonology on the other hand has been defined by Roach (1992) as 'the study of the sound systems of languages' (Roach, 1992: 82.) According to Roca and Johnson (1999), the way in which we speak is somewhat similar to playing a recorder. This is because when you play a recorder you have to blow air from your lungs, as you do when you speak. However, to play a tune, you cannot simply blow air into the recorder; you must have your fingers over specific holes. Therefore, when we speak, we have to interfere with the air that comes out...  [Read more]

As a global language, English has been popularly taught as the second language in China for quite a few years. Now there are more Chinese people learning English on various purposes, such as applying for a higher paid job, studying and living abroad, or establishing business with western countries. According to my experience of learning and teaching English, it is harder to master English pronunciation than English grammar for Chinese students. Chinese grammar may appear quite simple compared to that of many highly-inflected Western languages (e.g. Russian, Latin, etc.), or even the low-scale verb conjugations, for instance, of English (e.g. "swim, swam, swum") because of the lack of inflections. (1)Even though there are similarities between English alphabet and Chinese one...  [Read more]

  Shem is from the USA and is currently living in Japan having previously taught English in Africa. In this TEFL review Shem tells how he really enjoyed taking the online TEFL course with ITTT and recommends the course with tutor support and videos as he found the videos to be really helpful in preparing him for what to expect in the English teaching world. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This lesson on phonology and pronunciation discusses the...  [Read more]

  In this video we'll be looking at the international phonemic alphabet and how it's used in the classroom. There are other phonemic alphabets but this is the most popular and the system, which is most widely used. You may have seen some of these symbols before as any good dictionary will supplement standard English spellings with the phonemic spellings to aid in pronunciation practice. Here we have a situation where we have what are called phonemes and each phoneme represents a sound within the English language. How is this helpful? Well, what it does is help students understand how to say words rather than simply relying on the often archaic English spellings. To illustrate this point let's for a moment put ourselves in the shoes of our students when trying to understand how to...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review, Deeksha tells us how she enjoyed taking the 120-hour online TEFL course with ITTT. She found that the course units were clear and comprehensive. She also found that the level of difficulty of the course helped motivate her to keep going. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. We were learning teaching pronunciation and phonology. We saw the definition of phonoly the three aspects about phonology sucha as stress, rhythm and...  [Read more]

I am a ?Purist? at heart. For me the only acceptable, the only correct, the only ?propah? way to speak (and spell) English is as illustrated in the Encyclopedia Britannica ? the British English, so to speak. I have always been a staunch champion of Dr. Doolittle and all the other guardians of the English language. However, being a teacher of the English language, I can no longer turn a blind eye to the ?globalization? of English, which is - ?now a mish-mash of words incorporated from over 350 languages, and is still undergoing constant change, with hundreds of words/phrases coming into existence every year, some fading away, but many finding their way into dictionaries and thesauruses! One can pronounce words in many different ways and still be understood!! The...  [Read more]

I am a 'Purist' at heart. For me the only acceptable, the only correct, the only 'propah' way to speak (and spell) English is as illustrated in the Encyclopedia Britannica ' the British English, so to speak. I have always been a staunch champion of Dr. Doolittle and all the other guardians of the English language.However, being a teacher of the English language, I can no longer turn a blind eye to the 'globalization' of English, which is - 'now a mish-mash of words incorporated from over 350 languages, and is still undergoing constant change, with hundreds of words/phrases coming into existence every year, some fading away, but many finding their way into dictionaries and thesauruses! One can pronounce words in many different ways and still be understood!! The emergence of so ...  [Read more]

This research article will highlight and investigate two major aspects of preparing and starting an EFL course to beginner-level students. They are; 1) the approaches (i.e. the mindset, theoretical beliefs and methodologies that a teacher applies to the course, short and long term), 2) the techniques - (i.e. the specific assignments, arrangements and tools/aids utilized to carry out the teacher´s approaches and achieve the student´s goals). The article will move through the various, early stages of planning and teaching an EFL Beginners Course, in (roughly) chronological order. Its focus will only be to shed light on common, recommendable teaching approaches and techinques for an EFL Beginners Course. Along the way, a teacher - in reality - would encounter more, and have to...  [Read more]

This research article will highlight and investigate two major aspects of preparing and starting an EFL course to beginner-level students. They are; 1) the approaches (i.e. the mindset, theoretical beliefs and methodologies that a teacher applies to the course, short and long term), 2) the techniques - (i.e. the specific assignments, arrangements and tools/aids utilized to carry out the teacher´s approaches and achieve the student´s goals). The article will move through the various, early stages of planning and teaching an EFL Beginners Course, in (roughly) chronological order. Its focus will only be to shed light on common, recommendable teaching approaches and techinques for an EFL Beginners Course. Along the way, a teacher - in reality...  [Read more]

(1) 'The world is your classroom' is the TEFL International motto and four fun weeks with us is your ticket to living your dreams abroad, in exciting locations all over the world. Some people are attracted to a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Course for various reasons. Some people see the opportunity to help underprivileged people to learn English, some wish to travel extensively and some are in it for the good money that is offered in some countries. A TEFL Qualified Teacher can work with students of all ages, provided they meet the chosen countries visa requirements. A TEFL Qualified Teacher can travel the globe and earn a comfortable living teaching. A TEFL Qualified Teacher can also earn some very good money if they decide to work in countries...  [Read more]

To embark upon yet another career at the ripe old >?age of 51, may seem like madness to most people. However, most >?people would not have given up a successful 27 yr career in Nursing >?as I had done 7 yrs previously. This was to take a fitness >?qualification that enabled me to have??a “midlife” crisis, and >?become a fitness professional and eventually a Club Manager. >?However, the realization that advancing middle age was not >?conducive to teaching aerobics classes forever, led me to the >?beautiful island of Phuket in March 2007. My plan was to qualify as >?a TEFL teacher and remain on the island for a year at least, >?practicing my newly aquired skills. Yes, I could have done...  [Read more]