Different ways of teaching Pronunciation

There are different ways of teaching pronunciation. Depending on the learners’ language proficiency level, each strategy could be helpful. 

First, drilling can be very helpful in learning vowel and consonant sounds. Teachers can ask students drill words and sentences to make their pronunciation intelligible. For drilling, teachers can select some contents, such as minimal pairs and difficult sounds. Some examples of minimal pairs are fan/van, sit/seat, so/saw. Pronunciation of these pairs can be confusing for students, so they need to repeat them for comprehending the differences. Also, for Bengali speakers, sounds like chair, think, piece can be very difficult, and need practice. The drilling can be done through oral practice, interactive games or role play. If the activities are interactive, students will be interested, and drilling will not be boring. This is effective for students from elementary to. advanced level. 

Reading aloud can be a very effective strategy in the classroom to practise pronunciation. Students can be engaged in reading aloud after one another. This is very helpful in practising stress at both word and sentence levels. Teachers can also model pronunciation, and ask students to read following that model. Students can also be asked to monitor each other’s pronunciation while reading a text. In this way, they can hear the strengths and weaknesses of each other’s pronunciation, which will make them aware of their own mistakes. 

Teachers should include adequate amount of listening activities in each language class. This will give students exposure to models of English pronunciation. Teachers can use audio clips-or YouTube videos. They can also make some simple pronunciation activities based on the listening task. Students can also be asked to answer to - comprehension questions orally. This will help them practising the same words spoken in the listening tasks. 

Apart from the above, teachers can develop simple pronunciation activities based on the students needs. The most important thing is that students should be given these tasks frequently so that they have adequate practice of speaking intelligibly.