Phonetic System

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Dasheng Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Weifang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. It is not always easy for people who lives in a country with wide range of dialects to learn a second language, especially a language with totally different source and system. The English education system varies dramatically from the late 1980 till now in China, as the first batch of children who get the chance to touch modern English learning in Chinese schools, I...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences During nine years of teaching English as a Second language, I have discovered how important phonetics is in learning the correct pronunciation of the English language, and in fact, in any language. Derwing and Munro (2005) emphasize, “It is essential to have an accurate understanding of the target language phonological system to enhance the quality of pronunciation". This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mark B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A vast majority of language books are aimed at L2 learners from all over the world and don’t necessarily cater to the “localized” needs of a particular country. These books usually have to be disseminated by the teacher...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Xianggong Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xianyang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Many ESL teachers have never even heard of phonetics or phonology, yet they use these aspects of speech naturally when they speak. Phonetics and phonology are two areas of linguistics that study the sounds of language. Phonetics focuses on individual sounds, while phonology studies the features and combination of sounds (McMahon, 1-3). There are two reasons why...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Moujiaba Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Hanzhong Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Phonetics/Phonology. Phonetics refers to the study of speech sounds. In other words, Phonetics is that branch in Linguistics that studies the various sounds that come together to form words in a language. Phonetics happens to be one of the most important aspects when it comes to teaching and learning language. Phonology on the other hand, which is often...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Many ESL teachers have never even heard of phonetics or phonology, yet they use these aspects of speech naturally when they speak. Phonetics and phonology are two areas of linguistics that study the sounds of language. Phonetics focuses on individual sounds, while phonology studies the features and combination of sounds (McMahon, 1-3). There are two reasons why ESL teachers need to know phonetics and phonology: first, it helps them to conceptualize English in a way that their students can understand; and second, it helps them to address their students’ difficult pronunciation problems. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Victoria I. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A large number of obstacles can arise for the students when learning a foreign language. Some of these problems are related to the contrast between the mother language and the learned language. About the differences between L1 and L2, there is plenty of research in the field of contrastive linguistics. Moreover, regarding that topic, many papers can be found comparing English to Japanese with the aim to address the problems of Japanese learners of English. However, other predicaments with the apprehension of the L2 can develop when teachers underestimate the importance of the cultural dimension of the language taught. Concerning that particular impediment, less scientific literature exists. In this essay, the discussion will focus on several issues of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In my experience teaching elementary and junior high school level English in Japan, several different pronunciation problems appear frequently. The Japanese phonemic inventory is smaller than English’s phonemic inventory, and the sounds present in each language differ from each other quite dramatically. Because of this, it can be difficult for native Japanese speakers to learn and master English pronunciation, but there are a few teaching techniques that can help students overcome this difficulty. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vladlena H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Several consonants are difficult for native Japanese speakers to produce. It is well-known...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This piece will discuss the difficulties faced by Japanese learners of English regarding English pronunciation and suggest methods to help learners in different age groups overcome them. It posits that most difficulties stem from the differences in phonology between the English alphabet and the Japanese kana system. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Niall M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. While the English alphabet is phonemic, with each letter representing a single sound, kana is syllabic, with most characters representing a consonant followed by a vowel. This means that Japanese speakers may add vowels onto the end of English words that end with consonants. For...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflonline.net In this video we look at a TESOL teaching idea for the past continuous tense. For this activity students are put into groups and are handed pictures of people doing different activities. The pictures are placed upside down in a pile and the students take it in turns to turn them over. When they have turned over a card they must make a past continuous sentence based on the picture they have. For example: If they turn over a picture of a woman swimming they would say: She was swimming yesterday. For more advanced students this activity can be used to compare past continuous and past simple. For example: While I was doing the washing up, I broke three plates. Becoming a TESOL teacher enables you to travel the world experiencing new cultures while earning a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Spanish speakers from Mexico face several challenges for acquiring successful pronunciation skills in English. Many students here will have had at least some exposure to English through media and contact with American-English speakers, however, this does not mean that they will have a complete understanding of the phonemic system in English and how it differs from that of Spanish. This essay will briefly describe some outcomes stemming from pronunciation problems in students, followed by an overview of the basic phonetic and phonological differences between English and Mexican Spanish with examples and discussion around the rules that govern English word stress. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Matt B. Please note that this...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shenhe Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Ankang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Problems for Learners in South Korea Korean learners of the English language face numerous challenges in acquiring the language on a proficient level, although English is introduced to children at an early age. English is incorporated into the primary school curriculum from the age of four, yet only a small minority master the language on a proficient conversational...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations Alumni Experiences Korean learners of the English language face numerous challenges in acquiring the language on a proficient level, although English is introduced to children at an early age. English is incorporated into the primary school curriculum from the age of four, yet only a small minority master the language on a proficient conversational level. Unfortunately, the reasons seem to stem from cultural and social differences, the significant differences between the two languages; Korean and English, and the Korean Educational System is also a contributing factor. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Beatrix N. To begin with, cultural differences seem to be a central reason why Koreans find it challenging to master English. Firstly, Korea is a...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Yangmingbao Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xinzhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Learning a new language is a journey that can begin at home, in a classroom, on the street and even on the couch. It certainly takes some time to get fluent in a new language, but with motivation, methodology and a system of learning that can be customized, anyone has the capacity to pick up language. Knowing the variety of learning options available, why do...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences In recent times, it is safe to say that the English language is one of the most spoken languages and widely preferred L2s according to the Oxford dictionary. For communication to be successful, however, certain criteria need to be met. For instance, one must not only study the forms or shape of things but must also adhere to the formation of words and phrases alike in order to craft well-formed sentences, along with understanding the meaning of each word, phrase or the relationship between two words. Whether they differ or are similar in terms of phonetics and spelling before actually making use of it, it is important to note that anything contrary to this will corrupt the efficient and effective use of the English language. The oral phase of this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In the last years, English has become more and more popular worldwide. In most countries, children start learning a second language at an early age. Also in Turkey, the number of schools, universities and language centers where it is possible to learn English has increased significantly. Nevertheless, despite all the efforts and a considerable presence of foreign teachers, it seems that Turkish students find the English language extremely difficult to learn. Turkish students consider the education system the major cause of their school failure because it is too obsolete. I had the opportunity to work as a language teacher in Turkey for several years. This experience helped me to understand why in Turkey learning English, and foreign languages, in...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Daliu Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Dezhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. The English language is a peculiar, fascinating beast to teach and to learn. It comes with a long legacy of Anglo-Saxon and Norman invaders, empire building, and globalization of the 20th century. With multiple layers of rules and culture, it overflows with idiosyncrasies and peculiarities to confound native and learning speakers alike. Whether it’s pronunciation,...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shibalipu Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Liaocheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Since the invention of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) in 1888, language students everywhere have been reaping the benefits. The International Phonetic Alphabet was a system created to give a correspondence between each sound in language and each phonetic symbol. With the IPA, a student can learn what parts of the mouth are called, and then they will...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The second of the productive skills is writing and here again we'll have a look at the background needed to create a typical lesson for writing skills. One of the things to be aware of in a writing skills lesson is that writing tends to be more formal than spoken English, so there will be some differences between the two. An example is that writing very often uses less contracted forms. On the other hand, there are also many similarities between the two skills. This means many of the considerations that we had for a speaking skills lesson will also apply here to a writing skills lesson. Within writing skills itself there are some sub skills that we may want to teach and those sub skills could include but are not limited...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Zhaocheng Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Linfen Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Japanese and English are two languages that branch from completely different language families. Due to these dissimilarities, Japanese learners of English often have trouble in the classroom. One common area of difficulty is pronunciation. For a multitude of reasons, pronunciation problems arise in the Japanese EFL classroom. One reason students might have...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Lingzi Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Zibo Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. One of the most important aspects of any language is pronunciation. Learning the dynamics that makes up pronunciation in any language is crucial as it can be one of the determining factor of whether the message you are attempting to communicate verbally in a particular language is clearly understood by the native speaker of that language. According to the Cambridge...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The English language is a peculiar, fascinating beast to teach and to learn. It comes with a long legacy of Anglo-Saxon and Norman invaders, empire-building, and globalization of the 20th century. With multiple layers of rules and culture, it overflows with idiosyncrasies and peculiarities to confound native and learning speakers alike. Whether it’s pronunciation, grammar, or even just the system of time, English is a welcoming lingua franca and an intimidating coil of strangeness at the same time. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zachary L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Any language has their culture imprinted on their language, but the English words for...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shuangan Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Ankang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. By: Joshua Heald Learning Phonics has proven time and time again that when it comes to older students who have to remember the spelling and pronunciation of bigger words, the students that have learned phonics from early on, have an easier time. When the pronunciation (the sound) has been linked to the spelling ( the look) it helps in many different ways. When you...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Yanping Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Shangluo Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Why do Japanese tend to have trouble with pronunciations of the English language? In the English alphabet there are 26 letters that represent not just one sound, but multiple depending on how it is used or its placement in a sentence. This is called phonetics. Phonetics is a difficult but important subject of learning to grasp and understand in order to pronounce...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Phonology is the system of sounds that exist within a particular language, while phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are produced. One difficulty for all learners of a second language is learning how to produce new sounds by moving the mouth, lips, and tongue in new ways. Several other languages also share the Roman alphabet with English but do not pronounce letters and combinations of letters the same way. These learners need to learn the English phonology so that when they read English, they will know how to pronounce the words they read correctly, and so that they speak English with a more native-sounding accent. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebecca W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Fengzhou Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Changzhi Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Just as each language and culture poses its own unique difficulties, Korean-speaking students face distinct challenges when learning English. Since it is the task of the instructor to help students surmount initial obstacles to learning English, it is critical for and EFL teacher in Korea to examine the inherent challenges of Korean-speakers when learning English....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Description: When teaching English in Japan, there are a few common problems all learners, young and old, face. Two main issues students face are with grammar, as well as pronouncing and hearing certain sounds. As this course was designed for teaching young learners, in this paper, I will address the issues above and possible solutions as they apply to this age group. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebecca E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Grammar is difficult to learn, no matter where you are from. However, some critical issues for Japanese students, in particular, are sentence structure and word order, articles and plurals,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Throughout high school and college, I mainly focused on learning how to speak Japanese as my second language. Unlike English, Japanese is a fairly phonetic language. Two of its three writing systems, hiragana and katakana, are phonetic. This makes it easy for foreigners to learn because each syllable, also known as sound clusters in some circles, is almost always said exactly how it is spelled. The third writing system, kanji, is not and, as such, is much more difficult for foreigners to learn because kanji are essentially pictures that describe their meaning. They are much more difficult to learn and use in everyday speech. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nicole H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching English as a foreign language is a professional activity that requires many qualities and skills. Without any prior form of study in the field, it could be very difficult for the teacher to pass on knowledge to their students and possibly at times even be at risk of being counterproductive in a classroom. TEFL course prepares future teachers or teachers needing extra training to be better equipped in their role. Moreover, TEFL certification is recognized worldwide and as such gives a better chance to get a job as a teacher abroad. Especially as it is becoming a requirement for international teaching. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Corinne R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Yangbǎi Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Bazhong Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. To begin with, I would like to outline the main differences between the western education system in contrast to the Japanese education system. In general, Japan is a very conformist country as the Japanese way of thinking could be expressed as group thinking in contrast to the western way of individual thinking. From early childhood on Japanese people are taught...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning a new language can be a wonderful experience. However, its success depends on several factors. Personal propensity above all. By this, I mean interest and passion for whatever language it is we have set our minds to learn. More often than not this propensity involves a sort of an innate talent which makes it easier for some students to master specific language skills. The right hint of motivation goes hand in hand with the environment. At a very early stage, this environment is represented by our teachers, masters, and tutors. Their ability to pass on the interest of another language will be crucial. How are we ever going to enjoy foreign language classes if they are carried out in a monotonous and dull manner? They have to be diverse and...  [Read more]