Pronunciation Teaching for teachers in Gaza

Gaza's English teachers have had little training for 10 years, plus are working in 'lockdown' with scarce resources and an erratic energy supply.

From October 4th - 13th, 2020, a group of volunteer teachers came together to provide support on Zoom to upskill 40+ teachers so their children's education could continue from their homes. The training covered how to use Zoom, as well as English speaking, writing, storytelling, reading, vocabulary, and so on.

I was delighted to run a session on Pronunciation, a new but key competency for many. In my training session, I covered the importance of intelligibility (being understood) in our global world. More often than not, intelligibility is the cause of miscommunication, it’s not grammar and vocabulary. Many non-native English speakers in the professional world feel their accent hinders their speaking skills. So I wanted to show how critical it is to teach the core skill. And that they, as teachers, the experts, should be proud of their accents and embrace pronunciation with their primary and secondary school pupils. Engage and enjoy pronunciation as it is a physical and mental activity and can be incredibly rewarding for all. 

In my training, I showed them my favourite English sound chart, taking them on a tour of consonants and the difference between long and short vowels. The Gaza teachers learned how to teach English online and how to identify word stress. I encouraged them to view the teaching process as fun and shared free online resources, exercises, and my go-to books and dictionaries!

Overall, it was a powerful experience for everyone as we collaboratively helped these teachers bolster their skills in teaching English to their students!

Here are some resources that other speakers shared that can help you with pronunciation. 

1. Adrian Underhill - His book 'Sound Foundations'

2. Adrian Underhill - His free app

3. Mark Hancock - PronPack book 1 - Pronunciation Workouts

4. Mark Hancock - PronPack book 2 - Pronunciation Puzzles

5. Mark Hancock - PronPack book 3 - Pronunciation Pairworks

6. Mark Hancock - PronPack book 4 - Pronunciation Poems

7. Mark Hancock - Free downloadable materials

8. BBC Pronunciation Easy videos

9. BBC Pronunciation Medium videos

10. My preferred intermediate dictionary for pronunciation - Macmillan

11. My preferred advanced dictionary with British and American pronunciation, Longman

If you are looking to discuss your company’s Business English communication needs (including Pronunciation support) or Presentation skills, I offer free 30-minute consultations through my site. I’d love to meet you.