PTC200 - How to Teach Pronunciation to ESL Students
| Semester | |
| School | |
| Last revision date | Sep 22, 2025 1:51:22 AM |
| Last review date | Nov 10, 2025 12:15:16 AM |
Subject Title
How to Teach Pronunciation to ESL Students
Subject Description
This subject trains experienced ESL teachers to teach pronunciation to their ESL students.
Credit Status
This is a 30 hour graded non-credit course.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this subject the student will be able to:
- The most typical pronunciation mistakes that ESL learners make.
- The influence of a student's first language on his/her pronunciation.
- The articulation of the consonant sounds of Canadian English.
- The articulation of the vowel sounds of Canadian English.
- The function of intonation in Canadian.
- The stress patterns in Canadian English.
- The rhythm of Canadian English.
- The use of contractions, reductions and linking in normal speech.
- Pedagogical techniques in the teaching of pronunciation.
Academic Integrity
Seneca upholds a learning community that values academic integrity, honesty, fairness, trust, respect, responsibility and courage. These values enhance Seneca's commitment to deliver high-quality education and teaching excellence, while supporting a positive learning environment. Ensure that you are aware of Seneca's Academic Integrity Policy which can be found at: http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/academic-integrity-policy.html Review section 2 of the policy for details regarding approaches to supporting integrity. Section 2.3 and Appendix B of the policy describe various sanctions that can be applied, if there is suspected academic misconduct (e.g., contract cheating, cheating, falsification, impersonation or plagiarism).
Please visit the Academic Integrity website http://open2.senecac.on.ca/sites/academic-integrity/for-students to understand and learn more about how to prepare and submit work so that it supports academic integrity, and to avoid academic misconduct.
Discrimination/Harassment
All students and employees have the right to study and work in an environment that is free from discrimination and/or harassment. Language or activities that defeat this objective violate the College Policy on Discrimination/Harassment and shall not be tolerated. Information and assistance are available from the Student Conduct Office at student.conduct@senecapolytechnic.ca.
Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
The College will provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities in order to promote academic success. If you require accommodation, contact the Counselling and Accessibility Services Office at ext. 22900 to initiate the process for documenting, assessing and implementing your individual accommodation needs.
Camera Use and Recordings - Synchronous (Live) Classes
Synchronous (live) classes may be delivered in person, in a Flexible Learning space, or online through a Seneca web conferencing platform such as MS Teams or Zoom. Flexible Learning spaces are equipped with cameras, microphones, monitors and speakers that capture and stream instructor and student interactions, providing an in-person experience for students choosing to study online.
Students joining a live class online may be required to have a working camera in order to participate, or for certain activities (e.g. group work, assessments), and high-speed broadband access (e.g. Cable, DSL) is highly recommended. In the event students encounter circumstances that impact their ability to join the platform with their camera on, they should reach out to the professor to discuss. Live classes may be recorded and made available to students to support access to course content and promote student learning and success.
By attending live classes, students are consenting to the collection and use of their personal information for the purposes of administering the class and associated coursework. To learn more about Seneca's privacy practices, visit Privacy Notice.
Prerequisite(s)
Students must meet the minimum prerequisites laid out by TESL Ontario for eligibility to take a PTCT course. Please see the TESL Ontario webpage, https://ptct.teslontario.org/eligibility, for information about the prerequisites.
Topic Outline
1. Fundamental concepts in the teaching of pronunciation.
- First language interference in pronunciation
- The critical/sensitive period for pronunciation
- Typical pronunciation problems.
- International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols
- Useful pronunciation methods and materials
- Phonemes versus allophones
- Segmental pronunciation versus suprasegmental pronunciation
2. Teaching the pronunciation of consonants
- Place and manner of articulation of English consonants
- Voiced consonants versus voiceless consonants
- Aspiration
- Syllable structure
- IPA consonant symbols
- Tips for teaching consonants
- Typical 1st language interference in the pronunciation of consonants
- Assimilation
- Consonant clusters
- Inflectional endings
3. Teaching the pronunciation of vowels
- Parameters of vowel production (i.e. high, mid, low; front, central, back; tense vs. lax; rounded vs. unrounded)
- Monophthongs versus diphthongs
- IPA vowel symbols
- Vowel perception
- 1st language interference in the perception and pronunciation of vowels
- Tips for teaching vowels
- Typical spellings of vowels
4. Teaching word stress
- Principles of syllabification
- Characteristics of primary and secondary syllable stress
- Notations for stress and syllables
- Tips for teaching word stress
- Unstressed syllables
- Two syllable noun and verb stress patterns
- Stress with compound words
- Words with prefixes
- Abbreviations
- Effects of suffixes on word stress
- Words with silent vowels
- Effects of part-of-speech on rhythm (i.e. content versus function words)
- Tips for teaching rhythm
- Syllable-timed languages versus stress-timed languages
- Thought groups
- Linking
- Reduced personal pronouns
- Phrasal verbs
- Reduced pronunciations of conjunctions
- Reduced pronunciations of other functions words (e.g. auxiliary verbs, prepositions)
6. Teaching intonation
- Pitch and intonation contours
- The correlation of intonation with grammatical structure
- The correlation of intonation with speaker attitude
- Tips for teaching intonation
- Typical intonation patterns of information questions and statements
- Typical intonation patterns of yes-no questions
- Effects of incorrect use of intonation by ESL students
- Highlighting and contrasting information
- Intonation of lists and choice questions
Mode of Instruction
- Lectures
- Question and answer techniques
- Classroom discussion
- Audio recordings
- Assignments and practice tests
- Pair work
- Individual consultation
- Post-course email individual consultation with an experienced ESL pronunciation teacher
Prescribed Texts
Tips for Teaching Pronunciation - A Practical Approach: Linda lane, Pearson Longman, 2010, ISBN 978-0-13-813629-1.
To find out the cost of books and learning material go here.
Any courses not listed on the bookstore webpage do not require any resources for purchase. All resources will be provided by your instructor.
Reference Material
Avery, P. and S. Ehrlich (1992) Teaching American English Pronunciation. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Celce-Murcial, M., D. Brinton and J. Goodwin (2010) Teaching Pronunciation - A course book and reference guide. (2nd ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Grant, L. (1993) Well said - advanced English pronunciation. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
Orion, G. (1997) Pronuncing American English. Albany, New York: Heinle and Heinle.
Rogers, H. (2000) The sounds of language - an introduction to phonetics. Essex, England: Longman.
Student Progression and Promotion Policy
A student must achieve a minimum of 70% in the course in order to pass the subject. In addition, a student must not have a grade of less than 50% on any assignment or exam and a student must attend a minimum of 80% of the training classes. The Seneca grading policy for final grades is as follows:
http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/student-progression-and-promotion-policy.html
Grading Policyhttp://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/grading-policy.html
| A+ | 90% to 100% |
| A | 80% to 89% |
| B+ | 75% to 79% |
| B | 70% to 74% |
| C+ | 65% to 69% |
| C | 60% to 64% |
| D+ | 55% to 59% |
| D | 50% to 54% |
| F | 0% to 49% (Not a Pass) |
| OR | |
| EXC | Excellent |
| SAT | Satisfactory |
| UNSAT | Unsatisfactory |
For further information, see a copy of the Academic Policy, available online (http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/academics-and-student-services.html) or at Seneca's Registrar's Offices.
The College Academic Policy will prevail regarding Academic Honesty.
Modes of Evaluation
| Quiz 1 | 10% |
| Lesson Plan # 1 | 25% |
| Quiz 2 | 10% |
| Lesson Plan #2 | 25% |
| Final Exam | 30% |