Questions & answers

In this section we publish questions and answers sent in by users of the site about English language teaching topics.

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The schwa  

Hi everyone - I want you to help me with the "schwa". If you can send me a clear explanation of what the schwa is and examples of it, I will be very happy.

Articulation  

When teaching pronunciation how important is it to teach the places and manner of articulation? How should it be taught and at what stage?

Using chants  

Hi! I've been wondering what chants are exactly. How do you use them? What is the advantage of using them in teaching English language at elementary schools?

Correcting pronunciation  

I'm a student of language teaching at university and I'm looking at correcting students' pronunciation for my research.

American or British pronunciation  

In my teaching something puzzles me: the teaching materials we use are a mixture of American and British pronunciation. The result is some students learn a mixture of the two pronunciations.

Slow down!  

Can anyone suggest how to encourage a student who has a relatively high command of the English language to slow down his speech.

Intonation and pitch  

"I am taking a TESOL course and I would like to get more tips on teaching intonation and pitch. How can I demonstrate clearly the use of intonation and pitch? Any good examples which can be provided? Thank you."

Presenting the phonemic alphabet  

Can anybody give me any ideas on how to teach the phonemic alphabet to teenagers learning English? How can I go about presenting this type of lesson? Any help is appreciated.

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