I’ve had a few emails from people studying the DipTESOL saying that my old review quizzes have disappeared! Turns out that Qzzr is now a ‘paid for’ site. Boooo! I’ve been working on alternatives. Here is a phonology review quiz… Read More ›

pronunciation
Lesson idea: Kahoot! for word stress
Just a quick idea for using Kahoot! here. I found I was using it for the same purposes – grammar meaning/form checking, gap fills, consolidation at end of lesson, etc. I wanted to branch out. Turns out it works well… Read More ›
Pronunciation priorities
Uh-oh! Here comes a ‘Teacher Pete thinking something through out loud’ moment. Tut. I hate these… Mark Hancock shared a good article on LinkedIn the other day called ‘Pronunciation Teaching Post-ELF’. It’s got me thinking about my own attitudes towards… Read More ›
App review: ELSA Speak
Let it gooooo, let it gooooo! Now that’s out of my system, here’s a review of ELSA Speak. It’s an app that teaches you to ‘pronounce English like an American through real-world conversations’. It’s a great use of AI in… Read More ›
Writing pronunciation activities – 5 things to consider
I’ve written quite a few pronunciation activities this year for a regional product (Asia). Here are a few random thoughts on the process… Pronunciation for… what? As Laura Patsko mentions in this interesting Pedagogy Pop-up, pronunciation is important for all… Read More ›
Flappy Drills – ‘Class, say after me…’
In this latest guest post, CELTA Trainer Nicky Salmon offers some tips for drilling pronunciation. I watch a lot of teachers doing drills to focus on pronunciation. Picture yourself drilling the following- Teacher: OK class, listen….vegetable, vegetable Students: Vegetable Teacher:… Read More ›
IATEFL 2017: Integrating pronunciation
I just watched a good talk from Mark McKinnon and Nicola Meldrum called ‘Making pronunciation an integral part of your classroom practice’. Here’s a link (I can’t embed the vid for some reason). I’m a DipTESOL graduate so ‘pron’ is… Read More ›
Teaching pronunciation: contractions
Contractions often come up as a pronunciation point in our Elementary level lessons. My students don’t have much trouble with ‘I am’ becoming ‘I’m’, but contractions with ‘you are’, ‘we are’, etc seem a bit harder to produce. I feel… Read More ›
Word stress – footballs and sticky balls
I like teaching word stress. I have various ‘go to’ activities for noticing and practising word stress – stuff like this: Using Cuisenaire rods Humming the stress pattern Fist pumping when you say the stressed syllable Building vocab based on… Read More ›
Thoughts on teaching Vietnamese learners
I’m currently working at the British Council summer school in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s been a fantastic experience so far, and it’s the first time I’ve ever taught English to Vietnamese learners. It’s also my first stint at the… Read More ›