English Phonetics Diary - Final Reflection
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| source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tipa_phonetics.svg |
As the semester is coming to an end, I would like to reflect on the course that I did lots of research for and the effects it had on me as a teacher and as a learner. In my last post about the English Phonetics course, I will try to remind myself of all the things that I have learned and the skills that I gained during this semester. I would like to look back at all the experiences that shaped my present understanding of what phonetics is and the importance of this area in teaching and learning English.
Before this course, I had an idea what phonetics is. Having finished a course on pronunciation I thought it’s main focus was saying the words properly and using an IPA alphabet to omit mispronouncing them. I was pleasantly surprised that there is much more to the topic, therefore a lot needed to be explored. I tried choosing different sources, though once I started following one specific topic, I wanted to expand it as far as I could. This means I spent lots of time on phonetic and phonological awareness and then tried to try out different ideas in my classroom. Sometimes it was successful and other times it was simply too easy for my students.
I had a hard time visualising some activities connected to different types of syllables. This topic I still feel unsure about. When I went into my classroom, I realised how instinctively I was treating many topics connected to phonetics. Once I had to explain something to my students I saw that it wasn’t that instinctive for them. Now, I try to incorporate one short activity into each lesson, either to warm-up my students or in the middle of the class to help them refocus. They are actually partially responsible for motivating me to learn more about phonetics. I work the best when I see that I will have to utilise this new knowledge. Once I saw how entertaining these can be and wanted to incorporate them into my lessons I suddenly felt more interested.
The same goes for the IPA alphabet. Though I was more or less able to read the words written in phonetic transcription, I used it only occasionally. Then I went to my students' practice. I had to teach students some words, none of them were new to me. However, knowing that many mistakes occur when I am stressed out, I wanted to be as prepared as I could. I started getting through my lesson plans and noticing the words I may mispronounce or suddenly forget how to read. When I needed to make sure if I’m pronouncing the word correctly, I started looking at the transcription and copying it onto my lesson plan. It really helped me feel more confident and prepared for the lesson.
Overally, it was a very busy semester. I feel like maybe for the first time I was working systematically to avoid the accumulation of assignments, though I still barely found time for each of them. I am glad I spent some of my after class time to learn more about these important topics and find ways to incorporate them into my lessons.
Before this course, I had an idea what phonetics is. Having finished a course on pronunciation I thought it’s main focus was saying the words properly and using an IPA alphabet to omit mispronouncing them. I was pleasantly surprised that there is much more to the topic, therefore a lot needed to be explored. I tried choosing different sources, though once I started following one specific topic, I wanted to expand it as far as I could. This means I spent lots of time on phonetic and phonological awareness and then tried to try out different ideas in my classroom. Sometimes it was successful and other times it was simply too easy for my students.
I had a hard time visualising some activities connected to different types of syllables. This topic I still feel unsure about. When I went into my classroom, I realised how instinctively I was treating many topics connected to phonetics. Once I had to explain something to my students I saw that it wasn’t that instinctive for them. Now, I try to incorporate one short activity into each lesson, either to warm-up my students or in the middle of the class to help them refocus. They are actually partially responsible for motivating me to learn more about phonetics. I work the best when I see that I will have to utilise this new knowledge. Once I saw how entertaining these can be and wanted to incorporate them into my lessons I suddenly felt more interested.
The same goes for the IPA alphabet. Though I was more or less able to read the words written in phonetic transcription, I used it only occasionally. Then I went to my students' practice. I had to teach students some words, none of them were new to me. However, knowing that many mistakes occur when I am stressed out, I wanted to be as prepared as I could. I started getting through my lesson plans and noticing the words I may mispronounce or suddenly forget how to read. When I needed to make sure if I’m pronouncing the word correctly, I started looking at the transcription and copying it onto my lesson plan. It really helped me feel more confident and prepared for the lesson.
Overally, it was a very busy semester. I feel like maybe for the first time I was working systematically to avoid the accumulation of assignments, though I still barely found time for each of them. I am glad I spent some of my after class time to learn more about these important topics and find ways to incorporate them into my lessons.
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