You can make it into a very hard sell (as a not-very-good trainee teacher did to me in 1965), or you can make it fun. But either way, it's worth it. I remember saying, when I was at school, 'What possible use is this?' but today I can't imagine learning a language without the IPA.
On my CELTA course we did a brilliant game based on Battleships (to learn phonemic script). I've been looking for it to copy ever since - it would take quite a bit of effort to replicate it (though I mean to, when I get 'a round tuit'
).
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