Teaching phonetic transcription

[Rachel Adams]

Hello
A friend asked me to post her question.

Are private tutors expected to teach their students phonetic transcription? Should a teacher write transcription for every unkownn word their student finds in his/her text or should it be part of their assignment? The lesson lasts an hour only and it would take too much time to write transcription for each word during the lesson. My students are 10- 11 years old. I usually teach them phonetic symbols in the follwoing way. After learning two or more symbols I chose words read those words out loud they recognise the sounds and write them down. For example they were asked to notice the difference between man and men pan and pen. They pronounced all the words correctly and wrote the symbols too.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I did not formally teach my learners (one-to-one or in class) phonetic transcription, but I always used it when I gave them a new word with anything but an obvious pronunciation. Most of my learners, except complete beginners, either knew how to read phonetic transcription already, or soon picked it up.

I thought it essential to use it when I was teaching, as it helped learners when they looked words up in a dictionary. Now that most online dictionaries make it possible for learners to hear the word, I might well not bother,

Some parents demand that teachers write word for word phonetic transcription. Sorry, what did you mean when you said 'with anything but an obvious pronunciation?'

 

[Rachel Adams]

I always used it when I gave them a new word with anything but an obvious pronunciation.

but = except

I would give a phonetic transcription for such words as rough, cough, and though, because it is not possible to know how they are pronounced unless you have been told. However, I would not give a phonetic transcription for such words as ruff, doff or so, because the pronunciation is as you would expect.

So there was no pressure on you from your students' parents. What do you think a teacher should do when parents who have no idea what phonetics is or how English must be taught insist on your writing a phonetic transcription for every single word.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I would ask them why they required this. If they didn't have a valid reason, I would tell them politely that, as a qualified and experienced teacher, I would teach in the way that I judged effective. If they didn't like that, they could find another teacher.

Some students and some families are just too complicated. That's the best thing to do. Thank you very much, Piscean!

 

[Tdol]

Play it by ear- some people find it rewarding and others find it dull, and we live in an age where anyone with the internet can access sound files.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Play it by ear- some people find it rewarding and others find it dull, and we live in an age where anyone with the internet can access sound files.

They were advised to use online dictionaries, but as the mother of the child said ''a good teacher must not tell her/his student to search for new words on the internet''. Like I said the family is really weird.

 

[Rover_KE]

A friend asked me to post her question.

Why doesn't your friend become a member and ask her own questions?

 

[Rachel Adams]

Why doesn't your friend become a member and ask her own questions?

Yes, she is going to sign up on UE.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I always used it when I gave them a new word with anything but an obvious pronunciation.

but = except

I would give a phonetic transcription for such words as rough, cough, and though, because it is not possible to know how they are pronounced unless you have been told. However, I would not give a phonetic transcription for such words as ruff, doff or so, because the pronunciation is as you would expect.

Some of the words the student coudn't pronounce were nearby, each, awful, horrifying, terrifying, creature, cave, escape, giant, whirlpool. The teacher explained to her that cave is pronounced as 'keiv' and not as 'save' (as the girl pronounced) that it is 'i' skeip' not 'eskeip', she gave transcription for the word giant, and for other words short explanation of how these words should be pronounced. For example in 'awful' the aw is pronounced as ''ɔ''. She didn't give phonetic transcription for each word but made the girl write phonetic symbols above some of these words in her book. For cave, and giant. Cave-k, giant-dʒ.
Do you think this is the wrong approach?

 

[Rachel Adams]

The right approach is the one that works for the student and the teacher.

If you are going to use phonemic transcription, use the correct symbols. It's /keɪv/, not /keiv/; /ɪskeɪp/, not /iskeip/.
The word cave rhymes with the word save.

There is a phonetic symbols keyboard here: http://ipa.typeit.org/

We always use the correct symbols, I just typed them quickly. Her approach always worked for her and her students. It was just very important to know what other teachers thought about it.