Is what I say unclear?

[Pasquale Esposito]

Hi everyone,


I would very much like to know whether or not you are able to fill in six gaps in the script relating to a video of mine in which you can see me asking a question at the end of a conference about the use of technology in the classroom.


The reason for my strange request is that I'm often afraid that, when I speak in English, the way I pronounce words may sound quite weird and what I say could not be easy to follow. So, the final target for me is to see whether the problem really exists.


This is the link to the YouTube video:

And this is the script with the six gaps:

===== START OF SCRIPT =====​

So, one of the things that I found particularly (1)__________ was one of the slides during the first presentation showing that technology is not very much used in the classroom. So, the question I have is, what's the reason for it? Is it because our teachers are not (2)__________ for the use of technology? Or is it because they believe that for language acquisition, for example (I'm an English teacher; I'm not a native speaker, anyway), probably traditional learning is preferable to the use of (3)__________ in the classroom. For example, I was thinking of the fact that Steve Jobs used to force his children to read paper books. And, for example, for the memorization of information, very often, you know, people say that it helps us to use pen and paper more than new technology, because technology usually teaches us to be fast, but when you (4)__________ you need to slow down. And if you think of, for example, the screens on a tablet, on an iPad, they disappear (5)__________. And so, the retention of information is probably (6)__________ by the use of pen and paper, traditional books. So, the question is, what do you think is the reason why technology is not very much used in the classroom today? Thank you.​

===== END OF SCRIPT =====

​

Any help will be greatly appreciated.


Best regards,


Pasquale

 

[emsr2d2]

And this is the script with the six gaps:

===== START OF SCRIPT =====​

So, one of the things that I found particularly (1) striking was one of the slides during the first presentation showing that technology is not very much used in the classroom. So, the question I have is, what's the reason for it? Is it because our teachers are not (2) trained for the use of technology? Or is it because they believe that for language acquisition, for example (I'm an English teacher; I'm not a native speaker, anyway), probably traditional learning is preferable to the use of (3) multimedia in the classroom. For example, I was thinking of the fact that Steve Jobs used to force his children to read paper books. And, for example, for the memorization of information, very often, you know, people say that it helps us to use pen and paper more than new technology, because technology usually teaches us to be fast, but when you (4) learn you need to slow down. And if you think of, for example, the screens on a tablet, on an iPad, they disappear (5) at once. And so, the retention of information is probably (6) facilitated by the use of pen and paper, traditional books. So, the question is, what do you think is the reason why technology is not very much used in the classroom today? Thank you.​

===== END OF SCRIPT =====

​

Any help will be greatly appreciated.


Best regards,


Pasquale

Your question was very clear, well enunciated and without too much hesitation. I have entered, in red, what I heard.
One thing - check your pronunciation of "preferable". The stress should come on the first syllable, unlike in "prefer" where it comes on the second.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

Thank you very much indeed. All of the gaps you filled in correspond to what I said. Thank you also for your tip about the correct pronunciation of "preferable".

 

[emsr2d2]

One more thing (not pronunciation-related) - I'm not sure what you mean by "the screens on a tablet/iPad disappear at once". A screen/page on any computer (or similar) only disappears when you choose to move to another screen/page, unless you are taking part in a timed exercise.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

One more thing (not pronunciation-related) - I'm not sure what you mean by "the screens on a tablet/iPad disappear at once". A screen/page on any computer (or similar) only disappears when you choose to move to another screen/page, unless you are taking part in a timed exercise.

You are right. I should have expanded on that concept. What I was trying to say was that turning over a page of a paper book is slower than moving from a digital screen page to another. Consequently, when using a paper book, you usually lay your eyes on a page for more seconds and this will make it easier for you to remember the words on the same page, simply because you have more time to concentrate on them, even unconsciously. On the contrary, the digital pages of a computer, tablet, smartphone etc. disappear very quickly, so you generally dedicate less time to each single page.

 

[emsr2d2]

That still suggests that digital pages disappear without any input from the user. That's not true. A screen stays where it is until you get rid of it and go to a different page so you have the same option you do with a paper book.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

That still suggests that digital pages disappear without any input from the user. That's not true. A screen stays where it is until you get rid of it and go to a different page so you have the same option you do with a paper book.

I realize mine is actually a complicated concept to explain. What I mean is, once you have decided to turn over the page, it takes you a couple of seconds to do so if you are holding a paper book, because you have to do it manually. In those two seconds, your eyes can have a last quick look at the words on the page and this may facilitate the learning process, because the duration of your exposure to those words increases. On the contrary, when you use a PC or tablet and decide to move from a digital page to another, all you have to do is click on a button or tap on an icon and the new digital page will appear immediately. Consequently, your exposure to the words on the page you are leaving will be shorter and this means that the chances of remembering those words will be slimmer.

 

[GoesStation]

I realize mine is actually a complicated concept to explain. What I mean is, once you have decided to turn over the page, it takes you a couple of seconds to do so if you are holding a paper book, because you have to do it manually. In those two seconds, your eyes can have a last quick look at the words on the page and this may facilitate the learning process, because the duration of your exposure to those words increases. On the contrary, when you use a PC or tablet and decide to move from a digital page to another, all you have to do is click on a button or tap on an icon and the new digital page will appear immediately. Consequently, your exposure to the words on the page you are leaving will be shorter and this means that the chances of remembering those words will be slimmer.

My father has a late-eighteenth-century book in which the publisher set the first word from the following page just below the last word on each page. This was evidently done to help people who were reading it aloud negotiate the page turn.

This would be a very helpful (but very expensive) convention in music publishing!

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

One thing - check your pronunciation of "preferable". The stress should come on the first syllable, unlike in "prefer" where it comes on the second.

I am consoled by the fact that this mistake is often made even by native speakers:

 

[tzfujimino]

I wouldn't call it a mistake. Your version exists according to this dictionary, for example.
I think it's just that the one with the stress on the first syllable is far more common.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

I wouldn't call it a mistake. Your version exists according to this dictionary, for example.
I think it's just that the one with the stress on the first syllable is far more common.

Thanks. Good to know you can pronounce it in both ways. Obviously, as a non-native English teacher, I think I should use the more common option with the stress on the first syllable. I can see the other option is so rare that some native speakers consider it to be merely wrong.

 

[GoesStation]

Thanks. Good to know you can pronounce it in both ways. Obviously, as a non-native English teacher, I think I should use the more common option with the stress on the first syllable. I can see the other option is so rare that some native speakers consider it to be merely wrong.

Many Americans stress the second syllable, so you won't sound odd either way.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

Many Americans stress the second syllable, so you won't sound odd either way.

I wonder what the "official authorities" on the English language (the Oxford English Dictionary and, in the United States, Merriam-Webster) say about the correct way to pronounce "preferable".

 

[GoesStation]

You can look it up: Merriam-Webster lists two variations of the first-syllable version first, followed by a second-syllable one. Oxford lists only one pronunciation, with the first syllable stressed.

You wrote official in quotes, so I assume you know there is no official arbiter of English. I've made that explicit here for other learners' benefit.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

You can look it up: Merriam-Webster lists two variations of the first-syllable version first, followed by a second-syllable one. Oxford lists only one pronunciation, with the first syllable stressed.

You wrote official in quotes, so I assume you know there is no official arbiter of English. I've made that explicit here for other learners' benefit.

Thanks. Yes, correct: I wrote it in quotation marks because I actually meant "unofficial authorities".

 

[probus]

Many Americans stress the second syllable, so you won't sound odd either way.

I agree that many Americans stress the second syllable. Therefore it is not a mistake. But it will still sound wrong to many native speakers. Most of them willl get over it��