Laura Buice TS#14

February 27, 2017
10:00-11:00 am
CIES
Pronunciation

Sheila and I went over some pronunciation of difficult sounds, ch, oo, w, d. She was working on a computer in the CIES lab, and she would try to say a word for the pronunciation trainer, and if she couldn't get it, we would work on it together. The hardest words were "church" and "wood". Then we worked on words that sounded like "wood," like "good" and "should". I was able to say a word and have her repeat after me, or listen to her and correct her sound.

I would write words down so she could see what she was saying and what she needed to say. I also tried to look up words in her native language that had a similar sound so she could compare it. That didn't work for her, but writing it down helped her. Mostly she just needs more practice and time. I also need more practice knowing how to help Spanish speakers make correct sounds. This was the first time I sat with a Spanish speaker and worked on pronunciation, so it was excellent practice, and I could see where I was successful and where I failed very clearly.