Page 29 - ELG2304 Apr Issue 484

FEATURES

students made spoken errors during teaching
practice, but there was also substantial focus
on the types of mistakes students make and
the reasons behind them. Perhaps the student
is applying the rules of their L1 to English, or
maybe they have learnt something incorrectly
and it has become a fossilised error.
I found this deep dive into phonological
analysis tremendously beneficial to my
teaching skills. As a teacher, understanding
the roots of student mistakes and where
in the learning process they have made the
error allows you to correct it from its core.
While knowledge of phonology makes me a
better language teacher, it also has a much
more practical purpose: according to Iza, the
main reason English language learners are
misunderstood is due to mispronunciation.
So correct pronunciation is integral to our
communication when learning a language
and should be prioritised in our language
teaching. There’s something I never would
have known had I stuck to teaching Greek
and Latin.

Zoë Parrish studied a
CertTesol, a four-week
initial qualification course
PHOTO SHUTTERSTOCK course with EBC a Trinity course provider
in English language teaching
accredited by Trinity College
London. She took an online

based in Madrid, Spain.

www.expresspublishing.co.uk www.expressdigibooks.com

editorial@elgazette.com 29