TESL 0120: Unit 2 - It's Trash? Eat Fresh?

As a toddler, our son was very observant.  He would see and hear things that others would miss and he was always on alert for information and input.  He was attentive and could speak in small sentences prior to one year of age.

One day we pulled up outside Subway to pick up some sandwiches, and before I could stop the car, he called out from his car seat "It's trash!".  After I finished laughing, I corrected him and said "Eat Fresh!".  Somehow through advertising he had managed to pick up the marketing tagline for Subway (what it was at that time) and connected it with the signage.  His mistake was easily corrected, but it has been a good reminder for me in working with L2 learners that they do not always hear what is intended.  And some things are easily corrected and others are more difficult.

Unit 2 in TESL 0120 has been about pronunciation and it has been challenging to navigate.  I do not have a strong background in grammar and continue to think about how I pronounce sounds in oral communication.  The function of making accurate sound is something I have not considered on an academic level before, and find it difficult to translate what I see on paper into practical application for creating exercises and activities to support speaking development.  As a result, I find that I value access to my PLN even more as they are able to help me put into perspective the concepts and provide me with supportive and alternate considerations based on their experience. One of the best things of the TESL world is the freedom with which everyone shares their ideas and collaborates on concepts to support others.  I highly value the PLN that I connect with through my work environment.

Earlier this week I connected briefly with our workplace English instructor and talked to her about pronunciation and she gave me some good tips about how to orally practice sounds and how to help learners in their pronunciation development.  I have used one of her tips in the pronunciation activity on the "Activities" page in this blog.  I appreciate tools that are practical and the support network that I draw from is great at providing practical tools and supports.