Friday, November 11, 2011

Giving online pronunciation teaching a good "promo!"

Have been trying to figure out how to promote HICP work lately. Recently checked out the "competition" online. Here are a few of my favorites:

Clip art: Clker
C. Have never succeeded in totally extinguishing an accent, but apparently some do regularly: "Enhance your chances of success in the working world as well as in social situations by reducing your accent or getting rid of your accent completely."

E. Wish we had done enough research to be able to make this claim! "ABC is the powerful, proven system that will help you lose your foreign accent in weeks — not months or years. Practice 30 minutes a day for 4 weeks and greatly improve your pronunciation."

F. When you read stuff like this, you realize just how little you have accomplished in 40 years of work in this field: "DEF offers the most comprehensive accent reduction programs on the market today! Based on results from an in-depth speech assessment and your goals, we will develop a customized program that meets your specific needs and goals. Learn everything you need to be a confident, effective speaker!"

Apparently no need to stick too close to data or the body of research and practice in the field, but we clearly have some work to do in getting out the word on HICP teaching.

1 comment:

  1. Of some relevance here:

    The expression comes from Pope’s satirical “Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot” and sums up his view of Joseph Addison, one of the most respected literary critics of the day. According to Pope, Addison’s method is to

    “Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer
    And, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;
    Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
    Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.”

    ReplyDelete