English Phonetics & Phonology Course Description
Students have to take the Initial Assessment and Placement Test before course enrollment.
A trained bilingual native speaker will conduct a quick administrative assessment of your English proficiency to effectively determine which course and level would best meet your learning needs followed by a more professional initial assessment of your listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills administered by an experienced multilingual on-line educator. After determining your English proficiency and personal study preferences, a custom study plan will be created to reach your desired English proficiency level in a timely manner.
This course provides foreign language learners with the knowledge to pronounce English with native or near-native accuracy by focusing on sounds, syllables, words, phrases, intonation, rhythm, and stress. Students learn advanced English pronunciation rules which up to this point, are generally not taught in traditional foreign language classrooms. You will identify the vowel and consonant sounds that cause you the most difficulty in being understood by native speakers and practice to improve production of all English sounds with an emphasis on American English under the guidance of the instructor. Transcription and production of sounds, International Phonetic Alphabet, the anatomy and physiology of speech, speech acoustics, and phonological rules compose the core of this dynamic learning experience. Upper intermediate to advanced proficiency recommended.
Both live instruction in a virtual classroom and supplementary interactive language lessons will raise your confidence while conversing in the target language as a native-speaking teacher assists you in building your fluency level in English. Thematic lessons geared towards specific contexts and situations will ensure that you are able to not only survive in a full immersion environment but also thrive as your English proficiency dramatically improves. This course stresses communication between both students and teacher in the target language as the medium of communication. English improvement is 100% guaranteed.