Who is the course for?

This programme is for teachers, trainers, materials writers, and anyone who wishes to speak from the heart with impact and clarity. The course is for speakers of English as an additional language (min B2), or as a first language. This course is delivered online. 

Course outline

Throughout the course, we will also explore, discuss and test out best practice for carrying out these pronunciation and storytelling activities online.

There are two parallel strands to this practical programme:

1. Develop confidence in your own pronunciation of sounds, words and connected speech. Learn to sense what you do in your mouth so you can critique and change your pronunciation as little or as much as you wish, and learn techniques to help your learners do the same.

2. Develop your spoken performance skill through presentation and performance, maximising listener engagement through your voice tone, pause, energy distribution, timing, intonation, fluency, body language and … speaking from the heart. Integrate pronunciation to bring language to life.

The course culminates with the production of our own Poetry Festival

During the programme you will enjoy a complete workout with the Sound Foundations chart, receive constant feedback to gain confidence and mastery, and experience a range of new teaching techniques, all of which are transferable to your teaching style and your classes.

A practical, experiential, innovative, enjoyable and fully active programme.

On this course you will:

1. Gain a thorough, practical insight into the physicality of pronunciation including words, stress, unstress, and connected speech

2. Develop your personal expression and speaking from the heart in free speech and poetry.

3. Develop confidence and presence in your spoken performance, for example whenever you talk to your class.

4. Experience first hand and practise new teaching techniques to help your learners bring their speech to life.

5. Integrate pronunciation work completely into all class work and at all levels.

On this course you will:

1. Gain a thorough, practical insight into the physicality of pronunciation including words, stress, unstress, and connected speech
2. Develop your personal expression and speaking from the heart in free speech and poetry.
3. Develop your confidence and presence in spoken performance for example in teaching.
4. Experience first hand and practise new teaching techniques to help your learners bring their speech to life.

Sample timetable

Download sample timetable here

About Adrian Underhill

Adrian is a world-renowned ELT Consultant and Trainer. He is an author and the series editor of the Macmillan Books for Teachers. He is well known for his book Sound Foundations and his inspiring talks on how to use the phonemic chart. His current projects include teaching beyond methods, and bringing playfulness, spontaneity, improvisation and storytelling into classroom learning.

Bibliography

Underhill, A. 1999 Facilitation in Language Teaching in Affect in Language Learning, Ed Arnold, CUP

Underhill, A. (2002). Macmillan English Dictionary Workbook. Oxford: Macmillan Education..

Underhill, A. (2005). Sound Foundations: English Pronunciation. Macmillan Books for Teachers.

Underhill, A. (2005). Sound Foundations Phonemic Chart 2nd Edition (Standard English and general American) Macmillan Education

Underhill, A. 2013 The Inner Workbench: Learning itself as a Meaningful Activity in Meaningful Action: Earl Stevick’s influence on language teaching. Eds Arnold, Murphy, CUP

Underhill, A. 2019 Chapter in Developing Expertise Through Experience Ed Alan Maley, British Council