Korean is spoken as a first language by over 70 million people. This article looks at the kind of issues Korean native speakers have when they learn English. Overview Korean is the official language of North Korea and South Korea as well as the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. […]
Continue ReadingJapanese vs English
Japanese is an East Asian language spoken by about 125 million speakers, primarily in Japan, where it is the national language. According to recent research by the FSI Japanese is the hardest language for English speakers to learn and, presumably, Japanese speakers find learning English the hardest also. This article […]
Continue ReadingIPA – International Phonetic Alphabet
The IPA or International Phonetic Alphabet is an alphabet of sounds (not letters). It is used to show how to pronounce words. Using the IPA in your class is a useful tool to give your students. It will help them understand the pronunciation of English words they find in the […]
Continue ReadingIntonation in English
Intonation is the system of rising and falling levels, as well as variations in pitch sequences, when we speak. People don’t talk in a monotone (unless they’re very boring) but instead there is rising and falling in what they say. In other words, intonation is the melody of speech. Intonation […]
Continue ReadingInnatism in TEFL
There are many approaches to the study of language: cultural, social, artistic, historical etc. There is also an approach which looks at language and how the brain manages to decode and use it. To explore this idea, take a look at this famous sentence: Colorless green dreams sleep furiously. It […]
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