Wednesday, December 7, 2011

FRIENDS of pronunciation teaching

Attending a MA thesis defence that involves examination of the well-known, but highly controversial,  FRIENDS anxiety management program for kids. The acronym FRIENDS stands for: "FEELINGS,  REMEMBER to relax, I CAN do it! (I can try my best!),  EXPLORE solutions and coping step plans, NOW reward yourself! (You've done your best!),  DON'T forget to practice! and SMILE! Stay calm for life." One of the basic mantras is: Your body is  your friend!

That is a nice, memorable mnemonic. The question, of course, from our perspective is, in essence, what specific haptic-based techniques are associated with each step in the process and how are they related and scaffolded. It is actually an interesting glimpse at the relationship between basic  learner meta-cognitive frameworks so widely promoted today (by cognitive phonologists, for example)  and potential method protocols, which can vary almost infinitely.  Try connecting up your current teaching framework to  FRIENDS. Anxiety-provoking? If so, try something more HICP-FRIENDLY . . . 

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