I’ve been on a quest to find the most efficient way to help people in my country learn English, particularly when it comes to remembering both the spelling and pronunciation of words. One challenge I’ve encountered is that the letters in English words don’t always correspond directly to their pronunciation, making it tricky for learners to connect the dots or using memory technique.
The real question is: Which memory method could help them remember both the letters and the pronunciations ?
For instance, take the word “laugh.” Despite the presence of the letter “gh,” it’s pronounced with the IPA symbol /f/ at the end, which might confuse learners expecting a different sound based solely on the spelling.
While I’ve been dabbling with various techniques like the memory palace method, I’ve found that the number of mnemonic it requires can be overwhelming, especially for beginners (as all the alphabelt letters and the IPA symbols as mnemonic)
So, I wanted to reach out to this community for some fresh ideas.
Have any of you discovered effective methods for remembering English words and their pronunciations, taking into account this discrepancy?
I’m particularly interested in approaches that simplify the process and make it easier for students to connect the meaning, spelling, and pronunciation, despite these differences.
While I’ve been incorporating techniques like comprehensible input and spaced repetition, I believe having a dedicated memory method could really enhance the learning experience. Whether it’s using mnemonics, visualization techniques, or something entirely different, I’m open to exploring all possibilities.
My first idea would be a poem to learn. That way you remember words that rhyme even if they’re written differently. Something like The Chaos (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QO178ZfEVME), only with easier words / more useful words for beginners. I do not know if such a poem exists… (I’d be very interested if someone found one)
Hadar Shemesh also have good ressources (https://hadarshemesh.com), she’s a former actress, a non native english speaker with a native like accent (as far as I can judge). Only she’s working with language pairs specifically (because speakers from different languages have different problems) so I don’t know if your language is proposed (unfortunately for me, french isn’t).
Here are some methods for learning vocabulary and improving pronunciation:
Use Anki flashcards;
If you struggle to learn a specific word using flashcards, apply the keyword method to it;
Learn the phonetic alphabet (IPA);
Use the shadowing method;
Record yourself speaking.
Memorizing the word AND the pronunciation using imagery may be unnecessary since you’ll need to speak a lot to get good in any language, so it’s better to learn the exact pronunciation through practice.
Also it just occurred to me (depending on the level of your students): maybe working with minimal pairs would help?
After all, if you’re not hearing the sounds correctly, you won’t have good pronunciation so it would be hard to memorize it (independently or in parallel with spelling).