European Day of Languages

If today is September 26th then it must be European Day of Languages!

So to commemorate this here is an activity for (upper)intermediate to advanced students using luvvoice . 

 

 

AIM: to deliver a monologue on their experience with languages; to recognise the beautiful diversity of English; to identify which pronunciation features are most likely to lead to misunderstandings in international contexts; to normalise ‘second language speakers of English’ as models of pronunciation; to generate listening material using luvvoice for students to identify different English accents. 

FUN FACT: to spot little white lies

PROCEDURE: (full procedure here) students deliver their 3 mins monologues following these items; then listen to six audio files and finally match the extracts to the correct English accent.

 

 

COHESION: students are offered custom flags to check answers by lifting their flags corresponding to the extracts.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: emphasise clear pronunciation rather than proximity with an idealized standard ‘first language speaker of English’ model helping students take ownership of the language and promoting inclusivity.

 

  

ITERATIVE APPROACH: this will be implemented following Professor Danny Warshay’s belief that “People should be understanding of failures and accept that they probably won’t find the perfect solution right away”, and creating an atmosphere where students can experience that mistakes are great opportunities to learn. Check failure rewards here.

 

 

 

 

 

Help students take ownership of the language

and promote inclusivity