JEDDAH — Master English Education & Training in affiliation with the London Teacher Training College, UK, recently conducted a one-day training program in ‘Phonology and Accent Training' course for the ESL/ELT teachers and coordinators at Hilton here. Fatamah Azam Ali, founder and CEO of Master English, said the course was based on improving the accurate usage of sounds in English language. It is basically a program to develop pronunciation and accent. The intensive one-day training program was divided into two modules. The trainers started the day's session with a first module on ‘Phonology' followed by a second part on ‘Accent Training'. The course included both the study of Phonology (the sounds of a particular language) and Phonetics (the sounds in language), followed by the Accent Training, focusing on the practical usage of the phonetics in classroom. Teachers and trainers, of different nationalities, teaching at various schools and universities, attended the session. The first module on, ‘Phonology', was carried by Bushra Latif, a CELTA-certified teacher trainer with Master English Education and Training. Bushra, in her fun-filled interactive session talked about usage of sounds in a particular language using different schemata. The program was activity based, with further various interactive and illustrative fun-filled modules. The activities were both one-to-one, individual and also in groups. The second module on ‘Accent Training' was carried on by Mariam Therese Guilbeault, a Canadian coordinator, trainer and ESL instructor in Master English, LTTC, UK. The session was both descriptive and application based, insisting on the correct pronunciation of English words and its usage in proper sentences. The ‘Accent Training' module focused heavily on imbibing American & British accents. A special 2-hour segment was offered to the attending ‘Phonology' candidates of the course to help them improve their pronunciation and speak like a native. Guilbeault , explained in detail, the usage of ‘th', ‘R',/d,/t,/Id/ sounds, the Noun-Vowel Link, the Schwa, the correct pausing, the qualities of the responsive driver while speaking English, the way of giving time to the listener to download the speech, interpreting the Speech Pace, the faster and slower delivery of the speech, thus modifying the overall Speech Rate. The trainer even gave helpful tips for Arabic Speakers, in the usage of /p/ and /b/ sounds. The session came to an end on Mindful Practices on Consonants said together, followed by Vowels-Consonants said together, the American Schwa. Precisely speaking, the training session, proved to be useful for both the ESL/ELT teachers and also the Arabic-speaking staff. Rehab Siddiqui, an English teacher, teaching at Al-Waha Int'l School, Jeddah, found the workshop intensive. He applauded it, saying that the session raised the teaching practice standards by sharing strategies, and common challenges. Sarah, an English language Instructor, said she always sought opportunities for professional development and she found the session wonderful. Waheeda, an instructor in KAAU, too found it effective and intensive. Various TEFL candidates and teachers, present at the program too appreciated and found the course highly satisfactory. The participants were given a ‘Certificate of Attendance' along with a ‘Certificate in Phonology and Accent Training' by Masters English, LTTC, UK.
