Hey dudes I've just come back from two weeks in New York, staying in Harlem and eating soul food. New Yorkers, especially those who live in Harlem where I was staying, love to talk. So I had plenty of chance to listen to that great New York accent. However, some of the Harlem speak needed my full attention to decipher.
I realise that the accent I thought was typically a New York accent was more an Italo- American accent.
Anyway - holiday over and back to work for a short while before Christmas,
One of my current clients is sitting for the NSW PEAT test which is the English assessment for Overseas trained teachers to be able to teach in NSW government and private schools. The oral component is, rightly so, quite a difficult assessment as is the listening. Pronunciation Matters gives one-on-one classes to prepare students for the oral and listening components of the assessment.
The listening test is more than just listening to facts, it involves processing the information and interpreting attitude, intended meaning, shared knowledge as well as facts. This is quite difficult and often native speakers have trouble with the listening.
There are virtually no materials in libraries or book shops to use to practice these role plays or listening texts. My client said her TAFE teacher uses my publication (through NSW AMES), Listening to Australia 4 as practice for authentic listening. She also said that she can never get a copy as they are so popular in the library and there are no other relevant resources.
This finally leads me to my latest project - developing PEAT listening resources and other authentic listening materials.
Please contact me at djcorbett@optusnet.com.au if you have any ideas on what should be included in these resources.
I realise that the accent I thought was typically a New York accent was more an Italo- American accent.
Anyway - holiday over and back to work for a short while before Christmas,
One of my current clients is sitting for the NSW PEAT test which is the English assessment for Overseas trained teachers to be able to teach in NSW government and private schools. The oral component is, rightly so, quite a difficult assessment as is the listening. Pronunciation Matters gives one-on-one classes to prepare students for the oral and listening components of the assessment.
The listening test is more than just listening to facts, it involves processing the information and interpreting attitude, intended meaning, shared knowledge as well as facts. This is quite difficult and often native speakers have trouble with the listening.
There are virtually no materials in libraries or book shops to use to practice these role plays or listening texts. My client said her TAFE teacher uses my publication (through NSW AMES), Listening to Australia 4 as practice for authentic listening. She also said that she can never get a copy as they are so popular in the library and there are no other relevant resources.
This finally leads me to my latest project - developing PEAT listening resources and other authentic listening materials.
Please contact me at djcorbett@optusnet.com.au if you have any ideas on what should be included in these resources.
