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Dear SPLIS Members,
It has been my pleasure to serve as co-editor of the newsletter
for the last year. One of the most exciting aspects of my experience as
co-editor has been to be a part of a community of experts who are
passionate about teaching speaking, pronunciation, and listening to
students around the world and finding novel and engaging ways to help
them improve. As a member of SPLIS, I am most passionate about and
fascinated with the interaction of listening, pronunciation, and
speaking. Through my own language learning process, I have learned that
listening helps to embed “chunks” of language in the auditory brain. If I
can hear it, I have a greater chance of producing it. As a language
student, I always focused on listening when in conversation and tried to
mimic the sound, intonation, and/or rhythm (along with “chunks” of the
language) spoken by the interlocutor. When my students ask me how to
improve their oral skills, I always emphasize listening. I explain that
if they can hear the pronunciation or “chunks” of
words, they can use them in their responses, and repeating this process
over time will help them improve. I hope that the articles in this
publication provide you with new ideas to help students improve in
speaking, pronunciation, and listening. SPLIS always welcomes new tips
and ideas for improving instruction!
Shantaya Rao|
SPLIS Newsletter Co-Editor |
