Pronunciation is often a difficult hurdle for many Japanese students. In order to encourage students to practice pronunciation is important for them to have a source of input outside of the class. This website offers a wide range of activities that give examples visually as well as through listening activities. Since this website has a lot of Japanese written in its instructions, it will not be too daunting for Japanese high school students. I think that this website works best when used in tangent with lessons that introduce and practice the concepts presented.
Konan University Pronunciation Website
I like the fact that this website allows students to practice suprasegmentals as well as segmentals. It's also an attractive website - a nice bonus! I've found that many websites focusing on pronunciation are only concerned about segmental practice. A lot of students don't realize that they need to work on suprasegmentals like linking, intonation, or stress, as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree that online websites are great resources for pronunciation pratice especially for EFL learners who do not have many native speakers around and the Internet is sometimes the only place for them to get exposed to the authentic TL outside of the classrooms at. Especially, non-native speaker teachers can always have recourse to these sites for native speaker's pronunciation in class.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome site! I can't read Japanese, but it seems really accessible and focused on problems for Japanese students. Pronunciation explanations can be somewhat complex, I think, and so it is really useful that this site is in Japanese.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Enid...it's good to see suprasegmental and segmental practice both in the same spot. I don't know Japanese, but it seems to focus on certain consonant and vowel sounds that I'm assuming are typical trouble spots.
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