By Julie Sormark
Contributing writer
Living in Korea and being part of the English educational environment is truly a stimulating and rewarding experience. The motivation among Korea's youth to study and communicate in English has helped drive the country toward the forefront of globalization.
My family and I were first posted to Korea in 1988, just a few months before the Olympic Games. During our seven-year stay in Korea I worked extensively with elementary school teachers. Discussions about educational reform were taking place at that time and the government was making plans to start teaching English in elementary schools. I played an active role during this period by conducting many teacher-training sessions and, at the same time I had the opportunity to get to know the teachers and to understand their needs. I developed a strong respect for the professionalism of the elementary school teachers of Korea.
We have returned to live in Korea after 12 years abroad and I can see the tremendous progress that has been made in the field of English education. The focus has now shifted from grammar/vocabulary based learning to English communication, which is evident with all learners of English. The change among Korean children is especially noticeable to me.
As my husband is a diplomat, we have had the opportunity to live in many different countries ― Japan, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, the United States and, of course, Korea. I have taught English in every country where my husband has served and where we have lived. In all the years that I have been teaching English in different countries, I have observed that pronunciation was the common weak point among English language students. It puzzled me how my students ― some of whom had studied English for many years ― frequently found it difficult to communicate in English. I could feel their frustration.
I began to analyze the shortcomings of educational programs that may have created this kind of dilemma. There were obvious factors that could contribute to this situation, such as grammar translation oriented studies, the lack of opportunities to speak English, and large class sizes. However, I concluded that the most likely weakness may have originated in the teaching of pronunciation.
My exposure to the many different rhythmic patterns of each language encountered in my travels and the languages that I speak prompted me to focus on the issue of rhythm. I detected that there was a definite lack of understanding among English language students about the feeling of the English language that was needed to reach across cultural boundaries. This led to my action research into techniques of English language pronunciation. I applied my research to develop the Pronunciation Rhythm Control Method (PRCM), which has proven to dramatically improve English speaking and listening skills for both students and teachers.
I have been teaching English for over 35 years, which includes 20 years of training non-native English language school teachers in Korea, Taiwan and throughout Japan. In my teaching experience I have taught students who approached English with a variety of rhythmic speech patterns and who tended to use the rhythmic pattern of their own language to speak English. My research identified this rhythmic discord as one of the biggest stumbling blocks to students' development of a native like fluency in speaking. This discord also adversely affected students' listening skills because they had difficulty hearing the language in the rhythmical patterns of the English language.
In developing the PRCM, I have designed a concrete tool that both teachers and students can use. It is a tool that is particularly effective for Korean teachers to apply. My Method equips English teachers with the confidence to teach English pronunciation as the teachers and the students use specific techniques together to control the pronunciation. This method is unique and has proven to be very effective.
The method uses two techniques that improve English pronunciation and listening skills based on cultivating an understanding of the rhythm of the language _ the Stretch Control Technique (SCT) and the Physical Control Technique (PCT). The SCT works on stretching the word and focuses on identifying word boundaries that form the natural pauses between words. The PCT focuses on individual problematic sounds in English pronunciation such as the ``th,'' ``r'' and ``f'' sounds. It uses physical techniques to generate the correct sound, highlighting the five rhythm-rich sounds that play an important part in developing the proper stretches of words.
The method can be used together with any other pronunciation method because it deals specifically with the rhythm of the English language. Elementary school teachers of English in Korea will find it an ideal tool for their students to learn and develop the correct pronunciation. It is a program that gives confidence to the teachers, provides an enjoyable experience to the students and affords comfort to parents that look for results in the learning programs of their children.
The PRCM helps to dramatically improve speaking and listening skills. This method is the easiest and most natural way for students to develop an understanding of the rhythm of the English language. I hope that this method will make a difference to teachers and students of the English language in Korea by helping them to converse fluently at all levels of proficiency, from promoting Korean business and industry to greeting foreign tourists in Korea.
Julie Sormark has just published a set of three books Sounds in Action 1, 2 and 3 with e-future. English teachers can follow the PRCM by following the organized step-by-step presentation of the method in her books. She is training teachers and conducting seminars on the method throughout Korea. She can be reached at juliesormark@aol.com.