Speaker
Description
This paper reviews existing studies on the application of body gestures in language education in general and English language instruction in particular. It explores the pedagogical values of using body gestures in teaching pronunciation and demonstrates practical strategies for classroom application. Specifically, this paper presents a series of “head-to-hip” activities to improve students’ pronunciation skills. These activities, which have been refined through the author’s two decades of teaching experience, are adaptable and easy to carry out in different contexts without any special equipment or preparation. The techniques’ goals are making pronunciation teachers’ instruction more engaging and effective, and supporting students’ long-term retention. By reading this paper, language educators are expected to gain more teaching strategies which are gesture-based and practical for their teaching. Furthermore, this paper encourages teachers to recognise the potential of the techniques using body gestures in pronunciation instruction and to develop more activities inspired from the provided samples.
Keywords: pronunciation, body gestures, language teaching, English education.
Biography
Dr. Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung is a lecturer in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL) and Applied Linguistic of Hanoi University and University of Canberra. She is specialised in TESOL, Applied Linguistic and teaching relevant topics at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr. Nhung has been awarded a number of prestigous scholarships, including the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) scholarship for Post Graduate of Applied Linguistic in Regional Language Center (RELC), Singapore, in 2008, Vietnamese Government Full Scholarship for her PhD studies in Waikato University in 2017-2021. Dr. Nhung has experience in delivering a richly interactive, transformative and personalized approach to learning focusing on students' academic success. Dr. Nhung also has examined and supervised hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of TESOL and Applied Linguistics. In addition, Dr. Nhung has many years of experience in personal and professional development for EFL teachers in Vietnam, and in teaching English as a foreign/second/first language in Vietnam and New Zealand. Her research interests are language education, professional development, and educational technologies.
