Intelligibility is the art of being understood by others. Many students think they need to speak a language flawlessly and with a native-like accent to make themselves clear, but this is not quite true.
While there is a correlation between proficiency and intelligibility, even students of lower general proficiency are capable of expressing what they mean, in a way that the listener understands, if they are using good intelligibility practices.
Being understandable in a second language is often extremely important in work environments, especially as the world becomes more connected and job markets more competitive.
Intelligibility is a vital aspect of communication but it is not exactly a skill in itself. Instead, it is a combination of fluency, pronunciation, and managing your speed of speech. To reflect how important this is for language learners when studying, traveling or at work, we use an Intelligibility Index as part of our Versant English Test scoring.
This index is based on factors affecting how understandable speech is to fluent English speakers. These include things like speed, clarity, pronunciation and fluency. Ranging from 1 (low) to 5 (high), the Intelligibility Index shows how intelligible someone’s speech in English is likely to be in a real-world situation.
Let’s go into some activities and exercises you can try in class to help your students improve their intelligibility with their English and speaking skills.
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There are a number of factors that influence a student’s spoken English. Here are some ways to start building it into your classes.
Making a recording can be a good way of getting a clear picture of someone’s current manner of speaking and understanding in what ways their clarity might be improved. You can do this using a smartphone or laptop computer in class or outside of it.
There are plenty of ways to encourage students to speak. Have them answer an open question; for example, ask them to talk for a minute about a topic they are passionate about or tell each other what they did at the weekend.
Listen to the recordings and help them analyze their speech. Identify parts with low levels of intelligibility. This may be related to their pronunciation, how fast they speak, the amount of hesitation, repetition, etc.
You could even take this further by asking another fluent English speaker to listen to the recording and give honest feedback about which parts they found difficult to understand.
Afterward, it’s important to explain why it was difficult to understand and what can be done to improve their intelligibility. The activity below may help.
Listening is a vital part of intelligibility. After all, students have to be able to hear a word before they can say it. Listening also takes focus away from how words are written on the page.
This is key because speakers fluent in English tend to blend words together, so pronouncing each word perfectly in isolation is not a good goal. This kind of practice reinforces poor English pronunciation.
That’s where shadowing comes in.
Shadowing is a useful listen-and-repeat activity that students can use for speaking practice almost anywhere.
Shadowing involves trying to say the same words as the speaker at about the same time (or as fast as possible), for about 30 seconds at a time. Students can pause, try again, and even record and listen back to their own versions. Just like when you sing the words of a song you already know well, you are trying to match the speaker’s pronunciation and pace as best you can.
This will help your students focus on how fluent English speakers modulate speed, use intonation, and blend words together. By repeating what they hear, students can improve their intonation, connected speech and overall fluency.
This simple but fun activity will help your students focus on their individual problem sounds. It will also get them to listen to each other carefully.
Throughout the lesson, as you listen to your students speak, identify a number of words that reflect the pronunciation challenges your students face. Write the words on the board and group the words by phoneme, for example:
/i:/ Heat, Sheep
/ɪ/ Hit, Trip
Above, we can see an issue with the /i:/ and /ɪ/ sounds (the long and short “i”). Once you have enough words to work on, write a list of numbers on the board. Explain that each number has a corresponding word.
1 – Hit 4 – Hat 7 – Head
2 – Heat 5 – Heart 8 – Hood
3 – Hot 6 – Hurt 9 – Hid
As you can see in the above example, the words only differ by one phoneme (heat/hit, hot/hat, heart/hurt, etc.). This will make the exercise more challenging and useful for the students.
Next, identify the vowel sound in each word and write their phonemic symbols on the board.
Drill the sounds and the words until you are confident your students can repeat them successfully. There are a number of phonemic charts online, that can help you identify the phonemes and model the sounds for your students.
Then test the class by calling out a number and having them shout out the corresponding word. Then call out a word and get them to tell you the number. Deal with any problems that arise.
Put students into pairs. Have them read out their phone number only using the words in the list (note they can use a real number or invent one).
Their partner should listen and write down the number which corresponds with each word they hear. They should then swap roles and do the same again.
Finally, get students to check and see whether the number their partner wrote down is correct. Monitor and go back and drill any of the sounds with which students had the most problems.
While problems with individual sounds may occasionally impede understanding, we should also focus on other aspects of pronunciation such as word stress, sentence stress and intonation.
Keep a note of any new vocabulary that comes up during your class. At the end of the lesson, take five minutes to review it with the students. Write each new word on the board and record the word stress using the oO method:
Use ‘o’ to highlight unstressed syllables and ‘O’ to highlight stressed syllables. For example, the stress is on the second syllable of the word “behavior”:
Be-hav-ior = oOo.
The stress is on the first syllable of the word “Saturday”:
Sat-ur-day = Ooo
This has the advantage of recording unstressed as well as stressed syllables. Next, drill this new vocabulary until your students get the hang of it.
To make drilling more interesting, you can also add an element of drama! Have students say the words while expressing different emotions. Ask them to secretly choose an emotion (angry/happy/sad/excited), then say the word and have the other students guess it.
You can also drill whole phrases or even sentences. Backchain drilling is an excellent way to do this and build confidence in lower-level English learners. It involves breaking phrases into sections and having students repeat them after you, from the end of the phrase to the beginning, in this way:
“the test”
“pass the test”
“I’m going to pass the test"
As well as individual sounds and word stress, back chaining also allows you to help students with their intonation and you can also use it to introduce strong and weak forms. Working on multiword expressions and longer phrases with your students will also be helpful.
Employers, schools and organizations use theVersant English Testto assess an individual’s level of English. It covers the two skills of listening and speaking and also includes an Intelligibility Index rating alongside the GSE, Versant and CEFR scores.
This allows students, teachers and employers to see how easily others can understand the candidate.
The following list shows how the index is scored:
This scoring rubric offers a way to assess your students’ intelligibility based on the method used in the Versant English Test.
By giving them lots of support and pronunciation practice and nurturing their confidence to speak without worrying too much about making mistakes, you can help them to improve their clarity over time, allowing them to communicate in clear, understandable spoken English.
Learning English with music can enhance learning and create a more engaging and dynamic classroom environment. In a previous post, we discussed if music can help you learn a language; this post looks at how music can be incorporated into the classroom.
Using music in your classroom can help improve student motivation, focus, and retention of information. Here are some ways you can use music to enhance your classroom teaching:
Have you considered studying abroad? Moving to Canada to study? With more than 100 world-class universities across the country, there’s good reason to. From coast to coast to coast, it offers many international students a safe and supportive learning environment and the opportunity to work after graduation.
Want to learn more? In this guide, we cover ten things you should know about studying in Canada:
Workplaces are becoming more and more diverse, with employees hailing from various cultures and speaking different languages. This diversity bringsvaluable enrichmentbut can also bring communication and collaboration challenges.
That's why corporate language training is crucial. It bridges cultural divides, promotes understanding, and creates a harmonious work environment.Cultural divides in the workplace can arise from various factors, including language barriers. When diverse employees can't communicate effectively, misunderstandings and decreased productivity can occur.
Corporate language training plays a vital role in addressing this issue. It helps employees understand and appreciate different cultures, fostering unity and respect. Language training acts as a catalyst for positive workplace dynamics, driving businesses towards global goals.
Corporate language training greatly enhances communication, benefiting employees' expression of ideas and fostering understanding among team members.
Breaking down linguistic barriers promotes mutual respect, unity, and effective collaboration. It also prevents misunderstandings that may lead to conflicts, improving the overall workplace environment and fostering innovative ideas through successful teamwork.
Corporate language training plays a key role in fostering an inclusive and diverse atmosphere. Learning a new language provides insights into different cultures, promoting a deeper appreciation for diversity and reducing biases. This creates a more inclusive work environment where employees from diverse backgrounds feel understood and valued, fostering a sense of belonging and unity.
Language training also equips employees to engage with global customers and clients, reflecting the company's commitment to diversity. Corporate language training is instrumental in cultivating inclusion and diversity, enhancing corporate culture.
Corporate language training strengthens global business relations. As businesses expand worldwide, employees will interact face-to-face with diverse linguistic backgrounds. Knowledge of another language shows respect for other cultures, which is crucial for trust in business relationships.
The ability to connect across cultures is a game-changer for businesses, helping them build strong international relations. Investing in corporate language training not only benefits employees but also secures a company's global future.
A common language fosters seamless communication, enabling effective collaboration. It cultivates a coherent team dynamic where ideas flow and tasks are executed efficiently. This linguistic unity significantly boosts team performance. Reduced misunderstandings lead to increased productivity. Read our post on performance management for language learning in the workplace.
As the employees learn and gain confidence in their language skills, they engage, contribute, and excel, driving the team and the business forward.
If done correctly, corporate language training improves employee engagement and retention. Investing in employees' personal and professional development fosters a sense of value and belonging. Learning to speak a new language is challenging yet rewarding, promoting personal growth and cognitive skills.
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A competitive edge is crucial for business growth in today's global economy. Corporate language training contributes significantly to this edge, especially in global markets. Proficiency in multiple languages enables businesses to easily enter new markets, communicate effectively and build trust. Employees with language training represent their companies internationally, exhibiting cultural sensitivity.
Companies showcasing expertise, language proficiency, expertise and cultural understanding stand out, reflecting a global-minded ethos. Corporate language training enhances a corporation or company's presence, reputation, and success in the global market.
To implement effective corporate language training, organizations should assess how employees learn languages and current language proficiencies and identify gaps. A skills audit can assist in identifying areas requiring training, taking into account the languages spoken within the company and the skill levels necessary for business strategies.
Moreover, it allows for assessing employees' proficiency in various languages, encompassing written, spoken, and cultural understanding. This proactive approach ensures tailored and valuable language training for the organization and its employees, promoting skill development at all levels.
Understanding cultural nuances is crucial in corporate language training courses. It's not just about learning to speak the language but also grasping the cultural contexts. This includes knowing the etiquettes, conventions, and unspoken rules governing social interactions across cultures. Being mindful of these subtleties prevents misunderstandings, fosters better relationships, and facilitates smoother communication.
Effective corporate language training should include cultural education to equip employees with the cultural insights and skills to confidently navigate these complexities.
Aligning language training with business objectives is a strategic move that ensures relevant, effective, and valuable training.
In an international business context, objectives may include expanding into new markets, improving multilingual customer service, enhancing internal communication among a diverse workforce, or forming alliances with foreign partners.
By defining these objectives, corporations can tailor language learning programs to specific needs, maximizing ROI. For example, if a company aims to enter a new market with a dominant language, the training could focus on equipping employees with linguistic and cultural skills to communicate effectively with potential clients or partners. This alignment ensures successful training implementation and achievement of broader business goals.
