Pronunciation and intonation in English - 2024

Sounding professional and intelligible in English is essential to present your research and to connect with colleagues. In this course, you will learn to improve your English pronunciation and intonation through theoretical insight and practical exercises.

In 5 two-hour sessions by Annelien de Geest (ILT, KUL), you  will cover the essentials of English pronunciation and intonation. The course includes individual feedback and group coaching.

The first session will focus on gaining insight into your own intonation and pronunciation difficulties. Afterwards, the trainer will shed light on several aspects such as the pronunciation of difficult vowels and consonants, on intonation, word stress, sentences stress, connected speech, ... This will be practised individually and in group during the second and third session. On the 4th day the researchers will exercise their pronunciation and intonation skills with regard to a short presentation in their field of research. Finally, the participants will reflect on their personal challenges during the last session of this language training.

Preparation

The trainer will send you a preparatory exercise before the beginning of the first class.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, you are able to...

• become aware of your own pronunciation and intonation problems,
• have insight into the different aspects of intonation (stress, pitch, speech rate),
• work on your pronunciation and intonation skills when preparing conference presentations.

Competences

An important part of preparing for any further professional step is becoming (more) aware of the competences you have developed and/or want to develop. In the current workshop, the following competences from the UHasselt competency overview are actively dealt with:

• interpersonal competences:
  • presentation skills
  • oral communication
• intellectual competences:
  • knowledge of languages
• personal effectiveness:
  • self-confidence

For whom?

• PhD students & postdocs
• 12 places available

When and where?

• January 19 & 26, February 2, 16 & 23: 10:00-12:00
• Campus Hasselt: groene zaal

Registration?

• Registration is closed.
• Please register only if you can attend all sessions.
• As places are limited, registering does not automatically imply that you will be able to participate. You will be notified by email after the registration deadline has passed.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).

Acknowledged as?

• DS BSH: category 'research management & communication skills' - workshop on communication skills
• DS HLS: category 'transferable skills' - compulsory elective course
• DS ST: category 'scientific & generic communication' - course on scientific and generic communication