English Improve Your Pronunciation Skills – Part 1

Interested in attending any future dates of this course?
Register your interest now

Description

2024 COURSE DATES

• Saturday 2 March
• Saturday 17 August
• Saturday 21 September

Further classes will be scheduled when there is demand. If you wish to attend this course in the future, please notify the office of your interest.

The Part 2 workshop will run on the following dates for those who have completed this course:

• Saturday 6 April
• Saturday 9 November - To be Confirmed

ABOUT THE COURSE

This one day intensive course is for those with English as a second language. Improve your pronunciation skills in order to be more clearly understood in New Zealand. We welcome Intermediate to Advanced speakers of English to this workshop.

Learn the English sounds (phonemes):

• Recognise phonemic symbols (symbols of how to pronounce)
• Identify personal pronunciation challenges and address them
• Learn word and sentence stress; and the rise and falls of pitch and intonation
• Learn sound changes with connected speech and linking

Maximum class size 12 students.

TERTIARY EDUCATION COMMISSION (TEC) FEE SUBSIDY

This course offers a course fee subsidy through funding from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) for:  

• NZ citizens
• Permanent migrants (those with Permanent Resident or Resident Visas)
• Individuals granted refugee status
• In some cases partners of NZ citizens and permanent migrants may also qualify - please contact the office to enquire.

Conditions:

• Registrants must be over the age of 16 years
• Registrants must not be currently enrolled at a secondary school
• You need to attend at least 80% of your classes to qualify for a fee subsidy
• We need to collect extra information such as age, ethnicity, educational achievement and gender for statistical purposes.
• You must provide evidence of NZ citizenship, residency or refugee status if requested 

If you are unable to meet these conditions, please contact the office to discuss your situation. 

COURSE FEES

• Qualifying NZ citizens and permanent migrants: $15.  This course fee is subsidised by the Tertiary Education Commission and conditions apply.
• Partners of NZ citizens and permanent migrants: If you are on a work visa or visitor visa, you may also qualify for the subsidised rate. Please enquire at the office.
• Temporary migrants: $70. If you are awarded a resident visa while you are studying with us, please let us know. You may qualify for a fee rebate on your current course.
• Refugees may qualify for a free course. Please contact the office for more information.

Prerequisites

Minimum of Intermediate level of English. Please contact the office if you need your level assessed.

Testimonials

2022:

1. Thanks for the outstanding class!  It was fabulous.  Very useful information, back to basics, keep it simple and open our mouth(s) when talking. We’ve enrolled for your second class – Workshop Part 2. Lisa and Gerry, China

2. I really enjoyed the Pronunciation Workshop with Cathie. It was a useful session where I could learn new things, such as phonemics, and get plenty of tips and tricks to help with our most common (English) challenges.  Loved Cathie’s enthusiasm and how she kept everyone engaged through the day. Alexandre, Brazil

3. I highly recommend this workshop.  Cathie is great!  She has a lot experience as the teacher.  (It) helped me with phonemes in English that do not exist in Spanish language. Gabriela, Mexico

4. The pronunciation course is intense but has a great quality. Cathie is very professional and makes the class enjoyable, fun and that we can all learn from it. I personally knew before attending the course that I had different problems with pronunciation, after this course helped me focus on what I should prioritise and work harder to improve my level of English.  I recommend it and I am already registered and waiting for the second part of the course. Marcela, Colombia

From 2021:

1. I can say 'rent review' to my clients and they understand me now. Pronouncing 'r' has always been a problem with me
2.  My boss told me how my speech has got clearer and it is easier to understand me. 
3.  My confidence has improved because I am speaking English more.  Pronouncing the letter 'l' is getting better too
4.  I know the difference of unvoiced and voiced English sounds now - so I can pronounce the letter 'g'. Now, when I say to our customers 'would you like a bag?' they understand me

From June 2019 workshop:

1. There are really words I could pronounce properly (after).  I got the chance to do a lot of practice.  I will come back to do more in September.
2. I really liked the course.  It cover(ed) all my expectations and more.  I definitely will come back in September.  Cathie, you are an amazing teacher. I never got bored or tired during the 6-hr course.
3. Good practice and review of pronunciation
4. I liked this course very much, Cathie Joyce is (an) excellent teacher, she is patient with students and also funny.  I enjoyed the course a lot and will continue the next course.
5. The course was good.  I’ve enjo(y)ed much patien(t)e of Cathie trying hard in explaining little details of English pronunciation.   Thanks heaps! Couldn’t think of a thin(g) to improve. Everything is perfect!
6. I really liked the course.  But I understand the pronunciation comes with practice.  So I am going to train myself really hard and come back to Part 2 of the course.
7. I (have) enjoyed this course a lot, this is a very useful topic.  I feel the difference.  I love it.  Thank you.

From May 2019 workshop:

1. Awesome class, very detailed and lots of exercises.  Learned a lot...difference between /th/, /r/, and /l/ sounds; linking; and intonation etc.  I want to join next month’s class
2. I improved my pronunciation and fixed a lot after this workshop
3. A very good and intensive pronunciation course.  Achieved my goals – now I know my speaking mistakes and how to correct it.  Will definitely recommend this course to my friends.
4. Helped me to be aware of the words I’ve always pronounced wrongly.
5. Great structure...A lot of information, lots of examples and practical exercises.  I liked the individual help for each student with their problems.  I feel more confident now with the /th/ sounds … lovely teacher
6. Very helpful...I know (now) the ‘th’ sound, and learned the pronunciation rules about the simple past tense
7. I really enjoyed the workshop. The class was dynamic and helped me in several ways – word stress, correct use of phonemics etc.  A big thank you for Cathie and her patience.
8. I learned how to pronounce ‘twelve’.
9. It was a great course because I’ve learnt not only pronunciation but also listening skills.
10. I learned how to pronounce the ‘th’ and ‘r’ sounds.  Fun learning – Cathie taking time to teach and show us all the tricks of intonation and (word and sentence) stress

From June 2018 course: "Linking and sound change is useful for me".