What you will learn

When I completed my initial training as an English language teacher, I was told not to teach exam classes or advanced level students for at least two years. The idea was that new teachers would benefit from a couple of years teaching General English at lower levels first, before taking on these more “demanding” classes. I followed this advice, but quickly came to love the challenge of teaching both exam classes and advanced learners. However, teaching advanced learners, a number of whom will want to take an exam like Cambridge C2 Proficiency, is something which creates fear for many teachers, who sometimes can feel that they are somehow not good enough.

This masterclass addresses these issues and considers what proficient learners of English are likely to want and to need to develop their English to these high levels. It also introduces the idea of the needs (and wants) analysis as a tool to help all teachers, both inexperienced and very experienced, to identify what and how learning can take place to meet these needs. I also introduce two different ways of thinking about syllabus design, which show different ways of approaching learning, and I aim to take away some of the fear and the mystique which surrounds teaching at the very highest levels. Come along and find out what it is really like to tackle C2 Proficiency!

About the trainer

Neil Harris – Teacher Trainer & Director of Marketing @ CELT Language School.

Neil Harris started his career in ELT in 1993 after completing a CTEFLA with IH London. He quickly realized that language learning and teaching was his true passion. Neil has worked in a variety of roles in the UK and Italy, including as a teacher, Senior Teacher, EAP Lecturer, DoS, Teacher Trainer, Business Development Manager, and Director of Marketing. Currently, Neil focuses on developing online ESP medical English and teacher development programmes in his role in agent-based marketing and course development.

Workshop Summary

Pronunciation Teaching: From Reluctance to Relevance

Neil Harris begins by acknowledging his initial discomfort with teaching pronunciation—something he tried to avoid early in his career due to its perceived complexity. Over time, however, and particularly since 2019, his confidence grew through teacher training roles and further exploration of pronunciation. Neil accepted the challenge of leading this masterclass, recognising that pronunciation is a critical, often overlooked component of English language teaching that deserves more attention and confidence from teachers.

Purpose and Principles of Pronunciation

For Neil, pronunciation teaching should be firmly rooted in communication. The aim is not to instil phonetic precision for its own sake but to help learners become intelligible to others. This involves not only producing speech but decoding it—recognising sounds, stress, and intonation in real-time interaction. Learners need both explicit instruction and broad exposure to authentic English outside the classroom. Teaching pronunciation should also be integrated naturally into grammar and vocabulary work, reflecting real-life communication.

Challenges in the Pronunciation Classroom

Pronunciation presents a range of challenges for teachers and learners alike. Many teachers, regardless of background, feel underprepared to teach it confidently. Concerns may stem from lack of technical knowledge or fear of modelling “incorrect” sounds, especially when influenced by regional accents or first languages. Neil stresses that all accents are valid and part of one’s identity. Learners also struggle with limited classroom exposure, sounds that don’t exist in their L1, and pressure—either internal or institutional—to sound “native.” Age can be a factor too, with pronunciation becoming harder to master later in life.

New Possibilities Through Technology and Media

Neil highlights the rich opportunities now available thanks to streaming services, social media, and online tools. Platforms like YouTube, TED.com, and speech isolation websites allow teachers and learners to adjust playback speed, access subtitles, and focus on pronunciation features in real contexts. AI has introduced tools capable of voice generation and accent modelling, allowing greater learner autonomy. However, their quality and pedagogical value vary significantly, prompting the need for a principled approach to evaluation.

A Principled Framework for Evaluation

To guide AI use in pronunciation, Neil proposes five core principles: intelligibility first; promoting awareness of articulation (the “gymnastics of the mouth”); setting realistic learner goals based on need and context; understanding external and internal pressures (e.g., exams, age, L1); and ensuring exposure to suprasegmental features like stress, rhythm, and intonation. He argues that effective tools must go beyond isolated sound drills and engage learners with realistic, communicative speech.

Evaluating AI Tools: Duolingo and Elsa

Neil tests popular AI-powered apps, beginning with Duolingo. Despite its popularity, he finds that Duolingo relies heavily on the listen-and-repeat model, lacks intelligibility-based feedback, and is inconsistent in recognising errors. It also defaults to a vague American English model, with little transparency about its learning goals. Elsa fares slightly better, offering feedback on intonation and some suprasegmental features. However, it also accepts unintelligible input, misjudges tone, and imposes a native-speaker bias. Both apps, he concludes, are limited in scope and accuracy and fail to align with the communicative, principled framework he advocates.

Conclusion: More Hype Than Hope—for Now

Neil concludes that while pronunciation remains a complex and often personal aspect of language learning, AI has not yet delivered on its full promise. Most tools remain constrained by narrow models and simplistic repetition. ChatGPT stands out as a promising complementary tool, especially for teachers who can craft appropriate prompts and guide learners in its use. However, it is not without flaws and should be used with caution. For now, Niel believes the field of AI and pronunciation leans more towards hype than hope, but with rapid technological development, that balance may soon begin to shift.

ChatGPT: A Flexible but Imperfect Option

Surprisingly, Niel finds greater potential in ChatGPT, not as a dedicated pronunciation tool but as a flexible, adaptable platform. According to recent research, ChatGPT can be prompted to generate tailored pronunciation activities, address both segmental and suprasegmental features, and create contextualised practice. It supports work on minimal pairs, lexical stress, and even weak forms. However, its effectiveness depends heavily on the quality of the prompts. It also suffers from limitations such as hallucinations (producing inaccurate content), defaulting to native models, and lacking the ability to provide real-time, personalised feedback or visual articulation guides.

Reflective Questions

Have a quick think about the reflective questions below in order to get the most out of the workshop:

1. How do you feel about teaching aspects of English pronunciation? What impact does watching this masterclass have on these feelings?
2. How would you like your learners to benefit from access to an AI pronunciation tool?
3. Do you agree with the masterclass’ idea of a principled approach to selecting potential AI tools?