Curriculum Specialists Kim Edmunds and Tristan Thorne talk about what an accent is and isn’t – and, more importantly, what it means to be intelligible.
Download the transcript for Episode 1 here.
Want more? Check out our Practice Materials:
Learn Vocabulary and Idioms from Episode 1Learn about Dialects of American EnglishPractice Speaking and Self-Monitoring
Who’s on this episode?
Kim Edmunds is a TfCS Curriculum Specialist. She holds an MA in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA in Linguistics and Creative Writing from Emory University. She has been working with ESL learners in various capacities for over 8 years, specializing in teaching speaking and pronunciation skills. At Baruch, she enjoys pursuing her interests in phonetics and phonology, working with English learners in higher education settings, and sharing her passion for finding a voice in a new language. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the NYU School of Professional Studies American Language Institute, and in the Hunter College Master’s in TESOL program.
Tristan Thorne is a TfCS Curriculum Specialist. He holds a BA in Language Studies from UC Santa Cruz and an MA in Applied Linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University. He has more than ten years of English teaching experience in Spain, Japan, and the United States. In addition to having taught specialized pronunciation courses at Teachers College, Tristan is currently an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University’s American Language Program. His areas of interest include phonology, second language identity, and technology in the classroom.
Our featured student, Tenzin Jangchup:
In Episode 1, we featured an interview with Tenzin Jangchup, an Accounting Major at Baruch College. Tenzin is inspired by the hustle and bustle of New York City, and hopes to one day embark on a career in one of the larger-than-life buildings she passes each day on her way to campus.
Tenzin also writes poetry, and was kind enough to share some of her work with us below. For more on Tenzin, check out Episode 1!
1.
Moving to the next page that I have never seen….
Closing the next door that I have never been….
Sharing the page that I have never glimpsed….
But shut my brain like a wimped….
Seem like I have never did something…
Just a useless being that has nothing…
But the values that I carry is worthy…
That I can pretend that I never taste earthy….
Sometime nothing itself says something…
And something makes us curios…
2.
Cold wind just pass by,
Touch my skin and pass by,
Left its drop and pass by,
But how stupid I am,
I just ignore and pass by.
3.
It is ok
You have tried
You have survived
You will face problem
Again and again
In life
Bigger than a small paper cuts
Bigger than a small break up
Bigger than grade F
When you realized
You can see the sun arise
You can smell the flowers
The cold cloud will disappear
Birds will come to you window
Share their story and sing
In your favor
Its ok
You have tried
You have survived
And now
You should smile
Again and again
In life
4.
They pick the roses
Instead of wildflowers
I asked them why
They said, “They are wild”
I looked around them
Wondering why
I pick the wildflowers
Instead of roses
They asked me why?
I said, “They are wild”
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