To investigate exactly what “fluency” is, Curriculum Specialist Kim Edmunds and Speech Consultant Carolyn Saylor-Lööf interview Professor Alan Kennedy of the Columbia University American Language Program.
Download the episode transcript here.
Check out the Episode 3 English Supplemental Materials
Learn Vocabulary and Idioms from Episode 3Build Fluency with a 4/3/2 Speaking TaskPractice Listening for Details in Episode 3
Bonus!
Tools for Clear Speech has online practice with connected speech and thought groups, two pronunciation techniques that can improve the perception of fluency!
Who’s on this episode?
Alan S. Kennedy is a Lecture in Language at Columbia University’s American Language Program. He is also the coordinator of the university’s International Teaching Assistants program. His articles have been published in Language magazine, TESOL Journal and Investigating English Pronunciation. He is the co-author of three English for Academic Purposes textbooks, and gives presentations on language education around the world.
Carolyn Saylor-Lööf has been working in the ESL profession since 1991, primarily as a university lecturer, but also as a teacher-trainer and program coordinator. She has taught in Japan, the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, and Holland. After many years abroad she has recently returned to her hometown of New York and is currently an adjunct faculty member in the American Language Program at Columbia University. She holds a BA in Psychology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and an MA in TESL from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, along with a TESL Certificate from Seattle University. Her areas of interest are current pronunciation changes in English, culture-based conversation strategies, and intercultural communication.
Kim Edmunds is the 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.
Our featured student, Megumi Ohkubo:
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