Corpus-Informed Priorities for Teaching Word Stress

How can a corpus help with teaching word stress? During revisions for a forthcoming English pronunciation textbook, the Dr. DJ Kaiser turned to the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) to validate the word stress system he was previously teaching. An analysis of nearly 8000 words resulted in revisions to word stress rules for instructional purposes. This session will explore the data from this analysis. Discussion will include how corpus data can inform instructional priorities for teaching pronunciation and how these data can support materials development (e.g., writing practice exercises, creating lists of exceptions).

Presenter

DJ Kaiser is a Professor and the Director of TESOL at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. With more than twenty-five years in the field of English Language Teaching, he has delivered presentations, workshops, and seminars on language instruction, teaching pronunciation, language planning and policy, technology for education, and program development throughout the United States and in seventeen different countries across five continents. His textbook Practical Pronunciation: Pronunciation Strategies in Practice will be published by University of Michigan Press later in 2025.