Re: Re: Poor Tonguing


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Posted by Bill on May 24, 2001 at 07:39:37:

In Reply to: Re: Poor Tonguing posted by slow-tongued cat on May 24, 2001 at 06:23:05:

I have mentioned this before, in another post, but the position of your tongue and your lips is not (or should not) be a great concern. Getting the proper effect should be the goal. I was raised by one non-native English (she spoke Bohemian) speaking parent and in an Hispanic neighborhood where I spoke what the rest of the kids spoke. My tongue doesn't always do what an English environment-raised person's would do with any certain syllable, yet I can use these syllables to cue the effect I want. I have noticed that I get the point of tonguing across better to students if I stress the syllable, not the tongue action. I wish I could show you the experience I had teaching a little Greek boy how to staccato tongue; it is priceless and affirms the necessity of letting students tongues do what they will and concentrating on the affect. Perhaps you could apply this to the problem you are having. Don't worry about where your tongue is vis a vis your lips; just go for the sound you want and think the appropriate syllable.


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