The degree of detail in the phonological study in a TELT programme will broadly
be dependent on whether the course is a pre-service initial training one or a postexperience
course of teacher-education. For instance, one would naturally expect
more theory and technical labelling at Masters level than at initial Certi®cate level.
But bearing in mind the orientation and experience of the TELT course-participants,
the degree of technical phonological information required might be seen to
depend on their analytical needs. For instance, teachers following a post-experience
Masters programme come to the programme with a knowledge of what learners ®nd
dicult, and are usually keen to ®nd technical explanations and pedagogic solutions
for the diculties. Participants on initial pre-service programmes, on the other
hand, need perhaps fewer phonological technicalities and less labelling. It is rather
an awareness of the processes and qualities of features that they need at this stage of
their professional development. So, for instance, considering an aspect such as the
voicing of consonants, it is its sensations and eects that they need to investigate,
rather than technical explanations and labels. Perhaps the main `labelling' that these
initial course-participants need will be a facility with the same symbols as their
learners will be using, i.e. phonemic symbols and stress-marking devices. In fact,
even on post-experience programmes of study many participants ®nd they have
only partially understood the theoretical arguments that they have come across, so
that it is often useful to investigate the more practical aspects to enhance their
understanding.