Course started...some really good articles... INTRODUCTION...revisiting some theory..Krashen, Chomsky...and some content - Phonology, Phonetics, Morphology. The course looks exciting. I am glad I decided (again impulsively) to do it fast track. Two items that made me think (1) Guiora (1972) found the EMPATHY was a predictor of good pronunciation..."Pronunciation had nothing to do directly with things associated with phonetic ability (e.g. good ear for sound) but the ability to appreciate the identity of the other, a temporary narrowing of the ego boundaries - to narrow the limit of "us" and "not us" making it easier to "hear" ourselves.... and (2)"...the importance of classroom climate for developing successful skills in communication. One of the skills in teaching is knowing how to create a positive atmosphere...Making speaking easier has more to do with the affective side than the cognitive side. Focus on ss attitude less than linguistic content "What have they learned" Of course a lot of things made me think - but on the whole I felt validated by what I had self-learned (and implemented) in my own classes..... Some of the "thinking" is a bit "70s" ...I should google and see if theories have been updated... I had some problems opening some links...was able to suggest that the problem might be the Moodle settings...if I hadn't done the learnIT2teach...I would not have known to suggest this...one thing leads to another... Now onto the nasty phonetic IPA charts...(nasty only in that I never learned phonetic alphabet that way - know about it, looked at it, too complicated, won't need it, so ignored it...)