1. Introduction History of pronunciation teaching
LCD720 – 01/28/09
Introduction
History of pronunciation teaching

2. Announcements Syllabus Homework due dates: Goals Schedule
Grading & attendance
Textbook
Homework due dates:
March 3, May 5 (= day BEFORE class; you’ll get it back in class)

3. Announcements Blackboard 10-minute break or stop early? Announcements
Syllabus and assignments
Grades for homework, etc.
Powerpoint slides, day before class
10-minute break or stop early?

4. Why teach pronunciation?
Is it important?
Is it possible?
Is it fun?

5. Your experience When you learned a second/foreign language:
Did your teacher teach pronunciation? If so, how?
Do you think this was successful?
What would you have done differently?

6. ESL speakers Examples of ESL speakers
the topic is shopping for food in your &coun my country the same as in USA my country food usually spicy food but USA food is usually swee(t) is sweet usually sweet and … also USA an(d) my country country's food are usually eat [= eaten] vegetable I think vegetable is same thing my my country's food food food is rice some side dishes but USA food is usually vegetable an(d) spaghetti our best food ah I think so I I like I like USA's USA US food but US ah food is ah unhealthy I think ah but so healthy &m my country's food an(d)
Examples of ESL speakers
What do you think is their first language?
What do you notice about their pronunciation?
What would you do to help these students improve their pronunciation?
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7. ESL speakers Examples of ESL speakers
the topic is shopping for food in Bolivia people usually go shopping for food in markets supermarkets are really expensive there and food is more fresh in markets and you can buy all different different types of vegetables meat and &co and and other things in the market you can find more &va variety in markets than supermarkets in the USA I’ve experienced that people go to big big supermarkets like Giant Eagle or other big ones they have everything anything to offer in the supermarket they offer clothes they offer all what the markets have has and lots of other things
Examples of ESL speakers
What do you think is their first language?
What do you notice about their pronunciation?
What would you do to help these students improve their pronunciation?
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8. ESL speakers Examples of ESL speakers
What do you think is their first language?
What do you notice about their pronunciation?
What would you do to help these students improve their pronunciation?
Our budget problem is not because California’s economy is in trouble. In spite of weakness in housing, other areas of our economy continue to thrive. We remain a powerhouse of technology, of agriculture, advanced research, venture capital, international trade, and innovation.
And we continue to have job growth, so our revenues this coming year are not going to be lower than last year, they’re not going down. No, the situation is that we’re simply going to hold steady with our revenues. …
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9. Two general approaches to teaching pronunciation
Intuitive/imitative approach
Listen to and imitate models (teacher or recording)
Analytic/linguistic approach
Explicit information about pronunciation AND
Listening, imitation, production
No attention to pronunciation (Grammar-Translation, reading-based methods)

10. Pronunciation in teaching methods (1)
Direct Method (late 1800s)
Intuition and imitation
Later: naturalistic methods (Total Physical Response; Natural Approach)
Reform Movement (since 1890)
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Spoken form is primary and should be taught first
Teachers and learners should know about phonetics

11. Pronunciation in teaching methods (2)
Audiolingualism (1940s, 1950s)
Pronunciation very important, taught explicitly from the start
Minimal pair drills
(Remember minimal pairs?)

12. Audiolingualism: Minimal pair drills
sheep
green
least
meet
deed B
ship
grin
list
mitt
did
Teachers reads pairs; Students decide: same or different
Teacher reads one member; Students say: A or B
Students imitate teacher: first list A, then list B
Students imitate teacher: words in pairs (sheep – ship)

13. Audiolingualism: Minimal pair drills
Do you hear the difference?
Don’t sit in that seat
Which do you hear?
Don’t slip on the floor
Don’t sleep on the floor

14. Pronunciation in teaching methods (3)
Cognitive Approach (1960s)
Native-like pronunciation is unrealistic objective
Preference for grammar and words (more learnable)
Silent Way (1970s)
Teacher is mostly silent
Use of colors, charts, rods, etc. to ‘bypass the ear’
Sound-color charts; Fidel wall charts

15. Silent Way: Sound/color chart
From 01/23/07

16. Silent Way: Fidel wall chart
From 01/23/07

17. Silent Way: Word chart
From 01/23/07

18. Current approaches Communicative Approach
Goal is effective communication
Intelligible pronunciation, not native-like pronunciation
Threshold level for intelligibility
Pronunciation should not detract for the ability to communicate
No agreed-upon strategies for teaching pronunciation communicatively

19. Current approaches A wide range of techniques, including
Listen and imitate (cf. Direct Method)
Phonetic training (cf. Reform Movement)
Minimal pair drills (cf. Audiolingualism)
Also contextualized minimal pairs
Add context and meaning
The blacksmith hits/heats the horseshoe
… with the hammer / in the fire
Visual aids (Silent Way)

20. Current approaches Techniques
Practice of vowel shifts and stress shifts
mime vs. mimic
I can tell from these PHOtographs that you are very good at phoTOGraphy
Reading aloud/recitation
Genres that are meant to be spoken (poems, plays, speeches)
Recordings of learner’s production

21. Current approaches
Problem: Emphasis is often on the word level and controlled sentence level
Spontaneous production is often not addressed
Segmentals and suprasegmentals
Segmentals: Individual sounds
Suprasegmentals: Rhythm, stress, intonation
Both can have a negative impact on comprehensibility
Should find balance; what is most important
Meet the needs of learners

22. Focus Focus on North American English (NAE)
Much variability among NAE speakers
Not only pronunciation, but also speech recognition (listening comprehension)

23. Your opinion
What should an ESL teacher know about NAE pronunciation? Why?
For example:
Teaching techniques
NAE phonology, including International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Phonology of students’ L1s

24. What ESL teachers need to know about pronunciation
The English sound system
How to select pedagogical techniques (preferably communicatively oriented)
How to assess students’ pronunciation needs
How to set realistic goals
How to use reference materials

25. The learner Learner-based variables Age
Exposure to the target language
Aptitude
Sociocultural and affective variables

26. Age Critical/sensitive period
Different for phonology (vs. morphology, syntax)
Possibly related to brain plasticity, neuromuscular control
Might be explained by other factors, such as
L1 transfer: Adult L2 learners have competing phonological knowledge from L1
Amount of exposure: Child learners generally have more exposure than adult learners
Motivation: Does not play a role in young children

27. Amount of exposure
Language is acquired primarily from (comprehensible) input.
Generally: more input is better
Foreign language settings:
Less input; mostly from teacher (and TV, radio)
ESL settings:
Some learners live in L1 surroundings
Pronunciation instruction:
Often repetition drills, and
little or no explicit attention to pronunciation

28. Aptitude Language aptitude (Carroll, 1965, 1981)
Hearing and recalling sounds (phonemic coding ability)
Figuring out rules
Learning through exposure
Amount of rote learning needed for learning
Phonemic coding ability is not (strongly) related to intelligence
Different learners have different aptitudes, so rate of learning may vary

29. Sociocultural and affective variables
Acculturation model (Schumann, 1986)
Sociocultural variables: Social dominance, size of L1 population, congruence of cultures
Affective variables: Ego permeability, personality, type of motivation
Sociocultural and affective variables interact
Affective variables are stronger than sociocultural variables

30. Types of motivation Integrative motivation Instrumental motivation
Desire to be socially integrated
Instrumental motivation
Learn L2 to achieve a goal (education, job)
Integratively motivated learners usually achieve higher levels of proficiency
Also: Intensity of motivation

31. What can we do? What can we do about …? We can … Age Exposure Aptitude
Sociocultural variables
Affective variables, incl. motivation
We can …
Work on those factors that can be changed (exposure, some affective variables)
Set appropriate goals for pronunciation practice, e.g., near-nativeness or intelligibility

32. Some terminology relevant to Derwing & Munro (2005)
Lingua franca: a common language used by speakers of different languages
Intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness
Segmental and suprasegmental phonology

33. Next week Read Chapters 1 and 2 Read Derwing & Munro (2005)
Skim pp. 1-19
Focus on pp
Read Derwing & Munro (2005)
Find two issues in research on pronunciation teaching that interest you
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