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[EnglishLanguage 960] Re: Pronunciation: save these websites; can't downloadKIRK S.E. s.e.kirk at durham.ac.ukWed Jan 10 05:40:41 EST 2007
I have been following this from afar and also love the idea of a pronunciation journal, as any conscious focus on form is likely to have a positive impact (provided tutor feedback is also available). I would question some of the tasks suggested, however. In my experience (and as the literature also attests), students tend to hear English (or whatever language they're learning) through the filter of their L1. A native Arabic speaker, with only 3 vowels in his/her own tongue, is going to have problems for a good while discerning all the vowels and diphthongs of English. They may get close to articulating the 'correct' sounds, but this doesn't mean they will perceive them in the flow of speech. Stretching their own phonology (particularly in perception) to accomodate a much larger system, such as English, is going to take some time. I wonder how useful it is, then, to have students record where they 'heard' certain sounds or when they were able to pronounce a word 'correctly' (outside very controlled contexts), since they are perhaps unlikely to have adequate enough metaphonological awareness to make such judgements. An interlocutor may well understand, but this does not necessarily demonstrate 'correct' pronunciation, since redundancy and context often ensure that 'innaccurate' articulation (or indeed grammar) is understood. This, of course, is the crux of the matter: comprehensibility. In a world of 'Englishes', rather than a single English, (though equally for a domestic ESOL market) maybe we should be concentrating on this rather than 'correctness'. What's wrong with a Chinese accent or an Indian accent or a Russian accent if communication is achieved without strain on the part of the listener? I wonder whether an entirely audio diary (if this were possible with facilities - I realise that ESOL-type students may not necessarily have the resources to invest in their own) might be a interesting avenue to explore. This way a student could monitor their own progress by listening to recordings from a previous month, have peers listen to it for clarity, or a tutor for possible future input sessions, etc. I am battling myself with the idea of self-access pronunication work for our academic English students here, so any ideas people have found that worked would be very much appreciated. Regards, Steve Kirk. _________________________________ Pre-Sessional Course Director Durham University Language Centre Elvet Riverside New Elvet Durham DH1 3JT (UK) Tel: +44 191 334 3002 Fax: +44 191 334 2231 ________________________________ From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnita Solberg Sent: 10 January 2007 03:47 To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List Subject: [EnglishLanguage 958] Re: Pronunciation: save these websites;can't download I am an advocate of students keeping journals, for many reasons. One of which is they track their progress and can see how far they have come. Journals are also a valuable resource for the teacher to whom a student is promoted. If anyone has more information on pronunciation journals, please let us know. Bonnita Kathryn Quinn <tcqmom at adelphia.net> wrote: A few years ago at TESOL (either in Baltimore or San Antonio) there was a poster session about keeping pronunciation journals. The presenters demonstrated clear success on the part of their students. I only remember a few of the details. Someone may remember more. The first was to identify specific sounds and contrasts the student needs to practice and learn. Another step was for the students to record in their journals when they heard those sounds. The teachers gave them suggestions where they might listen for them. Sometimes it was in a controlled or semi-controlled listening activity; but the real practice was in real life. Another step was for the students to record their attempts at producing the sounds, again sometimes in a controlled situation. The real meat, however, was when they recorded their real life experiences with the sounds. They included the words they said, who they said it to, if they were able to produce the sound correctly, how they did it, and whether or not the person was able to understand them. I know there was more to it, but that's as much as I remember. Kathryn Quinn From: Bonnita Solberg <mailto:bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net> To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <mailto:englishlanguage at nifl.gov> Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 11:52 PM Subject: [EnglishLanguage 947] Pronunciation: save these websites;can't download Stephanie Shultz <sshultz at telamon.org> wrote: I was just looking through "My Favorites" and I found tow websites that might help. http://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation http://www.pronunciationpatterns.com/index.html I have not used either with students so you may want to preview them first. Good luck. Stephanie Shultz sshultz at telamon.org ________________________________ From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Martin Senger Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 2:32 PM To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List Subject: [EnglishLanguage 917] Help with pronunciation issues Pax et bonum all! (peace & goodness) I am an adult ESL teacher in Erie, PA. I am looking for information on teaching pronunciation skills to SE Asian students, who seem to have a particular problem with stops sounds ([p], [b], etc.). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. ________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Message sent to tcqmom at adelphia.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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