PPrrooonnnuuunnncci iiaaatttiiooonnn CHOI TTuutttoorr PP HA NA

Ha Na Choi (1054028)

Graduate School of TESOL

Sookmyung Women’s University

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TTTuuutttooorrr PPPrrrooojjjeeecccttt

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Participants 4

2.1 Participant profiles 4

2.1.1 Subject A 4

2.1.2 Subject B 5

2.2 Tutor profile 6

3. Diagnostic test 8

3.1 Overview 8

3.2 Three types of diagnostic test 8

3.2.1 Needs analysis questionnaire 8

3.2.2 Diagnostic test 9

3.2.3 Interview 10

3.3 Subject A‟s test sheets 12

3.4 Subject B‟s test sheets 16

4. Analysis of the test results 20

4.1 Subject A 20

4.1.1 Test results 20

4.1.2 Analysis of the test results 22

4.2 Subject B 25



5. Goals and objectives 29

5.1 Objectives for Subject A 29

5.2 Objectives for Subject B 30

6. The action plan 32

6.1 Materials 37

6.1.1 Materials used in Class 1 for Subject A 37

6.1.2 Materials used in Class 1 for Subject B 40

6.1.3 Materials used in Class 2 46




7. Description of and reflection on all meetings 72

7.1 Reflection on the first meeting

7.2 Reflection on Class 1





72

73

76

78

80

82

8. Achievement test 84

8.1 Overview 84

8.2 Test sheets 86

9. Analysis of the test results 88

9.1 Subject A 88



9.2 Subject B 92



10. Conclusion 96

References 100

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1. Introduction

English has become a global language. English is probably one of the top three most

spoken languages in the world, including three circles of speakers (Matos, 2009).

Braine (2006) demonstrates among the English speakers in the world, about 80 per cent

are non-native speakers and many of them belong to the Outer and the Expanding Circles

using English as a lingua franca (ELF). Kirkpatrick defines (2007) a lingua franca as

“the common language used by people of different language backgrounds to

communicate with each other” (p.7). English has become a tool for communication by

speakers who have different linguistic, cultural backgrounds.

As this phenomenon is growing, the aim of this pronunciation tutor project is to

develop or enhance each of the subject‟s weaknesses regarding English pronunciation to

increase intelligibility in ELF communication. Munro & Derwing (1999) defines

intelligibility as “the extent to which a speaker‟s message is actually understood by a

listener” (p.289). It is not necessary to have a native-like accent to be intelligible to

listeners. To achieve this purpose, the concept of ELF regarding pronunciation will be

introduced to the subjects before starting the project. The plan for this project includes

six stages. Table 1.1 (overleaf) shows a timeline and descriptions of each stage of the

project in detail.

First, the subjects of the project will be chosen. Next, a needs analysis

questionnaire, a diagnostic test, and an interview will be conducted to find out what areas

they have problems with. Over a 5-week period, each subject will meet the tutor once a

week in person and practice developing their weaknesses regarding English

pronunciation with materials created based on their test results. The tutor will observe

the subjects‟ performance and give feedback which will help them enhance their needed

skills. Every week, the subjects will have to do fair amount of homework that can help

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them improve their weaknesses in English pronunciation. After a 5-week pronunciation

sessions, an achievement test will be given to the subjects and the results will be

compared the results of the diagnostic test.

Table 1.1 Timeline of the project

Stage

(Timeline) Descriptions

Stage 1 (March 18) Find / select subjects

To conduct the pronunciation tutor project, two or three

subjects are needed. When choosing the subjects, their

proficiency does not have to be the same. The objectives

of each subject might be set up differently depending on

their weaknesses regarding English pronunciation.

Stage 2 (April 1)

Give needs analysis questionnaire

Give diagnostic test

Have a brief interview

To gather information on the subjects, three kinds of tests

will be given. First, the subjects will answer a needs

analysis questionnaire and a diagnostic test in order to

diagnose their weaknesses and strengths.

The diagnostic test consists of two parts:

1) phoneme discrimination test

2) read-aloud test (This will be recorded.)

Next, the subjects will have a brief interview with the tutor.

Stage 3 (April 15) Analyze the results of test

Devise a plan

To identify the weaknesses of the subjects regarding

English pronunciation, the results of the needs analysis

questionnaire, the interview, the diagnostic test will be

analyzed. Based on the analysis of the test results, a

specific plan for each subject will be created which will

focus on developing their weaknesses in English

pronunciation.

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Stage

(Timeline) Descriptions

Stage 4 (April 29) Create set of materials to meet goals

Meet and teach materials

Over a 5-week period, the subjects will be aware of their

weaknesses regarding English pronunciation and practice

developing those needed skills with materials created based

on the plan created in Stage 3. The subjects will meet the

tutor once a week in person and the tutor will observe them

and give feedback which will help them enhance their

needed skills.

Stage 5 (June 3) Create achievement test

Assess progress

To assess the progress of the subjects after a 5-week

pronunciation session, an achievement test will be given to

the subjects. Depending on their weaknesses regarding

English pronunciation, different achievement tests will be

given to each subject. The progress of the subjects will be

assessed by comparing the results of Stage 2.

Stage 6 (June 11) Write up report

The tutor will write up a report on the entire project from

Stage 1 to Stage 5.

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2. Participants

2.1 Participant profiles

The subjects are 2 Korean curriculum designers of an English textbook company. They

both were female aged 31.

2.1.1 Subject A

The first subject of the project, called Subject A from

now on, was born in Korea. Korean is her first

language. She has lived in Vietnam for 2 years and in

America for 6 years. She learned English at schools

in Vietnam and America and has spoken it for over 16

years. She has learned English pronunciation at

school. She has knowledge on a phonemic alphabet

and intonation patterns in English such as rising and

falling intonation. She has had more experience with American English. She uses

English for work, for reading books and watching films in English.

During the interviews, one of the subjects self-assessed her proficiency in the

advanced low and the other self-assessed her proficiency in the advanced mid as based

on the scale used by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

(ACTFL, 2000) (See Table 2.1).

Table 2.1 Subject A’s speaking proficiency (Summarized)

Advanced low

Able to handle a variety of communicative tasks, although somewhat haltingly at times.

Utterances are somewhat strained and tentative, with noticeable self-correction. Able

to convey their intended message without misrepresentation or confusion, and it can be

understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-natives.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (2000). ACTFL proficiency guidelines c speaking

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2.1.2 Subject B

The second subject of the project, called Subject B

from now on, was born in Korea. Korean is her first

language. She also speaks Chinese. She learned

English both naturally and through study from both

native speakers and non-native speakers and has

spoken it for over 15 years. She has lived in the

Philippines for 7 years, in the United Kingdom for 4

years, in the United Arab Emirates for 1 year, and in

China for 2 years. She has had more experience with British English. She has not

learned English pronunciation at school; however, she has knowledge on a phonemic

alphabet and intonation patterns in English such as rising and falling intonation. She

uses English for work, for reading books and watching films in English, and for

communication with her friends who are from different countries.

During the interviews, she self-assessed her proficiency in the advanced mid as

based on the scale used by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

(ACTFL, 2000) (See Table 2.1).

Table 2.1 Subject B’s speaking proficiency (Summarized)

Advanced mid

Able to handle with ease and confidence a large number of communicative tasks. May

use a number of delaying strategies, resort to narration, description, explanation or

anecdote. Utterances are readily understood by native speakers unaccustomed to

dealing with non-natives.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (2000). ACTFL proficiency guidelines c speaking

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2.2 Tutor profile

I, the tutor of this pronunciation project, was born in Korea.

Korean is my first language. I learned English through

study from both native speakers and non-native speakers and

have spoken it for over 20 years. I have had more

experience with American English. I have lived in Australia

for 1 year and in the United States for 1 year. I have a

Bachelor‟s degree in English language and have been studying the MA TESOL (Teaching

English to Students of Other Languages) program. I have learned English

pronunciation at school in Korea. I have knowledge on the English segmental and

suprasegmental systems. I use English for academic purposes, for work, for reading

books and watching films in English, and for communication with my friends from

different countries. I had experience teaching English pronunciation to elementary

school students who started learning English at a private institute in Daechidong, Seoul.

Traditionally, one of the goals of English pronunciation teaching and learning in

Korean society is to have a native-like accent to communicate with native speakers of

English in the Inner Circle countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States,

Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Teachers in Korean schools tend to have devoted

much time and effort to teaching learners some unique features of pronunciation in some

varieties of English which do not affect intelligibility in ELF interactions: for example,

/θ/, /ð/, and dark /l/, exact vowel quality, pitch movement, word stress, vowel reduction,

and some features of connected speech (linking and assimilation) (Walker, 2010, p.38).

However, as the recent development of English as a lingua franca, I think the

goal of teaching English pronunciation should focus on increasing mutual intelligibility

between varieties of English, not focusing on only one native variety. The number of

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non-native speakers of English is greater than the one of native speakers (Graddol, 1999;

Canagarajah, 2007) and the number is consistently growing. Speakers from the

Expanding Circle will have more opportunities to communicate with speakers from the

other Expanding or Outer Circle countries using English. It is not any more important

to have a native-like accent in order to communicate with speakers from English

speaking countries. Therefore, I believe it is more efficient to teach learners features of

English pronunciation which are crucially related to increase mutual intelligibility.

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3. Diagnostic test

3.1 Overview

Firth (1992) posits to design a successful pronunciation course should consist four stages:

1) “a general assessment of learner variables, 2) the collection and diagnosis of speech

samples, 3) the design of a syllabus, and 4) careful teaching and appropriate feedback”

(p.173). As she mentions, learner variables are one of the most important factors to

consider when designing a pronunciation syllabus. The outcome of pronunciation

learning may be affected by learners‟ attitudes and motivation. Zuengler (1988) says

“…pronunciation is a domain within which one‟s identity is expressed…” (p.34). Since

pronunciation is social markers, there may be some learners who resist changing their

English pronunciation in order to retain their identity. The tutor should reflect the

learner‟s views on pronunciation learning when designing a pronunciation syllabus.

The more learners commit to improving their pronunciation, the more successful

outcome will be produced.

In addition, it is indispensable to finding out what problems learners have

regarding English pronunciation in the design of a pronunciation syllabus. Every

learner has different strengths and weaknesses in English pronunciation. Since their

linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ, their strengths and weaknesses may vary.

That is to say, the tutor should consider improving the skills that each of the subjects is

needed when designing a syllabus.

3.2 Three types of diagnostic test

3.2.1 Needs analysis questionnaire

In the pronunciation tutor project, three kinds of tests are conducted. Based on the

analysis of the test results, a pronunciation syllabus will be designed. The first test

given to the subjects is a needs analysis questionnaire. It was designed to gather

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information on the subjects‟ general background on English study and the knowledge of

English pronunciation and to know about their needs in pronunciation learning. The

needs analysis questionnaire used is modified from „Team EFL Pronunciation, Speaking

and Listening Needs Analysis Questionnaire‟ available online

http://languageconnection.weebly.com/needs-analysis--rationale.html to better suit the

project. For example, the number of questions in the questionnaire was reduced to 14

from 31 and some open-ended questions were revised in form either yes/no questions or

multiple choice questions in order to ease the burden of the subjects.

3.2.2 Diagnostic test

The second one given to the subjects is a diagnostic test. It was designed to test both

the subjects‟ recognition and production skills regarding English pronunciation. At a

recognition level, learners receive either aural or written stimuli and understand them.

On the other hand, at a production level, learners produce either an oral or written form

of discourse. Lado (1962) posits that recognition and production skills should be tested

separately using different techniques. For example, there might be some learners who

hear sounds and distinguish them well but have difficulty producing them. Thus, the

diagnostic test consists of two parts; 1) the first section is a phoneme discrimination test

in multiple choice question form to assess the subjects‟ recognition skills and 2) the

second section is a read-aloud test to elicit their production skills.

In the first section, there are 10 multiple choice questions which focus on

checking if the subjects can discriminate certain phonemes in the English segmental

system. The questions are modified from “Test your English pronunciation” available

online http://www.antimoon.com/how/test-pronunciation/test.php based on the tutor‟s

first language backgrounds which is the same as the subjects‟. Both the subjects have

lived in other English speaking countries for over 10 years and their English proficiency

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http://languageconnection.weebly.com/needs-analysis--rationale.html

http://www.antimoon.com/how/test-pronunciation/test.php

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is high; thus, it is assumed that they might have more difficulty discriminating vowels

than consonants. According to Celce-Murcia et al. (2010), vowel sounds are difficult to

make because “there is no contact of the articulators” (p.114). 3 questions out of 10

given are for consonant discrimination and 7 are for vowel discrimination. Most of the

chosen sets of phonemes do not exist in the Korean segmental system, for example, /ʒ/

and /dʒ/, /iy/ and /ɪ/, /ɛ/ and /æ /, /uw/ and /ʊ/, and /ʌ/ and /ɔ/.

The second section of the diagnostic test is a read-aloud test in order to collect

speech samples of the subjects. This section focuses more on figuring out the subjects‟

strengths and weaknesses in the English suprasegmental system, for example, intonation,

sentence stress and rhythm, and linking. An authentic short passage is provided for a

read-aloud test which is more meaningful for the subjects to read than an inauthentic

meaningless passage. The passage is retrieved from “2001 Personal Account: Wasps”

available online http://www.darwinawards.com/personal/personal2001-11.html. The

subjects take turns reading the same passage and it is recorded with a cell phone voice

recorder.

3.2.3 Interview

Lastly, the subjects have an informal interview with the tutor. The purpose of the

interview session is for finding out more about their linguistic backgrounds and their

attitudes towards English pronunciation. English pronunciation they have now tends to

be highly influenced by their first language, varieties of English used in which they have

lived, or the second language they speak. It will be helpful to analyze the subjects‟

language data collected from a questionnaire and a diagnostic test. In addition, the tutor

observed the subjects throughout interviews to find out about their weaknesses in

intonation. Even though speech samples of the subjects were collected from the

diagnostic test, it is somewhat limited to assess their intonation since the passage for the

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http://www.darwinawards.com/personal/personal2001-11.html

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reading-aloud test does not contain a variety of intonation patterns in English.

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3.3 Subject A‟s test sheets

Needs Analysis Questionnaire

General Background

1. What is your name? Jungah Yoon

2. What is your native language? Korean

3. Have you ever studied English abroad? (England, America, Australia, other)

4. Approximately what percentage of time do you speak English each day (as

opposed to your native language)?

Circle one: 0~20% 20~40% 40~60% 60~80% 80~100%

5. In what type of setting are you currently speaking English?

a. Internet

b. School

c. Work

d. Institute

English Study Background

6. Please describe your experience in learning English.

a. How long have you studied English? 16 years

b. Where have you studied English? school

c. What kind of English teachers have you had, i.e. native speakers and/or

non-native speakers? Both native and non-native speakers

7. Which English have you had more experience with, American, British,

Australian, Indian, South African, or any other(s)?

Knowledge of English Pronunciation

8. Do you ever use the pronunciation guide in your dictionary to get an idea of how

a word is pronounced?

Circle Y for Yes and N for No: Y N

9. Have any of your previous English teachers taught you about English

pronunciation? Y N

Please rate on a scale of 5 to 1 (5=Very familiar, 1=Never heard of it).

10. Are you familiar with rising and falling intonation in English? 5 4 3 2 1

11. Are you familiar with reduced speech forms? 5 4 3 2 1

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Self-Awareness

12. Have you ever been misunderstood by native speakers because of your

pronunciation? If yes, please describe the situation.

Yes, sometimes I pronounce /z/ as /dʒ/. (i.e.) magazine as /mægǝdʒiyn/)

13. Are there any particular consonant or vowel sounds you have difficulty

pronouncing? If yes, please write the letters or examples.

Yes, /ʊ/ and /uw/. (i.e.) „wood‟, „would, „ could‟)

14. Is there any area of English pronunciation you would like to work on most in this

project?

a. Particular sounds you have difficulty with

b. Connected speech

c. Sentence stress and rhythm

d. Intonation

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Diagnostic Test

Part 1: Answer the questions given below.

1. Are the underlined sounds in leisure and joy pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

2. Are the underlined sounds in bathe and thin pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

3. Are cut and caught pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

4. Are the underlined sounds in rouge and rogue pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

5. Does any rhyme with penny or nanny?

penny

nanny

6. Are look and Luke pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

7. Are gun and gone pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

8. Does food rhyme with good?

Yes

No

9. Are the underlined sounds in him and me pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

10. Does foul rhyme with soul?

Yes

No

This test consists of two parts: the first part is multiple-choice questions and the

second part is a read-aloud test.

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Part 2: Read the test passage aloud.

When Ken was ten, there was a five-foot hedge bordering his yard. His father, Steve,

decided to cut it down to two feet, so he pulled out his heavy-duty hedge clippers and set

about the job. When he was three quarters done, he hit a wasp‟s nest and cut it right in

half! The wasps were not happy. Steve made it to the end of the driveway, yelling and

running every step of the way, before he passed out. Our neighbor rushed him to the

hospital, where they counted 134 stings. During the next four days, he stared at the

hospital wall while he hatched a scheme to rid himself of those confounded wasps

forever. When he was released, he returned to the hedge and saw that the wasps had

repaired their nest. It was a hot Saturday afternoon, and the insects were away from

home and about their business. He poured a small cup of gasoline on the nest, and tied

a gas-soaked rag to a 10-foot pole. He was squatting on the ground, three yards from

the nest, and Ken was standing behind him. They were both unaware that a cloud of

gas fumes had collected in the hot, still summer air. When he held a lit match to the rag,

a huge fireball erupted in the yard! Steve was knocked back on top of his son, which

saved Ken from the heat – but not him! The fire burnt out immediately, and the garage

and Ken were undamaged, but Steve lost his mustache, eyebrows, eyelashes, and half his

hair. Back to the hospital he went!

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3.4 Subject B‟s test sheets

Needs Analysis Questionnaire

General Background

1. What is your name? Insun Ryu

2. What is your native language? Korean

3. Have you ever studied English abroad? (England, America, Australia, other)

Yes

4. Approximately what percentage of time do you speak English each day (as

opposed to your native language)?

Circle one: 0~20% 20~40% 40~60% 60~80% 80~100%

5. In what type of setting are you currently speaking English?

a. Internet

b. School

c. Work

d. Institute

English Study Background

6. Please describe your experience in learning English.

a. How long have you studied English? 15 years

b. Where have you studied English? Korea, the Philippines, the UK

c. What kind of English teachers have you had, i.e. native speakers and/or

non-native speakers? Non-native and native speakers

7. Which English have you had more experience with, American, British,

Australian, Indian, South African, or any other(s)? British

Knowledge of English Pronunciation

8. Do you ever use the pronunciation guide in your dictionary to get an idea of how

a word is pronounced?

Circle Y for Yes and N for No: Y N

9. Have any of your previous English teachers taught you about English

pronunciation? Y N

Please rate on a scale of 5 to 1 (5=Very familiar, 1=Never heard of it).

10. Are you familiar with rising and falling intonation in English? 5 4 3 2 1

11. Are you familiar with reduced speech forms? 5 4 3 2 1

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Self-Awareness

12. Have you ever been misunderstood by native speakers because of your

pronunciation? If yes, please describe the situation.

No

13. Are there any particular consonant or vowel sounds you have difficulty

pronouncing? If yes, please write the letters or examples.

No

14. Is there any area of English pronunciation you would like to work on most in this

project?

a. Particular sounds you have difficulty with

b. Connected speech

c. Sentence stress and rhythm

d. Intonation

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Diagnostic Test

Part 1: Answer the questions given below.

1. Are the underlined sounds in leisure and joy pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

2. Are the underlined sounds in bathe and thin pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

3. Are cut and caught pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

4. Are the underlined sounds in rouge and rogue pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

5. Does any rhyme with penny or nanny?

penny

nanny

6. Are look and Luke pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

7. Are gun and gone pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

8. Does food rhyme with good?

Yes

No

9. Are the underlined sounds in him and me pronounced the same way?

Yes

No

10. Does foul rhyme with soul?

Yes

No

This test consists of two parts: the first part is multiple-choice questions and the

second part is a read-aloud test.

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When Ken was ten, there was a five-foot hedge bordering his yard. His father, Steve,

decided to cut it down to two feet, so he pulled out his heavy-duty hedge clippers and set

about the job. When he was three quarters done, he hit a wasp‟s nest and cut it right in

half! The wasps were not happy. Steve made it to the end of the driveway, yelling and

running every step of the way, before he passed out. Our neighbor rushed him to the

hospital, where they counted 134 stings. During the next four days, he stared at the

hospital wall while he hatched a scheme to rid himself of those confounded wasps

forever. When he was released, he returned to the hedge and saw that the wasps had

repaired their nest. It was a hot Saturday afternoon, and the insects were away from

home and about their business. He poured a small cup of gasoline on the nest, and tied

a gas-soaked rag to a 10-foot pole. He was squatting on the ground, three yards from

the nest, and Ken was standing behind him. They were both unaware that a cloud of

gas fumes had collected in the hot, still summer air. When he held a lit match to the rag,

a huge fireball erupted in the yard! Steve was knocked back on top of his son, which

saved Ken from the heat – but not him! The fire burnt out immediately, and the garage

and Ken were undamaged, but Steve lost his mustache, eyebrows, eyelashes, and half his


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4. Analysis of the test results

4.1 Subject A

4.1.1 Test results

The checklists (see Table 4.1 and 4.2) were designed for diagnostic analysis with first-

language backgrounds. Table 4.1 and 4.2 show the results of both the diagnostic test

and the interview of Subject A.

Table 4.1 Checklist for diagnostic testing of segments

Name: Jungah Yoon Date: April 01, 2011

Consonants Example OK X

Comments Substitution Omission

/f/ foul o

/v/ heavy o

/θ/ thin o

/ð/ bathe o

/s/ soul o

/z/ business o

/ʒ/ leisure o not able to distinguish

/ʒ/ and /dʒ/

/tʃ/ hatch o

/dʒ/ joy o

/l/ lit o

/r/ repair o

Vowels Example OK So-so X

Comments Substitution

/iy/ me o substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/

/ɪ/ him o

/ɛ/ penny o sometimes substituted /ɛ/ for /æ /

/æ / nanny o

/ʌ/ cut o

/ɔ/ caught o

/ʊ/ good o sometimes substituted /ʊ/ for

/uw/

/uw/ food o

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Table 4.2 Checklist for diagnostic testing of suprasegmentals

Name: Jungah Yoon Date: April 01, 2011

Intonation Yes So-so No Comments

Is falling intonation used with wh-

questions? o

Is rising intonation used with yes/no

questions? o

Is the subject using appropriate

intonation when elements occur in a

series?

o

used falling intonation

pattern when pronouncing

every element

Sentence stress Yes So-so No Comments

Is the subject incorrectly stressing

every word of a sentence equally? o

Is the subject able to produce

appropriate strong and weak stresses? o

some no

e.g.) Intonation units of her

speech sometimes do not

contain a prominent

element. It contains only one

word „were‟ and she does

not place stress on that

word.

Are content words stressed and

function words unstressed? o

Is the subject placing major sentence

stress on the appropriate words? o

Linking Yes So-so No Comments

Does the subject link identical

consonants to identical consonants? o

Does the subject link consonants to

vowels?

o

some no

e.g.) When a word ends with

/t/ and the next begins with a

vowel, she tends to

pronounce it as /d/ such as

/sɛdǝbawt/ in „set about‟.

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4.1.2 Analysis of the test results

The test results were analyzed using two categories: English segmental system and

suprasegmental system. The test results showed that Subject A had two areas of

pronunciation that need to be developed in the English segmental system. First, Subject

A has a slight problem with distinguishing and producing the phonemes /ʒ/, /dʒ/, and /z/,

but other than that, she seems to have a good control of producing the consonants overall.

She got the wrong answer for discriminating /ʒ/ and /dʒ/ sounds in the phoneme

discrimination test. I guess that means she does not know the difference of manner of

articulation of /ʒ/ and /dʒ/; and it leads to a problem with articulating these sounds

properly. In the interview, she said she substituted /z/ for /dʒ/, and it sometimes caused

misunderstandings in communication with native speakers. For example, one day she

wanted to read a magazine for killing time on a long bus ride from LA to San Francisco.

So she asked a clerk in a kiosk for a magazine but the clerk could not understand what

she was asking for. Finally, the clerk understood when she was pointing at it displaying

in the kiosk and said “you mean /mægǝzIYN/”. That means she may distinguish /z/ and

/dʒ/ are different from each other at the recognition level; however, she had difficulty

producing them in reality.

Second, Subject A has more problems with vowels than consonants. She seems

to have difficulty distinguishing and producing some pairs of tense and lax vowels in

English, especially the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel /ɪ/ and the

highest back tense vowel /uw/ and highest back lax vowel /ʊ/. She got the wrong

answers for discriminating these vowel pairs in the phoneme discrimination test and

substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ and /uw/ in the read-aloud test. I think this may be

influenced by her first-language backgrounds. In the Korean vowel system, there is no

distinctive difference between tense and lax vowels. There is only one representative

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for /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ and /uw/ respectively, and they sound more like /ɪ/ and /uw/. That

is why she has difficulty distinguishing and producing these tense and lax vowels.

In addition, she got the wrong answer for discriminating the low front vowel /æ /

and mid front vowel /ɛ/in the phoneme discrimination test and sometimes substituted /æ /

for /ɛ/ in the read-aloud test. In the Korean vowel system, these two sounds do exist

and they are important because the meaning of an utterance can change according to its

substitution. However, most Koreans tend to substituted /æ / for /ɛ/ in real life

communication since /æ / needs more effort to produce than /ɛ/. It does not cause any

misunderstandings in communication. They use their communication strategies to

negotiate meaning when it happens. I guess that is why she has problems with

distinguishing and producing /æ / and /ɛ/.

The test results showed that Subject A had two areas of pronunciation that need to

be developed in the English suprasegmental system. The first problematic area is

sentence stress. She seems to know where to stress or not and places major sentence

stress on the appropriate words. Most of content words carrying important new

information were stressed and she produced appropriate strong and weak stresses.

However, intonation units of her speech sometimes do not contain a prominent element.

For example, it sometimes contains only one word and it is not a content word. There

was a sentence in the passage that she read during the diagnostic test which is „…The fire

burnt out immediately, and the garage and Ken were undamaged…‟. Her intonation

units were like The FIRe / BURNt out imMEdiately, / and the gaRAge and Ken / were /

undamaged, / …. She pauses before and after the word „were‟ and she does not place

stress on the word. During the interview, she said she does not know about intonation

units and has never learned about that in school. I think she has a feel for thought

groups through long periods of living in English speaking countries but sometimes she

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seems to get confused about when to pause.

Second, Subject A has a slight problem with intonation. Overall she seems to

have a good control of intonation. She used falling intonation when asking wh-

questions and used rising intonation when asking yes/no questions in school. However,

she used a falling intonation pattern when pronouncing listing information. For

example, there was a sentence in the passage that she read during the diagnostic test

which is „…Steve lost his mustache, eyebrows, eyelashes, and half his hair…‟. Her

intonation takes on a 2-3*-2 contour (See Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1 Subject A’s intonation contour for listing information

3

2 Steve lost his mustache, eyebrows, eyelashes, and half his hair…

1

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4.2 Subject B

4.2.1 Test results

The checklists (see Table 4.3 and 4.4) were designed for diagnostic analysis with first-

language backgrounds. Table 4.3 and 4.4 show the results of both the diagnostic test

and the interview of Subject B.


Name: Insun Ryu Date: April 01, 2011



/f/ foul o

/v/ heavy o

/θ/ thin o

/ð/ bathe o

/s/ soul o

/z/ business o

/ʒ/ leisure o

/tʃ/ hatch o

/dʒ/ joy o

/l/ lit o

/r/ repair o



/iy/ me o substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/

/ɪ/ him o

/ɛ/ penny o sometimes substituted /ɛ/ for

/æ /

/æ / nanny o

/ʌ/ cut o

/ɔ/ caught o

/ʊ/ good o sometimes substituted /ʊ/ for

/uw/

/uw/ food o

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Name: Insun Ryu Date: April 01, 2011



questions? o


questions? o



series?

o






relatively small

differences between

strong and weak stresses









vowels? o

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suprasegmental system. The test results showed that Subject B has two areas of

pronunciation that needs to develop in the English segmental system: distinguish and

producing some pairs of tense and lax vowels. Subject B‟s problematic area regarding

vowels in English pronunciation is most like the ones of Subject A‟s. Subject B also

seems to have difficulty distinguishing and producing some pairs of tense and lax vowels

in English, especially the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel /ɪ/ and

the highest back tense vowel /uw/ and highest back lax vowel /ʊ/. She got the wrong

answers for discriminating these vowel pairs in the phoneme discrimination test and

substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ and /uw/ in the read-aloud test. I think this may be

influenced by her first-language backgrounds. In the Korean vowel system, there is no

distinctive difference between tense and lax vowels. There is only one representative

for /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ and /uw/ respectively, and they sound more like /ɪ/ and /uw/. That

is why she has difficulty distinguishing and producing these tense and lax vowels.

In addition, Subject B also got the wrong answer for discriminating the low front

vowel /æ / and mid front vowel /ɛ/in the phoneme discrimination test and sometimes

substituted /æ / for /ɛ/ in the read-aloud test. In the Korean vowel system, these two

sounds do exist and they are important because the meaning of an utterance can change

according to its substitution. However, most Koreans tend to substituted /æ / for /ɛ/ in

real life communication since /æ / needs more effort to produce than /ɛ/. It does not

cause any misunderstandings in communication. They use their communication

strategies to negotiate meaning when it happens. I guess that is why she has problems

with distinguishing and producing /æ / and /ɛ/.

The test results showed that there are not many areas that need to be developed

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in the English suprasegmental system for Subject B. She knows where to stress or not

and places major sentence stress on the appropriate words and I can find the parts where

she tried to highlight when listening closely to her production. The one problematic

area I found out is there is no big difference between her strong and weak stresses. It is

not the problems with the loudness of her voice. She does not speak too soft or too loud.

I felt like her speech is somewhat flat. When I first listened to her production of the

reading-aloud test, it was hard to identify strong and weak stresses of her speech. After

repeating listening to her speech, I realized she did place strong stresses, but not many.

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5. Goals and objectives

The goal of the pronunciation tutor project is to develop or enhance each of the subject‟s

weaknesses regarding English pronunciation to increase intelligibility in ELF

communication. Based on the analysis of each subject‟s test results and their needs for

the project, the different objectives are set up depending on their weaknesses in both the

English segmental and suprasegmental systems to achieve the goal of the project.

5.1 Objectives for Subject A

Based on the analysis of the test results and discussion with Subject A, the four areas of

English pronunciation that she had difficulty with were chosen to be developed which

will somewhat affect mutual intelligibility in communication with speakers of Englishes

and which also be teachable. Since it is a 5-week program and the subjects would

expect to see their development in English pronunciation from the project, some features

of English pronunciation that are difficult to teach like intonation were not chosen. The

four areas of pronunciation Subject A has difficulty with are as follows:

1) distinguishing and articulating the phonemes /ʒ/, /dʒ/, and /z/

2) distinguish and articulate some pairs of tense and lax vowels

the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel /ɪ/

the highest back tense vowel /uw/ and highest back lax vowel /ʊ/

3) distinguishing and articulating the low front vowel /æ / and/ mid front vowel /ɛ/

4) thought group + prominence

Based on the four weak areas of English pronunciation chosen, the specific

objectives of the project were set up. First, Subject A will be able to distinguish the

pairs /ʃ/ vs. /ʒ/, /tʃ/ vs. /dʒ/, and /s/ vs. /z/ and to articulate them appropriately in spoken

discourse. Second, Subject A will be able to distinguish the highest front tense vowel

/iy/ and high front lax vowel /ɪ/ and articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse.

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Third, Subject A will be able to distinguish the highest back tense vowel /uw/ and highest

back lax vowel /ʊ/ and articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse. Fourth,

Subject A will be able to distinguish the low front vowel /æ / and/ mid front vowel /ɛ/ and

articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse. Lastly, Subject A will be able to

identify thought groups and place stress on appropriate content words in spoken

discourse.

5.2 Objectives for Subject B

Based on the analysis of the test results and discussion with Subject B, the three areas of

English pronunciation that she had difficulty with were chosen to be developed which

will somewhat affect mutual intelligibility in communication with speakers of Englishes

and which also be teachable. In addition, one area that she would like to develop the

most was chosen which is linking. Since linking is one of the predominant features in

spoken English and has considerably great effect on intelligibility (Celce-Murcia, 2010),

it has decided to be included in the objectives of the project. The four areas of English

pronunciation chosen to be developed are as follows:

1) distinguish and articulate some pairs of tense and lax vowels

the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel /ɪ/

the highest back tense vowel /uw/ and highest back lax vowel /ʊ/

2) distinguishing and articulating the low front vowel /æ / and/ mid front vowel /ɛ/

3) thought group + prominence

4) consonant-to-vowel linking & vowel-to-vowel linking

Based on the four areas of English pronunciation chosen, the specific objectives

of the project were set up. The first three problematic areas of Subject B‟s are as same

as Subject A‟s. Thus, the objectives for these areas will be the same as Subject A‟s.

Next, the objective for the fourth area is that Subject B will be able to identify the

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consonant-to-vowel linking phenomenon and produce linking sounds in spoken discourse.

Lastly, Subject B will be able to identify the vowel-to-vowel linking phenomenon and

produce linking sounds in spoken discourse.

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6. The action plan

This is a 5-week pronunciation tutor project and the subjects will meet the tutor once a

week for 30 minutes. Each class is designed to achieve one specific objective which is

the area each of the subjects has problems with or would like to develop the most. Thus,

throughout this project, a total 5 objectives will be covered. 5 objectives were set up for

each subject. Both the subjects have 4 shared objectives among 5 chosen. These

shared objectives will be set up for Classes 2, 3, 4, and 5. In these classes, Subjects A

and B will develop their needed skills together giving peer feedback. The 2 different

objectives will be set up for Class 1: one for Subject A and the other for Subject B and

the class will be conducted separately. Table 6.1 shows a syllabus for the project

(overleaf).

A task-based approach will be adopted for the pronunciation tutor project.

Many researchers demonstrate that having learners engaging in meaningful tasks would

promote their language learning process (Prabhu, 1987; Long & Crookes, 1991; Pica et

al., 1993). According to Willis (1996), “tasks are always activities where the target

language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an

outcome” (p.23). Through completing tasks, the subjects will have chances to interact

and exchange their ideas and opinions with others in English and this will help them not

only develop their weaknesses regarding English pronunciation but also build their

communicative competence. The activities and materials will be designed according to

a task-based approach.

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Table 6.1 Syllabus for the project

Class 1 April 27 for Subject A

April 29 for Subject B

Subject

A

Objective Subject A will be able to distinguish the pairs /ʃ/ vs. /ʒ/, /tʃ/ vs. /dʒ/, and /s/ vs.

/z/ and to articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse.

Materials tongue twister sentences with special attention to /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/,

and /s/ and /z/

a set of pictures taken from the movie, “SpongeBob SquarePants: Band

Geeks”, with special attention to /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/, and /s/ and /z/

Without awareness, learning cannot occur. Schmidt (1990, 2001) claims phonological

awareness is essential for learners to acquire L2. The results of Venkatagiri and Levis‟s

study (2007) support that metaphonological awareness strongly relates to L2 learners‟

language performance. To raise her awareness of the articulation of the problematic

sounds /ʃ/ vs. /ʒ/, /tʃ/ vs. /dʒ/, and /s/ vs. /z/, the subject will first recognize how the

individual sounds are articulated differently in terms of the place of articulation and

manner of articulation by observing the tutor modeling and listening to her brief

explanation. Then, the subject will try reading aloud these problematic sounds with

tongue twister sentences. The tutor will monitor her production and give feedback. Next,

the subject will create a story using a given set of pictures taken from the movie,

“SpongeBob SquarePants: Band Geeks”, and present it to the tutor, paying attention to

these sounds. After completing the task, the tutor will give her feedback on the

problematic areas.

Homework practice reading aloud the tongue twister sentences which are dealt with in

class

Subject

B

Objective Subject B will be able to identify the consonant-to-vowel and vowel-to-vowel

linking phenomena and produce linking sounds in spoken discourse.

Materials worksheet for linking consonant to vowel & vowel to vowel

Mad Gab phrase/sentence list without answers written on it (available

online http://www.bingo-lingo.net/madgab.htm)

a set of pictures

First, the subject will listen to the explanation on the consonant-to-vowel and vowel-to-

vowel linking phenomena using the given examples. Next, the subject will read out the

examples and circled the sounds influenced by the adjacent sounds. Then, the subject will

read a dialogue focusing on the linking phenomena. The tutor will give feedback on parts

she does not connect where the linking phenomena occur by observing her production.

Next, the subject will try producing the linking sounds by playing a Mad Gab game with

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the tutor paying attention to blending sounds. Finally, the subject will put the given set of

pictures in order, create a story, and present it to the tutor. The tutor will monitor her

production and give feedback on the problematic areas especially focusing on the linking

phenomena.

Homework practice reading aloud the phrases/sentences in the Mad Gab list dealt with

in class as fast as she can and complete the worksheet

Class 2 May 4

Sub

A&B

Objective The subjects will be able to distinguish the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and

high front lax vowel /ɪ/ and articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse.

Materials dialogue with /iy/ and /ɪ/

incomplete manual for making a solar system mobile and a set of

procedure strips

To raise their awareness of the articulation of the problematic sounds /iy/ and /ɪ/, the

subjects will first recognize how the individual sounds are articulated differently in terms

of the place of articulation by observing the tutor modeling and listening to her brief

explanation. Since the Korean vowel system does not have distinctive difference between

tense and lax vowels, the concept of tense and lax vowels will be introduced by having

them pay attention to observing the position of the tutor‟s jaw and try producing these

vowels. Then, each of the subjects will be assigned to one role and try reading a dialogue

with special attention paid to the sounds /iy/ and /ɪ/. The tutor will mark the parts they

have incorrectly articulated and give feedback. Then, the subjects will read out their

strips to each other and discussed appropriate procedures to complete the manual of a solar

system mobile. Then, they will make a mobile together based on the manual they have

completed. While they were making a mobile, I marked the parts they incorrectly

articulated and gave feedback after completing the task. Finally, they will take turns

explaining the process of how to make a solar system mobile to each other in their own

words.

Homework practice reading aloud the dialogue containing /iy/ and /ɪ/ which is dealt

with in class

Class 3 May 11

Sub

A&B

Objective The subjects will be able to distinguish the highest back tense vowel /uw/ and

highest back lax vowel /ʊ/ and articulate them appropriately in spoken

discourse.

Materials a list of zoo animals in which contain either /uw/ or /ʊ/

a set of pictures taken from the movie, “Hoodwinked”

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First, to raise awareness of the articulation of /uw/ and /ʊ/, the subjects will observe the

tutor modeling these sounds and listen to her brief explanation. The subjects will pay

attention to observing the tutor‟s jaw movement and try producing these vowels. Then,

the subjects will try reading aloud the names of the animals and sort them into two

categories /uw/ and /ʊ/. The tutor will monitor their performance to mark the parts they

have incorrectly articulated and give feedback. Then, the subject will put the given set of

pictures in order, create a story, and present it to each other. Their speeches will be

recorded. Afterward, they will listen to each other‟s recordings and give feedback on the

production of /uw/ and /ʊ/ to each other. The tutor will monitor their production and

added more feedback on the parts they incorrectly articulated.

Class 4 May 18

Sub

A&B

Objective The subjects will be able to distinguish the low front vowel /æ / and mid front

vowel /ɛ/ and articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse.

Materials a list of clothing items in which contain either /æ / or /ɛ/

pictures of the subjects for describing appearance using words containing

either /æ / or /ɛ/

pictures of celebrities for „Who Am I?‟ game

First, to raise awareness of the articulation of /æ / and /ɛ/, the subjects will observe the tutor

modeling these sounds and listen to her brief explanation. Then, the subjects will try

practicing producing /æ / and /ɛ/ by reading aloud the names of various kinds of clothing in

which contain either /æ / or /ɛ/. Then, the subjects will read out them again and circle all

the words with /æ /. The tutor will monitor their performance to mark the parts they have

incorrectly articulated and give feedback. Through this task, the subjects will be able to

recognize the differences between /æ / and /ɛ/ and get better control over these sounds.

Next, the subjects will look at the picture of each other and a list of describing words

including some adjectives with /æ / or /ε/ sound and describe each other‟s clothing and

appearance focusing on /æ / and /ε/sounds. Next, the subjects will receive a list of 16

Hollywood actors and actresses whose names start with either /æ / or /ε/ and their pictures

to each subject and then, they will try reading aloud their names, for example, „Angelina

Jolie‟, „Harrison Ford‟, „Denzel Washington‟, „Matt Damon‟, and „Jack Black‟. Then,

they will choose one person among 16 for each other and tape it on each other‟s back. By

asking yes/no questions about the clothing and their appearance, they will figure out the

name on the picture of their back. During the game, the tutor will mark the parts they

incorrectly articulate and give feedback after the game.

Class 5 May 25

Objective The subjects will be able to identify thought groups and place stress on

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Sub

A&B

appropriate content words in spoken discourse.

Materials two different pictures for „Spot the Difference‟

a video clip from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40kGqASIdb0 and its

script

two different pictures for describing and drawing

First, the subjects will receive a different picture from each other and they will describe

their picture to their partner to spot the differences in them. Their speeches will be

recorded. After the task, the tutor will give them feedback on the target items which are

thought groups and prominence as well as a brief explanation on them as listening their

recordings together. Next, the subjects will watch a video clip taken from the TV sitcom,

Friends, without sound and guess the situation. Then, they will read the script of the

video clip and mark pauses with a single slash (/) and circle the parts where they think

receives stress in each line. Based on that, they will act out the script focusing on the

target items and compare their work with the original by watching the video clip with

sound. The tutor will monitor their performance to mark the parts where incorrect

stresses have been placed and give feedback. Then, the subjects will get a different

picture from each other and take turns describing own pictures in detail so that the other

can draw it by only listening to the partner‟s description. Their speeches will be recorded.

After completing the task, they will listen to their recordings and give peer feedback to

each other on the target items.

Homework practice reading aloud the dialogue which is dealt with in class

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1. Suzy sells seashells by the seashore where the

sun shines on the shop signs.

2. I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where

she sits she shines, and where she shines she

sits.

3. Yellow Jell-O, cherry cheesecake, sweet sugar

cookies, and a chocolate chip shake.

4. She saw Sherif‟s shoes on the sofa. But was

she so sure she saw Sherif‟s shoes on the sofa?

5. Suzie Seaword‟s fish-sauce shop sells unsifted

thistles for thistle-sifters to sift. available online http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm

6.1 Materials

6.1.1 Materials used in Class 1 for Subject A

Try reading aloud the tongue twisters clearly. Start saying them slowly and as

your pronunciation improves, say them more quickly.

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Look through a set of pictures and imagine what is going on. Based on the

pictures, create a story using the words given in the Word Box and tell your story

to your partner. You may change the order of the pictures. Be creative!

* Glue the pictures in order in the boxes given.

Word box

SpongeBob secrets jelly fishing friendship string

amazing snap shot mysterious

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Images captured from the movie, SpongeBob SquarePants: Band Geeks

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6.1.2 Materials used in Class 1 for Subject B

Sometimes when a word ends in a consonant, the last sound attaches to a vowel in

the next word. For instance, “jump over” may be pronounced like “jum pover". Say

the following pairs of words to yourself, and circle the ones where the sound moves.

Left arm White chalk

High five Just in

Key chain After all

Black ink English student

And I Chocolate syrup

Read the following dialog and circle the letters whose sounds move to the next

syllable. Remember, it can happen in one word or between two words. Then, act

out with your partner using the dialog.

A: Can I help you?

B: __________________________________________________

A: Yes, but he isn’t at home. He’s fishing with his uncle today.

B: __________________________________________________

A: I think it’s possible.

B: __________________________________________________

For Subject A

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Sometimes when a word ends in a consonant, the last sound attaches to a vowel in

the next word. For instance, “jump over” may be pronounced like “jum pover". Say

the following pairs of words to yourself, and circle the ones where the sound moves.

Left arm White chalk

High five Just in

Key chain After all

Black ink English student

And I Chocolate syrup

Read the following dialog and circle the letters whose sounds move to the next

syllable. Remember, it can happen in one word or between two words. Then, act

out with your partner using the dialog.

A: ________________________________________________________

B: Hi. I’m looking for Jack Anderson. Is this the correct address?

A: ______________________________________________________

B: Will he be home around eleven tomorrow?

A: _______________________________________________________

B: Ok. I’ll return in the morning.

For Subject B

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Abe Odd Hull Luck Oak

Ask Rude Arrive Her

Bat Tree Snot Ink Looted

Sand Tack Laws

Delete Elmer Made

Dew Wino Hue

Wide Own twig Hose Women

Ike Otcha

Isle Of View

Know Ozark

My Kojak Sun

Up Hair Hush Ooze

Yore Luke Ink Hood

Eight Weeds Hoot

Watch Choo Ear Nut Washer Tse

Read out the phrases in the list given as fast as you can so that your partner can figure out what it means. Write them down in the blank box. Refer to the example below.

Abe Ease Seize Supports ABC Sports

available online http://www.bingo-lingo.net/madgab.htm

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Ace Lip Puff That Hung

Aid Ride Hyper

Ape Arrows Uncle As His

Weaker Tool Hater

Cohen Peas

Deep Rinse Soft Ideas

Dew Ache Who Gulls Urge

Pier Steers

Eight He Muff Forces

We Shy Worth Hare

Europe Are Tough Fit

Grey Ties Hats Course

Hiawatha dean edge van pyre

Jog Clay Die Scream

Thigh Sing Gone Thick Ache

Egg Aim Much Egg Curse

Canoe Key pace He Grit

available online http://www.bingo-lingo.net/madgab.htm HA

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Look through a set of pictures and create a story. Then, tell your story to your partner. You may change the order of the pictures. Be

creative!


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6.1.3 Materials used in Class 2

Dialogue: Eating out

Three friends are at a pizza restaurant.

1. Read out the dialogue first. Afterwards, read it again and circle all the

words with /iy/ sound.

Deena: What are you getting to eat, Lee?

Lee The meat pizza and Greek salad. And a cup of coffee.

Deena: Me, too. Are you getting the meat pizza, too, Steve?

Steve: No, the cheese pizza. I don‟t eat meat.

Lee: Really?

Waitress: Good evening. Are you ready to order?

Deena: Let‟s see… We‟d like two meat pizzas and one cheese pizza.

Waitress: Bean soup or Greek salad to start?

All three: Greek salad.

Waitress: And would you like coffee or tea?

Deena: Three coffees, please.

Steve: Make that two coffees. Tea for me, please.

Waitress: (repeating the order) Three Greek salads… two meat pizzas…

one cheese pizza… two coffees… one tea.

Open your mouth just a little for the sound /iy/.

Spread your lips into a smile. Push your tongue

forward in our mouth. /iy/ is a tense sound.

Move your tongue up a little as you as it.

PETE’S PIZZA MENU

Complete Meal Only $15

Bean soup or Greek Salad

Three Cheese Pizza or Meat Pizza (beef and pepperoni)

Ice Cream or Cheesecake or Peaches (in season)

Coffee or Tea

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Read out the names of the planets in the solar system and find planets with either /iy/ or /I/ sound.

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

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It‟s time to make a solar system mobile on your own! Sounds fun? Given below

is an incomplete manual which will help you make a solar system mobile. You

will get a half set of procedure strips and your partner will get the other set.

Discuss with your partner to complete the manual by writing appropriate

procedures in each box.

Solar System Mobile

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Riley, P. (2008). The real scientist: Space! Our solar system and beyond (pp.13~15)

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Subject A

Subject B

Carefully make holes for planets and Sun using the point of the compasses.

Make the holes by pushing the top of the pencil through.

Mark out the positions of the planets on the inner circles. The center of the

disc is the position of the Sun.

Cur around the 13cm circle.

Use the ruler and compasses to mark out circles with the following diameters,

one inside the other, on the cardboard: 13cm, 12.5cm, 11.5cm, 10.5 cm, 9.5 cm,

8.5 cm, 6.5 cm, 5.5 cm, 4.5 cm, and 3.5 cm.

Tape one end of each long thread at four points on the other side of the card

and hold up your solar system mobile.

Attach the Sun and Planets to the threads using sticky tape. Make sure you

keep all the planets at the same height – in line with the middle of the Sun.

Make drawings of the Sun and planets to a very rough scale on the white card.

Poke a thread through each hole so that about 1cm goes through. Stick this

down with sticky tape.

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Based on the manual you have completed, make a mobile with your partner.

Explain the process of how to make a solar system mobile to your partner in your

own words. You may refer to the manual if necessary.

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At the ZOO

Look at the zoo animals below. Read out the names of the animals.

moose kookaburra wolf raccoon

kangaroo caribou woolly spider

monkey

woodpecker

Read the names of the animals again and sort them into two categories: “/uw/”

and “/ʊ/”in the table given below.

Zoo

/ʊ/ /uw/

/uw/ vs. /ʊ/

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You all know the classic story, “Little Red Riding Hood”, right? A new version of

this classic has come out in film. Look at the main characters of the movie and

read out their names.

woodsman

Red Riding Hood

wolf

Granny

woodpecker

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Look through a set of pictures and imagine what is going on. Based on the

pictures, create a story using the words given in the Word Box and tell your story

to your partner. You may change the order of the pictures. Be creative!


Word box

woods cookbook goody bandit good food woodpecker

goody woodsman red riding hood

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Images captured from the movie, “Hoodwinked”

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jacket

vest

pants

necklace

belt bag

plaid shirt dress

dress shirt

glasses cap

hat

sweat pants sunglasses

sweater


Look at various kinds of clothing given below. Read out the names of

each clothing item.

Read the names of the clothing items again and circle the words having the

same sounds as in the word, jacket.

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Look at the pictures below. Choose one person and describe her clothing and

appearance to your partner. Refer to the list of describing words below the

pictures.

Jungah Yoon Insun Ryu Eunjin Jung

* List of describing words

Face shape

adj. with /æ / or /ε/ sounds Others

egg-shaped round oval

rectangular square triangular

Face/Skin freckled wrinkled ruddy

tanned pale pink-cheeked

Hair style bangs braids ponytail

bun pigtails

Hair colors red brunette gray

black brown blond

Facial hair mustache beard goatee

Weight fat skinny slim

chubby

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Look at the pictures of the celebrities and read out their names.

Angelina Jolie

Harrison Ford

Denzel Washington

Matt Damon

Jennifer Aniston

Samuel Jackson

Emma Watson

Eddie Murphy

Mel Gibson

Brad Pitt Jack Black

Anthony Hopkins

Adam Sandler

Megan Fox

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Jessica Alba

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You are going to play a „Who am I?‟ game with your partner using those pictures.

Read the rules of the game first and play the game.

1. Choose one of the people for your partner and tape it on your partner‟s

back. Make sure your partner does not know what card you chose.

2. Take turns asking questions to each other to figure out the person on the

picture of your back. The questions must be answered with a yes or a

no.

e.g.) Am I male? If the answer is no, you can eliminate all the people

who are female by putting a (x) in the box on the right side of the picture.

3. If you know the person on the picture of your back, yell out the name of

the person. You have only one chance. If your guess is incorrect, you

lose the round.

4. The one who first guess the name on the picture is the winner of the

game.

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Cards

Angelina Jolie

Harrison Ford

Denzel Washington

Matt Damon

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Jennifer Aniston

Samuel Jackson

Emma Watson

Eddie Murphy

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Mel Gibson

Brad Pitt

Jack Black

Anthony Hopkins

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Adam Sandler

Megan Fox

Catherine

Zeta-Jones

Jessica Alba

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For Subject A


Describe your picture to your partner and find the differences between your

picture and your partner‟s. Do NOT show your picture to your partner.

Retrieved from Maggs & Hird (2002). Timesaver speaking activities

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Describe your picture to your partner and find the differences between your

picture and your partner‟s. Do NOT show your picture to your partner

For Subject B


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Watch the video clip without sound this time. Guess who the speakers are,

where they are, and what is happening. Then, share your guesses with your

partner.

Captured from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40kGqASIdb0

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This is the script of the scene you‟ve just watched. Read each line in the script

and mark pauses with a single slash (/) and circle the part(s) where you think

receive(s) sentence stress in each line.

Chandler: Oh, this one‟s nice. I like this one. Sir? Ah, kind sir? Can I… see this one?

Phoebe: Chandler, this is the reason you brought me. Ok? I know how to haggle. Let

me handle this from here on out.

Salesclerk: Can I help you?

Chandler: Uh, yes. I would like to see that ring, please.

Phoebe: Or not. Whatever.

Salesclerk: This ring is from the 1920s. It‟s a one and a half carat diamond. The sapphire is

only the side.

Chandler: Sir, can I ask you to… um… could you hold out that ring and ask me to marry

you?

Salesclerk: OK. Will you marry me?

Chandler: Oh my god. That‟s it! That‟s the ring. How much is it?

Phoebe: Chandler, I, I will handle this. How much IS it?

Salesclerk: $8,600.

Phoebe: We will give you $10.

Salesclerk: Are you interested in this ring?

Chandler: Yes. Yes. But I can only pay $8,000.

Salesclerk: Okay. I can let it go for $8,000.

Phoebe: We stand firm at $10.

Salesclerk: How would you like to pay?

Chandler: Ah… credit card. Oh, no. No, no. But I lent my credit card to Joey. OK. I‟ll go

get it. You GUARD the ring!

Phoebe: Listen. I‟m sorry about before. Do you have anything here for $10?

Salesclerk: Ah, yes. I have these two five-dollar bills.

Phoebe: I‟ll give you $1 for it.

Dictated from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40kGqASIdb0

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For Subject A

Describe your picture to your partner so that your partner can draw it. Do NOT

show your picture to your partner.


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For Subject B


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7. Description of and reflection on all meetings

7.1 Reflection on the first meeting

Both the subjects are colleagues of mine. They have been working as a curriculum

designer at a textbook company for over 2 years. When I first talked about the

pronunciation tutor project to them, they willingly decided to be the subjects of the

program. On the first meeting, I gave them a needs analysis questionnaire and a

diagnostic test regarding English pronunciation in order to find out what areas of English

pronunciation need to be developed. One of the subjects was excited to participate in

this pronunciation tutor project because she had never been taught English pronunciation

at school.

After looking through their test sheets and listening to the records of their reading,

I had a short meeting with the subjects to find out more about their linguistic backgrounds

and their attitudes towards English pronunciation. They were the ones of the most

diverse linguistic backgrounds have in my office. Since I set up the goal of the

pronunciation tutor project as to develop or enhance each of the subjects‟ weaknesses

regarding English pronunciation to increase intelligibility in ELF communication, I first

asked the subjects if they had heard about ELF before and they had no background

knowledge on ELF. Thus, I introduced the concept of ELF regarding pronunciation to

the subjects. Their reaction was just like mine after I read the winter reading book,

World Englishes, (Kirkpatrick, 2007). They were surprised how many varieties of

Englishes in the world and they all are worth learning. I guessed they might have a

prejudice against nativised varieties which are considered not worth learning. As the

first meeting ended, they said they were looking forward to the first class of the project

which made me excited, too.

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The objective of Class 1 for Subject A was that the subject will be able to distinguish the

pairs /ʃ/ vs. /ʒ/, /tʃ/ vs. /dʒ/, and /s/ vs. /z/ and to articulate them appropriately in spoken

discourse. Class 1 consisted of two parts: raising the subject‟s awareness of /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s,

z/ in terms of the place of articulation and manner of articulation and creating a story

using the given set of pictures. To raise her awareness of the articulation of the

problematic sounds, I first explained how /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s, z/ are articulated differently and

modeled those sounds. Then, the subject tried reading aloud the given tongue twisters in

which contain /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s, z/ sounds clearly. While reading the tongue twisters, I

marked the parts she incorrectly articulated and gave feedback on the problematic areas.

The task given to the subject in the second part was creating a story using the

given set of pictures and telling it. The pictures for this task were taken from the movie,

“SpongeBob SquarePants: Band Geeks”. The reason I chose this movie for this task is

that it contains lots of vocabulary items with the target sounds /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s, z/, for

example, „SpongeBob‟, „secrets‟, „jelly fishing‟, „friendship‟, „string‟, „amazing‟, „snap

shot‟, and „mysterious‟. First, I gave the subject one set of pictures and gave her a

chance to read aloud the words provided in the word box. Then, she had 3 minutes to put

the pictures in order and create her own story using the provided words. Finally, she

presented the story she created to me. While she was presenting her story, I marked the

parts she incorrectly articulated and gave feedback on the problematic areas.

The objective of Class 1 for Subject B was that the subject will be able to identify

the consonant-to-vowel and vowel-to-vowel linking phenomena and produce linking

sounds in spoken discourse. Class 1 consisted of three parts: raising the subject‟s

awareness of the linking phenomena, playing a Mad Gab game, and creating a story using

the given set of pictures and telling it. To raise her awareness of linking, I first explained

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the consonant-to-vowel and vowel-to-vowel linking phenomena and modeled how they

were influenced by the adjacent sounds using the given examples. Next, she read out the

examples and circled the sounds influenced by the adjacent sounds. Then, she and I were

assigned to one role and tried reading a dialogue focusing on the linking phenomena.

Afterward, I gave her feedback on the problematic areas.

In the second part, I provided the subject some phrases taken from a Mad Gab

game focusing on blending sounds and resyllabification (available online

http://www.bingo-lingo.net/madgab.htm). The subject read out the phrases as fast as she

could and figured out what they meant to get the feel of how to blend sounds. Half of the

phrases given in the Mad Gab list were covered in class and the rest of them were assigned

to do as homework. I was observing her reading out the given phrases and helped her

figure out what they meant as well as giving feedback on the target area.

In the third part, I gave the subject one set of pictures gave 3 minutes to put the

pictures in order and create her own story. Finally, she presented the story she created to

me. While she was presenting her story, I marked the parts she incorrectly articulated

and gave feedback on the problematic areas.

After the class, I explained to both of the subjects that I will use a task-based

approach for the pronunciation tutor project. Through completing tasks, they will have

chances to interact and exchange their ideas and opinions with others in English and this

will help them not only develop their weaknesses regarding English pronunciation but also

build their communicative competence. After listening to my explanation on the

approach, they seemed to understand how the task I prepared was related to pronunciation

class.

Since the subjects have lived in other English speaking countries for over 10 years

and their English proficiency is high, they picked up the knowledge on the problematic

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area pretty quickly. Even though I prepared a quite short awareness raising activity, they

seemed to look a little bit bored. Thus, I would shorten the awareness raising part and

proceed with the communicative tasks for the next class.

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The objective of Class 2 was that the subjects will be able to distinguish and articulate the

highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel /I/ using task-based approach.

Class 2 consisted of two parts: raising the subjects‟ awareness of /iy/ and /I/ and

completing a task. To raise their awareness of the articulation of the problematic sounds

/iy/ and /I/, I first explained how /iy/ and /I/ are articulated using a vowel quadrant. Then,

I modeled those sounds and asked the subjects to try articulating them to feel the

difference in terms of the place of articulation. Next, each of the subjects was assigned

to one role and tried reading a dialogue containing lots of words having /iy/ and /I/, with

special attention paid to the sounds /iy/ and /I/. While they were reading the dialogue, I

marked the parts they incorrectly articulated and gave feedback. After circling all the

words with /iy/ in the dialogue, they took turns reading the dialogue and giving peer

feedback on the problematic areas.

In the second part, I gave the subjects a task which was making a solar system

mobile. As a warm-up, I presented the eight planets in the solar system and asked them

to find names of planets with either /iy/ or /I/. Before making a solar system mobile, I

gave them an incomplete manual of a solar system mobile and gave each of the subjects a

half set of procedure strips. They read out their strips to the partner and discussed

appropriate procedures to complete the manual. Then, they made a mobile with the

partner based on the manual they had completed. While they were making a mobile, I

marked the parts they incorrectly articulated and gave feedback after completing the task.

Finally, they took turns explaining the process of how to make a solar system mobile to

the partner in their own words.

Even though they had already listened to the explanation on the approach I chose

for this task in the previous class, as soon as they saw the materials I prepared for the task

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of the second part of the class which was making a solar system mobile, they seemed to

look puzzled. One of them asked me how the task I prepared was related to

pronunciation class. I explained how task-based approach is effective in helping them

not only develop their weaknesses regarding English pronunciation but also build their

communicative competence. After listening to my explanation on the approach, they

seemed to look excited to do the task.

I participated in the task with the subjects, too. Since I am their coworkers and

participated in the task like them, they were more comfortable with doing the task.

During the task, the subjects naturally gave feedback on the problematic area each other as

I gave feedback to them. At the end of the class, they said they were looking forward to

what will be the next task.

One of the subjects recommended recording their speech during the task. She

said it would be better for giving proper feedback to each other. In fact, it is the

technique that I would like to try in my tutor project. Through the process of listening to

each other‟s recordings and giving feedback on the target items to each other, I think this

technique would be able to reinforce the subjects‟ awareness of their problematic areas.

For the next class, I will shorten the awareness raising part and spend more time on doing

a communicative task. In addition, I will try recording the subjects‟ speech while they

are completing the task and use the recordings for giving feedback.

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highest back tense vowel /uw/ and high back lax vowel /ʊ/ using task-based approach.

Class 3 consisted of two parts: raising the subjects‟ awareness of /uw/ and /ʊ/ and

completing a task. To raise their awareness of the articulation of the problematic sounds

/uw/ and /ʊ/, I first explained how /uw/ and /ʊ/ are articulated and modeled those sounds.

Then, the subjects looked at the pictures of some zoo animals in which contain either /uw/

or /ʊ/ sound in their names such as „moose‟, „wolf‟, „caribou‟, „raccoon‟, „kangaroo‟,

„kookaburra‟, „woodpecker‟, and „woolly spider monkey‟ and took turns reading out the

names of each animal to feel the difference in terms of the place of articulation. Next,

they read the names of the animals once more and tried sorting them into two categories:

/uw/ and /ʊ/. Then, they shared their work with each other. While sharing their work, I

marked the parts they incorrectly articulated and gave feedback on the problematic areas.

The task given to the subjects in the second part was creating a story using the

given set of pictures and telling it to each other. The pictures for this task were taken

from the movie, “Hoodwinked”, which is a new version of the classic story, “Little Red

Riding Hood”. The reason I chose this movie for this task is that it contains lots of

vocabulary items with the sounds either /uw/ and /ʊ/, including the main characters‟ names,

for example, „woodpecker‟, „woodsman‟, „Red Riding Hood‟, „wolf‟, „cookbook‟,

„woods‟, „goody bandit‟, „goody‟, „food‟, and „good‟. As a warm-up, I presented the

pictures of the main characters of “Hoodwinked” and their names and asked them to read

out the names. Next, I gave one set of pictures to each subject and gave them a chance to

read aloud the words provided in the word box. Then, they had 3 minutes to put the

pictures in order and create their own story using the provided words. Finally, they took

turns presenting the story they created to each other and I recorded their story using a cell

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phone. Afterward, they listened to each other‟s recordings and gave feedback on the

target items to each other. After completing the task, I added more feedback on the parts

they incorrectly articulated.

In Class 3, I recorded the subjects telling a story they created as one of them

recommended for giving feedback on the target items. At first, they were just

embarrassed to listen to their own speech in front of the others. Moreover, they seemed

to feel uncomfortable with giving feedback on each other‟s recordings. However, as I

repeated playing the recordings and stopping the parts where they incorrectly articulated

and asked them if there was any part they wanted to correct and where it was, they

comfortably exchanged feedback to each other.

During the class, I felt that they were uncomfortable with the IPA phonetic

symbols written in the worksheets I prepared even though their English proficiency is high.

I was surprised that the IPA symbols made them uncomfortable while doing the task. It

was natural that they did not know the IPA phonetic symbols since they have never learned

them in schools. Thus, instead of using the IPA symbols, I would use the words with the

targeted item on the materials for the next class, for example, read the names of the

clothing items and circle all the words having the same sound as in the word, glasses.

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low front vowel /æ / and mid front vowel /ε/ and articulate them appropriately in spoken

discourse. Class 4 consisted of two parts: raising the subjects‟ awareness of /æ / and /ε/

and playing the „Who am I?‟ game. To raise their awareness of the articulation of the

problematic sounds /æ / and /ε/, I first explained how /æ / and /ε/ are articulated and

modeled those sounds. Then, the subjects looked at the pictures of various kinds of

clothing in which contain either /æ / or /ε/ sound in their names such as „jacket‟, „sweater‟,

„hat‟, „glasses‟, „dress shirt‟, „pants‟, „necklace‟, and „dress‟ and took turns reading out the

names of each clothing item to feel the difference in terms of the place of articulation.

Next, they read the names of the clothing items once more and circled all the words with

/æ / sound. Then, they shared their work with each other. While sharing their work, I

marked the parts they incorrectly articulated and gave feedback on the problematic areas.

In the second part, the subjects were going to play the „Who am I?‟ game. They

needed to guess the name of the person on the picture of their back by asking questions

about the person‟s appearance. As a warm-up, I presented the pictures of the subjects

and a list of describing words including some adjectives with /æ / or /ε/ sound and asked

them to describe each other‟s clothing and appearance focusing on /æ / and /ε/sounds.

Next, I gave a list of 16 Hollywood actors and actresses whose names start with either /æ /

or /ε/ sound and their pictures to each subject and tried reading aloud their names, for

example, „Angelina Jolie‟, „Harrison Ford‟, „Denzel Washington‟, „Matt Damon‟, and

„Jack Black‟. Then, they chose one person among 16 pictures of actors and actresses for

each other and taped it on each other‟s back. By asking yes/no questions about the

clothing and their appearance, they figured out the name on the picture of their back.

While the subjects were playing the game, I marked the parts they incorrectly articulated

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and gave feedback after the game.

While playing the „Who am I?‟ game, the subjects naturally asked clarifying

questions to each other if the words they pronounced were not clear. I felt they were

more comfortable with giving feedback on the target items to each other comparing to the

previous classes. Also, they seemed to not only enjoy playing the game but also help

each other develop their weaknesses regarding English pronunciation. At the end of the

class, one of the subjects said she would like to use this game, revising it to fit the

objectives of the lessons she was going to plan.

Until now, I always explained how to articulate the target items and modeled first

to raise the subjects‟ awareness and asked them to try articulating those problematic

sounds. Even though I tried to give them a short explanation, I felt they seemed a little

bit bored whenever the explanation part comes. Thus, for the next class, I would change

the sequence of the activities applying a task-teach-task approach. I would give them a

task first and record them. While completing a given task, I will mark the parts they

incorrectly pronounce. And then, I will have them listen to their own recordings and

give feedback on the target items of the class. I believe this way may be more effective

and help them listen to the explanation on the problematic areas attentively.

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The objective of Class 5 was that the subjects will be able to identify thought groups and

place stress on appropriate words in spoken discourse. Class 5 consisted of three parts:

describing a picture to each other and spotting the differences, raising the subjects‟

awareness of the concept of thought groups and prominence, and describing another

picture for the partner to draw it. As reflecting on the previous class, I gave the subjects

a „spot the difference‟ task first before doing an awareness raising activity. The subjects

received a different picture from each other. They described their picture to their partner

to find the differences in them and their speeches were recorded. After the task, I gave

them feedback on the target items as well as a brief explanation on them as listening their

recordings together.

In the second part, I showed the subjects a scene taken from the TV sitcom,

Friends, without sound and asked them to guess where the characters were and what was

happening in the scene. After sharing their guesses with the partner, they read the script

of the video clip they had watched and mark pauses with a single slash (/) and circle the

parts where they think receives stress in each line. Next, they acted out the script

focusing on the target items. Then, they watched the video clip with sound and

compared it with their work.

In the third part, the subjects received a different picture from each other. Then,

they took turns describing their picture in detail and drawing it by only listening to the

partner‟s description. Their speeches were recorded while doing the task. After

completing the task, they listened to their recordings and gave feedback to each other on

the target items.

One of the subjects asked me she was not sure she placed stress correctly or not

and did not know where to place stress while doing the task. However, as I observed

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them, they seemed to naturally place stress on appropriate words in the context while

communicating with each other. Communication breakdown did not occur during the

task. To verify that she did place stress appropriately, we listened to her recordings

together. After listening to her own recording, she said it seemed more difficult to

understand the concept of thought groups and prominence when listening to the

explanation on them at first. But, it seemed much easier when she was actually engaging

in the task. I guessed the explanation on the target items rather made the subjects

confused even though it is not a difficult concept to understand. Until now, I thought I

should include at least a short explanation on target items to raise the subjects‟ awareness.

However, after this class I felt that an awareness raising part does not have to include a

verbal explanation on target items. There are many ways to replace an explanation part.

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8. Achievement test

8.1 Overview

An achievement test was designed to assess the progress of the subjects regarding English

pronunciation after 5 week pronunciation sessions. The objectives of each class were

assessed. Since the different objectives were set up for each subject based on the

analysis of their test results and their needs for the project, the areas of assessing

achievement in English pronunciation varied (See Table 8.1). The achievement test

consists of two parts: 1) the first section is a read-aloud test and 2) the second section is a

picture-cued story retelling activity.

Table 8.1 Objectives for each subject

Subject A Subject B

Class 1 distinguish the pairs /ʃ/ vs. /ʒ/, /tʃ/

vs. /dʒ/, and /s/ vs. /z/ and to

articulate them appropriately in

spoken discourse

identify the consonant-to-vowel and

vowel-to-vowel linking phenomena

and produce linking sounds in spoken

discourse

Class 2 distinguish the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel /ɪ/ and

articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse

Class 3 distinguish the highest back tense vowel /uw/ and highest back lax vowel /ʊ/

and articulate them appropriately in spoken discourse

Class 4 distinguish the low front vowel /æ / and mid front vowel /ɛ/ and articulate them

appropriately in spoken discourse

Class 5 identify thought groups and place stress on appropriate content words in spoken

discourse

The first section of the achievement test is a read-aloud test. The same authentic

short passage in the diagnostic test was used in the achievement test to see each of the

subjects‟ improvement in their weaknesses regarding English pronunciation by comparing

the recordings of the diagnostic test with the ones of the achievement test. The subjects

take turns reading the same passage and it is recorded with a cell phone voice recorder.

The second section of the achievement test is a picture-cued story retelling activity.

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This section focuses on how much the subjects develop their weaknesses regarding

English pronunciation in an impromptu type of activity. A video clip is provided for a

retelling task taken from a British comedy television series, Mr. Bean, in which the

characters speak very little dialogue (available online

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ftqbfusJ7E&feature=related). After watching the

video clip a couple of times, the subjects take turns retelling a story with a help of given

pictures. It is recorded with a cell phone voice recorder for an analysis.

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8.2 Test sheets

Achievement Test


This test consists of two parts: the first part is a read-aloud test and the second

part is story retelling.

When Ken was ten, there was a five-foot hedge bordering

his yard. His father, Steve, decided to cut it down to two feet,

so he pulled out his heavy-duty hedge clippers and set about the

job. When he was three quarters done, he hit a wasp‟s nest and

cut it right in half! The wasps were not happy. Steve made it to

the end of the driveway, yelling and running every step of the way,

before he passed out. Our neighbor rushed him to the hospital,

where they counted 134 stings. During the next four days, he

stared at the hospital wall while he hatched a scheme to rid himself

of those confounded wasps forever. When he was released, he

returned to the hedge and saw that the wasps had repaired their

nest. It was a hot Saturday afternoon, and the insects were away

from home and about their business. He poured a small cup of

gasoline on the nest, and tied a gas-soaked rag to a 10-foot pole.

He was squatting on the ground, three yards from the nest, and

Ken was standing behind him. They were both unaware that a

cloud of gas fumes had collected in the hot, still summer

air. When he held a lit match to the rag, a huge fireball erupted

in the yard! Steve was knocked back on top of his son, which

saved Ken from the heat – but not him! The fire burnt

out immediately, and the garage and Ken were undamaged,

but Steve lost his mustache, eyebrows, eyelashes, and half his


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Part 2: Watch the video clip and retell a story. Refer to the pictures below

when retelling a story.

Images captured from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ftqbfusJ7E&feature=related

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9. Analysis of the test results

9.1 Subject A

9.1.1 Test results

The same checklists (see Table 9.1 and 9.2) used in diagnostic analysis were used in

analysis of the achievement test. Table 9.1 and 9.2 show the results of the achievement

of Subject A.


Name: Jungah Yoon Date: June 01, 2011



/f/ foul o

/v/ heavy o

/θ/ thin o

/ð/ bathe o

/s/ soul o

/z/ business o

/ʒ/ leisure o

/tʃ/ hatch o

/dʒ/ joy o

/l/ lit o

/r/ repair o



/iy/ me o sometimes substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/

/ɪ/ him o

/ɛ/ penny o

/æ / nanny o sometimes substituted /æ / for /ɛ/

/ʌ/ cut o

/ɔ/ caught o

/ʊ/ good o

/uw/ food o

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Name: Jungah Yoon Date: June 01, 2011



questions? o


questions? o



series?

o

used falling intonation

pattern when pronouncing

every element














vowels? o

HA

NA

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90



suprasegmental system like diagnostic analysis. Overall, the test results showed that

Subject A improved her weaknesses in English pronunciation. In the English segmental

system, she used to have difficulty with the three areas: 1) distinguishing and articulating

/ʒ/, /dʒ/, and /z/, 2) distinguishing and producing some pairs of tense and lax vowels in

English, especially /iy/ and /ɪ/ and /uw/ and /ʊ/, and 3) distinguishing and articulating /æ /

and /ɛ/. After the 5-week pronunciation session, she seemed not to have any problems

with discriminating /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s, z/ and articulate these sounds properly in

communication.

However, Subject A seemed to show less progress in vowels comparing to the one

in consonants. Analyzing her speech samples, she seemed to have a good control of

distinguishing the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel /ɪ/, the highest

back tense vowel /uw/ and highest back lax vowel /ʊ/, and the low front vowel /æ / and

mid front vowel /ɛ/ at a recognition level. On the other hand, at a production level, she

seemed to have difficulty producing /iy/ and /ɪ/ and /æ / and /ɛ/. In the read-aloud test,

she articulated these sounds properly; but in the picture-cued story retelling task, she

sometimes substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /æ / for /ɛ/. I think it is because she could pay extra

attention to articulating these problematic sounds in her mind when reading aloud the

given passage than when retelling a story, which is more like an impromptu type of

activity.

5 weeks are a short amount of time to expect for Subject A to develop or enhance

her weaknesses regarding English pronunciation. Most of her weaknesses in vowels may

be influenced by her first-language backgrounds. For example, in the Korean vowel

system, there is only one representative for /iy/ for /ɪ/. In addition, /æ / and /ɛ/ do exist in

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NA

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91

the Korean vowel system; however, most Koreans tend to substituted /æ / for /ɛ/ in real life


misunderstandings in communication since they use their communication strategies to

negotiate meaning when it happens. It may be even harder for Subject A to change her

ways to articulate the problematic sounds in English which have been fixed by habits.

Notwithstanding the short amount of time that she had raised her awareness of her

weaknesses in English pronunciation and practiced producing them, Subject A showed

some improvement in the English segmental system.

In addition, Subject A used to have two areas of pronunciation that need to be

developed in the English suprasegmental system: 1) sentence stress and 2) intonation.

Since intonation was not chosen to be the area to be developed because it is unteachable

for 5 week pronunciation sessions, sentence stress was assessed only. The test results

showed improvement of Subject A in the English suprasegmental system. Comparing to

her diagnostic speech samples from the read-aloud test, her speech sounded more natural,

pausing properly and putting stress on the appropriate words when reading the given

passage. The improvement is noticeable in the second part of the test, the picture-cued

story retelling task. Most of content words carrying important new information were

stressed and she produced appropriate strong and weak stresses. She knew where to

stress or not and places major sentence stress on the appropriate words. Consequently,

Subject A developed her weakness area, sentence stress, through the pronunciation tutor

project.

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9.2 Subject B

9.2.1 Test results

The same checklists (see Table 9.3 and 9.4) used in diagnostic analysis were used in

analysis of the achievement test. Table 9.3 and 9.4 show the results of the achievement

of Subject B.


Name: Insun Ryu Date: June 01, 2011



/f/ foul o

/v/ heavy o

/θ/ thin o

/ð/ bathe o

/s/ soul o

/z/ business o

/ʒ/ leisure o

/tʃ/ hatch o

/dʒ/ joy o

/l/ lit o

/r/ repair o



/iy/ me o sometimes substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/

/ɪ/ him o

/ɛ/ penny o

/æ / nanny o sometimes substituted /æ / for /ɛ/

/ʌ/ cut o

/ɔ/ caught o

/ʊ/ good o

/uw/ food o HA

NA

CH

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Name: Insun Ryu Date: June 01, 2011



questions? o


questions? o



series?

o














vowels? o

HA

NA

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94



suprasegmental system like diagnostic analysis. Overall, the test results showed that

Subject B improved her weaknesses in English pronunciation. In the English segmental

system, she used to have difficulty with the two areas: 1) distinguishing and producing

some pairs of tense and lax vowels in English, especially /iy/ and /ɪ/ and /uw/ and /ʊ/ and

2) distinguishing and articulating /æ / and /ɛ/. After the 5-week pronunciation session,

she seemed not to have any problems with discriminating and articulating /uw/ and /ʊ/

properly in communication. However, she seemed to show less progress in producing

/iy/ and /ɪ/ and /æ / and /ɛ/, comparing to /uw/ and /ʊ/.

Analyzing her speech samples, at a recognition level, Subject B seemed to have a

good control of distinguishing the highest front tense vowel /iy/ and high front lax vowel

/ɪ/, the highest back tense vowel /uw/ and highest back lax vowel /ʊ/, and the low front

vowel /æ / and mid front vowel /ɛ/. On the other hand, at a production level, she seemed

to have difficulty producing /iy/ and /ɪ/ and /æ / and /ɛ/. In the read-aloud test, she

articulated these sounds properly; but in the picture-cued story retelling task, she

sometimes substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /æ / for /ɛ/. I think it is because she could pay extra

attention to articulating these problematic sounds in her mind when reading aloud the

given passage than when retelling a story, which is more like an impromptu type of

activity.

5 weeks are a short amount of time to expect for Subject B to develop or enhance

her weaknesses regarding English pronunciation. Most of her weaknesses in vowels may

be influenced by her first-language backgrounds. For example, in the Korean vowel

system, there is only one representative for /iy/ for /ɪ/. In addition, /æ / and /ɛ/ do exist in

the Korean vowel system; however, most Koreans tend to substituted /æ / for /ɛ/ in real life

HA

NA

CH

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95


misunderstandings in communication since they use their communication strategies to

negotiate meaning when it happens. It may be even harder for Subject B to change her

ways to articulate the problematic sounds in English which have been fixed by habits.

Notwithstanding the short amount of time that she had raised her awareness of her

weaknesses in English pronunciation and practiced producing them, Subject B showed

some improvement in the English segmental system.

According to the analysis of diagnostic tests, there are not many areas that need to

be developed in the English suprasegmental system for Subject B. The one problematic

area was there was no big difference between her strong and weak stresses. The test

results showed improvement of Subject B in prominence and sentence stress. Comparing

to her diagnostic speech samples from the read-aloud test, she paused properly and put

stress on the appropriate words when reading the same passage in the achievement test.

The improvement is noticeable in the second part of the test, the picture-cued story

retelling task. Most of content words carrying important new information were stressed

and she produced appropriate strong and weak stresses. She knew where to stress or not

and places major sentence stress on the appropriate words. Consequently, Subject B

developed her weakness area, sentence stress, through the pronunciation tutor project.

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NA

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96

10. Conclusion

As the use of English is increasing globally and the number of non-native speakers of

English is greater than the one of native speakers (Albl-Mikasa, 2010; Graddol, 1999;

Canagarajah, 2007), we should look at the goal of pronunciation for L2 learners from a

different perspective. Having pronunciation for international intelligibility is the most

important for all speakers of English including native speakers. Thus, the aim of this

pronunciation tutor project is to develop or enhance each of the subject‟s weaknesses

regarding English pronunciation to increase intelligibility in ELF communication. The

plan for this project includes six stages.

In Stage 1, two subjects were chosen for the pronunciation tutor project. Both

are female adults whose L1 is Korean. They are curriculum designers of an English

textbook company and coworkers of the tutor. Both the subjects have lived in other

English speaking countries for over 10 years and their English proficiency is high.

Next, in Stages 2 and 3, three kinds of tests were given to the subjects: 1) a needs

analysis questionnaire, 2) a diagnostic test, and 3) an interview with the tutor, to gather

information on the subjects‟ linguistic and cultural backgrounds and the knowledge of

English pronunciation. The test results were analyzed using two categories: English

segmental system and suprasegmental system. The test results showed that Subject A has

difficulty with the three areas of English segmental system: 1) distinguishing and

articulating the phonemes /ʒ/, /dʒ/, and /z/, 2) distinguishing and producing some pairs of

tense and lax vowels in English, especially /iy/ and /ɪ/ and /uw/ and /ʊ/, 3) distinguishing

and articulating /æ / and /ɛ/. In addition, the test results showed Subject A had two areas

of pronunciation that need to be developed in the English suprasegmental system: 1)

sentence stress and 2) intonation.

Subject B‟s problematic area regarding vowels in English pronunciation is most

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like the ones of Subject A‟s. The test results showed that Subject B also has difficulty

with the two areas of English segmental system: 1) distinguishing and producing some

pairs of tense and lax vowels in English, especially /iy/ and /ɪ/ and /uw/ and /ʊ/ and 2)

distinguishing and articulating /æ / and /ɛ/. The test results showed that there are not

many areas that need to be developed in the English suprasegmental system for Subject B.

The one problematic area I found out is there is no big difference between her strong and

weak stresses.

In Stage 4, a specific plan for each subject was created focusing on developing

their weaknesses in English pronunciation based on the analysis of the test results and

discussion with the subjects. It was a 5-week pronunciation tutor project and each class

was designed to achieve one specific objective which is the area each of the subjects has

problems with or would like to develop the most. Five objectives were set up for each

subject. Both subjects had 4 shared objectives among 5 chosen. These shared

objectives were set up for Classes 2, 3, 4, and 5 and the 2 different objectives were set up

for Class 1: one for Subject A and the other for Subject B. All the activities and

materials were designed according to a task-based approach.

Over a 5-week period, the subjects met the tutor once a week in person and

practiced developing their weaknesses regarding English pronunciation with materials

created by completing various kinds of tasks such as retelling, playing games, creating a

story, making a solar system mobile, and describing pictures and drawing. While

completing a task, the tutor observed their performance and gave feedback on the target

items which will help them enhance their needed skills.

Each class consists of mostly two parts: raising the subjects‟ awareness of the

problematic area and completing a task. Considering their proficiency, I prepared a quite

short awareness raising part. I always explained how to articulate the target items and

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modeled first to raise the subjects‟ awareness and asked them to try articulating those

problematic sounds. However, whenever the explanation part comes, they seemed to

look bored. Thus, in Class 5, I changed the sequence of the activities applying a task-

teach-task approach. I gave them a task first and recorded them before doing an

awareness raising activity. After the task, I had the subjects listen to their own and gave

them feedback on the target items as well as a brief explanation on them.

At first, the subjects seemed to be confused about how the tasks prepared for them

were related to pronunciation class. I explained the approach I adopted for the

pronunciation tutor project which could help them not only develop their weaknesses

regarding English pronunciation but also build their communicative competence. After

understanding the purpose of adopting a task-based approach, they seemed to actively

engage in the tasks.

From Class 3, I started recording the subjects‟ speech while doing tasks for giving

feedback on the target items. At first, they were embarrassed to listen to their own

speech in front of the others. Moreover, they seemed to feel uncomfortable with giving

feedback on each other‟s recordings. However, as time went by, they comfortably

exchanged feedback to each other. I think this process helped reinforce the subjects‟

awareness of their problematic areas.

In Stage 5, an achievement test was given to the subjects to assess the progress of

the subjects after a 5-week pronunciation session. The achievement test consists of two

parts: 1) the first section is a read-aloud test and 2) the second section is a picture-cued

story retelling activity. The progress of the subjects was assessed by comparing the

results of the diagnostic test. The same checklists used in diagnostic analysis were used

in analysis of the achievement test.

Overall, the test results showed that both Subjects A and B improved their

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NA

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99

weaknesses in English pronunciation after the pronunciation tutor project. In terms of

the English segmental system, Subject A seemed not to have any problems with

discriminating and articulating /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s, z/ properly in communication. However,

she seemed to show less progress in vowels comparing to the one in consonants. She

sometimes substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /æ / for /ɛ/ when retelling a story, whereas she

articulated these sounds properly in the read-aloud test. Regarding to the English

suprasegmental system, her speech sounded more natural, pausing properly and putting

stress on the appropriate words when reading the given passage. She knew where to

stress or not and places major sentence stress on the appropriate words.

After the 5-week pronunciation session, Subject B seemed not to have any

problems with discriminating and articulating /uw/ and /ʊ/ properly in communication.

However, she seemed to show less progress in producing /iy/ and /ɪ/ and /æ / and /ɛ/,

comparing to /uw/ and /ʊ/. She sometimes substituted /iy/ for /ɪ/ and /æ / for /ɛ/ in the

picture-cued story retelling task, whereas she articulated these sounds properly in the read-

aloud test. The test results showed improvement of Subject B in prominence and

sentence stress in terms of the English suprasegmental system. She produced appropriate

strong and weak stresses in communication.

I think, in some ways, the pronunciation tutor project achieved the goal of

developing or enhancing each of the subject‟s weaknesses regarding English

pronunciation to increase intelligibility in ELF communication. 5 weeks were

insufficient to develop their needed skills in English pronunciation. Nevertheless,

Subject A and Subject B showed some improvement in both the English segmental and the

suprasegmental systems. This could be a proof that the pronunciation tutor project may

be effective for them to raise their awareness of the problematic areas in English

pronunciation and develop those areas.

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