PRONUNCIATION
Kiyomi and Hannah
Bangladeshi English Teacher “Pronunciation is not an optional extra
for the learner any more than grammar, vocabulary or another aspect of language”
www.streetdictionary.com/travel_guide/106605/languages/teaching_efl_pronunciation_why_when_and_how.html
Assumptions
Arguments against teaching pronunciation explicitly are based upon two assumptions:
1) The Critical Period Hypothesis
2) Pronunciation is an acquired skill, and therefore cannot be learned
The Critical Period Hypothesis Assumption: Children have a higher
advantage in L2 pronunciation It has been found that found that adults
were superior to children in the first stages of learning pronunciation and sound discrimination(Snow and Hoefnagel-Hohle)
In that same study, the teenager was the only subject who acquired native-like pronunciation
Age Differences
• Fledge (1987) – difficulties arise in testing the critical period hypothesis because speech learning is difficult to isolate from other factors Ex. Social pressures to learn a L2
• Adults and adolescents have further developed the ability to compare and contrast and recognize patterns of speech
• For these reasons, adults should not be denied instruction in pronunciation
Pronunciation = an acquired skill Assumption: factors affecting
pronunciation of L2 cannot be affected by focused practice and/or the teaching of formal rules. Based on Purcell and Suter’s and similar
studies These studies focus on acquisition in a
second language environment Underestimates the influence of the
teacher
Influence of Teachers
Motivation Exposure Ex. Pronunciation teacher in Poland
Extra: Los sonidos de español http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonet
ics/spanish/frameset.html
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