ha ʊ t ɘ ti: ʧ pr ɘˌ nnsı ʹ j eı ʃɘ n Why it seems to be so hard to teach And so hard to learn

PRONUNCIATION Segmentals Prosody Fluency Migrants 40 Interviews Employers [Acceptability] 95 Respondents "Objective" Rating 5 Raters

Something to think about While the teacher is explaining the student isn’t learning

Global Measures Accentedness (Nativeness) Intelligibility Comprehensibility Acceptability

What is the goal of teaching? Sounding like a native speaker Being intelligible – so native speakers can understand Being acceptable – Employers as gatekeepers

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT TEACHING PRONUNCIATION?

WHY DON’T ADULTS? If all children learn how to pronounce their native language without instruction

Mental Restructuring LEARNING means Keeping and losing distinctions Distinguishing what matters from what doesn’t Gaining some abilities by losing others

Other Barriers Learning is SOCIAL as well as ACADEMIC Embarrassment Identity Willingness to learn

Three levels Fluency Intonation and stress Sounds

Level 1: Sounds Teach contrasts, not absolute sounds Functional load Essential role of consonants Teach as part of an overall communicative programme

The phoneme principle /T/ As in topsstoppots postwaterpost-test

Learning new distinctions Learner listens to develop the ability to distinguish the sounds Teacher explains how the mouth is used to produce the sounds Repeat as needed.

Minimal pairs Sounds are often taught using “minimal pairs”. These are pairs like pin/bin which have only one difference – the one you are teaching. They can be used for listening and speaking practice.

An example CHIMERA Monster / fabulous beast / unrealistic notion

An example from Chinese 书 shū(book) 需 xū(to want)

Sound systems Each language has RULES about where sounds can appear. English allows consonant clusters such as str, and pr at the start of words and nk or lp at the end. Other languages may not allow these, or allow others (such as dv or zdr.

Clashing systems English:Maori initial /ŋ/ Somali: /p/ - /b/, sikis, two-ellif Chinese:/r/ - / ʒ/ Spanish:I estudy at eschool Korean:I learn Englishi East Asian: Limited range of final consonant sounds allowed

Finally (on sounds) Sounds don’t exist in isolation. In everyday speech, sounds are not pronounced as they are in the dictionary.

Level 2: Intonation and Stress Word stress Intonation Contrastive intonation Unstress

Word Stress A key feature of English Must be taught along with all new vocab Can use minimal pairs of stress in communicative activities (e.g. REcord / reCORD).

Intonation Teach typical sentence patterns Then use them in normal conversation (slightly slowed down) Teach the difference between normal statements, questions and orders. Teach the emphasis on new v old information.

Contrastive intonation For example,  Are you going to AUSTRALIA in May?  I’m going in JUNE.  Just YOU?  No, we’re ALL going. Also: JAMES isn’t going to Australia.

Teaching Intonation Use DIAgrams or PICtures to illustrate the intoNAtion pattern of an English SENtence. Bang the pattern on the table. Ask the learner to imitate intonation from a recording.

Level 3: Fluency Linking Pausing, hesitancy Variation Smoothness

Fluency: Linking Teachers tend to present “dictionary” forms, but they should then be given in context. We do not use full, “correct” forms in normal speech. Wodga want? Zat you?

From “Let Stalk Strine” Hello! Dint note was ute first. Dint U U Steffer beard? I thaw chetterlong beard. Essa Dibbet me wife sediwer skettin twold twearer beard. Shiss edit mimey look lichen Noel office boy.

Fluency: Pausing and hesitation “Chunk” words into groups and pause between chunks. Avoid long, unnecessary pauses Think in one language Speed exercises

Fluency: Variation Native speakers don’t like boring voices which use the same intonation patterns HEAR lots of language Identify the meaning of intonation USE it often

Fluency: Smoothness Speakers of some languages, especially East Asian, have a “choppy” sound to their speech, which is not attractive to native speakers of English. Practise linking Take a deep breath and read out a paragraph

Mouth Position Each language has a basic mouth position. Changing this can make an instance difference, but it is hard to teach. People with the ability to imitate use this. “What do English speakers sound like when they speak your language?”

Three levels again Which levels are important? Which are necessary for acceptability by native speakers? Which should you be teaching?

A note on Reading Reading text aloud is a separate skill from speaking. Words on the page override learnt pronunciation rules. Try to teach the learner to say words aloud before reading them distorts perception of them.

So what is the goal of teaching? Native speaker level – Impossible for most adults. Intelligibility – Yes, but not enough. Acceptability – Native speakers make judgements about ways of speaking, even if they understand.

Other criteria Employers also rated a speaker as more acceptable if they seemed to be hard working. Presumably From what they said, and How they said it

While the teacher is explaining the student isn’t learning