Teaching Pronunciation: Theory and Practice TESL 542, Spring 2013 Robin Barr & Cynthia Hatch

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1 Instructors Teaching Pronunciation: Theory and Practice TESL 542, Spring 2013 Robin Barr & Cynthia Hatch Instructors Robin Barr Cynthia Hatch Office Hours Robin: Tuesdays 8-9 p.m. or by appointment Cyn: Tuesdays 4-5p.m. or by appointment Course Description Teaching Pronunciation introduces the formal analysis of phonetics and phonology along with techniques for incorporating these into practical classroom instruction. This course places an emphasis on problem-solving strategies using data from many languages and contexts, and on effective techniques for instruction. The main project for this course involves working with a non-native English speaker to identify and address pronunciation issues relevant to the learner s needs. Course Objectives By the end of the course, students will: Have deepened their understanding of theoretical linguistic and psycholinguistic principles involved in second language acquisition Be able to use these theoretical principles to devise effective teaching techniques, syllabi, and adapt instructional materials to a specific student s needs Have synthesized their theoretical and practical knowledge in collecting their own data and writing up an extensive case-study of a non-native English speaker. Assessment Assignment Type of Grading Weight 4 Problem 5% Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory 20% Phonetics quiz 5% Graded Phonology take-home quiz 10% 3 Tutoring 5% Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory 15% Materials Adaptation Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory 10% Pronunciation Project Individual components will be graded separately. See project guidelines. 40% Problem Sets Four problem sets and answer keys will prepare you for the quizzes and your pronunciation project. You will collaborate with classmates on these assignments and turn them in individually. Late or incomplete assignments may not receive full credit. Problem sets will not be returned; please make a copy for yourself if you want to use them for study. 1

2 Quizzes There are two quizzes: a short, in-class quiz on phonetic transcription and features, and a take-home quiz on phonology. There is no collaboration on quizzes. Tutoring Reflections More than a simple blow-by-blow account of what you have been doing with your pronunciation student, this assignment allows you to reflect on the practical applications of this course as experienced in your tutoring sessions and to share your experiences with your classmates. Each reflection paper must include these three components: Tutoring Update: provide an update on your tutoring sessions followed by observations and/or any questions you may have about the instructional work you are doing with your subject. Targeting Pronunciation: reflect analytically upon a particular chapter or activity in your pronunciation textbook that you have found useful or otherwise remarkable with respect to your tutoring. Suggested topics: personalization, adaptation (for level or learning style), or scaffolding. Connections: explore an idea, experience or discovery from your tutoring session that illustrates points emphasized in your readings and in class. Each log will be ~500 words, posted on Blackboard by the due date. In addition, you will be required to comment on your classmates reflections. We will discuss the reflections the following week. Materials Adaptation Assignment Starting from typical non-pronunciation instructional material, you will 1) identify opportunities for pronunciation instruction and practice, and 2) adapt material to reflect the specific needs (goals, interests, background, learning style, and level) of your tutee. This may involve personalizing content, omitting content or activities that do not match your tutees needs, and adding activities or smaller instructional steps that will benefit your tutees. We urge you to collaborate with others in the class whose tutees have similar needs; if so, a group may turn in a single project. Pronunciation Project Here, you will use the insights and skills that you are developing in this class to perform an in-depth assessment of your tutee s pronunciation. See the Pronunciation Project Overview and additional handouts for more information. This task will include: Finding a cooperative non-native English speaker who wants to improve his/her pronunciation Recording interviews and making transcriptions of his or her pronunciation Using this data to analyze and diagnose his/her pronunciation problems Developing an individualized pronunciation syllabus and lesson plan for a hypothetical 12-week course that will improve your student s intelligibility 12

3 Required Texts Avery, Peter and Susan Ehrlich Teaching American English Pronunciation Miller, Sue F Targeting Pronunciation, 2 nd Edition (with audio CDs) Taylor, Karen and Shirley Thompson Color Vowel Chart Teacher Resource Guide (with color vowel charts as appropriate). Order from after Shirley Thompson s guest lecture. Yavas, Mehmet Applied English Phonology Additional required and supplementary readings will be available at the library, on e- reserves, or from the professors. Some homework will require use of software in the TESOL office. The following recommended texts (with CDs) have been ordered through the bookstore: Gilbert, Judy. Clear Speech From the Start (student edition). [if your subject is a beginner] Menn, Lise Psycholinguistics: Introduction and Applications. [a clear intro to brain stuff ]. 13

4 Week 1 Jan 15 Week 2 Jan 22 Saturday Jan. 26 Week 3 Jan 29 Week 4 Feb 5 Week 5 Feb 12 Week 6 Feb 19 Week 7 Feb. 26 Week 8 Mar 5 Mar Syllabus: Teaching Pronunciation TESL 542, Spring 2013 UNIT I: INTRODUCTION and SUPRASEGMENTALS Course Introduction: a suprasegmental approach Introduction to the Project: first, catch your rabbit. Avery intro,1 Introduction to sociocultural issues. Yavas phonetics Practice diagnosis and phonetics review. charts Pronunciation discovery stations Introduction to Project Part 1. Introduction to suprasegmentals. AU TESOL Spring Workshop: Meeting Educational Challenges of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Butler Boardroom 9:00am 2:00pm. I got rhythm Suprasegmentals and sociocultural issues, continued. Songfest: the music of suprasegmentals Using songs to teach pronunciation. UNIT II: SEGMENTAL PHONETICS Rubber bands, Color Vowel Charts, and Koosh Balls Vowel length and reduction. Introduction to Project, Part 2. Guest Lecture by Shirley Thompson. You re from a cow?! Linking, glottal stops and other rules your students don t believe in. Introduction to syllable structure and its effects on phonology. It s not sloppy, it s efficient! Why linking, vowel length, and vowel reduction are necessary rules of English. PHONETICS QUIZ Metalinguistic attitudes. Which English do we teach? Video: American Tongues. Phonology and the Color Vowel Chart. SPRING BREAK Avery 2, 4,16 Ladefoged 5 Yavas 7 Register in advance through the TESOL office. $10 for students. Problem Set 1 DUE Reflection 1 DUE Avery 5, 6 Yavas 6 Problem Set 2 DUE Avery 9 Project Part 1 DUE Avery 3, 11 Yavas 3, 4, 5 Arthur the Rat dialect variation Problem Set 3 DUE Avery 7, 8 Yavas 2, 8 Reflection 2 DUE Avery 2, 3, 4 (review) DARE excerpt Problem Set 4 DUE Ohio Files Halle & Clements excerpts 14

5 Week 9 Mar 19 Week 10 Mar 26 Week 11 Apr 2 Week 12 Apr 9 Thursday Apr. 11 Week 13 Apr 16 Week 14 Apr 23 Saturday Apr. 27 UNIT III: PHONOLOGY: sound patterns, rules, and mental representations. Pigeonholes and phonemes - Finding the rules Project Part 2 DUE How to describe linguistic patterns and systems. Introduction to Project Part 3. Discussion: Learner attitudes about dialect variation. Sapir PHONOLOGY QUIZ distributed (due Week 11). NO CLASS: TESOL 2013 Syllabus Design and Lesson Plans Planning effective pronunciation lessons. Introduction to Project Part 4 and Materials Adaptation. Categorical Pizza How phonemic categorical perception develops. Led by Robin Barr. Mary Graydon Center :10pm - 9:30pm. Your Students Phonologies Sound patterns in the classroom. What doesn t happen in class: the pronunciation learner s learning curve. Lecture and Book Signing "Bilingualism in Schools and Society: Language, Identity, and Policy" by Sarah J. Shin What Goes on in Your Mind Language processing. Lexical chunks. Phonology Take-Home DUE Avery 13, 14 Free to all Pronunciation students, who are encouraged to attend. Pizza is provided. Project Part 3 DUE Eimas Menn 5, 9 4pm-5:30pm, Founders Lounge, SIS Materials Adaptation DUE Reflection 3 DUE Avery 10 Celce-Murcia 9 UNIT IV: INTERACTION OF PHONOLOGY WITH OTHER AREAS Pronunciation in the ESL/EFL Classroom Project Part 4 DUE Integrating pronunciation into daily instruction. WATESOL- AU TESOL Spring Conference: 9 a.m. 5 p.m. April 30 Spring Study Day: No Classes Avery 12 Yavas 9 Sign up for WATESOL membership! Week 15 May 7 What s that in the road, a head?! General conclusions. Course evaluations. 15

6 TESL 542 Supplementary Readings. Note: Some of these will be required, others recommended or optional. These and other additional readings will be available at the library or from the professors. Acton, William (1984) Changing Fossilized Pronunciation, TESOL Quarterly, V18, N1, pp Anderson-Hsieh, Janet Approaches toward teaching pronunciation: a brief history, Cross Currents Vol. XVI No. 2, pp Anderson-Hsieh, J Using electronic visual feedback to teach suprasegmentals, System 20(1): Bloch, Bernard Phonemic Overlapping, American Speech Vol. 16, pp Bråten, Stein The Intersubjective Mirror in Infant Learning and Evolution of Speech. Advances in Consciousness Research 76. Benjamins. Brazil, David Pronunciation for Advanced Learners of English, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Cassidy, Frederick, ed Guide to Pronunciation & Language changes especially common in American folk speech, in Dictionary of American Regional English. Celce-Murcia, Marianne, Donna M. Brinton, and Janet M. Goodwin Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. New York, NY: Cambridge. Collins, B. & I.M. Meese (2003) Practical Phonetics and Phonology (with CD). Dalton, C. & Seidlhofer, B. (1994) Pronunciaton, Oxford, UK: Oxford, chapter 1, pp Derwing, Bruce & William Baker. Is the child really a little linguist? Chapter 6 in J. Macnamara, ed., Language Learning and Thought. Dogil, Grzegorz, and Susanne Maria Reiterer Language Talent and Brain Activity: Trends in Applied Linguistics I. Mouton de Gruyter. Eimas, Peter D Linguistic processing of speech by young infants, Chapter 2 in R. Schiefelbusch & L. Lloyd, eds., Language Perspectives: Acquisition, Retardation, and Intervention, pp Eimas, Peter D., E.R. Siqueland, P. Jusczyk, & J. Vigorito Speech perception in infants, Science, Vol. 171, pp [Blackboard link] Fangshi, Cheng The Teaching of Pronunciation to Chinese Students of English, Forum 36, no. 1, Jan-Mar Gilbert, Judy Clear Speech (student and teacher editions). Cambridge University Press. Gilbert, Judy. Clear Speech From the Start (student and teacher editions). Cambridge University Press. Gilbert, Judy Intonation: a navigation guide for the listener, in J. Morley, ed. Pronunciation Pedagogy and Theory. Alexandria, VA: TESOL, pp Grant, Linda Well Said. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Grant, Linda Creating pronunciation-based ESL materials for publication, in Byrd, ed. Material Writer s Guide, Boston: Heinle & Heinle, pp Halle, Morris and G.N. Clements Problem Book in Phonology. Kaltenboek, Gunther Chunks and pronunciation teaching, Speak Out! 13, pp Katamba, Francis An Introduction to Phonology. Kiparsky, Paul & Lise Menn. On the acquisition of phonology, Chapter 4 in J. Macnamara, ed., Language Learning and Thought. Ladefoged, Peter (or later editions 2010 edition includes CD). A Course in Phonetics. Ladefoged, Peter Vowels and Consonants: An Introduction to the Sounds of Languages. (& CD) Levis, John Teaching Focus for Conversational Use, ELT Journal v.55 n1, Jan. Pp Lewis, Michael The Lexical Approach. Hove, UK: ITP. [Using chunks in second language teaching.] Lewis, Michael. Implementing a Lexical Approach, Hove, UK: ITP, esp. Chapter 8. Liberman, Alvin. The Speech Code, Ch. 12 in G. Miller, ed. Communication, Language, and Meaning. 16

7 Matthews, John & Cynthia Brown Qualitative and quantitative differences in the discrimination of second language speech sounds, Proceedings of the B.U. Conf. on Lang. Devel, Vol. 22, pp Miller, Sue F Targeting Pronunciation (including CDs). [1 st edition] Houghton Mifflin. Ohio State University. Language Files: Materials for an Introduction to Language and Linguistics. Pennington, Martha C Computer-aided pronunciation pedagogy: promise, limitations, directions, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp Philp, Jenefer, Rhonda Oliver, Alison Mackey, eds Second Language Acquisition and the Younger Learner: Child s Play? Benjamins. Reis Pereira, Ivana Brasiliero The Effects of Bilingualism on Children s Perception of Speech Sounds. Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics/ Landelijke LOT. Roach, Peter English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course. 3 rd edition. Sapir, Edward The Psychological Reality of Phonemes. Swan, M. & B. Smith, eds Learner English: A Teacher s Guide to Interference and Other Problems. Velleman, Shelley L Making Phonology Functional: What Do I Do First? Wong, Rita Teaching Pronunciation: Focus on English Rhythm and Intonation, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Wong, Rita Pronunciation Myths and Facts, English Teaching Forum, Oct. 1993, pp