Page 13 - ELG1901 Jan-Feb 463

NEWS

Practise p ronunciation, improve listening

By Gillian Ragsdale These students were learning intelligibility of spoken
Spanish as false beginners, having Spanish, as assessed by WIKIMEDIA
Teaching pronunciation to failed the assessment criteria to improved accuracy in a
learners of Spanish as a foreign take a higher-level class. dictation task.
language improved intelligibility Five different interventions This form of
and comprehension in listening were studied: business as usual instruction may
tasks, reports Elizabeth Kissling with no extra pronunciation, reduce the tendency
from the University of Richmond and two kinds of pronunciation of students to identify
in Virginia. instruction, with either perception ‘phantom words’
The Speech Learning Model practice or production practice. which potentially
makes clear that accurate Two groups were instructed in could exist but
perception of sounds by the segmental features, i.e. particularly don’t, for example
listener is needed in order to problematic phonemes, while identifying the non-
accurately produce those sounds. the other two were instructed in existent word ‘quel’
The reverse is less intuitive, but suprasegmental features, such as instead of ‘que el’.
has become an increasing area of word stress and rhythm. The effect on
interest. For each kind of instruction, comprehensibility Pronunciation chart for Toki Pona,
A few studies have shown two different kinds of practice was less straight- a constructed language
listening improves after followed after instruction – forward but appears
pronunciation instruction. They production practice (spoken to be improved by segmental targeted sessions will repay the
have, however, tended to target repetition with feedback) or instruction, followed by investment, not only by improving
learners at intermediate to perception (a dictation task). production practice. Gains in pronunciation but also essential
advanced level, and to devote To test a ‘real world’ schedule, comprehensibility also occurred listening skills.
an unrealistic amount of time to pronunciation instruction was because you are more likely to
pronunciation. limited to four, 20-minute sessions have confidence in identifying ■ Kissling, E. (2018) ‘Pronunciation
So just how useful is this strategy over the year. words if you also understand Instruction Can Improve L2
in the everyday classroom? The strongest results were seen what is being said. Learners’ Bottom-Up Processing for
Kissling’s study recruited 18-21 after suprasegmental instruction Teaching pronunciation can Listening.’ The Modern Language
year-old, undergraduate, English followed by perception practice. be time-consuming. Kissling’s Journal, 102(4): 653–675 DOI:
native speakers at a US University. This improved the overall study shows that even short, 10.1111/modl.12512

Babies can tell a hum

isn’t human language

Language School and Tennis Academy
By Gillian Ragsdale
Twelve-month old babies Babies have a sense of the
understand that foreign languages natural order of things, and
are not just noise, according to a when that is violated it peaks
study by Athena Vouloumanos at their interest and they gaze for
New York University. longer at the scene. In some
Babies selectively attend to of the role plays, the Receiver
human speech, and by nine violated the natural order by The Stonyhurst Language
months English L1 babies can not giving the Communicator School offers an unrivalled
distinguish between English, the desired object. In these opportunity for students
Russian and Spanish due to instances, babies looked longer aged 10-16 to improve
differences in stress-timing, at the situation in all cases – their English Language
skills in a stunning
permissible consonant clusters except when the Communicator and historic
and vowel sequences. hummed the request. • We offer English
But do they understand that The implication is that 2 or 4 week residential setting.
teaching courses
Russian and Spanish are languages the babies understood when
and not just noise? language was being used to • 23 hours of English teaching
To find out, Vouloumanos communicate a request from
studied sixty-two, 12-month- the Communicator to the • Small class sizes
old English L1 babies. The Receiver. Humming – even • International atmosphere
infants first watched an English- humming the nonsense English • Mixed language groups
speaking Communicator ask request with closed lips – was
for one of two objects, with not seen as communicating • Extensive activities and excursion programme
the Receiver then handing anything. • Also introducing the Stonyhurst
the asked-for object to the Tennis Academy - New in 2018
Communicator. The babies then ■ Vouloumantos, A. (2018)
watched versions of the same ‘Voulez-vous jouer avec moi?
scene with the communication Twelve-month-olds understand that To book a place visit languageschool.stonyhurst.ac.uk
Tel: +44 1254 827270 00070777222277772222888844445555222211144444444++++: l:leeeTeTTT
in Russian, Spanish, nonsense, foreign languages can communicate.’ Email: summerschool@stonyhurst.ac.uk
English or humming. Cognition 173: 87-92
editorial@elgazette.com 13