EFL 531
Dr. Rafflovich
Southern New Hampshire University
MS-TEFL
Donna W. Papanikolau
07-03
Reflection on Pronunciation Approaches
In this class we have been presented with two different methodologies for improving
the speech of our students. The first focused on changing the speech pattern of the teacher
in order to change the pronunciation skills of the students. This was taught through a
variety of activities that were hand on. By hand on I mean we, the students, had to
interpret meaning and practice pronunciation by doing Jazz Chants, Poetry, Plays, Drills,
Commercials, Dr. Stern’s approach, and explicit individual instruction with problematic
areas in our own speech. In the second half of the class the focus was on teaching our
students minimal pairs, contractions and reductions, pitch, tone, syllables, stress, linking
and the influences they have on pronunciation. The second half of the class definitely
consisted of teacher directed activities. I found both methods extremely useful in
designing a curriculum for my class.
I would like to concentrate on the second half of the class and the ways in which I can
incorporate these ideas into a classroom setting. The benefits and practical application are
easier to see for me versus my peers because I already have a phonics program in place.
So this is where I intend to use the activities we have discussed in class. I spend
approximately two-three hours everyday teaching spelling, vocabulary, phonics and
reading in my present curriculum. The students in my class range from non-English
speakers to limited- English speakers and most have very little reading or writing skills
when they enter the system in September. The first and main objective is to concentrate
on oral skills. Without this the other points are mute. Therefor pronunciation is very
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EFL 531
Dr. Rafflovich
Southern New Hampshire University
MS-TEFL
Donna W. Papanikolau
07-03
important; all students want to be understood when they finally muster the courage and
confidence to begin to speak. As I said in my first reflection paper I usually taught
pronunciation in a very indirect manner. Knowing with time, proper modeling and usage
their pronunciation would improve. There was a glitch with this approach though, I found
that students even with individualized phonics programs had difficulty with certain
structures and sounds in the English language. One of them happened to be with Minimal
Pairs. I taught the consonant-vowel- consonant patterns to help distinguish between one
sound and another. I also taught them the rhyming patterns to help them hear and see the
differences. Now I have another resource to further explore the differences in sound. So
next year I will use the book, Pronunciation Contrasts in English, when those patterns
and words appear in the spelling and vocabulary series I use in class. It is a great resource
and tool to further enhance their English. The book gives a visual of exactly where the
sound comes from in relationship to the mouth, whether it is voiced and unvoiced,
position, duration, dipthongization and articulation. It works beautifully with the text I
am currently using because the phonetic principles that underlie speech patterns will be
taught in conjunction with the methods of this book. Along with this I learned some very
handy tools such as using a rubber band to show length of sounds, paper so the students
can see the difference between unvoiced and voiced sounds and word bingo. Plus in
designing a lesson plan for minimal pair activity Jill and I also developed other games I
think will be effective in overcoming this problematic area.
I also understand how to explain pitch. I think it is very important they know that in
English pitch does not effect meaning unlike some of their native languages. I will use
the curve to demonstrate this idea on the board, with the same numerical symbols you
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EFL 531
Dr. Rafflovich
Southern New Hampshire University
MS-TEFL
Donna W. Papanikolau
07-03
used in class. I have a computer game called Community Exploration, this game teaches
the vocabulary of different locations in the community. One activity has the student
answer a question in relationship to the place they just explored. The student then plays
back his/her answer to hear if they pronounced the names or the sentence correctly. This
is where I plan to demonstrate the differences in pitch. The student only has one minute
to say a sentence, so it is brief period of time and just enough to concentrate on pitch in
the context of a meaningful activity in which they receive immediate feedback. Which
brings me to stress. I would like to incorporate the principles behind stress patterns into
the grammar part of the curriculum. In the book, Clear Speech, by Judy B. Gilbert, she
discusses basic emphasis patterns in content words. Since most content words are
stressed I think this makes sense to teach these patterns within the frameworks of a
grammar lesson. It might even make learning grammar more attractive to the students. I
use two books in class that teacher grammar in very different ways, one is an ESL text,
American Start English by Oxford University Press and the other is a book used in the
mainstream classrooms by Scott Foresman. The series by Oxford University teaches
vocabulary in the context of sentence structures with each lesson concentrating on a
particular grammatical form. For instance pronouns are taught in drill format, She has a
dog. He has a cat. I have a cat. The book also has some fun activities but it is mainly a
repeat drill format with visuals as aides. The mainstream book by Scott Foresman is a
grammar book that is very traditional. It gives the explanation for the form being studied
and then sentence structures to reinforce the lesson. The activities in both books lend
themselves to dealing with stress patterns in a purposeful manner. At the same time I plan
to use the activities taught in class where the students generate the sentences. I love the
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EFL 531
Dr. Rafflovich
Southern New Hampshire University
MS-TEFL
Donna W. Papanikolau
07-03
idea of getting the students involved and actively thinking about the lesson at hand. Such
a simple idea but I never thought to use it in this way. I felt it was highly effective even
though at the onset I had no idea what we were doing!
The linking of sounds in the English language is also a problem for my students
especially those who have hearing impairments. Now I have the rules for such linking
patterns and can demonstrate those rules to the students. Such as, When you have a word
that ends in “t” and another word that begins with “y” it changes the sound to “ch”.
Sometimes young learners need to know the rules because they are confused by what
they hear versus how they say the words versus how they spell the words. They are
reassured by the fact there is a formula to the English language. By explaining the
pronunciation pattern in this way I think it teaches the student to hear there is a difference
in sound and the way it is pronounced by native speakers even though we write the words
with different spelling. It is very important to them because in Phonics there are so many
rules that fluctuate given the combinations of vowels and sounds. So if I can show them
how to distinguish and be aware of these types of patterns in speech I think it will help
them assimilate the language structures more rapidly. The same is true for reductions and
contractions. In their formal writing they often write exactly what they hear. Such as
gonna for going and wanna for want to, instead of I’ve they write hive and so on. Now I
can explain why they hear what they hear. Which will help them improve not only their
speaking but their writing as well. So linking, contractions and reductions can be taught
directly in conjunction with Phonics and Spelling and reinforced through the writing
process.
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EFL 531
Dr. Rafflovich
Southern New Hampshire University
MS-TEFL
Donna W. Papanikolau
07-03
In conclusion the first part of the class requires implementation through creating a
separate curriculum for activities that give the students a forum to explore sound and
speech patterns in a more theatrical setting. The second part of the class is more like
weaving. All of the theories and methods can be woven through the already existing
curriculum in a way that is more subtle and effective for explicit instruction in
pronunciation. In my opinion both foster student communication and participation in
ways that are meaningful and purposeful. Both ideologies use cooperative and
communicative techniques to further enhance the language capacity of my students. Both
of the techniques and methods can be used across the curriculum with any subject
whether it is language arts or content material. It just takes a little creativity and
knowledge! I hope I have learned both of these skills because I had no idea pronunciation
was so complex until I read the assigned material and listened to the lectures!
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