Efficacy of Explicit Instruction in Pronunciation and Phoneme Acquisition in First-Year English Speaking Spanish-as-a-Second-Language Students

Presenter(s)

David DeBonis

Abstract or Description

Why Pronunciation?

Pronunciation is a vital aspect of learning a second language (L2). However, learning to pronounce in an L2 can be difficult. There may be sounds in the new language that do not exist in the learner’s first language(s) (L1); additionally, sounds in an L2 may have a slightly different length/quality and exist in different contexts. Learners have a tendency to transfer features from their L1 into their L2, which can cause miscommunications and confusion. 

For native English speakers learning Spanish as a second language, the rule is no different. For example, English vowels tend to be long, and a single vowel phoneme in English will many times be pronounced as a diphthong, which means the pronunciation glides between two vowel sounds in a single syllable (e.g., the word “I” is pronounced [ai̯]) . On the other hand, Spanish vowels are short, and a single vowel phoneme almost always maps to a single vowel sound (e.g., the word “o” in the word “yo” is pronounced [o]). Yet many native English speakers learning Spanish have a tendency to carry these longer and/or diphthongized vowel variations into Spanish (a form of language transfer). This creates an accent that is more difficult for speakers to understand, and sometimes it can cause confusion between two words, thus interfering with communication.

What is Explicit Phonetics Instruction in Accent Acquisition?

Explicit phonetics instruction is general term to describe a method/approach to teaching pronunciation that:

(1) emphasizes the instruction and practice of

 pronunciation in instruction, and dedicates time for  pronunciation practice in assignments; and

  (2) uses explicit instruction techniques to teach pronunciation.

One example of these explicit instruction techniques is describing where the tongue is in the mouth during the pronunciation of a specific phoneme (e.g. an English “d” tends to involve the tongue touching the alveolar ridge (the ridge directly above the teeth), whereas with the Spanish “d” the tongue touches the back of the teeth. Another example is using words from the L1 (English) to help students understand the intricacies and differences in phoneme manifestation; e.g., a teacher could tell students that the single “r” in Spanish closely mimics the sound of the “t” in “city” or the “dd” in ”ladder;” a teacher could also explain that the “a” in Spanish is generally pronounced close to the “o” in “sock” (in many dialects), instead of like the “a” in “apple.” This, however, is not an exhaustive list, as many more techniques can be implemented.

The use of explicit phonetics instruction in the classroom has been shown to be effective in improving student pronunciation, however the majority of the research has focused on intermediate-to-advanced students (i.e. Spanish 3000+ courses). The current study explores the role and efficacy of explicit phonetics instruction for beginner Spanish L2 students’ pronunciation (CU Denver SPAN 1010).

Mentor

Dr. Alyssa Martoccio