Teaching a Segmental Contrast-HO - Distance …Teaching a Segmental Contrast Royal Thai Distance...

Webinar:Teaching a Segmental ContrastRoyal Thai Distance Learning Foundation

Donna M. Brinton, English Language Specialist, U. S. Embassy, Bangkok

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Teaching a Segmental Contrast

Donna M. BrintonEnglish Language Specialist

U.S. Embassy, Bangkok

Overview

Why segmentals are important

An introduction to the phoneme

Why segmentals are difficult

Thai vs. English consonants: A contrastive analysis

A five-part communicative framework

Sample activities, Stages 1-5

Conclusions Final caveats Questions and

comments



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Why segmentals are important

A significant factor in comprehension breakdown is the L2 speaker’s production of individual segmentals or segmental contrasts.

L2 speakers may face challenges perceivingand/or producing segmentals.

Segmentals: Individuals vowel or consonants

Segmental contrasts: Differences in production between two segmentals

Introducing the phoneme

Phonemes are distinctive consonant or vowel contrasts. For example:Consonants: /p/ vs. /b/; /s/ vs /θ/Vowels: /iy/ vs. /ɪ/; /ɛ/ vs. /ӕ/ Because these contrasts are

distinctive, they make a difference in meaning:/p/-/b/: pit vs. bit; tap vs. tab, ample vs. amble/ɛ/-/ӕ/: ex- vs. ax; said vs. sad; better vs. batter



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Every language has its unique set of vowels and consonants. The consonant and

vowel inventories of two languages do not matchexactly. L2 learners will have

difficulty hearing and producing those vowels and/or consonants that are not part of their L1 inventory.

The point of articulation of two English vowel or consonant sounds may be very similar and therefore difficult for L2 speakers to discern. Even if contrasts such as

/l/ vs. /r/ exist in a speaker’s L1, they may not be distinctive. Learners need to be

made aware of the articulatory distinctions.

Why are segmentals difficult?

Thai vs. English consonant phonemes

The shared consonants of English and Thai

English consonants that do not exist in Thai

Swan & Smith (2001)



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What we can predictEnglish Consonants Thai Learner Challenges

English has more fricatives than Thai.

Thai L2 learners will have difficulties with /θ/, /ð/, /v/, /z/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.

Some common substitutions are:

/w/ for /v/

/t/ or /s/ for /θ/

/d/, /t/, or /s/ for /ð/

/ʧ/ for /ʃ/

/s/ for /z/

Most English consonants can occur in word initial, word medial, and word final position.

Thai learners will have trouble with word-medial and word-final consonants since most Thai words are monosyllabic and end in a vowel.

Swan & Smith (2001)

Example: /s/ vs. /z/

Both phonemes are fricatives. They are similar in terms of where they are produced (in the alveolar ridge area). The difference between the two consonants is

voicing. The Thai consonant inventory has /s/ but not /z/.

─ It is therefore difficult for many Thai speakers to produce a voiced alveolar fricative.

─ Instead, they substitute /s/ for /z/.─ This makes it very difficult to distinguish whether

Thai speakers are saying race/raise or loose/lose, etc.



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A communicative frameworkCelce-Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin (2010) suggest that when teaching a segmental contrast, teachers use a five-part communicative framework.

Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin (2010)

(1) Description

and Analysis

(2) Listening

Discrimina-tion

(3) Controlled Practice

(4)Guided Practice

(5) Communi-

cativePractice

Stage 1

Description and analysis



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Rationale: Description and analysisResearch documents that… “listen and repeat” is not an

adequate model of pronunciation teaching;

learners need to be exposed to the articulatory system to successfully produce new sounds and sound features;

different teaching modes (e.g., visual, kinesthetic) must be employed for learners to see and feel the difference in production from their L1 to the L2.


In description and analysis, the teacher presents information about the pronunciation of the target sound. To do so, she relies on a range of tools and techniques, such as the vowel quadrant (which illustrates the position of the tongue within the oral cavity) or the consonant chart (which illustrates the place and manner of articulation of the various English consonant phonemes).




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Tool #1: The consonant chart

Tool #2: Sagittal diagrams

/l/

/r/



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Tool #3: The pocket mirror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C_uw2PaA2w

/v/

/w/

Tool #4: The hands or fingers



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Stage 2

Listening discrimination

In listening discrimination, learners are given the opportunity to tune their ear to the sound differences. Techniques applied at this stage include word- and sentence-level practice with minimal pairs—words that differ by only one phoneme such as back and pack (for consonants) or peckand pack (for vowels).




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Rationale: Listening discrimination

Research documents that… in the past, the role of

listening in pronunciation practice has been underappreciated;

learners’ ability to producean L2 sound is closely related to their ability to perceive the sound;

listening practice can lead to significant improvement in production.


Minimal pair words: /θ/ vs. /t/

#1 #2three tree

thigh tie

myths mitts

oaths oats

bath bat

both boat

etc. etc.

Task: Which word do you hear? #1 or #2? Hold up one or two fingers as the teacher pronounces the word.

Brinton (2012)



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Minimal pair sentences: /ʃ/ vs. /ʧ/

Task: Which word do you hear? #1 or #2? Hold up one or two fingers as the teacher reads the sentence.

#1 or #2?

1. He bumped his shin/chin.

2. There’s water in that dish/ditch.

3. He’s washing/watching the dog.

4. Can you mash/match it, please?

5. I hear a shattering/chattering sound.

6. etc.

Brinton (2012)

Pronunciation bingo: /w/ vs. /v/

B – I – N – G – O

wine worse wiper west stove

wet rowing vow we’ll mooed

stow grew BINGO verse vet

Walt vest vault vine groove

viper wow veal moved roving



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Family Tree: Listening worksheet

Task: We will meet the members of Beth’s family. As you hear the names in the word bank below, write them on the family tree worksheet.

Beth

_____

____

____

____

____

___

____

____

____

____

Word Bank

Bess/Beth/BevChad/Thad/TadJada/Theta/ZetaWinny/Vinnie

Stage 3

Controlled practice



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In controlled practice, the learners’ attention is focused almost solely on correctly articulating the target sounds, with little or no use of original language. Examples of controlled practice include practice with minimal pair words and the reading aloud of minimal pair sentences, tongue twisters, and short dialogues.


Rationale: Controlled practiceResearch documents that… at this stage, learners

need to focus on form, not content;

emphasis should be on the proper articulation of new L2 sounds along with the formation of new muscle habits and vocal postures;

the aim is for learners to develop automaticity of production while consciously monitoring their output.




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Focused sentence practice: /θ/ vs. /ð/

Thelma’s father thoroughly loathes that worthless thief Thad.

Cynthia thanked Ethel for the thoughtful soothing thistle bath lather.

Isn’t that Thor’s friend Beth dancing in that black leather dress?

Tongue twister practice

Practice with /v/ and /w/

Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently. Lesser weather never weathered wetter weather better. Vivacious Val vacuumed Violet’s very vivid vehicle.

Practice with /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /θ/, and /ð/

We surely shall see the sun shine soon. Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.Is this your sister's sixth zither, sir?

Practice with /t/, /θ/, and /ð/

Three free throws.Tim, the thin twin tinsmith. The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

The Tongue Twister Database (n.d.)



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Now YOU try it! /s/, /ʃ/, and /ʧ/1. Matthew's shop stocks short

spotted socks.

2. Cheap ship trip.(repeat 3x quickly)

3. Shredded Swiss cheese.(repeat 3x quickly)

4. Preshrunk silk shirts.(repeat 3x quickly)

5. Mrs. Smith’s fish sauce shop.

Paired dialogue: /ʃ/ vs. /ʧ/You Look Smashing!

Cher Jeri, what a joy to bump into you here at the gym.

Jeri You too, Cher. You look smashing!

Cher Are you joking? I look like a total witch!

Jeri No, you look like a champ! Are you doing crunches?

Cher Yeah, I owe it all to my personal gym coach Jeremy.

Jeri Jeremy, I hear he’s a catch!

Cher Actually, he’s engaged and getting hitched in January.

Jeri That’s a shame! Well, good catching up, Cher!



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Stage 4

Guided practice

Guided practice combines attention to the target sounds with the need for learners to use original or creative language to accomplish the task. Typical activities in this stage of practice are information gaps and cued (or gapped) dialogues.




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Rationale: Guided practiceResearch documents that… tasks that focus learners’

attention on form while also having them attend to meaning have a positive effect;

such focused tasks push learners to increase their accuracy;

they also help learners continue to automatizetheir production of the target phonological feature.


Minimal pair information gap

Partner A Partner B

A B C D A B C D

1 west vent 1 worse band

2 verse rowing 2 stove wiper

3 vine 3 wine groove roving

4 stow grew viper 4 vest

Task: Fill in the missing boxes by asking your partner questions like “What word is in box 3A?” Be careful pronouncing /w/ vs. /v/!



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Information gap: Consonant review

BUYS WANTS LIKES NEEDS

Sherry fish ? shopping ?

Jerry ? jeans cherries gas

Cherry cheese dishes ? ?

Terry ? ? grapes ?

Gary jam ? girls socks

Partner A

Task: Ask your partner questions to find the missing information.



Sherry ? jewelry ? sheets

Jerry juice ? ? ?

Cherry ? ? peas cash

Terry rice lunch ? shoes

Gary ? chips ? ?

Partner B




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Scrambled mini dialogues: /θ/ vs. /ð/Partner A Partner B

1. Let’s ask Thelma to join us on Thursday for your birthday.

a. This heat spell will be the death of me. I can barely breathe.

2.This bath gel is very soothing. b. I agree. It’s a health hazard. Let’s throw a fit and demand another room!

3. Is your new boyfriend Theo wealthy?

c. Yes, I always use it when I bathe, It has such a nice lather.

4. I think Beth is too thin, don’t you?

d. Let’s ask Ruth instead. I loathe Thelma!

5. This hotel room is filthy! Everything is covered with dust.

e. Yes, he has a house worth about three hundred thousand dollars!

6. They say the weather forecast is for continued temperatures in the high 30s!

f. She’s a lot thinner than she was before. But she looks healthy to me!


Cued dialogue: /s/, /θ/, /ʧ/ and /ʃ/

QUESTIONS ANSWERSWould you like to go ______ on______?

I’m sorry, I’m afraid I can’t on _______.

How about going on _____? _______’s not good for me. Sorry!

Is ______ good for you? Sure, that would be great.

What about going for ______ food afterwards?

Great. I love _______ food!

With a partner, practice the dialog below. Use any of the following words: shopping, sailing, swimming, dancing, Saturday, Thursday, Sunday, Spanish, French, Chinese.



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Strip story: Beth at the beach (Part 1)Put the following words in the correct columns below:

Beth June path Jake share

beach lotion children sunshine generous

Thursday sandwich stretch sandwich famished

bathing large Sheila breathed xx

/θ/ /ð/ /ʃ/ /ʤ/ /ʧ/

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________

Strip story: Beth at the beach (Part 2)

Beth packed her bag with her sunglasses, suntan lotion, a sandwich, and her beach mat.

Task: Work in groups to reorder the sentences. Take turns reading the story aloud. Pay special attention to the words containing /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʤ/, and /ʧ/.

It was a fine Thursday afternoon in June.

She then found a stretch of sand and laid out her beach mat.

She left her house and walked along the path to the beach.



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Stage 5

Communicative practice

Communicative practice involves less structured practice that requires learners to attend to both the target pronunciation features and to the content and impact of the message being communicated. Typical activities in this phase are those that require original production of language such as storytelling, role play, and problem solving.




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Rationale: Communicative practiceResearch shows that… Meaning-focused

instruction enables leaners to gain linguistic control.

They need practice involving authentic, open-ended tasks which require negotiation of meaning.

They marshal their linguistic resources while attending to both the accuracy and the contentof their message.


Interview: Beth & Jake

Qs for Beth

Why do you like the beach?

Did you find Jake attractive?

Were you disappointed to find out he was married?

Etc.

Qs for Jake

Do you like the beach? What do your kids like to

do at the beach? Do they like pizza? Do you love your family? Etc.



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Story telling: /θ/ and /t/Task: Create an original story using at least 10 words or phrases from the word bank below.

Brinton (2012)

Who What When Where How/θ/ Thad clothes Thursday theater faithfully

Beth toothbrush then Athens thankfully

athlete thunder on my birthday Ethiopia thoroughly

thief thread this morning Lithuania thoughtfully

therapist panther at that moment bathroom threateningly

Who What When Where How/t/ Tad tornado last week Thailand tenderly

Matt tennis yesterday Seattle silently

teacher tiger tomorrow Vietnam gently

doctor restaurant recently forest reluctantly

astronaut street Tuesday hotel neatly

Sample story

Last Thursday, Matt and Taddecided to go hiking in the forest. Thankfully, the weather was good, but there were thunderclouds in the sky. Reluctantly, they decided to change their plans and go to the theater instead. “Maybe the weather will be better tomorrow and we can go on a hike then, said Tad.”“I hope so,” said Matt.



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Conclusions

I have suggested a five-stage process for teaching a segmental contrast, illustrating this process with a number of suggested activities at each stage.

The sample segmental contrasts chosen included consonants that are challengingfor Thai learners.

The five-stage framework adapts to any segmental contrast (vowel or consonant), as do the suggested activity types.

Some final caveats

The process of teaching segmentalsshould be spread out over several lessons as learners require time for the process of distinguishing and producing new segmental contrasts to become automatized.

Although the activities described in this webinar were teacher-produced, many ESL/EFL pronunciation textbooks or teacher resource texts that are available today contain similar types of activities.



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Reflection

With a partner or in a small group,consider the following:1. Name one new or interesting thing you

learned.2. Which activity/ies did you like best?3. What are the main challenges you will face

teaching segmental contrasts to Thai students?

4. How did participating in the workshop make you feel?

Thank you!Questions or comments?



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SourcesBrinton, D. M. (2012, DecZeta). Pronunciation: Teaching a

segmental contrast. TESOL Connections. Retrieved from http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2012-12-01/2.html

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., & Goodwin, J. (with Griner, B.) (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A reference for teachers of English to speakers of other languages (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Swan, M., & Smith, B. (Eds.). (2001). Learner English: A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

The Tongue Twister Database. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cc8Xy5ibl5cfW63ayUjpzGpIGL2oq5DwUlYyONKAvSE/edit?hl=en

Family Tree: Listening worksheet

Task: We will meet the members of Beth’s family. As you hear the names in the word bank below, write them on the family tree worksheet.

Beth

_____

____

____

____

____

___

________

____

____

Word Bank

Bess/Beth/BevChad/Thad/TadJada/Theta/ZetaWinny/Vinnie

Pronunciation bingo: /w/ vs. /v/

B – I – N – G – Owine worse wiper west stove

wet rowing vow we’ll mooed

stow grew BINGO verse vet

Walt vest vault vine groove

viper wow veal moved roving

Strip story: Beth at the beach (Part 1)Put the following words in the correct columns below: Beth June path Jake sharebeach lotion children sunshine generousThursday sandwich stretch sandwich famishedbathing large Sheila breathed xx

/�/ /ð/ /�/ /�/ /�/

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________



Sherry fish shopping

Jerry jeans cherries gas

Cherry cheese dishes ?

Terry grapes

Gary jam girls socks

Partner A




Sherry jewelry sheets

Jerry juice

Cherry peas cash

Terry rice lunch shoes

Gary chips

Partner BTask: Ask your partner questions to find the missing information.

Scrambled mini dialogues: /�/ vs. /ð/Partner A Partner B

1. Let’s ask TThelma to join us on TThursday for your birtthday.

a. TThis heat spell will be tthe deatth of me. I can barely breatthe.

2.This batth gel is very sootthing. b. I agree. It’s a healtth hazard. Let’s throw a fit and demand anotther room!

3. Is your new boyfriend TTheo wealtthy?

c. Yes, I always use it when I batthe, It has such a nice latther.

4. I tthink Betth is too tthin, don’t you?

d. Let’s ask Rutth instead. I loatthe Thelma!

5. TThis hotel room is filtthy! Everytthing is covered witth dust.

e. Yes, he has a house wortth about three hundred tthousand dollars!

6. TThey say the weatther forecast is for continued temperatures in tthe high 330s!

f. She’s a lot tthinner tthan she was before. But she looks healtthy to me!


Strip Story: Beth at the Beach

#__ The beach was empty except for a family of seven children and a large lady at the far end.

#__ Suddenly, a handsome man appeared on the beach path.

#__ “Thanks, Beth.” “That’s very generous.” But a ham sandwich isn’t enough for my wife Marge and our seven

children. They’re all famished.”

#__ It was a fine Thursday afternoon in June.

#__ “Hi, I’m Jake,” he said.

#__ “Can you recommend a good pizza place nearby?” he asked.

#__ She left her house and walked along the path to the beach.

#__ “Absolutely,” she said. “The sunshine feels great.”

#__ “Oh,” said Beth sadly. “Well, nice meeting you Jake.”

#__ “Isn’t it fabulous weather for bathing?” he asked.

#__ Beth found a stretch of sand away from the family and laid out her beach mat.

#__ “No, I can’t, sorry. But I have a ham sandwich I’m happy to share,” she said.

#__ Beth’s heart raced as he crossed the sand toward her mat.

#__ “I’m Beth.”

#__ Beth packed her bag with her sunglasses, suntan lotion, a sandwich, and her beach mat.

#__ She sat down on the mat, breathed deeply, put on her sunglasses, and stretched out her legs.

Teaching a Segmental Contrast-HO - Distance …Teaching a Segmental Contrast Royal Thai Distance...

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