DOCUMENT RESUME FL 801 131 ED 405 745 AUTHOR Coro, Christopher; McCrossan, Linda V. A Guidebook for Enriching ESL Instruction with TITLE Pronunciation Practice: A Model of Teacher Action Research. Product and Final Report. Adult Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley, INSTITUTION Allentown, PA. SPONS AGENCY Department of Education, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 95 NOTE 63p. Descriptive (141) PUB TYPE Classroom Use Guides Reports Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. *Action Research; *English (Second Language); Models; DESCRIPTORS *Phonology; *Pronunciation Instruction; Second Language Instruction; Spanish Speaking; Teaching Methods; Vietnamese ABSTRACT At the request of beginning English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students and their teachers, pronunciation problems of Spanish and Vietnamese speaking learners were identified and prioritized by ESL teaching staff. Under the direction of the project director, resources to help teachers aid their students in addressing these problems were identified and analyzed. For these resources, a number of brief, practical teaching strategies and activities were developed, tested, and revised in order to answer students' requests for help with pronunciation without compromising the integrity of the communicative life skills curriculum. The result was a guidebook for ESL practitioners--particularly those with little formal training or experience in phonology--that contains the methodology so that practitioners with learners from other language groups might replicate the process to meet the local program needs of their students. Included is a condensed, easy to follow background "crash course" on phonology as well as tips, strategies, and classroom activities for enriching the teaching of ESL in beginning life skills classes by incorporating work with pronunciation. The guidebook also contains an annotated bibliography in order to help other programs and practitioners meet the needs of students from more than two dozen different language groups. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education/JL) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement 1 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION L. Ktpfkin_ ( urL(I I CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization A Guidebook for Enriching ESL Instruction originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. With Pronunciation Practice: A Model of TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." Points of view or opinions stated in this Teacher Action Research document do not necessarily represent - official OERI position or policy. PDE 353: 98-5004 1994-1995 Product and Final Report ADULT LITERACY CENTER OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY By Christopher Coro Linda V. McCrossan, Ed.D. Dr. Linda V. McCrossan, Project Director Adult Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley 801 Hamilton Mall, Suite 201 Allentown, PA 18101-2420 Phone: (610) 435-0680 FAX: (610) 435-5134 "The activity which is the subject of this report, was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education. CY) However, the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Education or the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and no official endorsement should be inferred." O (,(3 J BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 (NOTE: You may adapt space as needed for the sections. However, limit the abstract to one page.) ABSTRACT PAGE Title: A Guidebook for Enriching ESL Instruction with Pronunciation Practice: A Model of Teacher Action Research Project No.: 98-5004 Funding: $20,245 Project Director: Dr. Linda V. McCrossan Phone No.: (610) 435-0680 Contact Person: Dr. Linda V. McCrossan Phone No.: (610) 435-0680 Agency Address 801 Hamilton Mall, Suite 201, Allentown, PA 18101-2420 Purpose: To develop a guidebook containing basic "how to's" of teaching pronunciation in beginning ESL classrooms, sample classroom activities and a guide to resources. Procedures: The teacher action research model was used to identify pronunciation problems of Vietnamese and Spanish speakers learning English by a team of practitioners and a mentor. Problems were identified and prioritized by ESL teaching staff. Then resources were identified and analyzed. Practical teaching strategies and activities were developed, tested and revised in order to answer students' requests for pronunciation help. Summary of Findings: There are common pronunciation problems between Spanish and Vietnamese speakers. Teachers and tutors who are new to phonology can diagnose those problems and can integrate teaching pronunication into ongoing curriculum. The guidebook is a condensed, easy to follow background "crash course" on phonology as well as tips, strategies and classroom activities for enriching the teaching of ESL in beginning life skills classes. Comments (Conclusions, Findings, Barriers, if any): In reviewing available teaching materials, insufficient attention is paid to teaching pronunciation to beginning ESL students. We found no barriers. Products (if applicable): A Guidebook and Final Report Descriptors (To be completed only by Bureau staff): TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. SECTION I: Methodology Description 6 Common Problems of Spanish Speakers Learning English 21 Common Problems of Vietnamese Speakers Learning English 22 Pronunciation Problem Identification Sheet 23 Pronunciation Problems of Beginning Students 24 Completed Pronunciation Problems Identification Sheet 25 SECTION II: Teaching Strategies and Activities Phonetics and Phonology for Laymen 26 Ten Tips for Teaching Pronunciation 32 Essential Vocabulary 33 Recommended Classroom Activities 34 The Sounds of English Consonants 40 The Sounds of English Vowels 41 SECTION III: Resources Annotated Bibliography 42 Bibliography 47 APPENDIX: Final Report ABSTRACT At the request of beginning ESL students and their teachers, pronunciation problems of Spanish and Vietnamese speaking learners were identified and prioritized by ESL teaching staff. Under the direction of the project director, resources to help teachers aid their students in addressing these problems were identified and analyzed. From these resources, a number of brief, practical teaching strategies and activities were developed, tested and revised in order to answer the students' request for help with pronunciation without compromising the integrity of the communicative life skills curriculum. The result was a guidebook for ESL practitionersparticularly those with little formal training or experience in phonologythat contains the methodology so that practitioners with learners from other language groups might replicate the process to meet the local program needs of their students. Included is a condensed, easy to follow background "crash course" on phonology as well as tips, strategies and classroom activities for enriching the teaching of ESL in beginning life skills classes by incorporating work with pronunciation. Lastly, this guidebook includes an annotated bibliography in order to help other programs and practitioners meet the needs of students from more than two dozen different language groups. This project will be of interest to ESL practitioners in general, particularly teachers and tutors of beginning ESL learners as well as tutor trainers and program directors. S89538 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW The methodology and activities developed in this project were designed, implemented and revised in and for beginning ESL classes where too often specific instruction in pronunciation has been given either too much or too little attention. Among its many objectives, this project sought to interject effective pronunciation teaching into beginning ESL classrooms in order to meet student needs - -all the while maintaining the content and integrity of a communicative life skills curriculum. In other words, we did not want to re- invent Phonetics 101. And we wanted to do this in such a way that teachers or tutors with little or no background in phonetics or phonology could reap the same rewards with their classes- - regardless of first language(s) or level or instruction. We believe we have achieved our goal. The methodology and teaching activities that resulted from this project were tested with teachers and students in sixteen different ESL classes throughout the year. In order to provide a focus for the development of a specific methodology so that teachers could identify and prioritize students' pronunciation problems we chose to concentrate on speakers of Spanish and Vietnamese. However, the methodology was designed to help teachers of speakers of any language. Moreover, since our ESL classes also contained speakers of languages other than Spanish and Vietnamese, we designed the activities to be effective with speakers from any language background. While the classroom activities presented in this project have proven to be appropriate and effective for learners on all levels, it is important to note that they were specifically 1 s created or "re-invented" in order to meet the needs of beginning learners in programs offering a communicative life skills curriculum. The 1994 ABLE Curriculum Guide (Royce, unable to function 1994) for ESL defines a beginner as having "little or no ability to speak . . . independently using the language." Experience tells us that this is indeed a reasonable definition of beginners. And it was the needs of these learners that we set out to meet by learning how to incorporate the teaching of pronunciation into existing curricula without letting pronunciation dominate the instruction. Pronunciation, as defined in Webster's New World Dictionary of American English, is "the act or manner of pronouncing words with reference to the production of sounds, the placing of stress, intonation, etc." That's a wonderful definition of pronunciation--assuming of course one knows what "pronouncing" means. So, just to be on the safe side, if we go the extra step, we find pronounce means "to utter or articulate a word or sound in the required standard or manner." We knew that. You did too, right? But what does this mean for ESL students and their teachers? It seems as though if we take that "in the required manner or standard" business too much to heart we will indeed have our work cut out for us. Perhaps we need a second opinion. Interestingly enough, the Oxford Elementary Learner's Dictionary is considerably more merciful. Here we find a definition of pronunciation we can work with: "how you say a word or words." Before we go any further, it is to our benefit (and our students) to have a clear idea of precisely where the two overlap. In teaching pronunciation to ESL students, especially to beginners, the goal is NOT to eliminate all traces of a foreign accent and approximate native pronunciation. (Kenworthy, 2 7 1987; Avery and Ehrlich, 1992) Such a task would prove herculean for learners at all levels -- particularly beginners. Indeed, some learners will come close before they die. More, however, will die trying. Nobody seems to agree on exactly why this is so although age, previous level of education, individual learning styles and degree of native language, individual motivation all seem to interact in different learners producing varying degrees of success. (Kenworthy, 1987; Avery and Ehrlich, 1992; Dalton and Seidihofer, 1994) So forget about "in the required standard or manner." If we return to our learner's dictionary definition of "how you say a word or words" how words and combine it with what remains of Webster's definition, we get something like are said paying attention to sound production, stress placement and intonation. Now this we can work on with beginning ESL students. Implicit in our definition above is the idea that there is more than one way to say words. Webster seemed to suggest that there is a right way and a wrong way. Experienced second language teachers, however, know that the issue of pronunciation is no longer this black and white. In fact, numerous shades of gray--some more easily recognizable than otherswould more aptly describe the issue of pronunciation in second language acquisition. In teaching beginning ESL students pronunciation, what we want to strive for is not pure white or black native pronunciation. Rather, what we hope to achieve with time and practice is a recognizable, i.e. comprehensible shade of gray that will enable the learner to achieve his communicative purpose. Kenworthy (1987) refers to this impure concept of pronunciation as "understandability" or "intelligibility" and devotes the lion's share of her second chapter to discussing how this can be objectively evaluated. 3 8 Essentially, she establishes simple yet effective means by which independent observers/ listeners can rate learners' speech. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished either through the use of additional teachers, classroom tutors, visitors or cassettes. In each case, the rater's observations are recorded providing important assessment and learner documentation information. The methodology is easy. Native speaking listeners either record what they hear and the teacher rates their record or such listeners can rate speakers on a one to five scale of ease/ difficulty in understanding. Such methods allow for pre-, post and progressive observations. The problem becomes the staffing. It can be difficult to locate "extra" personnel to do the listening. Such was the case in our study. While we were able to occasionally take advantage of an unsuspecting classroom visitor, we were generally limited to teachers' classroom observations and learners' self assessment and feedback. Nonetheless, teachers did note and, more importantly, learners did report noticeable progress. Additionally, with the sense of accomplishment experienced by learners came an increasing desire to practice and perfect their new language. The guide that follows is divided into three key components: a methodology which ESL practitioners--teachers and tutors alike-- can follow in order to correctly identify, diagnose and prioritize pronunciation problems that their students may be experiencing as well as possible solutions to those problems activities and teaching strategies that are phonologically "user-friendly" and can easily be incorporated into the context of existing ESL cirricula in order to enhance students' speaking skills a select annotated list of the most current teacher's resources available that is 4 9 intended to provide time-saving guidance for practitioners who may wish to pursue more local or personal interests. 5 10