Bumjin Choi

Linguistics 260
Bother McCullum

Pronunciation Doctor
INTRODUCTION
Pronunciation is one of important parts of spoken language. Most international students
and second language learners are struggled with pronunciation when they study English
because English pronunciation has sounds that other languages do not have. It is hard for them
to distinguish two similar sounds such as /r/ and /l/. The main purpose of the project
Pronunciation Doctor is to collect speech samples from different countries and analyze them
in respect of five categories such as background, segmental aspects, super- segmental aspects,
intelligibility, and pedagogical suggestions. Through the project, student teachers can analyze
what pronunciation issues students mostly have. Moreover, the project helps student teachers
to be able to apply the project in their teaching in the future.

Diagnostic Test Description

Each student of the group recorded a speech sample from second language students
who need to improve their pronunciation. A same interview script was used to get speech
samples, and it is divided into three different activities: reading a short passage, comic
storytelling, and reading targeted sentences. For first activity, participants were asked to read a
short paragraph about the new campus life. Because students read the given paragraph, they
were expected to focus on fluency and accuracy of pronunciation. For the storytelling activity,
participants were asked to describe what happening was going in nine given pictures.
Researchers expected data about how student would be able to focus on pronunciation while
saying their own idea. For third activity called targeted sentences, students were asked to read

three to five out of fifteen given sentences. Researchers chose the targeted sentences
according to weaknesses that they found in previous activities. Researchers analyzed speech
samples concerning segmental issues, super- segmental issues, other aspects of connected
speeches, intelligibility, and dialogical suggestions.

Participant 1
1. Background information

Heeruyng Park is from South Korea. She came to Hawaii Winter semester 2014. She takes
EIL 310 in Fall 2014. She started learning English when she was 3rd grade in the elementary
school. When she was a middle school student, she participated in Summer English School for
two months. She attended an English cram school in order to get TOEFL score for three months
before she came to BYU-H. When I recorded her speech sample, I could recognize that she has
Korean English pronunciation somehow.

2. Segmental issues

1) Consonant

I tried to focus on typical pronunciation sounds that Korean native speakers mostly have
such as // and /l/, /b/ and /v/, /p/ and /f/, and // and //. Her voice was confident enough to
listen to, and she spoke very well. However, she had some problems with /b/and /v/, /p/and /f/,
and //and //. When she pronounced private, it sounded as /prabt/ instead of /pravt/. I
did not record this part, but I asked her to pronounce some words that include /v/ sound such
as variety, Voice of Korea, and vibration. She pronounced /b/ instead of /v/ until she
recognized the reason that I asked. Second problem was a difference between /p/ and /f/. In
third activity called target sentences, I asked her to read a sentence including elephant. She
said /elpnt/ instead of /elfnt/. The sound ph sounds /f/ such as phonology, phobia, and

iphone. I think many Korean students are not aware of this pronunciation system. Third
problem was that she pronounced clothing as /klo/ instead of /klo/. I could expect
what she had some mistakes on because Korean language does not have /v/, /f/, and //.
Korean people use /b/, /p/, and // as substitute sounds when translating and using borrowing
and loan words. Korean people are used to pronouncing those sounds in wrong ways.

2) Vowel

It was hard for me to find her pronunciation problems with vowels. She did make any
mistakes with vowels when she just read the short passage. However, when she was working
on second activity, she made some mistakes on long vowels and short vowels. When she speaks
and thinks at the same time, she more focuses on speaking fluency than pronunciation. For
example, she was not aware of differences between /i/ and //. She pronounced steal /sti:l/ as
still /stl/.

3. Super-segmental issues.

1) Word and Sentence Stress

She did have any serious problems with consonant and vowel sounds. However, she has to
practice super-segmental elements in order to improve her pronunciation skills, especially on
word and sentence stress. Generally her talking is too plain and boring to figure out what she
really wanted to say. She kept saying with the same stress pattern. She did not emphasize
something important such as not, dormitory, and informal situation. She seemed to
talk to herself. The first sentence of the short passage has to sound like When a stuDENt from
aNOther COUNtry comes to sTUdy in the uNIted sTAtes, he has to FINd the ANswers to many
QUestions, and he has many PROblems to THINk about. However, she did not have word and
sentence stresses.

2) Intonation

Her intonation pattern sounded boring. The biggest problem was that she was not aware of
rising and falling intonations. For example, when she read first sentence of the passage which is
a subordinate clause, she read in falling intonation. When she said subordinate clauses, she
kept using falling intonations except interrogative sentences. Another problem is that she did
not know how to read question tags. There is the second last sentence of the passage, But let
me tell you, my friend, this long-awaited feeling doesnt develop suddenly -- does it? This tag
question is for expecting confirmation, and it needs to be read in rising intonation. However,
she used a failing intonation for the tag question. In second activity, her talking sounded plainer
and flatter. She paused many times to think what she was going so say during her talking.

3) Other Aspects of Connected Speech

She tended to pronounce word by word. It means that there was no connected speech such
assimilation, elision, and linking and intrusion. For example, /d/ and /j/ coalesce to form /d/
such as would you and did you. She said /wd/ and /ju/ instead of /wdju/. One thing that I
was impressed was that she knew how to pronounce verbs ending in unvoiced sounds such as
/p/, /f/, /s/, and /k/. When she pronounced attacked in the correct way, /tket/.

4. Intelligibility

On a scale of one to ten, I rate her intelligibility as 7.5 because she does not have any
serious problem with segmental elements. Her talking did not sound like a natives talking, but
it was very comfortable to listen to. She paused many times when she said her own thoughts,
but it was not that related to pronunciation accuracy.

5. Pedagogical Suggestion.

The participant, Heeruyng Pack, has good pronunciation skills. She has few problems with
segmental elements, but she knows how to pronounce them. I think she just does not recognize
what she has a lack of. If she recognizes and practice on sounds that she has problems with,
she will fix them easily. In order for her to improve pronunciation, she needs to practice supersegmental elements. She needs to keep working on word and sentence stress. I can
recommend her to mimic natives speech samples. She tended to pronounce every single word.
She needs to practice how to emphasize on important words of sentences such as context
words. Moreover, she also needs to say unstressed words such as // for of.

Participant 2
1. Background Information.

Towa Kawamura is from Japan. She has attended BYU-H since summer semester 2014. She likes
Hawaii because she can make lots of friends from different countries.She has typical Japanese
pronunciation. She has studied English since she was in a primary school.

2. Segmental Issues

1) Consonant

Towa has good pronunciation on consonant sounds. She seemed to understand consonants
sounds of English. However I found few issues on consonant sounds. One was that she tended to

not pronounce -s at the end of words. Words ending with -s such as learns, begins,
problems, and situations appeared many times in the short passage, but she dropped most
of them. Second problem was that she tended to say /lagi/ instead of /lgwd/. Third
problem was that she was not aware of a difference between /b/ and /v/. When she
pronounced activity, advantage, and private, she absolutely said /b/ instead of /v/.

2) Vowel

I tried to focus on certain vowel sounds that many Japanese students have problem with.
As I expected, she had many problems with her vowel sounds. Her vowel sounds had me to be
able to recognize that she is from Japan. She kept saying /a/ instead of //. For example, she
said /aktviti/ instead of /ktvti/, /manr/, /instead/ of /mnr/, /dbanti/ instead of
/dvntd/, and /kaul/ instead of /kul/. She tended to pronounce // instead of //.
When she pronounced confident and not, she said /knpdnt/ and /nt/ instead of
/knfdnt/ and /nt/. I think that vowel issues come from her native language.

3. Super- segmental Issues

1) Word and Sentence Stress.

I think she needs to practice word and sentence stresses. According to the speech
sample, she does not know English stress patterns. She sometimes kept saying words without
any stressed sounds and she sometimes pronounced stressed sounds on her own ways. At the
beginning of the short paragraph, she said too plainly. She put stressed sounds on wrong
syllables, and it makes her pronunciation worse. For example, she said dorMITAry instead of
DORMitary, adVANtage instead of advanTAGE, and Offered instead of oFFERED.

2) Intonation

She was good at using falling intonations at statement sentences, but she did not use
rising intonation on subordinate clauses such as when a student from another country comes to
study in the United States. One big mistake that she make was the sentence, Shouldnt he try to take
advantage of the many social and cultural activities (pause) which are offered? She paused long time
between activities and which so that it sounded like another sentence started again from which.

3) Other Aspects of Connected Speech

Her assimilation skills were not good enough. She tried to make each word too correctly.
She made the same mistake that first participant made. She tended to pronounce word by
word. It meant that there was no connected speech such assimilation, elision, and linking and
intrusion. For example, /d/ and /j/ coalesce to form /d/ such as would you and did you For
example, when she pronounced all of this, it would have been much better if she had said
/ls/ instead of /l v s/. It sounded unnatural.

4. Intelligibility

On a scale of one to ten, I would like rate her intelligibility as six points. Her problems with
vowels can cause serious miscommunication. If I listened to her talking just one time, I could
not understand few sentences.

5. Pedagogical Suggestions.

I would like to recommend her to study the English consonant and vowel charts and IPA
transcription. She needs to recognize differences between /d/ and // and /b/ and /v/. She
needs to practice on speaking words including those sounds. In order to strongly improve her
pronunciation skills, she more needs to focus on vowels // and /a/ sounds. Pronunciation
mimicking can be a useful activity for her. The most important thing is that she needs to
recognize how differently she speaks while comparing to native speakers. She can record both
her speech sample and natives speech samples of same paragraphs. She can mimic and focus
on vowel sounds and stress and intonation patterns.

Participant 3
1. Background Information

Hang Ngo is from Vietnam. She takes Academic English 2 in BYU-H. The chronic problem
that she has is that she speaks faster than she can accurately so that she sometimes drops and
misses some syllables in the middle of words or sentences. For example, when she read the
sentence, he also learns to choose the language and customs which are appropriate for
informal situations, She said /hi lso lrns tu us lg nd kstmz w r bropri fr
nfrmal suenz/. Another example is that she said /prf/ instead of /prgrf/ for
paragraph. I think she takes fast speaking as a fluent speaker. I cannot understand few parts
that she said in her speech sample.

2. Segmental Issues

1) Consonant

She has many serious issues on pronouncing consonants sounds. Many wired sounds
make her pronunciation very worse. She sometimes said some consonant sounds that can be
not transcribed by English IPA. For example, she said classes in a different way. She used very
strong /k/. It sounded like /kk/ (I do not know how to transcribe this sound). According to her
speech sample, she seemed to be confused of differences between/t/ and /b/, /p/ and /b/. For
example, Should he appeared two times in the short passage. Whenever she said it, she
pronounced /t hi/ instead of /d hi/. She said /b/ instead of /p/. It happened many times
such as /bropri/ for appropriate and /kmbs/ for campus. Other serious problem that I
found was that she tended to omit /r/ sounds in the middle of words. I do not take her habit as
British pronunciation because she kept trying to say in American pronunciation. She said /fst/,
/fd/, /w/, and /nfml/ instead of /frst/, /frd/, /wr /, and /nfrml/. She made one
mistake on question. She said /ksn/ instead of / kwsn/.

2) Vowel

Compared to mistakes on consonant sounds, she did great job on vowel sounds. She does
not have serious problems on vowel sounds. I think she is aware of differences between long
vowels and short vowels. On second activity, when she said steal, she exactly pronounced
/sti:l/ which is distinguished from still /stl/.

3. Super- segmental Issues

1) Word and Sentence stress

She has a peculiar staccato voice. She read the short passage really quick and stressed on
many syllables. For example, at the beginning of the passage, she stressed on every single
words. She said, WHEN A STUDENT FROM ANOther COUNTRY COMES TO sTUdy IN THE UNIted
STATES, HE HAS TO FIND TO THE ANSwers TO MANY QUESTIONS. She does not have natural
pausing skills. Another example is that she said, LET (pause) ME (pause) TELL (pause)

YOU. It sounded like that she emphasized on every single word. She had also a problem with
the word stress skills. She was not aware of where she needed to stress on. For example, she
said dorMITAry instead of DORmitary. She also said off-camPUS instead of OFF-CAMpus.

2) Intonation

It was very hard for me to diagnose her intonation problem because her intonation patterns
sounded irregular. She used both falling and rising intonations for subordinate clauses and
declarative and interrogative sentences. Moreover, because she tended to stress on many
words, it was hard to figure out intonation patterns. Her intonation pattern sounded much of
her native language than English.

3) Other Aspects of Connected Speech

She does not have good connected speech skills. I think that her word and sentence stress
patterns lead to the wrong intonation pattern and wrong connected speeches. Stressed sounds
and unstressed sounds are combined to make natural sounds, but it is not possible for her to
speak naturally because she stresses on not only contexts words but also functional words. I
could not listen to any assimilations and elisions in her talking.

4. Intelligibility
On a scale of one to ten, I would like give her five points. She has a serious problem with
consonants sounds. They are not even transcribed by English IPA. She also has a big issue on
word and sentence stresses.

5. Pedagogical Suggestions

She needs to keep practicing on consonants sounds such as /p/, /b/, /t/, /k/, and /kw/. It
is required for her to study where those sounds are made in her mouth. I recommend her to do
minimal pair activity. It is helpful for her to recognize differences between sounds that she is
confused of. She needs to fix her pronunciation step by step. It starts from segmental elements,
word stress, sentence stress, intonation, and connected speeches. I strongly recommend her to
listen to her own talking. The, She can compare what is different from others pronunciations.
The best way to improve pronunciation is to mimic good examples. She can diagnose her
talking by herself. Once she recognizes what is wrong with her pronunciation, she can fix them
quickly.

Participant 4
1. Background information

Aggie is from Mongolia. She majors in Business. She is already out of EIL course of BYU-H.
She has typical Mongolia sounds such as glottal- fricative sounds that can be transcribed in
English IPA.

2. Segmental Issues

1) Consonant

She has good consonant sounds. She has high fluency and accuracy of consonant sounds.
It was clear enough to listen to. She does not have any problems with consonant sounds. She
was aware of how to pronounce each consonant sounds and distinguish sounds in the same
segment such as /p/ and /b/ and /t/ and /d/.
2) Vowels

She does not have a serious problem with vowel sounds. One little problem that she
made was that she said /a/ instead of //. For example, she said /kaul/ and /aktvti/ instead
of /kul/ and /ktvti/.

3. Super- segmental issues

1) Word and Sentence Stress

She has good word and sentence stress patterns. One mistake that I found was that she
used long vowel sound when she said many. She said like /me:ni/ instead of /MEni/. Another
one was that she sometimes did not put stress on any words in a sentence. It sounded plain. It
would have been better to say /kTIvti/and /knfdnt/ instead of /aktvti/ and /KANfdnt/.

2) Intonation

She was aware of how to use rising and falling intonations. When she said subordinate
clauses, she used the rising intonation. She also used appropriate intonations on declarative
and interrogative sentences.

3) Other Aspects of Connected Speech.

She lacks connected speech skills such as assimilations, elisions, and linking. She
sometimes used connected speech such as /kbat/ for think about. However, mostly she
has a lack of distinguishing distinctions between unstressed and stress sounds.

4) Intelligibility

On a scale of one to ten, I would like to give her nine points because she does not have
any serious problems with segmental and super-segmental issues.

5) Pedagogical Suggestions

She needs to more focus on super-segmental elements. In order to speak as fluent as

native speakers, she has to study how to put stressed and unstressed sounds and link those
sounds each other.

Conclusion
Pronunciation is affected by various elements. Each participant has unique problems
according to their native languages. Analyzing students weaknesses can help researchers focus
what to teach on pronunciation. As English teachers, it is important to recognize weaknesses
and strengths of each language background.