Teaching Language - Pal Imola

Imola Beata Pal
Assignment 2
Teaching language
Pronunciation problems of EFL learners
Since English has become a global language a debate is going on whether English pronunciation should
be taught as to someone whose first language is English or to someone who learns it as a foreign
language
1
. The aforementioned debate on teaching pronunciation has its roots in the lack of certain
sound in different languages that are present in English. It may also confuse students who are exposed to
at least two different pronunciations coming from British and/or merican mo!ies and/or songs.
Besides not being able to choose between the correct pronunciation model "British# merican# etc.$# the
most common problems# that occur when teaching pronunciation# are the following
%
&
What students can hear ' some learners don(t ha!e the ability to hear the difference between
what the teachers pronounces and how they hear it and think is the same# but in reality is
something that is )uite different. s a teacher# we can either draw their attention on the
sound/sounds that are usually mispronounced e!ery time it occurs or explain to them how to
form the sounds with our mouth.
1. *ells# +. Goals in teaching English pronunciation, http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/poznan03_wells.pdf
%. ,armer# +.# The ractice of English Language Teaching, -earson Education .imited %//0# 1ourth Edition# p. %234%5/.
6. http&//www.nyest.hu/hirek/kie7tesi4nehe8segek
2. ,armer# +.# The ractice of English Language Teaching, -earson Education .imited %//0# 1ourth Edition# p. %5/.
5. http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9erman:language
;. http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English:language
0. http&//www.tedpower.co.uk/l1german.html
<. http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9erman:phonology
3. http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English:phonology
1/. http&//www.youtube.com/watch=!>Ssk?@bA;)mk
11. http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/,ungarian:language
1%. http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/,ungarian:phonology
16. http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomanian:language
What students can say ' as babies we ha!e the ability to make any sound possible to humans#
but when we grow up we focus on the language/languages our parents use and thus losing that
ability. .ater on when learning foreign languages it becomes difficult to reproduce certain
sounds. *hat we can do to o!ercome these difficulties of our students is to explain and show
them how these particular sounds are made
6
.
Intonation problems ' this particular problem can ha!e many different reasons# but the main
ones might be the lack of CmusicalD hearing# we can not hear/feel the different patterns of
intonation
2
. *e can gi!e examples of intonations and ha!e students imitate them based on
different contexts.
To demonstrate these problems I would like to choose three different nationalities whom I had contact
with and ha!e experienced the way they speak English. These would be 9ermans# ,ungarians and
Bomanians.
9erman language is a distant CcousinD of EnglishE therefore ha!e a few words in common
5
. *e might
presume that ha!ing some common roots would make it easier for 9ermans to learn English. *hile the
English spoken in the @iddle ges had some common pronunciation points with 9erman# the English
spoken today changed through history
;
.
9erman learners mostly ha!e problems with consonant and a few !owels in English
0# <# 3
&
Saying p t instead of b d ! in 9erman pronunciation mostly if it is at the end of the word /b/
is pronounced /p/ so in English they might instead of bill pronounce pillE to fix it you can also
use tongue4twisters like C!ett" !otter#
"d" is pronounced /t" made4 mateE an exercise to o!ercome this could be exercising the alphabet
in English and spelling words containing "d"
Saying #th$ /%/ 4 not only 9ermans but almost e!ery European pronounces "d" or "s" instead of "%"
so thin will be din or sin
Saying #th$ /&"' they' day
Saying #ou$ / ( / 4 pronouncing / &/ as / / nought4 notE exercise with $% rough&coated, dough&
faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of
'car(orough) after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.$
funny little truth is that generally 9ermans might not be able to pronounce the words Fs)uirrel( at first
try
1/
. They ha!e !ery little almost no problem regarding the correct accent of a word. To o!ercome these
problems I recommend listening to authentic English sound materials "songs# films# news broadcasts#
etc.$ and repeating it out loud.
,ungarian language# an Gralic language# often said to be related to 1innish and other Horth European
and Horth sian dialects
11
. It has 11 !owels and %5 consonants# thanks to geminate consonants. The
accent is always on the first syllabus of the words
1%
and e!erything is read out how it(s written. *hile we
may ha!e a whole range of sounds in English# ,ungarians ha!e difficulties with placing the accent and
pronouncing some !owels and consonants.
#th$ "%" and "&" pronounced as )s* and )d* ' the pronunciation will be something !ery similar to
the way 9ermans pronounce itE I recommend pronunciation exercises with a chart describing
tongue position and the parts of the mouth that are used to produce that sound
,ungarian language does not ha!e the correct sound /+"# using "," for /+" when speaking in
English ex. word4 !ordE this was the biggest difficulty in learning pronunciation to o!ercome this
you can say them out loud using a listening and repeating exercises
Bomanian language is a Bomance language. It has three additional !owels and two consonants to the
Boman alphabet. Beferring to grammar it uses a simpler form of .atin grammar. Thanks to the lack of
dubbing in Bomanian tele!ision channels children were exposed to authentic English e!ery day until
)uite recently so they ha!e a strong background when it comes to learning English and pronunciation.
They ha!e difficulties# mostly with words coming from .atin# to place the accent ex. instead of hotel
they say hotel. The other most common problem is the pronunciation of Fth( /%/ it is used as /s" or/f/ ex.
think4 sink/fink. /i(/ instead of // ex. seat is pronounced like sitE to fix this you ha!e to pronounce it
with a longer i. They ha!e problems with other short and long !owels too.
In conclusion other language speakers ha!e difficulties with different aspects of pronunciation# but with
correct examples and plenty of exercise these can be o!ercome. 1rom personal experience I can say that
it helps a lot to ha!e a speaking partner whom you can exercise with after classes. lso games and
exercises dealing with pronunciation# like tongue4twisters and word dominoes# can help to strengthen
pronunciation models.
Bibliography(
*ells# +. Goals in teaching English pronunciation, http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/poznan03_wells.pdf
,armer# +.# The ractice of English Language Teaching, -earson Education .imited %//0# 1ourth Edition# p. %234%5/.
http&//www.nyest.hu/hirek/kie7tesi4nehe8segek
http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9erman:language
http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English:language
http&//www.tedpower.co.uk/l1german.html
http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9erman:phonology
http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English:phonology
http&//www.youtube.com/watch=!>Ssk?@bA;)mk
http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/,ungarian:language
http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/,ungarian:phonology
http&//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomanian:language
http&//www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/global4english4teaching4pronunciation
http&//www.armyacademy.ro/biblioteca/anuare/%//0/a65.pdf

Teaching Language - Pal Imola

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Imola Beata Pal

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