Diplomarbeit
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DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit: “The Role of Pronunciation in Secondary-School TEFL: Current Views and an Evaluation of Teaching Materials” Verfasser: Thomas Hasenberger angestrebter akademischer Grad: Magister der Philosophie (Mag. phil.) Wien, 2012 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 190 344 333 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Lehramtsstudium UF Englisch UF Deutsch Betreuerin: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Ute Smit Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my supervisor Prof Ute Smit for her support and all the constructive recommendations and suggestions she provided during the writing process. The research work and analyses presented in this thesis would certainly not have been possible without her guidance and enthusiastic encouragement. Moreover, I owe all my former teachers, some of whom are now my colleagues, my gratitude for everything I have learnt from them and for what they have done for me. In particular, I would like to mention Elke Amon, Ursula Bucher, Viktoria Fürhacker, Waltraud Haschke, Christian Pribitzer, Astrid Schernhammer, Alma Semmler and Eva Zillinger, whose dedication and professionalism I have always admired. I also wish to thank my English colleagues, especially Anisa Cogram, Sue Saunders and Simon Richter, and my former students in Kent for the linguistic and cultural insights I gained while working as a Foreign Language Assistant, which formed the basis for this thesis. Furthermore, I am indebted to my friends and colleagues at school as well as at the Austrian and British Red Cross, who have frequently challenged and enriched my ideas. Above all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my parents for always supporting me in my plans and enabling me to study at university. My deepest appreciation also goes to my sister Birgit for asking pertinent questions and being an invaluable source of feedback. Table of contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Traditions and approaches in pronunciation teaching .............................................................. 3 2.1 General approaches ................................................................................................................. 3 2.1.1 Intuitive-imitative approach ............................................................................................ 3 2.1.2 Analytic-linguistic approach ........................................................................................... 3 2.1.3 Integrative approach ........................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Movements and methods within TEFL ................................................................................... 4 2.2.1 The Reform Movement ................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 The late 1800s and early 1900s: Direct Method ............................................................. 5 2.2.4 The 1960s: Cognitive Approach ..................................................................................... 6 2.2.5 The 1970s: Silent Way and Community Language Teaching ......................................... 7 2.2.6 1970s/1980s until today: Communicative Approach ...................................................... 8 2.2.7 New directions in pronunciation teaching..................................................................... 10 2.2.8 Approaches disregarding pronunciation ....................................................................... 11 3. The relevance of pronunciation for EFL learners ................................................................... 12 3.1 Pronunciation and language competence .............................................................................. 12 3.1.1 ‘Phonological competence’ and the CEFR ................................................................... 14 3.1.2 Assessment of pronunciation ........................................................................................ 17 3.2 Pronunciation and the ELF debate ........................................................................................ 19 3.2.1 Definition: English as a lingua franca ........................................................................... 19 3.2.2 The ‘Lingua Franca Core’ ............................................................................................. 20 3.2.3 Teaching the ‘Lingua Franca Core’ .............................................................................. 22 4. Priorities in pronunciation teaching .......................................................................................... 26 4.1 Past priorities ........................................................................................................................ 26 4.2 Present priorities ................................................................................................................... 29 4.3 Pronunciation problems of Austrian EFL learners................................................................ 35 4.3.1 Vowel sounds ................................................................................................................ 36 4.3.2 Consonant sounds ......................................................................................................... 37 4.3.3 Suprasegmental features ............................................................................................... 37 5. Pronunciation tasks and teaching ideas .................................................................................... 39 5.1 Explicit vs. implicit pronunciation teaching ......................................................................... 39 5.2 Sample pronunciation activities ............................................................................................ 40 5.2.1 Activities aimed at improving consonant pronunciation............................................... 40 5.2.2 Activities aimed at improving vowel pronunciation ..................................................... 43 5.2.3 Activities aimed at improving word and sentence stress .............................................. 47 5.2.4 Activities aimed at improving intonation ...................................................................... 51 6. Analysis of ELT course books .................................................................................................... 56 6.1 Frame of analysis and evaluation .......................................................................................... 58 6.2 MORE! 3 and 4 Enriched course .......................................................................................... 60 6.2.1 MORE! 3 Enriched course – Activity 1: /w/ vs. /v/ ...................................................... 61 6.2.2 MORE! 3 Enriched course – Activity 2: word stress .................................................... 63 6.2.3 MORE! 3 Enriched course – Activity 3: sentence stress .............................................. 64 6.2.4 MORE! 3 Enriched course – Activity 4: /ɒ/ vs. /ɔː/ ...................................................... 66 6.2.5 MORE! 3 Enriched course – Activity 5: weak sound /ə/ .............................................. 68 6.2.6 MORE! 4 Enriched course – Activity 1: elision ........................................................... 69 6.2.7 MORE! 4 Enriched course – Activity 2: final consonants ............................................ 71 6.2.8 MORE! 4 Enriched course – Activity 3: /ə/ .................................................................. 72 6.2.9 MORE! 4 Enriched course – Activity 4: word-initial /p/ .............................................. 74 6.2.10 MORE! 4 Enriched course – Activity 5: stress ............................................................. 76 6.3 Task progression in MORE! 3 and 4 Enriched course .......................................................... 77 6.4 LASER B1+ and LASER B2 .................................................................................................. 79 6.4.1 LASER B1+ – Activity 1: /ɪ/ and /iː/ ............................................................................. 81 6.4.2 LASER B1+ – Activity 2: silent letters 1 ...................................................................... 82 6.4.3 LASER B1+ – Activity 3: weak forms 1 ....................................................................... 84 6.4.4 LASER B1+ – Activity 4: stress 1 ................................................................................. 86 6.4.5 LASER B1+ – Activity 5: stress 2 ................................................................................. 87 6.5 Task progression in LASER B1+ .......................................................................................... 89 7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 91 List of references ................................................................................................................................. 93 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................ 101 Abstract (English) ....................................................................................................................... 101 Abstract (German) .....................................................................................................................