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An Experiment on the Effectiveness of Songs in English L2 Pronunciation

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An Experiment on the Effectiveness of Songs in English L2 Pronunciation Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Letterari Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Lingue Moderne per la Comunicazione e la Cooperazione Internazionale Classe LM-38 Tesi di Laurea Listen and Learn: an experiment on the effectiveness of songs in English L2 Pronunciation Relatrice Laureanda Prof.ssa Maria Grazia Busà Silvia Tizian n° matr.1018717 / LMLCC Anno Accademico 2015 / 2016 Abstract This work is a thesis that aims at verifying the possible effectiveness of using English songs as a means to improve the pronunciation of English as a second language studied by Italian speakers. The first part is a theoretical presentation. After a general introduction in the first chapter where the most widespread language teaching theories are considered, there is a presentation of a series of applications of songs in language teaching contexts, not always focused on improving the pronunciation of a second language. Finally, some examples of the use of music in areas different from language teaching are presented, hinting to the beneficial effects of music itself. The second part is the presentation of the experiment. First of all it explores the theoretical implications which determined the choices made to define the structure of the experiment. This is followed by the presentation of the experiment in all its parts and, in the final chapter, the results obtained from the examination of the pre and post experiment audio recordings. The work ends with the conclusions where some considerations are made in the light of the results. To enter the audio recordings converted into QR codes, an application for the QR codes scanning is required. The application is available and freely downloadable on any device with a built-in camera. I II Acknowledgements I want to thank first of all Professor Maria Grazia Busà, supervisor of this thesis and controller of the recordings used for the experiment. I have to thank her not only for the valuable advices and directions that she gave me as an expert in Phonetics but even for the courage to believe in my ideas. If she saw in me enthusiasm for the work done, this is also due to the support I received from her. Using the words of D’Cruz (2001), cited in Chapter 4, “don’t give your students fish, but teach them how to fish”; in her own way she has taught me how to be a good fisher and for this I will be always grateful. I thank my parents and my brother, who have always encouraged me in these long years of studying and welcomed me back home with open arms in a difficult moment of my life. Last but not least, I thank my friends who always believe in me and the students who volunteered for this experiment without the stimulus of any compensation. I thank in particular (in alphabetical order) Dr. Matteo Carraro, Dr. Nicola Dal Pozzolo, Dr. Marco Sottoriva for the precious contribution to this project. A special thank goes to Dr. Filippo Gennaro who helped me with technical issues and never left me alone. There are times when you realize how small you are in the world, and there are others when you realize how great the world can be with you. In those times you can just smile, close your eyes and say ... thanks. III IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 A general overview ..................................................................................... 11 1.1 An overview of language teaching theories ............................................................... 11 1.2 Neurolinguistic issues ................................................................................................ 15 1.3 Memory and motivation ............................................................................................. 18 1.4 Language skills .......................................................................................................... 19 1.5 Pronunciation ............................................................................................................. 21 1.6 A matter of practice and perception ........................................................................... 23 1.7 A matter of social identity .......................................................................................... 29 Chapter 2 Some pedagogical applications of songs in Language teaching ............. 35 2.1 Teaching English L2, the “VAK” method ................................................................. 35 2.2 Teaching English L2 at the elementary school .......................................................... 36 2.3 Teaching English L2, Tim Murphey .......................................................................... 36 2.4 Web-based music to learn English L2 for Taiwanese learners .................................. 38 2.5 Music for Chinese ESL Learners ............................................................................... 39 2.6 Teaching Italian L2, the “karaoke” method ............................................................... 40 2.7 Teaching Italian L2, Marco Mezzadri ........................................................................ 41 2.8 Teaching Italian L2, Lidia Costamagna ..................................................................... 42 2.9 Teaching French L2, Judith W. Failoni ..................................................................... 42 2.10 Teaching French L2, James W. Brown .................................................................... 44 2.11 Teaching French L2, Jayne H. Abrate ..................................................................... 44 2.12 Teaching French L2, Vicki L. Hamblin ................................................................... 45 2.13 Teaching French L2, Mary Techmeier ..................................................................... 46 2.14 Teaching Spanish L2 ................................................................................................ 46 2.15 Teaching Korean L2 ................................................................................................. 46 V 2.16 Teaching Japanese L2 .............................................................................................. 48 2.17 L2 acquisition, Gianfranco Porcelli and Roberto Dolci ........................................... 48 2.18 L2 acquisition, Paolo E. Balboni ............................................................................. 50 2.19 Music Mania for L2 acquisition ............................................................................... 50 2.20 From the Net ............................................................................................................ 51 2.21 From the Big Screen, Juan Carrión .......................................................................... 52 2.22 From the Radio, Rock in Translation ....................................................................... 53 Chapter 3 Music ............................................................................................................ 55 3.1 Music and the human being ....................................................................................... 55 3.2 Motherese ................................................................................................................... 56 3.3 The Effect Château Lafite .......................................................................................... 61 3.4 The “Song-stuck-in-my-head” ................................................................................... 62 3.5 What is music for? ..................................................................................................... 63 3.6 Suggestopaedia, music that teaches ........................................................................... 65 3.7 Music-terapy, music that heals .................................................................................. 66 3.8 Others Did It .............................................................................................................. 68 3.8.1 Music for linguistic impairments ............................................................................ 68 3.8.2 Music in nursing educational pathways .................................................................. 68 3.8.3 Music for visuospatial abilities ............................................................................... 69 3.8.4 Music as a mnemonic tool in medicine ................................................................... 70 3.8.5 Education through music: the model of the Musikkindergarten in Berlin .............. 70 Chapter 4 Preparing for the experiment .................................................................... 73 4.1 No-stress conditions for learning ............................................................................... 74 4.2 The need for autonomy .............................................................................................. 75 4.3 Motivation .................................................................................................................. 76 4.4 The use of multimediality .......................................................................................... 77 VI 4.5 Clarity in teaching choices ......................................................................................... 79 4.6 Video: a double-edged weapon .................................................................................. 79 4.7 The effectiveness of cloze exercises .........................................................................
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