Creating a Pronunciation Profile of First‐Year Spanish Students

Abstract

Previous research has shown that improving pronunciation in the foreign language classroom is challenging, and there is often little time left over in a dense curriculum for pronunciation practice. In describing a pronunciation profile for all phonemes in Spanish, this study suggests that the principal challenge for native speakers of English who are learning Spanish may not be vowels, but the /r/ phonemes: the flap, the trill, and the cluster sound /tɾ/ pose the greatest challenges. Thus, if time is allocated to direct instruction in pronunciation, instructors and learners may focus on the pronunciation of Spanish language /r/ in its three forms, particularly since, when the /r/ phonemes are fronted in Spanish pronunciation, the following vowels are less likely to be pronounced as American English diphthongs. In addition, this study suggests that having students record themselves when reading aloud at multiple points during the course and then analyze and reflect on what they hear may result in pronunciation changes.

Neurolinguistic Programming and Regular Verbs Past Tense Pronunciation Teaching

“…In the study, it was found that teachers' instructional pronunciation repertoire was not varied failing to reach an ample number of students with diverse learning styles and preferences. This is echoed by many authors in the field (Añorga & Benander, 2015;Buss, 2012;Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 2010;Morin, 2007;Sifakis & Sougari, 2005;Wei;, who report that English pronunciation has been sidelined in EFL/ESL teacher education programs and in classrooms throughout the world leaving teachers on their own in relation to pedagogically informed pronunciation strategies or techniques to use in the classroom. Foote, Holtby, and Derwing (2011) stress that language teachers do not actually receive adequate training in the specific area of pronunciation teaching as confirmed by other researchers (Henderson et al, 2015;Saito, 2012).…”

Fricatives and Affricates as a Source of Pronunciation Errors Among Korean-Speaking Learners of Spanish and Portuguese: Instructors’ Perceptions and Approaches / Fricativas Y Africadas Como Fuente De Errores De Pronunciación Entre Los Estudiantes De Español Y Portugués De Habla Coreana: Percepciones Y Enfoques De Los Instructores

“…The findings indicated that students who received explicit instruction in pronunciation showed greater improvement compared to those who solely received input. Añorga and Benander (2015) concur with Elliot on the significance of providing pronunciationspecific instruction, recognizing the current lack of such practice in the general curriculum. However, the question lies in determining the most suitable type of instruction to employ.…”

“…However, the question lies in determining the most suitable type of instruction to employ. While Elliot recommends formal pronunciation instruction for enhancing accuracy in adults learning Spanish as an L2, Añorga and Benander (2015) advocate for incorporating exercises that progress from intuitive to imitation, and from analytical to linguistic approaches. Añorga and Benander (2015) and Elliott (1997) recommend a mix of methods and strategies that should include various exercises to introduce pronunciation in the classroom.…”

“…While Elliot recommends formal pronunciation instruction for enhancing accuracy in adults learning Spanish as an L2, Añorga and Benander (2015) advocate for incorporating exercises that progress from intuitive to imitation, and from analytical to linguistic approaches. Añorga and Benander (2015) and Elliott (1997) recommend a mix of methods and strategies that should include various exercises to introduce pronunciation in the classroom. Among other options, authors such as Cobb and Simonet (2015) or Whitley (2002), propose the explicit instruction of pronunciation.…”

“…Among other options, authors such as Cobb and Simonet (2015) or Whitley (2002), propose the explicit instruction of pronunciation. These proposed methodologies greatly vary, because while Elliot (1997) recommends the use of a modified form of the articulatory presentation, Añorga and Benander (2015) recommend the use of recordings to practice, starting with recording themselves and then listening to others' recordings for self-assessment, and García Bayonas (2007) recommends practicing lists of minimum pairs with a peer to evaluate each other. All the authors, though, agree in the importance of starting with isolated words (but not with isolated sounds) and then continuing with more elaborated phrases and contexts (Elliot 1997;García Bayonas 2007).…”