Comparing the Success of Pronunciation Instruction in Beginner and Intermediate German Language Classrooms
Open Access
- Author:
- Roccamo, Ashley Lynne
- Graduate Program:
- German
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 26, 2014
- Committee Members:
- Barry Richard Page Jr., Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Carrie Neal Jackson, Committee Member
Michael Travis Putnam, Committee Member
Paola Eulalia Dussias, Committee Member
Dr Mary O'brien, Special Member - Keywords:
- German
Linguistics
Education
L2 Pronunciation
Second Language Acquisition
Phonology
Accent - Abstract:
- The phonology of a second language (L2) is notoriously difficult to acquire. Oftentimes even advanced L2 speakers cannot acquire accurate pronunciation on their own (Grosser, 1997; Jilka, 1999; Munro & Derwing, 2008; Trofimovich & Baker, 2006), and their abilities tend to stabilize after a certain amount of time. To counteract this, training in L2 pronunciation has been found effective in a number of classroom and laboratory studies (Derwing, Munro & Wiebe, 1998; Elliott, 1997; Flege, 1989; Hardison, 2004; Saito & Lyster, 2011). Many researchers recommend introducing pronunciation training into the curriculum as early in the language learning sequence as possible (e.g., Counselman, 2010; Elliott, 1995, 1997; Eskenazi, 1999; Hardison, 2004; Neufeld & Schneiderman, 1980), yet previous experimental studies have not tested the validity of these recommendations. Most training programs are introduced in more advanced stages of L2 proficiency (e.g., Counselman, 2010; Elliott, 1995, 1997; Lord, 2008), and pronunciation instruction is still largely ignored in elementary-level classrooms. Thus the question of when to begin formal pronunciation instruction has yet to be sufficiently answered. This dissertation addresses the above issue by directly comparing the effectiveness of pronunciation instruction at elementary and intermediate proficiency levels in order to detect the best time course for introducing pronunciation instruction in the classroom. A two-group experimental design was used, and forty-four students in four intact sections of first- and fourth-semester German courses participated in this study. An identical eight-week pronunciation training unit was implemented as a supplement in the experimental sections of the first- and fourth-semester German language classes. Training was divided into eight modules that each focused on one segmental or prosodic aspect of the German language at a time, including lexical stress, palatal and velar fricatives ([ç] and [x]), fricative and vocalized /r/, and the monophthongization of [e] and [o]. Training in both the perception and production of the targeted features was provided, and training was conducted in the first ten minutes of each class period. At the conclusion of each module, participants in all groups completed partner recordings in which they practiced producing the target features in citation form and in free speech contexts. Following completion of these recordings, students provided peer feedback on pronunciation for their partner. Data come from identical pre- and posttests that were administered for both groups before and immediately after training. Pre- and posttest speech samples were rated by native German speakers for ease of comprehensibility and strength of accent. Pre- and posttest ratings from the experimental and control groups, as well as from first- and fourth-semester students, are compared in order to gauge the effectiveness of pronunciation training in the earliest semesters of German L2 learning. Results show that first-semester students who received training were able to significantly improve their phonological perception skills, their comprehensibility, and their accent to a greater extent than both those students who did not receive training and fourth-semester students. In comparison to those same groups, first-semester students who received training were able to significantly improve their pronunciation in more of the problem areas for which they had received training. The dissertation concludes that pronunciation instruction is effective for students in their first semester of learning German, and that it may be more effective to train L2 learners in the first semesters than once they have reached more advanced stages of L2 proficiency. I argue that instruction in pronunciation should begin in the first few semesters of L2 German learning for optimal results. As such, this work provides an answer to a gap in the literature and begins to provide answers to the appropriate time course for intervention to begin for the most effective results.