Teaching of Phonetics and Phonology at Ma Level in Pakistan 1225480870030531 9

7/30/2019 Teaching of Phonetics and Phonology at Ma Level in Pakistan 1225480870030531 9

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Presentation on

TEACHING OF PHONETICS

AND PHONOLOGY AT M.A.

LEVEL IN PAKISTAN.


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Muhammad Sajid us Salam

Mphil Linguistics

The Islamia University

Bahawalpur

[email protected]


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Overview

What is Phonet ics andPhonology?

Sign i f icance of Teach ingPhonet ics and Phonology

Teach ing o f Phonet ics andPhonology Situation in Pakistan

Required Learning Ski l ls inPakistani Class room

Needs o f Pak is tan i LearnersJ


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Diff icu l t ies o f the Teachers

wh i le teach ing at M.A Level in Pakistan

Diff icul t ies of the Learners, Segmentaland Supra-segmental problems

Difference of Sound System in Urdu and

Engl ish Languages. Vowels andConsonants. Syl lable. Pronunciat ionProblems

Equ ipments and Training on Teachers at

M.A . Level in Pakis tan Conclus ion

Suggest ions for the Improvement ofPakis tani Eng l ish


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Speaking a language is not merely

knowing its grammar and vocabulary, butthe practice of correct pronunciation is also

necessary.

A cricketer cannot learn to play cricketby just acquiring theoretical knowledge of

the techniques and rules of the game. He

must actively go to the filed and practicethe game. Similarly, the language learner

must put to use his knowledge of the

language.


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PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

Phonetics

scientific study of the

production, transmission

and reception of speechsounds.

Phonetics is the study of physicalaspects of speech. It studies all possible

speech sounds


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Phonology

Phonology is the branch of linguistics which

Studies the sound system in a language.

Bloomfield argues

Phonology is the organization

of sounds into patterns


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Generality and Particularity.

Difference Between Phonetics

and Phonology


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Aim of Phonetics

The description and classification of

speech sounds

Aim of Phonology

Discover the principles that governthe way the sounds are organized inlanguages and to explain the variationsthat occur.

Phonology studies the speechsounds of a given language and theirfunction within the sound system of

that language.


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Important Terms in Phonology

Phone is an instance of a speechsound. [b], [s], [o].

A Phoneme is a category of speech

sounds that all speakers of alanguage perceive as more or lessidentical. /t/ /f/ /b/

An Allophone is a variant oralternate phonetic form of a phoneme.[t] and [t ] are allophones of the

phoneme /t/.


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Phonemic orBroad Transcription

Phonetic transcription/

Narrow Transcription

This is something much needed by theforeign learner in order to understand fully

the features of connected speech

IPA symbols for representing the soundsystem of any language in a unique form.

System of Transcription in

English


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Priorities for Phonology in the

Pronunciation Class Comprehensibility: are learners able to identify

the sounds and are their articulationsunderstood by native speakers?

Social Acceptability: are learners producingsounds that are aesthetically acceptable to theears of native speakers?

Ease of Production: do learners have a goodchance of successfully learning to produce thesounds?

Number of familiar words (functional load):do the sounds occur frequently in essential &/orvery useful words?


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Significance of Teaching

phonetics and phonology

Selection and arrangement of speech

sounds

Helps to teach phonemes

correct pronunciation of consonantsand vowels sounds etc


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Intelligibility is a pronunciationwhich can be understood w ith li tt le

or no consc ious effor t on part of the

listener.

Significance of Teaching phonetics

and phonology


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It tells that how many sounds are

produced in one word. Sometimes one

sound is used for two letters.

For example:

/f/ is used for, FaceandPhenomenon


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Significance of Teaching

phonetics and phonology

Segmental level of phonology analyses thespeech into direct segments and phonemes.

Supra Segmental level of phonology dealssyllables with extended segments. Such asstress, intonation etc.

Diachronic phonology examines theories

about the changes and modification in soundsover the period of time.

Synchronic phonology deals with the patternof sounds in the content of change in thehistory of language.


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Articulatoryphoneticshelps us to teachthe movement of speech organs inproduction

of speech sounds. Speech is produced bylungs, larynx, tongue, lips soft palate, hardplate etc.

Acoustic phoneticshelps us to teach

speech sound as transmitted between mouthand ear.

Auditory phoneticsIthelps in teachinghearing and the perception of speech sounds.

Significance of Teachingphonetics and phonology


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How much phonetics and phonology

do teachers and learners of English

language need to know and use?

Teachers must understand the physical

aspects of sound production.Teachers will

not necessarily teach these to students, butthis knowledge will provide a basis for

teachers to identify the physical reasons for

inaccurate approximations of foreignlanguage sounds, enabling them to give

precise instructions which will help students

correct faulty pronunciation.


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Unless the teacher understands how thestudent is using his speech organs in

producing a native language sound andwhat he should be doing to reproduce theforeign language sound acceptably, hecannot help the student beyond a certain

stage of earnest but inaccurate imitation."(Wilga Rivers- Teaching Foreign

Language Skills).




H h h i d h l


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Incorrectly articulated consonants

will affect the production of vowels,

as vowels will affect consonants.Students therefore require steady

practice and muscle training.

Pronunciation is a motor skill that

needs practice.





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What are the major causes of pupils'

inability to communicate effectively in oral

situations? How should teaching

programmes be devised to counteract this?

1. Teach the comprehension andproduction of a form of "slow colloquial"suitable for the communicative needs of theconsensus.

2. Lead away from practice in thecomprehension of R.P. by including variousstyles of "informal English" as listeningmaterial. The emphasis at this stage is onpractice. Comprehension should be testedin a variety of ways e.g. "Task Listening".


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3a. Teach the auditory & visual signals

which are reliable indicators of stress

placement. Practice material requiring to

recognise and mark strong stress and use

of video film would be helpful here.

3b. Teach the most common tunes.

Practices should also focus on the inter-

relationships between stress, tune, syntax

and meaning.


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4. Develop vocabulary giving special

priority to lexis containing important

signals (concepts), cohesive devicesand other discourse markers. The focus

here is comprehension of spoken

English at paragraph level.


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5. Teach the sound system (the

relationships between vowel length &

quality and consonant sounds, the points ofarticulation & their modification in "informal

English" in greater detail.

(David Jones' RSA Course in

Stockholm 1982.)


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Teaching of phonetics and

phonology situation in

Pakistan. A number of explanations can be given to

account for this poor performance such as:

Our educational policy

Uncongenial teaching environment

Dearth of materials

Lack ofpracticeAbsence of language laboratory

Outmoded syllabi methodology

Examinations system


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M.A level is considered to be the higher level

in Pakistan

Most of the students do jobs or go for highereducation

For both groups teaching of phonetics and

phonology is necessary, because youexpress yourself through communication For

better communication it is necessary to learn

the correct pronunciation of the words of anylanguage that you speak.

Teaching of phonetics and phonology is

equally important for all the languages.


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Practiced Language skills inPakistani Class Room; BasicReason for Such a Poor Conditionof Teaching Phonetics andPhonology An average classroom in Pakistan still reflects

traditional concepts of teaching methods. The logical sequence of language skills is

disturbed, thus creating obstacles in the

learning process. It is an established fact thatthe sequence adopted in L1 acquisition mustbe followed to a large extent in L2 learning i.e.listening, speaking reading, writing (LSRW).


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Moreover, the system in Pakistan demands

reading and writing more than the other

skills. Speaking is almost ignored and there are

no ways to test the speaking ability of the

students. Teaching of sound system in our country is

given no importance.


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speaking skill is required at the higher

level in Pakistan, when students appear

for interview and viva voce. The policy makers have failed to

realize that at the higher level, it is too

late to gain proficiency in the speaking

skill.


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Result:

Students are unaware of the correct

pronunciation of words even tillgraduate level in our country.

Many students suffer because they

cannot express themselves so wellverbally, as they would in writing.

The need of a Pakistani


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The need of a Pakistani

student at M.A. level

Listening and speaking facilitatecommunication, creating confidence in thelearner through interaction with the

environment. Unfortunately, a Pakistani syllabus ignores

even these two language skills, and thesyllabus objectives are set to achieve

reading and writing skills. As a result, the students concentrate on

the structural rather than functional

aspects of the language.


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communication between teacher-students

and student-students is almost nil.

Such teaching/learning will give birth to

teachers/learners who will not be able to use

language effectively.

A balance between all four language skills

should be struck by syllabus designers.


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The students need the listening skill to

understand teachers and to follow

instructions and speaking skill toexpress themselves by using language.

But all these skills are perfected if we

know well how to pronounce the wordscorrectly.

I P ki t ll bi/ i l h h dl


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In Pakistan, syllabi/ curricula have hardlyundergone any change. They needrevolutionary changes to keep abreast of the

times. No activities or practice of correct

pronunciation of words and accent is beingdone by the teachers even at M.A. level in

Pakistan. A Pakistani syllabus stresses more on the

theoretical aspects rather than the practical/applicable aspects. The language learners

may have a good command over the usage ofthe language but may not be able to use thelanguage satisfactorily with correctpronunciation and stress pattern.


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The syllabus designers should realize this

and shift from a structural syllabus to a

functional one. Both the language / education policy makers

and the syllabus designers need to adopt a

pragmatic view of language use andteaching of phonetics and phonology should

be made compulsory.


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Difficulties of Teaching phonetics

and phonology at M.A level in

Pakistan. Experimental subject

Lack of language laboratories

Self Access Centers (SACs)

laboratories are equipped with tape recorders

head phones, and now computers.

The students can contact their teachers on

one-to-one basis.


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Compare pronunciation to the source andget feedback with out the intervention of a

teacher.

Students are more open to the guidance of

the teacher at language laboratories.

The language laboratory helps to trainsome students to really listen to what they

say and how they say it.


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A basic pronunciation item may look like

this:

Tape voice: Information

Buzz Signal: (Pause of 3 seconds)

Tape voice: Information

Learners mostly face


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Learners mostly face

problems due to the following

reasons:

Teachers are not much experts.

Learners have little or no exposure tonative speakers of Target Language(TL).

They are sometimes unable to teach

the students using a good methodologyof teaching phonetics andphonology/sound system.


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Speech organs are not taughtcomprehensively.

There is a lack of written transcriptionpractice.

Teachers should explain the IPA chart very

well. Language skills are not taught well.

There is the lack of the use of Audio visualaids in teaching. Audio visual aids take the

place of first hand and actual experience. Asthey enliven the learning atmosphere they canaccomplish most effectively the objectives oflanguage learning.

Advantages of Audio


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Advantages of Audio

Visual Aids

Reduce verbalism Help in better and clear understanding of

sounds (Production/transmission).

Arouse interest of the learners in the task of

learning. Help to focus attention on the lesson and

stimulate the learners thinking.

Encourage students participation.

Train the learners in efficient work and studyhabits.

Exclude favorable attitudes

Bring about variety in the lesson and make it

effective.

Commonly used audio visual


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Commonly used audio visual

aids (AV aids)

classroom objects such asBlackboard /white boards,

Pictorial representations,

Bulletin board to display pictures,

Drawings,

Charts,

Flash cards,

The textbooks,

Dramatization

Role playing

Videos playing


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Teacher should use these Av aids tomake their students fully understandthe sound system, to enable them to

pronounce the words in a correct way. Teacher should make them understandthe movement of speech organs toproduce different sound.

Use the technique of lesson planningfor batter results/outcome.

Diff b t th S d


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Student feel difficulty in learning the

foreign language i.e. English becausethere is a great difference of sound

system in Urdu and English language.

We can see the difference through thefollowing alphabetical order shown

between English and Urdu.

Difference between the Sound

System of Urdu and English



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System of Urdu and English

Segmental and Supra-


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Segmental and Supra-

segmental Problems

Segmental Problems

Vowels

Consonants

Vowels:

In English Vowel intensity (quality) issignificant for syllabic prominence inEnglish

In Urdu vowel duration (quantity) issignificant for syllabic prominence.


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Vowels

Vowels in English are uttered withdifferent positions of lips, tongue andjaws, but in Urdu vowels are realized in

the natural position of the oral cavity. For example, /b/, /t/, /a/ : are confused

and /a:

Cot /kbt/ Caught /k : t / /Ka: t/ Cart / ka: t/

Phoneme Difficulties and Sound


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when a phoneme is replace w ithanother phonemethat is called

phoneme difficulty and when somesound of phoneme is confused that iscalled sound difficulty

For example Pakistan learnerspronounce wine as vine and in this waythey confuse /w/ with /v/, this is aphoneme difficulty

Phoneme Difficulties and Sound

Difficulties.


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The consonant difficulties are no lessremarkable. There are twenty-fourconsonants in English whereas Urdu hasthirtyseven consonants

As pirated stops constitute differentphonemes in Urdu, while English they are incomplementary distribution with the un-aspirated ones. Urdu aspirated stops in

English. /p/, /t/, /k/ sounds are aspirated R.PAPakistani learner tends to pronounce themwithout aspiration.

Consonants


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Pakistani learners tend to confuse /v/ sound with/w/sound. In R.P (Received pronunciation) /v/ is alabio-dental fricative and /w/ is a bilabial semi-vowel e.g.

/n/sounds does not occur independent in Urdu andis replaced by /ng/ or /nk/.

In R.P /r/only occurs before vowels, never beforeconsonants.

An Urdu speaker finds it difficult to string togethertwo, three or four consonants with no vowelbetween them. We may say that consonantclusters are also a great difficulty for the foreign

learners.


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The sound / j/ exists and is widely

used in Urdu but appears to cause

considerable difficulty possible due tothe fact that

serves as both vowel /i:/ and

consonant /j/ in Urdu consequentlymany speakers are confused:


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Supra segmental Problems:

Stress/ Accent

Intonation

Syllables

Fluency

Features of connected speech


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Syllabification

The term syllabification refers to the divisionof a word into syllables.

Syllables are formed by the combination ofvowels and consonants.

The syllable structures are of various typesand common structure of syllable is thecombination of a consonant and a vowel

(CV), this syllable structure may be foundalmost in all language.

English: (CCCVCCCC)

Urdu: (CVCC)

44 sounds 26 letters Result:


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44 sounds 26 letters, Result:(Confusion and Difficulties of Learners

in Learning Pronunciation)1. The same letter (S) stands for different

sounds:

The lettersch stand for differentsounds

machine, monarch, chief

The lettera stands for different soundslate, last, fat, woman, village, water, what

The lettersough stand for differentsounds

though, through, bough, thought, thorough, cough


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2. The same sound is represented by differentletters or combinations of letters:

The n sound is represented by the letters nin neck,nn in funny, gnin sign,knin know andpn in pneumonia

The vowel soundin the word get, is replaced

by the lettere in end, ea in head, ei inleasure, eo in leopard, a in many ai insaid, ie in friend, u in bury, and ue inguess

The vowel sound in the word tea is replacedby the letters ea in beat, ie in brief, eo inpeople, e in scene, ee in seen, ey in key,I in machine, oe in foetus, ei in receive

and uay in quay


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3. One letter of the alphabet stands for a sequenceof two sounds:

The letterq stands for a combination of theksound (as in key) and the w sound as in watch inthe words question, quiet, quite, square, squash,queer

The letterx stands for a sequence of theksound (as in kite) and the s sound (as in sea) inthe words excuse, excite, excess, box, exercise

The letterx stands also for a sequence of the gsound (as in go) and the z sound (as in zoo) in the

words exact, examine, exist, exertThe letteru sometimes stands for the sequence of

a consonant followed by a vowel as in the wordsunit, use, utilize


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Equipment and Training of

English Teachers

English is an ever-growing subject

An English teacher requires more

intensive training than his othercolleagues in other subjects

Those who do not keep themselves inconstant touch with its development areleft far behind and hopelessly out ofdate.

D fi i i


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Deficiencies: (RegardingTeachers)

Their command of general English is poor. The language that they habitually employ is not of

practical use to the students. The do not knowhow to come down to the level of the young

beginners. Generally they do not keep themselves abreast ofthe modern methods of teaching.

Most of them avoid hard work involved inadopting new methods.

They need an intensive and extensive knowledgeof the use English language, pronunciation andintonation and an acquaintance with Englishways of life.

S f


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Suggestion for their

improvement. Refresher courses should be arranged during

summer vacation for English Teachers for toupdate them to the sound system of Englishlanguage.

They should be encouraged to do research work.

They should be provided with the latestpublications.

Lectures of English speakers should be arrangedfor their benefit.

They should be advised to listen to the Radioprogrammes.

Opportunities to visit England should be provided.


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An English Teachers Association should be

established. A journal should be run by thisAssociation.

Conferences of teachers for academic discussionshould be encouraged.

Subject specialist system should be enforced. Demonstration Lessons by the teachers should be

encouraged.

Purchase of Tape-recorders and Lingua phone

records should be allowed.

They should be provided with funds for thepurchases of equipment for the English room.

CONCLUSION


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CONCLUSION The tremendous and considerable influence of mother

tongue or L1 poses many great difficulties in learning thepronunciation of second language (L2). When we teachEnglish language to the students at M.A Level they havebecome mature and they feel difficulty in pronouncingEnglish words in an exact manner because their speechorgans are set for their own language/ mother tongue.Our Jaw system and speech organs no doubt can

produce uncountable sounds but for this purpose we63need a great deal of practice, as the practice makes aman perfect.

Teaching of phonetics and phonology should be madecompulsory at early level.

Speaking and listening skills should be taught andpracticed.

The students should check up to correct pronunciationsof these and similar other problematic words in apronouncing dictionary.

Suggestions for the Improvements


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Suggestions for the Improvements

of Pakistani English

The correct pattern of English word accentshould be maintained.

The correct pattern of sentence stress and

rhythm should be maintained. The knowledge of vowels (O,v,w) should be

acquired.

The consonants should be clearlyarticulated.

English vowels and diphthongs must begiven correct length, they should be

sufficiently long.


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The voiceless plosives /p/, /t/, /k/ should beaspirated at the beginning of accented syllables.

The reading of a set text should be done

carefully with proper grouping of words.

The correct distribution of /s/and /z/ in flexionalsuffixes should be learnt through the constant

use of a pronouncing dictionary.

The correct distribution of English vowels andconsonants should be learnt through the

constant use of a pronouncing dictionary.


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Students should remember that the sound(r) at the end of a word or before a

consonant is dropped. It is pronounced

before a vowel only. It is, however,pronounced at the end of a word when the

word immediately following it in connected

speech begins with a vowel e.g. morning,

there, thereafter, there by, archive in these

words (r) is not pronounced.


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Sometimes two consonants occur

next to each other. In

pronunciation the first is oftendropped, e.g.

Sit down: /si daun/ Postman: /pousmn/or

poustmen/


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Some most commonly mispronouncedwords in Pakistan are: vowel,

adjective, sew, opportunity, capacity,political, azure, rumor, drought, malign,malignity, condemn, autumn, forehead,extraordinary, Wednesday, zero, hero,

etc. The students should check up tocorrect pronunciations of these andsimilar other problematic words in apronouncing dictionary.


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Teaching of Phonetics and Phonology at Ma Level in Pakistan 1225480870030531 9