Post on 06-Aug-2015
PODCASTING:
AN EFFECTIVE TOOL
FOR HONING LANGUAGE
STUDENTS’
PRONUNCIATION?
CRITINA CIRAUQUI
DIEGO MARTINEZMARTA RUBIO
ANA SATRUTEGUI
INDEX• RESEARCH ON PRONUNCIATION
• PODCASTING
• METHOD
• RESULTS
• GENERAL DISCUSSION
Research on Pronunciation
Comprehension studies •The age has a big effect on pronunciation•Training help to improve it (20% error to 5%)•The Prosody how we say words (stress, pitch, rhythm, etc.).•We need to teach also prosody as well as pronunciation.
Technology to improve Pronunciation•Visual displays help you to show specific sounds and the patterns of prosody.•Automated speech recognition (ASR) tools, are very useful because they show your sounds comparing them with native speaker sounds.•Drawback lack of contextualization•Podcast are better contextualized
PodcastingPodcasting in education•Gives opportunities to create and publish for a real audience. •They can receive feedback from other partners and from their teacher.•Students can listen their voice several times and realize and correct their mistakes.•Schools and universities are using mp3 to listen to podcast and improve pronunciation.
Podcasting Projects Specific to Pronunciation•Contextualized podcast create meaningful tasks and contextualized pronunciation.•Focus on oral productions: audio diaries, interviews with NSs and talk shows.•Study iPod users retained (40%) more words than paper-pencil users (27%).•Students perceived listening to podcasts as worthwhile and enjoyable.•Students valued very positively podcasts and admitted very few technical problems.
METHOD
PARTICIPANTS 22 participants: 12 learning German and
10 learning French. Intermediate level Between the age of 18 and 22 years old 12 of them were in French or German
speaking countries several times The project was lasted for 16 weeks
MATERIALS To assess scripted and extemporaneous
tasks.
Two different types of elicitation techniques
students recorded 8 podcasts They received 60-90 minutes of technical
training to reate and upload podcasts to their blogs.
SCRIPTED PRONUNCIATION PODCAST It is divided into pre-; scripted 1,2,3; post-) Students recorded 5 of them related to
their studies abroad. In pre and post, they worked on identical
texts.The texts for podcast 1,2,3 were chosen to
prepare students for the contextualized podcast tasks.
Students made their recording and these were included in their blogs.
EXTEMPORANEOUS PODCASTS
Students recorded 3 podcasts.
The same texts used for pronunciation podcasts were served as a model for students.
PRONUNCIATION ATTITUDE INVENTORY PRE-TEST PAI survey was based on 12
questions in order to assess students 'attitudes toward pronunciation. And 9 questions about background information.
POST-TEST PAI survey: it consisted of the same 12 questions, 8 additional likert-type questions and 6 open-ended questions specific to students’ attitude toward the podcasting project.
PROCEDURE Students had to listen to classmates’
podcasts. Extemporaneous podcasts were assessed by
the instructor using a rubric which was based on content, coherency, organization, pronunciation, fluency, accuracy and creativity.
For the script pronunciation podcasts, NS assistant gave students the written assessment with the feedback on their recordings and blogs.
RESULTS
Student´s podcasts (8 each) were stored on a CD
Students were judged by two raters in each language:
One NS of the target language One NNS (the NNS tested at or above an
advanced low proficiency level) for each language.
DATA ANALYSIS
SCALESCOMPREHENSITIVITY:
5 POINTSACCENTEDNESS:
5 POINTS
Completeley Nativelike
Mostly Almost nativelike
FairlyBetween nativelike and nonnative
Almost not More nonnative
Not comprehensible Non nativelike
• Strong accent does not necessarily affect comprehensibility.
• Accentedness and comprehensibility are considered in pronunciation studies.
• The samples in our study ranged from 2-4 minutes in length.
• Judges were instructed to rate samples using only whole numbers between 1 and 5.
COMPREHENSIBILITY RATINGS
GERMAN• No significant
differences• 44% of the
students improved in comprehensibility
• 30% improved from the pre- to the post-test
FRENCH• One significant
difference• 9% of the students
received higher comprehensibility ratings
• 10%improved from the pre- to the post-test
•
ACCENTEDNESS RATINGSGERMAN• Significant
difference• 10% of the
students improved in accentedness
• 50% improved from the pre- to the post-test
FRENCH• One significant
difference• 70% of the
students received higher accentedness ratings
• 10%improved from the pre- to the post-test
PROBLEMSGERMAN• 62% differentiation
[ʏ], [yː], [ʊ] and [uː]• 56% differentiating
[z] and an [s] • 44%pronouncing [ʁ]• 42% differentiating [ç]
and [x] (• 33%pronouncing [oe]• 25% pronouncing [v]• 12% enunciating “-
tion”
FRENCH• 18% making liaisons • 44% pronouncing the
French [r] 49% silent sounds
• 21%pronouncing the sounds [y]
• 14% pronuncing [ø]
GENERALDISCUSSIO
N
WHY THOSE RESULTS?PRONUNCIATION IN TERMS OF ACCENTEDNESS:
• Insufficient amount of time.• No pronunciation practice class.• No specific pronunciation tasks.
IN TERMS OF COMPRENHENSIBILITY:
Most of the students were already almost comprehensible.
LAST RESEARCH QUESTION: If students had a positive attitude towards pronunciation and felt their pronunciation improved.
• They valued communication.• They valued grammar and vocabulary over pronunciation.
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Podcasting and repeated recordings are not enough.
How FL teachers can include podcasting?
1.Focused and consistent practice in class.2.Giving feedback to the students.3.Computer assisted visual feedback.
More pronunciation classroom practice is required.
PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
Practice in comprehension and Accentedness through the use of new technology. Podcasting must be used in class in order to provide feedback to the pupils.
Working with phonetics and a training on specific sounds will be required.
Impact of podcasting and benefits of podcasting for improving pronunciation will be worth investigation.
CONCLUSION