Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Theodore Osagie Iyere Department of English, National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos
theodoreiyere@yahoo.co.uk
Introduction
The poken English course is a vital component of the !.". English language programme in many Open and Distance Learning institutions in Nigeria. The course provides the #ase for gro$th in other courses related to grammar, reading and $riting a#ilities. "s learning and applying the skills of spoken English are so closely related, the ODL classroom should #e a place $here the use of spoken language is sensitively supported and $here active listening is developed and valued. The act of speaking ena#les students to make connections #et$een $hat they kno$ and $hat they are learning, and listening helps them to ac%uire kno$ledge and e&plore ideas. "lthough many students have mastered #asic listening and speaking skills, some students are much more effective in their spoken communication than others. "nd those $ho are more effective communicators e&perience more success in school and in other areas of their lives. 'ndeed, the skills that can make the difference #et$een minimal and effective communication in spoken English can #e taught, practiced, and improved.
What is speech?
'n http())$$$.#u**in.net)english.htm speech is defined as the universal means of oral communication that distinguishes humans from the rest of the animal kingdom, and is considered #y linguists as the primary material for study, especially in oral communication situations. o, a spoken language is a human language in $hich the $ords are uttered through the mouth. The success of any spoken communication activity is #ased on the simple method of listen, understand, and speak +'yere, ,--./.
education delivery methods. 't is the introduction, utilisation and application of '4T to enhance open and distance education thus implementing open and distance learning policies in order to make learning activities more fle&i#le and ena#le these learning activities to #e distri#uted among many learning venues.
time and location that is convenient for them. The %uestion that $ould #e asked= Ais this possi#le $ith a technical course like poken English $here so much needs to #e done through oral drills>
"seful #acts for #acilitators Teaching Spo$en %nglish in the &igerian ODL System'
5rom my e&perience in $orking $ith students, ' have found out that students learning spoken English in the ODL environment in Nigeria often approach the learning of English pronunciation from a $ide variety of native language #ackgrounds and may speak languages $ith sound systems that vary a great deal from that of +B;/ English. 't is therefore, very important for ODL institutions in Nigeria to provide an ideal learning environment that $ill treat language learning as a social process $here comprehensi#le input is a must $hen e&pecting comprehensi#le output. 6ost importantly, facilitators should endeavour to provide students $ith ade%uate teaching methodology and Amake7shiftC resources, as $ell as suita#le voca#ulary and learning activities that $ill encourage the development of effective speaking skills. There is no single #est $ay to teach English language or poken English specifically. That is $hy English language teachers must find methods that are the most appropriate during the different stages of the teaching and learning process and then design the spoken English curriculum to meet their final goals.
$here they teach, should follo$ some easy teaching methods to avoid possi#le language pro#lems and to e&clude the possi#ility of the language #arrier. This also applies, considera#ly to the teaching of spoken English. ?o$ever, let us take a cursory look at some methods of language teaching that have #een suggested #y some linguists.
ichael Thomas
ethod
This method is an audio7#ased teaching system developed #y 6ichael Thomas, a language teacher in the U ". 't $as originally done in person, although since his death it is done via recorded lessons. The instruction is done entirely in the studentIs o$n language, although the studentIs responses are al$ays e&pected to #e in the target language. The method focuses on
constructing long sentences $ith correct grammar and #uilding student confidence. There is no listening practice, and there is no reading or $riting. The sylla#us is ordered around the easiest and most useful features of the language, and as such is different for each language.
'mplications of these researches for the ODL classroom instruction are that tutors and facilitators need to spend time teaching learners the rules for $ord stress, intonation, and rhythm in English as $ell as focusing on individual sounds that may #e difficult for the learners in their classes. 'n many ODL institutions in Nigeria, te&t #ooks or course materials are often produced to support face to face tutorial facilitation. 'n many cases, these course materials are usually completed #y some useful information provided #y the facilitator $ithin the period of facilitation. This has #een interpreted to #e one of the ma<or constraints of distance learning $here the learner is e&pected to #e $orking alone. 5irst of all the learning material has to #e composed as a modular structure. 'n the second place, it has to simulate a communication situation. 5inally, it has to #e complete. This means that it has to include all the information needed #y the learner( contents, e&planations, applications, autocorrected e&ercises, learning aids, e&planatory notes, glossary, and so on. 't may interest one to kno$ that ma<ority of these ODL course materials do not really look completely like this ideal model.
'ndeed, facilitators can learn a great deal #y o#serving spoken English learners as they communicate $ith each other, noting the places $here communication #reaks do$n, and attempting to determine $hich pronunciation features caused miscommunication to occur. "s they o#serve, facilitators can develop a list of pronunciation features to focus on in class and <ot notes on note cards to give the students feed#ack as they listen to group and pair $ork and learner presentations. 5acilitators might use a checklist similar to the one in Ta#le #elo$. 5or e&le, $hen students are giving presentations or $orking together in pairs or groups, the teacher can use the checklist to make note of $hen a student is not understood or $hen several students make the same pronunciation mistake. This information can #ecome material for su#se%uent pronunciation lessons. Through use of a checklist, learners can #e made a$are of particular features of speech that potentially cause pro#lems for intelligi#ility and can $ork on these features. " checklist can also #e helpful to learners as they develop their o$n pronunciation goals. ee the pronunciation checklist #elo$( +ronunciation !hec$list
+ronunciation 6ark 1&3 $here applica#le, according to fre%uency of error Consonants th +e.g., thinQnotRtS/ th +e.g., thenQnotRdS/ s 8 * +e.g., sue vs. #oo/ r +e.g., rice vs. lice/ l +e.g., parrot vs. palate/ $inal consonants :oiceless, voiced +e.g.,nip . ni%; seat vs. seed; lock vs. log; larch vs. large/ final l +e.g., final, little, sell/ final s +e.g., pupils, writes, schools/ 7ed suffi& to mark past tense &o'el variation hill vs. heel cut vs. cart cot vs. caught pull vs. pool pen vs. pan Intonation Use of rising intonation( yes)no %uestions +e.g., Are you coming / Use of falling intonation( statements +e.g., !es, " am coming/= wh %uestions +e.g., #hat are you doing / 0oice 6ark 1&3 $here applica#le, according to fre%uency of error "udi%ility level Too loud Too soft 5ading out at end of statements (itch and range 6onotonous Other comments
Al.ays
Sometimes
&e*er
$ote% This checklist $as designed #y Nora amosir 8 Lo$ Ee Ling +,---/ as a means to assess teachersC oral English proficiency. No$, for prosodic features of languageQ$ord stress, intonation, and rhythmQare e&tremely important to comprehensi#ility, in addition to correct pronunciation of discrete letter sounds. Teachers should include prosodic training in instruction +!ally 8 ?olm, ,--J= Nautheir, hi, 8 Pi, ,--E= OC!rien, ,--O/. Teachers can #egin $ith listening activities +e.g., listening for rising intonation in yes)no %uestions/ and then have learners compare %uestion intonation in English $ith that of their native languages and then imitate dialogues, perform plays +see OC!rien, ,--O/, and $atch videos in $hich yes)no %uestions are used +e.g., ?ardison, ,--J/. There are also a num#er of activities facilitators can do to help learners use $ord stress correctly( &ead perception exercises on duration of stress, loudness of stress, and pitch. These e&ercises $ill help learners recogni*e the difference #et$een stressed and unstressed sylla#les +Dalton 8 eidlhofer, DEEO= 5ield, ,--J/. 'o exercises on recogni(ing and producing weak, unstressed syllables +Dalton 8 eidlhofer, DEEO= 5ield, ,--J/. )resent pronunciation rules for stress +Dalton 8 eidlhofer, DEEO= Ten$orthy, DEM./. 5or e&le, teach learners that in refle&ive pronouns, the stress is al$ays on the $ord self +e.g., myself, ourselves RNrant, ,-D-, p. J.S/. *each word stress when teaching vocabulary +5ield, ,--J/. 5or e&le, any time that ne$ $ords are introduced, point out to learners $here the ma<or stress falls.
The goal of pronunciation teaching and learning is communicative competence, not the complete a#sence of an accent +Nat#onton, Trofimovice, 8 6agid, ,--J/ !y using audiotapes and videotapes, especially of speakers of different varieties of English, facilitators can give learners meaningful e&posure to variation in pronunciation and increase their communicative competence +5lore*, DEEM/.
!onclusion
poken English is a vital component of the English language arts curriculum and provides the #ase for gro$th in reading, $riting, and listening a#ilities. "s learning and applying the skills of poken English are so closely related, the classroom should #e a place $here the use of spoken language is sensitively supported and $here active listening is developed and valued. Talk ena#les students to make connections #et$een $hat they kno$ and $hat they are learning, and listening helps them to ac%uire kno$ledge and e&plore ideas. u#se%uently, the a#ilities to listen critically and to e&press oneself clearly and effectively contri#ute to a studentIs success in school and later in life. "lthough there are challenges to teaching and learning spoken English in an ODL environment, it is an area vital to students learning English as a second language. The various techni%ues highlighted in this paper shed light on pronunciation features to #e taught and on learnersC goals and motivations for improving their pronunciation. 0e therefore, proposed that #y incorporating current research and its implications into their teaching techni%ue, facilitators can help students gain the skills they need for effective spoken communication in English.
5lore*, 6.4. +DEEM/. "mproving adult .+& learners3 pronunciation skills. 0ashington, D4( 4enter for "pplied Linguistics. Betrieved Hune F-, ,--E, from $$$.cal.org)caela)eslUresources)digests);ronun.html 5ries, 4. +DEJ,/. *he structure of .nglish. Ne$ Pork( ?arcourt, !race, 8 0orld. Nat#onton, E., Trofimovich, ;., 8 6agid, 6. +,--J/. LearnersC ethnic group affiliation and L, pronunciation accuracy( " sociolinguistic investigation. *.+/& 0uarterly, 12+F/, OME7JDD. Nauthier, !, hi, B., 8 Pi, V. +,--E/. Learning prosodic focus from continuous speech input( " neural net$ork e&ploration. &anguage &earning and 'evelopment, 4+,/, EO7DDO. Nrant, L. +,-D-/. #ell said. !oston( ?einle 8 ?einle ;u#lishers. ?ardison, D. +,--J/. 4onte&tuali*ed computer7#ased L, prosody training( Evaluating the effects of discourse conte&t and video input. CA&"C/ 5ournal, 66+,/, D.J7DE-. http())en.$ikipedia.org)$iki)DistanceUeducation http())$$$.#u**in.net)english.htm 'yere, T.O.+,--G/ poken English, National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos. Ten$orthy, H. +DEM./. *eaching .nglish pronunciation. O&ford( O&ford University ;ress. Lo$, E.L. +,--G/. " revie$ of recent research on speech rhythm( ome insights for language ac%uisition, language disorders and language teaching. 'n B. ?ughes +Ed./, +poken .nglish, *.+/& and applied linguistics% Challenges for theory 7 practice . London( ;algrave76acmillan.
OC!rien, 6. N. +,--O/. ;ronunciation matters. *eaching 8erman, 19+D/, D7E. 0ardhaugh, B. +DE.-/. The contrastive analysis hypothesis. *.+/& 0uarterly, O+,/, D,F
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