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8/13/2019 Second Language Learner and Pronunciation Kerry Thomson Oviedo 1980
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K E R R Y T H O MS O N O V I E D O
T H E S E C O N D L N G U G E L E R N E R
N D P R O N U N C I T I O N
D ssertação para obtenção do Gr au deMest re, Área de Concent ração: Lí nguaI ngl esa, do Cur so de Pós- Graduação emLetras. Setor de Ci ênci as Humanas , Le-tras e Artes da Uni versi dade Federal doParaná.
C U R I T I B A19 80
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PROFESSORA ORI ENTADORA
Dout or a OTÍ L I A ARNST i t ul ar de L í ngua eL i t er at ur a I ngl es a daUni v er s i da de F ede r a ldo Par aná .
8/13/2019 Second Language Learner and Pronunciation Kerry Thomson Oviedo 1980
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CONTENTS
PageABSTRACT i v
RESUMO vi
I NTRODUCTI ON I
1. 1 The t heme and i t s i mpor t ance I
2 THE PROBLEM 2
2. 2 I mpl i cat i ons of t he r es ear c h pr o bl em . . . . 2
2. 3 Obj e c t i v es 3
3 METHODOL OGY 3
4 CRI T ERI A . . . . . 5
5 THE DI SCUSSI ON . . . . . 8
5. 1 The l anguage l ear ni ng model . . . . . . . . 8
5. 2 Language l ear ni ng s t r a t egi es 20
5. 3 Language Expos ur e 25
5. 4 App l i ca t i on o f t he mode l 29
5. 5 I ndi v i dual l ear ner c har ac t er i s t i c s 33
5. 6 An e xpe r i me nt a l s t udy of f ac t or s a f f ec t i ng
pr onunc i at i on ac cur ac y . . . . v . . . . . . 38
5. 7 Af f e c t i v e f a ct or s and pr o nunc i a t i o n ac c ur ac y 45
5- 8 A r at i onal e f or pr onunc i at i on t eac hi ng . . . 55
5*9 Conc l us i on 62
Bi bl i ogr aphy . 6 3
Not es 6 5
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ABSTRACT
The pr es e nt s t udy i nv es t i gat es t he que s t i on of - di f f er -
ences i n accur acy of pr onunc i a t i on among s t udent s o f E ng l i sh
as a second l anguage. Thi s t heme i s cons i der ed i n t he cont ex t
of s ec ond l anguage l ear ni ng i n ge ne r a l . T he i nv es t i ga t i o n con-
s i s t s of a bi bl i o gr a phi c a l s t udy of a mo de l of s e cond l anguage
l ea r n i ng and of v a r i o us t he or e t i c a l and e xpe r i me nt a l s t udi e s
of f ac t or s whi c h i nf l uenc e pr onunc i a t i on l ear ni ng. The s t u dy
of t hes e s our c es i ndi c at es t hat :
1. Any l ear ner wi t h no r ma l phy s i o l o gi c a l e qui pme nt wi l l ha ve
an i nna t e abi l i t y t o l ear n t o p r onoun ce a second l anguage .2. Thi s abi l i t y i s l i kel y t o be modi f i ed by i ndi v i dual l ear n-
er v ar i abl es s uc h as age, c ogni t i ve s t y l e, l anguage l ear ni ng
exper i enc e, at t i t udes , mot i v at i on, i nnat e apt i t ude f or o r a l
m m c r y , per s onal i t y and s o on.
3. The ac qui s i t i on of i nt el l i gi bl e pr onunc i at i on r equi r es an
exposur e t o t he spoken l anguage wh i ch i s var i ed enough f o r t he
i nput of adequa t e i nf o r mat i on about t he p hono l ogi ca l and phon-
et i c f eat ur es of t he t ar ge t l anguage. Suc h i nf or mat i on i s r e-
qui r e d f or t he e f f i c i e nt o pe r a t i o n of t hos e pr o c es s e s c o mmo n
t o al l s ec ond l anguage, i nc l udi ng pr onunc i at i on, l ear ni ng.
4. P r o nunc i at i on l ear ni ng of a s ec ond l anguage i s f ac i l i t at ed
i f s t udent s ar e t r ai ned i n f or mal and f unc t i onal pr ac t i s i ng
dur i ng e xpo s ur e t o t he t ar get l angua ge , i n f or mal pr a c t i s i ng
and i nf e r e nc i ng f or t he pr o c es s i ng of t he i nf o r ma t i o n ga i ne d,
i v
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and i n mo ni t o r i ng and i nf e r e nc i ng f or t he f or ma t i o n of l an-
guage r esponses .
5. The obj ec t i ve of nat i ve- l i k e pr onunc i at i on i s ac c es s i bl e
t o t hos e l ear ner s who ma ke an . ' empat hi c ' i de nt i f i c a t i o n wi t ht he t ar get c ul t ur e, ut i l i z i ng t he l ear ni ng s t r at egi es t o ac -
qui r e t hos e f eat ur es whi c h di s t i ngui s h t he pr o nunc i a t i o n of
t he di a l ec t whi ch has been sel ec t ed as a mode l .
6. Some l ear ne r s o f Engl i sh as a second l anguage wi l l have
mo r e a c cur a t e pr o nunc i a t i o n t ha n o t he r s be c aus e t he i r i ndi v -
i dual l ear ner c har ac t er i s t i c s hav e di s pos ed t hem t o mak egr eat er us e of t he l ear ni ng s t r at egi es .
v
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RESUMO
O pr esent e es t udo i nv es t i ga a pr obl emát i ca das di f e r en-
ç as de pr e Gi s ã o da pr o núnc i a em e s t uda nt e s qu e e s t uda m i ngl ê s
como segunda l í ngua . Es t e t ema f oi cons i der ado no cont ex t o
ger a l da apr endi zagem de uma segunda l í ngua . A pesqui sa a -
br ange um e s t udo bi bl i o gr á f i c o de um mo de l o de a pr e ndi z a ge m de
uma segunda l í ngua e vár i os es t udos t eór i cos e exper i ment a i s
de f at or es que i nf l ue m na a pr e ndi z a ge m da pr o núnc i a . O e s t udo
das f ont es c i t a da s i ndi c a que :
1. T odo o a pr e ndi z a ndo em c o ndi ç õ es f i s i o l ógi c as no r ma i s t em
a hab i l i dade i na t a de apr ender a p r onúnc i a de uma segunda l i n-
gua ;
2. es t a habi l i da de poder á s of r er mo di f i c a çõ es por v ar i av ei s
i ndi v i duai s do apr endi z ando t ai s c omo i da de , e s t i l o c ogni t i v o,
ex per i ê nc i a de apr endi z agem de l í ngua, at i t ude s , mo t i v aç ã o,
apt i dão i nat a de ex pr es s ã o o r a l , per s o nal i dade e out r as .
3. A a qui s i ç ã o de uma pr o núnc i a i nt e l i gí v el r e que r c o nt a c t o
c om a l í ngua que c ont ém as v ar i adades s uf i c i ent es par a a ac -
qu i s i ção d e i nf o r mações adequadas sobr e o s asp ec t os f ono l ógi -
c os e f o nét i c os da l í ngua em que s t ã o. T ai s i nf o r ma ç õe s s ã o
exi gi das pa r a a e f i c i ent e ope r ação d e t a i s pr ocess os c omuns
a t o da a a pr e ndi z a ge m da s e gunda l í ngua , i nc l ui ndo a pr o núnc i a .
4. A a pr e ndi z a ge m da pr o núnc i a é f a c i l i t a da s e os e s t uda nt e s
s a o t r ei na dos na pr á t i c a f or mal e f unc i o na l dur a nt e o c ont a c t o
c om a l í ngua enf oc ada; e m pr ác t i c a f or mal e i nf er ênc i a par a
vi
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o pr ocess ament o da i nf o r mação obt i d a, bem como em cont r o l a r
e i nf er i r par a a f or maç ão de r es pos t as l i ngüi s t i c as .
5. 0 o bj e t i v o de uma pr o núnc i a s i m l a r à do nat i v o ê a c cê s s í -
v el àquel es apr e ndi z a ndo s que r ea l i z a m uma i de nt i f i c a ç ão c oma c ul t ur a em ques t ão , u t i l i z ando as es t r at égi as de apr endi z a-
gem pa r a a dqui r i r a quel es a s pec t o s que di s t i ngue m a pr o núnc i a
do di a l e t o qu e f oi se l c i onado como mode l o .
6. Al guns apr endi z andos de i ngl ês , como segunda l í ngua , t em
uma pr onúnci a mai s acur ada do que out r os por que s uas car ac-
t er í s t i c as i ndi v i duai s de apr endi z ando o di s pus er am a f az er
ma i o r u so das es t r a t égi as de apr endi z agem
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I NTRODUCTI ON
THE THEME AND I TS I MPORTANCE
' The second l anguage l ear ne r and p r onu nc i a t i on1.
A c ons t a nt l y r ec ur r i ng o bs e r v at i o n abo ut pr o nunc i a t i o nl ear ni ng i s t hat des pi t e s i m l ar f or mal t r ai ni ng, s ec ond l an-
guage l ear ner s var y gr eat l y i n t hei r abi l i t y t o pr onounc e t he
second l anguage. Teacher s o f Eng l i sh as a second l anguage need
t o be abl e t o account f o r t hi s phenomenon.
An i nv es t i ga t i on of t he di f f er enc es i n a chi ev eme nt be t -
ween i ndi v i dual s when pr onounci ng a second l anguage has bot hi nher ent and pr ac t i c al i nt er es t . The i nher ent i nt er es t i s i n
det er m ni ng whi c h of t he pos s i bl e f ac t or s ar e mo s t s i gni f i c ant
i n ac c ount i ng f or t hes e di f f er enc es . The pr ac t i c al val ue of
s uc h a s t udy i s i n t he i ns i ght s t hat i t pr o vi des : t hes e may
b e a ppl i c a bl e i n t he c l a s s r o om t o i mpr o ve pe r f o r ma nc e i n pr o -
nunc i at i on l ear ni ng.
By me ans o f a bi bl i o gr a phi c a l s t udy , t he pr e s ent pa pe r
expl or es t hi s que s t i on, s ugges t i ng pos s i bl e appl i c at i ons o f t he
i ns i ght s gai ned. The f ac t t hat s k i l l i n pr onunc i at i on i s ac -
q ui r ed s i mul t aneous l y wi t h o t he r a sp ec t s o f a second l anguage
such as l i s t eni ng compr ehens i on , gr ammar and mor phol ogy makes
i t e s s ent i a l t hat p r o nunc i a t i on be c ons i der ed i n t he cont e xt
of s e cond l a ngua ge l ea r n i ng i n ge ne r a l . F or t hi s r e as o n, t he
mode l of second l anguage l ear ni ng deve l oped by El l en Ba i l y s t ok
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wi l l pr ov i de a t heor et i c al bas i s f or t he pr es ent s t udy.
The r es ear c h pr obl e m der i v es f r om an obs e r v at i on whi c h
i s c ons i s t ent l y e vi dent r ega r d i ng s e cond l anguage l ea r n i ng:*
i t i s al wa ys t he c a s e t ha t s o me i n di v i du al s a r e mo r e s u c c e s s -
f ul t ha n o t he r s i n ma s t e r i n g t he l a ng ua ge , e ve n t h ough t h ei r
f or mal l anguage l ear ni ng e xper i enc es h av e b ee n s i m l a r . Ba i l y -
s t ok f o r mul a t e s t h at o bs e r v at i o n as a q ue s t i o n: Why do es l an-
guage l ear ni ng pr oc eed at di f f er ent r at es f or di f f er ent i n-
di v i dua l s ? T hi s que s t i o n pr ompt e d t he pr e s ent r e s ear c h p r o bl e m.
Whi l e Bai l y s t ok ' s mo de l i s i nt ended t o ac c ount f or di f -
f er ent r at es of l anguage l ea r n i ng, t he r e s ear c h qu es t i o n adds
t he d i me ns i o n o f a c c ur a c y of p e r f o r ma nc e i n pr o nu nc i a t i o n.
T ha t i s , t he qu es t i o n r ec o gni z e s t hat at l ea s t wh er e pr o nun-
c i at i on i s conc er ned, i t i s not o nl y nec es s a r y t o ac c ount f or
r el at i v e r at es of learning b ut a l s o t o i nv es t i gat e t he r eas ons
f or qual i t at i ve di f f er enc es i n l ear ner s ' pr onunc i at i on.
2. 1 THE PROBLEM
The r es ear c h pr obl em c ent r a l t o t hi s b i bl i ogr aphi c al
s t udy - i s f or mul at ed i n t he f o l l owi ng q ues t i on:
Why do some learners of English as a second language
have more accurate -pronunciation than others 3 even
though their formal language experiences are similar?
2. 2 I MPL I CATI ONS OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Va r i o us a r eas of i nv es t i ga t i o n ar e s u gge s t ed by t he r e-
s e ar c h p r o b l e m. T h os e wh i c h wi l l b e p ur s u e d i n t h e p r e s e nt
s t udy ar e t he f o l l owi ng:
a) a c r i t er i on of a c cur ac y whi c h i s r e l ev ant f or s t udent sof E ngl i s h i n c ount r i es whe r e Engl i s h i s not s pok en nat i v el y .
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b) t he pr o c es s e s and f ac t or s i nv ol v ed i n pr o nunc i a t i o n
l ear ni ng.
c ) t hos e i ndi v i dua l di f f e r e nc e s whi c h ma y a c c ount f or v ar -«
i at i ons i n abi l i t y t o pr o no unc e a s e c ond l a ngua ge.
d) gi v en an exp os i t i on o f t hose f ac t o r s su gges t ed by t he
l i t er at ur e t o be r el evant t o pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng, i mpl i c a-
t i ons can b e made conce r ni ng p r onunc i a t i on t each i ng. A r a t i on-
al e f or t eac hi ng pr onunc i at i on wi l l be out l i ned.
2. 3 OBJ ECT I VES.
a) To pr ov i de a per s pec t i v e f or t he pr obl em of pr onunc i a -
t i on l ear ni ng by de s c r i bi ng t he t he or e t i c a l mo de l of s e c ond
l a ngua ge l ear ni ng de ve l o pe d by El l e n Ba i l y s t o k.
b) T o pr e s ent a s y nt he s i s of v ar i o us t he or e t i c a l and e x-
pe r i me nt a l s t udi es of f ac t or s whi c h ma y a c c ount f or di f f e r e n-
ces i n ach i evement when l ear n i ng t o pr onounce a second l angauge.
c ) To pr ov i de a r at i onal e f or t he t eac hi ng of pr o nunc i a-
t i on t o t eenage and adul t l ear ne r s wh i ch t akes i nt o account t he
na t ur e of pr o nunc i a t i o n l ear ni ng and of t ho s e f ac t or s whi c h i n-
f l uenc e s uc h l ear ni ng.
3. METHODOL OGY.
A su rv ey was made o f t he l i t e r a t ur e r e l evant t o t hel e ar ni ng of t he pr o nunc i a t i o n of a s e c ond l a nga uge. T ak i ng t he
mode l deve l oped by Ba i l y s t ok as a b as i s , t he r esear ch qu es t i on
wa s f or mul at e d as a po i nt o f r e f er e nc e i n t he di s c u s s i o n of
v ar i ous o t h er t heo r e t i c al and ex per i ment a l s t udi es of t he f ac -
t or s i nvol ved i n s uc c es s f ul pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng.
The f i r s t s t ep i n t he i nves t i gat i on i s t o di s c us s ac r i t er i on of p r o nunc i at i on ac c ur ac y. Then i n t he f i r s t s ec t i on
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of t he ma i n di s c u s s i o n ( 5. 1) , a t he or e t i c a l mo de l o f l anguage
l ear ni ng i s des c r i bed, wi t h par t i c ul ar at t ent i on t o t he r ol e«
of l ea r n i ng s t r a t e gi e s . I n s e c t i o n 5. 2 t he s e ar e c ompar e d wi t h
t he l ea r n i ng t e c hni ques whi c h J o an Rubi n ha s a t t r i but e d t o
good l anguage l ear ner s .
Ne xt , t he r el a t i v e i mpo r t a nc e o f f or mal and i nf o r ma l
l anguage ex po s ur e f or p r o nunc i a t i o n a cc ur a cy i s di s c us s e d i n
s e c t i on 5. 3. S ec t i on 5. 4 i l l us t r at es how t he pr o c es s e s and
s t r at egi es o f Bai l y s t ok ' s mo del m ght be expec t ed t o oper at e
f or s t udent s who ar e l i vi ng i n t hei r n at i v e c ul t ur e and l ear n-
i ng Engl i sh a s a second l anguage .
Sec t i on 5. 5 i s c onc er ned wi t h t hos e i ndi v i dual di f f er -
ences whi ch may i nf l uence t he e f f i c i ency o f t he pr ocess es and
t he us e of t he s t r at egi es f or pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng. Sec t i on
5. 6 de s c r i be s a s t udy of t went y v ar i a bl e s s us pec t ed of di s -
pl ayi ng a s i gni f i c ant r el at i ons hi p t o pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y.
The r ol e of mo t i v at i on and at t i t udes i s c ons i der ed i n s ec t i on
5. 7.
I n s ec t i on 5. 8 t he ma i n c onc l us i ons o f t he di s c u s s i o n,
t oget her wi t h r ecommendat i ons o f sever a l aut hor s on t he con-
di t i ons nec es s ar y f or s u cc es s f ul pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng, pr o-
v i de a r at i onal e f or t he t eac hi ng of pr onunc i at i on .
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4. CRI TERI A OF ACCURACY.
A pr i mar y c ons i der at i on i n t he di s c us s i o n of f ac t or s
af f ec t i ng pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y i s t o es t abl i s h a c r i t er i on
of ac c ur ac y. R. E. B. . At k i ns o n1 has suggest ed t hat when t each i ng
Engl i s h pr o nunc i at i on, t he c r i t er i on f or t he t eac her s houl d be
' Does t he s t ude nt s o und l i k e a na t i v e s pe ak er of Engl i s h ? '
and not ' Has he conf or med t o my own r ender i ng of t h i s sound? '
Thi s c r i t er i on wi l l be ac c ept ed as a bas i s f or t he pr es e nt i n-
ves t i gat i on. Two ot her c r i t er i a of ac c ur ac y of pr onunc i at i on
wi l l be r ef e r r ed t o he r e and di s c u s s ed l at er i n t he pa pe r . They
wi l l be s hown t o be c ons i s t ent wi t h t he ba s i c c r i t er i on.
' Nat i ve- l i ke pr onunc i at i on' i s a ver y gener al , y et pr ac -
t i c al c r i t er i on of ac c ur ac y. Bot h l i ngui s t s and l ay men, ev en
peopl e wi t h no l i ngui s t i c t r ai ni ng wha t e ve r , o f t en obs e r v e t hat
some speaker s o f a second l anguage have a ' ver y t hi ck ' o r ' ver y
heav y' accent , wh i l e o t he r s have ' al mos t no accent ' , and so
f or t h. Thes e obs e r v at i ons woul d s eem t o i nv ol v e l ar gel y s ub-
j ect i ve: i mpr es s i ons of f l uenc y, c ons i s t enc y and i nt el l i gi bi l i t y ,
wh i l e some obse r v er s may gi v e mor e a t t ent i on t o o t he r f eat ur es
of t he s peak er ' s pr onunc i at i on. So, t he c r i t er i on of ' nat i ve-
l i kenes s ' i s nec es s ar i l y gener al . But i t i s al s o pr ac t i c al be-
c aus e i t r ec ogni z es t hat t he l ear ner wi l l be i nf l uenc ed by var -
i ous ac c ent s , i nc l udi ng t hos e of t eac her s . Ea ch of t hes e i nf l u-
enc es wi l l be r ef l ec t ed i n t he l ear ner ' s o wn- appr o xi ma t i o n t o
a nat i ve- l i ke ac c ent . 2
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i n i nt o na t i o n whi c h c ar r y i mpo r t a nt di f f e r e nc e s i n me ani ng
3f or nat i v e s peak er s .
#
Of t hes e f e at ur e s , s t r e s s c o mbi ne d wi t h i nt o na t i o n
car r y pa t t e r ns o f meani n g wi t h i n t he sent ence and so a r e pa r -
t i c ul ar l y i mpor t ant i n pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng.
Beyond t he over al l c r i t er i on of n at i v e- l i k e ac c ur ac y,
i t h as b een po i nt ed out t ha t t he re a r e many accept abl e p r o -
nunc i a t i o ns i n Engl i s h and t hat a no n- na t i v e s pe ak er wo ul d
have t o know mor e t han a m ni mum amount about Eng l i sh t o know
i f h i s pr onunc i at i on f al l s wi t hi n t hi s r a nge of ac cept abi l i t y .4
Ba i l e y ha s s ugge s t e d t ha t t he pr o pe r t a r g et of pr o nunc i a t i o n
l ear ni ng s houl d be t o k no w t he pr i nc i pl e s t yl es o f Engl i s h
s peec h and whi c h pr o nunc i a t i o ns ar e t ol e r a t e d i n whi c h s t y l e s .
F ur t her r e f er e nc e wi l l be ma de t o Ba i l e y' s v i e ws o n pr o nun-
c i at i on l ear ni ng i n t he f i nal s ec t i on of t hi s paper .
Pr onunc i at i on, as a di s t i nc t l anguage s k i l l , oc cur s i n
t he ma ny f or ms o f s p ee c h, i nc l udi ng r e adi ng a l o ud. W t hi n
t hese f o r ms t her e i s a r ange f r om mor e spont aneous t o mor e
del i ber at e and c ont r ol l ed pr onunc i at i on. I ndi v i dual c har ac t -
er i s t i c s of pr o nunc i a t i o n ar e mo r e e vi de nt i n s p ont a ne ous c on-
v er s a t i on. I n f or mal s peak i ng s i t uat i o ns t h e pr o nunc i a t i on
s t yl e i s del i ber at el y adj us t ed t o t he r egi s t er bei ng us ed.Wh en r eadi ng a l oud an appr opr i a t e s t y l e wi l l b e used by t he
r eade r t o su i t t he su bj ec t ma t t e r and t he aud i ence . P r onun -
c i at i on, t hen, i s c l os el y l i nked t o ver bal f l uenc y. I n i n-
f or mal c o nv er s a t i o n t he o bj e c t i v e f or s e c o nd- l a ngua ge l ear n-
e r s s ho ul d be na t i v e- l i k e f l uenc y and s p ont a ne i t y . I n mo r e
f or mal s pe ak i ng and r e adi ng al oud t he l ea r n er ' s o bj e c t i v e«
s houl d b e a mo r e ar t i c ul a t e pr o nunc i a t i o n co upl e d wi t h a
measur ed f l uency .
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5 THE L ANGUAGE LEARNI NG MODEL .
The mode l o f second l anguage l ear ni ng wh i ch wi l l be des -
c r i bed be l o w wa s de ve l o pe d by El l e n Ba i l y s t o k of t he Ont a r i o
I ns t i t ut e f or St udi es i n Educ a t i o n, t o r epr es e nt t he pr o ces s e s
and f ac t or s i nv ol v ed i n s e cond l anguage l e ar ni ng. I t pr o po s es
t o a cc o unt f or di f f e r e nc e s i n a c hi e ve me nt be t we en i ndi v i dua l s
as wel l as di f f er enc es i n s k i l l devel opment f or par t i c ul ar i n-
di v i dual s . Thi s s ec ond pur pos e, di f f er ent i a l s k i l l devel opment
f or i ndi vi dual l e ar ner s , i s bey ond t he s c ope of t he pr es e nt pap-
er and wi l l no t b e pur s u ed.
— — — — P r o c e s s e s
— — — S t r a t e g i e s
F i g ur e I . Mode l o f S econd Lang uage Lear ni ng. 5
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Er vi n- Tr i pp( 19 70) not es t hat any l ear ni ng mode l wh i ch
pr e di c t s l anguage l e ar ni ng on t he ba s i s of i nput wi t h out r e-
gar d t o t he s el ec t i v e pr oc es s i ng by t he l ear ner , wi l l no t wor k
exc ept f or t r i v i al p r o bl ems . Bai l ys t ok ' s model i nc or por at es
f ac t or s s ugges t ed by t he l i t e r a t ur e t o ha ve r e l e va nc e f or s ec -
ond l anguage l ear ni ng; i t pos t ul at es pr oc e s s es , des c r i bi ng t he
nat ur e of t he ef f ec t o f t hes e f ac t or s and t he i nt er ac t i ons
bet ween t hem The mode l does not desc r i be d i f f e r ences bet ween
l anguage l ear ne r s . I t d esc r i bes t he way i n wh i ch hu mans , gi v en
bi ol ogi c al , s oc i al and ot her r es t r i c t i ons , l ear n a s ec ond l an-guage .
Di f f e r e nc e s i n a c hi e ve me nt be t we en i ndi v i dua l s a r e at -
t r i but ed t o di f f er enc es i n t he ef f i c i enc y wi t h whi c h t he mo de l
o pe r a t e s f or d i f f er e nt pe opl e . An unde r s t a ndi ng o f wh at f ac -
t or s det er m ne t hat ef f i c i enc y mo t i v at es r es e ar c h gener at ed
f r om t he mo del . Ex pe r i me nt al and t heo r e t i c al s t udi es of s uc hf ac t or s wi l l be di s c us s e d wi t h r ef e r e nc e t o t he mo de l i n t he
f ol l owi ng s ec t i ons of t hi s paper .
ORGANI ZATI ON AND CONTENT.
T he mo de l pr e s ent e d i n F i gur e I , i s or ga ni z e d on t hr e e
l eve l s - I np ut , Kn owl edg e, Out p ut . The l anguage mu s t b e ex pe r -
i enced o r encount e r ed ( I nput ) , t he i nf o r mat i on ga i ned mu s t b e
spor ed i n some way ( Knowl edge) and subsequent l y ut i l i zed f o r
e i t he r compr ehens i on o r pr oduc t i on o f t he l anguage ( Out put ) .
T wo k i nds of l i nes connec t t he v ar i ous c el l s of t he
mo del . The s ol i d l i nes ar e ' pr oc es s i ng l i nes ' and r ef er t o ob-
l i gat or y r el at i ons hi ps t hat hol d be t wee n as pec t s o f t he mo de l .
Pr oc es s i ng l i nes nec es s ar i l y t r ans f er i nf or mat i on i n t he wor l d
i nt o t he r epr es e nt at i onal s ys t em ( Knowl edge l evel ) and pr oc es -
s es ar e r e qui r ed t o us e t he i nf o r ma t i o n f or o ut put o r r e s po ns e .
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T he dot t ed l i nes r e pr e s ent l angua ge l ea r n i ng s t r a t e gi es whi c h
ar e def i ned as o pt i o na l me ans f or e xpl o i t i ng a vai l a bl e i nf o r m-
at i on t o i mpr ove compet ence i n a second l anguage ( p. 71) . *
LANGUAGE I NPUT. Expos ur e t o t he l anguage occ ur s i n an
undi f f er ent i at ed c ont ex t and i s gi v en t he ge ner al t i t l e i n t he
mode l o f Language Exposur e . Spec i f i c exper i ences can be i den-
t i f i ed wi t hi n t hi s c onc ept and t hei r par t i c ul ar e f f ec t s pos -
t ul a t ed. T he l anguage c l a s s r o om f or e x ampl e , p r o vi de s s p ec -
i al i z ed e xpos u r e . Whi l e enc ount er i ng t he t a r g et l a ngua ge onl y
t hr ough b ooks o r t hr ough i mmer s i on i n t he t a r ge t cu l t ur e woul dagai n pr ov i de di f f er e nt ex per i enc es . T he s e di f f er enc es c an be
document ed i n t e r ms o f t he i r e f f ec t s on t he l anguage l ear ned.
KNOWLEDGE I N LANGUAGE USE. Thi s l evel as s umes t hat i n-
f o r mat i on about t he l anguage can be r epr esent ed i n t h r ee ways ,
de s c r i bed he r e as Ot he r Kno wl e dge , Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno w-
l edge and I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge . T he s e do no t r e pr e -
s e nt i n any phy s i o l o gi c a l s e ns e t he wa y i n whi c h i nf o r ma t i o n
i s s t or ed i n t he br a i n. Ra t h er t hey r ef er t o t hr ee t y pes of
i nf or mat i on t he l ear ner b r i ngs t o t he l ear ni ng t as k , and s i nc e
ea ch i s c ons i der e d t o c ont r i but e t o t he at t a i nme nt of l angua ge
pr of i c i enc y , t hey ha ve be en di s t i ngui s hed i n t he mo de l ( p. 72) .
The di f f er enc e bet ween Ex pl i c i t and I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c
Knowl edge i s def i ned oper at i onal l y . Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Know-
l edge c o nt a i ns a l l t he c o ns c i o us f a ct s t he l ea r n er h as a bo ut
t he l anguage and t he c r i t er i o n f or a dm s s i o n t o t hi s c a t egor y
i s t h e abi l i t y t o ar t i c ul at e t hos e f ac t s . Thes e may i nc l ude
s o me gr a mma r r ul e s , v oc a bul a r y i t e ms , pr o nunc i a t i o n r ul e s ,
and s o on. I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge i s t h e i nt ui t i ve i n-
f o r mat i on up on whi ch t he l anguage l ear ne r ope r a t es i n o r de r
t o p r odu ce r esponses ( compr ehens i on o r pr oduc t i on) i n t he
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t a r ge t l anguage . Wh at eve r i nf o r mat i on i s aut omat i c and i s used
s pont a ne ous l y i n l a nguage t as k s i s i nc l ude d he r e . Ag ai n t he
cont ent may i nc l ude gr ammar and p r onun c i a t i on r u l es , v ocabu l -
ar y and so on. I t i s i n t hi s sense t ha t a l anguage l ear ne r mayc l ai m t hat a s ent enc e ' s ounds ' or ' f eel s ' r i ght , al t hough no
di r e c t e v i de nc e f or t he ac c ur ac y of t he s ent e nc e can be c i t e d.
Thr ee f unc t i ons ar e as s i gned t o Expl i c i t L i ngui s t i c
Kno wl edge. F i r s t , i t ac t s as a buf f er f or n ew i nf or mat i o n a -
bout t he l anguage. Fo r examp l e , new phonet i c and phonol ogi ca l
i nf or mat i on whi c h i s enc ount er ed i n any ex pl i c i t s i t uat i onwo ul d at f i r s t be r epr es e nt ed i n t hi s s our c e. Onl y af t er c on-
t i nued use woul d t he i n f o r mat i on become aut omat i c and be t r ans -
f er r ed t o I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge.
T he s e cond f unc t i on i s t o a c t as a s t or e f or i nf o r m-
a t i on about t he l anguage wh i ch i s a l ways r epr esent ed expl i -
c i t l y . Kr ashen( 1976) has a r gued t ha t some asp ec t s o f a second
l anguage a r e unconsc i ous l y acqui r ed and as such , a r e not con-
sc i ous l y known , wh i l e o t her s a r e l ear ned and r emai n i n some
consc i ous f o r m Ev en na t i v e sp eake r s s omet i mes r epo r t t he need
f or c ons c i ous a t t ent i on i n or der t o di s t i ngui s h c er t ai n wo r d
meani ngs , g r ammar r u l es and p r onunc i a t i ons . Such i t ems woul d
be r epr es ent ed i n Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge. T hi r dl y , i n-
f or mat i on whi c h i s r e pr es e nt e d i n I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno w-
l edge ma y be ma de ex pl i c i t i n t hi s s o ur c e ( p. 73) .
Onl y one f unc t i on i s as c r i bed t o t he I mpl i c i t L i ngui s -
t i c Knowl edge s our c e. I t i s a wor k i ng s ys t em c ont ai ni ng al l
t he i nf o r mat i on about t he t a r g et l angu age n ecessa r y f o r mos t
spont aneous compr ehens i on and p r oduct i on t asks .
The d i s t i n c t i on b et ween t he t wo k nowl edge sour ces i s de -
f i ned i n t er ms o f f unc t i on r a t he r . t han c ont ent . Any i nf o r mat i o n
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may be r epr esent ed i n e i t he r sou r ce , and di f f e r ent second l an-
guage l ear ner s wi l l var y gr eat l y ac c or di ng t o t he t y pe of i n-
f or mat i on f ound i n eac h. A l ar ger I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c K now-
l edge s our c e i s as s oc i at ed wi t h an abi l i t y f or g r e at er f l uenc y.A l ar ger Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge s o ur c e i s as s o c i at ed
wi t h an ext ens i v e k nowl edg e o f f o r ma l a spec t s o f t he l anguage ,
but may not i mpl y an abi l i t y t o us e t h i s i nf or mat i on we l l .
Ot her Knowl edge r e f er s t o al l t he a ux i l i a r y , not s pec -
i f i c al l y l i ngui s t i c knowl edge t he l ear ner br i ngs t o t he l ear n-
i ng t as k . I t i nc l ude s k no wl e dge of o t he r l a ngua ge s , s uc h ast he na t i v e l a ngua ge , i nf o r ma t i o n a bo ut t he c ul t ur e a s s o c i a t e d
wi t h t he t a r g et l anguage , k nowl edge o f t he wo r l d , and so on.
Whe r e a s t he us e of a wo r d i n a ppr o pr i a t e c ont e xt s i s i mpl i c i t
t he s pec i f i c c ul t ur al as pec t s of t he mea ni ng and i t s o c c as i o ns
f or u s e may be a r t i c ul a t e d e xpl i c i t l y a nd wo ul d be r e pr e s ent e d
i n Ot he r Knowl edge . I n t hi s way• l i nk s ar e a ssu med t o exi s t
be t ween Ot he r K nowl edg e and I mpl i c i t L i ng ui s t i c Kn owl edg e. The
l ear ner ' s knowl edge of var i ous c ul t ur al s i t uat i ons whi c h r e -
qui r e t he s peak er t o c hange f r om o ne s t yl e of pr o nunc i a t i o n
t o a no t he r wo ul d be r e pr e s ent e d i n t hi s s o ur c e.
FORMI NG LANGUAGE RESPONSES. Out put i n t he model r ef er s
t o l anguage compr ehens i on o r pr odu c t i on. Two sp ec i f i c t y pes
of r es pons e s , T ype I and Ty pe I I , ar e a l s o i dent i f i e d. Whe r e a s
Type I r esponses a r e spont aneous and i mmedi a t e , Type I I r es -
po ns e s ar e de l i be r a t e and o c c ur a f t e r a de l a y, br i e f as i t ma y
be . Di f f e r e nt t y pe of l a ngua ge be ha vi o ur and di f f e r e nt de gr e es
o f p r o f i c i ency may be assoc i a t ed wi t h each t y pe o f r esponse .
Readi n g, f o r ex ampl e , may b e assoc i a t ed mor e c l o se l y wi t h Ty pe
I I r es pons es , s i nc e r evi ew of t he wr i t t en mat er i a l i s pos s i bl e
a nd t he r e ar e f ew t i me c o ns t r a i nt s ; whi l e s p ea ki ng,
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wi t h i t s de ma nds f or f l ue nc y , ma y f o r c e t he pr o duc t i o n of onl y
T ype I r e s po ns e s .
T he qua l i t a t i v e di f f e r e nc e s be t we en T ype I and T ype I I
r esponses may hel p t o expl a i n why some t asks wh i ch r e l y pr i m-ar i l y on Type I r es pons es , s uc h as s peak i ng, ar e di f f i c ul t .
Responses of e i t he r t y pe wh i ch ar e i n cor r ec t may b e r edi r ec t ed
t o t he ge ne r a l r e s po ns e c el l t o b e mo di f i e d o r c o r r e c t e d. T he
r esponses t hen necess a r i l y becomes a Ty pe I I r e sponse s i nce a
c er t ai n- a mo unt of t i me ha s pa s s ed s i nc e i t wa s f i r s t f o r mul a t -
e d. ( p. 74)
The t hr ee l eve l s desc r i b e t he exp osu r e , s t o r age and u se
of l i ngui s t i c i nf o r ma t i on f or t he pur pos e of s ec ond l anguage
l ear ni ng. T he r e l at i ons hi ps b et we en t h es e l ev el s a r e des c r i bed
by t h e pr o c es s e s a nd s t r a t e gi e s o f l a nguage l e ar ni ng.
LANGUAGE LEARNI NG PROCESSES. The pr oc es s es whi c h r el at e
t he t hr ee l evel s ar e I nput p r o c es s e s , t hos e r el at i ng I nput t o
Kn owl edge , and Ou t p ut p r ocesses , t hose r e l a t i ng Kn owl edge t o
Out put . T he s e pr o c es s e s o bt a i n i r r e s pe c t i v e of any c o ns c i o us
i nt er v ent i on of t he l anguage l ear ner .
T he I nput pr o c es s r e l a t es I nput t o e ac h of t he t hr e e
k nowl edg e sour ces . The na t u r e o f t he l anguage ex posu r e wi l l
de t e r m ne t he ext ent t o whi ch each o f t hese k nowl edge sou r ces
i s af f ec t e d. A l anguage cl as s r o om i n a t r adi t i onal f or mal pr o-
gr a m, f or e xa mpl e , wo ul d pr o babl y ac c e nt ua t e t he l i ne f r om
L angua ge Ex po s ur e t o Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge . I n t hi s
s et t i ng f or mal r ul es a r e t a ught and t he s ubj ec t of gr e at e s t
c onc er n i s t he l anguage c ode i t s el f . I n r el a t i on t o pr o nunc i a -
t i on l ear ni ng t hi s woul d pr obabl y t ak e t he f or m of l ear ni ng
t he i s ol at ed s ounds of t he or a l c ode and c er t ai n r ul es . ( p. 75)
An i mmer s i on c l ass , however , - may have i t s max i mum
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e f f e ct s on I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge and Ot he r Kno wl e dge .
T he i nf o r ma t i o n a cqui r e d dur i ng e xpo s ur e t o t he t a r g et l an-
guage i s r epr es e nt ed i n t he s e t wo s o ur c e s . T he v ehi c l e f or
t hi s i nf o r mat i o n i s t h e t a r g et l a ngua ge and t hi s e xpos ur e, ,par t i c ul ar l y i n c ommuni c at i v e s i t ua t i ons , i nc r eas e s t he i m-
p l i c i t k n owl edg e t he l ear ne r h as of t he l anguage . Commu ni ca t -
i ve e xpo s ur e i s an i mpo r t a nt wa y of i mpr o vi ng pr o f i c i e nc y i n,
f or e x ampl e , l i s t eni ng c o mpr e he ns i o n and pr o nunc i a t i o n. As t he
exper i ence wi t h meani ngs and f o r ms i s i nc r eased, t hese can be
i nc o r p or a t ed i nt o t he l ea r n er ' s own us e of t he l a ngua ge . I ti s onl y t hr ough s uc h c ommuni c a t i v e ex po s ur e , ei t her - di r e c t l y
wi t h nat i ve s peak er s or i ndi r ec t l y t h r o ugh r ec or di ngs , f i l ms ,
e t c . , t ha t t he l e ar ne r o f Engl i s h as a s e c ond l angua ge c an ac -
qui r e i mpor t ant o r al f or ms whi c h c har ac t e r i z e na t i v e- l i k e pr o-
nunc i at i on. S i m l ar l y , i mmer s i on exper i enc es i n t he t ar get
c ul t ur e wo ul d pr obabl y ha ve t hei r ma xi mum ef f e ct o n I mpl i c i t
L i ngu i s t i c Knowl edge and Ot h er Kn owl edg e. Onl y wh en ex pl i c i t
r ul e s or wo r d me ani ngs a r e s o ught by r e f e r e nc e t o di c t i o na r -
i es or by as k i ng na t i v e s peak er s o r t eac her s wo ul d Ex pl i c i t
L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge be par t i c ul ar l y a f f ec t ed. ( p. 75)
THE OUTPUT PROCESS ( p. 75) desc r i bes t he way i n whi c h
l anguage i s used f o r compr ehens i on o r p r oduct i on. The ass ump-
t i on i s t hat l anguage us e pr oc ee ds a s a f unc t i on of I mpl i c i t
L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge. I t i s onl y i n par t i c ul ar c i r c ums t anc es
of ' moni t or i ng' t hat Expl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge i s us ed
f or compr ehens i on o r p r oduc t i on. The l engt h o f t he Ou t p ut p r o -
cess l i ne co r r esponds t o a t i me d i mens i on. Langu ag e behav i our
s houl d c hange under d i f f er ent t i me c ons t r ai nt s i f onl y i n t ha t
l onger t i me s al l o ws f or g r e at e r a c c ur a c y. Se c ond, a f e edbac k
l oop f r om bo t h T ype I and T ype I I r e s po ns e s a l l o ws f o r
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c ont i nual modi f i c a t i on or c or r ec t i on of a r es pons e . The onl y
r es t r i c t i on i s t ha t onl y one sp ont aneous Ty pe I r e sponse may
o cc ur ; i f t hi s ha s be en c o r r e c t e d and f ed ba ck i nt o t he Out -
pu t pr ocess l i ne , t hen al l . su bsequent r esponses mu s t n ecess -ar i l y be Type I I .
L ANGUAGE LEARNI NG STRATEGI ES.
T he s e a r e de f i ne d as opt i o na l me t ho ds f or e xpl o i t i ng
av ai l abl e i nf or mat i on t o i nc r eas e t he pr o f i c i e nc y of s ec ond
l anguage l ear ni ng. I n t hi s way t hey ar e s i m l ar t o s t r at eg-
i es di s c us s e d by St e r n ( l 975) , Rubi n( l 975) and ot he r s , whi c hr ef er t o t he c ons c i o us e nt e r p r i s e s i n whi c h t he l a ngua ge
l ear ner e nga ge s . F our l anguage l e ar ni ng s t r a t e gi e s ar e i den-
t i f i ed i n t he mo de l , oper at i ng t o br i ng r e l ev ant k no wl e dge t o
t he l anguage t ask t ha t has t he e f f ec t o f i mpr ovi ng pe r f o r mance .
FORMAL AND FUNCTI ONAL PRACTI SI NG.
The f i r s t s t r at egy s pec i f i es t wo k i nds of pr ac t i c e
whi c h r e f e r t o a l angua ge l e ar ner ' s a t t e mpt s t o i nc r e as e hi s
ex po s ur e t o t he t a r g et l a ngua ge . T he di s t i nc t i o n i s ba s ed on
a c l as s i f i c at i on po s t ul at e d by St er n( 1974) i n whi c h l anguage
may be c ons i der ed ' f or mal ' or ' f unc t i onal ' . I n f unc t i onal l an-
guage use i t i s t he mean i ng of t he messag e t ha t i s o f p r i mar y
conce r n. Wh i l e f o r ma l l anguage f ocuses on t he sy s t emat i c f eat -
ur es o f t he code used t o r epr esent t h at meani ng ( p. 76) .
Two pos s i bi l i t i es ex i s t f or f or mal pr ac t i c e. The l ear n-
er ma y av ai l hi ms e l f of e xpl i c i t k no wl e dge of t he c o de . An ex -
amp l e woul d be t he l ear ner who s t udi es f r om a g r ammar book i n
o r de r t o comp l ement c l a s s l e s sons , o r wh o ask s o t he r s f o r i n-
f pr mat i on about g r ammar r u l es , mor phemes , p r onunc i a t i ons and
s o o n. Onl y t ho s e t hi ngs t he l ea r n er d oes o pt i o na l l y and i n
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addi t i on t o any f or mal t r ai ni ng qual i f y as i ns t anc es of t hi s
t ype of f or mal pr ac t i c e.
F or ma l pr a c t i c e i s a l s o us e d wh en t he l e ar ner o pe r a t e s
on i nf or mat i on al r eady i n Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edae,
t r ans f er r i ng i t t o I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge. Ac c or di ng
t o Ba i l y s t o k' s mo de l , t he pur po s e of t he l a ngua ge l ea r n i ng
ent er pr i s e i s t o i nc r e as e t he i nf or mat i on i n I mpl i c i t L i ngui s -
t i c Kn owl edg e, s i nce l anguage f l uency ope r a t es as a f unc t i on
of t hi s - i nf or mat i on. Thi s t ype of f or mal pr ac t i c e i s es s ent i a l
t o t hi s pur pos e .F unc t i o nal pr ac t i c e r ef er s t o i nc r eas e d ex pos ur e t o t he
t a r ge t l anguage f or communi ca t i on. The r e l a t i onsh i p sh own by
f unc t i ona l pr ac t i s i ng wh i ch connec t s Lang uage E xposu r e t o I m-
pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge i s s i m l ar t o t he pr oc es s pos t ul -
at ed by Kr a s he n( 1976) c al l ed l anguage ' ac qui s i t i on1 as opposed
t o l anguage ' l ear ni ng' . The l anguage i s i nt er nal i z ed t hr ough
communi cat i ve exposur e r a t her t han t h r ough f o r ma l exposur e t o
t he s y s t e m( p. 77) .
MONI TORI NG AND . I NFERENCI NG
Mo ni t or i ng i s a f or mal s t r at egy whi c h e xpl oi t s i nf or m-
at i on whi c h i s r epr es e nt ed i n Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge
f or t he pur pos e of i mpr ov i ng Ty pe I I r es po ns e s , es pec i al l y
t hos e c onc er ne d wi t h pr o duc t i o n of t he l anguage . I t i s e s s e n-
t i al l y a pr oduc t i on s t r at egy , ef f ec t i ve f or s hapi ng up t he
f o r ma l a spec t s of p r oduc t i v e r esponses . I t may a l so b e used
t o br i ng expl i c i t k nowl edge of wo r d mean i ng s and s t r uc t u r es
t o a compr ehens i on t ask t o i mpr ove under s t and i ng of t he mes-
s age. A f ur t her us e of moni t or i ng i nvol v i ng i nf er enc i ng wi l l
be de s c r i be d be l o w. '
I nf er e nc i ng i s a s t r at e gy whe r e by a l e ar ner ma y a r r i v e
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at par t i c ul ar l i ngui s t i c i nf or mat i on whi c h was pr evi ous l y un-
k no wn. I n t he mo de l i nf e r e nc i ng i s r e pr e s ent e d by t he ex pl o i t -
at i on of i nf or mat i on f r o m s ever al pos s i bl e sour c es t o ar r i ve
a t some exp l i c i t i nf o r mat i on about t he second l anguage ( r epr e-
s ent ed i n Expl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge) . The mode l i dent i f i es
t hr ee s our c es f or t hi s i nf or mat i on: Ot her Kno wl e dge , I mpl i c i t
L i ngi i s t i c Kno wl e dge and t he unde r s t a ndi ng a l e ar ne r h as o f a
message ( r epr esent b y t he r esponse cel l ) . These t h r ee f o rms o f
i nf er er i ci ng wi l l be di s c us s e d wi t h r ef e r e nc e t o pr o nunc i a t i o n
l ear ni ng i n t he next s ec t i on.Bot h moni t o r i ng and i n f e r enc i ng may be i nvo l ved when
i nf o r ma t i o n f r om Ot he r Kno wl e dge i s br o ught i nt o t he pr o duc t -
i on t as k t o as s i s t i n t he r epr e s ent a t i on of par t i c ul ar me an-
i ngs . Fo r examp l e , when t he p r onunc i a t i on o f a mor pheme or
s t r uc t ur e r e qui r ed by t he s peaker ' i s not av ai l abl e i n hi s I m-
pl i c i t o r Ex pl i c i t Kno wl e dge s o ur c e s , he ma y ma k e an i nf e r e nc ebased on h i s knowl edge of anot her l anguage ( Ot her Knowl edge)
t o ar r i v e at a new pr onunc i at i on f or m i n t he t ar get l a nguage.
Thi s i t e m, t he pr o duc t of i nf er e nc i ng, wo ul d be r e pr es e nt ed i n
Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl edge . As a r e s ul t , i t may be us e d t o
moni t or a pr oduc t i on r es pons e. I n t hi s wa y, Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s -
t i c Kno wl e dge i s i nc r e as e d by i nf e r e nc i ng and t he i nf o r ma t i o n
i s us ed t o mo ni t o r a r e s pons e . ( pp. 79- 80) .
PERF ORMI NG L ANGUAGE TASKS.
Ba i l y s t ok cons i de r s h ow t he mode l coul d accoun t f or a
s i t ua t i on i n whi c h a s e c ond- l a ngua ge l ear ner i s enga ge d i n c o n-
v er sa t i on wi t h a n at i v e sp eak e r . The l anguage t ask r epr esent ed
by t hi s s i t ua t i o n i s c ons i de r e d as a who l e . But t he s a me s i t -
ua t i on c an be c o ns i de r e d f r om t he po i nt o f vi e w o f t he pr o -
nunc i at i on t as k i nvol ved. I n f ac t , i nt el l i gi bl e pr onunc i at i on
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I S •
woul d be a v i t al obj ec t i ve of t he l anguage l ear ner , par al l e l
t o t ho s e of f l uenc y and a c c ept a bl e e xpr e s s i o n of i nf o r ma t i o n.
The model can be used t o he l p t o exp l a i n how t he l ' earn-
er goes about r eachi ng t hese obj ec t i v es . Langu age E xp osu r ewhi c h f eeds i nt o I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge wi l l gi ve t he
l ear ner a ' f eel 1 f or t he way na t i v e sp eake r s modi f y ce r t a i n
f eat ur es of p r o nunc i at i on. St r i c t a dher enc e t o r ul es i s l es s
i mpor t ant i n t hi s s i t uat i on t han i s a c apac i t y t o pr o nounc e
t he t ar get l anguage i n a wa y whi c h i s i nt el l i gi bl e t o t he nat -
i ve l i s t ener .
I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge wo ul d pr ov i de t he ba s i c
s t r uc t ur e s , v oc a bul a r y and pr o nunc i a t i o n f or ms t h e l e ar ne r r e -
q ui r es t o b eg i n a conv er sa t i on. He can i mpr ove h i s commun i ca t -
i v e compet ence t hr ough t he use o f t he i n f e r enc i n g- moni t o r i n g
combi na t i on. The Ot he r Knowl edge sour ce i s l i k el y t o be i m-
por t ant f or i nf e r e nc i ng, gene r a t i ng hy po t h es e s c o nc er ni ng t he
r e pr e s ent a t i o n of p r e vi o us l y unk no wn wo r d s , p hr a s es , s t r uc t -
ur e s , pr o nunc i a t i o ns , and s o on. ( p. 81)
Ac c o r d i ng t o t he mo de l , i ndi v i dua l di f f er enc es i n ac h-
i evement when l ear n i ng a second l anguage may be at t r i but ed t o
t he e xt e nt t o whi c h v ar i o us s t udent s us e t he l e ar ni ng s t r a t e g-
i e s . Ca n t he di f f e r e nc e s i n ac c ur ac y o f pr o nunc i a t i o n c o mmo nl y
obser ved among l ear ner s who have had compar abl e amount s of
f or mal l anguage t r ai ni ng, be at t r i but ed t o di f f er enc es i n i n-
di v i dual us e of l ear ni ng s t r at egi es ?
I n t he t e r ms of Ba i l y s t o k' s mo de l , i f pho ne t i c a nd pho n-
ol ogi c al i nf or mat i o n, pr es e nt ed dur i ng f or mal t r ai ni ng and
s t or ed i n Expl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge, i s not pr ac t i s ed t her e
f *
xs no benef i t t o I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge, f r om whi c h al l
r es pons es emanat e. T ha t i s , f or mal and f unc t i onal pr a c t i c e ,
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be caus e t hey i nc r ea s e t he I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge s t or e,
a r e t he key t o i mpr ovi ng p r onunc i a t i on per f o r mance . Mor e mon-
i t or i ng woul d be r equi r ed i f t he i nf or ma t i o n r emai ns i n Ex pl i -
c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge , and f or c o mmuni c a t i v e t as k s s u c h aspr onunc i at i on s uc h ov er - us e i s not nec es s a r i l y de s i r a bl e . Ac c -
ur a t e pr o nunc i a t i o n r equi r e s l ar gel y T ype I r e s po ns e s , wh er e as
i f moni t or i ng i s r equi r ed t he i mmedi at e t i m ng es s e nt i al t o
pr onunc i at i on i s i nt er r upt ed and Ty pel l r es pons e s r es ul t i n
hes i t at i ng, s t i l t ed pr onunc i at i on. ( p. 82)
Bai l ys t ok al s o s ugges t s t hat ot her abi l i t y di f f er enc esb et ween i ndi v i dua l s may de t e r m ne t he ease wi t h wh i ch t he l ear -
ni ng pr o c es s e s o c c ur , t he a mo unt of i nf o r ma t i o n t he l e ar ne r i s
abl e t o ext r ac t f r om a gi ven s i t uat i on, t he ext ent t o whi c h
he ma y oper a t e on av ai l abl e i nf or ma t i o n, et c . The i mpl i c at i o ns
of t hi s v i ew f or t he r es ear c h pr obl em wi l l be i nves t i gat ed i n
Par t I I .
The mode l may be used t o i n t e r p r e t ex i s t i n g r esear ch
by de t e r m ni ng whi c h as pe c t s of t he mo de l a r e i nv ol v ed i n va r -
i ous r esear ch ap pr oach es . Acco r d i n gl y , evi dence wh i ch may h av e
a ppe ar e d c o nt r a di c t o r y , may b e f ound t o be de al i ng wi t h d i f f -
e r ent a spec t s o f t he gene r a l mode l . Two f eat ur es o f t he mode l
whi c h r equi r e f ur t her i nves t i gat i on ar e t he r ol e of t he s t r at -
e gi e s i n l a nguage l e ar ni ng and t he e f f e c t s o f t he t i me e l e me nt
i n t he Out put pr o c es s l i ne o n pr o f i c i e nc y . Amo ng t he t e nt a t i v e
pedagogi ca l i mpl i ca t i ons su gges t ed b y t he mode l a re t he need
t o t eac h c er t ai n l ear ni ng s t r at egi es and t o pr ov i de par t i c ul ar
k i nds of l a ngua ge e xpe r i e nc e .
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5. 2 LANGUAGE LEARNI NG STRATEGI ES
I n t hi s sec t i on a compar i son wi l l be made be t -
ween t he f our l ear ni ng s t r a t egi es desc r i bed by Ba i l y s t ok and
t hose s t r a t egi es desc r i bed by J oan Rubi n t o account f or good
l anguage l ear ni ng. Thi s aut hor has su gges t ed t ha t t he r e ar et hr ee aspect s t o be i nves t i gat ed t o account f or good l anguage
l ear ni ng. T he s e ar e:
i ) t he l ear ner ' s u s e of s t r at egi es t o ac qui r e k no wl e dge and
i mpr ove hi s per f o r mance;
i i ) t he l ear ner ' s mot i v at i o n t o c ommuni c at e i n t he s ec ond l an-
guage ; and
i i i ) t he l ear ner ' s e xpos ur e t o t he t ar get l anguage and oppor -
t uni t i es t o us e i t . 7
The f i r s t of t hes e as pec t s i s c ons i der ed i n t hi s s ec t i on, t he
s ec ond wi l l be di s c us s e d i n s ec t i on 5. 7 and t he t hi r d as pec t
' i s t he s ubj ec t of 5 3
The most i mpor t ant t echni que of good l anguage l ear n i na,
Qac c or di ng t o Rubi n, i s a good gues s i ng abi l i t y . T he i mpor t -
ance of guess i ng i s due t o t he f ac t t ha t , as i n na t i v e l anguage
i nt e r ac t i ons , we never compr ehend a l l t ha t t he speaker • i nt end-
ed and must use what ever c l ues t he env i r onment and d i sc our se
may gi ve. The second aspect o f t he guess i ng s t r a t egy i s t hat
t he good guesser makes i nf er ences as t o t he pur pose , i n t ent
and poi nt o f v i ew of a communi cat i on. 9
Gues s i ng, t hen, i s vi t al t o l i s t eni ng and r eadi ng
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c ompr ehens i on. Ac c ur a t e l i s t eni ng c ompr ehens i o n i s , i n t ur n,
es s e nt i al t o ac c ur at e pr onunc i at i o n be c aus e , i n or der t o us e
t he i nt onat i on and s t r es s pat t er ns appr opr i at e t o hi s wi l l
and emot i on a t t he moment o f sp eak i ng, t he l ear ne r h as f i r s t
t o r ec ogni z e s uc h pat t er ns i n t he s peec h of o t he r s , es pe ci a l l y
nat i v e s peak er s .
Rubi n' s de s c r i pt i on of t he gues s i ng t e c hni que s uppo r t s
t he t heor et i c al des c r i pt i on of i nf er enc i ng i n Bai l y s t ok ' s mo-
de l . T he i nf e r e nc i ng s t r at e gy l i nes o f t he mo del l ead i nt o Ex -
pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge f r om Ot her Knowl edge, I mpl i c i t
L i ng ui s t i c Kn owl edg e and t he Response ce l l . The t wo aspec t s
o f t he guess i ng t echni q ue desc r i bed b y Rubi n co r r espond t o
t he f i r s t a nd t hi r d t ype of i nf er enc i ng i n t he mo de l .
I nf er enc i ng f r om Ot her Knowl edge, t he f i r s t as pec t of
t he guess i ng t echni qu e, woul d mak e u se of t he l ear ne r ' s k now-
l edge of t he s u bj e c t ma t t e r , c ue s i n t he e nv i r o nme nt , gue s t ur -
es , knowl edge o f o t her l anguages , and so onï °For examp l e , know-
l edge of how a wor d i s pr onounced i n anot her l anguage may be
us ed t o i nf er t he pr onunc i at i on of a s i m l ar wor d i n t he t ar -
ge t l a ngua ge . T he o ve r - us e of t hi s t y pe of i nf e r e nc i ng ac -
c o unt s f or t he phe no me no n of i nt e r f e r e nc e f r om t he na t i v e l an-
guage when l ear n i ng t o pr onounce a second one.A second t y pe of i n f e r enc i n g, n ot ment i oned by Ru bi n ,
i s t hat i n whi c h i nf or mat i on whi c h i s i mpl i c i t l y kno wn abo ut
t he t a r get l anguage may be b r ought t o consc i ousness . Fo r exam-
pl e, l ear ner s , l i ke nat i v e s peak er s , may not c ons c i ous l y di s -
t i ngui s h be t we en t he t wo ' 1' s o unds i n bi l l and l i k e be c au s e
t he di s t i nc t i on i s not phonem c al l y s i gni f i c ant i n Engl i s h.But o nc e t he di s t i nc t i on i s poi nt ed out t o t hem, t he i mpl i c i t
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I Ik nowl edg e b ecomes ex pl i c i t .
A t hi r d t ype of i nf er enc i ng i dent i f i ed i n t he mo del ,
and r e f er r ed ; t o by Rubi n as t he second aspect o f t he guess i ng
s t r at egy , i s pr i mar i l y r el at ed t o dev el o pi ng c o mpr e he ns i o n.The un der s t andi n g t he l ear ne r h as o f a messag e i s r epr esent ed
by t h e Re s po ns e c el l . T he i nf o r ma t i o n i n t hi s c e l l ma y be br -
o ught i nt o c o ns c i o us n es s t o a r r i v e a t s o me e xpl i c i t unde r s t a nd-12
mg of di f f i c ul t mat er i al . The l ear ner ' s abi l i t y t o us e app-
r opr i at e i nt o nat i on and s t r es s pa t t e r n s , as we l l as t o mo di f y
ot her as pec t s of hi s pr onunc i at i on ac c or di ng t o a s pe ci f i c mo -
del , r equi r es t he us e of t hi s t y pe of i nf er enc i ng.
Anot her t echn i que of t he good l ear ner not ed by Rubi n
i s t ha t h e moni t o r s h i s own sp eech and t he speech of o t h er s .
He i s al wa ys pr o c es s i ng i nf o r ma t i o n and c an l ear n f r om hi s o wn
• 13
m s t a ke s . i n Bai l y s t ok ' s mo de l mo ni t o r i ng i s s hown t o oper -
at e by br i ngi ng i nf or mat i on f r om Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge
t o t he l angua ge t as k f or t he pur po s e of e xa m ni ng o r c o r r e c t -
i ng a r es pons e . Thus ' l ear ni ng f r om m s t a ke s ' c an be a cc ount e d
f or f r om t he mo de l as f ol l ows : af t er an i ni t i a l r es pons e ( Type
I ) , consc i ous k n owl edg e o f t he l anguage may ent e r t he Ou t p ut14
pr oc es s l i ne t o pr o duc e a c or r ec t ed ( TypeI I ) r e s po ns e .
A t hi r d t e c hni que or s t r a t egy di s c u s s e d by Rubi n i s t ha t
ac t i v i t y i n whi c h l ear ner s t ake oppor t uni t i es t o pr ac t i c e t h e
t a r g et l a ngua ge and ar e wi l l i ng t o ma k e m s t a ke s ( f or e x ampl e ,
i n t he pr o nunc i a t i o n of ne w v oc a bul a r y i t e ms ) i n o r de r t o l e ar n
and c ommuni c at e. Spec i f i c al l y r el at ed t o pr or i uc i at i on l e ar ni ng,
Rubi n c o nc l ude s t ha t t he goo d l e ar ner ma y t r y t o i s o l a t e t ho s e
f eat ur es whi c h gi ve hi m maxi mum i nt el l i gi bi l i t y . He may de-
v el o p a f e el i ng f or t he pho no l o gi c a l c l ue s whi c h be s t e nha nc e
i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y. I n Engl i s h , t hi s m g ht me an t ha t he e mpha s i s e s
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i s •
ac c ur at e pr oduc t i o n of i nt onat i on pa t t er ns o ver t hat o f i ndi v -
i dual s ounds be caus e of t he i nt i mat e r el a t i ons hi p of t hes e
pat t er ns wi t h
s ynt ax. I n Engl i s h, s ome m s pr onunc i at i on of i n-di v i dual s ounds wi l l be t ol er at ed i f i nt onat i onal pat t er ns a r e
15ac c ur at e.
Thi s t ec hni que c or r es ponds t o f unc t i onal pr a c t i c e i n
Bai l y s t ok ' s mo de l , s i nc e t he l ear ner ' s pur pos e i s t o under -
s t and ( f or examp l e , when wat ch i ng a mov i e o r r ead i ng a book )
and communi ca t e ( when t a l k i ng wi t h na t i v e sp eak er s ) . Acco r d i n g
t o t he model , most o f t he knowl edge acqui r ed i n such encoun-
t er s wi l l be di r ec t l y av ai l abl e f or l anguage r e s po ns e . A n ex-
ampl e of t he us e of t hi s s t r at egy i s t he s i t uat i on i n whi c h
t he l ear ner pr ac t i s e s pr o nunc i at i o n and ot her s k i l l s whe n con-
v er s i ng wi t h a nat i v e s peak er , as des c r i bed by B ai l y s t o k . 1 6
J o an Rubi n al s o hy po t he s i s e s t ha t t he good l e ar ner f i nds
ways t o make t he t h i ngs he must memor i ze mor e meani ngf u l . Car -
r o l l ( 1966) sugges t s t ha t ' t he mor e meang i ng f ul t he mat e r i a l t o
be l ear ned, t he gr eat er f ac i l i t y i n l ear ni ng and r et ent i on. 1 ^
Thi s abi l i t y i s es s ent i al t o t he f or mal pr ac t i s i ng s t r at egy
as desc r i bed i n t he mode l . When t he l ear ner obt a i ns new i n-
f o r mat i on conce r n i ng pr onunc i a t i on and o t h er second l anguage
s k i l l s , he may f or m as s o c i at i ons be t we en t he i nf or mat i o n and
t he cont ext i n wh i ch i t i s ga i ned o r s ome o t h er e l ement o f t he
c ode t o whi c h i t be l o ngs .
F or t hi s r e as o n, t he s emant i c c ont ex t i n whi c h l i ngui s -
t i c i nf o r mat i on i s c onvey ed i n f or mal pr ac t i c e i t ems s houl d
f ac i l i t at e r a t her t han di s t r ac t f r om t he des i r ed l ear ni ng. I n
t he f i r s t t y pe of f or mal p r a c t i s i ng t he l ear ner i s pr ov i ded
wi t h ex pl i c i t i nf or mat i on about t he c ode, f or e xampl e , c e r t a i n
phonol ogi c al r ul es and s t r es s pat t er ns . I f t he i nf or mat i on
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24
gai ned i s me ani ngf ul t o t he l ear ner i t wi l l be mo r e eas i l y e s-
t a bl i s he d i n I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge t hr o ugh t he s e cond
t ype of f or mal pr ac t i s i ng.
18As not ed by Char l es Par i sh , t her e a r e many t h i ngs go-
i ng on i n t he speech cha i n , and t he s t udent a t any gi ven t i me
i s capabl e of pr oc es s i ng onl y a c er t ai n pr o po r t i o n of t hat i n-
f or mat i on. As hi s bas i c s ki l l s devel op hi s c apac i t y f or
pr oc es s i ng appar ent l y i nc r eas es , al l owi ng hi m t o f oc us not
onl y on sy nt ax but a l so on o t he r f eat ur es o f s t r uc t ur es s uch
as how t hey a re pr onounced. An i mpl i ca t i on o f t hi s r a t e of
deve l opment i s t ha t t he s t udent i s b et t e r p r epa r ed, t he mor e
advanced he i s i n exposur e t o t he l anguage, t o ana l yse a par -
t i c ul ar mo di f i c at i on i n pr onunc i at i on and t o a t t empt t o adopt
a r equi r ed change.
T hi s , and t he f i ve ot her m et hodol ogi c al pr i nc i pl es out -
l i ned by P ar i s h, woul d s eem t o be r el evant as gui del i nes f or
t he i nt r oduc t i o n and us e of t he s t r a t egi e s di s c u s s ed abo ve
f or pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng. The ef f ec t i ve us e of t hes e s t r at -
egi es r equi r es t hat t hey f or m an i nt egr al par t of t he l ear ni ng
ac t i v i t i es and t hat t hey c or r es pond t o t he s t udent s ' l evel of
l i ngui s t i c r eadi nes s at a ny par t i c ul ar t i me.
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25
5. 3. • LANGUAGE EXPOSURE
Wha t i s t he r e l a t i v e i mpo r t a nc e of f or mal and i nf o r ma l
l anguage e xpos u r e f or pr o nunc i a t i o n l e ar ni ng? On t hi s que s t i o n
t he r esul t s o f a s t udy car r i ed out by S t ephen Kr ashen and Her -
ber t S el i nge r1 9
wi l l be c ompar ed wi t h t he r e l e va nt f i ndi ngs i n20
a s t udy ma de by Ri c ha r d Sut e r . T he r e s ul t s of t hi s l at t er
s t udy a r e c ons i de r e d i n s e c t i on 5. 6. Bot h s t udi e s c o nc e r n
l ear ner s l i vi ng i n an e nv i r o nme nt wh er e Engl i s h i s t he na t i v e
l angua ge . Kr a s he n and Se l i nge r s t udi ed t he r e l a t i v e e f f e c t s
of f or mal and i nf o r ma l e nv i r o nme nt s o n o r a l s k i l l s . T he t wo
s t udi es have r at her d i f f er ent c r i t er i a and c onc l us i ons . But i t
wi l l be seen t hat t hey p r ov i de comp l ement ar y ev i dence on t he
pr es e nt ques t i on.
I n Kr ashen and Se l i nge r ' s s t ud y, 36 adu l t s t udent s wer e
r anked f or or al s ki l l s ( es pec i al l y gr ammat i c al ac c ur ac y, f l u-
ency and o r a l compr ehens i on) . Accu r acy of pr onun c i a t i on was
no t i nc l ude d, but c e r t a i n i nf e r e nc e s c an b e ma de f r om t he s t udy
despi t e t hi s ex c l us i on. The s t udent s ' p er f o r mance was measu r ed
by a t eac her r ank i ng on t he bas i s of gener al c l as s r oom per -
f o r mance i n t he spoken l anguage. The r ank i ngs o f t he s t udent s
we r e c or r el at ed wi t h t hei r ' t al ki ng s c or es ' ( det er m ned f r om
a quest i onnai r e wh i ch measur ed how much Engl i sh t hey had s pok-
en i n i n f o r ma l env i r onment s and t he number o f year s o f f o r ma li ns t r uc t i on t hey had had i n Engl i s h) .
I n t he s t u dy , an i nf o r ma l env i r onment was cons i de r ed
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26
t o be s i m l ar t o t he pr i mar y l i ngui s t i c dat a t he c hi l d i s ex-
posed t o ( Chomsk y, 1964) , t ha t i s , uno r gani z ed wi t h r espec t21
t o s equent i al pr es ent at i on of i s ol at ed s t r uc t ur es . A s i g-
ni f i c ant c o r r el at i on wa s f ound bet we en f or mal c l as s r oom t r ai n-
i ng and o r a l s k i l l s , but t he r e wa s a l ow c o r r e l a t i o n be t we en
or al pr of i c i enc y and amount of c onv er s a t i onal pr a ct i c e i n i n-
f o rma l env i r onment s .
These f i ndi ngs i mpl y t ha t some l ear ne r s a re abl e t o
ut i l i z e nat ur al c ommuni c at i on s i t uat i ons t o i mpr ov e t hei r or al
pr of i c i enc y onl y up t o a c er t ai n poi nt . Bey ond t hi s poi nt t he
l ear ner i s pr i ma r i l y de pe nda nt on t he s t r uc t ur e d f eedbac k of22
f or mal l anguage i ns t r uc t i on f or f ur t her pr o gr e s s . But t he
f ac t t ha t pr onunc i a t i on accur acy was no t i nc l uded i n t he as -
s es s ment of o r a l s k i l l s i mpl i es t hat t he i nves t i gat or s s us -
pest ed t hat i t may not be acqui r e^ i n t he same way as t he
ot her s ki l l s . I t i s f eas i bl e t o s ugges t t hat t hos e as pec t s o f
pronunciation whi c h ar e mo s t i mpo r t a nt f or n at i v e- l i k e ac c ur -
ac y ar e a cc e s s i bl e t o t he l ear ner onl y i n na t ur a l l a nguage
s i t uat i ons .
The v al ue o f t he s t udy i s al so r educed by t he f ac t t ha t
t he v ar i ous s k i l l s we r e no t measu r ed sepa r a t e l y b ut l umped
t oget her . I t c an be ar gued t hat f l uenc y, be ca us e i t i s c l os e-l y r el at ed t o r hyt hm and i nt onat i on i n t he pr onunc i at i on s k i l l ,
may have sh own di f f e r ent co r r e l a t i ons wi t h f o r ma l and i n-
f o rma l l anguage exposur e i f i t had been assessed sepa r a t e l y .
I n Ri c har d Sut er ' s s t udy a negl i gi bl e c or r el at i on wa s
f ound be t ween amount o f f o rma l c l a s s r oom t r a i ni ng and pr onun-
c i at i on a cc ur ac y .23
But t he v ar i a bl e of i nf or mal l a nguage ex -posur e was f ound t o b e s t r ongl y r e l a t ed t o pr onu nc i a t i on ac -
cu racy .
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27
F or t he l ear ner of Engl i s h l i v i ng i n a c ount r y whe r e i t
i s no t t he na t i v e l anguage , access t o na t u r a l communi ca t i on
s i t uat i ons i s us ual l y ver y l i m t ed. The l ear ner d epends on oc -
c a s i o nal c hanc es f or c o nv er s a t i on wi t h na t i v e and no n- na t i v e
s peak er s . I n t hes e c i r c ums t anc es , l ear ner s a r e unl i k el y e ver
t o r eac h t he po i nt whe r e t h ey c an no l onger b e ne f i t f r om i n-
f o rma l l anguage exp osu r e . I n t hi s cont ext , t he c l a i ms made by
Kr ashen and - Sel i nger f or t he gr eat e r i mpo r t ance of f o r ma l t r -
ai ni ng over i nf or mal pr ac t i c e f or devel opi ng or al s k i l l s s e em
t o be o ver r i dde n.Bailystok's model does not set up a cont r as t b et ween
f or mal and i nf o r ma l l anguage e xpo s ur e . Ra t he r , i t p r o vi de s f or
t he i dent i f i c at i on of many s pec i f i c ex per i e nc es wi t hi n t he un-
di f f e r e nt i a t e d c o nt e xt i n whi c h e xpo s ur e t o a l a ngua ge oc c ur s .
The des c r i pt i on of pr ac t i c e s t r at egi es i n t he mo de l i s bas e d
on a c l as s i f i c at i on pos t ul at ed by St er n( 19 74) i n whi c h l an-
guage use may be consi der ed ' f or mal 1 or ' f unc t i onal ' ?4 Thi s
c l as s i f i c at i on cut s ac r os s t he bounda r i e s bet we en t he ' f or mal 1
and ' i nf o r ma l 1 l anguage exposur e cons i der ed by Sut er , Kr ashen
and Se l i nge r and o t he r s . For ex amp l e , wh en a l ear ne r a sk s o t h-
er s f or i nf or mat i on about p r onunc i at i on f or ms out s i de t he f or -
mal c l as s r oom s i t uat i on, he i s s eeki ng f or mal i nf or mat i on i n
a f unc t i onal s i t uat i on. Al s o , i n t he c l as s r oom t he f oc us may
be s hi f t ed f r om t he f or mal c ode t o pr ac t i s e f unc t i onal l an-
guage . Th i s occur s wh en s t udent s l i s t en t o r ecor di ng s of Eng-
l i s h us ed i n ' r e al l i f e' s i t uat i ons i n or der t o under s t and t h e
gi s t o f t he s i t uat i on, but n ot t o anal y s e t he l anguage.
Na t ur a l c ommuni c at i on s i t uat i ons i ns i de t he c l as s r oom
i n whi c h l ear ner s ar e abl e t o pr ac t i s e t hei r pr onunc i a t i on
s k i l l , a r e l es s c ommo n. Cl a s s r o om di a l o gue be t we en t e ac he r and
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s t udent o r s t udent and s t ude nt , al t ho ugh v i t a l f or i mpr o vi ng
pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y, i s us ual l y mo r e c ont r ol l ed and s el ec t -
i ve t han t he i nhi bi t ed l anguage of d ai l y us e . Thi s pr ac t i c e
wi l l a l way s be f o rmal t o a l a rg e ext ent . Bu t , dependi ng on t he
t eac her ' s a bi l i t y t o c r eat e an o bj ec t i v e, non- j udgment al at mos -
pher e i n t he c l as s r oom v al uabl e f unc t i onal pr ac t i c e may o c c ur
t oget her wi t h f or mal pr a ct i c e.
Ba i l y s t o k' s mo de l , t he n, s ugge s t s t he i mpo r t a nc e of
t ea c hi ng l ear ner s f or mal and f unc t i ona l pr a c t i s i ng, among ot h-
er s t r at egi es , f or ef f ec t i ve pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng. The ques t -i on of whi c h t ype of e xpo s ur e , f or mal or i nf o r ma l , i s mo r e i m-
por t ant f or a cqui r i ng pr onunc i at i on and ot her or al s k i l l s , be-
c omes i r r el evant . T hi s poi nt i s ex empl i f i ed c l ear l y by t he mo -
del i t s el f . Thr ough t he s ec ond f or mal pr ac t i c e s t r at egy , expl i -
c i t i nf o r mat i on wh i ch t he l ear ne r h as about t he l anguage code
be c ome s mo r e f am l i ar a nd av ai l a bl e f or f or m ng, l a ngua ge r e-s pons e s . Sec ondl y , t h r o ugh f unc t i onal p r a c t i c e , t he l ear ner
adds t o h i s i mp l i c i t knowl edge o f how t o convey meani ng i n t he
t ar ge t l a ngua ge . 2^ Thi s poi nt wi l l be i l l us t r at ed i n var i ous
way s i n t he sec t i on^ whi ch f o l l ows and i n t he r a t i ona l e f or
pr onunc i at i on t eac hi ng i n t he f i nal s ec t i on.
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29
5. 4 ' APPLI CATI ON OF THE MODEL
W t h t he per s pec t i v e pr ovi ded by Bai l y s t ok ' s mo de l ,
t he di s c us s i o n of l ea r n i ng s t r a t e gi es a nd of l angua ge ex po s -
ur e , t he r esea r c h pr obl em can now be cons i de r ed mor e c l o se l y .
The quest i on of why some l ear ner s pr onounce Engl i sh mor e ac-
c ur at el y t han ot her s wi l l b e appl i ed t o t hos e s t udent s i n
c ount r i es wher e Engl i s h i s not t he na t i v e l anguage. I n t hi s
case , l anguage l ear ni ng expe r i ences occu r ma i n l y t hr ough f or -
ma l c l a s s r o om e xpos u r e . T hi s ex po s ur e i s f or mal i n t he s ens e
t hat i t i s or gani z ed and s el ec t ed t o a gr eat er or l es s er ex-
t e nt , i n c ont r as t t o t he t ot al l y r andom ex pos ur e whi c h oc c ur s
2 6
wi t h i mmer s i on i n t he nat i v e c ul t ur e. So t he pr obl em i s t o
ac c ount f or v ar i at i o ns i n pr o nunc i a t i o n ac c ur ac y amo ng l ea r n -
er s of Engl i s h as a second l anguage who have had a s i m l ar
amount of f or mal c l as s r oom i ns t r uc t i on but l i t t l e or no i n-
f or mal c ont ac t wi t h nat i v e s peak er s o ut s i de t he c l as s r oom
A pa r t i c ul a r gr o up of t he s e s t udent s wi l l ha ve had
s i m l a r e xpo s ur e t o t he pho ne t i c and pho no l o gi c a l as pe ct s o f
Engl i s h. Thr ough f or mal t r ai ni ng, s ome of t hi s i nf or ma t i on
wo ul d be r epr es e nt e d i n Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge as f or -
ma l pr onunc i a t i on r ul es . The l ear ne r may use t he f o r ma l p r ac -
t i c e s t r a t e gy , s t udyi ng book s or a s ki ng ot her s f or i nf or mat i on
about t he pr onunc i at i on of Engl i s h, i n or der t o i nc r eas e hi s
e xpl i c i t k no wl e dge . But t he s t ude nt i s a l s o ex po s ed t o a c on-
s i de r abl e amount of phono l ogi ca l and ph one t i c i nf o r mat i on
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i nf or mal l y whe n he l i s t ens t o t he Engl i s h us e d by t e ac he r s , by
ot her s or i n r ec or di ngs , f or any pur po s e, bo t h i n t he c l as s -
r oom and e l sewher e . I n t he t er ms o f t he mode l , some o f t hi s
l at t er i nf or mat i on woul d pas s di r ec t l y i nt o I mpl i c i t L i ngui s -
t i c Kno wl e dge . The l ear ner ma y us e t he f unc t i ona l pr a c t i c e
s t r at egy , del i ber at el y ar r angi ng f or s uc h ex pos ur e t o oc c ur
so t ha t hi s i mpl i c i t k n owl edge of E ngl i sh may be i nc r eased 27
As t he l ear ni ng pr oc es s c ont i nues , t he expl i c i t l y l ear n-
ed i nf or mat i on may al s o be r epr es ent ed i n I mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c
Knowl edge t hr ough t he second t y pe of f o r ma l p r ac t i s i n g, us i ng
exer c i s e s and dr i l l s . The l ear ner wo ul d t hen us e t h i s i nf or m-
at i on i mpl i c i t l y i n hi s pr onunc i at i on of Engl i s h. Sec ondl y,
t hr ough t he s t r at egy of i nf er enc i ng, i mpl i c i t l y known i nf or m-
a t i on can b e b r ough t i nt o consc i ousn ess and r epr esent ed i n Ex -
pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge , pr ov i di ng t he me ans f or der i v i ng
t he co r r ec t pr onunc i a t i on o f new wo r d s and p h r as es . ^
The i nput of l i ngui s t i c k nowl e dge, a cc or di ng t o t he
mode l , i nvol ves a t hi r d s our c e - Ot her Kno wl edge . I t i s t hi s
sour ce wh i ch may be dec i s i ve f o r l ear ni ng t o p r onounce a sec -
ond l anguage accur a t e l y , s i nce i t woul d i nc l ude k nowl edge of
whi c h pr o nunc i a t i ons ar e t ol er at e d i n whi c h s t y l es of s peec h
i n t he t ar get l anguage. Thr ough i nf er e nc i ng, t hi s i nf or mat i o n
wo ul d be r epr es ent ed i n Ex pl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Kno wl e dge , al l ow-
i ng t he l ear ne r t o empl oy t he v ar i ant s o f t he l anguage i n t he
same pa t t e r n and t o pr ogr ess f r om one s t y l e t o ano t he r as
near l y l i k e a na t i v e s pea ke r a s po s s i bl e . T he l ear ner wo ul d
ac qui r e s uc h i nf or mat i on f r om t he v ar i et y of pr onunc i at i ons
and s t yl es a va i l abl e t o hi m bot h i n t he s e c ond l a ngua ge c l a s s -
r oom and el s e whe r e .
As not ed i n t he di s c us s i on of Bai l y s t ok ' s mo de l , t he
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pr oc es s e s and s t r at egi es i nv ol v ed i n pr onunc i a t i on l ear ni ng
c a n b e e xa mp l i f i e d wi t h a s i t u at i o n i n wh i c h a s e c ond l a ng ua ge29
l ear ner i s engaged i n c o nv er s a t i o n wi t h a na t i v e s p ea ke r .
T he l e ar ne r ma y b eg i n hi s c o nv er s a t i o n o n t h e b as i s of I mpl i -
c i t L i n gu i s t i c Kn owl e dge a nd i mpr o v e h i s c o mmu ni c a t i v e c o mpet -
e nc e by t he us e o f t he i n f e r e nc i n g- mo ni t o r i n g c omb i na t i o n. An
i mp or t a nt s o ur c e o f i n f o r ma t i o n f or i nf e r e nc i n g wo ul d b e k n ow-
l edge of t he t a r g et c ul t ur e and of t he s u bj e c t ma t t e r .30
As not ed by Ba i l e y , an e s s e nt i a l e l eme nt o f a c qui r i ng
a native - l i k e a cc ent i s t o l ear n t o c o nt r o l t ho s e phe no me na
c al l ed ' m s t akes ' by l ay men and ' l at e as s i m l at or y and ot her
r ul es ' by l i ngui s t s . I n Engl i s h, f or ex ampl e, pr onunc i at i ons
wi t h b sound non - s t andar d i n s l ow, pr ec i s e pr onunc i at i ons of
g ov er n me nt , s e v en and h av e t h em. Bu t b i s n at i v e- l i k e i n t h es e
e x amp l e s i n a l l e gr o s pe ec h . Ot h er we l l - kn o wn e x amp l e s a r e
l emme , g i mme , mo nt s ( f o r mo nt hs ) and i dn' t ( f or i s n ' t i t ) .
The abi l i t y t o us e s uc h f or ms i n t hei r pr ope r i mpl i c at i onal
pat t e r n s and t he a ppr o pr i a t e s t y l es of s p eec h i s a s t r ong c l u et o a nat i v e- l i k e ac c ent .
T he l ear ner wi l l ge ne r a t e hy po t he s es c onc e r n i ng t he
appr opr i at e us e o f s uc h f or ms f r om t he t o pi c of c onv er s a t i o n,
s t y l e of s peec h and t he par t i c ul ar s t y l e of t he na t i v e s peak er
wi t h wh om h e i s c o nv er s i n g. T he s e h yp ot h es e s ma y b e i n c or p or -
at e d i nt o h i s own p r o nu nc i a t i o n t h r o u gh mo ni t o r i n g. De pe nd i n g
o n t h e pr o f i c i e nc y o f t h e l e ar ne r a nd t h e e xt e nt t o wh i c h h e
engages i n t hes e s t r at egi es , h i s pr onunc i at i on r e s pons e s wi l l
be a combination o f T yp e I and T y pe I I . T he d eg r e e o f a c c ur a c y
obt a i ned by t he l ear ner wi l l i ndi c at e t he ex t ent t o whi c h t he
r e s po ns e s ar e T yp e I and h en c e a r e i ni t i a t e d s o l el y o n t h e
bas i s of i mpl i c i t L i ngui s t i c Knowl edge.
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32
5. 5 I NDI VI DUAL LEARNER CHARACTERI STI CS
I n t hi s s e c t i on a s ur v ey wi l l be ma de of s e ver al t he or -
et i c al ac count s of t hos e i ndi v i dual l ear ner c har ac t er i s t i c s
cons i der ed t o i n f l uence per f o r mance when p r onounc i ng a second
l anguage.
As i ndi c at ed i n t he di s c us s i on of Bai l y s t ok ' s mo de l ,
i ndi v i dual di f f e r e nc es i n pe r f o r ma nc e may be at t r i but ed t o t he
ex t e nt t o whi c h v ar i ous l ear ner s us e t he l ear ni ng s t r at egi es .
The i ndi vi dual ' s c har ac t er i s t i c s as a l ear ner and hi s l ear ni ng
backgr ound may , i n t ur n, d et e r m ne t he ease wi t h whi ch t he
s t r a t e gi e s and l ear ni ng pr o c es s e s f unc t i o n. T hus , an o pt i ma l
s et o f i ndi v i dual c har ac t er i s t i c s wo ul d ma xi m z e t he amount of
i nf or mat i on t he par t i c ul ar l ear ner i s abl e t o ext r ac t f r o m a
gi v en s i t ua t i o n, t he e xt e nt t o whi c h he ma y ope r a t e on av ai l -31
abl e i nf or mat i on, and s o on. I n t he f ol l owi ng di s c us s i on
t hes e c ons i der at i ons wi l l be appl i ed s pec i f i c al l y t o pr onun-
c i at i on l ear n i ng.I t i s appar ent t hat i ndi v i dual s v ar y i n s ev er al wa ys
when l ear n i ng t o pr onounce a second l anguage wi t h accur acy ac-
32
c or di ng t o a pa r t i c ul a r mo de l . Va r i o us aut hor s ha ve r e f e r r e d
t o t hes e i ndi v i dual di f f er enc es . They wi l l be c ons i der ed f r om
t he poi nt of vi ew of ho w t hey i nf l ue nc e t he l e ar ne r ' s us e
of - s t r a t egi es t o i mpr ove hi s accur acy wh en l ear ni ng t o pr o -
nounce a second l anguage . Seve r a l t heor e t i ca l a ccount s o f t h ese
di f f e r e nc e s wi l l be c ons i der e d be f o r e r e vi e wi ng a s t udy by
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33
Sut er o f t went y var i abl es , i nc l udi ng c er t ai n i ndi v i dual di f -
f er enc es , s us pec t e d of di s pl ayi ng s i gni f i c ant r el at i ons hi ps
t o pr onunc i at i on a c c ur ac y.
T he f i r s t and mo s t o bv i o us of t hes e di f f e r e nc e s i s t he33
l ear ner ' s nat i v e l anguage. The f ac t t h at a l ear ner ' s na t i v e
l anguage c an of t en be i dent i f i ed f r om hi s c har ac t er i s t i c a c-
cent wh en sp eaki ng a second l anguage , i ndi ca t es t he gr eat i n-
f l uenc e of t he ex pe r i e nc e o f l ear ni ng t he f i r s t l a ngua ge on
hi s ef f or t s t o pr onounc e t he s ec ond. Cul t ur a l di f f er enc es i n
c ogni t i v e l ear ni ng s t y l es may al s o a f f ec t t he us e of s t r at eg-
i es . I n s ome s oc i et i es , l i s t eni ng unt i l t he ent i r e code i s
abs o r b ed and one c an s peak pe r f e c t l y i s a r e po r t ed f or m o f
l ear ni ng. I n o t h er s , s uc c es s i v e appr ox i mat i on t o nat i v e s peec h
i s us ed as a l ear ni ng s t r at egy. Whi l e i n s t i l l ot her s , r ot e3
l ear ni ng i s t he mos t common l ear ni ng s t r a t egy . So a s t udent ' s
c hoi c e of and abi l i t y t o us e c er t ai n s t r at egi es may be i nf l u-
e nc e d by hi s c u l t ur a l ba c kgr o und.
Strevens * 5, not es t hat ' anot her di f f er enc e bet we en l ear n-
er s wi l l be t hei r pr ev i ous ex pe r i enc e of f or ei gn l anguages ,
whe t he r o f h ea r i ng t he m onl y or o f l e ar ni ng one or mo r e . I t
m ght be e xpec t e d t ha t bo t h t he t y pe of l ea r n i ng e xpe r i e nc e
and t he l eve l of a chi evement woul d i nf l uence t he l ear ne r ' s ab-
i l i t y t o us e t he l ear ni ng s t r at egi es i n or der t o i mpr ove hi spr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y.
Di f f er enc es i n audi t or y di s c r i m nat i on and al er t nes s of
hear i ng as wel l as i n t he i ns t i nc t i ve abi l i t y t o m m c new
s o unds , undoubt edl y a c c ount f or t he gr e at e r f ac i l i t y of s o me
l ear ner s i n c ont r ol l i ng t he s peec h me c ha ni s m and i n mo ni t or i ng
t hei r own per f o r mance . Rub i n not es t hat some s t udent s l ear n37
be t t e r by v i su al means , o t he r s by audi t o r y means . Lear ne r s
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wh o h av e l es s i nna t e a pt i t ude f or o r a l m m c r y ma y be ne f i t
f r o m f or mal t r ai ni ng i n t hi s s k i l l and mor e f u nc t i onal pr ac -
t i c e t o i nc r eas e t h ei r e xpo s ur e t o t he s o unds of t he t a r ge t
l a ngua ge .Differences i n s peed of l ear ni ng ar e l i k el y t o b e par -
t i c ul ar l y i mpor t ant f or pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng. T hi s i s be-
c a us e i n p r o nu nc i a t i o n, t he o r g an i z a t i o n o f s y nt a x and s e ma n-
t i c s , ha vi ng f i r s t b ee n gener at ed i n t he br a i n as a s er i es
of s ol el y me nt a l pr o c es s e s , i s c onv er t ed i nt o p s yc ho - mo t o r a c-
t i v i t y . 3^ Be i n g p s y c ho - mo t o r r a t he r t ha n s o l e l y me nt a l , p r o -
nunc i at i on l ear ni ng, l i ke al l mus c ul ar t r a i ni ng, wi l l r equi r e
mo r e t i me and ef f or t f or s o me i ndi v i dua l s t han f or o t he r s .
Rubi n not es t hat c er t ai n per s onal i t y t r ai t s ( per f ec t -
i o ni s m, self - c onf i denc e, ex t r ov er s i on) ar e a l s o r epor t ed t o39
af f ec t t he c hoi c e and us e of l ear ni ng s t r at egi es . L ea r n er s
al s o v ar y i n t hei r wi l l i ng ne s s t o l ear n t o p r o n oun c e a s e c ond
language.'W illingness' involves the learner's confidence in
hi s own abi l i t y t o l ear n t he new s o unds as we l l as hi s at t i -40
t ude t o t he t ar get c ul t ur e. Thi s v ar i abl e wi l l be di s c us s ed
i n 5. 7 b el o w, wh en mo t i v at i o n and a t t i t udes ar e c o ns i d er e d.
St r ev ens ( p. 184) gi v es par t i c ul ar at t ent i on t o t he
c h an ge s br o ug ht o n b y age . He c o ns i d er s t h at i n g en er a l , a d-ul t s ha ve r educ ed pl as t i c i t y f or l anguage ac qui s i t i on. Com-
pa r e d wi t h c hi l dr en, mo s t a dul t s h av e r educ ed a udi t or y di s -
c r i m nat i on, per haps bec aus e t he audi t or y f ac i l i t y of t he
y oung c hi l d i s l es s es s ent i a l a f t er t he ac qui s i t i on of t he
s o und pa t t e r n s of h i s o wn f i r s t l anguage . Ad ul t s a r e al s o c on-
s i de r e d t o ha ve r educ ed p owe r s o f m m c r y , par t l y b ec a us e m m-i c r y i s a k i n d of g ame b eh av i o ur l es s c o mmo n a f t e r c h i l d ho od .
Ot he r di s a dv ant a ge s not e d ar e gr e at e r r e l i anc e o n wr i t i n g at
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t he expense of sp eech and unwi l l i ngness t o mak e unf am l i a r
noi s es or t o c omm t er r or s , es pec i al l y i n publ i c .
Ne ve r t he l e s s , no t e s St r ev ens ( p. 185) , t her e ar e t hr e e
mai n r easons why adu l t s may be abl e t o l ear n t o pr onounce a
second l anguage as we l l as young chi l dr en. F i r s t , because some
adul t s r e t a i n t hei r pr onunc i at i on- l ear ni ng abi l i t y uni mpai r ed,
f or a l l pr ac t i c al pur po s es , af t er c hi l dhood. Sec ondl y> be c aus e
t he maj or i t y of s ound f eat ur es ar e i m t at e d wi t h r e as o nabl e
accur acy by t he ma j o r i t y of l ear ne r s wi t h ou t a need f or sp ec -
i al t r ai ni ng. And t hi r dl y , b ec aus e adul t s al s o pos es s c er t ai n
advant ages whi ch count er bal ance t he d i sadvant ages a l r eady men-
t i oned.
The adu l t has l ear ned how t o l ear n so he can t ake mor e
l ear ni ng pr of i t f r om eac h hour o f t eac hi ng t han t he c hi l d c an.
He has gr eat e r power s o f de l i be r a t e concent r a t i on and l e s s
need f or i nher ent i nt er es t i n t he t eac hi ng ma t e r i al s . The adul t
c an f ol l ow det ai l ed i ns t r uc t i ons and c an i nt el l ec t ual i z e hi s
l ear ni ng. Once an adul t has l ear ned, f or ex ampl e , about t he
na t ur e and t he f unc t i on of t he s o f t p al a t e and i t s c o nne c t i o n
wi t h nas al i t y , he i s t hen abl e t o del i ber at el y c ont r ol t he
na s al - o r a l di s t i nc t i on i n hi s own s peec h. Ac c o r d i ng t o St r ev ens
t hen, ( p. 186) a dul t s hav e di f f er ent but no t nec es s a r i l y i nf er -
i or l anguage- l ear ni ng c apac i t i es t han c hi l dr en. Me anwhi l e ,
Rubi n c ons i der s t hat adul t s pr o ba bl y do be t t e r at gue s s i ng,
hav i ng at t hei r di s pos a l mul t i pl e hi e r a r c hi e s of r edunda nt
c l ues . Chi l dr en may be f r eer i n adapt i ng t o new s i t ua t i ons and
41t o ac t ou t a c ommuni cat i on.
Newmar k and Rei bel ar gue t hat t he same l anguage l ear n-
i ng c apac i t y exi s t s i n adul t s and c hi l dr en, qui t e pos s i bl y
i n di f f er ent degr ees . They mai nt ai n t hat neur ophy s i ol ogi c al
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e vi d en c e ma y b e u s ed t o a r g ue t ha t a dul t s a r e q ua nt i t a t i v el y
i nf er i or t o c hi l dr en as l anguage l ear ner s . But i t c annot be
us ed t o ar gue t hat t hey ar e qual i t at i v el y di f f er ent k i nds of
l ear ner s . Ra t h er , t hes e aut hor s a r g ue, adul t s and c hi l dr en
s har e a l anguage- l ear ni ng c apabi l i t y whi c h enabl es t hem t o
a c qu i r e t h e gen er a l u s e o f a s e c o nd l a ngua ge by o bs e r v a t i o n
42
and e xe r c i s e of p ar t i c u l a r e x amp l e s of t h e l a ng ua ge i n u s e .
T he f a c t t h at mo s t a du l t s s pea k a s e c on d l a ngua ge wi t h
an a cc ent i s us ua l l y t ak en as ev i de nc e of t he di f f e r e n t and
i nf er i or abi l i t y of adul t s c ompar ed wi t h chi l dr en. But New-
ma r k and Re i b el p r o vi d e an a c c ount o f ' f or ei gn a c c ent ' wh i c h
i ndi c at es not t hat t he adul t l ear ner i s s ubj ec t t o i nf er enc e
f r om hi s nat i v e l anguage, b ut t hat h e ac t i v el y dr aws o n hi s
p r i o r l i ngui s t i c k no wl e dg e t o me et t h e d ema nds t o p r o du c e r e -
s p on s es i n t he ne w l a ngua ge . T he f o l l o wi ng ac c o un t o f ' f or -
ei gn ac c ent ' does no t c ha l l enge t he v al ue of i nf e r e nc i ng f or
l anguage l ear ni ng. Rat he r , i t i ndi c at es t hat . f or p r o nunc i a-
t i on l ear ni ng i n par t i c ul ar , and f or ot her s ki l l s t o a l es s er
e xt e nt , i nf e r e nc i ng f r om Ot he r Kno wl e dge i s an i na de qua t e
b as i s f or f or m ng l anguage r e s po ns e s :
In the early stages of learning a new language there
are many things the student has not yet learned to do. But
he is induced to perform (understand 3 speak3 read or write)
in the new language by a teacher or by his own desire to say
something. To an observer who knows the target language s the
learner will seem to be stubbornly substituting the native
habits for target habits. But from the learner s point of
view, all he is doing is the best he can: to fill in gaps in
training he refers for help to what he already knows. Viewed
from this angle, the problem reduces to that of ignorance and
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the solution to the problem is simply more and better train-
ing in the target language3 rather than systematic drill at
the points of contrast between the two languages in order to
43
combat interference.
I n t h e t e r ms o f t h e i aodel , t h e l e ar n er n ee ds mo r e a nd
b et t e r e x po s ur e t o t he t a r g et l a ngu ag e i n o r de r t o de ve l o p
hi s I mpl i c i t and Ex pl i c i t Knowl e dge s o ur c es . He al s o ne eds
ex t e ns i v e t r ai ni ng i n t he s t r at egi es of f or mal and f unc t i onal
pr ac t i s i ng, moni t or i ng and i nf er enc i ng t o ma xi m z e t he ef f ec t sof h i s l i m t ed c ont a ct wi t h t he l a ngua ge and t o i mpr ov e t he
ac c ur ac y of h i s pr o nunc i a t i o n r e s po ns e s .
I n s e c t i o n 5. 6 a r e vi e w wi l l b e ma de of an e x pe r i me nt a l
s t udy of t went y v ar i abl es ( i nc l udi ng v ar i ous of t he i ndi v i dual
di f f e r e nc es whi c h ha ve be en c ons i der ed i n t hi s s e c t i on) s us -
pec t e d of di s pl ay i ng a s i gni f i c ant r e l at i ons hi p t o pr onunc i a-
t i on ac c ur ac y.
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38
AN EXP ERI MENTAL STUDY OF F ACTORS
AFF ECTI NG PRONUNCI ATI ON ACCURACY.
I n a s t udy c onduc t ed at t he Ca l i f o r ni a St at e P ol y t e c h-
ni c Uni v er s i t y , Ri c har d Sut er mea s ur ed s i x t y - one n on- nat i v e
s p ea ker s on t went y v ar i a bl e s s u s pe ct ed of d i s p l ay i ng s i gni f -
c ant r el at i ons hi ps t o pr o nunc i a t i o n ac c ur a c y. T he s t udy wa sdes i gned t o deve l op ev i dence on why speaker s o f a second l an-
g ua ge v ar y s o mu c h i n t he ac c ur a c y o f t h ei r p r o nu nc i a t i o n,
( p. 233) . A s t he s t udy c o nc e r ne d n on - n at i v e s p ea ke r s r e s i d en t
wh e r e t h e t a r get language i s s p ok e n, t he f i ndi ngs ma y n ot b e
f ul l y appl i c abl e t o l ear ner s r es i dent i n t hei r o wn c ount r y
wh o a r e s t u dy i n g t h e p r o nu nc i a t i o n o f a s e c o nd l a ngua ge . Bu tt hi s di f f er enc e i s not l i kel y t o al t er t h e s i gni f i c anc e of
mo s t of t he f i ndi ngs f or t he q ue s t i o n of a cc ur a c y of En gl i s h
p r o nu nc i a t i o n a mo ng s u ch l e ar ne r s .
The English pr o nunc i a t i o n of t he no n- na t i v e s pea ke r s
wa s r at ed under c ont r ol l ed c ondi t i o ns by a pa ne l of f our t ee n
nat i ve English - s p ea k i ng j ud ge s . Of t h e t we nt y variables, t h e
thirteen concerning biographical f ac t s and the l ear ner's con-
t ac t wi t h English we r e me as u r e d u s i n g t he i n t e r v i e w t e c hn i q ue .
Sut e r ma i nt a i n s t ha t i n a f or mal o ne - t o - o ne i nt e r v i e w a s pea k-
e r c a n be t a k en s t e p by s t e p bac k t h r o ugh h i s e x pe r i e nc e s i n
E ng l i s h wi t h an a c c ur a c y wh i c h i s no t possible wi t h a wr i t t en
ques t i onnai r e( p. 237) . The f i ve mot i v at i ona l variables wer e
me as u r e d us i ng a s c al e d o bj e c t i v e f o r m( que s t i o nna i r e ) . T hi s
wa s c o ns i der e d a l e s s t h r e at e ni n g and t h us mo r e v a l i d me t h o d
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39
t ha n t he i nt e r v i e w, f or t he s pea ke r t o pr o vi de s uc h i nf or m-
at i on. The t wo var i abl es c onc er ni ng apt i t ude f or o r a l m m c r y
and ' i nt r o ver s i on- ex t r o ver s i on' we r e me as u r e d us i ng a ppr o -
pr i at e t es t s .
F r o m a c ons i der at i on of j us t h ow we l l eac h of t he pr e-
di c t or v ar i abl es c or r el at ed wi t h pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y i n Eng-
l i s h, e mpi r i c a l e vi de nc e wa s obt a i ne d f or whi c h f ac t o r s ha ve
a s i gni f i c ant i nf l uenc e on pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y. T he v ar i -
abl e whi c h c or r el at ed mo s t s t r ongl y wi t h pr o nunc i a t i o n ac c ur -
ac y wa s nat i v e l anguage. The s i gni f i c anc e of t hi s hi gh c or r el -
a t i on i s enhanced by t he f ac t t ha t o f t he f our n at i v e l anguage
gr oups r epr esent ed i n t he s t udy , t he J apanese and Tha i speak -
er s wer e al most a l l r anked l ow by t he j udges on Eng l i sh p r onun-
i a t i on accur acy. The Per s i an and Ar abi c sp eake r s wer e a l mos t
a l l r ank ed hi ghe r on t he same sca l e . These r esul t s p r ovi d e em-
pi r i c al ev i denc e t hat nat i ve l anguage i s a s i gni f i c ant pr edi c -
t or of pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y( p. 244) .
Tab l e 3( pp. 245- 6) i n t he r epo r t of t he s t udy sh ows
t ho s e o t h er v ar i abl es whi c h pr ov ed t o s how a s i gni f i c a nt c o r -
r e l a t i on wi t h pr onunc i a t i on accur acy. Two of t hese wer e sh own
t o be , l i ke nat i ve l anguage, par t i c ul ar l y i mpor t ant f or pr o-
nunc i a t i o n a cc ur a cy : ' s t r engt h of t he s p ea ke r ' s c onc e r n a bo ut
hi s pr o nunc i a t i o n of E ngl i s h ' and ' amount o f c o nv er s a t i o n a t
wo r k and a t s ch oo l wh i ch was ca r r i ed out i n Engl i sh wi t h na t -
i ve s peak er s ' . Thes e wi l l be di s c us s e d f ur t her . Of t he ot her
ei ght s i gni f i c ant p r edi c t o r s , t wo we r e f ound ( c ont r ar y t o ex-
pec t at i on) t o be negat i vel y r el at ed t o pr onunc i at i o n ac c ur ac y .
The s e we r e ' t ot al amount of f or mal c l a s s r oom t r ai ni ng i n Eng-
l i s h' and ' i nt egr at i ve or i ent at i on' . Ei ght v ar i abl es pr oved
t o be non-significant i n t he s t udy . These ar e sh own i n Tab l e
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4( p. 247) .
Of c our s e, not al l of t hes e f i ndi ngs a r e l i kel y t o hav e
equal s i gni f i c anc e f o r l ear ner s of Engl i s h pr onunc i at i on i n
ot her s i t uat i ons . L ear ner s i n t hei r n at i v e env i r onme nt ar e
l i k el y t o ha ve ma ny f ewer o ppo r t uni t i e s t o pr a c t i s e t he t a r -
get l anguage t han t hose who ar e l i v i ng i n an env i r onment wher e
i t i s spok en. Thi s di f f er enc e woul d l i m t t he val ue of t he
- f i ndi ngs on t he v ar i a bl es o f f or mal and f unc t i onal c o nt a c t
wi t h t he t ar get l anguage wi t h r ef er enc e t o l ear ner s i n t h ei r
na t i v e env i r o nme nt .
The pr edi c t o r v ar i abl es i n t he s t udy made by Sut e r can
now be cons i de r ed i ndi v i dua l l y . The f ac t o r whi ch was f ound t o
be mos t s i gni f i cant woul d seem t o b e equa l l y i mpo r t ant among
l ear ner s who ar e i n t hei r na t i v e e nv i r o nme nt . Of t he f our di f -
f er ent l anguages r epr e s ent e d i n t he s t udy , i t wa s f ound t ha t
t hose speaker s whose l anguage was i ndo - Eur opean - Ar abi c o rP er s i an - we r e c ons i s t ent l y be t t er at p r onunc i ng Engl i s h t han
t hose whose nat i ve l anguage was not I ndo - Eur opean - t he Tha i
and J apanese speak er s . I t can b e su gges t ed t ha t t he p hono l ogi -
c al s t r uc t ur e s of o t h er I ndo - Eur o pe an l a ngua ge s pr o ba bl y f ac -
i l i t at e t he pr onunc i at i on of Engl i s h t o a gr eat er ext ent t han
t he s t r uc t ur es of l angua ge s o ut s i de t hi s gr o up.
Thes e f i ndi ngs s e em t o be r el evant t o Br az i l i an s t ud-
ent s of Engl i s h. The phonol ogi c al s t r uc t ur es o f P or t ugue s e
ar e l i kel y t o facilitate t he pr onunc i at i on of Engl i s h f or
t hes e l ear ner s . But i n or der t o es t abl i s h how t hi s m ght be
so , i t woul d b e necess a r y t o compar e t he p hono l ogi ca l s t r uc -
t u r es of t he t wo l anguages . One woul d have t o cons i der no t on-
l y t he phonemes and a l l ophones o f t he t wo l anguages , but a l so
s uc h t hi ngs as t h e pl ac ement of s t r es s , i nt o nat i on pa t t e r n s ,
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41
t e mpo ( i . e . t he s peed at whi c h s y l l abl es s uc c ee d one a no t he r ) ,
and any c har ac t er i s t i c pat t er ns of l oudnes s , c ont i nui t y ( t he
i nc i denc e of paus e s ) , t es s i t ur a ( t he r ange of pi t c h t hat i .s
used whi l e. s peak i ng) and r egi s t er ( t he qual i t y of voi c i ng) .
I n such a compar i son of t he t wo l anguages, some det er m-
i na t i on wo ul d be ne eded as t o whi c h pho no l o gi c a l qua l i t i e s
a re gi v en mos t cons i de r a t i on i n j udgment s o f t he accur acy
wi t h whi c h P or t ugue s e s p eak er s pr o no unc e Engl i s h . Di s t o r t i o ns
o f some t hi ngs p r esumabl y i n f l uence j udges mor e t han d i s t o r -
t i ons of ot her s . I t i s us ual l y c ons i der ed t hat t he mos t s i g-
ni f i cant f eat ur es ar e t he sounds ( phonemes and a l l ophones ) and
t he pat t er ns of r hy t h m s t r es s and i nt ona t i on. I t wo ul d s eem
t hat v ar i at i ons i n l oudnes s , t es s i t ur a and r egi s t er ar e l es s
l i k el y t o i nf l ue nc e j udgment s of a cc ur a cy of Engl i s h pr o nun-
c i a t i on wh en t he sp eake r ' s na t i v e l anguage i s Por t u gu ese or
s o me o t her I ndo - Eur o pe an l a ngua ge , t han i f i t we r e f r om an-
o t he r l anguage gr oup( p. 248) .
Whe n a s s es s i ng t he Engl i s h pr o nunc i a t i o n s k i l l s of any
gr oup of Br az i l i an l ear ner s , a pr i mar y c o ns i der at i on wo ul d be
t he l ànguages sp ok en i n t he l ear ne r ' s h ome . I f an As i an o r
s ome Eur opean l anguage ot her t han Por t uguese was s poken at
home when t he l ear ner was young, t hi s m ght be expect ed t o i n-
f l uenc e t he r el at i ve ac c ur ac y of hi s Engl i s h p r o nunc i at i on,
compar ed wi t h t hat o f l ear ner s who have not been i n cont act
wi t h o t he r languages. The r e i s no s ubs t ant i al ev i denc e av ai l -
abl e t o expl a i n why t hi s sh oul d be so . Bu t , as no t ed by S ut e r ,
phonol ogi c al i nt er f er enc e i s one pos s i bi l i t y ( p. 249) .
Anot he r s t r ong pr e di c t or of pr onunc i at i o n ac c ur ac y i n
Sut e r ' s s t udy wa s i ndi v i dua l mo t i v at i o n, me as u r e d as ' s peak -
er ' s s t r engt h of c onc er n about h i s pr onunc i at i on' ( p. 249- 50) .
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T hi s var i a bl e me as u r e d t he s t r engt h but no t t he na t ur e of t he
c onc er n. I n t he s t udy , ec onom c , i nt egr at i ve and s oc i al pr es -
t i ge mo t i vat i o n we r e s ho wn t o be r e l a t i vel y un i mpo r t a nt as
pr e di c t o r s o f pr o nunc i a t i o n accur a cy , s o pr es uma bl y s o me ot he r
k i nd of i nf or mat i on wa s at wo r k . Sut er s ugges t s t hat ' s t r engt h
of c onc er n' may r e f l ec t an ov er al l c ons c i ent i ous nes s . He s ur -
m ses t ha t f ut ur e r esear ch may pr ovi de evi dence t ha t t hose who
ar e mo s t concer ned about do i ng we l l at t he di f f e r e nt t a s ks i n
t hei r l i v es a r e t he ones wh o do bes t i n t he pr onunc i at i on o f
t he i r second l anguage . I t a l so seems r easonabl e t o sugges tt hat t he var i a bl e ' s t r engt h of co ncer n' i n t he s t udy ma y r e-
f l ec t a des i r e t o ac hi eve nat i v e- l i k e ac c ur ac y i n or der t o
r es pond appr opr i at el y t o nat i v e s peak er s of t he t ar get l an-
guage .
The v ar i abl e ' i nt egr at i ve or i ent at i on' pr oved t o be
negat i v el y r el at ed t o ac c ur ac y of pr o nunc i at i on i n t he s t udy .
Thi s v ar i abl e i s def i ned i n t he s t udy as ' t he des i r e t o be
a member o f t he gr oup whi ch s peaks t he t ar get l anguage nat i ve-
l y. But t he t hr ee i t ems wh i ch wer e des i gned t o assess t h i s
var i a bl e i mpl y a v i e w o f p r o nunc i a t i o n l e ar ni ng as a me ans t o
r eady accept ance by member s o f t he t ar get cu l t ur e . These i t ems
woul d s eem t o be mor e r el ev ant t o t he obj ec t i v e of i nt el l i gi -
bi l i t y t han t o nat i ve- l i ke ac cur ac y.
T he t hi r d be s t pr e di c t o r i n t he s t udy wa s ' t he amo unt
o f Eng l i sh conver sa t i on a t wor k and at school wh i ch was ca r -
r i ed on wi t h nat i v e s peak er s ' . As Sut er not es , t hi s i s t he
onl y i mpor t ant pr edi c t or of pr onunc i at i o n ac c ur ac y t hat c an
be i nf l uenced by t ea che rs . A s t ude nt ' s na t i ve l a nguage ca n-«
no t be changed and hi s ' c oncer n' a bo ut h i s p r o nunc i a t i o n i s
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l ar gel y a pe r sona l ma t t e r , a l t hough t eache r s may be abl e t o
s t r engt hen i t . Yet t eache r s can mak e some pr ovi s i ons f or ge t -
t i ng no n- na t i v e s t udent s t o us e Engl i s h mo r e wi t h na t i v e
s pe ak er s ( p. 250) . •
One o f t he mos t su r pr i s i ng f i ndi ngs was t ha t t he v ar -
i abl es r e l at i ng t o c l as s r o om t r ai ni ng demons t r at ed ver y l i t t l e
r e l a t i onsh i p t o pr onunc i a t i on accur acy. The sp eake r s wh o had
mo r e f or mal t r ai ni ng dedi c at ed s pec i f i c al l y t o t he pr onunc i a -
t i on o f Engl i s h wer e not s i gni f i c ant l y bet t er pr onounc er s .
Si nc e t hi s v ar i a bl e me as u r e d t he r e l at i ons hi p of muc h v er s u sl i t t l e t r a i ni ng i n pr onunc i at i on, i t i s c onc ei vabl e t hat a
l i t t l e f or mal t r ai ni ng i s es s ent i al f or pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y,
but t hat t r ai ni ng bey ond t h at poi nt i s s i mpl y unpr oduc t i v e.
Secondl y , t he v ar i abl e a s sessed t he amount r a t he r t han t he
qual i t y of t he t r ai ni ng r ec ei ved. I t i s pos s i bl e t hat t he
qual i t y of t r ai ni ng i n pr onunc i at i on, i f i t c oul d be me as ur e d,
wo ul d demons t r at e a s i gni f i c ant r el at i ons hi p t o pr onunc i at i on
ac c ur ac y( p. 251) .
The f i ndi ngs of Sut e r ' s s t udy gi v e some su ppo r t t o t he
be l i e f t hat i nf or mal e xpo s ur e i s mo r e i mpo r t a nt t ha n f o r mal
c l as s r oom t r ai ni ng i n t he dev el opment of pr o nunc i a t i on ac c ur -
a c y. T he v ar i a bl e s whi c h m ght be i nt e r p r e t e d as me as u r i ng
i nf o r ma l exposur e t o Engl i sh wer e i ) t he amount o f conv er sa t -
i on at wo r k and at s c ho ol whi c h i s c a r r i ed on i n Engl i s h wi t h
na t i v e s peak er s of Engl i s h , i i ) t he numbe r o f y ea r s t he s pe ak -
er has l i ved i n Engl i s h - s pea ki ng c ount r i e s , i i i ) t he amo unt
of conv er sa t i on at h ome whi ch was ca r r i ed on i n Engl i sh wi t h
na t i v e s pe ak er s of E ngl i s h , and i v ) t he l engt h o f t i me s pe nt«
r e s i di ng wi t h na t i v e s pe ak er s o f Engl i s h . Thf ese v ar i a bl e s s how
a s t r o nge r r e l a t i o ns hi p t o pr o nunc i a t i o n ac c ur ac y t ha n t he
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r el at i ons hi ps di s pl ayed by t h os e v ar i abl es c o nc er ned wi t h f or
mal i ns t r uc t i on ( p. 251) .
Al t hough t her e i s a per s i s t ent b el i ef t hat f emal es a r e
s uper i or t o ma l e s whe r e v er bal s k i l l s a r e c o nc e r n ed, f emal es
wer e not s i gni f i c ant l y bet t er pr onounc er s t han ma l e s i n t h i s
s t udy( p. 252) . Al s o , ext r over s i on was not a s i gni f i c ant pr edi c
t or of pr onunc i at i on ac c ur ac y( p. 252) . I n gener al , t her e wa s
l i t t l e i n t he s t udy t o c ont r adi c t t he ex t r eme pos i t i on whi c h
ar gues t hat a per son who l ear ns a second l anguage af t e r t he
onse t of pube r t y wi l l neve r p r onoun ce i t we l l enough t o pass
as a na t i v e s p ea ker ( p. 251- 2) .
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45
5. 7. AFFECTI VE FACTORS AND
PRONUNCI ATI ON ACCURACY
I t ha s be en s ugges t e d t hat af f e c t i v e v ar i a bl e s may
pl ay a mo r e i mpo r t ant r o l e t h an does bi o l o gi c a l ma t ur a t i o n i n
pr obl e ms a s s oc i at ed wi t h adul t s ec ond l anguage a c qui s i t i o n.
Sc human n44 obser ves t hat apt i t ude seems t o be mor e i mpor t ant
f or l anguage l ear ni ng t hr ough f o r ma l i ns t r uc t i o n r a t h er t han
t h r ough d i r ec t exposur e t o t he second• l anguage envi r onment .
He no t e s t hat i nt e l l i ge nc e and a pt i t ude ar e f i x ed c ha r a c t er -
i s t i c s whi c h appea r t o ha ve gr e at e s t i nf l uenc e i n t he ac qui s -
i t i on of ac adem c s ki l l s ( gr ammar , t r ans l at i on, r ot e memor -
i z at i on of voc abul ar y, et c . ) . Al s o , apt i t ude s eems t o oper at e
i ndependent l y of ma ny of t he a f f e c t i v e v ar i a bl es i nv ol v ed i n
second l anguage l ear n i ng .
I n t hei r s t udi es o f s econd l anguage l ear ni ng among sec -
ondar y schoo l s t udent s , Gar dner and Lamber t ( Gardner , I 960 ,
Gar dner and Lamber t 1959, 1965, 1972) have demonst r at ed t he
var i abl e effects on second l anguage l ear ni ng o f i ns t r ument a l
or i ent at i on ( t he des i r e t o l ear n t he s ec ond l anguage f or ut i l -
i t a r i an r easons such as t o g et a b et t e r j ob o r t o adv ance soc -
i al l y) and i nt egr at i v e or i ent at i on ( t he des i r e t o ' be' a me m-
b er of a gr oup whi ch speak s t he t a r ge t l angu age n at i v el y ) .
These investigators h av e pr ovi ded exp er i ment a l evi dence t ha t
s t udent s wh o have an i nt egr a t i v e o r i ent a t i on t owar ds t he sec -
ond l anguage are mor e success f ul t han t hose wh o ar e i ns t r u-
me n t a l ^ mo t i v at e d. I n par t i c ul a r , t hey mor e eas i l y ac qui r e
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46
i nt el l i gi bl e pr onunc i at i on. An i nt er es t i ng ques t i on i s whet h-
er t hes e f i ndi ngs ar e r el evant f or a dul t s l i v i ng i n t hei r nat -
i v e cul t ur e and l ear ni ng Engl i sh as a second l anguage .
Anot her obser vat i on wh i ch has been subst ant i a t ed by t he
f i ndi ngs of Gar dner e t al . ( l 9 76) i s t hat mo t i v at i o n i n s e c ond
l anguage l ear ni ng i s s haped by t he l e ar ne r ' s a t t i t ude t owa r d s
t he f o re i gn cu l t ur e , t owar ds l ear ni ng a second l anguage and
t owar ds t he c l as s r oom s i t uat i on. The f ol l owi ng di s c us s i on ma i n-
t ai ns t hat af f ec t i ve f ac t o r s h ave a c ent r al r ol e i n t he ac qui s -
i t i on of pr onunc i at i on a cc ur ac y.
Wh at can be sai d f or econom c and soc i a l p r es t i ge mot -
i v at i on ( exampl es of i ns t r ument al or i ent at i on) i n ac c ount i ng
f or a c c ur ac y of Engl i s h pr o nunc i a t i o n among l ear ner s l i vi ng
i n t hei r nat i v e c ul t ur e? Any s uc h l ear ner i s l i kel y t o agr ee
t ha t one o r bo t h of t hese t y pes o f mo t i v a t i on he l p t o account
f or h i s e f f o r t s t o l ear n t o pr o no unc e t he s ec ond l anguage . But
e f f o r t canno t necessa r i l y be equa t ed wi t h achi evement . Al t h oug h
i ns t r ume nt a l o r i e nt a t i o n pr obabl y mo t i v at e s mo s t s e c ond l an-
guage l ear ner s , i t i s ques t i onabl e whe t he r i t c an he l p t o ac -
c ount f or di f f er ent l evel s of ac hi ev ement , par t i c ul ar l y wi t h
s ki l l s s uc h as pr onunc i at i on. I n f ac t , bet ween t he i ni t i al
mo t i v at i on and t he achi evement a re t he l ear ni ng ex pe r i ences .
45As Newmar k and Re i bel a f f i r m i nadequat e t each i ng met hods
wi l l i ne vi t abl y ha ve an adv er s e ef f e c t o n o ngo i ng l ear ne r mo t -
i v at i on and ach i evement .
Newmar k and Re i bel ques t i on t he i mpor t ance of i ns t r u -
ment al mot i vat i on as a f ac t or d i s t i ngui s hi ng adul t s i n t hei r
l a ngua ge l ear ni ng abi l i t y . They obs e r v e t ha t t he y oung c hi l d
i s f l uent i n hi s l anguage ver y ear l y , i nc r eas i ng hi s f l uenc y
i n di r e c t p r o po r t i o n t o hi s kno wl e dge of t he l a nguage. Whi l e
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47
t he c l as s r oom s t udent ' s k nowl edge of t en a l l ows hi m t o do ev -
er y t hi ng wi t h t he l anguage e xc e pt us e i t . I n a r g ui ng f or t he
r el ev anc e of mot i v at i o n i n ac c ount i ng f or o bs e r v a bl e di f f er -
enc es i n s uc c es s i n l anguage l ea r n i ng, s t r ong mo t i v at i o n ha s
b ee n po s i t e d i n s u c c es s f ul c a s es and i t s p r e s e nc e de ni e d i n
u ns u c c e s s f u l c a s e s . Wh er e as f o r Ne wma r k a nd Re i bel , o ngoi n g
mot i v at i on i s a r es ul t r at her t han a c aus e of s uc c es s f ul l an-
guage t r a i ni ng.46
McDonal d and Sager have d i s t i ngu i shed be t ween t he t wo
f or ms of mo t i v at i o n i n t er ms o f t he s t age of l ea r n i ng. They
at t r i but e an i ni t i a l i nt er es t i n l ear ni ng a s ec ond l anguage
t o i ns t r ument al or i ent at i on, whi l e c ont i nui ng i nt er es t and
ef f or t wi t h s ki l l s s uc h as pr onunc i a t i on ar e at t r i but ed t o
c ul t ur al and i nt e l l ec t u al mot i v at i on. Thi s di s t i nc t i on hel ps
t o c l a r i f y t h e v i e w o f Ne wma r k a nd Re i bel . Wh et h er or n ot
l ear ner s dev el op an i nt egr at i v e or i ent at i on( as i mpl i ed by c ul -
t ur al and i nt el l ec t ual mot i v at i on) t owar ds t he t ar get c ul t ur e
ma y depen d l a r ge l y o n t h e i ma ge o f t h e t a r get c u l t u r e c o nv e ye di n t he c l a s s r o om.
Whe r e pr o nunc i a t i o n l ear ni ng i s c onc e r ne d, i t h as b ee n
claimed (Stevick , I 978) that the learner ' s attitude towards the
t ar get c ul t ur e may be t he mos t s i gni f i c ant f ac t or i n t he l ev el47
of a c cur ac y r e ac he d. I n St e vi c k ' s v i e w, p r o n unc i a t i o n c an b e
s e e n a s t he p r i ma r y me di u m t h r o ugh wh i c h we b r i n g o ur u s e of
l anguage t o t he at t ent i on of ot her s . Ther e f or e i t i s p ot en-
t i al l y us ef ul and i n many s i t uat i ons i ndi s pens abl e. But i t
a l s o ma k es t he s p ea ke r vu l n er a bl e t o h i s h ea r e r s ei t h er o n
a c c oun t o f t he s o c i a l i n f e r e nc e s t ha t t he y ma y d r a w c o nc e r n -
i ng h i m or o n ac c ount of t he o pi ni o ns t hat t hey ma y f or m c on-
c er ni ng hi s pr of i c i enc y as a l ear ner , or bot h.
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48
So t he pot ent i a l l y good st udent whose r ef er ence gr oup
does not appr ove of t he f or e i gn cu l t ur e or whose c l assmat es
achi eve l ess t han he can, wi l l have t o choose bet ween t wo un-
pl eas ant al t er nat i ves : s ubm t t o t he pr es s ur e of t he r e f er enc egr oup or def y t hat pr essur e and at t empt t o acqui r e a nat i ve-
l i ke pr onunc i at i on of t he t ar get l anguage. W t h r e f er enc e t o
such l ear ners St evi ck comment s t hat :
The subtle subphonemic and suprasegmental aspects
of pronunciationj precisely because they are less nec-
cessary for intelligibility or for academic correct-
ness are the parts of pronunciation which carry the
greatest amount of information about. the student s
loyalty to his native group or his openness to the
48target culture.
St ev i ck i mpl i es t hat t hose l earner s who go beyond t he obj ect -
i ves of i nt el l i gi bi l i t y and ' academ c c or r ec t nes s 1 must l ear n
t o cont r o l t he subphonem c and supr asegment al aspect s of pr o-
nunc i at i on i n or der t o ac hi eve t he obj ec t i ve of nat i ve- l i k e
accur acy.
Accor di ng t o St evi ck , t hen, when t he obj ec t i ves o f pr o-
nunc i at i on l ear ni ng ar e i nt el l i gi bi l i t y and ' academ c c or r ec t -
ness , t he subphonem c and supr asegment al aspect s of pr onun-
c i at i on do not r equi r e par t i c ul ar at t ent i on i n t he t eac hi ng
pr ogr am These obj ect i ves can be r eached by syst emat i c t each-
i ng s t e ps t o war ds a def i ned s t a ndar d of i nt el l i gi bi l i t y. I t i s
assumed t hat once a l ear ner mast er s t he desi r ed st andar d he
wi l l be i n t e l l i g i b l e t o nat i ve speaker s .
The l ear ner mot i vat i on whi ch cor r esponds t o t hi s ob-
j ec t i ve t hen, i s t he des i r e t o l ear n t he l anguage f or ut i l -
i t ar i an r eas ons - i ns t r ument al or i ent at i on. T hi s f or m - of
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49
mot i vat i on seems t o be based on a pr act i ca l need t o be under -
s t ood by speakers of t he t a r get l anguage, and t he pr onunc i a -
t i on sk i l l s acqui r ed become means t o t hat end. The l ea r n er ' s
need can be met i n t he f or mal env i r onment of t he c l assr oom
Si nce he does not need t o seek oppo r t uni t i e s f or f unc t i ona l
pr ac t i s i ng wi t h nat i ve s peak er s , hi s l oyal t y t o hi s own cul -
t ur al gr oup i s not c hal l enged.
St evi c k' s s t at ement a l s o i mpl i es t hat l ear ner ' s who
ar e ' open1 t o t he t ar get c ul t ur e may s uc c eed i n c ont r ol l i ng
t he ' subphonem c' and ' sur pasegment a l ' aspect s o f p r onunc i a -
t i on ei t her t hr ough t hei r own ef f or t s or wi t h t h e he l p of an
ext ended t eachi ng pr ogr am The bas i s f or such ' openness ' woul d
s eem t o be a per s onal i t y t r ai t s i m l ar t o what has been de-49
s c r i bed by Tayl or et al . as ' empat hi c c apac i t y ' , whi c h i s
hel d t o i nc l ude t he abi l i t y t o under s t and ot her peopl e' s f eel -
i ngs , t o appr ec i at e t he det ai l s of t hei r b ehav i our and t o r es -
pond appr opr i at el y .
Gardner( 1966) and Lamber t ( 1963) suggest t hat t hi s bas -
i c per s onal i t y di s pos i t i on i s l i nked wi t h i nt egr at i ve or i en-
t at i on. Ther e i s evi denc e t hat t he c ont r ar y di s pos i t i on, a
t endency t o self- s uf f i c i enc y and pr ej udi c e agai ns t out s i der s ,
i s of t en r ef l ec t ed i n poo r second- l anguage achi evement . A pe r -
son wh o makes l i t t l e pr ogr ess wi t h t he pr onunc i a t i on of a sec -
ond l anguage may be r es i s t i ng what seems t o h i m t o be an en-
c r oac hment on hi s pe r s o n al i t y . 50
The ques t i on ar i ses whet he r an ' empat hi c capac i t y ' i s
r el at ed onl y t o t he phono l ogi ca l a spec t s o f second l anguage
l ear ni ng or i f i t i s al s o r el at ed t o t he ac qui s i t i on of mor -
phol ogy , synt ax and vocabul ar y . Al exander Z. Gui o r a and ass oc -
i a t es , wh o have been at t empt i ng t o s t udy t he r e l a t i onsh i p
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bet ween empat hy and t he abi l i t y t o p r onounce a second l an-
g ua ge , s u gg es t t ha t t he r e i s a s p ec i a l l i nk be t we en e mpa t h y
and pr o nu nc i a t i o n. Gu i o r a ( l 972) de f i n es e mpa t h y a s :
a process of comprehending in which a temporary fusion
of self-object boundaries, as in the earliest pattern
of object relation 3 permits an immediate emotional ap-
prehension of the affective experience of another 3 this
sensing being used by the cognitive functions to gain
understanding of the other.
Gui o r a 5 a ppe ar s t o e qu at e empat h i c c a pac i t y wi t h t h e c on c e pt
of per me abi l i t y o f ego bo unda r i e s . Thus he f ur t he r hy po t h es -
i s es t hat i ndi v i dual v ar i at i ons i n t he abi l i t y t o appr ox i mat e
nat i v e- l i k e pr onunc i a t i on i n a s ec ond l anguage ar e, i n pa r t ,
de t e r m ne d by c er t a i n ps y c ho l o gi c a l v ar i a bl e s be s t s u bs u me d
u nde r t he c o ns t r uc t e mp at h y, or mp r e br o ad l y s p ea k i n g, t he
c onc ept of pe r me abi l i t y of e go b oun da r i e s . ( 1972- 14)
Gui or a ar t i c ul at es a t heor et i c al mo de l i n whi c h he pr o-
pos e s ( 1972) a p s y c h ol o gi c a l c o n s t r u c t l a ngua ge e go wh i c h
he s ees as s i m l ar t o t he. F r e ud i a n no t i o n of bo dy e go. I n t he
c o ur s e of de ve l o pme nt of t hi s l a ngua ge e go , t he l e xi s , s y nt a x,
mo r p ho l o gy and ph ono l o gy of t he i n di v i d ua l ' s l a ng ua ge a c qu i r e
phy s i c al out l i nes and f i r m boundar i es . I n t he ear l y f or mat i v e
s t ages of e go de ve l o pme nt t he l a ngua ge b ar r i e r s f l uc t ua t e.
Bu t o n c e e go dev e l o pme nt i s c o mp l e t e d t h e per me ab i l i t y o f t h e
boundar i es i s shar pl y r e s t r i c t ed. F or Gui or a:
Pronunciation is the most salient aspect of the lan-
ego3 the hardest to penetrate(to acquire in a new lan-
52guage) 3 the most difficult to losedn one s own).
Thes e t heor et i c al s pec ul at i ons l ac k ex per i ment al v er i f i c at i onbut t hey do c ar r y i nt ui t i v e appeal . Chi l dr en do gener al l y
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l ear n a s e cond l anguage wi t ho ut an a c c ent , be c om ng b i l i ngua l
do es s eem t o i nv ol v e t a ki ng on a ne w i de nt i t y , ' f or ei gn ac -
c ent s ' ar e di f f i c ul t f or a dul t s t o ov er c ome and t he des i r e t o
t ak e on a new i dent i t y i s of t e n as s o c i a t e d wi t h s u c c es s f uls e cond- l anguage ac qui s i t i on.
Gui or a et al . ( 19 72b) i n an exper i ment wh i ch i nvol ved
a s s es s i ng s ubj e ct s ' pr o nunc i a t i o n of a s e c ond l anguage af t er
t he i nges t i on of sma l l amount s o f a l coho l , pr ovi ded some ev -
i denc e t hat p r o nunc i a t i o n a bi l i t y i s de pe nde nt o n pe r me abi l -
i t y of ego boundar i e s .Gui o r a ( 1972) a l so suggest ed hypnos i s as an exper i ment -
a l p r ocedur e whi ch coul d bo t h l ower i nhi bi t i ons and mak e a
per s on wi l l i ng t o modi f y a bas i c s el f - i dent i f i c at i on( t he way
he sounds) . The r esu l t s o f an exper i ment under t aken by Schu-
mann e t a l . ^3 i ndi c at e t hat deepl y hy pno t i z e d s u bj e c t s ( a s de -
f i ned by self - r epor t ed dept h) per f or med s i gni f i c ant l y be t t e r
t ha n l es s we l l hy pno t i z e d s u bj e c t s . T he s e r e s ul t s gi v e s o me
exper i ment al s uppor t t o Gui or a' s hy pot he s i s .
Schumann ma i n t a i ns t hat empat h i c capac i t y o r ego f l ex-
i bi l i t y , par t i c ul ar l y as oper at i onal i z ed under t he c onc ept of
l ower i ng of i nhi bi t i ons , i s bes t r egar ded as an es s ent i al f ac -
t or i n t he ov er al l abi l i t y t o ac qui r e a s ec ond l anguage, r at h-
er t han s i mpl y i n t he abi l i t y t o ac qui r e nat i v e- l i k e pr onun-
c i at i on. I f i t i s ac cept ed t hat ' l ower i ng i nhi bi t i ons ' i s nec -
es s a r y f or t he a c qui s i t i o n of a s e cond l anguage i n ge ne r a l ,
t hen Gui or a' s exper i ment ( 1972b) i s par t i c ul ar l y i mpor t ant . I f
ar t i f i c al agent s s uc h as al c ohol c an f os t er p er meabi l i t y of
ego boun da r i es and r educe i nhi bi t i ons t hen i t woul d no t b e u n-
r easonabl e t o a s sume t ha t gi v en f avour abl e n at ur a l psy ch ol og-
i c al f ac t or s , per meabi l i t y of ego boundar i es m ght be pos s i bl e
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f or ev er y one.
54
St evi c k ac c ount s f or l ear ner r e l uc t anc e t o i m t at e
t he s o und p at t e r ns of a s e c ond l a ng ua ge i n l e s s t h eo r e t i c a l
t e r ms :
For a person whose upbringing and previous social dev-
elopment have left him uncomfortable with the people
of a certain culture3 any success at mimicry of the
language of that people will set up conflicts with the
•self-image he has come to depend on.
But dee p af f e ct i v e f ac t or s may pr o mo t e as we l l as i nhi bi t m -
m c r y . S t ev i c k s ugges t s t hat f or s ome pe opl e t he e xpe r i e nc e
of s oundi ng f or ei gn may be s at i s f y i ng and pos i t i v e, es pec i a l l y
i f , d ur i ng an i ndi v i dual ' s a dol es enc e, hi s f am l y was or i ent -
at ed t o wa r ds g r o u ps o ut s i d e t he d i a l e c t a r e a t o wh i c h h i s
pe er s be l o ng ed . T hi s t he s i s i s de ve l o pe d by St e vi c k i n Me m-
o r y , Me an i n g and Me t h od , p ar t i c u l a r l y i n c h ap t e r 4 wh er e hea f f i r ms t ha t ' t he v er y ut t e r a nc e of wo r d s de pe nd s on s o ur c e s
55f ar beyond t he l i ngui s t i c l evel . '
P e r ma ne nt p r o nu nc i a t i o n c h an ge s c o me abou t , t h en , t o
an ex t e nt whi c h i s c ons i s t ent wi t h t h e s t udent ' s s e l f - i mage
t h r o ugh wo r k wh i c h i s don e by t h e s t u de nt , a nd a s par t o f h i s
dev el opi ng r el at i ons hi p ( r eal or i magi nar y ) wi t h s peak er s o f
t he t a r g et l anguage. T he s t udent ' s o wn s e l f - i ma ge d et e r m ne s
ho w muc h e f f o r t he i s wi l l i n g t o ma ke . But t he l i m t whi c h
t he se l f - i mage i mposes may be changed by an i mpr ovement i n
t he l ear ne r ' s f eel i ngs t owar ds s p eak er s of t he l a ngua ge . A
s k i l l f ul , pe r s i s t e nt t ea c her ma y a chi ev e s o me t e mpor ar y c han-
ges beyond t hi s l i m t . But t he l ear ner wi l l r es i s t , o f t en un-
c o ns c i o us l y , p r ac t i s i ng t hes e c ha nges i n hi s s peec h out s i de
of t he cl as s r oom 5* *
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Whet her a psychol ogi ca l account such as t hat of Gui or a
or a soc i ol ogi cal one such as St ev i ck ' s i s used t o desc r i be*
t he i nf l uenc e of af f ec t i ve f ac t o r s i n pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng,
i t i s evi dent t hat c er t ai n as pec t s of Engl i s h ar e l i kel y t o
be under st ood and cont r ol l ed onl y by t hose l ear ner s who have
a s t r ong wi sh t o ' sound l i ke1 a nat i ve speaker . I n or der t o
r espond t o nat i ve speaker s appr opr i a t e l y , communi cat i ng hi s
own i nt ent i ons , opi ni ons , and emot i ons , t he l earner must dev-
el op t he abi l i t y t o expr ess wi l l and emot i on t hr ough t he cor -
r ec t i nt onat i onal pat t er ns . I t i s al s o appar ent t hat nat i ve
speaker s pr ogr ess f r om one pr onunc i at i on s t y l e t o ano t her , de-
pendi ng on t he audi ence, t he medi um and t he mood of t he speak-
er . So t he l ear ner must al so be abl e t o di s t i ngui sh and con-
t r ol t he v ar i ous s t yl es wi t hi n t he pr onunc i at i on of t he gr oup
whi ch has been sel ect ed as a model .
I n or der t o be abl e t o us e t h es e var i ant s i n t hei r pr o-per i mpl i c at i onal pat t er ns , a l ear ner needs t o appr ec i at e t hat
c er t ai n f or ms of ex pr es s i ng i nt ent i on and f eel i ng i n t he t ar -
get l anguage wi l l have a di f f er ent emot i ve f or ce t han i n hi s
own l anguage. An exampl e i s t he use of i nt onat i ona l pat t er ns
t oget her wi t h f ac i al expr ess i ons t o i ndi cat e unders t at ement
i n Engl i sh . When a l ear ner acknowl edges t he val i di t y o f suchdi s t i nc t i ve f or ms i n t he t ar get l anguage , he conf i r ms hi s op-
enness t o t hat cul t ur e and hi s wi l l i ngness t o l ear n how t o ex -
pr es s hi s own i nt ent i ons , opi ni ons a nd f eel i ngs i n t hat l an-
guage .
Onl y t hose s tudent s who ar e pos i t i vel y o r i ent at ed t o-
war ds t he t ar get c ul t ur e ar e l i kel y t o us e t he l ear ni ng s t r at -
egi es t o pr act i se t hese f eat ur es . They may dec i de t o seek ex-
t r a knowl edge about t he f eat ur es of pr onunc i at i on , espec i al l y
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54
subphonem c vowe l r educt i on and supr asegment a l i n t onat i on pat -
t er ns , whi c h c har ac t er i s e nat i v e s peak er s . They wi l l t ak e op-
por t uni t i es t o l i s t en and s peak i n c ommuni c at i v e s i t uat i ons ,
mo ni t o r i ng t h ei r o wn s peec h and t hat o f o t he r s . I n a ddi t i o n,
t hey wi l l ex pand t hei r o pe r a t i v e k no wl e dge of pr o nunc i a t i o n
f or ms by i nf er enc i ng f r om t hei r k nowl edge of t he t ar get c ul -
t ur e, f r om t hei r i mpl i c i t k nowl edge of pr onunc i at i on f or ms
and f r om t hei r o wn r es pons e s and t ho s e of ot he r s i n f unc t i o n-
al s i t uat i ons .
The c ent r al r ol e of at t i t udi nal f ac t or s i n pr onunc i a-
t i on l ear ni ng has c l ear i mpl i c at i ons f or pr o nunc i at i o n t eac h-
i ng. T he s e ar e c ons i der ed i n t he f i nal s e c t i o n whe r e a r at i on-
al e f or pr onunc i at i on t eac hi ng i s di s c us s e d.
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55
5. 8. A RATI ONALE FOR PRONUNCI ATI ON TEACHI NG.
Thi s f i nal s ec t i on wi l l be c onc er ned wi t h pr ov i di ng a
s et of pr i nc i pl ed r e as ons f or s el ec t i ng an appr opr i at e c our s e
of ac t i on, t hat i s , a r at i onal e f or t eac hi ng t he pr onunc i at i on
of a s ec ond l anguage. I t wi l l dr aw on t he v i e ws o f v ar i o us of
t he aut hor s r ef er r ed t o i n t hi s paper , i n par t i c ul ar , St ev i c k,
S t r evens , Ba i l ey and Newmar k and Re i bel .
Strevens^ c l a i ms t hat f or t he pur pos e s of es t abl i s hi ng
t he most appr opr i a t e met hods and t echn i ques f o r t each i ng pr o -
nunc i at i on t o a given g r o up of l ear ner s , i t i s not a t heor y
t hat i s r e qui r ed but a r at i onal e. Suc h a r at i onal e s houl d be
open t o pho ne t i c t he or y , p ho no l o gi c a l t heo r y and t he or e t i c a l
s t a t ement s about t he r e l a t i onsh i p bet ween phono l ogy and syn-
t ax , but not at t empt t o t r ans f er s c i ent i f i c t h eor y di r ec t l y
t o t eac hi ng pr ac t i c e.
Ther e i s some d i f f e r ence of opi n i on among t he au t hor s
ment i oned above about t he most e f f ec t i ve t each i ng appr oach t o
f ac i l i t at e pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng, es pec i al l y of t hos e f eat ur -
es o f t he second l anguage whi ch t he l ear ne r ' s n at i v e l anguage
di s pos es hi m t o over l ook . But i t wi l l be s een t hat t hes e di f -
f er enc es a r e of emphas i s r at he r t han of o r i e nt a t i o n. T he vi e ws
of eac h of t hes e aut hor s a r e c ons i s t ent wi t h t h e pos i t i on of
Newmar k and Rei be l 5 8 who c hal l enge t he c l ai m t hat 19 t he l an-
guage cour se wr i t e r and t he t eacher must o r der pedagog i ca l
mat er i al t o r ef l ec t a t heor et i c al l y s ound des c r i pt i on of t he
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56
nat i ve and t a r get l anguages , and 29 t hat l anguage i s most e f -
f i c i ent l y t aught when s t r uc t ur e i s t aught s e par at el y f r om us e
( as i mpl i ed by s t r uc t ur al dr i l l s ) . Thes e c l ai ms s how l i t t l e
c o ns i de r a t i o n f or t he r ol e of t he l e ar ner ( exc ept as a ge ne r -at or of i nt er f er enc e) , and l i t t l e c onc er n wi t h l ear ni ng t o us e
a l anguage. The aut hor s ment i oned above acknowl edge t he pr i m-
ar y r ol e of t he l ear ner , es pec i al l y i n ac qui r i ng sk i l l s s uc h
as t hos e i nv ol v ed i n ac c ur a t e p r o nunc i a t i o n.
These aut hor s agr ee t hat any l ear ner wi t h nor ma l phys -
i ol ogi c al equi pment wi l l have a pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng a bi l -i t y whi c h i s i ndepe nde nt of any need f or i ns t r uc t i o n or o t her
ext e r na l i nt e r f e r ence . They ack nowl edge t ha t adul t s do h av e
some di sadvant ages compar ed wi t h chi l d r en when l ear ni ng t o
pr onounce a second l anguage . Bu t t he l ear ni ng sk i l l s t hey de -
v el op can compensa t e f or t he abi l i t i e s wh i ch have been r educ -
ed, so t ha t adul t s a r e a t no r eal d i sadv ant age wh en l ear ni ng
t o m m c new s ounds i f pr ov i ded wi t h a s ui t abl e mo de l . A s ui t -
abl e mo de l f or p r o nunc i a t i o n . l ear ni ng wo ul d i nc l ude t he f ul l
r ange. of v er bal pat t er ns wi t hi n t he s e l ec t ed s t yl es of t he
t a r g et l a nguage .
59
Newmar k and Re i be l a r gue t ha t i f t he l ear ne r i s pr o -
v i ded wi t h enough i ns t ances o f t he l anguage i n use he wi l l n ot
need t o h av e ana l y s i s and gene r a l i z a t i on about t hose wh ol es
made f or h i m. The t eache r ' s r o l e i s t o ensu r e t ha t t he mat e r -
i al s a r e gr a s pa bl e as us a bl e i t ems by t he l e ar ne r . T he s t ud-
ent can ana l y se and di s cov er t he r es t .
Thi s c l ai m s eems t o be mos t r el evant f or l ear ner s l i v-
i ng i n an env i r onment wher e t he t a r get l anguage i s s poken nat -
i v el y . T he r e ar e i nnume r a bl e c as e s of s uc h l ear ner s a c qui r i ng
go od pr o nunc i a t i o n t hr o ugh t he i r own a na l y s i s , pr a c t i c e and
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di s c ov er y , mak i ng pr ogr es s i ve appr oxi mat i ons t o nat i v e- l i k e
ac c ur ac y, and wi t h l i t t l e or no f or mal pr ac t i c e i n t he s ounds
of t he t ar get l anguage. F or t hes e l ear ner s i t i s r eas o nabl e
t o ma i nt a i n t ha t any di f f i cu l t i e s encount e r ed can be ov er come
s i mpl y wi t h mor e and bet t er exposur e t o t he t a r get l anguage
i n us e.
F or l ear ner s l i v i ng i n t hei r nat i v e env i r o nment wi t h
ver y l i m t ed oppor t uni t i es f or f unc t i onal pr ac t i c e i n t he t ar -
ge t l angua ge, St ev i c k ' s c l ai ms a bo ut t he r ol e of l ea r n er at -
t i t udes i n pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng have di r ec t r el evanc e. W t h-
out adequa t e oppo r t uni t i e s f or deve l opi ng good l i s t eni ng com-
pr ehens i on o f t he sounds of t he t a r ge t l anguage , t hese l ear n-
er s a r e depend ant on t he c l a s s r oom exper i ences p l anned by t he
t eache r f or deve l opi ng l i s t eni ng compr ehens i on and f or p r ac -
t i s i ng t he s ound pat t er ns .
S t e v i c k ^ has s uc c es s f ul l y ar gued t h at t he t eac her of
p r onunc i a t i on needs t o c r eat e a non - j udgment a l a t mospher e i n
t he c l a s s r o om s o t ha t s t ude nt s a r e f r ee t o m m c ne w s o unds
wi t hout bei ng made t o f eel t hat t hey sound st r ange when t hey
m m c we l l , and wi t ho ut be c om ng a nx i ous a bo ut t he pr o c es s of
mak i ng t he sound. The t eacher shoul d make i t easy f or t he s t u-
dent s t o f i nd out f or t hemse l v es how t he i r e f f o r t s compar e
wi t h t he pr o nunc i at i o n s t andar d f or t he c our s e .
So a su i t abl e mode l must do mor e t han conf o r m t o and
exempl i f y t he phonet i c s t andar d wh i ch has been chosen f o r t he
c our s e , and be t i mel y wi t h r e s pec t t o t he l i ngui s t i c as pec t s
o f t h e student ' s r ea di nes s . I t s houl d al s o be s po ken i n a wa y
whi c h wi l l r educ e t he s t udent ' s bar r i er s a gai ns t s oundi ng l i k e
a f or e i gne r . Thi s me ans t hat t he t e ac he r i s enga ge d i n bui l d-
i ng a r el at i ons hi p t hat wi l l pe r m t t he s t udent t o c hange
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58
e i t he r t he way he sees hi mse l f o r t he way he sees f o r e i g ne r s ,
or b ot h.
St evi c k 6 ma i nt a i ns t hat i n s uc h an i nf o r ma t i v e, no n-
eval uat i ve at mospher e s t udent s l ear n most o f what t hey need
t o k now. Any necessa r y i nf o r mat i on wh i ch i s no t acqui r ed i n
t hi s l ear ni ng pr o ce s s c an be pr ov i ded by t he t e ac he r i n br i e f ,
mat t er - o f - f ac t s t a t ement s addr essed t o t he whol e g r oup . When
pr onunc i at i on i s t aught i n t hi s way , i nf or mat i on f r om ar t i c -
ul at or y pho ne t i c s i s s el do m ne ede d, but i t c a n be pr o vi de d
wh en t he s t udent s a re r eady f or i t .
5 2
St evi c k c hal l enges t he ' appl i ed l i ngui s t i c s v i ew' of
pr o nunc i a t i o n l ear ni ng be c aus e of i t s al mo s t e xc l us i v e pr e-
oc c upat i on wi t h t he l i ngui s t i c s i de of t he pr oc es s . St udent s
f i nd out e mpi r i c al l y t hat t hey can gener al l y i gnor e c er t ai n
vowel di s t i nc t i ons ( f or exampl e, b eat - bi t ) and s t i l l be eas -
i l y unde r s t oo d i n no n- a c ade m c s e t t i ngs . On t he o t h er ha nd ,
c er t a i n wo r d endi ngs ar e v i t a l ( under s t andi ng i s r educ ed i f
t he gl ot t al s t op i s s ubs t i t ut ed f or f i nal p, t >. k. }. So St evi c k
def ends i nt el l i gi bi l i t y as a pr ac t i c al obj ec t i ve of s ec ond-
l anguage l ear ni ng.
F ur t he r , t he l ar gel y i nt e r n al wo r k do ne by t he s t ude nt
i s mo r e i mpor t ant t han t he t eac her ' s ex pl anat i ons . St ev i c k' sphi l os ophy has a pl ac e f or m m c r y and f or p honet i c de s c r i p-
t i on. But i t s ees t he l ear ni ng of pr onunc i at i on as onl y one
as pec t of a t ot al pr oc es s , s oc i al i n nat ur e, whi c h i nvol ves
t he whol e l ear ner and not j us t t he speech appar at us and cog-
ni t i ve f acul t i es .
Eac h of t he a ut ho r s c ons i der ed i n t hi s s e c t i o n a dv oc -
at es t h e l ear ni ng of p r o nunc i a t i o n t hr o ugh r egul a r c o nt a c t
wi t h t he t a r g et l anguage i n us e . T he ma i n di f f e r e nc e i n
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emphas i s i s bet ween t he obj ec t i ves of i nt el l i gi bi l i t y and
nat i ve- l i ke accur acy. Whi l e St evi ck and Newmar k and Re i be l
ar e concer ned wi t h how t he l ear ne r can mos t ef f i c i ent l y a t t a i n
i nt el l i gi bl e pr onunc i at i on, Bai l ey and St r evens , t he t wo ot her
aut hor s t o be cons i de r ed, ar e concer ned t o i dent i f y t hose
l ear ni ng ex per i enc es nec es s a r y t o ac qui r e nat i v e- l i k e ac c ur -
acy i n a second l anguage.
These' aut hor s agr ee t hat most peopl e l ear n most o f t he
e l ement s o f p r onunc i a t i on eas i l y any way, but t hey di v er ge f r om
St evi ck and Newmar k and Rei bel on how r esi dual pr obl ems shoul d
6 3
be t r eat ed. Bai l ey f oc us es on t wo as pec t s of n at i v e- l i k e pr o-
nunc i at i on i n Engl i s h. He not es t hat d i al ec t i c al di f f er enc es
i n Engl i sh ar e no t so much di f f e r ences i n pr onunc i a t i on as
di f f er enc es i n whi c h pr onunc i at i ons a r e t ol er at ed i n whi c h
s t yl es . Thus , ac c or di ng t o Bai l ey , t hr ee s t yl es ar e nec es s ar y
when l ear ni ng t he pr onunci at i on of t he wor ds mont hs and gov-
er nment : a di s a mbi gua t i ng, a pl at f or m and a c as ual s t y l e.
Sec ondl y , t o ac qui r e a nat i v e- l i k e ac c ent i n a s ec ond
64
l anguage, Ba i l ey not es t hat one must l ear n t he use o f t hose
phenomena cal l ed ' m s t ak es ' by l ay men and ' l at e ass i m l at o r y
and ot her r ul es ' by l i ngui s t s . I n or der t o eval uat e s t yl i s -
t i c v ar i at i on and t o di s t i ngui s h whi c h er r or s ar e and ar e no t
nat i ve- l i k e, pr onunc i at i on l ear ner s need r egul ar c ont ac t wi t h
s uc h s t yl es and ' er r or s ' . L ear ner s wi l l r ec ogni z e var i ous s t y-
l es and i di omat i c p r onunc i a t i ons i f t hese ar e pr esent ed r ecr —
ul ar l y . They al s o need gui ded ex er c i s e s t o pr ac t i s e t he v ar -
i ous s t y l es and nat i ve- l i ke ' m s t akes ' .
Meanwhi l e , St r evens t akes up t he chal l enge of t hose
pr obl ems wh i ch , accor di ng t o Newmar k and Re i be l , can be l e f t
t o t he s t udent , and, ac c or di ng t o St e vi c k , c an be r e s ol v ed wi t h
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60
ma t t e r - o f - f a c t s t at e me nt s by t h e t e ac he r . He ma i nt a i n s t ha t a
l ar ge pa r t of t he pr o nunc i a t i o n- l e ar ni ng t as k c an be ac hi ev ed
t hr ough ex pos ur e t o a s ui t abl e mo de l , us i ng ex pl anat i on, i m t -
at i on and m m c r y . But f or t hos e as pec t s of pr onunc i at i on6 5
wh i c h t he adul t l ear ner d oe s not r ea di l y ac qu i r e , St r ev ens
adv oc at e s t he us e of s peec h t r ai ni ng and pr a c t i c a l ph one t i c s .
Hi s ar gument i s t hat l i ngui s t i c al l y s ophi s t i c at ed adul t s c an
benef i t f r o m t he del i ber at e us e of dr i l l s and exer c i s es i n
pr ac t i c al ear - t r ai ni ng and pho ne t i c s . Whe r e a s yo ung l ea r n er s
wi l l l ear n bes t t hr ough m m c r y wi t h s peec h- t r a i ni ng games
f or i nt er es t and f or s pec i al po i nt s of d i f f i c ul t y , b ut wi t h
no us e of phone t i c s . 6 6
Mor e s pec i f i c al l y , St r evens s ugges t s t hr ee di s t i nc t
t eac hi ng t ec hni ques t o f ac i l i t at e pr onunc i at i on l ear ni ng:
19 i ns t r uc t i ons t o i m t at e and m m c c er t a i n s ounds , wi t h-
out f ur t her ex pl anat i on.
29 s p eec h t r a i n i n g, t he c o ns t r u c t i o n of s p ec i a l ga me s and
ex er c i s es t o pr ac t i s e par t i c ul ar s o unds , s equenc es of s o unds ,
s t r es s pat t er ns , r hy t h m, i nt onat i on, et c .
39 pr ac t i c al phonet i c s i nc l udi ng a) d es c r i pt i ons o f t he or -
gans of s peec h, b ) des c r i pt i on of t he ar t i c ul at i on of s o unds ,
c ) des c r i pt i ons of s t r es s and r hy t hm, and d) e ar t r a i ni ng,
t hat i s , pr ac t i c e i n audi t or y di s c r i m nat i on.
An e s s e nt i a l a s pe c t of S t r e ve n' s r e c omme nd at i o ns i s
t hat t e ac her s s houl d r ec ei v e s uf f i c i ent s p ec i a l i z ed t r a i ni ng
t o enabl e t h em t o appl y t he ma xi mum s o phi s t i c at i on of pr o-
nunc i at i on - t eac hi ng t ec hni que t hat i s s ui t abl e f or t he r ead-6 7
i ne s s of t he l e ar ne r s . S t r e ve ns c o nc l u de s t ha t p eo pl e wh o
l e ar n a s e c o nd l a ngua ge c an l e ar n goo d p r o nu nc i a t i o n at a ny
age . T hey wi l l ac t ual l y do s o i f t he t e ac hi ng t o wh i c h t hey
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are exposed t akes account o f t he f o r ego i ng r ecommendat i ons .
The c r i t er i on of nat i v e- l i k e ac c ur ac y has pr ov i ded a
r ef er enc e poi nt f or t he di s c us s i on of t he v ar i ous f ac t or s
whi ch t oge t he r account f or di f f e r ences i n p er f o r mance among
l ear ner s when p r onounc i ng a second l anguage such as Eng l i sh .
Y et i t i s al s o r ec ogni z ed t hat s e cond- l anguage l ear ner s , par -
t i cul a r l y t hose wh o do no t l i v e i n count r y wh er e t ha t l anguage
i s s pok en nat i v el y , us ual l y hav e l i t t l e oppor t uni t y or need
t o ac qui r e t he f i ner det ai l s whi c h di s t i ngui s h nat i ve pr o-
nunc i at i on. A mor e r eal i s t i c obj ec t i ve f or t hes e l ear ner s i s
t o a cqui r e t h e gener al us e of t he s ec ond l a nguage , t hat i s ,
intelligibility. T he r at i onal e pr ovi ded i n t hi s s ec t i on i s
c onc er ned wi t h bot h of t hes e obj ec t i v es : i t p r o vi des f or t he
l i m t ed t i me and oppor t uni t i es av ai l abl e t o mo s t l ear ner s f or
f unc t i o nal pr a c t i s i ng, whi l e pr o po s i ng ho w l ear ner s c an be
pr ov i ded wi t h t he me ans t o a c qui r e na t i v e- l i k e pr o nunc i a t i o n.
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62
5. 9. CONCLUSI ON.
When assess i ng t he pr onunc i a t i on o f non- na t i v e sp eak-
er s of Engl i s h, native - l i k e ac c ur ac y s ho ul d be t he unde r l y i ng
c r i t er i on of j udgment . But f or s t udent s who ha ve l i t t l e c on-
t ac t wi t h nat i ve s peaker s i n f unc t i onal s i t uat i ons , i nt el l i gi -bi l i t y s houl d be t he i mmedi at e obj ec t i v e of pr onunc i at i on
l ear ni ng.
Acco r di ng t o t he t heor e t i ca l mode l o f second l anguage
l ear ni ng developed by Bai l ys t ok , i ndi v i dual di f f er enc es i n
ac hi ev ement c an be at t r i but ed t o di f f er enc es i n t he ef f i c i enc y
wi t h whi c h t he mo de l oper at es f or d i f f e r e nt peopl e. T ha t i s ,i n or der t o devel op i nt el l i gi bl e pr onunc i at i on, s t udent s need
t o ut i l i z e t he l ear ni ng s t r at egi es , maxi m z i ng t he ef f i c i enc y
of t he l ear ni ng pr oc es s e s .
A c ons i der at i on of t he r ol e of af f ec t i ve f ac t o r s i n
pr o nunc i a t i o n l ear ni ng s ugges t s t ha t a n e mpa t h i c c a pac i t y i s
c har ac t er i s t i c o f t hos e l ear ner s who ar e mo s t s uc c es s f ul i n
pr o no unc i ng a s e co nd l anguage: t hat i s , a s t r ong o r i e nt a t i o n
t owar ds t he t ar get c ul t ur e f ac i l i t at es t he ac qui s i t i on of
t hos e f eat ur es whi c h c har a c t e r i z e na t i v e- s p ee c h. No do ubt t he
t eac her , ha s a v i t al r ol e i n t he c l a s s r o om, c r e at i ng a non-
j udgment al atmosphere i n o r d er t o r educ e the s t udent ' s bar -
r i er s agai ns t s o undi ng l i ke a f or ei gner . I n t hi s wa y, t he ob-
j ec t i ve of native- l i k e a cc ur a cy can be pr o vi de d f or i n a ddi -
t i on t o t hat of i nt e l l i gi bi l i t y .
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63
BI BLI OGRAPHY
ABE RCROMBI E , Da vi d . E l e me nt s of Ge ne r a l P ho ne t i c s . E di n bu r gh,
Uni v er s i t y P r e s s , 1967.
AT KI NSON, R. E . B. R. P . a nd E ng l i s h as a Wo r l d L a ngua ge . I RAL ,
13, No . 5( 1975) , 69- 72.r
BAI L EY , Ch. - J . N. Nat i v e Ac c e nt and L ea r n i ng Engl i s h as a F or -
e i gn Language' . ' I RAL , 16, No . 3 ( 1978) , 229 - 40.
BAI L Y STOK, El l e n. A T he o r e t i c a l Mo de l of Sec o nd L a ngua ge
L ea r n i ng. L anguage L e ar ni ng, 28, No . 1( 1978) , 6 9- 83.
CHRI STOPHERSEN, Pau l . Second Language Lear n i ng. Har mondsvzor t h ,
•Pengui n , 1973.
GUI ORA, A. Z. and W. R. ACTON. Per sona l i t y and Language Behav-
i our : A Restatement. L a ng ua ge L e ar n i n g, 29, No . 1 ( 1 97 9) ,
19 3- 20 4.
KRASHEN, S . D. and H. W SEL I NGER. The Ro l e o f Fo r ma l and I n -
f o r ma l E nv i r o nme nt s i n Se co nd L a ng ua ge L e ar ni n g. L i n gu i s -
t i c s , No. 172( 1976) , pp. 15- 21.
MCDONAL D, P . F . a nd J . C. SAGE R. Be yo nd Co nt e x t u al S t u di e s .
I RAL , 16, No.3( 1975) , 19- 34.
NE WMARK , L . a nd D. RE I BE L . Ne c es s i t y an d Suf f i c i e nc y i n L a n -
gu age L e ar ni ng . I RAL , 6, No . 3( 196 8) , 145- 64.
P ARI SH, C. A. A P r a c t i c a l Phi l os ophy of P r o nunc i at i o n. Te s ol
Quar t er l y , 13, No. 3( 1977) , 311- 17.
SCHUMANN, J . A. ' Affective F ac t o r s a nd t he P r o bl e m of Ag e i n
Se c on d L a ng ua ge Ac q ui s i t i o n. L a ng ua ge L e ar n i n g, 25, No . 2
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64
( 1975) , 209- 75.
SCHUMANN, J . A. et a l . I mpr ovement s of For e i gn Language Lear n-
i ng Under Hypnos i s . A Pr e l i m nar y St udy . Language Lear n-
i ng, 28, No. I ( 1978) , . 143- 8.
STEVI CK, E. W Towar ds a P r a c t i c al Phi l os ophy of P r o nunc i at i o n.
annf hpr Vi pw. Tes o l Quar t er l y , 12, No . 2( 1978) , 145- 50.
STREVENS, P . A Rat i ona l e For Teachi ng Pr onunc i a t i on. The
Ri val Vi r t ues of I nnoc enc e and Sophi s t i c at i on. EL T J our nal ,
28, No . 3( 1974) , 182- 7.
SUTER, R. W P r edi c t or s of P r onunc i a t i on Accur acy i n Second
Language Lear ni ng. Language Lear n i ng, 26, No . 2( 1976) ,
233- 53.
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65
NOTES
I R. E . B. A t k i ns o n, R. P. and Engl i s h as a F or e i gn L angua ge
I RAL , 13, No. I ( 1975) , 71.
2
At k i ns o n, p. 71.
3Da vi d Abercrornbie, El e me nt s of . Ge ne r a l P ho ne t i c s . ( Edi n-
bur gh, Uni v er s i t y Pr e s s , 1967) , pp. 95- 102.
4Ch . - J . N. Bai l ey , Nat i ve Ac c ent and L ear ni ng Engl i s h as
a F or e i g n L a ngu age . I RAL , 1 6, No . 3 ( 1 97 8) , 233.
5E l l e n Ba i l y s t o k, A T he or e t i c a l Mo de l o f S ec ond L a ngu ag e
L ear ni ng. L angua ge L e ar n i ng , 28, No . 1( 1978) , 71.
6E r v i n - T r i pp i n J o a n Ru bi n , ' - ' what t h e ' Good L an gu age
L ear ner ' Ca n Te ac h Us . T es o l Qu ar t e r l y , 9, No . 1( 1975) , 44.nRubi n, pp. 44- 5.
Q
Rubi n, p. 45.
R̂u bi n , p . 46.
l 0Ba i l y s t o k , p. 79.
I I Ba i l y s t o k , p. 79.
l 2Ba i l y s t o k , p . 79.I 3 Ru bi n , p . 47.
l 4Ba i l y s t ok , p . 76.
I 5Ru bi n , p . 49.
l 6Ba i l y s t o k , p. 81.
l 7C a r r o l l ( l 9 66 ) i n Rub i n , p . 44 .I 8 C. A. Par i s h, A Pr ac t i c al Phi l os ophy of P r onunc i at i on.
T es o l Quar t er l y , 13, No.3( 1977) , pp. 312- 3.I 9 S . D. Kr a s he n and H. W. S el i n ge r , The Ro l e o f F or ma l and
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66
I nf o rmal Env i r onment s i n Second Language Lear ni ng. L i ngui s -
t i c s , 172( 1976) , pp. 15- 21.
20
Ri c har d W S ut er , Pr edi c t or s of Pr onunc i at i on Ac c ur ac y
i n Second Language Lear ni ng. Language Lear n i ng, 26, No. 2( 1976)
233- 52.
21Kr ashen and Se l i nge r , p. 15.22
Kr ashen and Se l i nge r , p. 19.
2 3Sut e r , p. 246.
24Bai l ys t ok , p. 71.
25Bi al ys t ok, p. 79.
26Kr ashen and Se l i nge r , p. 20.27
Bai l ys t ok, p. 77.
Bai l ys t ok, p. 79.
29Bai l ys t ok, p. 81.
30Bai l ey , p. 239.
31Bai l ys t ok, p. 82.
32
Pet er St r ev ens , A Rat i onal e f or Teac hi ng Pr onunc i at i on.EL T J o ur nal , 28, No . 3( 1974) , 183.
3 3Sut e r , p. 244.
34Rubi n, p. 49.
35St r ev ens , p. 184.
36St r ev ens , p. 184.
37Rubi n, p. 49.
38St r ev ens , p. 182.
39Rubi n, p. 49.
40St r ev ens , p. 184.
41Rubi n, p. 49.
4 2 L . Newmar k and D. Rei bel , Necess i t y and Suf f i c i ency i n
Language Lea r n i ng. I RAL , 6 , No . 3( 1968) , 155.
43Newmar k änd Rei bel , p . 159.44J ohn H. Schumann, Af f ec t i v e Fac t o r s and t he P r obl em of
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67
Ag e i n Second Language Acq ui s i t i on. Language Lear ni n g, 25,
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