ELL ELL Pronunciation and Phonics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'suprasegmental phonology' and why should ELL teachers address it?
- The study of individual vowel sounds only
- The study of stress, rhythm, intonation, and tone patterns that operate above the level of individual sounds (Correct answer)
- The study of written punctuation marks
- The study of grammar at the sentence level
Correct answer: The study of stress, rhythm, intonation, and tone patterns that operate above the level of individual sounds
Suprasegmental features like word stress, sentence rhythm, and intonation patterns affect meaning and intelligibility in English, making them important areas of ELL pronunciation instruction.
Question 2: Why is 'word stress' particularly important for ELL speakers of tonal or syllable-timed languages?
- English word stress is identical to all other languages
- English is a stress-timed language where stressed syllables affect meaning, unlike syllable-timed languages where all syllables get equal weight (Correct answer)
- Word stress is not relevant to English comprehension
- Only native speakers need to learn word stress
Correct answer: English is a stress-timed language where stressed syllables affect meaning, unlike syllable-timed languages where all syllables get equal weight
English is stress-timed, meaning stressed syllables carry primary meaning and occur at regular intervals; ELLs from syllable-timed languages (e.g., French, Spanish) must learn to apply English stress patterns.
Question 3: What is the goal of pronunciation instruction for ELL students according to most current research?
- To eliminate all traces of a foreign accent
- To develop intelligibility and communicative effectiveness rather than accent-free speech (Correct answer)
- To have ELLs sound exactly like native speakers
- To focus only on reading and writing pronunciation
Correct answer: To develop intelligibility and communicative effectiveness rather than accent-free speech
Current research emphasizes developing intelligibility — being clearly understood by listeners — rather than eradicating accents, which is an unrealistic and potentially harmful goal.
Question 4: What is 'elision' in spoken English, and how does it affect ELL listening comprehension?
- Elision means speaking very slowly and clearly
- Elision is the dropping or blending of sounds in connected speech (e.g., 'gonna' for 'going to'), which can make natural speech hard to understand (Correct answer)
- Elision is a formal writing style
- Elision means adding extra sounds to words
Correct answer: Elision is the dropping or blending of sounds in connected speech (e.g., 'gonna' for 'going to'), which can make natural speech hard to understand
Elision and connected speech features like contractions and reductions (e.g., 'wanna,' 'gonna,' 'didja') make natural spoken English differ significantly from the written form ELLs often study.
Question 5: How can teachers support ELL students who have difficulty producing sounds that do not exist in their home language?
- Ignore pronunciation differences completely
- Use mouth diagrams, minimal pair practice, and explicit articulation instruction to target specific sound contrasts (Correct answer)
- Require ELLs to repeat sounds 100 times silently
- Only address pronunciation in the home language
Correct answer: Use mouth diagrams, minimal pair practice, and explicit articulation instruction to target specific sound contrasts
Explicit instruction using visual mouth diagrams, minimal pairs, and guided articulation practice helps ELLs notice and practice sounds that are absent from their phonological repertoire.
Question 6: What does research suggest about the critical period hypothesis and ELL pronunciation acquisition?
- Age has no effect on pronunciation acquisition
- Younger ELLs generally acquire native-like pronunciation more easily; adults can still improve intelligibility but rarely achieve accent-free speech (Correct answer)
- Adults always acquire pronunciation faster than children
- The critical period applies only to vocabulary
Correct answer: Younger ELLs generally acquire native-like pronunciation more easily; adults can still improve intelligibility but rarely achieve accent-free speech
The critical period hypothesis suggests that children who begin acquiring English before puberty are more likely to develop native-like pronunciation, while adult ELLs typically retain an accent but can still develop strong intelligibility.
ELL ELL Pronunciation and Phonics 2
What is 'suprasegmental phonology' and why should ELL teachers address it?