Following the AAAL conference, I will present twice at the 2015 TESOL Convention in Toronto (March 26-28, 2015). The first one is a research-oriented paper and is part of my doctoral research. It has been awarded the TESOL Award for an Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues, and focuses on the impact of a postgraduate course on non-native student teacher cognition about pronunciation pedagogy. Here is the abstract of the session:
Exploring the Development of NNEST Cognition about Pronunciation Pedagogy This session presents a study exploring how the cognition (thoughts, beliefs, and knowledge) of ten non-native student teachers developed during a graduate course on pronunciation pedagogy. Based on findings, implications for training NNEST in pronunciation teaching will be discussed and general recommendations for effective language teacher education will be made. The second presentation is a workshop I'm doing with several colleagues from Vancouver. As in previous years, we'll be training session attendees in the use of haptic pronunciation teaching techniques. It would be great to see you there: Haptic (English) Pronunciation Teaching Workshop This workshop introduces a set of six haptic (movement + touch)-based techniques for presenting and correcting English L2 pronunciation, applicable for intermediate English language learners and above. Guided by research on kinaesthetic approaches to L2 pronunciation instruction, the presenters train participants to use the instructional techniques in their classrooms.
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Reading about the complexity of L2 teacher education is one thing, but wrestling with the issue as part of my PhD has been an eye-opening experience. Having been involved in second language teacher education (SLTE) in a variety of contexts over the past few years, I have seen first-hand how student teachers learn, internalize and embrace course content. Others struggled, developed negative attitudes and seemed to learn little. However, analysing (this is an ongoing process) an enormous amount of data I collected last year has helped me better understand the magnitude educating and preparing L2 teachers entails. In a nutshell, my study examines how pronunciation teachers are prepared. This is an interesting area because little has been done in the context of pronunciation teacher preparation and because many (if not most) L2 teachers find pronunciation challenging to teach (Foote, Holtby, & Derwing, 2011; Macdonald, 2002). What’s intriguing is that many factors facilitate or restrict the development of student teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and thoughts (i.e. cognition). Yet, the fact that these components are almost impossible to be separated (Borg, 2006) complicates things. Additionally, the process of learning to teach L2 (or in my research context, learning to teach pronunciation) appears to be an individualistic, uneven and complicated process. In other words, what works for one student teachers, may not work for another one, and be downright wrong for a third teacher candidate. These challenges seem to be rather overwhelming and you may question why anyone would get involved in educating L2 teachers. My research, however, suggests that SLTE does work and can be effective. At same time, it holds enormous potential for educators to shape teacher candidates’ lives and send them off well-equipped to teach language in whatever context that might eventually be. So, although being involved in SLTE has its challenges, it is definitely an exciting enterprise which should not become boring anytime soon. Papers that I’m now working on will support this. Stay tuned! References: Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Continuum. Foote, J. A., Holtby, A. K., & Derwing, T. M. (2011). Survey of the teaching pronunciation in adult ESL programs in Canada, 2010. TESL Canada Journal, 29(1), 1-22. Macdonald, S. (2002). Pronunciation – views and practices of reluctant teachers. Prospect, 17(3), 3-18. I’m part of a listserv that consists of folks (based around the world) specializing in pronunciation teaching and research. A couple of weeks ago, one of the members raised an interesting point I had never considered: refugees studying English as second language may be unable to hear sounds and subsequently struggle with pronouncing them because of hearing impairment they suffered while residing in war zones. This makes sense, but I now wonder how many of my former students had hearing problems without me knowing about it. Therefore, I think that goes to show that to facilitate our students' learning process (more) effectively, we language teachers would be well-advised to make every possible effort to get to know our students on a personal level. In the last few months I've done quite a bit of work in the area of accents and English varieties, particularly in a pronunciation teaching context. I've also compiled a literature review on phonological approaches to literacy instruction in public schools. In the process I've come across research that investigated whether teacher dialects have an effect on pupils' literacy development (e.g. Terry et al, 2012), which I find extremely fascinating. If this were indeed the case, imagine all the implications! How about English pronunciation instruction? Studies have revealed that (even heavily) accented English speakers can be comprehensible and intelligible (e.g. Munro & Derwing, 1995; Murphy, 2014), but I doubt the corporate world agrees with this when it comes to hiring practices (see Munro, 2003, for an interesting discussion). Another intriguing aspect of dialects, accents and non-native varieties of English is that they are not only indicators of someone’s speech community but, more importantly, they are an intricate part of a speaker's identity. Reflecting on these random thoughts, I wonder whether second language teachers are doing enough justice to their L2 learners' accents or if many of them continue to aim for unrealistic goals for their students such as attaining native-speaker pronunciation.....with this thought I call it a week!!
References: Munro, M. J. (2003). A primer on accent discrimination in the Canadian context. TESL Canada Journal, 20(2), 38-51. Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (1995). Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 45(1), 73-97. Murphy, J. (2014). Intelligible, comprehensible, non-native models in ESL/EFL pronunciation teaching. System, 42(0), 258-269. Terry, N. P., Connor, C. M., Petscher, Y., & Conlin, C. R. (2012). Dialect variation and reading: Is change in nonmainstream American English use related to reading achievement in first and second grades? Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 55(1), 55-69. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of skyping into one of Dr Huang’s undergraduate TESOL classes at the University of Victoria, BC, Canada. Among many excellent questions the students asked, the one I liked the best was the title of this latest blog post (I slightly paraphrased it). I appreciated this question for it allowed me to revisit my beliefs about pronunciation pedagogy. So, here we go: the most essential component of English pronunciation is, in my opinion, rhythm, and I usually teach it by having my students identify and practice thought groups and key words using a haptic technique (i.e. a systematic combination of movement and touch) called “Fight Club” (see www.actonhaptic.com for a demo video of this particular technique) to anchor English rhythm in learners’ memories and speech by engaging multiple modalities (sight, movement, touch, hearing, speaking) at the same time. Although there’s no empirical data available yet (we hope to get the results of a promising study published in a few months), based on several field tests and on the overwhelmingly positive reception and reaction to a haptic workshop we did at the International TESOL Convention in Portland last week, I am quite confident that working on rhythm haptically may not only be a pedagogical technique that is fun to use, but also an effective means to enhance learner intelligibility and possibly listening comprehension. Now over to you: What do you think is an important element of English pronunciation that ought to be taught to L2 students and how would you teach it? If you are you heading to Portland (Oregon) to attend the TESOL Convention (March 26 - 29) and would like to find out what haptic pronunciation instruction is all about, I suggest you join a couple of sessions that my colleagues and I are presenting on March 27, 2014. Essentials of Haptic-Integrated Pronunciation Instruction This workshop presents a set of haptic (movement + touch)-based instructional techniques for presenting and correcting English L2 pronunciation, applicable for high beginning language learners and above. Guided by research on kinesthetic approaches to L2 pronunciation instruction, participants will leave prepared to use the instructional techniques in their classrooms. Location: Convention Center room F152, 09:30-11:15. Presenters: William Acton, Nathan Kielstra, Brian Teaman, Karen Rauser, Michael Burri Exploring Research Supporting Haptic Pronunciation Teaching This presentation addresses research in neuroscience, psychology and related fields that have informed the techniques developed in haptic pronunciation teaching (Acton, 2013). Through an exploration of interdisciplinary studies involving memory, movement, touch, vocabulary studies, affect, and communication, systematic haptic engagement shows promise as a valuable addition to pronunciation teaching. Location: Convention Center room F152, 11:30-2:15. Presenters: William Acton, Karen Rauser, Michael Burri According to a recent study (Foote at al., 2013) exploring pronunciation teaching practices employed by instructors teaching in an intensive English program in Quebec, Canada, the answer is: most likely no. The findings showed that, not surprisingly, pronunciation received minimal attention in the classroom. When it was addressed, repetition and recasts were the main pedagogical tools. Remarkably, suprasegementals (e.g. rhythm, intonation) were not taught during the classes that were observed. Combining these findings with a survey-based study in which instructors indicated that they did in fact address suprasegmentals in their classrooms (Foote, Holtby, & Derwing, 2011), the authors suggest that "teachers are not focusing on pronunciation as much as they think they are" (Foote at al., 2013, p.11). Consequently, recommendations are made for teacher training to include more pronunciation-specific aspects. My question is: what else can be done to close this gap between teachers' beliefs about their practices and their actual classroom pedagogy? This is of interest to me because it is (although somewhat indirectly) related to my doctoral research. Any suggestions? References: Foote, J. A., Trofimovich, P., Collins, L., & Urzúa, F. (2013). Pronunciation teaching practices in communicative second language classes. The Language Learning Journal, 1-16. doi: 10.1080/09571736.2013.784345 Foote, J. A., Holtby, A. K., & Derwing, T. M. (2011). Survey of the teaching pronunciation in adult ESL programs in Canada, 2010. TESL Canada Journal, 29(1), 1-22. Based on my experience working with language teachers, assessing spoken language often poses a number of serious challenges for L2 teachers. Should the assessment focus be on fluency or accuracy? Does poor grammar equate to poor content? Should students automatically fail a speaking task if they have intelligibility problems even though the content might be quite good? How and to what extent should pronunciation be considered in oral assessment? During my time as ISEP coordinator, in an attempt to address some of these questions, I designed criterion-based rubrics (i.e. analytic rubrics) for teachers to use in their speaking classes (see below for an example rubric). The rubrics standardized and hopefully increased the reliability and validity of assessment practices in the program; nonetheless, they didn’t account for one particular factor that I generally find difficult to control: accent familiarity. Having lived in Japan, for example, I am quite familiar with the way Japanese speak English, and research provides ample evidence that familiarity with speakers' accented speech (and with their cultural and linguistic background) does indeed influence listener/rater comprehension of spoken language (e.g. Derwing & Munro, 1997; Major, Fitzmaurice, Bunta, & Balasubramanian, 2002; Munro & Derwing, 1995). What can be done to minimize or control this particular variable? Videotaping speaking tasks to assess student performances is something I have seen teachers use. I must admit, I haven't experimented with this, but the fact that teachers can replay a recording several times seems to me an interesting, albeit somewhat time-consuming, solution. Does anybody have any other suggestions? References: Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (1997). Accent, intelligibility and comprehensibility: Evidence from four L1s. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20, 1-16. Major, R. C., Fitzmaurice, S. F., Bunta, F., & Balasubramanian, C. (2002). The effects of nonnative accents on listening comprehension: Implications for ESL assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 36(2), 173-190. Munro, M. J., & Derwing, T. M. (1995). Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 45(1), 73-97. I’m sure many of you have read about the ambitious but fascinating proposal of building a Hyperloop transportation system between LA and SF (see http://tinyurl.com/myaxjrp). How often have I wished I could put my second language (L2) learners on a Hyperloop to help them with instant improvement, especially in regards to pronunciation and intelligibility. Do you feel the same? Pronunciation work is often perceived as being extremely challenging, tedious and even boring for students as well as teachers (Baker, 2013). It can take weeks, sometimes months, for any sign of improvement to occur. No wonder many teachers are hesitant or event reluctant to teach pronunciation (Macdonald, 2002)! So, is there a Hyperloop for us L2 teachers when it comes to pronunciation instruction? Haptic pronunciation teaching (i.e. a systematic combination of movement and touch) might be the answer (Acton, 2013), but besides some anecdotal evidence (Acton, Baker, Burri & Teaman, in press) little empirical evidence is currently available to support this claim. That’s what a colleague and I have been exploring in a classroom-based study in the past few weeks (see blog post below) and I’m quite positive that the research project will yield some answers and interesting insights into the effectiveness of pronunciation instruction. Stay tuned! More to come soon.......
References: Acton, W. (2013). Haptic-integrated clinical pronunciation research. Retrieved August 22, 2013, from http://hipoeces.blogspot.com.au/ Acton, W., Baker, A. A., Burri, M., & Teaman, B. (in press). Preliminaries to haptic-integrated pronunciation instruction. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.), PSLLT Conference Proceedings. Vancouver, BC. Baker, A. A. (2013). Exploring teachers' knowledge of L2 pronunciation techniques: Teacher cognitions, observed classroom practices and student perceptions. TESOL Quarterly, Advance online publication. doi:10.1002/tesq.99 Macdonald, S. (2002). Pronunciation – views and practices of reluctant teachers. Prospect, 17(3), 3-18 |
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I am a Senior Lecturer in TESOL at the University of Wollongong in Australia. This blog is a reflection of my journey as a researcher, L2 teacher educator, and language teacher. Archives
June 2021
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