Teaching practical phonetics of english on-line and offline

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Izmail State University of Humanities

Teaching practical phonetics of english on-line and offline

Tetiana Vdovenko PhD of Philological Science, Associate Professor

Ukraine



Abstract

The article focuses on the description of teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» in conditions of distance education and offline. The relevance of the problem lies in the fact that today there is a lack of the research combined with teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» in conditions of distance education and offline. Currently, interest in the English language and its correct pronunciation is growing. The subject of the research is the description of the possible ways of teaching university students Practical Phonetics of English Language on-line and offline. The aim of the article is to reveal the existing problems of teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» on-line and offline among university students. The article suggests the ways of teaching Practical Phonetics using video lectures and audio courses, gives the examples of written tasks. The article deals with the problem of teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» in conditions of distance education and offline. The objectives of the training course include mastering the theoretical and practical skills of learning the foreign language. The course «Practical Phonetics of English» is a necessary part of learning English. It provides an opportunity for students to expand the abilities for communication, especially during the establishment of relations with foreign partners, the ability to use various tools for further work with information, listening skills, etc. The results of the research can serve as a basis for further study of teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» on-line and offline.

Key words: distance education, offline, on-line, listening skills, Modern English.



Анотація

ВИКЛАДАННЯ ПРАКТИЧНОЇ ФОНЕТИКИ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ ОНЛАЙН І ОФФЛАЙН

Тетяна Вдовенко кандидат філологічних наук, доцент

Ізмаїльський державний гуманітарний університет, Україна

Стаття присвячена опису викладання предмета «Практична фонетика англійської мови» в умовах дистанційного навчання та оффлайн. Актуальність проблеми полягає в тому, що на сьогоднішній день спостерігається недолік досліджень, поєднаних з викладанням предмета «Практична фонетика англійської мови» в умовах дистанційної освіти і оффлайн. В даний час інтерес до англійської мови та її правильної вимови зростає. Предметом дослідження є опис можливих способів навчання студентів вузів практичній фонетиці англійської мови в режимі онлайн і оффлайн. Метою статті є виявлення існуючих проблем викладання предмета «Практична фонетика англійської мови» онлайн і оффлайн серед студентів вузів. У статті пропонуються способи навчання практичної фонетики з використанням відеолекцій і аудіокурсів, наводяться приклади письмових завдань. У статті розглядається проблема викладання предмета «Практична фонетика англійської мови» в умовах дистанційного навчання та оффлайн. Цілі навчального курсу включають в себе оволодіння теоретичними і практичними навичками вивчення іноземної мови. Курс «Практична фонетика англійської мови» є необхідною частиною вивчення англійської мови. Це дає можливість студентам розширити здібності до спілкування, особливо при налагодженні відносин із зарубіжними партнерами, вміння використовувати різні інструменти для подальшої роботи з інформацією, навички аудіювання і т. д. Результати дослідження можуть послужити основою для подальшого вивчення викладання предмета «Практична фонетика англійської мови» онлайн і оффлайн.

Ключові слова: дистанційна освіта, оффлайн, on-line, listening skills, Modern English.



Introduction

Everyone confirms the importance of studying the English Language, which is becoming more and more popular. The processes of intercultural integration at the national and international levels have led to the modernization of language education in Ukraine. Language acts as a means of understanding the worldview, familiarization with the values created by other peoples. At the same time, language is the key to discovering the uniqueness and originality of one's own national identity and the historical achievements of representatives of other cultures. With the transformation of the English language into the leading language of international communication, English-language intercultural communication acquires special practical significance. To master a language, a student must first master its phonetic structure, that is, the ability to correctly pronounce the sounds of a given language both in isolation and in the flow of speech, correctly formalize speech intonation. Correct pronunciation presupposes the formation of articulation skills of sounds and sound combinations, possession of intonation, as well as the ability to place stress corresponding to the norms of the language being studied. The formation of auditory-pronunciation skills is an indispensable condition for an adequate understanding of a speech message, the accuracy of expression of thought and the performance of any communicative function by the language. Psychologists confirm we hear correctly only those sounds that we know how to reproduce.

Formulation of the problem. The relevance of the problem lies in the fact that today there is a lack of the research combined with teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» in conditions of distance education.

The object of the research is teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English».

The subject of the research is the description of the possible ways teaching university students Practical phonetics of English.

Analysis of recent research and publications. Practical phonetics of English has become a subject of study for many modern scientists, such as О.К. Erko, T. P. Mironenko, V.Yu. Paraschuk, V. V. Perlova, N.V. Tuchina, O.O. Sadova, S.M. Svetocheva, M. Fridman and others.

N.V. Tuchina considers that the course material of the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» must be presented at the initial stage of learning English (Tuchina, 2015).

N. V. Tuchina and V. V. Perlova define the competence approach in teaching as the most productive. It is aimed at developing the phonetic competence of students of philological faculties. The manual consists of two sections, the first of which aims to teach students the basic concepts of phonetics. The main types of educational activities at this stage are analytical tasks, during which students get acquainted with the necessary information and make their own conclusions about certain phonetic phenomena. The second section is devoted to the practical development of sounds and intonation models. Along with exercises for the reception and reproduction of sounds and rhythmic-intonation models, exercises related to the division of words into syllables and stress in English are used.

T.P. Mironenko, O.O. Sadova, S.M. Svetocheva and M. Fridman see the main task of the course «Practical phonetics of English» in mastering the basics of clear and correct English pronunciation. To their mind the function of language is that it serves as the most important way of communication between people, a means of forming and expressing thoughts in speech (Mironenko, Sadova, Svetocheva, Fridman, 2009).

Nowadays, in spite of the amount of works, devoted to the study of the Practical Phonetics of English (Mironenko, Sadova, Svetocheva, Fridman, 2009; Tuchina, 2015), there is a lack of the research combined with teaching this subject in conditions of distance education.

The aim of the article is to reveal the existing problems of teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» in conditions of distance education.



Presenting main material

The course «Practical Phonetics of English» aims to introduce students with the main meaning-distinguishing sounds (phonemes) and basic intonation structures of the most common types of simple and complex sentences, the ability to formalize them correctly in terms of stress, rhythm, melody and the distribution of pauses. The purpose of the course is to familiarize students with the sound structure of the English language, the speech apparatus, the formation and improvement of skills in correct pronunciation and articulation of English sounds, mastering the intonation and technique of reading English.

The course «Practical Phonetics of English» is based on a system of exercises for classroom, independent and individual work of students, which ensures work on the correct articulation of each of the phonemes of the English language, rhythm, stress and intonation inherent in the English language. Tasks for individual work include texts of a communicative orientation that make it possible to understand variants of the English language, perceive English intonation by ear and formalize correctly thoughts in English from the point of view of phonetics.

The main task of the course is to master the basics of clear and correct English pronunciation. The function of language is that it serves as the most important way of communication between people, a means of forming and expressing thoughts in speech. The entire verbal composition of a language can exist only on the basis of the sound or phonetic composition of the language - speech sounds, the syllabic structure of words, stress in words, and intonation in sentences.

The course of practical phonetics of the English language is designed for students of linguistic specialties. Its purpose is the formation and consolidation of persistent skills of correct English pronunciation and includes the following sections: «Sounds»; «Intonation»; «Phonetic games». Among the main tasks the following are distinguished: to systematize the elements of phonetic theory learned by students during the study of the normative course, and give them on its basis a more complete knowledge of all components of the phonetic structure of modern English in their system; to familiarize students with the achievements of domestic and foreign linguists in the development of phonetic science and solving their problems; to teach students-philologists the ability to draw conclusions and generalizations independently from observations of factual material, to refer scientific literature, to conduct phonetic analysis of sentences.

Studying the course «Practical Phonetics of English» contributes to an in-depth understanding of the specifics of the foreign language being studied in comparison with the phonetic structure of the Ukrainian language, introduces students to modern methods of phonetic research and phonological analysis.

The main sections of the course «Practical Phonetics of English» are general questions of phonetics of the English language; components of the phonetic structure of the English language (phoneme system, syllabic formation and syllabic division, verbal stress, intonation); articulation base of the English language; orthoepic norm of the English language and research of phonetic features of national and regional variants of the English literary norm of pronunciation; oral and written form of speech; phonostylistics of English speech.

As a result of studying the discipline, the student should know the basic concepts and terms of phonetic theory, as well as the main methods of phonetic research; be able to analyze sounds and sentences.

The study of the course is planned for the 1-st semester. The course is built according to a single logical scheme (from simple to complex and from general to particular, with a gradual deepening and specification of knowledge). Mastering the theoretical material creates a basis for successfully overcoming the difficulties that arise in the process of mastering the English language.

It is important to put the sounds right, because it is much more difficult to retrain, since English pronunciation is rightly considered difficult, because it is very different from Ukrainian, native pronunciation.

Sounds can be practised by reading and learning tongue twisters:

Little strokes fell great oaks.

Oh, no, don't go home alone, nobody knows why so lonely the road is.

In a foreign language, the content of pronunciation training consists of sounds, sound combinations, intonation models and units of speech: phrases, in particular, various communicative types of sentences and coherent text (the linguistic component of the content of pronunciation training), as well as specific actions with these units (the psychological component of the content of training) - and the formation of pronunciation skills.

The main requirements for pronunciation are phonemicity, that is, the degree of correctness of the phonetic design of speech, sufficient for the interlocutor to understand it, and fluency, that is, the degree of automation of pronunciation skills, allowing students to speak at a normal pace of speech (130-150 words per minute).

Mastering the correct pronunciation is possible only when mastering the phonetic base of a foreign language at the level of syllable, verbal stress, intonation. In other words, students should learn the specifics of the articulation base of a foreign language, as well as the characteristic features of stress and intonation (Gerald, 2000). phonetics english distance education

To master the phonetic base of a foreign language, it is necessary, first of all, to master the articulation pattern characteristic of native speakers of this language, that is, the habitual position of the speech organs at the time of the absence of articulation movements. The teacher, with the help of special exercises, must ensure that the articulation pattern of a foreign language eventually becomes familiar to students, and they might not even notice the moment of restructuring from one articulation pattern to another. Such exercises include reading Ukrainian words, phrases (for example, proverbs, sayings), poems with an English way of life. When describing and pronouncing a vowel sound, it is given as many emotional evaluations as possible, as if it is an animated object.

In general, the specificity of English sounds is manifested in the following:

1) apical-alveolar articulation of consonants (t, d, n, l);

2) aspiration of sounds (p, t, k);

3) preservation of the sonority of consonants in any position in the word (that is, the absence of stun) in English;

4) lack of palatalization;

5) vowel length and shortness, breadth and narrowness;

6) diphthonization of a number of sounds with the forceful pronunciation of the first element (there are no diphthongs in the Ukrainian language);

7) reduced pronunciation and unstressed syllables;

Comparing the sound system of English sounds with Ukrainian makes it possible to create a methodological typology of sounds, which helps the teacher to organize the introduction and training of a new sound in speech properly.

Taking into account the influence of the native language on pronunciation, the sounds of a foreign language are conditionally divided into three groups:

1. Sounds close to the sounds of the Ukrainian language in articulation and acoustic properties (p,b,g, s, z, m and others). When mastering these sounds, the transfer from the native language works and long-term special work with them is not required.

2. Sounds that differ from the native language in essential features (t, l, h, n, r). Interference is especially strong when perceiving and pronouncing these sounds, and students pronounce them as familiar sounds of the Ukrainian language. This group of sounds requires particularly close attention from the teacher, since mastering them is associated with a partial restructuring of the articulation base. The sounds of this group are considered the most difficult.

3. Sounds that have no analogues in the Ukrainian language (w) require the creation of a new articulation base for students.

Pronunciation skill is the skill of phonemically correct pronunciation of all studied sounds in the speech stream, understanding sounds in the speech stream, understanding sounds when listening to the speech of others.

The concept of «pronunciation» covers all components of the phonetic structure of the language: sound composition, syllabic structure, verbal stress, intonation (melody, tempo, pause, rhythmical drawing).

The specificity of English stress is manifested in the fact that polysyllabic words with the main stress on the third or fifth syllable from the beginning of the word have an even weaker one on the first or second.

Thus, the success of training depends on how clearly and expressively the interlocutors formalize their speech. When teaching foreign language communication, the possibility of mutual understanding is associated with the pronunciation side of speech, therefore, improving the teaching of foreign language speech activity, and the methodology of working on the pronunciation side of speech should take into account psychological, methodological and linguistic aspects.

One of the means of forming and improving pronunciation skills is phonetic training, the purpose of which is to prevent and remove the appearance of possible phonetic difficulties (auditory, pronouncatory, rhythmic-intonation), neutralize the influence of the sound environment in the native language, rebuild the articulation apparatus from the Ukrainian way of life to a foreign one, create and strengthen the images of words according to which self-correction of students is carried out according to the standards (Єрко, 2005).

Phonetic training does not have a fixed place in the lesson. It is performed depending on the tasks where students may encounter phonetic difficulties, helps them to surpass and avoid them. Pronunciation training is carried out, as a rule, in choral and individual modes by the command «repeat after me, paying attention to the sound, (stress, intonation)». The duration of the phonetic training is 3-5 minutes, the content can be different.

To teach pronunciation online using video tutorials is very useful. The link can be sent to those, who has bad connection.

Here is the Scheme for the phonetic analysis of a sentence:

1. Transcribe the sentence. Mark stresses and tunes.

2. State the communicative type of the given sentence and comment on the choice of the final nuclear tone.

3. Define the number of the intonation groups in the sentence. Comment on it (the intonation of adverbial groups, author's words, indirect speech, parentheses, direct address, apposition, enumeration, the words «please» and «thank you»; the intonation of complex and compound sentences).

4. Intone the sentence. Name the intonation pattern of each intonation group (types of pre-heads, heads, nuclei, tails).

Comment on the modification of sounds in the given sentence (assimilation, accommodation, elision, reduction, intrusion) (Gerald, 2000).

The course «Practical Phonetics of English» is taught in English, therefore, it is also aimed at improving further students' knowledge of the English language.

The course introduces students to the correct pronunciation and culture of Great Britain, form the communicative and socio-cultural competencies.

The structure of the module of the course «Practical Phonetics of English» includes the following components: student's classroom work; independent work of the student; Module Test.

The sample of Module Test:

1. What phonetic phenomenon is observed in the underlined part: Read text 7

1) nasal plosion 2) lateral plosion 3) loss of plosion 4) no glottal stop

2. What phonetic phenomenon is observed in the underlined part: Midday

1) nasal plosion 2) lateral plosion 3) no glottal stop 4) loss of plosion

3. What phonetic phenomenon is observed in the underlined part: Please

1) nasal plosion 2) lateral plosion 3) no glottal stop 4) loss of plosion

The example of the Exam Test:

4. Which of the points is the definition of “aspiration”:

1) a slight puff of breath that is heard after the plosion of a voiceless plosive consonant before the beginning of vowel immediately following;

2) a sound which reminds a slight cough and is articulated by the vocal cords, before a vowel sound is heard, in cases of emphatic speech;

3) when a plosive is followed by the syllabic [n] or [m]

4) in the sequence of a plosive immediately followed by [l] the closure produced for the plosive is not released till after [l]

5. Which of the points is the definition of “nasal plosion”:

1) a slight puff of breath that is heard after the plosion of a voiceless plosive consonant before the beginning of vowel immediately following;

2) a sound which reminds a slight cough and is articulated by the vocal cords, before a vowel sound is heard, in cases of emphatic speech;

3) when a plosive is followed by the syllabic [n] or [m]

4) in the sequence of a plosive immediately followed by [l] the closure produced for the plosive is not released till after [l]

6. Which of the points is the definition of “lateral plosion”:

1) a slight puff of breath that is heard after the plosion of a voiceless plosive consonant before the beginning of vowel immediately following;

2) a sound which reminds a slight cough and is articulated by the vocal cords, before a vowel sound is heard, in cases of emphatic speech;

3) in the sequence of a plosive immediately followed by [l] the closure produced for the plosive is not released till after [l]

4) when a plosive is followed by the syllabic [n] or [m]

7. Which of the points is the definition of “loss of plosion”:

1) a slight puff of breath that is heard after the plosion of a voiceless plosive consonant before the beginning of vowel immediately following;

2) a sound which reminds a slight cough and is articulated by the vocal cords, before a vowel sound is heard, in cases of emphatic speech;

3) when a plosive [p,t,k,b,d,g] is followed by another plosive, its plosion becomes suppressed

4) in the sequence of a plosive immediately followed by [l]

8. What phonetic phenomenon is observed in the underlined part of the sentence:

My sister-in-law, Silvya Sandford, is married to my younger brother Dan.

1) apposition 2) adverbials 3) enumeration 4) direct address

9. What phonetic phenomenon is observed in the underlined part of the sentence:

Ifind the book very amusing, you know. 1) parentheses 2) apposition 3) adverbials 4) direct address

10. What phonetic phenomenon is observed in the underlined part:

Read the text 1) alveolars replaced by dentals 3) nasal plosion 2) no glottal stop 4) linking [r]

11. What phonetic phenomenon is observed in the underlined part:

Saturday afternoon 1) loss of plosion 2) nasal plosion 3) linking [r] 4) no glottal stop

12. Which of the points is the definition of “glottal stop”:

1. a slight puff of breath that is heard after the plosion of a voiceless plosive consonant before the beginning of vowel immediately following;

2. a sound which reminds a slight cough and is articulated by the vocal cords, before a vowel sound is heard, in cases of emphatic speech;

3. when a plosive [p,t,k,b,d,g] is followed by another plosive, its plosion becomes suppressed;

4. in the sequence of a plosive immediately followed by [l] the closure produced for the plosive is not released till after [l].

13. Which of the points is the definition of “palatalization”:

1) a slight puff of breath that is heard after the plosion of a voiceless plosive consonant before the beginning of vowel immediately following;

2) a sound which reminds a slight cough and is articulated by the vocal cords, before a vowel sound is heard, in cases of emphatic speech;

3) making a speech sound palatal, by changing a velar to a palatal by moving the point of contact between tongue and palate further forward in the mouth

4) when a plosive [p,t,k,b,d,g] is followed by another plosive, its plosion becomes suppressed

14. Choose the item that doesn't characterize consonant [j]:

1) constrictive 2) palatal 3) plosive 4) sonorant

15. Choose the item that doesn't characterize consonant [l]:

1) constrictive 2) lateral 3) sonorant 4) backlingual



Conclusions

Phonetics plays the main role in teaching English. Principles of pronunciation training, methods of working on the pronunciation side of speech, the use of phonetic skills development techniques in English lessons were considered. Comparison with the native language as a method of developing phonetic skills is helpful. The use of song and poetic material in teaching phonetics at the initial stage is also very important.

The results of the research can serve as a basis for further study of teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» on-line and offline.

The prospect of further research is to find out the peculiarities of teaching the subject «Practical Phonetics of English» in war time.



Джерела і література

1. Мироненко Т.П., Садова О.О., Свєточева С.М., Фрідман М. Навчально-методичний посібник з практичної фонетики англійської мови для студентів І курсу (за кредитномодульною системою організації навчального процесу). Миколаїв: МДУ імені В.О. Сухомлинського, 2009. 208 с.

2. Єрко О.К. Практична фонетика англійської мови. A Practical Course of English Phonetics: учеб. пособие для студ. 1-2 курсов высш. учеб. заведений. М.: Славян. дом книги: ИП Логос: Айрис-пресс, 2005. 272 с.

3. Паращук В. Ю. Теоретична фонетика англійської мови. Вінниця: Нова книга, 2005.

4. Тучина Н. В., Перлова В. В. A Way to Success: Practical English Phonetics for University Students. Year 1. Харків: Фоліо, 2015. 176 с.

5. Gerald K. How to Teach Pronunciation. Longman. 2000.



References

1. Myronenko T.P., Sadova O.O., Svietocheva S.M., Fridman M. (2009). Navchalno-metodychnyi posibnyk z praktychnoi fonetyky anhliiskoi movy dlia studentiv I kursu (za kredytno-modulnoiu systemoiu orhanizatsii navchalnoho protsesu). Mykolaiv: MDU imeni V.O. Sukhomlynskoho. 208 р. [in Ukrainian].

2. Yerko O.K. (2005). Praktychna fonetyka anhliiskoi movy. A Practical Course of English Phonetics: ucheb. posobye dlia stud. 1-2 kursov vbissh. ucheb. zavedenyi. M.: Slavian. dom knyhy: YP Lohos: Airys-press. 272 р. [in English].

3. Parashchuk V. Yu. (2005). Teoretychna fonetyka anhliiskoi movy. Vinnytsia: NOVA KNYHA. 245 р. [in English].

4. Tuchyna N. V., Perlova V. V. (2015). A Way to Success: Practical English Phonetics for University Students. Year 1. Kharkiv: Folio. 176 р. [in English].

5. Gerald Kelly. (2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Longman. [in English].

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