Online teaching of practical phonetics - How (and why) to use the mirroring technique remotely

Conference on Teaching Languages Online, University of Calgary

                          Online teaching of
                         practical phonetics
                        How (and why) to use the mirroring technique remotely

Randall Gess, Carleton University, Ottawa                                       March 6, 2021

Outline

   “practical phonetics”
   the mirroring technique
   structure and content of the course
   the importance of reflection
   tools
   advantages and challenges

Practical phonetics

   development of pronunciation skills; connected speech; fluency
   recognition and production of sounds (Roach, 2021)
        recognition: “ear training” ; classifying sounds (Weisser, 2005)
        production: “mouth training” (Jones, 1948); “gymnastics of the vocal organs”
         (Jones, 1918)
        integration: imitation training
   training in prosodic features
   analyzing phonetic data (Weisser, 2005)

Practical phonetics

My course
   2nd-year university course
   Title: Travaux pratiques en français oral
   Description: Travaux pratiques pour développer l’aisance et la fluidité dans
    l’expression orale

The mirroring technique

   Monk, J., Lindgren, C., & Meyers, M. 2003. The mirroring technique in
    prosodic acquisition. Presentation: TESOL International Convention,
    Baltimore, USA.
aka “shadowing”
   Quarterman, C. & Boatwright, C. 2003. Helping pronunciation students
    become independent learners. Presentation: TESOL Convention, Baltimore,
    USA.
   Ricard, E. 1986. Beyond Fossilization: A Course on Strategies and Techniques
    in Pronunciation for Advance Adult Learners. TESL Canada Journal 1: 243-253.

The mirroring technique

   a holistic activity where the learner imitates, as precisely as possible, all
    aspects of pronunciation: segmental stream, speed, rhythm, accentuation,
    intonation, and even pauses and hesitations
   learners listen to the model for mirroring and after sufficient practice, record
    themselves, and then analyze the results, comparing their pronunciation with
    the model

The mirroring technique

   an explicit attention on linguistic features before recording
   transcription of approximately 30 seconds of the chosen extract
    (or use a transcription if one is already available, cf. Detey et al. 2010)
    Detey, S., Durand, J., Laks, B., Lyche, C. (eds.) 2010. Les variétés du français parlé
    dans l’espace francophone : Ressources pour l’enseignement. Paris: Ophrys.
   annotate it by marking prominence and intonation curves, as well as
    hesitations and pauses
   assimilations, deletions, lengthening, and other specific features may also be
    indicated as desired
        liaison in French
        schwa in French

The mirroring technique

   learners practice mirroring with as much precision as possible, and they finish
    by recording themselves and then follow up by evaluating the result
   can use audio with or without video
    without video, akin to processing instruction (VanPatten, 1996): a “type of pedagogical
    intervention or focus on form derived from insights on input processing. Unlike other
    techniques, it is not concerned with the teaching of rules but the processing of [acoustic
    cues*] in the input” (*original, “morpho-lexical units”)
    the learner is forced to attend to features of the input that may be neglected in the
    presence of redundant visual cues (for example lip rounding or spreading, jaw aperture, and
    facial expressions that may coincide with intonational cues)

Course structure

   initial project
   word list project
   text project (comparative, with focus on liaison and schwa)
   conversation project (orthographic transcription provided)
   monologue or interview project, including orthographic transcription
   final project

Course content

   based largely on the spoken language corpus, Phonologie du français contemporain
    (PFC : www.projet-pfc.net (Durand, Laks & Lyche 2002))
   7 recordings of PFC word list
   7 recordings of PFC text
   30 recorded conversations from the PFC corpus, with transcriptions and extensive
    notes on the speakers, cultural points of interest, and linguistic points of interest
    with a special focus on phonetics and phonology
   7 recordings of non-PFC monologues and interviews, untranscribed
   presentations on the vocal apparatus, French consonants and vowels, IPA,
    pedagogical norm for pronunciation in the Canadian context, liaison, schwa,
    transcription annotations for mirroring, and transcribing oral speech
   insistence throughout on variation and linguistic diversity

Le corpus PFC

   lecture d’une liste de mots

   lecture d’un texte

   conversation libre

Reflections

   goals for improving speaking skills
   own pronunciation compared to models
   differences between models
   pronunciation differences between tasks
   points of difficulty, points of interest
   progress and results

Course tools

   University learning platform
   Zoom
   Praat (https://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/)
   Word

Course tools

   Praat spectrogram with two-tiered TextGrid

Desired outcomes

   better comprehension of spoken French
   improved pronunciation
   improved fluency
   greater confidence in speaking French
   awareness of and interest in French phonetics and phonology
   awareness of and interest in French spoken discourse

Advantages

   course design promotes active learning
   course design promotes autonomous learning
   course design promotes reflective learning
   content promotes awareness of language variation
   content promotes awareness of the nature of spoken vs. written language
   content promotes awareness of language diversity
   content provides culturally rich input
   practice is done in a private setting, reducing performance-related anxiety

Advantages

   Positive comments from students
        self-discovery of areas for improvement
        improved listening skills
             general
             liaison
             schwa
        enjoyed putting into practice concepts and notions discussed in class
        appreciation of hearing a diversity of accents

Challenges

   relies on the mastery of technological tools (training takes time)
   depends heavily on student autonomy (little control over amount and
    intensity of repetition)
   course preparation is labour intensive (less so after the first time)
        requires “rich scaffolding” (G. Pletnyova presentation)
        must be well planned to be effective (M. González-Lloret presentation)
   evaluation is labour intensive

References

   Durand, J., Laks, B. & Lyche, C. 2002. La phonologie du français contemporain:
    usages, variétés et structure. In C. Pusch & W. Raible (eds), Romanistische
    Korpuslinguistik- Korpora und gesprochene Sprache/Romance Corpus Linguistics
    – Corpora and Spoken Language. Tübingen : Gunter Narr Verlag, 93-106.
   Jones, D. 1918. An Outline of English Phonetics. Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons.
   Jones, D. 1948. The London school of phonetics. Zeitschrift fur Phonetik 11:
    127-135.
   Roach, P. 2021. https://www.peterroach.net/practical-phonetic-training.html
   VanPatten, B. 1996. Input Processing and Grammar Instruction in Second
    Language Acquisition. Norwood: Ablex.
   Weisser, M. 2005. http://martinweisser.org/courses/practPhon/practPhon.html