A Lesson in Linguistics

 

A Lesson in Linguistics

   This semester I am taking a linguistics course for my global studies minor. As a part of that, I had to pick a topic centered on a problem foreign language speakers have when learning English and then create a way to help them overcome this obstacle. So, without further adieu, here is my topic.

Why Spanish Speakers Pronounce "You" as "Chou/Jou" and How to Help Them

    As a requirement for this course, I volunteer in an English class every week for refugees who want to learn. The town where I go to school has a large population of various nationalities, many of whom do not know English. The center where I help has different levels of English classes from a beginner level for those who know no or very little English to advanced for those need conversational English practice along with a specific class for those who want help studying for their test to become United States citizens. 

     I was put in the Advanced class, so the material taught goes over certain words and phrases that will come up in a normal conversation. Part of our material entails practicing certain conversations the students might have in a restaurant, hotel, department store, etc. After a few weeks of helping in the class, I sat next to a lady from a Spanish-speaking country. As we went through the material, she pointed to the word "you've" and asked me how to pronounce it, so I told her. She replied "Ah! Chou've." I tried to emphasize to her that English speakers pronounce "you've" with a "y" sound, but she did not really respond much and I'm not sure she understood what I was trying to tell her was important to learning English properly. 

     The next week, I sat next to another Spanish-speaking lady who pronounced "you" as "chou." I again tried to explain how Americans pronounce this word, saying the "y" in "you" was pronounced like the "ll" in "me llamo." This explanation did not seem to have much impact on her as she briefly acknowledged what I was saying and turned her attention back to the lesson.

      After seeing two different women pronounce the same word wrong two weeks in a row, I figured this could not be a coincidence, so I decided to research this problem further. Thus the topic for my paper was born. 

The Research

     After researching my topic I found the surprisingly simple answer to my problem on a web page intended for learning Spanish. In Spain particularly, people pronounce their "y" sounds (as in "me llamo") with either a "sh" sound ("me shamo," though this pronunciation is considered uneducated) or a "j" sound ("me jamo"). The source added pronouncing the phrase as "me jamo" was informal, but very common among speakers of the of the language. 

     Looking back on what I observed from English classes, if the ladies I noticed mispronouncing "you" were used to using alternative pronunciations of the "y" sound in Spanish, it makes sense they would not understand the importance of learning to pronounce "you" in English correctly. Therefore, it is important to help Spanish speakers who make this mistake understand there are some words in English which cannot be pronounced another way.

Helping Students

     Why is it important to correct mispronunciations like the one I observed? The answer is called Fossilization. One source says “Fossilization refers to the process in which incorrect language becomes a habit and cannot easily be corrected.” English students pronouncing "you" as "jou" will continue to pronounce this word erroneously, never becoming proficient in English if the mistake is not shown to them. To complete English learning, students' mistakes must be corrected early on so they do not develop bad habits.

       There are several ways to correct mispronunciations.  

• Modeling. English learners need good examples to help them learn English correctly. When talking about teaching children proper English, Caroline Bowen says it is important for them to have good models around them. She adds models must not talk too fast, use correct grammar and speak clearly. The goal is for students to follow observe other English speakers and learn to be proficient from the example of their models. 
• Recasting. One article says “a recast occurs when one sentence is immediately followed by another sentence which reiterates the meaning of the first, but changes one or more of its syntactical components.” For instance, if a student says "How do jou say that?"  the teacher should repeat the question with the correct pronunciation of "you."

    Though modeling and recasting may be helpful in informal moments,(for instance if someone is trying to casually correct their friend while walking through a mall) one source says they are more implicit and will not be the most effective way to learn English.

     A more effective means of teaching may be:

• Metalinguistic Feedback. One source says  "Without providing the correct form, the teacher poses questions or provides comments or information related to the formation of the student's utterance (for example, 'Do we say it like that?' 'That's not how you say it in French,' and 'Is it feminine?')." This approach is more direct and clearly points out the student's error and would benefit the teacher in the classroom (see the article on corrective feedback previously mentioned) . 

Some fun ways to help reinforce good pronunciation in students' vocabulary would be:

• A game that uses words teachers want students to improve on. When helping students learn how to pronounce "you" a good game to play is one where the students and teachers form a circle. People in the circle take turns saying for, instance, what their favorite color is, then turn to their neighbor and ask "What is your favorite color?" This game is useful to help students with pronunciation and getting to know each other better. If teachers want to give students an extra challenge, they might try adding a rule saying anyone who pronounces "you" wrong has to do something silly like dance in a circle, or play the next round with their finger on their nose.
• Repetition is the best way to learn proper English. Teachers can give their students this opportunity by giving them scripts to read which repeats the word (in this instance, "you") they want their students to learn to pronounce. This will help students gain experience in pronunciation and conversation. 

Though I have specifically talked about how to help students pronounce "you" correctly, these teaching techniques can be used to help students pronounce any word or sound correctly. The task of correcting pronunciation errors may seem daunting, but with repetition and patience, students can successfully learn fluent English.


Sources:
-Native Spanish Online. http://www.nativlang.com/spanish/spanish-pronunciation.shtml accessed March 29, 2016
-Teaching English. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/fossilization, accessed April 26, 2016
-The Role of Corrective Feedback in Second Language Learning: New Research Possibilities by Combining CALL and Speech Technology. http://www.gavo.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/L2WS2010/papers/L2WS2010_O4-05.pdf, accessed April 26, 2016
-Types of Corrective Feedback. http://carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/modules/strategies/c_feedback.pdf, accessed April 26, 2016
-Speach Language Therapy, Modeling power point presentation. http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71:modelling&catid=11:admin, accessed April 26, 2016
-Sage Journals. http://fla.sagepub.com/content/7/19/79.abstract#aff-2, accessed April 26, 2016