The article deals with the importance of the serious consideration of the application of the system of corrective techniques in the teacher-learning process of English as a foreign language. It focus its attention on the treatment of vowels as one of the most difficult of the contents to be taught of accuracy in pronunciation inside the classroom and offers examples of how to apply this technique.
El artículo trata sobre la importancia que tiene tomar en consideración la utilización del sistema de corrección fonética en el proceso de enseñanza–aprendizaje del inglés como idioma extranjero. Este centra su atención en las vocales como uno de los contenidos a enseñar dentro de la exactitud en la pronunciación en el marco del aula, también ofrece ejemplos que indican cómo aplicar estos contenidos.
El proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje del inglés como idioma extranjero se hace complejo por la gran variedad de elementos a tener en cuenta durante la etapa de preparación de la clase y la impartición de la misma. El profesor debe dominar el sistema fonológico, lexical y gramatical de la lengua en cuestión, el sistema de corrección fonética, los objetivos del programa y las características del grupo, entre otros.
La enseñanza de la exactitud en la pronunciación es de vital importancia para lograr un proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje exitoso. Si tenemos en cuenta el logro de un nivel de exactitud adecuado en la pronunciación de las de las vocales tenemos que expresar que se puede hacer difícil porque los estudiantes no pueden percibir la articulación de las vocales con la misma exactitud que las consonantes al no haber obstrucción del aire al salir de la cavidad bucal, que la correspondencia sonido-grafía es mucho más inexacta que en el caso de las consonantes y que la cantidad de vocales en inglés excede la del español lo que provoca un proceso de transferencia negativa.
La aplicación del sistema de corrección fonética en las vocales implica el conocimiento por parte del profesor de la tendencia hacia el posible error del estudiante. El docente debe conocer la clasificación de la vocal a lograr y la que produjo el estudiante erróneamente para hacer una comparación que permita establecer diferencias. Ejemplo, la /i/ y la /I/ se diferencian en cuanto a:
- Lip rounding.
- Depth.
- Tenseness.
- Duration.
Una vez establecida las diferencias, el profesor debe proponerse el o los objetivos a lograr para que los estudiantes logren una pronunciación adecuada del fonema en cuestión. Después de realizado este proceso, el profesor debe escoger las técnicas correctivas apropiadas.
Por ejemplo:
/I/:
Classification:
Short, lax, lips loosely spread, oral, just above the half-close position, high, front.
Possible Problems:
In the articulation of this sound, the students tend to produce /i/.
Objectives:
1-To obtain a more relaxed, shorter sound.
Corrective Techniques
Minimal pairs.
Beat | Bit |
Cheap | Chip |
Sheep | Ship |
Correction through intonation and rhythm.
Place the sound at the end of fragments with rising- falling intonation and fast rhythm and between nasals.
Ex :Wait a minute
2- To obtain a more opened and centralized sound:
Corrective Technique
Combinatory Phonetics Place the sound between a bilabial plosive and a velar plosive consonant.
Ex: Big, pig.
/i/
Classification:
Oral, front, high, tense, long vowel with spread lips, slightly below and behind the close position.
Possible Problems and Corrective Techniques:
This sound does not offer difficulties to the Spanish-speaking learners although English /i/ is less extreme.
/U/
Classification:
Oral, back, high, lax, short, lips rounded, above the half-close position.
Possible Problems and Corrective Techniques:
The students produce the /u/ sound we have in Spanish.
Objectives:
To produce the sound with less lip rounding (no protrusion)
Corrective Technique
Articulatory method. The teacher should demonstrate how to produce the rounding of the lips without the protrusion.
To produce a shorter, laxer sound.
Corrective Technique
Correction through intonation and rhythm. Place the sound at the end of fragments with rising falling intonation and fast rhythm.
Ex: The house is full.
Minimal pairs.
Fool full This room is full of fools.
Luke look Look , Luke is coming.
Shaded pronunciation towards /I/
/u/
Classification:
Oral, back, high, tense, long, below the close position, lips rounded and protruded.
Possible Problems and Corrective Techniques:
This sound does not offer problems to Spanish speakers.
/ a / (Schwa) and /a / (unstressed schwa with –r- coloring)
Classification:
Oral, central, mid, lax, short vowels, between half- close and half-open position, the lips are in neutral position.
Possible Problems and Corrective Techniques:
They have no lip rounding and are very short. They occur very frequently in English and correct obscuration of the syllable or word where they are produced should be achieved. Sometimes it is difficult for some students to produce the r- coloring.
Objectives:
To achieve obscuration
Corrective Techniques
Combinatory Phonetics: Place the sound in unstressed syllables in polysyllabic words.
Correction through Intonation and rhythm: Pronounce it with rapid rhythm at the end of fragments with rising-falling intonation (In English unstressing a syllable is as important as stressing the accented ones).
To obtain the right pronunciation of the r- coloring
Corrective Technique
Articulatory method: Curl the tongue tip up and backwards so that the tip points at the hard palate. The teacher should make the student conscious of the position of the tongue.
/ a / (Stressed schwa with r- coloring)
Classification:
Oral, central, mid, tense, long vowel, between half-close and half-open position, the lips are neutrally spread.
Possible Problems and Corrective Techniques:
The students change the vowel for a similar Spanish one.
Objective:
To achieve the right articulation of the lips.
Corrective Technique:
Articulatory Method: The teacher should exaggerate the right articulation of the lips asking the students to spread the lips
Achieve the right articulation of the r- coloring.
Corrective Technique
Articulatory Method: He should also explain the articulation of the r- coloring where the tip of the tongue must be curled up and back. It can be explained as follows: Start with /a/; curl the tongue tip up and backwards, so that the tip is pointing inwards. Hold it there; prolong the sound. The student should be made conscious of the position of the tongue. Then the students should be asked to pronounce the sound without starting from /a/.
/E/
Classification:
Oral, front, mid, between half-close and half-open, lax, short, lips are loosely spread.
Possible Problems
The articulation of this English vowel sound /E/ approximates to that of the Spanish /e/. The major difference is that the English variant is more relaxed. It doesn’t require intensive drilling. It is laxer than the one we have in Spanish.
/æ/:
Classification:
Oral, front, low, tense, long, below the half-open position, the lips are in a smile position or extremely spread.
Possible Problems:
Spanish speaking students may produce /a/ or /E/.
When the students produce /a/
Objective:
To produce a tenser, longer sound.
Corrective techniques
Correction through intonation and rhythm: Place the sound at the end of fragments or sentences with rising intonation lengthening the duration of the sound. Example:
Is that my dad?
Using minimal pairs
Lack lock
Cat cot
Hat hot
Correction through laxness and tenseness. (Verbo- tonal system):
The teacher should make the students repeat words placed at the beginning of the sentence, or in any other accented position which will favor its tense aspect. Ex:
That is my dad.
I’ve told you several times that that is my book
To make the sound more centralized.
Corrective Technique
Combinatory phonetics: Place the sound between bilabial and velar consonants. Example: bag, pack.
3. To produce a closer sound:
CorrectiveTechniques:
Combinatory phonetics: Placing the sound between alveolar consonants. Example: Sally, sad, Italian
Shaded pronunciation towards /E/
Articulatory Method: The teacher should demonstrate the right degree of openness of the jaw. It might be by contrasting it with /a/
When the students produce /E/
Objectives:
1. To make the sound longer and tenser
Corrective Techniques:
Shaded pronunciation towards /a/
Correction through Intonation and Rhythm: Place the sound at the end of fragments using rising intonation and prolonging the sound. Ex:
Is that my bag?
Correction through tenseness and laxness: The teacher should place the sound in any accented position, which will favor the lax aspect of the sound.
Shaded pronunciation towards /a/.
To produce a more open sound.
Corrective Techniques
Articulatory method: In this case it should be used to explain that they have to lower the jaw to produce a more open sound..
Combinatory phonetics. The teacher should place it after a bilabial sound. Example, Is this a bat?
To achieve the right position of the lips.
Corrective Technique
Articulatory Method:The teacher should ask the students to achieve a smiling position or articulate the lips in a extremely spread articulation.
/Λ/
Classification:
Oral, voiced, back, low, lax, short, the jaw is between the half-open and open position, the lips are neutrally open
Possible problems:
The students produce a broken /o/, which is long, tense and has lip rounding.
Objectives:
1. To produce a shorter and laxer sound.
Corrective Techniques.
Combinatory phonetics. Place the sound between nasals. Ex, number, nun, mum.
Correction through intonation and rhythm: Placing the sound at the end of a fragment with rising -falling intonation, rapid rhythm and between nasals. Ex, Where is Mum?
Correction through tenseness and laxness: Place the sound in unaccented position.
To produce the sound without lip rounding.
Corrective Techniques:
Combinatory phonetics: The teacher should place the sound after velar consonants exaggerating the sound towards /a/. Ex: Give me a cup.
Articulatory Method: The teacher should explain to the students that they should not round the lips since they should be neutrally open.
/‹ /:
Classification:
Oral, back, voiced, low, tense, long, lips rounded, below the half-open region.
Possible problems:
The students produce a closer / o /
Objective
The teacher should emphasize its degree of jaw openness.
Corrective Techniques:
Combinatory phonetics. The sound should be placed after a bilabial plosive. Ex,
Paul bought it.
Articulatory method. By exaggerating the articulation of the jaw showing a wider degree of openness.
/a/
Classification:
Oral, voiced, back, low, long, tense, lips neutrally open, above the close position. There is considerable separation of the jaws.
Possible problems.
The students pronounce a too fronted version or produce [o], which is retracted.
Objective:
Produce the sound with the right depth (back).
Corrective Techniques:
Articulatory Method: The teacher should make the students pronounce /a/ with the jaws very much open.
Combinatory phonetics: The teacher should place the sound after a velar sound to favor its back articulation. Ex, I like that car.
La exactitud es un fin a lograr en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras. Cada profesor de idiomas debe prepararse conscientemente durante su preparación para la clase, pero también para enfrentar cualquier situación que se presente durante la misma. Es esencial que se incluya en el diagnóstico una valoración de los alumnos para de esta forma realizar un trabajo individualizado, lo que le permitirá al docente prever el problema, ahorrar tiempo y aumentar la eficacia de la aplicación del sistema de corrección fonética.
Los problemas en la pronunciación pueden afectar el proceso de comunicación que el alumno debe llevar a cabo como parte del proceso de aprendizaje, pero también hace más lento el aprendizaje de otros aspectos que debe dominar ya que se limitará a hacer intervenciones con seguridad por temor a ser escuchado por el resto de sus compañeros, que tendrán que hacer un esfuerzo adicional para comprender.
La utilización del sistema de corrección fonética prepara a los estudiantes desde el punto de vista profesional ya que una vez graduados tendrán en sus manos una herramienta de trabajo que los hará profesionales de mayor valor.
No en vano Steven H. Mc. Donough manifestó que no ver un error es imposible, tolerarlo es improductivo, su predicción y diagnóstico es indispensable.
Gimbson A.C. An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. La Habana, Ministerio de Educación Superior. 294 pp..
Mc. Donough, Steven H. Sychology in Foreign Language. Edición Revolucionaria 164 pp..
Sotto, Faustino et. al [1982] Lectures on English Fonetics and Phonology. Ministerio de Educación. 197 pp..
Tench, Paul. [1989] Pronunciation Skills. Fundación de la Imprenta Nacional de Cuba. 181 pp..
Lic. Ana Josefa Roque Del Toro. Profesora Asistente ISP José de la Luz y Caballero, Holguín, Cuba.
Guillermo A. Ronda Pupo