Transcription and Self-Correction

Strategies for Improving L2 Pronunciation

Sue IngelsUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

For more information: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-37398626_2-t_V5HJAM4B

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

March 26, 2010

Presentation OutlinePurpose and motivation

Role of strategies in L2 learning

Strategy descriptions and examples

Strategy effectiveness

Integrating strategies into ESL courses

Providing feedback

Tips

Different learners, different targets

Purpose

To describe useful strategies for improving L2 pronunciationTo explain how the strategies workTo describe how to integrate them into your class

To emphasize the value of strategy training (e.g., Berg, 1999)

Motivation

Promotion of learner autonomyTechniques for self-instruction

Strategies that learners can easily use No specialized resources or expensive technology

Goals for students

Gaining ability to perceive target features in their own and others’ speechGain awareness of their own pronunciation strengths and weaknessesLearn how to evaluate and correct their own speechUltimate goal: improved accuracy in unrehearsed speech

How to get from A to B?

A

Knowing about language

B

Knowing how to use language

???

Knowing about language

Knowing how to use language

• ListenListen

• TranscribeTranscribe

• Write Write correctionscorrections

• Self-correctSelf-correct

Strategies as a Bridge

What Students Know “about” L2

Cues, rules for usingMessage unitsPrimary phrase stressIntonation

Message Units (MU)a.k.a. thought groups, etc.

Definition:Smallest unit of spoken discourse,

identified at each boundary by a pause, lengthening, intonation pattern.

Example:

What did you do in Florida?

I went to the beach / and ate lunch with a friend.

Knowledge “about” language

Knowledge “about” language

Primary Phrase Stress (PPS)a.k.a. sentence stress, nucleus

Definition:

Most prominent stress in a MU

Example:

we went to the stORE.we bought banANas there.

Knowledge “about” language

Intonationa.k.a. pitch pattern: fall, rise, rise to mid-range

Definition:

Pitch changes surrounding the primary stress

Example:

We’re going to the store, / the library, /

and the park.

The “Bridge”: Strategies

Critical listeningTranscriptionWriting correctionsSelf-correction and rehearsal

What the strategies help learners do

Raise self-awareness regarding one’s pronunciation

Focus on cues for targeted featuresPitch move, duration, loudness

Repetition frees up processing resourcesExploits familiarity with task and meaning Learner can focus on form

Critical Listening

Create recording of your own speech Focus on one target at a time (e.g., MU boundaries)Listen to small chunk of recording (1-2 MUs)

Identify what you are doingTarget-like or not?

Rehearse and record best oral correction

Example of Listening only

“Time 1. Listen and repeat one time.”

Originalyeah you may guess that uh it may be the: / number that / that most prob uh probably happens. /

R1 (improved MUs) so you may gue:ss / it may be the numbe:r / that most probably happens. /

Listening only

Audio sample: correcting PPS

Original: we will / make decision. / whether I like it. / or dislike it. / R1: we will make decision, / whether / we like it, / or dislike it. /

Transcription

Create speech recordingListen to small chunks of recording and write down exactly what was spoken Focus on one target at a time

Listen again and mark the target on transcriptReview and evaluate transcript, one feature at a time

Target-like or not?Write correctionsRehearse, with corrections

Listening + TranscriptionAudio sample: correcting PPS

Original: there’s actually many / types of elisa. / like

indirect / elisa, / dile-direct , / and uh competitive elisa,

R1: there’s actually many types of elisa like / indirect elisa, / direct elisa, / and competitive elisa. /

Oral self-correction and rehearsal

By listening or by writing corrections on transcripts: Ss identify non-target production

Through rounds of rehearsal, Ss try to make their speech more target-like

What we know about strategy effectiveness

Preliminary Findings

When students listen to and transcribe their own recorded speech…

They can identify and correct non-target featuresListening and transcription: MUs, PPS, Intonation (Ingels, in press)Listening: Intelligibility (Acton, 1984)Listening: Epenthesis and dropping syllables (Couper, 2003)Transcription: Overall pronunciation improvement (Mennim, 2003, 2007)Transcription: Grammar and vocabulary (Lynch, 2007)

Strategies and targets

The strategy types varied in effectiveness for different pronunciation

features (Ingels, in press) MUs: Transcription is most effective

PPS: Critical listening alone appears to be superior to use of transcription

Intonation: Transcription is superior to critical listening alone

Why the differences?

MU boundaries and intonation contours may be easier to “see” in a transcription

PPS may be more salient for learners aurally rather than visually (in transcript)

and in this minilecture, / I want to introduce you / uh how / we can make / dna aptamer /

Implications for L2 teachingTeach both listening and transcription

Strategies are combinableLearners can shape strategy use to their own learning style

Emphasize listening-only for PPS instruction

For listening only: focus on small chunks of speech (1 or 2 MUs)

For transcription: use up to 15 MUs (45 to 60 s) of speech

Extra instruction needed on how to rehearse

Emphasize purpose of rehearsal and striving for increased accuracy Focus on smaller chunks of language Avoid fatigue

Strategy Instruction

Before teaching…

Relate strategy use to your course goals and objectives

Define objectives for strategy useStrategies occupy a primary role in your class

Start teaching them from beginningScaffold learners throughout the semesterProvide final project in which Ss demonstrate independent use of the strategies

Strategies occupy a secondary roleAwareness-raising for target featuresEven after one use of transcriptions, Ss stated that they had better sense of their oral skills

Identify learner needs

Diagnostic Pronunciation and oral skills needsFamiliarity with strategies?

Provide technological instructionUse of voice recording softwareHow to submit audio recordings

Strategy Instruction

Throughout semester:

Techniques demonstrated in class (weekly)

Regular homework assignments for practicing each strategy (every 1-2 weeks; varying length; some not graded)

3 major assignments to gauge progress (following each of 3 mini-lectures)

Listening: Start here

Use listening to raise awareness of targets in NS speech

Provide transcript and recordingAsk Ss to identify targets and mark on transcriptionSs can imitate the recording to practice using accurate PPS cues

NS models of target featuresThe Matrix (Neo)--PPShttp://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ommovies2/

TheMatrix.htm “I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change.”

What does PPS sound like? What does NEO do with his voice?

NS models of target features

The Matrix (Neo)http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ommovies2/TheMatrix.htm I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change.

Structured to less structured listening and production

Provided text with salient examples of contrasts

There are lots of ways to get to class. Some people walk toschool and others bike there.

Students create their own sentences with similar features.

A. What are you going to do on vacation?B. I can’t decide! I’ll either ___ first / or _____ first.

Students respond to prompt and record their answers: “Identify choices you have for relaxing during the weekend.”

Transcription

Demonstrate in classWhat does spoken English sound like?

Homework

What does spoken English sound like?

Predict MUs, intonation patterns, stress. Then listen.

01 okay so if any of you have taken the SPEAK test or are 02 practicing for it you know that there is at the end of 03 the um test a question that asks you to talk about 04 schedule changes so uhm what I’d like you to do is 05 work with a partner first figure out where all the 06 theta words are and then practice those a little bit 07 together and then take turns uh pretending that you 08 are maybe some of you are TAs now but pretending 09 you’re a TA and you’re explaining to a class uh 10 schedule changes and so you can do that with your 11 partner so go ahead and I think I already had you in 12 groups figure out where the theta words are and uh

Homework: Transcription practice

Use short contextualized recordingsSs complete outside classReview in classShow teacher’s version and have Ss compareIdentify trouble spots and listen together to point out key features

Transcription example: Hearing ---ed endings

Yesterday, I taught my first class ever! I was really excited last semester when my advisor informed me that I would be a TA. But as the first day of class approached, I got really nervous. What if my students don’t like me, or can’t understand my lectures?

Source: Amanda Huensch

Transcription: Ss’ own speech

After Ss have practiced listening to NS models

After Ss have practiced transcription of NS speech with access to a correct transcript

Transcription

Students record a speech sampleIn-class presentationResponse to a prompt recorded as homework

Transcribe 45 to 60 secondsEvaluate transcription and mark correctionsRehearse and record their best version

Checklist___1. Listen only ___2. Listen and transcribe what you really said___3. Listen and mark all pauses with a ___4. Listen and mark PPS, with black dot: ___5. Listen and mark the intonation you used at the end of each message unit: ↑ (rise), → (rise to mid-range), or ↓ (falling)

___6. Review once to become familiar with the text; make no marks.___7. Review again and correct MUs; cross out disfluencies___8. Review again and mark corrections to PPS___9. Review again and correct intonation___10. Review transcription one last time for corrections you missed

When ready, rehearse and record your best pronunciation.

Decide how to provide feedback

Teacher provides evaluative feedbackTo all Ss (fewer assignments?)Rotate provision of feedback (more assignments?)

Provide answer key and allow students to evaluate own work Use group work to listen and transcribe

Use student’s transcription firstEn / so by examining this picture / we can see / the state x one / decays to zero / so it is stable / and the state of x two / will goes to infinity / so we can’t find any bounded set / to bound this trajectory / so this is just a simple / simple example /

Listen for one target at a time:• Is transcription complete? All words, fillers, hesitations?• Where did you pause?• Did you use PPS? If so, which word in each message unit

is most prominent? (Look at one MU at a time.)• Listen to intonation pattern in each MU: Is correct form

used?

Show your corrected version

Y’s transcription (my changes in red) En / so / by examineing this picture / we can see / uhh the state x one / decays to zero / so it is stable / and the state of x two / will / goes to infinity / so / we cannot’t find any bounded set / to / em to bound this trajectory / so this is just a simple / simple example /

Pointers

Describe strategies using terminology students will understandExplain why the strategies are being usedDemonstrate the strategies Provide opportunities for practiceFocus on one pronunciation target at a time Provide a variety of speech samples

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse.phpProvide individual feedback

What’s reasonable to expect?

Improvement in pronunciation and oral skills takes time.

Slowing a fast speaking rate, improving MU boundaries and intonation, gaining self-awareness occur soonerImproving PPS takes longer

Students may feel discouraged when they listen and transcribe their own speech.

Provide encouragement. Spoken language is much messier than written.

Adapting to learners at different levels

Decide which features to target, based on student needSelect shorter recordings to start, even with advanced Ss Adjust tempo of NS recordings (e.g., Audacity)

Other uses of the strategies

Use for non-pronunciation targetsDisfluencies, excessive self-repairOveruse of fillers, words, phrases (uh… ok? You know?) Rate of speakingGrammarDiscourse structure

Useful resourcesAudacity sound recording software (free)

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/Adjust tempoFocus on short speech segmentsLooping feature for transcription

Online audio with transcriptionswww1.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ NPR.orgwww.engineerguy.com/archive/archive.htmhttp://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/http://www.englishcentral.com/en/videos (uses captioning)

Thank you!

Questions?

ReferencesActon, W. (1984). Changing fossilized pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly, 18(1), 71-85.

Berg, E. C. (1999). The effects of trained peer response on ESL students' revision types and writing quality. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8(3), 215-241.

Bygate, M. (2001). Effects of task repetition on the structure and control of oral language. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan, & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 23-48). Harlow: Longman.

Couper, C. (2003). The value of an explicit pronunciation syllabus in ESOL teaching. Prospect, 18(3), 53-70.

Dickerson, W. B. (1989). Stress in the speech stream: The rhythm of spoken English [CD-ROM]. Urbana, IL: Author.

Gu, P. Y. (2007). Foreword. In A. D. Cohen & E. Macaro (Eds.), Language learner strategies (pp. vii-viii). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hsiao, T.-Y., & Oxford, R. L. (2002). Comparing theories of language learning strategies: A confirmatory factor analysis. The Modern Language Journal, 86(3), 368-383.

Ingels, S. (in press). The Effects of self-monitoring strategy use on the pronunciation of learners of English. Selected Papers from the first annual conference of Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching. Iowa State University. (Paper presented on September 17, 2009.) Available at https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-37398626_2-t_V5HJAM4B

Lynch, T. (2007). Learning from the transcripts of an oral communication task. ELT Journal, 61(4), 311-320.

Lynch, T., & Maclean, J. (2001). ‘A case of exercising’: Effects of immediate task repetition on learners’ performance. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan, & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching and Testing (pp. 141-162). Harlow: Longman.

Mennim, P. (2003). Rehearsed oral L2 output and reactive focus on form. ELT Journal, 57(2), 130-138.

Mennim, P. (2007). Long-term effects of noticing on oral output. Language Teaching Research, 11(3), 265-280.

Rubin, J. (1975). What the "good language learner" can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9(1), 41-51.

Trofimovich, P., & Gatbonton, E. (2006). Repetition and focus on form in processing L2 Spanish words: Implications for pronunciation instruction. The Modern Language Journal, 90, 519-535.

Contact information:

Sue IngelsPhD candidateDepartment of Educational PsychologyUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-ChampaignEmail: ingels@illinois.edu