The effects of imitation and synchronization on the pronunciation of selected phonemes in L2 English and German: a pilot study

ISBN 978-0-646-80069-1International audienceThis study focuses on investigating possible effects of synchronous speech, an experimental version of joint speech [3], on L2 pronunciation at the segmental level. While repetition and imitation are traditionally used in pronunciation teaching and learning of L2 phonetic and phonological acquisition, synchronous speech has been seldom studied in an L2 learning environment. What are the L2 linguistic aspects that synchronous speech would influence? Is there any effect of L2 phonetic convergence found when learners are speaking and listening at the same time? We studied the effects of synchronization and imitation on the acquisition of eight phonemes in L2 English and German that are known to be problematic for French learners. A series of acoustic analysis revealed that while some acoustic parameters such as formant frequencies and vocalic duration improved in both speech practices, changes brought on by synchronous speech of consonantal acoustic parameters were more subtle to determine

Teaching Pronunciation with Direct Visual Articulatory Feedback: Pedagogical Considerations for the Use of Ultrasound in the Classroom

Ultrasound imaging of tongue movements has only recently been introduced as a novel tool for pronunciation training and instruction. In this contribution we will briefly present the principles of using ultrasound as a visual feedback method for language learners and then report the results of an exploratory pilot study which was carried out over one semester at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University with the aim to evaluate whether ultrasound imaging could be a feasible and effective pronunciation teaching method when used in a regular classroom setting where learners only receive a series of short-time training interventions. The participants were seven French learners of English and the training focused on the production of two English vowel contrasts, the distinction between tense /iː/ and lax /ɪ/, and the distinction between the vowels /æ/ and /ʌ/. The results showed some improvement in the differentiation between the two high front vowels for certain learners, but little effects for an increased distinction between the two open vowels. We will discuss the general usefulness and limitations of using ultrasound-based instructions in the classroom, as well as its pedagogical implications.L’échographie des mouvements de la langue n’a été introduite que récemment comme un nouvel outil pour l’entraînement et l’enseignement de la prononciation. Dans cette contribution, nous présentons brièvement les principes de l’utilisation de l’ultrason lingual comme méthode de rétrocontrôle visuel pour les apprenants en langues, puis nous rapportons les résultats d’une étude exploratoire initiale menée pendant un semestre à l’Université Sorbonne Nouvelle pour évaluer si l’échographie linguale pouvait être une méthode d’enseignement de la prononciation faisable et efficace lorsqu’elle est utilisée dans un cadre de classe ordinaire où les apprenants ne reçoivent qu’une série d’interventions de formation de courte durée. Les participants étaient sept apprenants français d’anglais et l’entraînement s’est concentré sur la production de deux contrastes vocaliques de l’anglais : la distinction entre le /iː/ tendu et le /ɪ/ relâché, et la distinction entre les voyelles /æ/ et /ʌ/. Les résultats ont montré une amélioration de la différenciation entre les deux voyelles antérieures hautes pour certains apprenants, mais peu d’effets pour améliorer la distinction entre les deux voyelles ouvertes. Nous discutons de l’utilité générale et des limites de l’utilisation des instructions basées sur l’ultrason lingual en classe, ainsi que de ses implications pédagogiques

Speaker-specific kinematic properties of alveolar reductions in English and German

International audienceA simultaneous EPG/EMA study of tongue gestures of five speakers was conducted to investigate the kinematic events accompanying alveolar stop reductions in the context of a velar plosive /k/ and in the context of a laryngeal fricative /h/ in two languages, English and German. No systematic language differences could be detected. Alveolar productions before a following /h/ showed only a marginal weakening of the formation of complete occlusion, while alveolar productions before a following /k/ showed a wide range of reductions, including instances of a complete deletion of the alveolar gesture. The extension of movement reduction varied between and within subjects. Importantly, while speakers were consistent with themselves, they employed different articulatory patterns with respect to the timing relationship between movement initiation, overall movement duration, peak velocity as well as closure duration. An attempt is made to relate the observed movement patterns to the dynamic factors of the speech mechanism

The origins of coarticulation

AbstractThe concept of coarticulation, i.e. the apparent variation of segments due to the influence of adjacent or nearby segments, is central to almost any area in phonetic research. The following text considers the 'origin' of this concept from three different perspectives. In the first section the reasons why coarticulation exists in speech are outlined and the phenomenon and its underlying assumptions are presented in more detail. The second part of the paper deals with the history of the concept. Firstly, an overview of the origin of coarticulation is given from a historical point of view. Secondly, the adoption of the concept of coarticulation as the basis of a major research paradigm in speech production is discussed. The latter includes a summary of the main models and experimental results presented since the late 1960s. In the third section, finally, the ontogenetic origin, i.e. the way in which children acquire coarticulatory behaviour, is considered

A pilot study on the F0 curve of syllable-initial sonorants, comparing nasals, lenis stops and fortis stops

International audienceSeveral publications raise the issue whether the F0 curve of syllable-initial sonorants can play a prosodic role. The experimental evidence adduced in the present pilot study consists of 15 C1VC2 words, where C1 = /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/, /m/ or /n/, V = /ɑː/, /iː/, /uː/, and C2 = /t/; these words were said twice inside a carrier sentence by four Cambridge undergraduates (speakers of Southern Standard British English). Comparison of the F0 curves of the /m/-initial syllables with those of the obstruent-initial syllables suggests that only the part of the F0 curve which corresponds to the syllable rime is to be taken into account at the stage of the interpretation of the word's intonation pattern

Le rôle du feedback visuel articulatoire dans l'apprentissage des langues étrangères

International audienceLe but de cet atelier est de présenter l’ultrason, un outil de feedback visuel articulatoire permettant de voir la position de la langue en temps réel dans un contexte de classe de langues. Après une brève présentation de son principe de fonctionnement, de ses implications scientifiques et pédagogiques, de ses avantages et de ses limites, un temps de pratique est proposé : manipulation du logiciel SeeMore, utilisation sur des oppositions suggérées par des participants, discussion sur des protocoles pédagogiques

Teaching pronunciation with direct visual articulatory feedback: pedagogical considerations for the use of ultrasound in the classroom

International audienceUltrasound imaging of tongue movements has only recently been introduced as a novel tool for pronunciation training and instruction. In this contribution we will briefly present the principles of using ultrasound as a visual feedback method for language learners and then report the results of an exploratory pilot study which was carried out over one semester at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University with the aim to evaluate whether ultrasound imaging could be a feasible and effective pronunciation teaching method when used in a regular classroom setting where learners only receive a series of short-time training interventions. The participants were seven French learners of English and the training focused on the production of two English vowel contrasts, the distinction between tense /iː/ and lax /ɪ/, and the distinction between the vowels /æ/ and /ʌ/. The results showed some improvement in the differentiation between the two high front vowels for certain learners, but little effects for an increased distinction between the two open vowels. We will discuss the general usefulness and limitations of using ultrasound-based instructions in the classroom, as well as its pedagogical implications.L’échographie des mouvements de la langue n'a été introduite que récemment comme un nouvel outil pour l'entraînement et l’enseignement de la prononciation. Dans cette contribution, nous présentons brièvement les principes de l'utilisation de l’ultrason lingual comme méthode de rétrocontrôle visuel pour les apprenants en langues, puis nous rapportons les résultats d'une étude exploratoire initiale menée pendant un semestre à l'Université Sorbonne Nouvelle pour évaluer si l’échographie linguale pouvait être une méthode d'enseignement de la prononciation faisable et efficace lorsqu'elle est utilisée dans un cadre de classe ordinaire où les apprenants ne reçoivent qu'une série d'interventions de formation de courte durée. Les participants étaient sept apprenants français d'anglais et l’entraînement s'est concentré sur la production de deux contrastes vocaliques de l’anglais : la distinction entre le /iː/ tendu et le /ɪ/ relâché, et la distinction entre les voyelles /æ/ et /ʌ/. Les résultats ont montré une amélioration de la différenciation entre les deux voyelles antérieures hautes pour certains apprenants, mais peu d'effets pour améliorer la distinction entre les deux voyelles ouvertes. Nous discutons de l'utilité générale et des limites de l'utilisation des instructions basées sur l’ultrason lingual en classe, ainsi que de ses implications pédagogiques

Patterns of lingual variability in German vowel production

This study aimed to assess the relative importance of biomechanical and linguistic constraints on articulatory precision by analyzing contextual and token-to-token variability in tongue postioning for vowels. Contextual variability proved greater for lax vowels. Back vowels showed substantially increasing variability towards more front tongue locations. Regarding token-totoken variability, lax vowels were more variable for front vowels, but less so for back ones. Again, back vowel variability increased towards the front. The main distinction in variability was thus between palatal vowels (whole tongue constrained) and non-palatal vowels (anterior tongue unconstrained)

Stratégies d'adaptation de la vitesse d’articulation lors de conversations spontanées entre locuteurs natifs et non-natifs

International audienceCet article examine la vitesse d’articulation dans un corpus de conversations spontanées entre locuteurs natifs et non-natifs. L’objectif est d’étudier (i) dans quelle mesure les locuteurs natifs adaptent leur vitesse aux apprenants L2 et (ii) dans quelle mesure les deux locuteurs en interaction ont tendance à rapprocher ou à dissocier leurs caractéristiques temporelles au cours d’une conversation. Les données proviennent du corpus SITAF d’interactions tandem en anglais-français. A ce jour, 10 sujets ont été analysés, chacun ayant été enregistré dans trois conditions différentes : en utilisant sa L1 avec un autre locuteur natif, en utilisant sa L1 avec un apprenant L2, et en utilisant sa L2. Les résultats indiquent que les propriétés rythmiques de la langue maternelle ont une nette influence sur les variations de la vitesse d’articulation des locuteurs, non seulement sur les caractéristiques de la vitesse en L2 mais également lors des stratégies d’adaptation envers des apprenants

The role of articulatory visual feedback in foreign language learning

International audienceThe aim of this conference is to present ultrasound, an articulatory visual feedback tool that allows to see the position of the tongue in real time in a language classroom context. After a brief presentation of its operating principle, its scientific and pedagogical implications, its advantages and limitations, a time of practice is proposed: manipulation of the SeeMore software, use on oppositions suggested by participants, discussion on pedagogical protocols