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TEACHING OF PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY AT M.A. LEVEL IN PAKISTAN.

 Muhammad Sajid us Salam Mphil Linguistics The Islamia University Bahawalpur cupidlucid@gmail.com

Overview

What is Phonetics and Phonology? Significance of Teaching Phonetics and Phonology Teaching of Phonetics and Phonology Situation in Pakistan Required Learning Skills Pakistani Classroom Needs of Pakistani LearnersJ

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 Difficulties of the Teachers while teaching at M.A Level in Pakistan Difficulties of the Learners, Segmental and Supra-segmental problems Difference of Sound System in Urdu and English Languages. Vowels and Consonants. Syllable. Pronunciation Problems Equipments and Training on Teachers at M.A. Level in Pakistan Conclusion Suggestions for the Improvement of Pakistani English

 Speaking a language is not merely knowing its grammar and vocabulary, but the practice of correct pronunciation is also necessary. A cricketer cannot learn to play cricket by just acquiring theoretical knowledge of the techniques and rules of the game. He must actively go to the filed and practice the game. Similarly, the language learner must put to use his knowledge of the language.

 PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

Phonetics scientific study of the production, transmission and reception of speech sounds. Phonetics is the study of physical aspects of speech. It studies all possible speech sounds

 Phonology
Phonology is the branch of linguistics which Studies the sound system in a language.

Bloomfield argues Phonology is the organization of sounds into patterns

 Difference Between Phonetics and Phonology

Generality and

Particularity.

The and classification of description speech sounds Aim of Phonology Discover the principles that govern the way the sounds are organized in languages and to explain the variations that occur. Phonology studies the speech sounds of a given language and their function within the sound system of that language.

Aim of Phonetics

Important Terms in Phonology Phone is an instance of a speech sound. [b], [s], [o]. A Phoneme is a category of speech sounds that all speakers of a language perceive as more or less identical. /t/ /f/ /b/ An Allophone is a variant or alternate phonetic form of a phoneme. [t] and [t ] are allophones of the phoneme /t/.

System of Transcription in English

Phonemic or Broad Transcription Phonetic transcription/ Narrow Transcription This is something much needed by the foreign learner in order to understand fully the features of connected speech

IPA symbols for representing the sound system of any language in a unique form.

Priorities for Phonology in the Pronunciation Class

Comprehensibility: are learners able to identify the sounds and are their articulations understood by native speakers? Social Acceptability: are learners producing sounds that are aesthetically acceptable to the ears of native speakers? Ease of Production: do learners have a good chance of successfully learning to produce the sounds? Number of familiar words (functional load): do the sounds occur frequently in essential &/or very useful words?

Significance of Teaching phonetics and phonology

Selection and arrangement of speech sounds Helps to teach phonemes correct pronunciation of consonants and vowels sounds etc

Significance of Teaching phonetics and phonology

Intelligibility is a pronunciation which can be understood with little or no conscious effort on part of the listener.

 It tells that how many sounds are produced in one word. Sometimes one sound is used for two letters. For example: /f/ is used for, Face and Phenomenon

Significance of Teaching phonetics and phonology

Segmental level of phonology analyses the speech into direct segments and phonemes. Supra Segmental level of phonology deals syllables with extended segments. Such as stress, intonation etc. Diachronic phonology examines theories about the changes and modification in sounds over the period of time. Synchronic phonology deals with the pattern of sounds in the content of change in the history of language.

Significance of Teaching phonetics and phonology

Articulatory phonetics helps us to teach the movement of speech organs in production of speech sounds. Speech is produced by lungs, larynx, tongue, lips soft palate, hard plate etc. Acoustic phonetics helps us to teach speech sound as transmitted between mouth and ear. Auditory phoneticsIt helps in teaching hearing and the perception of speech sounds.

How much phonetics and phonology do teachers and learners of English language need to know and use? Teachers must understand the physical aspects of sound production.Teachers will not necessarily teach these to students, but this knowledge will provide a basis for teachers to identify the physical reasons for inaccurate approximations of foreign language sounds, enabling them to give precise instructions which will help students correct faulty pronunciation.

How much phonetics and phonology do teachers and learners of English language need to know and use?

Unless the teacher understands how the student is using his speech organs in producing a native language sound and what he should be doing to reproduce the foreign language sound acceptably, he cannot help the student beyond a certain stage of earnest but inaccurate imitation." (Wilga Rivers- Teaching Foreign Language Skills).

How much phonetics and phonology do teachers and learners of English language need to know and use?

Incorrectly articulated consonants will affect the production of vowels, as vowels will affect consonants. Students therefore require steady practice and muscle training. Pronunciation is a motor skill that needs practice.

What are the major causes of pupils' inability to communicate effectively in oral situations? How should teaching programmes be devised to counteract this?

1. Teach the comprehension and production of a form of "slow colloquial" suitable for the communicative needs of the consensus. 2. Lead away from practice in the comprehension of R.P. by including various styles of "informal English" as listening material. The emphasis at this stage is on practice. Comprehension should be tested in a variety of ways e.g. "Task Listening".

 3a. Teach the auditory & visual signals which are reliable indicators of stress placement. Practice material requiring to recognise and mark strong stress and use of video film would be helpful here. 3b. Teach the most common tunes. Practices should also focus on the interrelationships between stress, tune, syntax and meaning.

 4. Develop vocabulary giving special priority to lexis containing important signals (concepts), cohesive devices and other discourse markers. The focus here is comprehension of spoken English at paragraph level.

 5. Teach the sound system (the relationships between vowel length & quality and consonant sounds, the points of articulation & their modification in "informal English" in greater detail.
(David Jones' RSA Course in Stockholm 1982.)

Teaching of phonetics and phonology situation in Pakistan.

A number of explanations can be given to account for this poor performance such as: Our educational policy Uncongenial teaching environment Dearth of materials Lack of practice Absence of language laboratory Outmoded syllabi methodology Examinations system

 M.A level is considered to be the higher level in Pakistan Most of the students do jobs or go for higher education For both groups teaching of phonetics and phonology is necessary, because you express yourself through communication For better communication it is necessary to learn the correct pronunciation of the words of any language that you speak. Teaching of phonetics and phonology is equally important for all the languages.

Practiced Language skills in Pakistani Class Room; Basic Reason for Such a Poor Condition of Teaching Phonetics and Phonology

An average classroom in Pakistan still reflects traditional concepts of teaching methods. The logical sequence of language skills is disturbed, thus creating obstacles in the learning process. It is an established fact that the sequence adopted in L1 acquisition must be followed to a large extent in L2 learning i.e. listening, speaking reading, writing (LSRW).

 Moreover, the system in Pakistan demands reading and writing more than the other skills. Speaking is almost ignored and there are no ways to test the speaking ability of the students. Teaching of sound system in our country is given no importance.

 speaking skill is required at the higher level in Pakistan, when students appear for interview and viva voce. The policy makers have failed to realize that at the higher level, it is too late to gain proficiency in the speaking skill.

Result:
Students are unaware of the correct pronunciation of words even till graduate level in our country. Many students suffer because they cannot express themselves so well verbally, as they would in writing.

The need of a Pakistani student at M.A. level

Listening and speaking facilitate communication, creating confidence in the learner through interaction with the environment. Unfortunately, a Pakistani syllabus ignores even these two language skills, and the syllabus objectives are set to achieve reading and writing skills. As a result, the students concentrate on the structural rather than functional aspects of the language.

 communication between teacher-students and student-students is almost nil. Such teaching/learning will give birth to teachers/learners who will not be able to use language effectively. A balance between all four language skills should be struck by syllabus designers.

 The students need the listening skill to understand teachers and to follow instructions and speaking skill to express themselves by using language. But all these skills are perfected if we know well how to pronounce the words correctly.

 In Pakistan, syllabi/ curricula have hardly undergone any change. They need revolutionary changes to keep abreast of the times. No activities or practice of correct pronunciation of words and accent is being done by the teachers even at M.A. level in Pakistan. A Pakistani syllabus stresses more on the theoretical aspects rather than the practical/ applicable aspects. The language learners may have a good command over the usage of the language but may not be able to use the language satisfactorily with correct pronunciation and stress pattern.

 The syllabus designers should realize this and shift from a structural syllabus to a functional one. Both the language / education policy makers and the syllabus designers need to adopt a pragmatic view of language use and teaching of phonetics and phonology should be made compulsory.

Difficulties of Teaching phonetics and phonology at M.A level in Pakistan.

Experimental subject Lack of language laboratories Self Access Centers (SACs) laboratories are equipped with tape recorders head phones, and now computers. The students can contact their teachers on one-to-one basis.

 Compare pronunciation to the source and get feedback with out the intervention of a teacher. Students are more open to the guidance of the teacher at language laboratories. The language laboratory helps to train some students to really listen to what they say and how they say it.

A basic pronunciation item may look like this:

Tape voice: Information Buzz Signal: (Pause of 3 seconds) Tape voice: Information

Learners mostly face problems due to the following reasons:

Teachers are not much experts. Learners have little or no exposure to native speakers of Target Language (TL). They are sometimes unable to teach the students using a good methodology of teaching phonetics and phonology/sound system.

 Speech organs are not taught comprehensively. There is a lack of written transcription practice. Teachers should explain the IPA chart very well. Language skills are not taught well. There is the lack of the use of Audio visual aids in teaching. Audio visual aids take the place of first hand and actual experience. As they enliven the learning atmosphere they can accomplish most effectively the objectives of language learning.

Advantages of Audio Visual Aids

Reduce verbalism Help in better and clear understanding of sounds (Production/transmission). Arouse interest of the learners in the task of learning. Help to focus attention on the lesson and stimulate the learners thinking. Encourage students participation. Train the learners in efficient work and study habits. Exclude favorable attitudes Bring about variety in the lesson and make it effective.

Commonly used audio visual aids (AV aids)

classroom objects such as Blackboard /white boards, Pictorial representations, Bulletin board to display pictures, Drawings, Charts, Flash cards, The textbooks, Dramatization Role playing Videos playing

 Teacher should use these Av aids to make their students fully understand the sound system, to enable them to pronounce the words in a correct way. Teacher should make them understand the movement of speech organs to produce different sound. Use the technique of lesson planning for batter results/outcome.

Difference between the Sound System of Urdu and English

Student feel difficulty in learning the foreign language i.e. English because there is a great difference of sound system in Urdu and English language. We can see the difference through the following alphabetical order shown between English and Urdu.

Difference between the Sound System of Urdu and English

Segmental and Suprasegmental Problems

Segmental Problems
Vowels Consonants Vowels:

In English Vowel intensity (quality) is significant for syllabic prominence in English In Urdu vowel duration (quantity) is significant for syllabic prominence.

Vowels
Vowels in English are uttered with different positions of lips, tongue and jaws, but in Urdu vowels are realized in the natural position of the oral cavity. For example, /b/, /t/, /a/ : are confused and /a: Cot /kbt/ Caught /k: t / /Ka: t/ Cart / ka: t/

Phoneme Difficulties and Sound Difficulties.

when a phoneme is replace with another phoneme that is called phoneme difficulty and when some sound of phoneme is confused that is called sound difficulty For example Pakistan learners pronounce wine as vine and in this way they confuse /w/ with /v/, this is a phoneme difficulty

Consonants
The consonant difficulties are no less remarkable. There are twenty-four consonants in English whereas Urdu has thirty seven consonants As pirated stops constitute different phonemes in Urdu, while English they are in complementary distribution with the unaspirated ones. Urdu aspirated stops in English. /p/, /t/, /k/ sounds are aspirated R.P A Pakistani learner tends to pronounce them without aspiration.

Pakistani learners tend to confuse /v/ sound with /w/sound. In R.P (Received pronunciation) /v/ is a labio-dental fricative and /w/ is a bilabial semivowel e.g. /n/sounds does not occur independent in Urdu and is replaced by /ng/ or /nk/. In R.P /r/only occurs before vowels, never before consonants. An Urdu speaker finds it difficult to string together two, three or four consonants with no vowel between them. We may say that consonant clusters are also a great difficulty for the foreign learners.

 The sound / j/ exists and is widely used in Urdu but appears to cause considerable difficulty possible due to the fact that serves as both vowel /i:/ and consonant /j/ in Urdu consequently many speakers are confused:

Supra segmental Problems:

Stress/ Accent Intonation Syllables Fluency Features of connected speech

Syllabification
The term syllabification refers to the division of a word into syllables. Syllables are formed by the combination of vowels and consonants. The syllable structures are of various types and common structure of syllable is the combination of a consonant and a vowel (CV), this syllable structure may be found almost in all language.
English: (CCCVCCCC) Urdu: (CVCC)

44 sounds 26 letters,

Result:

(Confusion and Difficulties of Learners

in Learning Pronunciation)
1.

The same letter (S) stands for different sounds:

The letters ch stand for different sounds

machine, monarch, chief

The letter a stands for different sounds

late, last, fat, woman, village, water, what

The letters ough stand for different sounds

though, through, bough, thought, thorough, cough

2. The same sound is represented by different letters or combinations of letters:

The n sound is represented by the letters n in neck, nn in funny, gn in sign, kn in know and pn in pneumonia The vowel sound in the word get, is replaced by the letter e in end, ea in head, ei in leasure, eo in leopard, a in many ai in said, ie in friend, u in bury, and ue in guess The vowel sound in the word tea is replaced by the letters ea in beat, ie in brief, eo in people, e in scene, ee in seen, ey in key, I in machine, oe in foetus, ei in receive and uay in quay

 3. One letter of the alphabet stands for a sequence of two sounds: The letter q stands for a combination of the k sound (as in key) and the w sound as in watch in the words question, quiet, quite, square, squash, queer The letter x stands for a sequence of the k sound (as in kite) and the s sound (as in sea) in the words excuse, excite, excess, box, exercise The letter x stands also for a sequence of the g sound (as in go) and the z sound (as in zoo) in the words exact, examine, exist, exert The letter u sometimes stands for the sequence of a consonant followed by a vowel as in the words unit, use, utilize

Equipment and Training of English Teachers

English is an ever-growing subject An English teacher requires more intensive training than his other colleagues in other subjects Those who do not keep themselves in constant touch with its development are left far behind and hopelessly out of date.

Deficiencies:
Teachers)

(Regarding

Their command of general English is poor. The language that they habitually employ is not of practical use to the students. The do not know how to come down to the level of the young beginners. Generally they do not keep themselves abreast of the modern methods of teaching. Most of them avoid hard work involved in adopting new methods. They need an intensive and extensive knowledge of the use English language, pronunciation and intonation and an acquaintance with English ways of life.

Suggestion for their improvement.

Refresher courses should be arranged during summer vacation for English Teachers for to update them to the sound system of English language. They should be encouraged to do research work. They should be provided with the latest publications. Lectures of English speakers should be arranged for their benefit. They should be advised to listen to the Radio programmes. Opportunities to visit England should be provided.

An English Teachers Association should be established. A journal should be run by this Association. Conferences of teachers for academic discussion should be encouraged. Subject specialist system should be enforced. Demonstration Lessons by the teachers should be encouraged. Purchase of Tape-recorders and Lingua phone records should be allowed. They should be provided with funds for the purchases of equipment for the English room.

CONCLUSION
The tremendous and considerable influence of mother tongue or L1 poses many great difficulties in learning the pronunciation of second language (L2). When we teach English language to the students at M.A Level they have become mature and they feel difficulty in pronouncing English words in an exact manner because their speech organs are set for their own language/ mother tongue. Our Jaw system and speech organs no doubt can produce uncountable sounds but for this purpose we 63need a great deal of practice, as the practice makes a man perfect. Teaching of phonetics and phonology should be made compulsory at early level. Speaking and listening skills should be taught and practiced. The students should check up to correct pronunciations of these and similar other problematic words in a pronouncing dictionary.

Suggestions for the Improvements of Pakistani English

The correct pattern of English word accent should be maintained. The correct pattern of sentence stress and rhythm should be maintained. The knowledge of vowels (O,v,w) should be acquired. The consonants should be clearly articulated. English vowels and diphthongs must be given correct length, they should be sufficiently long.

The voiceless plosives /p/, /t/, /k/ should be aspirated at the beginning of accented syllables. The reading of a set text should be done carefully with proper grouping of words. The correct distribution of /s/and /z/ in flexional suffixes should be learnt through the constant use of a pronouncing dictionary. The correct distribution of English vowels and consonants should be learnt through the constant use of a pronouncing dictionary.

Students should remember that the sound (r) at the end of a word or before a consonant is dropped. It is pronounced before a vowel only. It is, however, pronounced at the end of a word when the word immediately following it in connected speech begins with a vowel e.g. morning, there, thereafter, there by, archive in these words (r) is not pronounced.

 Sometimes two consonants occur next to each other. In pronunciation the first is often dropped, e.g. Sit down: /si daun/ Postman: /pousmn/or poustmen/

 Some most commonly mispronounced words in Pakistan are: vowel, adjective, sew, opportunity, capacity, political, azure, rumor, drought, malign, malignity, condemn, autumn, forehead, extraordinary, Wednesday, zero, hero, etc. The students should check up to correct pronunciations of these and similar other problematic words in a pronouncing dictionary.