LPA1 Task 2

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Western Governors University *

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Linguistics

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Oct 30, 2023

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Uploaded by jllabo

LPA1 Task 2 Jessica Labo WGU 7/26/23

A Phonology A1 It is essential for teachers to recognize and model characteristics of speech production in order to successfully meet the language/communication needs of EL students. There are many different characteristics of speech, such as voicing, articulation, intonation, etc. It is important for teachers to be familiar with all of these characteristics so that they can effectively teach students how to say sounds and read words. Many EL students have acquired many speech patterns that are often different from those in the English language. It can be a challenge for EL students to learn new patterns, however it is important for teachers to successfully teach patterns through repetition and modeling. Students who speak primarily Spanish will often refer back to their primary language rules. For example, many students who speak Spanish refer to the word “for” as “por.” It is important to model the correct articulation of the word and remind students of rules. In this situation it may be helpful to model placing the top teeth on the bottom lip to show them how to pronounce the “f” sound. When teaching the rules of the English language I have found it helpful to also show students the difference between words with short and long vowels because many students have trouble differentiating. Furthermore, teachers who have a clear understanding of the characteristics of speech will be able to provide important knowledge that will be extremely beneficial to EL students. A2 Modeling the characteristics of speech will be very helpful to EL students because students will have a visual of how to produce sounds that may be difficult. Having a teacher model a sound is one of the most effective ways to teach pronunciation. In order to effectively model, teachers must first have a clear understanding of the characteristics of speech. Understanding voicing and the organization of sounds can help educators improve how they teach sounds. For example, knowing which sounds require air flow and which sounds are voiced/unvoiced can be very helpful when teaching sounds. If a child is having difficulty pronouncing the “s” sound the teacher could show them how the “s” sound is voiceless and air flows freely into the oral cavity. (Fromkin, 2018) For a student-centered activity I would have students categorize voiced and voiceless sounds. I would remind them that voiced sounds require forced air which forms a vibration and voiceless sounds allow air to flow freely. In addition, articulation is another important part of speech and it is very important for educators to understand. “We classify

consonants according to where in the vocal tract the airflow restrictions occurs, called the place of articulation.” (Fromkin, 2018) Articulation focuses more on how a person moves his or her organs to create a particular sound. For example, where and how to position the tongue. A teacher could model an alveolar sound for students having difficulty by showing them how the tongue touches the alveolar ridge in order to create the particular sound. For a student-centered activity I would have students play a game where they roll a dice and read a word the number of times that they rolled. This activity will promote fluency and allow students to articulate words correctly. B Phonemic Awareness Phonemic Awareness is the understanding of sounds and the process of segmenting/blending sounds to form words. In order to promote successful learning, teachers must understand phonemic awareness and its importance. It is crucial for teachers to understand phonemic awareness in order to teach it effectively. One important reason a teacher must understand phonemic awareness is to help learners communicate. It is essential for students to develop phonemic awareness so that they can learn and communicate with others. Language is made up of individual sounds and it is important for educators to teach students how to say sounds in order to form words to communicate. Additionally, students must develop phonemic awareness in order to have the ability to read and write. Prior to teaching students to read, educators must first focus on sounds/units, therefore it is important to know how to teach individual sounds. After students learn all of the sounds, educators can focus on decoding. Educators who understand phonemic awareness will develop a better understanding of how to teach phonological skills and will promote “learner success”. B1 A student’s level of phonemic awareness in their first language can have an impact on their learning of English in terms of speaking and listening. If a student is struggling to learn sounds in their primary language then he or she will often have difficulty learning sounds in English. “Awareness of individual speech sounds in one’s native language correlates with the awareness of individual speech sounds in a second language.” (Phonemic Awareness, 2017) Although each language has its own sounds, students who have difficulty in their primary language will also have difficulty in their secondary language because they will not be able to establish a connection between the two languages. An EL student who struggles with sounds will often have difficulty speaking and listening because they are

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unable to put sounds together to form words. If a student is unable to form words correctly then he or she will not be able speak or comprehend words effectively. B2 Minimal pairs involve two words that differ by one sound, such as ball and bell. Minimal pairs can be tricky for EL’s because of phonological elements used in their native language. ( Word Match- A Minimal Pairs Activity for Aiding Pronunciation, 2017) A memory card game is a great student-centered classroom activity to help students gain a better understanding of minimal pairs. Students will have several cards with words written on them. The game will begin by facing all of the cards down and the students will pick up a word and try to find a match. For example, “man” and “men” would be a match. Students will have to read the words and determine if the words are minimal pairs. If they believe the words are minimal pairs then they will have to explain which two sounds differ. Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. (2011). An Introduction to Language. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage

References Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2018). An introduction to language (11th ed.). Cengage Limited. Phonemic Awareness. (2007). Retrieved from chrome- extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.browardschools.com/cms/lib/ FL01803656/Centricity/Domain/11688/8_Phonemic_Awareness.pdf Word Match- A Minimal Pairs Activity for Aiding Pronunciation. (2017). Retrieved from https://eslgames.com/minimal-pairs-game Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice . Brookes Publishing.