Dear Instructor
Here is a web designed tool which might be a part of a larger project. Please send your views and comments to my e-mail address at Walden University - your feedback might be very essential for developing this kind of learning tool - specifically aimed at the learners of English as a Second Language and they are of Spanish origin.
John P. Kolasinski john.kolasinski@mdc.edu
Learning Objectives:
An adult learner will learn by imitation, (not only vocally); also, the student can see the native speaker’s face and the necessary mimics when the words are produced. Since there is no emphasis on these speech patterns in most of the English as a Foreign Language programs, these WebPages will be very helpful in improving the pronunciation of the English Language.
Instructor’s assessment
If the practice is done in the lab or classroom, the instructor can hear the correctness of pronunciation right away. If students work at home individually, the studied sentence can be recorded e-mailed to the instructor. A digital recorder should be presented.
Target population
Foreign Students, immigrants, newcomers, and adult Hispanic learners. ESL instructors and Laboratory tutors can easily use this tool to prescribe on line exercises. Practice by listening and repeating the pronunciation (if possible recording the student's voice and e-mail it to the instructor; it is accessible from anywhere.
Preparation of the practice sessions with the native English speakers. Video clips are an essential part of this project.
A pilot study, with the Hispanic adult population will assess usability of the page, and help assess/measure the success of this site. Please, e-mail your comments to:
John P. Kolasinski; J
Installation of an electronic guest book would be advisable to have feedback from the learners and the users in order to be able to asses the page's usability and functionality.
The Index page is the center of the learning activities. It contains menu buttons for the exercises, hyperlinked to students' and instructors' welcome pages. The index page has a logo of the project and the necessary contact information, the counter, and the guest book. The “return buttons" are installed on all the sub pages and are hyperlinked to the Index page.
Sample learning activities are presented here and contain:
In the area of speech and phonetics: create a support practice of speech elements sensitive to the Spanish speakers.
Specific learning objectives for this exercise are to distinguish the pronunciation of two “similar” letters of the alphabet or, numbers (from the student's perspective), and learn how to pronounce them correctly.
Elements of the English alphabet [A vs. 8], [B vs. V], [C vs. Z]
Pre-test and post- test would be an excellent answer for the success for student.
Specific learning objectives for this exercise are to distinguish the pronunciation of two “similar” sounds, i.e., "Sh vs. Ch", (from the student's perspective), and learn how to pronounce the sound “Sh” which in Spanish does not exist, and frequently, it will be substituted with the existing Spanish "Ch" sound, by the not-trained learner.
Sounds: [Sh vs. Ch]
Pronunciation of final consonant:
Specific learning objectives for this exercise are to distinguish the pronunciation of two “similar” words, (from the student's perspective), and learn how to pronounce the final consonant.
[Tire vs. Tired],
I purchased a tire for my car.
Betty was tired after work.
A tired person is not very effective at work.
[Car vs. Card]
I purchased a tire for my car.
Mary drove a new car, a Volvo.
Anna received a new credit card, a Visa.
I sent her a beautiful birthday card.
[Final D]
People bleed when they get cut.
"Sh" Sounds