This Report examines the importance of suprasegmentals and how one might teach them. I demonstrate, through the readings of experts in the field, the close relationship between suprasegmental features and intelligibility, which I support with a review of research literature as the goal of instruction. Pronunciation and suprasegmental research in pedagogy is analyzed and discussed, and teacher and learner beliefs are compared with current research-backed conclusions. Finally, this Report provides the readers with sample lessons on nuclear stress to demonstrate how to incorporate a five-step pronunciation framework into a classroom or tutoring setting. / text

Recent research has shifted the focus of pronunciation instruction from achieving native-like speech in learners to correcting issues that affect the intelligibility of the learners’ speech. Research also suggests that suprasegmental features of pronunciation, such as intonation, rhythm, and stress, have a considerable influence on intelligibility. By using Dickerson’s (1989) Covert Rehearsal Model, which includes predictive strategies that encourage learner autonomy, instructors have the tools necessary to effectively help learners improve their intelligibility. However, the question as to which instructional targets should be taught in the classroom still remains. This report outlines one way in which instructors can use a diagnostic assessment in order to discover which instructional targets are most appropriate for their learners. / text

This report describes a systematic procedure designed to give students pronunciation feedback on suprasegmental features of English in spontaneous production (rather than students' pronunciation during a read-aloud task). The procedure was developed to find out if written feedback (given frequently enough) could impact students' spontaneous production of suprasegmentals. Pronunciation feedback was given to the treatment group by marking transcripts of spontaneous speech with written symbols. Both the treatment group and the control group received form-focused pronunciation instruction. After 14 weeks, there was no significant difference between the groups, but there was a statistically significant improvement in students' comprehensibility overall (regardless of the feedback condition). Students were also surveyed to determine if either group perceived a greater benefit from the pronunciation instruction or if either group perceived a greater improvement in pronunciation. Surveys revealed a meaningful correlation between the group that received the treatment and the group that found the pronunciation instruction to be beneficial.

Prosody is known in linguistics as the "suprasegmental" features of language such as syllable stress and intonation. It is also known in the fields of poetics and musicology with alternate definitions and modeling practices. Concepts of prosody are further compounded when considering prosodic phenomena throughout the languages of the world. While the resulting lack of a universal concept of prosody may be tolerable in such a variety of paradigms, there is one paradigm that requires a unified model of prosody. This is the paradigm of hymn translation, which requires prosodic features to align not only musically, poetically, and linguistically, but also cross-linguistically. This thesis compiles existing practices of prosodic modeling in all these areas as well as the prosodic phenomena of a hymn corpus in order to construct a unified model of prosody that can guide the alignment of prosodic features when translating hymns. Though principally designed for the practical purpose of hymn translation, this model also offers theoretical considerations for the definition, nature, and modeling of prosody.

This study is an examination of how prosodic pitch and intensity compare in autistic individuals and neurotypical individuals. Ten-minute recordings of casual conversation were taken and analyzed. Participants included 11 autistic individuals and 11 neurotypical individuals with six males and five females in each group. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2; Lord et al., 2012) prosody rating scale was used to collect a perceptual evaluation of each participan's prosody, and Praat acoustic analysis software was used to collect measures of pitch and intensity over the 10-minute period to investigate how speech characteristics change with conversation partner familiarity. Results revealed significant prosodic differences between autistic and neurotypical individuals. Both mean speaking pitch and intensity were found to be lower in the autistic group compared to the neurotypical group. The ADOS-2 (2012) measure of prosody was found to be ineffective in accurately capturing all individuals in the study who were autistic. A more comprehensive rating scale was suggested in order to adequately identify autistic individuals according to their prosodic characteristics. Results showed significant differences across sex in pitch and intensity, with males having a lower mean speaking pitch than females, as was expected. Remarkable differences were also observed between autistic male speakers and neurotypical male speakers. A lower pitch variability and lower pitch range were discovered in the autistic male speakers compared to neurotypical male speakers. Male speakers demonstrated greater intensity variability than female speakers. No changes were found in pitch or intensity for either neurological group as conversation partner familiarity increased. This may have been due to the nature of the conversation, which was structured as an interview in a single session. The findings of this study have clinical implications and are hoped to be helpful in understanding prosodic features of autistic adults. This can lead to better assessment and treatment of autistic individuals, supporting them in their daily functioning and ability to form and maintain relationships.

In an increasingly global world, there is a growing demand for pronunciation instruction. A focus on intelligibility as the goal in pronunciation instruction has risen to the forefront of the literature. Suprasegmentals are a practical goal for instruction since they have been shown to have a greater impact on overall intelligibility, but many language curricula do not allocate time or resources to pronunciation instruction at all, making it difficult for teachers to incorporate much needed suprasegmental learning in language classrooms. This Report suggests a practical way to incorporate suprasegmental learning in a mixed language background classroom: a project that incorporates a Web 2.0 tool, VoiceThread, and Covert Rehearsal Model strategy use. / text

The focus of this project was to develop self-directed pronunciation materials for a specialized group of English as a second language (ESL) learners—missionaries at the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A set of six Cued Pronunciation Readings (CPRs) were developed. CPRs are computer-based, self-directed pronunciation materials designed to help students perceive pausing, word stress, and sentence-final intonation in spoken English and practice these features through a sequence of oral reading tasks. The CPRs developed in this project were based on essential missionary communicative tasks and utilized high-frequency gospel vocabulary. These tasks included saying set prayers, reciting relevant scripture passages, and bearing testimonies on gospel principles. These materials, originally developed in Microsoft PowerPoint, were converted for use in an MTC application called Assessment Tools. Following development, the materials were tested with a group of ESL missionaries in the Provo MTC. Fourteen missionaries used the materials during a three-week period. They were encouraged to spend 10–15 minutes each day in the computer lab working on the tasks. At the end of three weeks, a posttest survey was administered to obtain the missionaries' feedback. The missionaries' use of the materials and their reactions are discussed. Suggestions are given for the further development of similar materials and for further implementation of these materials at the MTC.

Recent studies on pronunciation teaching in ESL classrooms have found that the teaching of suprasegmentals, namely stress, pausing, and intonation, has a great effect on improving intelligibility (Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1998; Kang, Rubin, & Pickering, 2010; Morley, 1991). The current project describes the development and implementation of computer-based pronunciation materials used for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program. The pronunciation program made use of cued pronunciation readings (CPRs) which used suprasegmentals and were developed for English as a second language (ESL) missionaries at the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center (MTC). Because there was no pronunciation program in place at the MTC, instructional materials that focused on prosodic features were greatly needed. Missionaries participated in the program anywhere from three to six weeks. Results from the implementation period revealed that missionaries made medium to large gains in their ability to perceive suprasegmentals after using the practice tasks and small-medium gains in their ability to produce suprasegmentals during this short time period. Recommendations for further development, implementation, and testing of similar materials are made for use with individuals in other ESP settings like these missionaries at the MTC.

Submitted by Edileide Reis (leyde-landy@hotmail.com) on 2013-05-16T12:19:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Sally Inkpin.pdf: 7186183 bytes, checksum: 764a229cdc151491bf8e22f9b2f1f25d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Alda Lima da Silva(sivalda@ufba.br) on 2013-05-27T21:36:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Sally Inkpin.pdf: 7186183 bytes, checksum: 764a229cdc151491bf8e22f9b2f1f25d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-27T21:36:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sally Inkpin.pdf: 7186183 bytes, checksum: 764a229cdc151491bf8e22f9b2f1f25d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / Neste estudo, procurou-se investigar, se o treino da pronúncia e o aumento da conscientização sobre os padrões da prosódia, da ênfase e da não-ênfase da língua inglesa de um grupo de aprendizes adultos brasileiros implica em um melhor desempenho de compreensão do inglês falado em cadeia. O estudo ilustra os erros típicos de pronúncia do aprendiz brasileiro e as dificuldades que ele sente quando escuta o inglês falado. Chega-se à conclusão de que muitos desses problemas originam-se nas diferenças entre os padrões de ênfase da língua materna dos aprendizes e os da língua estrangeira. A língua inglesa é uma língua stress-timed, significando que somente as sílabas tônicas e as sílabas fortes dos agrupamentos de pensamentos são enunciadas claramente, enquanto o português brasileiro pertence ao grupo syllable-timed de línguas, significando que a duração e o timbre das suas sílabas são muito mais regulares. Dois grupos de alunos (um grupo de controle e um grupo de pesquisa) participaram de um curso de inglês e seus resultados num teste de compreensão oral foram comparados no início e no fim dos cursos. Ao grupo de controle, foi ministrado um curso típico da abordagem comunicativa, enquanto o grupo da pesquisa seguiu o mesmo curso, com o acréscimo de informações sobre a ênfase e a não-ênfase da língua inglesa e os processos da simplificação que resultam destas como a redução, a assimilação, a contração, a elisão e a junção. O grupo da pesquisa praticou a pronúncia do inglês para reforçar a sua consciência sobre a ênfase e a não-ênfase, trabalhando sob a premissa de que a pronúncia e a compreensão oral são habilidades interligadas. Este estudo não pode ser considerado conclusivo por causa das limitações da amostra, entretanto foi observado que o grupo de pesquisa demonstrou resultados positivos especialmente na área do reconhecimento das palavras-chave. / Salvador

Pausing is a natural part of human speech. Pausing is used to segment speech, negotiate meaning, and allow for breathing. In oral speech, pausing, along with other suprasegmental features, plays a critical role in creating meaning as comprehensible speech is seen as a goal for language learners around the world. In order to be comprehensible, language learners need to learn to pause correctly in their speaking. Though this notion is widely accepted by applied linguists and many language teachers, the effect of pausing on intelligibility of spontaneous oral discourse has not been established by empirical data. This study isolates pause duration in spontaneous oral discourse in order to establish its connection to the intelligibility of non-native speech. In this study, North American undergraduate students' reactions to non-native pause duration in spontaneous oral discourse were examined. The task involved measuring the NESs' processing, comprehension, and evaluation of three different versions of an international teaching assistant's presentation: One with unmodified pause duration, one with pause duration shortened by 50%, and a third passage with pause duration lengthened by 50%. Results showed a positive correlation between pause duration and number of listeners able to identify main ideas. Finally, listener reaction was measurably more positive to the unmodified passage than to the passages with lengthened or shortened pauses.