HWIIIIIWII l I THE ENTELLEGIBILETY EFFECTS OF THREE METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO CHINESE SPEAKERS '—1_‘_‘ 210.; “-CDN—A Tho-sis for ”19 Degree of M. A. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Patricia Heiland 19-63 F WWWW WWW WWWW WWWWWWW W/ 311293\ O1\079 LIBRARY Michigan State 5 University ' PLACE IN RETURN BOX to roman this chockocufrom your noord. TO AVOID FINES Mum on or More data duo. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE m 2 7 199 W - m 'L__W W: [W I E i 1' I :WI MSU Is An Affirmative ActiaVEquul Opponunlty Intuition W E THE INTELLIGIBILITY EFFECTS OF THREE METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO CHINESE SPEAKERS By Patricia Heiland AN ABSTRACT Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS College of Communication Arts, Department of Speech 1953 ABSTRACT THE INTELLIGIBILITY EFFECTS OF THREE METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO CHINESE SPEAKERS by Patricia Heiland This study attempts to determine whether printed words as spelled out in English letters, a specially prepared orthography, or auditory stimulation is most effective in assisting three Chinese students to pro- nounce English words intelligibly. In order to determine which of the three methods was most successful in helping the three Chinese foreign students to pronounce the words most effectively, twelve graduate students majoring in Speech and Hearing Science at Michigan State University were employed as a listening panel and wrote down the words pronounced by the Chinese. The words were presented to the listeners from a tape recording made of the Chinese speakers. The intelligi- bility of the words served as the criterion measure for Judging the effectiveness of the three methods of teaching English pronunciation. The findings of this study indicate that teaching Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) and Method III (auditory stimulation) were equally helpful as measured by the resulting intelligibility scores. Method II (tailored orthography) was consistently less effective than the other two methods. The "t” scores Patricia Heiland calculated, showed no significant difference between the results of teaching Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) and Method III, (audi- tory stimulation). There was a significant difference between Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) and Method II (tailored orthography), and be— tween Methods II (tailored orthography) and III (auditory stimulation). Within the framework of this investigation, the following conclusions appear to be in order: There are several methods one can employ with varying degrees of success, in teaching American pronunciation to Chinese foreign students. For Chinese speakers, printed words as spelled out in English letters and auditory stimu- lation appear to be equally effective. Intelligibility scores associated with pronunciation stimulated by the Chinese tailored orthography method as a means of elic- iting correct pronunciation were consistantly lower than those associated with the printed English word method, or the auditory stimulation method. THE INTELLIGIBILITY EFFECTS OF THREE METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO CHINESE SPEAKERS By Patricia Heiland A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS College of Communication Arts, Department of Speech 1963 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ° ° 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o o o o o o o o 0 1V LIST OF FIGURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Chapter I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM - . . . . . . . - l IntrOdUCtion O O O O I O 0 O O O O O O O 1 Statement of Problem and Purpose of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Importance of Study. . . . . . . . . . . A Definition of Terms. - - . . . . . . . . 4 Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . 6 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . - . . . . . . . 7 Need for Teaching Pronunciation of a Second Language to Foreign Students. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Materials Used in Teaching English Pronunciation - - . - . . . . . . . . 9 The Chinese Students Dif iculties with American Pronunciation . . - - . 13 Teaching Methods for Pronunciation of a Secondary Language . . . . . . . 1A III. SUBJECTS, LISTENERS, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, AND PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . 2O Speaker Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Listening Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . 23 Procedures 0 o o o o o o o o o a o o o 23 IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . .‘. . . . . . . . 26 ReSUltS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 26 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 ii Page Chapter V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. . . . . . . . . . 33 summary 0 o o o o o a 'o o o o o o a o 0 33 Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Implications for Future Research . . . . 35 BIBLIOGRAPHY o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 37 APPENDICES O O O O 0 O O O O O O O O 0 O O O 0 0 O O O 39 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. A-B-C,--Distribution of Intelligibility Scores by Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 2. A Percentage Comparison of the Intelligibility Scores Associated with Three Methods of Teaching English Pronunciation to Three Chinese Students. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3l LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. "t" Scores Between Means of Intelligibility Scores Relative to Methods Utilized in Eliciting English Pronunciation . . . . . 28 2. Measures of Range, Central Tendency and Standard Deviation of Intelligibility Scores Relative to Methods Employed in Eliciting English Pronunciation . . . . . 28 iv CHAPTER I STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ~Introduction As recorded by Saint Mark, Chapter 12, the Second Commandment of all importance according to Jesus, "and the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other Commandment greater than these."1 To really love thy neighbor we must know him, and understand him, in other words, have good communication with him. In this Jet age, everyone is our neighbor. It takes only a few hours by airplane to travel to any place in the world. We trade with our neighbors of the world, enjoy each others cultures, and deal with each other in many ways, and yet, all nations feel this frightening closeness which could threaten our security, unless we can maintain peace, love, and under- standing among nations. The United States govenment feels the need for accurate and adequate communication among nations, and lMark 12:31, The Holy Bible, Authorized King James Version (New York: The World Publishing Company). spends thousands of dollars each year on improving communications and bettering our relationships with the nations of the world. In the program for improve- ment of communications, the U. S. Government spends money on teaching its citizens foreign languages, and also in teaching foreign nationals, English. They also sponsor research, language institutes, and other activities in order to improve oral language communi- cation. According to the authors of Principles of Speaking, "It is the individuals' ability to express himself that determines the success or failure of the work of the society as a whole, for this work is dependent on the level of communication among the members of the society."1 Being able to express oneself in ones own language and also in the language of the nation in which one is trying to communicate, is of great importance. Incorrect pronunciation of a secondary language can cause communication breakdown, because of inadequate intelligibility. The present research was undertaken due to the lack of research in methodologies for teaching pronunciation of secondary languages, and the great stress on the improvement of communications among peoples of the world. 1Kenneth G. Hance, David C. Ralph, and Milton J. Wiksell, Principles of Speaking (Belmont California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1962), p. 4. Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study This study attempts to determine whether printed words as spelled out in English letters, tailored orthog- raphy, or auditory stimulation is most effective in assisting three Chinese students at Michigan State Univer- sity to pronounce English words intelligibly. The purpose of this study is to analyze the results of twelve American listeners, to see which method suceeded in helping the Chinese to pronounce the test words most intelligibly. From the analysis it is hoped that the following question will be answered: (1) Is there a difference in the effectiveness of the three teaching methods in regard to intelligibility scores? Hypotheses The following null hypotheses have been proposed: 1. There is no significant difference in the intelligibility scores of the Chinese students as they read from a printed word list (Method I) and as they read from a specially prepared orthography (Method II). 2. There is no significant difference in the intelligibility scores of the Chinese students as they read from a printed word list (Method I) and as they repeat the words from auditory stimulation (Method III). 3. There is no significant difference in the intelligibility scores of the Chinese students as they read from a specially prepared orthography (Method II) and as they repeat the words from auditory stimulation (Method III). Importange of Study Evidence as to effective and ineffective methods of teaching pronunciation of a secondary language could be helpful to many concerned with oral communications. This experiment is an attempt to assess the best of three methods of teaching American pronunciation of English. If a particular method or combination of methods proves to be outstanding in terms of the intel- ligibility scores derived, it might be recommended as a procedure to be followed by those who work daily with the problem of English pronunciation by foreign speakers. As far as the investigator could determine, there has been little research on the teaching methods of pronunciation for secondary languages, therefore the importance of the present research is amplified. Definition of Terms The terms used in this study are defined in the following manner: Method I-—The Printed Word as Spelled Out in English Letters. The Chinese student subject pronounces the word by sight. He looks at the English word and from only the visual clue, he sounds out and repeats the the word as accurately as possible. Method II——Tailored Orthogrgphy. The English words have been translated as accurately as possible, into the subject's native language utilizing their orthography. An example of this is as follows: (kach) for the word catch. The present example uses English orthography; however, in Appendix C the reader will note the words spelled in Chinese. The Chinese con- figurations are not truly Chinese words, but when spoken aloud, result in an English word. This system was uti- lized in 1959 by a U.S.A. Air Force Research Group.1 Method III-—Auditory Stimulation. The words are recorded in the secondary language ( in this case English), and presented to the foreign student subjects (Chinese) via tape recordings and head sets. The Chinese subject hears the English word, and repeats it in English, and approximates what he hears as accurately as possible. Their responses are then recorded. Foreign Nationals-~In the case of this study, there are three Chinese foreign students studying at 1Henry M. Moser, Herbert J. Oyer and Wallace C. Fotheringham, Orthographic Representations of English Pronunciation as an Aid in TeachingyILA, Technical Report 55, RF Project 882, A Report to the Operational Appli- cations Laboratory, Air Force Cambridge Research Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, December, 1959, Prepared by the Ohio State University Research Foundation (Columbus, Ohio: 1959). p- l- Michigan State University. These students are the subjects for this study, their native tongue is Chinese and they are speaking English only as a secondary language. Organization of the Thesis The first chapter has contained the statement of the problem that resulted in this study. It has included an introduction to the study and the purpose of the study. The hypotheses of the study have been stated in detail, the importance of the study discussed and the questionable terms are explained and defined. The second chapter will contain a review of the literature available on the topic of the present research. In the third chapter is discussed the speaker subjects, listening panel, materials, equipment and testing procedures utilized. The fourth chapter presents the results, the analysis, and a discussion of findings. The fifth and final chapter consists of a summary statement and the conclusions drawn from the study. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The Need f9§_Teaching Pronunciation of a Second ‘I Language to Foreign Students When one is interested in learning a skill whether in sports, playing an instrument, or speaking, it usually takes painstaking devotion and practice. we must develop the muscles needed for proficiency in this new skill. Although the situation is not completely analogous it also usually demands long hours of practice in learning a second language. Learning pronunciation of a second language means learning new speech habits. It often means training the ear to hear, and the mind to give meaning to new sounds that never had meaning in the learner's own native language.1 The growing usefulness of foreign languages in American life stems from several circumstances, but chiefly from the improved conditions of travel, communication and interchange with parts of the world that were relatively unknown to us a few years ago.2 v—fi. 1Anne Cochran and Lin Yd K'eng, EnglishPronunciation for Chinese Students (Taiwan: The Book World Company), p. l. 2N. C. Johnson, "DeveIOpments in Teaching Foreign Languages," School Life, 36 (May, 1954), p. 115. 7 8 The Universities and Colleges in the United States are enrolling a larger number of foreign students for study every year. Foreign students are faced with many problems while attending a University in a foreign country. Acceptance is important to everyone and the foreign student will experience more complete acceptance if he is under- stood. In order to be understood the student is constantly confronted with problems of pronunciation. The increasing importance of adequate communication between our citizens, and those of other nations, has spurred interest in methods for improving the teaching of foreign languages in our schools and Universities.1 Charles C. Fries states the importance of teaching pronunciation of a secondary language to foreign students: When a student of a foreign language who had some instruc- tion according to the usual methods first hears the spoken language, he often fails to understand what has been said. He usually claims that the vocabulary of the speaker is too difficult for him. When a written text is placed before him, he can many times, interpret the same material correctly and react accordingly. It is not only a lack of knowledge lCharles Van Riper, An Investigation of Differential Binaural Stimulatign in Teaching of Foreign Languages, A Report to the United States Office of Education Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, October, 1960, Prepared at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, COOperative Research Project No. 739, p. l. of vocabulary items which causes the trouble. It is the inability of the student to recognize the sounds of the 1 language. This points out the necessity for teaching good pronunciation to foreign students. Materials Used in Teaching English Pronunciation There are many texts and drill books available that are designed to teach American English as a second language and help the foreign student improve English pronunciation. An example of the contents of several of these books follows: M. Elizabeth Clarey's book, Pronunciation Exercises in English is a workbook designed for (l) The foreign-born student, (2) The American student who wishes to eliminate certain defective sounds from his speech, and (3) Teachers working with those suffering from disorders of speech, such as stuttering. This book is designed as a workbook rather than a text, and each lesson deals with one sound and includes the following: 1. Production of the sound--A simple explanation tells how to produce the sound, with 18 words containing the sound in the initial, medial and final positions. lRobert Lado and Charles Fries, English Pronunciation (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1961), p. ii. lO 2. Comparison--(a) With sounds often confused, (b) With contrasting words and phrases. 3. Practice Sentences--With frequent repetition of the sound. A. Intonation Drill--As part Of every lesson, there is an exercise dealing particularly with intona- tion. This exercise gives valuable practice in this important phase of speech. 5. Review Paragraph--This section contains the sound in varied forms of connected speech. The student may use this paragraph as a final test of his grasp of the correct sound, or as a handy review device. The author cautions the student of any spoken language to work with an experienced person who can correct his mis- takes immediately, so that incorrect speech habits will not develop.2 All the authors stress the importance of the foreign student working with a person or persons whose native lan- guage is the secondary language the student is trying to learn. American Speech for Foreign Students, by John W. Black, is a recent publication designed for the foreign student who is advanced in his study of English and is using English as a second language. The doing of the exercises (under supervision) contained in this book, is intended to help the foreign 1M. Elizabeth Clarey and Robert J. Dixon, Pronunciation Exercises in English (New York: Regents Publishing Company, Inc., 1947), p. l. 2Ibid., p. 8. 11 student to achieve intelligibility and aural comprehension. The author states that the student may not be able to discuss speech in the language of rhetoric, linguistics, or phonetics. "The accompanying text is in the form of direct discourse, a one-way conversation directed toward the person who holds our interest: the foreign student, advanced in his study of English."1 The book is divided into two parts: Discussion and Exercises in Speaking, and Exercises in Listening. The author stresses that the objectives of the student should be realistic. They are stated as: (a) to understand the words of normal American speech as they are spoken and to grasp the thought immediately, (b) to express your thoughts to American listeners with ease and rate of slow American talkers, (c) to be comfortable in an American academic society.2 The author feels these objectives can be achieved in one school year and in less time if the student can avoid most of the time consuming psychological problems connected with learning to pronounce a secondary language well. In its program of English for foreign students, Michigan State University uses the Lado and Fries book, 1John W. Black, American Speech for Foreign Students (Springfield, Illinois: Charles Thomas Publishing Company, 1963), p. vii. 2Ibid., p. l. 12 English Pronunciation. This book is divided into thirty- five lessons of pronunciation and it is the desire of the authors that upon completion of the lessons the student should have acquired a basic knowledge of the sound system in English, including intonation and rhythm patterns. Knowledge of the system, however, does not mean that the student can produce the sounds, intonation and rhythm of English with complete accuracy. It is continuously urged that the students practice on all the points of contrast in the system of English and also on those points which contrast with the native language of the student. By using the specific drills and exercises contained in all of the lessons the student will finally be able to produce the language accurately and with ease.1 The authors feel it necessary to have some consistent representation of the language, therefore the phonemic alphabet is employed. The symbol thereby becomes a memory clue for the student and helps him remember the intonation of English which he hears orally in class so that he can have a clearer understanding of the distinctive sounds which exist in the language.2 There are many books designed for teaching English to foreign students. There is a great stress on the lLado, cp.cit., p. vii. 2Ibid., p. ii. 13 importance of good pronunciation of the secondary language but very little research has been done to analyze and com- pare teaching methods to find successful ways to teach pronunciation of a secondary language. The Chinese Students Difficulties with American Pronunciation Since Chinese students are employed in this study it is appropriate to consider their difficulties with English. The Chinese student studying in the United States may represent one of many dialects spoken in his country, although the National Chinese language is Mandarin. There are thirty-eight separate single phonemes in English. Of these thirty-eight, only eighteen correspond to phonemes in Mandarin Chinese, sixteen to the phonemes in central Chinese dialects, and only ten to the phonemes in Taiwanese. Therefore, it is certainly the first task of a Chinese speaker learning to pronounce English to learn to hear a difference in these twenty to twenty-eight phonemes which he does not have in his own language.1 The word phoneme should be described here as it is used in learning to pronounce a foreign language. According to Cochran, "a phoneme is (l) a single speech sound which (2) makes a meaning difference between two words in a (3) giyen language."2 lCochran, Op.cit., p. 5. 2Ibid., p. 3. 14 In comparing the Chinese student's difficulties with the difficulties of other foreign students, the sounds (s, l, r, n, ng, j, w, /\ , andalf) are the most characteristic sounds that cause problems in pronunci- ation of English. Although other phonemes may actually cause more difficulty, they will not so definitely identify the foreign pronunciation as Chinese pronunciation.l Since different languages have different structures, the problems of a Spanish speaker learning English will not be the same as those of a Japanese or a Chinese speaker, or of the speakers of some other language. It would be most desirable to have different materials for each native lan- guage background when teaching English pronunciation to foreign students. Using different materials does not mean that the instructions must be in the student's native language. The particular contrasts and patterns to be emphasized will vary as will the order of presentation.2 Teaching Methods for Pronunciation of a Secondapy Langpage The United States Government has taken an interest in improving teaching methods of American pronunciation. 1C. K. Thomas, "Chinese Difficulties with English Pronunciation," Journal of Speech Disorders, IV (September, 1939): P- 259. 2Robert Lado, "Linguistic Interpretation of Speech Problems of Foreign Students," gparterly Journal of Speech, 46 (1960), p. 174. 15 COOperative studies between the United States Government and research foundations at Universities provide the only research evidence available to the writer on the study of various methodologies for improving teaching methods of pronunciation of a secondary language. A cooperative investigation was made between the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and Western Michigan University. The study stated that one approach to the problem of improving pronunciation of a foreign language is that of the development of the language laboratory. The advantages are as follows: (1) it is economical of staff time, (2) it insures that students get sufficient exposure to the foreign language, and (3) it permits the use of materials prepared by native speakers.1 The Western Michigan experiment was designed to determine whether or not dichotic stimulation (using the simultaneous hearing of the instructor's voice in one ear and the subject's own voice in the other) was more effective than binaural hearing of the instructor's voice in both ears in the learning of foreign language pronunciation.2 This study was concerned with the reliability and validity of college instructors' evalu- ations of student adequacy in Spanish pronunciation and 1Van Riper, Op.cit., p. 2. 2Ibid., p. 18. 16 the effectiveness of dichotic stimulation as cpposed to binaural stimulation in language laboratory experience.1 The Western Michigan researchers concluded that dichotic stimulation has no advantage over binaural stimu— lation in the teaching of Spanish pronunciation as measured in this experiment, due to the shortcoming in reliability and validity of judgements by the panel of experts. It was recommended that objective tests of pronunciation adequacy be devised as soon as possible.2 A COCperative study between the Ohio State University Research Foundation and the United States Air Force inves- tigated The Effect of_Auditory Stimulation on the Pronun- ciation of English Words by Non-Native Speakers. Fifty words commonly employed in air traffic control were spoken by eight foreign college students before and after pronunciation of the word by a native American speaker. Two experienced listeners rated the intelligibility of the pre and post pronunciations and sixteen panels (from 16 to 30 listeners) wrote down what they thought the word to be. The post-stimulated speech proved to be superior by both the rating scale method and the objective intelligibility score method.3 llbid., p. 27. 2Ibid., p. 32. 3Henry M. Moser and Herbert J. Oyer, et al., The Effects of Auditory Stimulation on the Pronunciation of 17 Some of the same investigators carried on another study concerned with teaching pronunciation of a secondary language.1 The method employed in the second study involved using a specially structured orthography to assist the foreign national to approximate American pronunciation. The method may have practical application in the teaching of English for use in International Air Traffic Control. The purpose of the research was to present phonic orthographies that would assist persons of a foreign country to approximate more readily the American pronun- ciation of selected English words that frequently occur in radio-telephonic air traffic communications. Five hundred common aviation words and twenty-five aeronautical phrases have been completed in Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, spanish, and Thai. Three of these orthographies are examined in this English Words by Non-Native Speakers, Technical Report 54, RF Project 882, A Report to the Operational Applications Laboratory, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D. C., September, 1959, Prepared by the Ohio State University Research Foundation (Columbus, Ohio: 1959), p. 7. 1Henry M. Moser, Herbert J. Oyer and Wallace C. Fotheringham, Orthographic Representations of English Pronunciation as an Aid in Teaching ILA, Technical Report 56, RF Project 882, A Report to the Operational Applications Laboratory, Air Force Cambridge Research Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, December, 1959, Prepared by the Ohio State University Research Foundation (Columbus, Ohio: 1959), p. l. 18 study using subjects whose training in the English language has been chiefly in their native country. German, Japanese, and Spanish subjects and orthographies were employed. Testing procedures consisted of three conditions-- First the printed word was read, second the subjects read from a printed list which also included the special orthography, and the third condition was the same as the first two, but in addition, before recording, each sub- ject listened to the correct recorded pronunciations, given three times by a native American speaker. The intelligibility was rated by a panel of American listeners. The following four-point rating scale was em- ployed. Highly intelligible no distortion Intelligible Distortedyybut intelligible Not intelligiblel Of the six conclusions drawn in the study, one is cited as being most relevant to the present study. It is as follows: 1. All speakers improved their word intelligibilities with the aid of either orthography or auditory stimulations. llbid., p. A. 19 The present research is an outgrowth of the above study completed at the Ohio State University. The present study utilizes the Chinese tailored orthography, and matching English word list from the Ohio State University study. CHAPTER III SPEAKER SUBJECTS, LISTENING PANEL, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, AND PROCEDURES Speaker Subjects Three Michigan State University, Chinese foreign students participated as subjects for this study. A description of the subjects follows: 1. They were all born on the mainland of China, and speak the National Chinese Language (Mandarin). In addition each student also knows several dialects according to various Provinces where they have lived. 2. The three subjects moved to Formosa to live because of the Communistic crisis. Prior to coming to the United States of America to study they were speaking the same dialect. 3. This is the first visit to the United States for all three students, and they arrived here approximately at the same time, about four months before the actual testing began. 4. Each student received six years instruction in the English language. This instruction began 20 21 in the seventh grade. In addition they took four months of English lessons at a center in Formosa before their departure for the.U.S.A. All of their formal English training was re- ceived in their own country prior to coming to the United States of America. 5. The speaker subjects have all had approximately the same educational Opportunities and are working toward the M.A. degree at Michigan State Univer- sity in the areas of Engineering, Horticulture, and Forestry. They all plan to return to For- mosa after one full year of study is completed. The three student subjects had been at Michigan State University six weeks when asked to participate in this study. The subjects were not quite at the same level of proficiency in speaking English and therefore two of the three subjects were enrolled in English classes for foreign students at the University. Listening Panel Twelve persons were employed as a listening panel. They were all graduate students majoring in Speech and Hearing Science at Michigan State University. Nine of them had majored in Speech and Hearing Science as under- graduates in addition to their graduate training. Two of the panel had majored in English and general Speech as undergraduates and transferred to Speech and Hearing 22 Science for graduate training. Only one listener had not started the graduate major in Speech and Hearing Science at the time the tests were given but, had majored in English and Speech as an undergraduate. The twelve listeners were chosen for their similarity in background and relative s0phistication in problems of oral language communication. The only requirements of the listeners were that they have normal hearing within the speech range, (500 cps through 2,000 cps), and be born in the U.S.A. with English as their primary language. Materials Word Lists.-—Twenty-five monosyllabic and twenty- five polysyllabic words were selected from a list of 500 words used in the Air Force Language project.1 There was a ready made orthography for each word. These fifty words were selected to represent the fre- quency of sounds as they are used in the English lan- guage. The chart on "Relative Frequency of Occurrence of English Phonemes" by Dewey (Appendix C) was employed to select the words desired from the list, according to their sounds in order of frequency. lMoser, Op.cit., Appendix A. 2George Miller, Lapguage and Communication (New §Zork: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1951) p. 867 23 Qa£d§,--Each word was printed on a 3" by 3" white cardboard card to be used for presenting the words to the Chinese subjects for Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters). The Chinese orthography was also cut out and pasted on the cards for Method II. A set of cards in a random order was made for each stu- dent and also each method. Eqpipment 1. Recording Tape-~(3M Scotch #311 Tenzar 1/4" magnetic recording tape.) 2. Tppe Recorders—~(for speaker subjects)--(Ampex Recorder, Model 60l. Serial #2204, and a Wollensak Type T—1500, Serial #164400.)--(for listening panel)--(Ampex Recorder, Model 601—2, Serial #1396.) 3. Earphones--(l2 TDH—-39.3OOZ Telephonic head sets.) Procedure Recording.--For Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) the examiner had the fifty words printed on the individual cards. The subject was shown one card at a time and asked to nod when he was ready to record. Fifteen seconds were allowed between each word. The second method (tailored orthography) was handled mechanically exactly like Method I. The orthographic 24 representation of each word was pasted on individual cards. The words were in a different random order for each subject and each method; one word was presented at a time. The third method was auditory stimulation. The Chinese subjects were asked to put on head sets and listen for a word to be said orally. In response of the oral stimuli, they were asked to repeat exactly what they heard. Their responses were recorded with fifteen seconds alotted between each word. All three subjects were recorded on the same day, under the same conditions for each method. Each subject was recorded individually, one method at a time. Each list was in a random order and one week spaced between each recording to minimize learning of the words. Intelligibility Testing.--The twelve listeners wrote down the words they heard on nine sheets of paper, each sheet numbered from one to fifty, thereby allowing for recording of responses of one subject tested on one methodology for each sheet. The following instructions were given: You are going to hear 4§Q_words during this test. The test will last 114 minutes, and after 57 minutes of writing you will have a fifteen minute break. Be sure to write down the words you hear. If you are not sure, guess. Be sure to keep track of each number and write the proper word on the prOper line. In order that you might understand what I am attempting to do I shall explain briefly the nature of this task. I am 25 attempting to test three methods of teaching pronunciation to foreign students. In this case we are working with English pronunciation and three Chinese foreign students. This study could possibly be used in teaching pro- nunciation of any language. Your responses as listeners will indicate which teaching method is most effective and helpful to you. Please write as legibly as possible. The stimuli were presented to the listening panel in the following order: Method I (printed words as Spelled ou in English letters) speaker subject 1, 2, and 3, Method II (tailored orthography) speaker subjects 1, 2, and 3, Method III (auditory stimulation) speaker sub- jects 1, 2, and 3. CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Results The data derived from scoring the intelligibility tests are presented with reference to measures of central tendency and differences as expressed by "3? scores. At the outset of this research, three hypotheses were formu- lated. They were: (1) There is no significant difference in the intelligibility scores of the Chinese students as they read from a printed word list (Method I) and as they read from a specially prepared orthography (Method II). (2) There is no significant difference in the intelligi~ bility scores of the Chinese students as they read from a printed word list (Method I) and as they repeat the words from auditory stimulation (Method III). (3) There is no significant difference in the intelligibility scores of the Chinese students as they read from a specially pre- pared orthography (Method II) and as they repeat the words from auditory stimulation (Method III). In order to test for differences among the intelligi- bility scores associated with each of the three methods 26 27 utilized for eliciting responses from the Chinese speakers, tests of "t" were made. The following formula was applied::L é D 1_ ti} NQDN:I(éDf dF=WW~W As will be noted from the data presented in Table 1 there is a significant difference between mean intelli- gibility scores for Methods I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) and II (tailored orthography). There is also a significant difference between Methods II (tailored orthography) and ELI(auditory stimulation). Therefore on the basis of the findings it is possible to reject the hypotheses l and 3. It is not possible to reject hypothesis 2. Figure 1 presents graphically the distribution of the intelligibility scores relative to methods employed in eliciting English pronunciation. In order to achieve a comparative View of the various measures of central tendency among the methods and the deviation that characterized the three distri- butions, the mean, median, mode, range and standard deviations were computed. These values are presented in Table 2. It is of interest to note that the means, median and modal values within each distribution are 1Helen M. Walker and Joseph Lev, Statistical Influence (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 19537 p. 153. 28 TABLE 1 "t" SCORES BETWEEN MEANS OF INTELLIGIBILITY SCORES RELATIVE TO METHODS UTILIZED IN ELICITING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION Degrees of "t" Significance Methods Means Freedom Scores Level Method I 37.61 35 18.29 .01 Method II 26.97 Method I 37.61 35 .852 .01 Method III 37.22 Method II 26.97 35 15.20 .01 Method III 37.22 TABLE 2 MEASURES OF RANGE, CENTRAL TENDENCY AND STANDARD DEVIA- TION OF INTELLIGIBILITY SCORES RELATIVE TO METHODS EMPLOYED IN ELICITING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION MethOd.I (Printed Words as Method II Method III Spelled Out in (Tailored (Auditory English Letters) Orthography) Stimulation) Mean 37.61 26.97 37.22 Median 38 28 37 Mode 39 3o 36 Standard Deviation* 2.358 4.053 2.392 Range 42 - 29 33-— 18 42 - 32 = ‘ Mar-(2x? 6 ‘\ N(N-I) *Source: Helen M. Walker and Joseph Lev, Statistical Influ- ence (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., ‘7195 ). p. 116. 29 Number of Listeners Number of Listeners Number of Listeners access: an nosoom HHHHHonHHHousH Ho soHpanseaHo--o-m-< .H .mHm me H: 0: mm mm em mm mm Hm mm mm Hm om mm mm em mm mm Hm mm mm Hm om mH wH o o H .11. a. H m 91:5,, , (N. m m //\ p m . / . . m - u. moo: m m \ a n :38: m N. 1.. we u cam: "ocowoq N. m e/\ . w m ”x. soHchssHem asoeHesH--.HHH cospoz-o m 0H - o ms.H: 0: mm mm em mm mm am mm mm Hm om mm mm am mm mm em mm mm Hm om mH mH o o H H m /, ,. m m //.x m m m s - a m m m asassmoseso sosoHHse--.HH poeeoz-m S OH , o 0 me H: 0: mm mm em mm mm em mm mm Hm om mm mm em mm mm em mm mm Hm om mH mH o H - u H m m m m s s , m m . a /., w w w mH oaeoH nnHstm sH uso coHHoam as who: eonsHsm one--.H conuoz-< m a." O P... Number of Listeners Number of Listeners Number of Listeners 3O quite close, thus indicating a somewhat normal distri- bution of intelligibility scores associated with each method employed in getting the Chinese to pronounce the words. Figure 2 presents a percentage comparison of intelligibility scores associated with the three methods. Discussion Teaching Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) and Teaching Method III (auditory stimu- lation) produce essentially similar results, while Teaching Method II (tailored orthography) produces intelligibility scores substantially lower than either of the other two teaching methods. As suggested earlier the null hypothesis between Methodologies I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) and II (tailored orthography), and Method II ( tailored orthography) and LLI(auditory stimulation) can be rejected whereas it is not possible to reject the null hypothesis between Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters) andIEEI(auditory stimulation). The reasons for these results can only be hypo- thesized. Several factors that might be important are fatigue, and learning on the part of the listeners. It may well be that the specially prepared orthography (Method II) was relatively less effective because in Chinese there are no letters of the alphabet as such, but the printed orthography consists of words. Therefore Per Cent Correct Scores 100 95‘ 9O 85 80 75 7o 65 60 55 5o 45 40‘ 35 3o 25 20' 15 10' 31 w..... . 75% k 74% 54% English Letters Auditory Stimulation The Printed Word as Spelled Out in Tailored Orthography Method I Method II Method III Methods Fig. 2. A Percentage Comparison of the Intelligibility Scores Associated With Three Methods of Teaching English Pronunciation to Three Chinese Students 32 in order to produce the acoustic component representing an English word, one or more Chinese words had to be uttered. This is quite a different situation from that which would exist if one were attempting to utilize this method with the French where, for example, the English word "get" could easily be spelled out for the French speaker who would read "ghet". Therefore even though Method II (tailored orthog- raphy) showed up as being least effective for Chinese it might well have merit, as measured by intelligibility tests, when used with other language groups. CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Summary There is a need for research that investigates . methods of teaching pronunciation of a secondary lan— guage as there is little evidence at hand that reveals which of several methods is most effective. This study is an attempt to assess the efficacy of three approaches in stimulating Chinese speakers to pronounce English words most efficiently. The methods employed were as follows: (I) Stimulating the Chinese with printed words spelled out in English letters,(II) Stimulating the Chinese with a specially prepared orthography the utter— ance of which would hopefully result in an English word, and(III) Stimulating the Chinese with oral presentation of the words. In order to determine which of the three methods was most successful in helping the Chinese to pronounce the words most effectively, a panel of twelve listeners wrote down the words pronounced by the Chinese. The words were presented to the listeners from a tape 33 34 recording made of the Chinese speakers. The intelligi- bility of the words served as the words served as the criterion measure for judging the effectiveness of the three methods of teaching pronunciation. The findings of this study indicate that teaching Method I, (printed words as spelled out in English letters) and Method III, (auditory stimulation) were equally help- ful as measured by the resulting intelligibility scores. Method II, (tailored orthography) was consistently less effective than the other two methods. The means and standard deviations for Methods I (printed word as spelled out in English letters), andlflfll(auditory stimulation) are similar, whereas the mean correct score for Method II (tailored orthography) is substantially lower than the means for Methods I and III, but the standard deviation is greater. The greater standard deviation indicates that there was greater variance in the listening scores on Method II (tailored orthography), and the lower mean indicates that the total number of correct answers were less than either for Method I (the printed word as spelled out in English letters) or III (auditory stimulation). The "t" scores calculated, showed no significant difference between the results of teaching Method I (printed words as spelled out in English letters), and Method III (auditory stimulation), but that there was a significant difference between Method I and Method II (tailored orthography), and between Methods II (tailored orthography) and III (auditory stimulation). Conclusions Within the framework of this investigation, the following conclusions appear to be in order: 1. There are several methods one can employ with varying degrees of success, in teaching American pronunciation to Chinese foreign students. For Chinese speakers, printed words as spelled out in English letters, and auditory stimulation appear to be equally effective. Intelligibility scores associated with the Chinese tailored orthography method as a means of eliciting correct pronunciation were consis- tantly lower than those associated With the printed word as spelled out in English letters method or the auditory stimulation method. Implications for Future_Research It may prove valuable to construct several specially prepared Chinese orthographies and determine which is most effective. It is recognized by the examiner that the one uti- lized in this investigation was the product of one person's efforts. 36 It may prove valuable to carry out a research with Chinese speakers that would employ the the three methods utilized in this study, in various combinations. It may prove valuable to assess the intelligi- bility scores associated with the three teaching methods of pronunciation, utilizing various lan- guage groups. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Black, John W. American Speech for Foreign Students. Springfield, Illinois: ChaPIes C. Thomas Publisher, 1963. Blalock, Hubert M. Social Statistics. New York: McGraw- Hill Book Company, Inc., 1960. Clarey, M. Elizabeth and Dixon, Robert J. Pronunciation Exercises In English. New York: Regents Publishing Company, Inc., 1947. Cochran, Anne and K'eng, Lin Yu. English Pronunciation for Chinese Students. Taiwan: Book World Company. Fries, Charles C. Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language, No. 1. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1956. Hance, Kenneth G., Ralph, David C., and Wiksell, Milton J. Principles of Speakipg, Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1962. Lado, Robert and Fries, Charles C. English Pronunciation. Exercises in Sound Segments Intonation and Rhythm. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1961. Miller, George A. Language and Communication. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1951. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. New York: The World Publishing Company. Walker, Helen M. and Lev, Joseph. Statistical Inference. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1953. Periodicals .Johnson, N. C. "Developments in Teaching Foreign Languages," School Life, 36 (May, 1954), pp. 115-116. 37 38 Lado, Robert. "Linguistic Interpretation of Speech Problems of Foreign Students," QparterlyJournal of Speech, 46 (1960), pp. 171-175. Thomas, C. K. "Chinese Difficulties with English Pronunciation," Journal of Speech Disorders, IV (September. 1939). pp- 255-259. Wise, C. M. "Some English Problem Sounds for Cantonese Students," The Speech Teacher, XII (March, 1963), pp. 92-104. Cppperative GovernmentReports Moser, Henry M., Oyer, Herbert J., Fotheringham, W. C., O'Neill, J. J., and Wolfe, S. M. The Effect of Auditory Stimulation on the Pronunciation of English Words by Non-Native Speakers. A Report to the Air Force Cambridge RESearch Center, Operational Applications Laboratory, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D. C., Technical Report No. 54, Contract No. AF 19(604)-4575. Prepared by the Ohio State University Research Foundation, Columbus, Ohio, September, 1959. Moser, Henry M., Oyer, Herbert J. and Fotheringham, Wallace C. Orthographic Representations of the Epglish Pronunciation as an Aid in Teaching ILA. A Report to the Air Force Cambridge Research Center, Operational Applications Laboratory, Bedford, Massachusetts, Technical Report No. 56, Contract No. AF l9(604)-4575. Prepared by the Ohio State University Research Foundation, Columbus, Ohio, December, 1959. Van Riper, Charles, et al. An Investigation of Dif- ferential Binaural Stimulation in the Teaching of a Foreign Language. Cooperative Research Project Prepared for the United States Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Research Project No. 739. Prepared by Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, October, 1960. ‘APPENDICES 39 40 .om mmz HmcopmHH Some How poopgoo oHQHmmoa Hmpoe m.mm mHm mHH mm m: mm Hm mm mm em mHH 0: mm mm mH S.:m mHm oHH mm mm mm om Hm mm mm mHH mm mm mm HH o.mm sow mHH mm mm em :e on em Hm HHH mm mm em oH o.mm mHm SHH mm H: 0: am Hm om mm :HH 0: mm mm m m.mm mom soH mm em mm mm om om mm oHH mm mm mm m o.mm emm oHH mm em pm we mm mm mm oHH em em mm s w.mm :om SHH mm m: mm me mm mm om mHH mm mm mm m m.mm som moH mm 0: mm as mm mm Hm mHH am we mm m m.Hm me wOH mm mm am on Hm Hm mH moH mm mm mm : S.mm Hmm mHH Sm mm Sm om om mm em mHH mm or mm m m-sm mom mHH mm H: mm Hm om om Hm mHH 0: mm em m m.sm mom mHH mm 0: sm mm mm Hm mm mHH mm on em H MN .m" 9 mm mm Hm 9 mm mm Hm 9 mm mm Hm sosonnHH ACOHpmHSEHpm Azzampwocpgo Angoppoq BmHHmcm AccounHH asoeHcsav cosoHHsev sH eso eoHHoam mono: UTQCHHmV HHH cones: HH cones: H poses: mmmmMHED< mmmoom MBHquHUHHQMEZH 3~.\. qm3CHm 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 4o. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 5o. 43 APPENDIX C—-Continued or gusts cleared. nautical pressure separate northeast . intermittent . dispersal . present. repeat . overcast ZGI’O transmission . avoiding interception . rudder . milibars satisfactory . resume . bearing. hurricanes. ceiling. perform. readability ok scattered . possible 8288 5138a :34 8% $142458 388888424' 3: .ksp Fit? 3‘45: :2. Tami an” @488 8%? 03’s: 0‘ 26% 2446344 22' 5%— ,a/Q 4%: fir .5121 E' 13 .88’ 9621841 44 r22“: ‘5}; N 2&2?» as. 44 APPENDIX D TEST FORM FOR LISTENER RESPONSES Test 1. Subject 1. List 1. Name of Judge: Phone Position Date of Birth City State 1. 18. 35. 2. 19. 36. 3. 20. 37. 4. 21. 38. 5. 22. 39. 6. 23. 40. 7. 24. 41. 8. 25. 42., 9. 26. 43. 10. 27. 44. 11. 28. 45. 12. 29. 46. 13. 30. 47. 14. 31. 48. 15. 32. 49. 16. 33. 50. 17. 34. APPENDIX E ORDER IN WHICH THE VOCABULARY WAS SPOKEN BY THE CHINESE SPEAKERS 45 46 \OCID'flmU‘l-t'wlDH H O H [—1 H I'D F4 +4 t- u) [—1 W F4 14 \10\ APPENDIX E Test 1. Subject 1. List 1. guard 18. read 35. perform all 19. yet 36. possible as 20. intermittent 37. like present 21. beach 38. scattered hurricanes 22. Speed 39. ok put 23. green 40. repeat cleared 24. readability 41. move out 25. dash 42. down now 26. hold 43. rudder transmission 27. dispersal 44. northeast or 28. ceiling 45. nautical plan 29. good 46. satisfactory avoiding 30. red 47. mile . bearing 31. overcast 48. zero . rain 32. milibars 49. resume separate 33. interception 50. pressure . gusts 34. Just APPENDIX E Continued Test I. 1. beach 2. cleared 3. milibars 4. speed 5. satisfactory 6. as 7. rain 8. read 9. good 10. intermittent 11. overcast l2. bearing 13. nautical 14. mile 15. red 16. resume 17. repeat 18. interception 19. readability 20. guard 21. scattered 22. dispersal 23. separate 24. all 25. hold 47 SubJect 2. List 2. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 4o. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. dash green hurricanes ok avoiding northeast gusts present yet move like ceiling put A possible perform transmission plan pressure cut zero now rudder Just down 01” H Mi—‘HHf—JI—‘HHHHH oxooo-qoxmtwmr—soxooo-qoxmtwm 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 48 APPENDIX E Continued Test I. milibars ok all as yet speed present hold possible intermittent plan . NOW cleared separate . good dispersal satisfactory cut overcast down mile zero beach hurricanes green Subject 3. List 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 3. transmission nautical like rain put read ceiling or resume scattered dash readability gusts repeat bearing avoiding guard northeast red perform interception move gusts just pressure 49 APPENDIX E Continued Test II. Subject 1. List 4. 1. move 26. scattered 2. cleared 27. mile 3. milibars 28. red 4. or 29. Just 5. rain 30. hurricanes 6. like 31. repeat 7. pressure 32. possible 8. down 33. yet 9. read 34. cut 10. interception 35. guard 11. green 36. bearing 12. separate 37. perform 13. readability 38. ceiling 14. hold 39. dash' l5. intermittent 40. northeast 16. good 41. resume 17. all 42. speed 18. gusts 43. put 19. dispersal 44. satisfactory 20. overcast 45. now 21 avoiding 46. rudder 22. transmission 47. ok 23. present 48. nautical 24. beach 49. plan 25. as 50. zero '._.| O\OCD\]O\U'I 4:00 ID MHHHi—Jl—‘HHl—‘HH OKDCDNCMU‘I-F—‘UOI'DH ID H 22. 23. 24. 25. 50 APPENDIX E Continued Test II. cleared 0k . green mile transmission hold ceiling . northeast yet dispersal perform speed overcast . avoiding interception read scattered zero readability like . dash hurricanes now or satisfactory Subject 2. List 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33- 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 5. all move out milibars pressure repeat possible good nautical plan resume bearing beach intermittent guard gusts down rain separate rudder Just present as put red 51 APPENDIX E Continued Test II. 1. transmission 2. as 3. resume 4. interception 5. separate 6. now 7. ok 8. like 9. all 10. down 11. present 12. move 13. guard 14. possible 15. rain 16. cut 17. hold 18. milibars l9. overcast 20. dispersal 2l. perform 22. zero 23. hurricanes 24. repeat 25. yet Subject 3. List 6. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33- 34. 35- 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. dash or nautical intermittent avoiding green speed red northeast cleared beach scattered mile’ bearing plan rudder readability read put Just ceiling satisfactory gusts pressure good 12. 13. l4. l5. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. APPENDIX E Continued Test III. dispersal interception milibars cleared move rain rudder red Just perform mile down nautical separate northeast dash as repeat intermittent cut resume hurricanes guard gusts readability 52 Subject 1. List 7. 26. hold 27. present 28. pressure 29. avoiding 30. ok 31. or 32. satisfactory 33. ceiling 34. bearing 35. green 36. speed 37. put 38. plan 39. like 40. possible 41. zero 42. scattered 43. read 44. now 45. overcast 46. yet 47. transmission 48. beach 49. good 50. all 53 APPENDIX E Continued Test III. 1. satisfactory 2. interception 3. nautical 4. guard 5. hold 6. green 7. Just 8. gusts 9. cleared 10. separate ll. hurricanes 12. red 13. yet 14. northeast 15. present 16. plan 17. bearing 18. read 19. scattered 20. put 21. beach 22. down 23. or 24. resume 25. readability Subject 2. 26. 27. 28. 29. 3o. 31. 32. 33- 34. 35- 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. List 8. zero move good speed mile overcast intermittent ceiling as milibars out now avoiding dispersal rudder ok repeat dash pressure perform all like transmission possible rain |._.l \OCD‘QONUW-PUUR) MHHHHHHHHHH O\OCI)\]O\U‘I-F—’Uor\)l—’O h.) H 22. 23. 24. 25. 54 APPENDIX E Continued Test III. transmission perform red as milibars bearing dispersal hurricanes avoiding all cleared out Just put repeat . hold . move . nautical . northeast satisfactory present possible beach zero intermittent Subject 3. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39- 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. List 9. readability plan guard or gusts now separate speed read yet resume like rain down scattered green mile dash rudder ceiling ok good interception pressure overcast HICHIGQN STQTE UNIV. LIBRQRIES 2llll l H olLlllllllIIHIH IWIINI | 0170 97102