Presentation

The Role of Pronunciation Instruction on the Acquisition of Liaisons by Anglophone Speakers.

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Abstract

According to the Usage Based Model (UBM), frequency of items and structures permit young L1 learners (Ellis, 2002; Tomasello, 2003) and L2 learners (Eskildsen, 2009) to establish word properties, word sequences, and make it possible for them to master these structures. One such structure is French liaisons, where both L2 acquisition and production are of interest for several reasons. While few authors have analyzed L2 production of liaisons (Howard, 2005; Mastromonaco, 1999; Thomas, 2002), their results indicate that Anglophone students master liaisons at a near-native level. However, given the complexity of the phonetic constraints on liaisons, and the lack of information on the effect of formal instruction, I first wanted to test L2 liaison production. I wanted to determine whether it is possible to teach them successfully, and designed a text with 51 compulsory liaisons which 20 Francophones and 37 Anglophones read. As expected, majority Francophones pronounced obligatory liaisons in a systematic fashion (95.6%), and the three groups of Anglophone students were much less accurate (60.7 %).With the three groups of Anglophones, I tested the effect of repetitions, corrections and explanations on the acquisition of liaisons. All groups’ productions increased after the intervention (average of 69.5%). The group which had the greatest progress was the one with the most repetitions.

How to Cite:

de Moras, N., (2012) “The Role of Pronunciation Instruction on the Acquisition of Liaisons by Anglophone Speakers.”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 4(1).