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[EnglishLanguage 2330] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 32, Issue 6
Martin Senger
MSenger at GECAC.orgTue May 6 14:43:09 EDT 2008
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Pax all!
I think Steve's idea of introducing infants to multiple sound systems an
excellent idea. I have a 4 & 2-year old, and I have done much thinking
about how to introduce my own children to these systems. I thought of
collecting the same children's story in many languages, then burning
them to one CD and playing it as background while they are in bed. I
have no idea if a language sounds listened to (passively) while sleeping
is processed by the brain. Any ideas?
Martin E. Senger
Adult ESL Teacher
GECAC / The R. Benjamin Wiley Learning Center
Erie, Pa
-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Steve Kaufmann
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 12:51 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2326] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 32,
Issue 6
I would add to Martin's comment the following sense that I have from
learning many languages.
The more languages you learn, the less resistance you have to the idea
that different languages express ideas in different ways, following
different logic; leaving out articles or pronouns, using double
negatives, putting the prepositions behind the noun, and a whole host of
other ways. You stop asking why a language says things a certain way.
You just accept it and repeat it.
At first you just connect a phrase in the new language to a phrase in
your own, without worrying about parts of speech. Eventually you need no
longer connect it to the original phrase, since you have seen it and
heard it often enough in a variety of contexts in the new language.
Multiple language learners are more flexible with sounds, no longer
expecting that letters have the same value in another language as in our
own. That is why I think young children should not be taught the syntax
of languages, but should just be exposed to a variety of languages, in
the form of stories to listen to and read over and over, with a little
help with the vocabulary and background. That will make them more
flexible when it comes time to learn a language in depth, hopefully one
they are interested in. Even adults can benefit from an approach like
this. Less structure, more enjoyment.
Steve
On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 9:36 AM, Martin Senger <MSenger at gecac.org> wrote:
Pax all!
I would agree with Steve on becoming more confident in learning multiple
languages, but would also add that after the experience of learning
several languages, a person understands better the "systems" (grammar,
pronunciation, whatnot) that languages use to communicate, which I feel
generally are more similar than not. It's not "They do WHAT?!" to "Oh,
that's how THEY do it."
Martin E. Senger
Adult ESL Teacher
GECAC / The R. Benjamin Wiley Learning Center
Erie, Pa
-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Steve Kaufmann
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 10:10 AM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2323] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 32,
Issue 6
Just a short word on adults learning to pronounce foreign languages and
on acquiring a third or fourth language.
My wife and I like languages, and have had no trouble learning to speak
and pronounce the sounds of new languages. My wife is a native speaker
of Cantonese but speaks Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish and learned to
speak and pronounce French very well, after the age of 40. I speak 12
languages now, but have learned Cantonese, Korean, Russian and
Portuguese just in the last 7 years (since the age of 55).
I find learning a third and fourth language different from learning a
second language only in the sense that as a learner you are more
confident that you will succeed, and that you have a better idea of how
to go about it. A major obstacle to learning languages is the lack of
confidence in, and even a lack of commitment to, the idea that you can
transform yourself into someone acting in another culture. Once you have
done it once, things become easier.
Steve Kaufmann
On Mon, May 5, 2008 at 7:38 PM, <robinschwarz1 at aol.com> wrote:
Andrea--there is a whole field devoted to multiple language acquisition.
Two researchers who have written or edited books about this are De
Angelis and Selinker--they published one in 2001 and another in 2007.
Robin Schwarz
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrea Canter <lucidpandora at gmail.com>
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 9:11 pm
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2315] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 32,
Issue 6
I am curious how 3rd and 4th language learning differs from 2nd language
learning. In my own experience, once I started learning beyond the
second language I found myself getting all my languages confused. I
would think and say words in French when I was trying to speak German
and vice versa. This is good in respect to exercising the ability to
think in another language, but obviously very cumbersome. Is this
normally what happens? Is there ANY research on it at all?
Andrea Canter
On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 8:18 PM, <englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov>
wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. [EnglishLanguage 2304] Re: Minimal pairs (robinschwarz1 at aol.com)
2. [EnglishLanguage 2305] Re: Minimal pairs (Michael Tate)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 17:10:27 -0400
From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2304] Re: Minimal pairs
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Message-ID: <8CA7AB013B6B464-9C0-228A at webmail-dd18.sysops.aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
See the work of Virginia Kuhl at the U of Washington, who is a
neuroscientist, as well as the work of Norman Segalowitz, and his
colleagues Gatbonton and Trofimovich, who do studies on adult language
acquisition for starters. This latter group, especially Gatbonton, have
theories about the progression of acquisition of phonological
information (i.e. sounds) in language acquisition. Gatbonton's framework
shows that this acquisition is gradual and predictable and subject to
exposure to native language speakers. ? These researchers do not comment
on the brain's ability to process language sounds. ?
I find one has to dig deep in the literature of neuroscience to find the
information on how the brain processes language sounds as it matures,
but Kuhl is recognized as one of the lead researchers on this process.?
It has been very frustrating to me that ESL as a field tends to ignore
neuroscience and its information on how the brain learns language(s) as
well as the information coming out of international reading research,
which now also includes studies on the brain and how languages are
differentiated in it.? In addition, I feel that the whole field of
multiple language acquisition is equally ignored.? Acquiring a third or
fourth language is a very different process from acquiring a second
language.? As near as I can tell, a very large percentage, maybe the
majority, of our adult ESOL learners already speak two or more languages
when they begin to learn English, so I feel we should be looking at the
field of multiple language acquisition much more than at second language
a
cquisition .??
Robin Lovrien Schwarz
-----Original Message-----
From: Sally Bishop <s.bishop at aggiemail.usu.edu>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Fri, 2 May 2008 3:46 pm
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2301] Re: Minimal pairs
Do you have research you can site on this comment: "
Bear in mind, however, that neuroscience and many decades of SLA study
are clear on the fact that adults will not acquire very accurate
pronunciation of foreign sounds because the brain of an adult language
learner does not process unfamiliar sounds effectively and does not
translate them into speech gestures ( i.e. pronunciation) accurately
anymore.?? Thus accents."
S Bishop
On Fri, May 2, 2008 at 1:46 PM, <robinschwarz1 at aol.com> wrote:
An even better book for minimal pairs is Pronunciation Contrasts in
English ( Nilsen & Nilsen) available in both old and new editions at
Amazon.com./textbooks.? This book has ONLY minimal pairs of all
contrasts in English and each page includes a) a list of languages for
which that particular contrast is a problem, b) drawings of the mouth in
both positions (actually side views) c) a set of minimal pair sentences
with context d) a set of sentences with no context help (e.g. There is a
bug/bag on the table.)?? and e) a complete list of all minimal pairs for
that contrast.? It is an invaluable teaching resource.? Pronunciation
Pairs is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the practice
of minimal pairs, but it does not go far enough for review and mastery.?
Learners typically memorize the contrasting words in the pairsin that
book in lightning time, but do not generalize that skill to o
ther pairs, in my experience.
I teach minimal pairs for the purpose of phoneme isolation and
manipulation (auditory perception) -- a by-product of that instruction
is better pronunciation.? I? know there has been discussion here
previously about the effectiveness of MPs out of context.? I do both-- a
lot of non-contextualized practice and a LOT of contextualized practice,
and have always seen a clear improvement--and learners report clear
improvement.? Teachers I coach who use this say their learners BEG for
this practice. When teachers use this, or I use this approach, I
emphasize that it is NOT a vocabulary exercise, but rather an auditory
discrimination practice and practice in associating specific sounds with
specific spellings.? Students often resist not knowing the meanings, but
the minute you include meanings, the listening part goes away.?
Different brain pathways are in play.??
Bear in mind, however, that neuroscience and many decades of SLA study
are clear on the fact that adults will not acquire very accurate
pronunciation of foreign sounds because the brain of an adult language
learner does not process unfamiliar sounds effectively and does not
translate them into speech gestures ( i.e. pronunciation) accurately
anymore.?? Thus accents.?
An interesting study on adult Japanese showed that adults COULD learn to
say L vs r? more accurately in a study environment, but could not
generalize the new skill to informal conversation.? Nonetheless,
pronunciation experts ARE able to achieve improvement, if not
perfection.? There are LOTS of pronunciation aids out there- videos,
software, etc--Rosetta Stone has a feature where learners can see a
visigraph of what they say compared to a native model.? Learners LOVE
this and it apparently helps a LOT.?? I heard a terrific presenter at
the ACE of Florida conference last fall who does adult ESL pronunciation
improvement. She uses LOTS of minimal pair practice and she emphasized
the fact that to achieve improvement, you must do 100% correction.? That
is, no error goes unnoticed and uncorrected. This is essentially what
the study on Japanese did as well.? Obviously, you must have your
learners' buy-in to do that or they will cry in fr
ustr
ation.?? She does it as part of a pronunciation improvement course
where learners are there precisely to have their speech corrected. ?
Mirrors are GREAT, as are "whisperphones"--those devices which look like
telephone receivers into which the learner speaks and can hear him or
herself saying sounds. Adult learners typically cannot hear that they
are not producing the sounds you want them to.??
Don't forget as well, that speech pathologists can help a LOT in showing
learners how to place tongue and lips for more accurate pronunciation
(as long as they do not characterize speech differences that are the
result of first language differences as "speech impediments" or speech
problems--these are normal speech differences.). ? I have urged for over
20 years that adult ESL should be working more closely with speech
pathologists? to help learners hear and pronounce better and to help
determine if there really ARE pronunciation problems even in first
language.??
Robin Lovrien Schwarz
-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Klein <taklein at austin.rr.com>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Fri, 2 May 2008 9:47 am
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2295] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31,Issue
18
Emma,
?
May I suggest that?listening procedures in teaching vowel and
consonant contrasts may be more important than pushing students into
immediate
repetition. A basic principle in phonological exercises of any kind is
that
listening and identification of sounds is of primary importance
before attempting repetition. If a student can't discriminate
the differences between two sounds, early attempts to produce them cause
the
students to hear their own voices and those of other class members
nearby,?
reinforcing existing problems. Identifying numerically seems to be the
easiest
and quickest route. If students can't correctly hear the sounds,
particularly
vowel sounds, they really can't make them. One of the problems with
English is
that we have more vowel and diphthong sounds than most languages we deal
with
and they are produced closer together. For example, Spanish has only one
high-front vowel sound, that of "piso" and it is between the English
beat and
bit sounds. I also have found that if we teach minimal pair listening in
single
words first, they should be followed by minimal sentences and then put
into an
open environment for speaking practice. Here is a sample exercise?for
the
same sounds that you gave, in medial position. Notice that consonants
after the
vowels are different, because of the fact that in English syllable
length
changes according to the consonants that follow:? beat (short) beef
(half
long) bead (long) and bees (very long). Try it. Most students have the
most
problems distinguishing the longer syllables. In Spanish, for example,
all
syllables remain short. Initial priority should always be given to the
ears.
?
?
MEDIAL
VOWEL EXERCISE-1 & 2-Track 6
?
?
???????????????????????????????????
-/i/-1???????????????????????????????????????????????????
-/I/-2
?
???????????????????????????????????
heat?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
hit
?
???????????????????????????????????
cease???????????????????????????????????????????????????
sis
?
???????????????????????????????????
heed????????????????????????????????????????????????????
hid
?
???????????????????????????????????
keen????????????????????????????????????????????????????
kin
?
???????????????????????????????????
Lee's???????????????????????????????????????????????????
Liz
???????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????
bead????????????????????????????????????????????????????
bid
?
???????????????????
It was a great heat.??????????????????????????????
It was a great hit.
?
I saw a
cease fire?????????????????????????????????
I saw sis fire.
?
We heed
it.??????????????????????????????????????????
We hid it.
?
They
were keen.??????????????????????????????????
They were kin.
?
It was
Lee's.????????????????????????????????????????
It was Liz.
?
See the
bead.??????????????????????????????????????
See the bid.
???????????????????????
???????
Don't hit it, heat it.
?
???????????????????????????????????
Will your sis ever cease?
?
???????????????????????????????????
We heed it and they hid it.
?
???????????????????????????????????
I'm keen to know her kin.
?
???????????????????????????????????
Liz is at Lee's house.
?
???????????????????????????????????
We bid on the bead.
?
?
Here are the procedures that I use with my students. Vowel numbers are
permanent and used to identify sounds all of the time. Beat and bit
happen to
have the permanent numbers one?and two:??
?
?
1. Put the pairs of words and
their identifiers on the marker board. Students are encouraged to copy
these
words in their notebooks, but are not given copies of the complete
exercises.
Students are encouraged to tape any exercises in class, rather than
practice
from the written language. My students receive an audio compact disk of
all
vowel sounds on their first day.
?
2. The instructor should repeat
these pairs of words with numbers both horizontally and vertically for
familiarization. Vowel numbers will remain consistent with numbers used
in the
vowel hatches.
?
3. The instructor will go to the
back of the room and call out words at random for the students to
identify
numerically. This identification exercises can be done as both group and
individual exercises.? Example: HIT
2,? HEAT 1, HEAT 1, CEASE? 1, SIS 2, etc. If numerical errors are
heard, call out the correct number. When a majority of the students are
able to
call the numbers correctly, change to double words at random. HEAT HEAT
1,
1,? HIT HEAT? 2, 1,? HIT? HIT 2, 2. HIT HEAT, 2, 1. etc.
?
4. After most of the students are
responding accurately to the minimal pairs, switch to the minimal
sentence pairs. These sentence
exercises should all be performed without written reference. First
repeat
the sentences while the students listen. Next read the sentences at
unpredictable random and have the students identify target words in a
sentence
environment numerically. This will be more difficult, but will help the
students
to hear the sounds in a real structural environment. Continue this
exercise with
the group and with individuals.
?
Example:? It was a great heat. (1) It was a great
hit (2) It was a great hit (2), etc.
?
5. Finally give the students oral
practice with?sentences in which the target sounds are in free
environments.? "Don't hit it, heat
it." Occasional corrections should be done gently, diplomatically and in
good
humor. If vowels 1, 3, 8 and 10 sound "flat" students can be instructed
on how
to make their mouth and throat muscles tense. To strengthen the oral and
throat
muscles takes time. Tongue twisters, "trabalenguas," which combine or
emphasize
target sounds, are useful and students often enjoy and memorize them.
?
Vowel Numbers:? 1
beat??? 2? bit??? 3?
bait??? 4? bet??? 5? bat?? 6
bot (fly)??? 7?bought???8 boat??
9?book?? 10 boot?? 11. but
Diphthong
Numbers???
6+2???lied????6+9??
loud????? 7+2??? Lloyd?
?
Cheers,?? Ted
www.tedklein-ESL.com???
?????????????????????????????????????
?
?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Emma Bourassa" <ebourassa at tru.ca>
To: <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 5:41 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2294] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31,Issue
18
>I believe it is Pronunciation Pairs that has illustrations,
single word and short dialogue practice. For example there might be:
>
sit? seat
> bit? beat
>
> etc. which is then worked
into a conversation:
> A: Bea, have a seat.
> B: I can eat but
can't sit.
> A: Sit in the seat, and eat your meat.
> B: No, I
need to knit.
> sorta silly but they do work for slow practice of moving
the mouth and tongue around.
> Pictures with mirrors so students can
watch themselves works well.
> e
>
> Emma Bourassa
>
English as a Second or Additional Language/ Teaching English as a Second
Language Instructor
> ESL Department
> Thompson Rivers
University
> 900 McGill Road. P.O. Box 3010
> Kamloops, B.C. V2C
5N3
> (250) 371-5895
> fax 371-5514
> ebourassa at tru.ca
>
>>>>
> From: Andrea Canter <lucidpandora at gmail.com>
> To:
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
>
Date: 29/04/2008 12:03 pm
> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2292] Re:
EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31, Issue 18
>
> Jenny,
>
> Eek! That's the issue I'm coming up against soon. The way I've been
doing it
> works with the roman alphabet (and easiest with just one native
language in
> the group). I have this book that has Spanish translations
of English
> vocabulary words. Then it has the pronunciation of the word
spelled out in
> Spanish phonetics. I just borrow those phonetics for any
word I come across:
> (ex. Raise your hand = reiz yor jand). Sometimes
there isn't a sound in
> Spanish that quite matches the one in English and
I have to wrk around it
> (ex. the word 'sit'.... there isn't anything in
Spanish that sounds like the
> 'i' in that word.... I told my class it
sounds some where between 'eh' and
> 'ee' and they got it).
>
> The thing with non-Roman alphabets is unless you speak the language,
it
> would be quite a task to do it that way. Then if you have people
with
> differing languages, it would be even worse. If all the people in
your class
> know the Roman alphabet, then I have a link to a website that
has books and
> workshops on a unique system to teach pronunciation with.
I haven't tried
> the method, but it looks really cool. Let me know if you
want the address.
> Hope this (any of it) helps!
>
>
Andrea
>
> On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 12:00 PM, <englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov>
wrote:
>
>> Send EnglishLanguage mailing list submissions
to
>>??????? englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web,
visit
>>??????? http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help'
to
>>??????? englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov
>>
>> You can reach the person managing the list
at
>>??????? englishlanguage-owner at nifl.gov
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is
more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of EnglishLanguage
digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's
Topics:
>>
>>?? 1. [EnglishLanguage 2291]?
computerless ESL instruction
>>????? (Jenny
Hubler)
>>
>>
>>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
Message: 1
>> Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:57:35 -0500
>> From:
"Jenny Hubler" <JHubler at womenscenter.info>
>>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2291]? computerless ESL instruction
>>
To: "'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion
List'"
>>??????? <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
>>
Message-ID: <001a01c8a937$d1da28d0$d600a8c0 at womenscenter.info>
>>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>
>>
Andrea:
>>
>>
>>
>> Could you give more
details about how you teach pronunciation to speakers
>> of
>>
other languages? We have many Latinos, also some Koreans and a
student
>> from
>>
Sudan.
>>
>>
>>
>>
Jenny
>>
>> The Women's Center of Tarrant County,
TX
>>
>>
>>
>>?
_____
>>
>> From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
>> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andrea
Canter
>> Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 3:58 PM
>> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2290] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31,
Issue
>> 16
>>
>>
>>
>> This is a
neat concept, but if you're like me and teach adults in venues
>>
without computers there needs to be something else. Since my class
is
>> entirely Hispanic, I use Spanish phonics to help. For some sounds
I have
>> to
>> go into further explanation because there is
no Spanish equivalent, but
>> for
>> the most part it
translates. This has worked SO well!! They have near
>> perfect
pronunciation instantly!! I'm getting ready to start a class with
>>
people from all over the world now. I have no idea how to address
the
>> issue
>> with them- any
suggestions??
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 12:00 PM, <englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov>
>>
wrote:
>>
>> Send EnglishLanguage mailing list submissions
to
>>?????? englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web,
visit
>>?????? http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help'
to
>>?????? englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov
>>
>> You can reach the person managing the list
at
>>?????? englishlanguage-owner at nifl.gov
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is
more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of EnglishLanguage
digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's
Topics:
>>
>>? 1. [EnglishLanguage 2286] Re: on-line
dictionary with instant
>>???? sound (Molly
Elkins)
>>? 2. [EnglishLanguage 2287] Re: on-line dictionary with
instant
>>???? sound (Tom
Zurinskas)
>>? 3. [EnglishLanguage 2288] Re: on-line dictionary
with instant
>>???? sound (Elkins, Molly
(CR))
>>
>>
>>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
Message: 1
>> Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:06:33 -0600
>> From:
"Molly Elkins" <melkins at dclibraries.org>
>>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2286] Re: on-line dictionary with
instant
>>?????? sound
>> To:
"'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion
List'"
>>?????? <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
>>
Message-ID: <004f01c8a62d$8c7cafe0$be070a0a at dpld.org>
>>
Content-Type: text/plain;??????
charset="us-ascii"
>>
>> I think it is pretty
interesting-
>>
>> My only concern is that it took some time
to load the sound- even on my
>> pretty fast computer, AND it has a
British accent. Many of my learners
>> have
>> complained
about media that is British instead of American
pronunciation.
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Molly
Elkins
>> Literacy Specialist
>> Douglas County
Libraries
>> Phillip S. Miller Library
>>? 100 S. Wilcox
Street
>>? Castle Rock CO 80104
>>? Map
>>
Direct Phone: (303)688-7646
>> Alt Phone: (303) 791-READ
>>
Fax: (303) 688-7655
>> Email: melkins at dclibraries.org
>>
Web: www.DouglasCountyLibraries.org
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
>> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Daphne
Greenberg
>> Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 3:00 PM
>> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2254] on-line dictionary with instant
sound
>>
>> ESL is not my area of expertise, so I don't know
if this site is good, or
>> if
>> it is a site that everyone
already knows about. A friend of mine
>> introduced
>> me to a
site described as? "An English Pronouncing Dictionary with
Instant
>> Sound" I tried it out with a few words, and it seemed like a
great idea
>> for
>> learners struggling with pronunciation of
specific words. They need to
>> have
>> some proficiency with
English spelling in order to use the site because
>> they
>>
need to write the word in order to hear it pronounced.
>>
>>
The url is:? http://howjsay.com/
>>
>> I am curious what people on this list think about this
site.
>>
>> Daphne
>>
>> Daphne
Greenberg
>> Associate Professor
>> Educational Psych. &
Special Ed.
>> Georgia State University
>> P.O. Box
3979
>> Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
>> phone:
404-413-8337
>> fax:404-413-8043
>> dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>>
>>
Daphne Greenberg
>> Associate Director
>> Center for the Study
of Adult Literacy
>> Georgia State University
>> P.O. Box
3977
>> Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
>> phone:
404-413-8337
>> fax:404-413-8043
>> dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>>
----------------------------------------------------
>> National
Institute for Literacy
>> Adult English Language Learners mailing
list
>> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
>>
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> Email delivered to melkins at dclibraries.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 2
>>
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:13:32 +0000
>> From: Tom Zurinskas <truespel at hotmail.com>
>>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2287] Re: on-line dictionary with
instant
>>?????? sound
>> To:
The Adult English Language Learners Discussion
List
>>?????? <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>, cornell
Kimble <cornell9 at earthlink.net>
>>
Message-ID: <BAY135-W4511FA4584E33E80584DDFD3DD0 at phx.gbl>
>>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>>
>> m-w.com is a marvelous
dictionary that you can click on to hear words in
>> US
>>
accent.? The only nits I pick are what I call "awe-dropping" where
the
>> sound
>> "awe" is replaced sometimes by "ah".?
Click on the word "flaw" to hear it
>> correctly (note, the word "awe"
is said "ah").? Another nit is that words
>> starting with "ex-"
are said to be spoken as "ix-" (so example is
>> ixample).
>>
I don't think that is the norm in USA but perhaps UK.
>>
>>
Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
>> See truespel.com - and
the 4 truespel books plus "Occasional Poems" at
>>
authorhouse.com.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> From: melkins at dclibraries.org
>> > To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>>
> Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:06:33 -0600
>> > Subject:
[EnglishLanguage 2286] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>>
sound
>> >
>> > I think it is pretty
interesting-
>> >
>> > My only concern is that it took
some time to load the sound- even on my
>> > pretty fast computer,
AND it has a British accent. Many of my learners
>> have
>>
> complained about media that is British instead of American
>>
pronunciation.
>> >
>> > Thank you,
>>
>
>> > Molly Elkins
>> > Literacy
Specialist
>> > Douglas County Libraries
>> > Phillip S.
Miller Library
>> > 100 S. Wilcox Street
>> > Castle
Rock CO 80104
>> > Map
>> > Direct Phone:
(303)688-7646
>> > Alt Phone: (303) 791-READ
>> > Fax:
(303) 688-7655
>> > Email: melkins at dclibraries.org
>>
> Web: www.DouglasCountyLibraries.org
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
>> > [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Daphne
Greenberg
>> > Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 3:00 PM
>> >
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>> > Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2254] on-line dictionary with
instant sound
>> >
>> > ESL is not my area of expertise,
so I don't know if this site is good,
>> or
>> if
>>
> it is a site that everyone already knows about. A friend of
mine
>> introduced
>> > me to a site described as "An
English Pronouncing Dictionary with
>> Instant
>> > Sound"
I tried it out with a few words, and it seemed like a great idea
>>
for
>> > learners struggling with pronunciation of specific words.
They need to
>> have
>> > some proficiency with English
spelling in order to use the site because
>> they
>> > need
to write the word in order to hear it pronounced.
>> >
>>
> The url is: http://howjsay.com/
>> >
>> > I am curious what people on this list think
about this site.
>> >
>> > Daphne
>>
>
>> > Daphne Greenberg
>> > Associate
Professor
>> > Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
>> >
Georgia State University
>> > P.O. Box 3979
>> >
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
>> > phone: 404-413-8337
>>
> fax:404-413-8043
>> > dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>>
>
>> > Daphne Greenberg
>> > Associate
Director
>> > Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
>>
> Georgia State University
>> > P.O. Box 3977
>> >
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
>> > phone: 404-413-8337
>>
> fax:404-413-8043
>> > dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>> >
----------------------------------------------------
>> > National
Institute for Literacy
>> > Adult English Language Learners mailing
list
>> > EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
>>
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go
to
>> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> > Email delivered to melkins at dclibraries.org
>>
>
>> >
----------------------------------------------------
>> > National
Institute for Literacy
>> > Adult English Language Learners mailing
list
>> > EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
>>
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go
to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> > Email delivered to truespel at hotmail.com
>>
>>
_________________________________________________________________
>>
Spell a grand slam in this game where word skill meets World Series.
Get
>> in
>> the game.
>>
>>
http://club.live.com/word_slugger.aspx?icid=word_slugger_wlhm_admod_apri
l08
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
Message: 3
>> Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:26:53 -0600
>> From:
"Elkins, Molly (CR)" <melkins at dclibraries.org>
>>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2288] Re: on-line dictionary with
instant
>>?????? sound
>> To:
The Adult English Language Learners Discussion
List
>>?????? <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
>>
Message-ID: <web-1497724 at bl-208.cluster1.echolabs.net>
>>
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>>
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>>
>>
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>>
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>
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> To
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Email delivered to taklein at austin.rr.com
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 14:15:22 -0700
From: "Michael Tate" <mtate at sbctc.edu>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2305] Re: Minimal pairs
To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List"
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Message-ID:
<0CA6C79FCB4AC642A77B76C17A4316EE0317C444 at exch-1.sbctc2.local>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Robin and others:
Unless one has had to learn to language with sounds that don't exist in
English, it can be very frustrating to watch students repeatedly fail at
making sounds that are very easy for fluent English speakers.
Here's a sound from Thai that is diabolically difficult for most English
speakers. Try saying "nga". Here's a tip for saying it correctly:
say "sing-a" and then drop all the other sounds except the /ng/
followed by short /a/. Once you think you have mastered it, try
saying it in the midst of a conversation .
Here's a tip for teaching l/r. Ask your students to find something
that's about as thin as a pencil that they are willing to put in their
mouths. Tell the students to put the straw or pencil or whatever
against the back of their front teeth. Give them some minimal pairs
with "l/r" at the beginning, middle and end of words: luck ruck, mile
mire, etc. and that have the sounds in close proximity like "burlap"
"roller" , etc. To make the /l/ sound your tongue has to at least touch
the back of your front teeth. (In some English dialects, the /l/ sound
that isn't in an accented syllable or that is in the final position,
your tongue may not have to actually touch your teeth, but it get very,
very close to touching.)
Having a pencil touching the back of the front teeth makes the student
hyper-aware if his/her tongue is touching the back of the teeth.
Modesty may require that some students cover their mouths with their
hands or a sheet of paper while doing this.
After considerable practice (months), students won't need the pencil.
They still may not be able to make the /l/ consistently, but they'll
know when they weren't able to make /l/.
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
robinschwarz1 at aol.com
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 12:46 PM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2298] Re: Minimal pairs
An even better book for minimal pairs is Pronunciation Contrasts in
English ( Nilsen & Nilsen) available in both old and new editions at
Amazon.com./textbooks. This book has ONLY minimal pairs of all
contrasts in English and each page includes a) a list of languages for
which that particular contrast is a problem, b) drawings of the mouth in
both positions (actually side views) c) a set of minimal pair sentences
with context d) a set of sentences with no context help (e.g. There is a
bug/bag on the table.) and e) a complete list of all minimal pairs for
that contrast. It is an invaluable teaching resource. Pronunciation
Pairs is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the practice
of minimal pairs, but it does not go far enough for review and mastery.
Learners typically memorize the contrasting words in the pairsin that
book in lightning time, but do not generalize that skill to o ther
pairs, in my experience.
I teach minimal pairs for the purpose of phoneme isolation and
manipulation (auditory perception) -- a by-product of that instruction
is better pronunciation. I know there has been discussion here
previously about the effectiveness of MPs out of context. I do both-- a
lot of non-contextualized practice and a LOT of contextualized practice,
and have always seen a clear improvement--and learners report clear
improvement. Teachers I coach who use this say their learners BEG for
this practice. When teachers use this, or I use this approach, I
emphasize that it is NOT a vocabulary exercise, but rather an auditory
discrimination practice and practice in associating specific sounds with
specific spellings. Students often resist not knowing the meanings, but
the minute you include meanings, the listening part goes away.
Different brain pathways are in play.
Bear in mind, however, that neuroscience and many decades of SLA study
are clear on the fact that adults will not acquire very accurate
pronunciation of foreign sounds because the brain of an adult language
learner does not process unfamiliar sounds effectively and does not
translate them into speech gestures ( i.e. pronunciation) accurately
anymore. Thus accents.
An interesting study on adult Japanese showed that adults COULD learn to
say L vs r more accurately in a study environment, but could not
generalize the new skill to informal conversation. Nonetheless,
pronunciation experts ARE able to achieve improvement, if not
perfection. There are LOTS of pronunciation aids out there- videos,
software, etc--Rosetta Stone has a feature where learners can see a
visigraph of what they say compared to a native model. Learners LOVE
this and it apparently helps a LOT. I heard a terrific presenter at
the ACE of Florida conference last fall who does adult ESL pronunciation
improvement. She uses LOTS of minimal pair practice and she emphasized
the fact that to achieve improvement, you must do 100% correction. That
is, no error goes unnoticed and uncorrected. This is essentially what
the study on Japanese did as well. Obviously, you must have your
learners' buy-in to do that or they will cry in frustr ation. She does
it as part of a pronunciation improvement course where learners are
there precisely to have their speech corrected.
Mirrors are GREAT, as are "whisperphones"--those devices which look like
telephone receivers into which the learner speaks and can hear him or
herself saying sounds. Adult learners typically cannot hear that they
are not producing the sounds you want them to.
Don't forget as well, that speech pathologists can help a LOT in showing
learners how to place tongue and lips for more accurate pronunciation
(as long as they do not characterize speech differences that are the
result of first language differences as "speech impediments" or speech
problems--these are normal speech differences.). I have urged for over
20 years that adult ESL should be working more closely with speech
pathologists to help learners hear and pronounce better and to help
determine if there really ARE pronunciation problems even in first
language.
Robin Lovrien Schwarz
-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Klein <taklein at austin.rr.com>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Fri, 2 May 2008 9:47 am
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2295] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31,Issue
18
Emma,
May I suggest that listening procedures in teaching vowel and consonant
contrasts may be more important than pushing students into immediate
repetition. A basic principle in phonological exercises of any kind is
that listening and identification of sounds is of primary importance
before attempting repetition. If a student can't discriminate the
differences between two sounds, early attempts to produce them cause the
students to hear their own voices and those of other class members
nearby, reinforcing existing problems. Identifying numerically seems to
be the easiest and quickest route. If students can't correctly hear the
sounds, particularly vowel sounds, they really can't make them. One of
the problems with English is that we have more vowel and diphthong
sounds than most languages we deal with and they are produced closer
together. For example, Spanish has only one high-front vowel sound, that
of "piso" and it is between the English beat and bit sounds. I also have
found that if we teach minimal pair listening in single words first,
they should be followed by minimal sentences and then put into an open
environment for speaking practice. Here is a sample exercise for the
same sounds that you gave, in medial position. Notice that consonants
after the vowels are different, because of the fact that in English
syllable length changes according to the consonants that follow: beat
(short) beef (half long) bead (long) and bees (very long). Try it. Most
students have the most problems distinguishing the longer syllables. In
Spanish, for example, all syllables remain short. Initial priority
should always be given to the ears.
MEDIAL VOWEL EXERCISE-1 & 2-Track 6
-/i/-1
-/I/-2
heat
hit
cease
sis
heed
hid
keen
kin
Lee's
Liz
bead
bid
It was a great heat.
It was a great hit.
I saw a cease fire I saw sis fire.
We heed it. We hid it.
They were keen. They were kin.
It was Lee's. It was Liz.
See the bead. See the bid.
Don't hit it, heat it.
Will your sis ever cease?
We heed it and they hid it.
I'm keen to know her kin.
Liz is at Lee's house.
We bid on the bead.
Here are the procedures that I use with my students. Vowel numbers are
permanent and used to identify sounds all of the time. Beat and bit
happen to have the permanent numbers one and two:
1. Put the pairs of words and their identifiers on the marker board.
Students are encouraged to copy these words in their notebooks, but are
not given copies of the complete exercises. Students are encouraged to
tape any exercises in class, rather than practice from the written
language. My students receive an audio compact disk of all vowel sounds
on their first day.
2. The instructor should repeat these pairs of words with numbers both
horizontally and vertically for familiarization. Vowel numbers will
remain consistent with numbers used in the vowel hatches.
3. The instructor will go to the back of the room and call out words at
random for the students to identify numerically. This identification
exercises can be done as both group and individual exercises. Example:
HIT 2, HEAT 1, HEAT 1, CEASE 1, SIS 2, etc. If numerical errors are
heard, call out the correct number. When a majority of the students are
able to call the numbers correctly, change to double words at random.
HEAT HEAT 1, 1, HIT HEAT 2, 1, HIT HIT 2, 2. HIT HEAT, 2, 1. etc.
4. After most of the students are responding accurately to the minimal
pairs, switch to the minimal sentence pairs. These sentence exercises
should all be performed without written reference. First repeat the
sentences while the students listen. Next read the sentences at
unpredictable random and have the students identify target words in a
sentence environment numerically. This will be more difficult, but will
help the students to hear the sounds in a real structural environment.
Continue this exercise with the group and with individuals.
Example: It was a great heat. (1) It was a great hit (2) It was a great
hit (2), etc.
5. Finally give the students oral practice with sentences in which the
target sounds are in free environments. "Don't hit it, heat it."
Occasional corrections should be done gently, diplomatically and in good
humor. If vowels 1, 3, 8 and 10 sound "flat" students can be instructed
on how to make their mouth and throat muscles tense. To strengthen the
oral and throat muscles takes time. Tongue twisters, "trabalenguas,"
which combine or emphasize target sounds, are useful and students often
enjoy and memorize them.
Vowel Numbers: 1 beat 2 bit 3 bait 4 bet 5 bat 6 bot
(fly) 7 bought 8 boat 9 book 10 boot 11. but
Diphthong Numbers 6+2 lied 6+9 loud 7+2 Lloyd
Cheers, Ted
www.tedklein-ESL.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Emma Bourassa" <ebourassa at tru.ca>
To: <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 5:41 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2294] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31,Issue
18
>I believe it is Pronunciation Pairs that has illustrations, single word
and short dialogue practice. For example there might be:
> sit seat
> bit beat
>
> etc. which is then worked into a conversation:
> A: Bea, have a seat.
> B: I can eat but can't sit.
> A: Sit in the seat, and eat your meat.
> B: No, I need to knit.
> sorta silly but they do work for slow practice of moving the mouth and
tongue around.
> Pictures with mirrors so students can watch themselves works well.
> e
>
> Emma Bourassa
> English as a Second or Additional Language/ Teaching English as a
Second Language Instructor
> ESL Department
> Thompson Rivers University
> 900 McGill Road. P.O. Box 3010
> Kamloops, B.C. V2C 5N3
> (250) 371-5895
> fax 371-5514
> ebourassa at tru.ca
>
>>>>
> From: Andrea Canter <lucidpandora at gmail.com>
> To: <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
> Date: 29/04/2008 12:03 pm
> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2292] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31,
Issue 18
>
> Jenny,
>
> Eek! That's the issue I'm coming up against soon. The way I've been
doing it
> works with the roman alphabet (and easiest with just one native
language in
> the group). I have this book that has Spanish translations of English
> vocabulary words. Then it has the pronunciation of the word spelled
out in
> Spanish phonetics. I just borrow those phonetics for any word I come
across:
> (ex. Raise your hand = reiz yor jand). Sometimes there isn't a sound
in
> Spanish that quite matches the one in English and I have to wrk around
it
> (ex. the word 'sit'.... there isn't anything in Spanish that sounds
like the
> 'i' in that word.... I told my class it sounds some where between 'eh'
and
> 'ee' and they got it).
>
> The thing with non-Roman alphabets is unless you speak the language,
it
> would be quite a task to do it that way. Then if you have people with
> differing languages, it would be even worse. If all the people in your
class
> know the Roman alphabet, then I have a link to a website that has
books and
> workshops on a unique system to teach pronunciation with. I haven't
tried
> the method, but it looks really cool. Let me know if you want the
address.
> Hope this (any of it) helps!
>
> Andrea
>
> On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 12:00 PM, <englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov>
wrote:
>
>> Send EnglishLanguage mailing list submissions to
>> englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>> englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov
>>
>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>> englishlanguage-owner at nifl.gov
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of EnglishLanguage digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>> 1. [EnglishLanguage 2291] computerless ESL instruction
>> (Jenny Hubler)
>>
>>
>>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:57:35 -0500
>> From: "Jenny Hubler" <JHubler at womenscenter.info>
>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2291] computerless ESL instruction
>> To: "'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List'"
>> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
>> Message-ID: <001a01c8a937$d1da28d0$d600a8c0 at womenscenter.info>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>
>> Andrea:
>>
>>
>>
>> Could you give more details about how you teach pronunciation to
speakers
>> of
>> other languages? We have many Latinos, also some Koreans and a
student
>> from
>> Sudan.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jenny
>>
>> The Women's Center of Tarrant County, TX
>>
>>
>>
>> _____
>>
>> From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
>> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
<mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov?> ] On Behalf Of Andrea Canter
>> Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 3:58 PM
>> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2290] Re: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31,
Issue
>> 16
>>
>>
>>
>> This is a neat concept, but if you're like me and teach adults in
venues
>> without computers there needs to be something else. Since my class is
>> entirely Hispanic, I use Spanish phonics to help. For some sounds I
have
>> to
>> go into further explanation because there is no Spanish equivalent,
but
>> for
>> the most part it translates. This has worked SO well!! They have near
>> perfect pronunciation instantly!! I'm getting ready to start a class
with
>> people from all over the world now. I have no idea how to address the
>> issue
>> with them- any suggestions??
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 12:00 PM, <englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Send EnglishLanguage mailing list submissions to
>> englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>> englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov
>>
>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>> englishlanguage-owner at nifl.gov
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of EnglishLanguage digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>> 1. [EnglishLanguage 2286] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>> sound (Molly Elkins)
>> 2. [EnglishLanguage 2287] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>> sound (Tom Zurinskas)
>> 3. [EnglishLanguage 2288] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>> sound (Elkins, Molly (CR))
>>
>>
>>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:06:33 -0600
>> From: "Molly Elkins" <melkins at dclibraries.org>
>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2286] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>> sound
>> To: "'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List'"
>> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
>> Message-ID: <004f01c8a62d$8c7cafe0$be070a0a at dpld.org>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>
>> I think it is pretty interesting-
>>
>> My only concern is that it took some time to load the sound- even on
my
>> pretty fast computer, AND it has a British accent. Many of my
learners
>> have
>> complained about media that is British instead of American
pronunciation.
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Molly Elkins
>> Literacy Specialist
>> Douglas County Libraries
>> Phillip S. Miller Library
>> 100 S. Wilcox Street
>> Castle Rock CO 80104
>> Map
>> Direct Phone: (303)688-7646
>> Alt Phone: (303) 791-READ
>> Fax: (303) 688-7655
>> Email: melkins at dclibraries.org
>> Web: www.DouglasCountyLibraries.org
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
>> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
<mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov?> ] On Behalf Of Daphne
Greenberg
>> Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 3:00 PM
>> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2254] on-line dictionary with instant sound
>>
>> ESL is not my area of expertise, so I don't know if this site is
good, or
>> if
>> it is a site that everyone already knows about. A friend of mine
>> introduced
>> me to a site described as "An English Pronouncing Dictionary with
Instant
>> Sound" I tried it out with a few words, and it seemed like a great
idea
>> for
>> learners struggling with pronunciation of specific words. They need
to
>> have
>> some proficiency with English spelling in order to use the site
because
>> they
>> need to write the word in order to hear it pronounced.
>>
>> The url is: http://howjsay.com/
>>
>> I am curious what people on this list think about this site.
>>
>> Daphne
>>
>> Daphne Greenberg
>> Associate Professor
>> Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
>> Georgia State University
>> P.O. Box 3979
>> Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
>> phone: 404-413-8337
>> fax:404-413-8043
>> dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>>
>> Daphne Greenberg
>> Associate Director
>> Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
>> Georgia State University
>> P.O. Box 3977
>> Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
>> phone: 404-413-8337
>> fax:404-413-8043
>> dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult English Language Learners mailing list
>> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> Email delivered to melkins at dclibraries.org
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:13:32 +0000
>> From: Tom Zurinskas <truespel at hotmail.com>
>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2287] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>> sound
>> To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
>> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>, cornell Kimble <
cornell9 at earthlink.net>
>> Message-ID: <BAY135-W4511FA4584E33E80584DDFD3DD0 at phx.gbl>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>>
>> m-w.com is a marvelous dictionary that you can click on to hear words
in
>> US
>> accent. The only nits I pick are what I call "awe-dropping" where
the
>> sound
>> "awe" is replaced sometimes by "ah". Click on the word "flaw" to
hear it
>> correctly (note, the word "awe" is said "ah"). Another nit is that
words
>> starting with "ex-" are said to be spoken as "ix-" (so example is
>> ixample).
>> I don't think that is the norm in USA but perhaps UK.
>>
>> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
>> See truespel.com - and the 4 truespel books plus "Occasional Poems"
at
>> authorhouse.com.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > From: melkins at dclibraries.org
>> > To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>> > Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:06:33 -0600
>> > Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2286] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>> sound
>> >
>> > I think it is pretty interesting-
>> >
>> > My only concern is that it took some time to load the sound- even
on my
>> > pretty fast computer, AND it has a British accent. Many of my
learners
>> have
>> > complained about media that is British instead of American
>> pronunciation.
>> >
>> > Thank you,
>> >
>> > Molly Elkins
>> > Literacy Specialist
>> > Douglas County Libraries
>> > Phillip S. Miller Library
>> > 100 S. Wilcox Street
>> > Castle Rock CO 80104
>> > Map
>> > Direct Phone: (303)688-7646
>> > Alt Phone: (303) 791-READ
>> > Fax: (303) 688-7655
>> > Email: melkins at dclibraries.org
>> > Web: www.DouglasCountyLibraries.org
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
>> > [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
<mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov?> ] On Behalf Of Daphne
Greenberg
>> > Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 3:00 PM
>> > To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
>> > Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2254] on-line dictionary with instant
sound
>> >
>> > ESL is not my area of expertise, so I don't know if this site is
good,
>> or
>> if
>> > it is a site that everyone already knows about. A friend of mine
>> introduced
>> > me to a site described as "An English Pronouncing Dictionary with
>> Instant
>> > Sound" I tried it out with a few words, and it seemed like a great
idea
>> for
>> > learners struggling with pronunciation of specific words. They need
to
>> have
>> > some proficiency with English spelling in order to use the site
because
>> they
>> > need to write the word in order to hear it pronounced.
>> >
>> > The url is: http://howjsay.com/
>> >
>> > I am curious what people on this list think about this site.
>> >
>> > Daphne
>> >
>> > Daphne Greenberg
>> > Associate Professor
>> > Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
>> > Georgia State University
>> > P.O. Box 3979
>> > Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
>> > phone: 404-413-8337
>> > fax:404-413-8043
>> > dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>> >
>> > Daphne Greenberg
>> > Associate Director
>> > Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
>> > Georgia State University
>> > P.O. Box 3977
>> > Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
>> > phone: 404-413-8337
>> > fax:404-413-8043
>> > dgreenberg at gsu.edu
>> > ----------------------------------------------------
>> > National Institute for Literacy
>> > Adult English Language Learners mailing list
>> > EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
>> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> > Email delivered to melkins at dclibraries.org
>> >
>> > ----------------------------------------------------
>> > National Institute for Literacy
>> > Adult English Language Learners mailing list
>> > EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
>> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage
>> > Email delivered to truespel at hotmail.com
>>
>> _________________________________________________________________
>> Spell a grand slam in this game where word skill meets World Series.
Get
>> in
>> the game.
>>
>>
http://club.live.com/word_slugger.aspx?icid=word_slugger_wlhm_admod_apri
l08
<http://club.live.com/word_slugger.aspx?icid=word_slugger_wlhm_admod_apr
il08>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:26:53 -0600
>> From: "Elkins, Molly (CR)" <melkins at dclibraries.org>
>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2288] Re: on-line dictionary with instant
>> sound
>> To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
>> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
>> Message-ID: <web-1497724 at bl-208.cluster1.echolabs.net>
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>> ------------------------------
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult English Language Learners mailing list
>> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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>> End of EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 31, Issue 16
>> ***********************************************
>>
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>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult English Language Learners mailing list
>> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov
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>> ***********************************************
>>
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