Q1.c).

c) How can knowledge of how individuals acquire the mother tongue (L1)
help the teacher of English as a second language (L2)?(30%)
Answer

language foreshadowed and, in part, led to the emergence of Natural Method, Situational
Language Teaching, TPR and CLT. (Richards and Rogers, 2010: 7-15). Knowledge of L1
Acquisition thus holds great value for SL teachers, though as Cook
children learn their first la
.

Sequence of Acquisition:
syntactic structures as interrogation, negation and some morphemes follows a parallel sequence
both in instructed and naturalistic learners (Ellis, 1989; Burt and Dulay, 1980). Therefore, L2

s, to
certain grammatical structures than others. (Cook, 1973;

- caught
accurately, then seemingly regress to overgeneralizations/restructuring, and produce
monstrosities like catched
caught again. This U-shaped model of learning is common to FL and SL
learners (Ellis, 1997: 23). The fact that ibid.)
and are actually indicative of progress can save the students from frustration and
demotivation.

Immersion, Authentic Input and IRF

L1 is learnt through immersion into the authentic language input (excepting, of course
Motherese or Caregiver Speech at early stages (Yule, 2010: 171). This indicates that the L2
learner should be given as authentic and imme

researchers prohibit the use of L1 during L2 learning. This is an extreme view and ignores the
fact that L1 usage might b
certain cases, for the sake of overcoming Affective Filters. Adult-initiated conversations in L1
Acquisition that the L2 teacher-student
interaction should as well follow the three-move structure of Initiation, Response and Feedback
or IRF (Cook, 2008: 156-7).
References:

Cook V. (2008) Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. London: Hodder Education.

Cook, V. ( Language Development in Native Children and Foreign

A IRAL XI/1, 13-28.

and Tucker, G. (1975) The acquisition of complex English structures by Adult

Learners. Language Learning, XV/2

Ellis, R. (1997 Second Language Acquisition. New York: Oxford University Press.

Classroom Acquisition of German Word Order Rules. Studies in Second Language

Acquisition, 11, 305-328.

Ellis, R. (2005) Principles of instructed language learning System 33, 209-224.

Pienemann, M. (1989) Is language teachable? Psycholingui

Applied Linguistics, 10, 52-79.

Richards & Rodgers (2001) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Part 2
1. a) Compare the phonology of the majority of your current students (or students
in your previous teaching / learning context) with the English language in terms of
phonemes and allophones. Discuss the extent to which the differences cause
problems for the students in producing and perceiving sounds. (50%)
b) b) Describe how you would explain to them the differences and outline 4
activities of your own devising to help them overcome their problems. (50%)

Answer
 As my students hail from Arabic-
Modern Standard Arabic
(MSA), their dachsprache (Holmes, 2008: 82) with English. Our focus will be on the English
(RP) phonemes and allophones that are either absent in Arabic (MSA) or are generally perceived
or produced erroneously by my pupils.
The combined answer to both parts a) & b) has been organized as follows with four
activities at the end:-

Phoneme Group
RP - MSA Comparison Paragraph
Left Columns (Table)
Suggested methods of explaining the differences Right Column (Table)

Plosives
English occlusives include /b/, /p/, /d/, /t/, /g/, /k/ and glottal stop / /. are
aspirated (Cook, 2008: 72) allophones occurring in syllable initial positions (Roach, 2010: 26-7).
MSA has no
dental (Alkhuli, 1997). / / is rare in RP but very common in MSA.

Problems Table 1 Explanations

Step 1. Use an authentic Video/Text containing frequent use of
the Target Phoneme (T.P.) to provide context. (Harmer, 2007)
Perceived Step 2. BBCLeariningEnglish.com video for T.P.
/ Step 3. Show an animation of articulatory organs for T.P.
RP Produced Remarks Step 4. discuss organ positions.
Step 5. Use example words from English T.P./Arabic sound.
as Step 6. Discuss confusions and solutions. [Details Below]
Step 7. Use Minimal pairs for contrasting the problem sounds.
Step 8. Evaluate progress via quiz/activity and provide feedback.
/p/ /b/ /b/ uttered with voice is /p/.
Negative
Tongue touches the alveolar
Transfer
/d/ & /t/ ridge, not the teeth. At Step 3, discuss
Figure 1: (Baker, 2008) what Roach calls
four phases of
Velars are excpt when VC. (Kelly, articulation
difficult to 2001, 4) (2010: 26).
/g/ /k/ utter. Figure 2: (Dorgeloh, 2011)
(Maddieson, A strip of paper in
Use a popular Egyptian film clip as that
1984) front of mouth during
dialect has /g/
Use word-series (e.g. pin-spin-top) and Ss highlight aspiration.
Allophones are too advanced for my
try to notice allophones in CV,VCV,CV
students.
position e.g. [p
Fricatives & Affricates
In English, h/ are fricatives while /t
affricates. /z/ has many allophones.

Problems Explanations

Perceived / Steps 1-8 from Table 1

RP Produced Remarks
as Steps 6&8 suggestions follow:-

/v/ /f/ /f/ uttered with voice is /v/.

/t Convergent Tip touches alveolar ridge. Voiced

Learning word-lists e.g.
Structure Cash, Wash,
Catch.
1993) (Kelly, 2001: 19)
Examples from Maghreb Arabic which

Nasals, Liquids & Glides

In RP, /m/, /n/ & /
/j/ the glides. -rhotic RP is a retroflex
approximant / / pronounced only before vowels (Roach, 2010: 50); it is either a flap or a trill in
Arabic. (Turkistani, 1984: 95)

Problems Explanations
Perceived / Steps 1-8 from Table 1
RP
Produced as
Back stops air by pressing against velum
/ /nk/ or / Students listen/
Figure 3: (Baker, 2008)
underline the
words with T.P.
- Lips are slightly rounded. e.g. watch,
- Tongue curls back a bit, wash.
[r] or [r ] (Kelly, 2001)
/ /
never touching palate. Voiced
Figure 4: (Dorgeloh, 2011)
Repeat red-ridwan*-run-
Roach recommends only [
Monophthongs
MSA and RP have major differences in the back and central areas. C
seven short, five long vowels, MSA has only 3 short and as many long ones.

Figure 5: RP Monophthongs (Roach, 2004: 242) Figure 6: MSA Vowels ( 1993: 185)

Problems
Explanations
Perceived /
Steps 1-8 from Table 1
RP
Use quadrangle in Figure 5 for Step 4
Produced as
Figure 7: (Baker, 2008)

/æ/

// /e/ Front a little higher than in /e/

/ Relaxed mouth and voicing

Figure 8: (Baker, 2008: 33)

/e/ /æ/ Front a little higher than in /æ/
Diphthongs & Triphthongs
RP
has three centering diphthongs that glide toward / / and
five closing ones that glide toward / / or /
further glide to / / results in triphthongs (Roach, 2010:
17-19). MSA has only /aj/ and /aw/ as diphthongs.
(Thelwall, 1990: 38-39).
Yule, 2010: 35)

Problems Explanations
Use steps 1-8 from Table 1
Perceived /
RP * Minimal Pair (M.P.)
Produced as
Use Figure 7 for Step 4

*M.P.s Work-Woke for -

M.P.s Note-Not for / /- confusion
/ +/ /=/a /.
M.P.s Cart-Kite etc.
/ :/+/ /=/ /.
M.P.s Tore-Toy etc.
/e/+/ /=/e /.
/e/, /i:/ M.P.s Sedge-Sage for /e/-/ei/ confusion
M.P.s Sage-Siege for /ei/-/ i:/ confusion

M.P.s Beer- confusion

Triphthongs Diphthong + / /, or , or /

Answer Q1. Part2.b).ii. Four Activites

Activity 1:
Match the figures that best depict a phoneme in the words that follow with the latter;

* A B *C D
* *

singing _________ gun __________

top__________ run________

* (Baker, 2008) * (Dorgeloh, 2011)

Activity 2:
Listen to the words in column A and match them with the words in column B that share a
common phoneme.

Column A Column B
child run
cup toy
kite chew
boy wage
rage bite

Activity 3: Authentic Dialogue

Listen to the following dialogue and underline all the words with phonemes /a /, /e/, / /, /t / and / /.
Compare and discuss your work in groups.

Pam: Why did you plan to visit Australia this time of the year?
Sam: Well, I wanted to catch the Melbourne Cup race.

Australia day.
th
of July in USA.
y to go to; Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne.
Sam: Canberra is the capital; Sydney is the biggest city while Melbourne is the most active
culturally.

Activity 4. Pair Work.

1. One student utters one of the words commonly mispronounced by Arabic-speaking students.
e.g. pen, chair,
2. Partner looks it up and listens to its pronunciation in the Collins COBUILD Dictionary
software (2006), informing the speaker whether he/she was correct or not.
3. If the utterance matches the standard, they switch roles for the next word and so on but

4. Finally, both of them practice by recording and then matching their utterances with the
standard.
5. Teacher, at this stage, provides collective feedback about the common/persistent errors.
References:
Alkhuli, M. (1999) Comparative linguistics: English and Arabic. Amman: The National Library

BBCLearningEnglish.com, BBC, online videos, accessed on 10th Nov, 2011.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7cDUozQuGc&feature=related

Baker, A. (2008) Ship or Sheep - An Intermediate Pronunciation Course. Cambridge: CUP.

Cook V. (2008) Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. London: Hodder Education.

Davis, S. (1995) Linguistic Inquiry 26:

465 98.

Dorgeloh, H. (2011) . Companion to English Linguistics. HHUD.

URL: http://www.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/anglistik3/companion-to-english-linguistics/ch-2-phonetics-phonology/

Eid, A. (2006) The Sound Systems between English and Arabic: A Comparative Study. Cairo.

Kelly, G. (2001) How to Teach Pronunciation. London: Longman.

Harmer, J. (2007) Just Listening and Speaking. London: Marshall Cavendish Education.

. & Meliani, R. (1993) The Consonants of Arabic and English . PSCL 27.

. & Meliani, R. (1993) The Vowels of Arabic and English . PSCL 27.

Maddieson, I. (1984) Patterns of sounds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nasr, R. (1967) The structure of Arabic From Sound to Sentence. Beirut: Libraire du Liban.

Roach, P (2010) English Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Thelwall, R. (1990) Illustrations of the IPA: Arabic . Journal of the IPA 20 (2): 37 41.

Watson, J. C. E. (2007), The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic. Oxford: OUP.

Yule, G. (2010) The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.