Listen and Repeat Method: Phonology and Behaviourism

Claire BentonPaige Opdahl

• Phonology- The Branch of linguistics that deals with the system of sounds in a particular language

• Behaviourism-The theory that animal behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning with out appeal to thoughts or feelings.

Perception and Production

• 2 Main Ideas– “students who cannot hear a particular English

contrast have no chance of reproducing it”– “Some subject with poor discrimination could still

pronounce the sounds correctly”

– ”Kinesthetic sensation maybe at least as important as auditory feedback”

“Spectrograms of syllables "dee" (top), "dah" (middle), and "doo" (bottom) showing how the onset format transitions that define perceptually the consonant [d] differ depending on the identity of the following vowel (Formats are highlighted by red dotted lines; transitions are the bending beginnings of the formant trajectories.)

• “…both imitation and discrimination drills have an important place in teaching of pronunciation as a means to help articulation become more automatic and routinised”

• “Many materials have sought to integrate perception and production as equal components in pronunciation training”

Now you try!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxSowOsqIiA&feature=fvsr

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiYGDwOZ3Vw

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0jGgJ7i1iA

• There are lots of books and manuals to use!

Reflection

• How does perception effect production?• What is the difference between imitation and

discrimination?• In your opinion, is it more effective to use

kinesthetic methods or imitation drills?

Bibliography

• Teacher’s Guide: information about hearing, communication, and understanding. http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/hearing/guide/info-hearing.htm

• Sensory Neuroscience: Hearing and Speech http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Sensory_Neuroscience:_Hearing_and_speech/Speech

• Webster Dictionary

Thank You!