Abstract:

Phonetics, intonation, and pronunciation are integral parts of language learning. However, they are not often an actual part of the content of language classes. One reason may be that teachers are not necessarily trained in phonetics and therefore are reluctant to make this component a part of their teaching. Another reason may be that the proper tools are not being used or that the proper tools are not being used appropriately in order to assist teachers and students in integrating phonetics into the curriculum. This article describes a two phase experiment that was conducted at the University of Ottawa using audiocassettes and multimedia while teaching French, specifically French phonetics, intonation, and pronunciation, to a group of low-intermediate level language students. The present study addresses three questions: (a) Are the receptive and productive skills of intermediate-level learners of French as a second language influenced by the explicit teaching of phonetic and prosodic elements? (b) if so, which delivery mode is the most effective to teach these elements: audio cassettes or multimedia? and (c) what are the students' preferences with regards to these two delivery modes?

Author: Alysse Weinberg, Helene Knoerr