En busca del diamante: Using tasks to mitigate word reduction in spoken learner Spanish

Authors

Sergio Ruiz-Pérez, Texas Tech University
Lorena Alarcón, Texas Tech University
Avizia Long, Texas Tech University

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

February 2018

Publication Title

Current Approaches to Spanish and Portuguese Second Language Phonology (CASPSLaP)

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | First and Second Language Acquisition | Phonetics and Phonology | Spanish Linguistics

Abstract

A common feature of second language Spanish, particularly in the case of native English-speaking learners, is to shorten or reduce segments within words (Schwegler & Kempff, 2007). This is particularly noticeable with multi-syllabic words (e.g., ingeniería, floristería, cafetería), and mispronunciations during second language interaction influence speech intelligibility. To address this pronunciation challenge and provide learners with opportunities for practice of words that demonstrate this reduction, we designed a two-way information gap task to draw learners' attention to these words in second language Spanish interaction. We specifically used principles of task-based language teaching and learning (e.g., Ellis, 2009; M. H. Long, 2015; Robinson, 2011; Skehan, 2014) to make pronunciation of these words task essential or necessary for completion of the task (cf. Solon, Long, & Gurzynski-Weiss, 2017).

Comments

Presented as part of Ignite: Best Practices and Innovation in Pronunciation Instruction. The materials for this lesson are also available online at this link.

Recommended Citation

Sergio Ruiz-Pérez, Lorena Alarcón, and Avizia Long. "En busca del diamante: Using tasks to mitigate word reduction in spoken learner Spanish" Current Approaches to Spanish and Portuguese Second Language Phonology (CASPSLaP) (2018).