Autochthonous Phonological Influences in Second Language Learning, Remedial Strategies, and Recommendations for College Students

 

Shanmugasundaram R ¹, Dr. Noble Jebakumar A ²

 

¹ Research Scholar, PG & Research Department of English, Thanthai Periyar Government Arts and Science College, Affiliated to Bharathidasan University Tiruchirappalli – 620023, Tamilnadu, India

² Assistant Professor, PG & Research Department of English, Thanthai Periyar Government Arts and Science College, Affiliated to Bharathidasan University Tiruchirappalli – 620023, Tamilnadu, India

 

1. INTRODUCTION

The English language made its journey into India when India was transformed into a colony by the British. From then on, English continues to be the second language in India. English has the position of a connecting language, and in fact, it is the most significant language in India. English is the most usually spoken language in India after Hindi and it is almost certainly the most extensively read and written language in the country. In India, communication in English is utilized for both intra- and inter-state purposes in addition to contact with the outside world. The English Language is taught in education right from the beginning onwards to graduation. In their career, English teachers are expected to understand phonetics and phonology in order to teach the students pronunciation of the English language, which they learn as a second language. Language specialists promote and stress that teachers should have sound knowledge of phonology and phonetics and be thorough with the approach, techniques, and methods to practice articulation in the classrooms. Baker & Murphy (2011) recognized that "an overall neglect of pronunciation teaching has been felt in teacher training programs", and "scarcely any research has been conducted that explores pronunciation and teachers' knowledge of phonology." In language teaching, it is a truism to say that success depends largely upon a teacher's understanding of the nature of the language being taught, and that, in turn, this understanding must be based upon a scientific study of the language concerned. Palmer (1968) This article explores the importance of phonological remediation in second language acquisition and presents a range of effective techniques for improving phonological skills. Bruder & Paulston (1976)

 

2. Objective of the Research Study

The primary objective of this research study is to develop remedial strategies for Tamil-speaking ESL students in and around Kovilpatti Thoothukudi District, Tamilnadu, to address their pronunciation issues in English. This involves:

Finding phonotactical issues: The study uses observation and interviewing to pinpoint the precise pronunciation issues that Tamil-speaking ESL students encounter, both in terms of typical mistakes and unique difficulty.

Analyzing frequent phonological issues: This study will examine the phonological issues that English as a second language (ESL) students confront, with a particular emphasis on the difficulties that Tamil learners suffer.

Developing a customized curriculum: A curriculum will be created to offer focused instruction aimed at resolving the pronunciation difficulties that have been discovered. Both common phonetic errors and broad phonetic patterns that Tamil-speaking ESL students make will be covered in this curriculum.

Educator recommendations and guidance on effective teaching methods and extracurricular activities: The research project will provide ESL teachers with recommendations and guidance on instructional tactics and extracurricular activities to help Tamil-speaking ESL students improve their English pronunciation.

This research study's overall goal is to improve the efficacy of ESL training for Tamil-speaking students by addressing the unique pronunciation issues they face and using specialized remediation techniques in a classroom setting.

 

3. Phonetics

The English alphabet is insufficient to stand for all the existing 44 sounds through 26 letters. Though there are 44 phonemes, it is rather intricate for a second language learner particularly who has Tamil language as his or her mother tongue. According to researchers, English does not use a different letter to entail one sound.  Phonetics plays a crucial role in second language acquisition, as it provides learners with the necessary tools to accurately produce and perceive sounds in the target language. Crystal (1987)

 

4. The Significance of the research study

Since of the wide range of L1 backgrounds and pronunciation difficulties among students, teachers often find it difficult to teach pronunciation. This makes the research study significant since it may help address a crucial issue in ESL education. The research intends to close a gap in the current teaching methods by concentrating on remedial procedures designed especially for Tamil-speaking students in and around Kovilpatti Thoothukudi District, Tamilnadu.

1)    Customized Corrective Measures: This research acknowledges that focused interventions are required to address the unique phonotactical issues that Tamil-speaking pupils face. Through student observation and interviews, the research will uncover pronunciation issues and incorporate typical errors made by Tamil learners into a curriculum that is specifically designed to meet the needs of these students.

2)    Resolving Phonological Issues in L2 Acquisition: The research recognizes the significance of phonological awareness in the process of learning a second language. The study is to shed light on typical phonetical mistakes and basic patterns that Tamil-speaking learners confront, in order to develop instructional strategies that improve pronunciation.

3)    Possibility for Additional study: By identifying typical errors and creating focused corrective techniques, more study in the area of ESL instruction can be conducted. This work establishes the framework for further research on the efficacy of various teaching modalities and the creation of thorough pronunciation curricula for a range of L1 backgrounds.

Overall, this research project is important because it has the potential to enhance the standard of ESL instruction provided to Tamil-speaking students in the Kovilpatti Thoothukudi District and deepen our understanding of the most efficient ways to teach pronunciation in various language learning environments.

 

5. Phonetic Errors

Like any place where someone is not a native speaker, India has a strong mother tongue influence on how people pronounce English. Thus, when a beginner who speaks Tamil talks English, he pronounces it in the same way as he speaks Tamil, using the Tamil variant. For example, In the Thoothukudi district of Tamilnadu, students of reputed Institutions, for someone unfamiliar with Tamil, it would be challenging to distinguish between the following words:

Correct		Incorrect
Words	IPA	Words	IPA
attribute	əˈtrɪbjuːt	attribute	əˈtrɪbuːt
Halloween	hæləʊˈiːn	Halloween	hɑ.ləˈwiːn
people	ˈpiːpəl	people	ˈpiːpul
suppose	səˈpəʊz	suppose	səˈpəz
anger	ˈæŋgə	anger	ˈæŋgər

 

1)     It was observed that students commit Errors Related to Vowels during Speaking and Writing

2)     It was noticed that, Substituting a vowel to another vowel. There are occasions when one vowel is mistaken for another.

3)     The use of diphthongs is one of the challenges faced by a Tamil learner of English. Glide vowels, or diphthongs, have a single initial sound that gradually transitions into another vowel.

4)     Errors that occur in the production of affricates. The students tend to substitute uttered affricates in the position of unvoiced affricates.

5)     Most of the students feel that Phonetics is a very difficult subject.

6)     It was observed that students in college level are facing challenge to speak fluently the second language because of Phonetics issues.

7)     While acquiring a second language students have the complexity that they were studied in Tamil Medium

8)     Students from rural side have grammar anxiety.

9)     It was noticed that during the conversation in a second language, Students mixing Mother tongue and English.

Eg, Veedu Nikalchi (Tamil) Function House (English)

 But the word they are uttering Veedu Function

10) There is no Awareness of the Importance of Pronunciation.

11) Southern region Tamilnadu college students add their Mother tongue sounds along with English in a maximum of English spoken words.

 

E.g.:

Have you completed? (Correct) Have you Completed ah? (Incorrect)

Come /k/\m/ (Correct) Comeu /k/\mu/ (incorrect). 

 

6.  Vowels Errors

One of the most frequent mistakes is to substitute /e/ with /i/. This happens as a result of similar patterns in the English sound system. Furthermore, even though they are not perfectly pronounced, /i/ and /e/ do not contrast in these contexts and do not change meaning.

Word	Incorrect	Correct
entrepreneur	/ entɹəpɹəˈnɝ/	/ ɑːntɹəpɹəˈnɝ/

 

Substituting a vowel to another vowel

 Vowels are misinterpreted for one another.

Word	Incorrect	Correct
know	/no/	/nəƱ/

 

Changing diphthongs to other vowels

The use of diphthongs is one of the challenges faced by a Tamil learner of English. Diphthongs are sounds that originate from the combination of two vowels inside a single syllable, starting with a single vowel and progressing towards another. A lack of familiarity with diphthongs leads to errors in them.

Word	Incorrect	Correct
baby	/bebi/	/ /beibi/

 

Substituting diphthongs with vowels

The diphthongs are peculiar in English phonetics, and they are not found in Tamil. Among the eight diphthongs, there are two /ai/and/au/ diphthongs accessible in Tamil. The left-over diphthongs /ɪə/ /eə//eɪ//ɔɪ/ are much harder for Indian speakers as they don’t have probable similarities in Tamil. The diphthong /au/ is replaced by a similar /I: / phoneme from the mother tongue. So, this is merely called as inter lingual error caused by mother tongue meddling. In Tamil, /au/ is not found. In place of /au/, /o/ is there in Tamil. The intelligence of the students mechanically listens to the sound which is there in their resident language and leads them to speak wrongly.

Word	Incorrect	Correct
bold	/bould/	/bəʊld/

 

Substituting a vowel to another vowel

In the study of sounds, a plosive consonant is made by jamming a part of the mouth in order that no air can go through. There are a lot of types of errors occurring during the making of voiceless and voiced plosive sounds among Tamil learners.

Word	Incorrect	Correct	Error
pump	/bʌmp/	/pʌmp/	/p/ > /b/
bunny	/ pʌni/	/ bʌni/	/b/ > /p/

 

7. Correction of errors by identification

Doff (1988) identifies three approaches to error correction practiced by teachers. “I correct students sometimes, but not all the time. If we are practicing one particular language point, then I insist that they say it correctly. However, if we are doing a freer activity, then I try not to correct too much. If I do it correctly, I try to do it in an encouraging way. I try to correct errors as little as possible. I want my students to express themselves in English without worrying too much about making mistakes. Sometimes I notice points that everyone gets wrong, and deal with them later – but I never interrupt students to correct them. Presently, most teachers would agree . . . that we need to correct some errors to help students learn the correct forms of the language . . . But this does not mean that we have to correct students all the time – if we do, it might make them unwilling or unable to say anything at all” says Doff (1988) As per his advice:

Experts believe that this approach hampers increasing fluency in English, for committing mistakes is an essential part of any language learning activity. Currently it is approved that the mistakes committed by the students should be measured as a sign of what the teachers still have to teach. English Club (2019)

 

8. Recommendations

1)     Understanding the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is incredibly beneficial, particularly for those who are not native speakers. Within the IPA chart, various sounds are depicted using specific letters and symbols. Once you have committed the IPA chart to memory, you will have the ability to correctly pronounce any English word.

2)     The use of Internet makes the Phonetics studies process with fun, so the teacher should use Internet as a tool for rural students

3)     Make students Record themselves while they speak.  Sometimes, they do not know exactly how they sound

4)     The art of pronunciation diverges markedly from the realms of orthography and grammar. It is an endeavor wherein students cannot anticipate mastery through rote memorization of prescribed rules, expecting thereby to effortlessly articulate each word with precision.

5)     Increased exposure to the English language yields enhanced proficiency. Engaging with English television programming, supplemented by subtitles, and keeping abreast of current affairs through platforms like the BBC, facilitates a nuanced comprehension of spoken English patterns.

6)     It was determined that throughout the training sessions, instructors should identify pronunciation errors, rectify them, and instruct students on the proper articulation of these sounds.

7)     The teacher should give maximum importance to mother tongue to seek attention and good communication with students

8)     The teacher while teaching Phonetics for students can use, Audio-visual aids, Language Lab, Sound recorder.

9)     In the present scenario, students are using mobile phones individually, and they have an easy recording option also.

10) The Researcher used the curriculum to rectify the mistakes.

 

Curriculum

S. No	Activity	Focus	Out come
1	Introduction of the vowel sounds in the English language and practice with mono-syllabic words. Eg: a)  /pit/ peat b)     /nɔ/ gnaw c)     /kjub/ cube d)     /wɪθ/ with	Errors related to vowels	Learn about the sounds of the primary vowels and stress indications on monosyllabic words
2	Making the students to know about how words are mispronounced with examples: 1.       since/sɪns//sains/* 2.abroad/əˈbrɔːd/                                               /aˈbroud/* 3.afraid/əˈfreɪd/                                                /aˈfred/* 4. said   /sed/ /seɪd/*	changing the vowels that diphthongs are replaced with	Students will have an idea about where mistakes are generally made and when to be careful.
3	Making the students aware of when one vowel is mistaken for the other Eg: hello /hallo//heloʊ/	Substituting a vowel to another vowel	Students will have an idea about where mistakes are generally made and when to be careful.
4.	Making the students aware of what are affricates and mistakes related to them. Eg: chill / dʒ il/   /tʃɪl/ cheap / dʒ i:p/ / tʃi:p/	Errors that occur in the production of affricates.	Students will know what are affricates and where mistakes are generally made and when to be careful.
5	Training is given on the fact that fricatives are made by obstructing a part of the vocal tract and special practice needs to be given on : /f/ /v/ /θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /h/	Errors that occur in the production of fricatives.	Students will know what are fricatives and where mistakes are generally made and when to be careful.

 

9. Results of the Study

1)    Vowel to another vowel

Figure 1 brings the details of the development of students’ knowledge in vowels. There is significant progress from pre-test to post-test. The X axis of the bar-graph represents the tests carried out and the Y axis represents the marks scored by the students in both the tests.  The figure shows students progressing in vowel to another vowel from 8 points in the pretest to 25 points in the post test.

 Figure 1

 

Figure 1

 

2)    Replacing diphthongs with alternate vowel sounds.

Figure 2 brings the details of the development of students’ knowledge in diphthongs. There is significant progress from pre-test to post-test. The X axis of the bar-graph represents the tests carried out and the Y axis represents the marks scored by the students in both the tests. The participants improved in substituting other vowels in the place of diphthongs from 5 points in the pretest to 27 points in the post test.

Figure 2

 

Figure 2

                

3)    Substituting a vowel to another vowel

Figure 3 brings the details of the development of students’ knowledge in vowel substitution. There is significant progress from pre-test to post-test. The X axis of the bar-graph represents the tests carried out and the Y axis represents the marks scored by the students in both the tests. In substituting a vowel to another vowel, the participants showed a performance at 12 points which increased to 29 by the time of the posttest.

 Figure 3

Figure 3

 

4)    Errors that occur in the production of affricates

Figure 4 brings the details of the development of students’ knowledge in affricates. There is significant progress from initial assessment to final evaluation (pretest to posttest). The X axis of the bar-graph represents the tests carried out and the Y axis represents the marks scored by the students in both the tests. The participants showed improvement in making errors that occur in the production of affricates which is highlighted by their performance level at 26 points in the post test after receiving the training conducted for the study. The posttest point in this matter was 16 times more than the pretest point of 10.

Figure 4

Figure 4

 

5)    Errors that occur in the production of fricatives

Figure 5 brings the details of the development of students’ knowledge in fricatives. There is significant progress from initial assessment to final evaluation (pretest to posttest). The X axis of the bar-graph represents the tests carried out and the Y axis represents the marks scored by the students in both the tests. When it comes to errors that occur in the production of fricatives, the participants’ performance in the pretest stood at 15 which improved to 28 points in the post test.

Figure 5

Figure 5

                  

10. CONCLUSION

Additionally, a variety of remediation techniques that target and lessen these phonological faults have been covered. Learner-cantered tactics like error correction and feedback are included in this set of strategies, along with instructional approaches like explicit phonetic teaching and targeted pronunciation practice. Teachers can assist students in overcoming the difficulties presented by autochthonous phonological influences and improve their overall pronunciation competency by implementing these tactics into language training.

The mistakes made by college students in Tamilnadu when it comes to speaking English vary according various factors like the origin of the student, locality in which he or she has been brought up, period of introduction of English language etc. As they are independent factors this study aims at taking into consideration of only the essential and common issues faced by the students irrespective of the above-mentioned contexts. In this way, the following phonetically issues have been rectified.

 

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

None. 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None.

 

REFERENCES

Baker, A., & Murphy, J. (2011). Knowledge Base of Pronunciation Teaching: Staking Out the Territory. TESL Canada Journal, 28(2), 29. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v28i2.1071

Bruder, N. N., & Paulston, C. T. (1976). Teaching English as a Second Language: Techniques and Procedure. Cambridge: Winthrop Publisher, Inc.

Crystal, D. (1987). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University, 214.  

Doff, A. (1988). Teach English: A Training Course for Teachers. CPU, 188.  

English Club (2019, May 30).   

Palmer, H. E. (1968). Language and Language Learning. The Scientific Study and Teaching of Languages. London, Oxford University Press.