Sheep Or Sheep

SHEEP OR SHEEP A DIAGNOSTIC PRONUNCIATION ACTIVITY The goal of this activity is to help you diagnosis problems your learner might have with the reception of pronunciation skills. That is, to identify those sounds that a learner may not hear correctly, and therefore be unable to reproduce in speech. This activity was designed by Ray Parker and adapted by David F. Dalton. It is available online at http://itesl.org/Techniques/DaltonPresentation.html. This version of the activity has been adapted by SCALE for the one-on-one tutoring environment.

STAGE 1: To begin the diagnostic activity, do some research on your learner’s native language and its compatibility with English. (This can done by researching ESL instruction for a specific population, i.e. Arabic speakers or Spanish speakers.) Note which sounds are seen as difficult for English language learners and use that list to generate a list of simple commands. The following sample command list using words and phrases that provide reception difficulty in three languages – Spanish, Japanese and Arabic. Give your learner a piece of blank paper and tell him or her that you will be asking them to draw a picture. You will give one command at a time until the picture is complete. Directions to the learner: 1. Draw a sheep on the piece of paper. 2. Write the letter “P” above the sheep. 3. Use the letter “P” as the start of the word pleasant and write the word. 4. Write “light” next to pleasant. (Note: The word “light” can be written to the left or the right of pleasant) 5. Draw a mouse next to the word “light.” (Note: The mouse can be drawn to the left or the right of light) 6. Draw a pear next to the mouse. (Note: The pear can be drawn to the left or the right of the mouse.) Once the learner has completed his or her drawing, show the learner a correct version of the sketch (see example below), and the written commands. How are the two pictures similar? How are they different?

Use the mistakes to being addressing common problems with English pronunciation. Example drawing w/ correctly executed commands.

Example drawing w/ many common errors. This example represents commonly heard by Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic native speakers. Spanish speakers will frequently mistake the long /ē/ in sheep for the short /ĭ/ in ship. Spanish and Japanese speaker will also confuse the /z/ of mouse for the /th/ of mouth. Similarly, Japanese students may hear /rī/ instead of /lahy/. (Trouble with the /r/ versus /l/ sound may also lead some students to write “present” instead of “pleasant.”) Arab students who have trouble differentiating /b/ from /p/ will write a “B” when asked to write a “P” and will draw a bear instead of a pear.

STAGE 2:

Based on the problems the learner encounter is Stage 1, prepare a list of simple verbal commands. For example: “Point to the right.” “Act like a bear.” “Draw a house.” Read the commands with the student and then cut the commands into strips. Put the commands into a hat or cup. Tell the student to select on command at a time, and without showing you, whisper the command in your ear. You will act out or do what you hear. After each command is read and performed, ask the student to show you the slip. Were the command and the action the same? Make a vocabulary list of the missed words. Use the missed words to form

new commands and switch places, or prepare commands for a new session.