Embodying Rhythmic Properties of a Foreign Language through Hand-Clapping Helps Children to Better Pronounce Words

Autor/inn/en	Baills, Florence; Prieto, Pilar
Titel	Embodying Rhythmic Properties of a Foreign Language through Hand-Clapping Helps Children to Better Pronounce Words
Quelle	In: Language Teaching Research, 27 (2023) 6, S.1576-1606 (31 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Baills, Florence)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1362-1688
DOI	10.1177/1362168820986716
Schlagwörter	French; Language Rhythm; Motor Reactions; Pronunciation; Romance Languages; Second Language Learning; Native Language; Oral Language; Teaching Methods; Vowels; Intervention; Foreign Countries; Elementary School Students; Intonation; Suprasegmentals; Spain + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Französisch; Sprachrhythmus; Aussprache; Romanische Sprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Oral interpretation; Mündlicher Sprachgebrauch; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Ausland; Spanien
Abstract	This study tested the effects of hand-clapping to the rhythm of newly learned French words on the pronunciation of these words by 7- to 8-year-old Catalan children. In a short training experiment with a pre- and posttest design, 28 children either repeated cognate words in French (e.g. French "aspirateur," Catalan "aspirador" 'vacuum cleaner') while clapping to the rhythmic structure of those words or only repeated the words. Participants' oral productions before and after training were rated for accentedness by three French native speakers. Results showed that in both groups, participants' pronunciation improved after training, and crucially, children in the clapping group improved significantly more than those in the non-clapping group. Additionally, an acoustic analysis of the duration of word-final vowels indicated that only children in the clapping group significantly lengthened the final vowel after training, thus producing more target-like durational patterns. Our results suggest that a brief embodied intervention based on highlighting the rhythmic structure of words through hand-clapping has the potential to enhance pronunciation in a foreign language. The implications for second language teaching of pronunciation are discussed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01