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RUNNING HEAD: Justification Pronunciation Diagnostic 1

Justification Pronunciation Diagnostic

Andrew Hill

The University of Texas at San Antonio


RUNNING HEAD: Justification Pronunciation Diagnostic 2

My pronunciation diagnostic (Appendix A) tests Carlie, a Masters student at Korea

National University of Education. She studies English Language Education. She will pursue a

PhD-English Education in the United States next fall. I have been asked to improve Carlies

pronunciation. I tested discrete aspects of pronunciation (see: Pronunciation Diagnostic). Carlie

struggled with minimal pairs two words that differ by only a single sound (Finegan, 2014, p.

116) particularly phonemes /u/ and //. My lesson plan addresses this weakness.

The lesson begins with a warm up activity: minimal pair bingo. The worksheets

features 30 words (15 minimal pairs) (Appendix B). One-third are /u/ and // minimal pairs, one-

third are /s/ and // minimal pairs, and another third are /l/ and /r/ minimal pairs. The latter two

sets were not tested in my diagnostic but are minimal pairs that often challenge Korean L2

learners (p. 93). In this activity, the tutor says 24 words (each one-half of a minimal pair). For

example: Alive/arrive, siege/seize, and kooky/cookie. The student must be able to distinguish

between them. Carlie selects 24 of these words and writes them into the worksheets boxes. For

example, if the tutor says arrive but the student marks alive, they cannot mark their

respective box.

The subsequent lecture and activity target phonemes /u/ and //. To teach Carlie to

pronounce and recognize /u/, we will access the University of Iowas Sounds of Speed online

phonetics demonstrations (Appendix C) . The tongue should be placed high in the back of the

mouth, and the lips should be rounded and tense (p. 93). Given Carlies background in

linguistics, I can use specific academic terminology (as we do in our own linguistics class) to

communicate how best to achieve these vowel positions.

To teach Carlie how to pronounce and recognize // - and ultimately distinguish it from

/u/ I will again access the aforementioned webpage (Appendix D). I will explain the
RUNNING HEAD: Justification Pronunciation Diagnostic 3

positioning of this vowel: high in the back of the mouth, and the lips should be rounded and lax

(SOURCE). As Finegan asserts: High front vowels in English tend automatically to be

rounded (Finegan, 2014, p. 95).

I will also demonstrate this with my own mouth. Finally, Carlie will practice this. After I

have shown Carlie how to make these shapes, we will engage in our primary activity:

Telephone Numbers. In doing so, she will practice /u/ and // minimal pairs and demonstrate

her understanding of the vowel positions she just learned. As this activity comes to an end, we

will briefly wrap up the class. I will give Carlie paper and markers and ask her to draw visual

representations no words permitted of the content of our lesson. This activity is based not in

any specific pedagogy but in Carlies love of the visual and artistic medium. This creative

exercise will serve to reinforce what she has learned in a unique way.
RUNNING HEAD: Justification Pronunciation Diagnostic 4

Works Cited

Finegan, Edward (2014-01-01). Language: Its Structure and Use (Page 309). Cengage Learning.

Kindle Edition.

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