Semester Project, part 1
ENG 204, Spring 2004, E. Johnson
Overview
For your semester project, you will analyze the speech of a person who is not a native speaker of English. Parts of the project will be due at different times during the semester, and the project as a whole will be turned in at the end of the term. I will give you handouts on what is expected at each stage and what the final project will include. You will receive a pass/ fail homework grade for completing the assignments on time, and I will provide feedback on how you did. The work must be revised and corrected as part of the final project, which will be 25% of your class grade. Sorry, I will not give feedback on late homework. At each stage, you should keep a journal or field notes describing your experiences with learning new skills and getting to know the speaker. In addition to the speech analysis, you will make two visits to an ESOL class as a volunteer/ observer. There will be a sign-up sheet for this activity.
You will record an interview with an adult English language learner. You may work with a partner to conduct the interview. Berry has generously purchased ten tape recorders for our use. You may check these out on a 24-hour basis from the media center. Please return them promptly so they will be available for your classmates. You must purchase your own cassette tape (thirty to sixty minutes) and batteries if you will be recording away from an electrical outlet. Personal tape recorders may be used, as long as they use a standard size cassette. Always be sure to test the recorder at the beginning of a session to be sure it is working properly. Afterward, you should make copies of the tape, so that each person will have one. Assignments will be completed separately, though you may consult with your partner.
The Interview
The tape recording should be at least twenty minutes long. Sample questions and a list of words for the person to read (slowly!) on tape are provided, but you should not hesitate to engage in spontaneous conversation. Read the questions before you arrive at the interview session. Try to make the interview as informal as possible. It is good to spend some time with the person before beginning the taping, so they are more comfortable with you and you are more comfortable with them. You might begin the interview by asking them about their work, family, sports or other interests. If they are from another country, ask them what their country is like. You will learn something, and the person will also have the opportunity to talk about something they are an expert in. Ask them if you can contact them later for more information if you need to.
You, together with the ESL teacher if applicable, will explain the purpose of the project to the interviewee. Read the consent form aloud to the person. You must obtain a signed informed consent form (available in Spanish and English) that MUST be turned in with the first part of the project. Give the interviewee a copy of the form to keep with your phone number and signature on it. If you are working with a partner, you should only ask the interviewee to sign one form and you can make copies of it later to include with the project.
Your Analysis
You should write up field notes from the interview immediately after you complete it. Describe when and where the interview took place and who was present. Was the interviewer relaxed or nervous? What about the person who was interviewed, did they seem self-conscious? What interesting things did you learn about this person or their culture? Describe the personality of your subject, e.g. outgoing, shy, serious, confident, etc. Write down anything you noticed about cultural differences in language use. Does the speaker use the appropriate levels of politeness, formality, and informality for the situation? What clues tell you this? Describe any differences in volume, pitch, amount of talk, and body language that vary from what is expected of a typical speaker of American English.
Listen to the tape. Notice any sounds the speaker has trouble pronouncing. Also look for a section of the conversation where the interviewee talks the most as a section that you can transcribe for part 2 of the project. Try to distinguish which sounds make up the person's "foreign accent." This can be important in helping children learn English pronunciation. If the pronunciation is different from American English, but you do not know how to show the difference using the IPA, you should try to describe what is different about the sound.
You will write a summary of how this person's speech is different from American English, describing the sounds in articulatory terminology where possible (e.g., stops, fricative, interdentals). You must give at least 10 examples of words that sound different from how they are pronounced by native speakers of American English. You may use more than one example of the same sound, but try to pinpoint at least three main pronunciation errors. The list of words that they read aloud will be useful for this part of the project.
Turn in in a large manila envelope:
Language Learner Interview
[Prepare questions for the beginning of the interview to help you and the interviewee become more comfortable and start a conversation. You can ask them about their home country and culture, or what they like about being here. Especially try to ask them about things they are interested in and knowledgeable about. Smile and relax!]
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
What language or languages were spoken in your household? in your neighborhood?
What dialects/ languages do your parents speak?
What languages can you speak?
For each language, get the following information:
How old were you when you learned it?
Did you learn it in school or just by being around people who use it?
If in school, what methods did the teachers use (conversation, repetition, etc.)?
In what settings have you used this language?
Where have you lived?
How has moving or traveling affected your speech in your first language?
What ideas do people in your family have about language, for example which languages are best, how important it is to learn language?
Was it hard for you to learn English?
Do you like the way you speak English?
Is there anything about your speech you have tried to change?
Has anyone ever made comments about the way you talk?
Do you ever have trouble communicating in English, either speaking or understanding?
Do you mostly spend time with people who speak in English, or who speak another language?
Do you read and write? What language do you usually read in? What about writing? Is writing in English difficult?
List of Words
At the end of the interview, have the person read the following list on tape.
Ask them to read it slowly, with a pause between words.
__________________________________, a student at Berry College, is conducting research for
English 204, Introduction to Linguistics. You may choose to voluntarily participate in a taped
conversation which will be used for a class project. There is no penalty for withdrawing from the
research. You will not be identified by name on the tape recording or on any class assignments,
and any personally identifying information in the conversation, like anything else you say on the
tape, will be erased by the researcher if you wish. This form will be kept by the instructor where
no one else will see it. Other students in the class and the professor may listen to the tape. The
tape will be erased at the end of the semester. Any questions may be directed to the student
researcher or the faculty supervisor at the phone numbers given below.
I give my consent to participate in the research study described above.
_________________________________ ______________
Participant Date
_________________________________ _____________
Student researcher Date
Supervising Faculty Member:
Dr. Ellen Johnson
English Dept., Berry College
Box 5010
Mt. Berry, GA 30149-5010
706-368-5638
Research at Berry College that involves human participants is overseen by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Questions or problems regarding your rights as a participant may be made confidentially and should be addressed to the IRB through Donna C. Davin, Director of Faculty Research and Sponsored Programs, Campus Box 5006, (706) 290-2163.
_________________________, un(a) estudiante de Berry College, está haciendo un trabajo de investigación para la clase de Inglés de nivel 204 que se llama Introducción a la Lingüística. Usted puede participar voluntariamente en una conversación grabada, la cual se utilizará para un proyecto en dicha clase. Si decide no participar, no tendrá ninguna repercusión. No se utilizará su nombre ni en la cinta grabada de la conversación, ni en las actividades de la clase, y las cintas se borrarán completamente al final del proyecto. La instructora guardará este impreso en un lugar donde nadie lo podrá ver. Otros estudiantes de la clase y la profesora podrán escuchar la conversación grabada. Cualquier pregunta puede dirigirse al estudiante investigador, u a la supervisora del proyecto, cuyos datos aparecen al margen.
Doy mi consentimiento para participar en el trabajo de investigación que se describe en el párrafo anterior.
__________________________________ ______________
Participante Fecha
__________________________________ ______________
Estudiante investigador Fecha
Supervisora y Profesora:
Dra. Ellen Johnson
Departamento de Inglés, Berry College
Campus Box 350
Mt. Berry, GA 30149-5010
(706) 368-5638
Las investigaciones de Berry College que incluyen participantes humanos están supervisadas por el Institutional Review Board (IRB). Preguntas o problemas relacionadas con sus derechos como participante pueden hacerse confidencialmente y deben dirigirse al IRB a la atención de Donna C. Davin, Directora de Investigaciones y Programas Patrocinados, Campus Box 5006, (706) 290-2163.