Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
consonant pronunciation, learning environments, German pronunciation, German language
College
Humanities
Department
German and Russian
Abstract
This study compares pronunciation gains in German consonants over an 11-week period across three different learning environments, namely study abroad (SA), German House and a classroom setting. In particular, we focused on gains students make on 6 German sounds, including the “ch”-sounds ([ç] ich ‘I’ vs. [x] as in acht ‘8’), /ts/ as in zehn ‘ten’, German /r/ and /l/ and use of “sh” before /p/ and /t/ word initially, e.g., Sport pronounced like Schport. We asked the following questions: 1) Which consonants are students more likely to improve during an 11-week period? 2) Does one learning environment facilitate more improvement over another? 3) To what extent do difficulties pronouncing these German consonants impact the ratings that native speakers give to the German pronunciation of these learners?
Recommended Citation
Gordon, Katelyn and Kelling, Dr. Hans-Wilhelm
(2013)
"Consonant Pronunciation Improvement in Three Learning Environments,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013:
Iss.
1, Article 840.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/840