This colloquium introduces Cognitive Phonology (CP), a theory with particular value as a framework for understanding how second language pronunciation is learned, and how teachers can facilitate this learning. It consists of three papers giving an overview of the theory, its application to pronunciation, and an example of its practical use in teaching.
Cognitive Linguistics (CL) is a theory of language (Langacker 1987, Taylor 2002) which has been gaining popularity over the last twenty years. It offers a broader view of cognition which can bridge the divide between social and cognitive aspects of SLA.
According to CL, the fundamental process of human cognition is not information processing but categorisation - the process by which aspects of reality are assigned to categories, such as the colour categories blue and red, or the cultural categories polite and impolite.
A key finding of categorisation research is that categorisation requires the categoriser to have relevant concepts. For example, to categorise a colour as blue, one must first have the concept of blue (interestingly, a highly abstract concept which varies considerably across languages). Categorisation involves applying concepts in ways that depend crucially on meaning and context, including social context. For example, behaviour that is categorised as polite in one social context might be impolite in another.
Cognitive Phonology approaches speech and pronunciation as a form of cognition involving categorisation of exactly this kind. The resulting theory involves some rethinking of ideas which have become familiar through long exposure to Chomskyan phonology. An important advantage, however, is the close link it enables between theory and practice in human applications such as teaching pronunciation and literacy.
A key insight for teachers is that learning pronunciation requires not just the physical ability to produce the sounds of the new language, but the cognitive ability to categorise sounds in ways appropriate to the new language. Frequently it is the latter rather than the former that is the biggest problem. The classic case of a student who can say both ‘rice’ and ‘lice’ but continually mixes them up is only one of very many examples.
Since categorisation requires appropriate concepts, a key task for the learner is concept formation, and teachers can help greatly by providing lessons designed to aid with concept formation. Most teachers have an excellent understanding of concept formation in general, and require only broad guidelines on how concept formation applies to pronunciation to enable them to greatly improve their success in helping students in this all-important area of language learning.
The three papers of the colloquium explain and exemplify the theory and its practical application.
This paper starts by reviewing some basic ideas about concepts and categories in general. Using examples from visual and social contexts, it discusses conscious and unconscious concepts, abstract concepts, concept formation, concept use, and the representation of concepts in language. The role of meaning and context in all aspects of categorisation is highlighted.
It then shows how speech sounds are categorised in exactly the same way as all other aspects of reality, using phonological concepts which are represented with a metalanguage. Many of these ideas are familiar from traditional phonology but recasting them in terms of categories and concepts requires some rethinking which will be facilitated in the discussion session.
Finally it discusses how phonological concepts are formed in the first language, through language and literacy acquisition, and become very thoroughly entrenched by adulthood. To learn a new language new concepts need to be formed. This is not necessarily a difficult task in itself but is made so by the common lack of awareness that sounds are being categorised according to subconscious concepts.
This paper begins by reviewing some basic ideas about concept formation in general. Drawing on work well known in educational psychology, and using examples from science and sports education, it highlights the importance of motivation, engagement, practice, contextualisation, and demonstrates how concepts are built up sequentially through orderly steps.
In relation to language teaching, it shows how much of current classroom practice, whether it be the use of a Communicative Approach or explicit instruction through a focus on form, can be seen as facilitating concept formation.
The paper then shows how pronunciation can be taught using exactly the same principles of concept formation. In fact many successful pronunciation teaching practices already widely used can be seen as implicitly following these principles. The value of Cognitive Phonology is that it provides a theoretical account of why successful teaching practices are successful, and allows them to be extended and improved.
Several principles of concept formation are emphasised, especially the role of contrast and metalanguage, and examples of their use are suggested for discussion.
This paper discusses the classroom implications of the ideas outlined in the previous papers. A study (Couper 2006) exploring the practicalities of phonological concept formation suggested the following things are important: making students aware of salient contrasts, directing students through careful metalanguage, critical listening, feedback, and practice. It was concluded that concept formation involves contrast, and feedback which focuses the learner most clearly on the salient aspects of the contrast. The current paper describes a follow-up study.
The aspect of pronunciation chosen was inappropriate epenthesis, or vowel addition following syllable codas (the cause of confusion between word pairs like ‘drunk’ and ‘drunker’, for example), a particular difficulty for many ESL learners of East and South-East Asian origin. It was hypothesised that students with this problem lacked the concept of 'extra vowel', and that students taught with a concept formation approach would show an increased understanding of the target concept of 'extra vowel', and increased ability to control this aspect of pronunciation.
A study was designed with two conditions for metalanguage: ML+ and ML-; and two conditions for contrast: CF+ and CF-. The study involved four groups of eight learners at a high intermediate level who had been pre-tested for this pronunciation feature. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected through pre- and post interviews and tests. The results of this experiment and the theoretical and practical implications will be discussed.
Couper, G. (2006). The short and long-term effects of pronunciation instruction. Prospect: a journal of Australian TESOL 21, 44-64.
Fraser, H. (2006). Helping teachers help students with pronunciation. Prospect: a journal of Australian TESOL 21, 80-94.
Langacker, R. (1987). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
Taylor, J. R. (2002). Cognitive Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.