LINGUIST List 6.1056

Mon Aug 7 1995

Qs: Non-linguists, Teaching stress, Learning styles

Editor for this issue: T. Daniel Seely <dseelyemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. , what non-linguists notice about speech
2. , Help: teaching stress in intro phonetics
3. Karen Woodman, Learning styles and strategies research

I am looking for information on the investigation of what non-linguists
notice about spoken language. Which aspects of spoken language (phonological,
syntactical, lexical, and so on) catch people's attention, and how do non-
linguists understand and categorize their awareness of others' speech? If
anyone knows of research in this area, I would be grateful to hear about it.
S. Krainz
(V367MY88ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu)

Does anybody have any hints on how to help undergrads in an introductory
phonetics class learn to hear lexical stress (that is, to identify the syllable
in a word that receives primary stress), particulary in AmEng? The two "helps"
I know are 1) say the word several times, over-emphasizing one syllable at a
time (I've just done this by example, using extreme f0 & intensity variation).
One production should sound reasonably normal and the rest should sound pretty
odd; or 2) tap your finger as you say the word; folks usually tap on the
stressed syllable. While most students I've had seem to grasp this fairly
quickly, I still have a few who, after numerous examples, look at me as if
I'm being utterly mystical. Some of these are non-native speakers
of English, but not all.

I realize that this question calls up all sorts of issues on the nature of
stress and its perception, but before one can address those at all it's
necessary to introduce the concept somehow, and so far my experience has been
that introductory discussions of stress in phonetics texts ultimately
assume that speakers can pretty reliably "hear stress" once the phenomenon is
pointed out to them--that is, that there's something intuitively obvious
about the notion of a stressed syllable. But what about those students/
speakers who apparently find nothing intuitive about it?

Thanks

laura l. koenig (koenighaskins.yale.edu)

I am currently involved in research on how individuals learn (1) language(s)
and (2) general knowledge (i.e., factual information). While there is con-
siderable research on students' learning strategies (techniques such as rote-
memorizing, writing notes, practicing aloud, studying in groups/alone, immersin
g oneself in a language/culture, reading texts, listening to lectures, working
with materials in a hands-on manner, etc), there appears to be little data
on the preferred styles and strategies of individuals who continue to be
immersed in a "learning" environment such as schools, colleges and universities
- in other words, teachers, instructors, researchers, lecturers, etc.
 I would appreciate any feedback members of this list could provide con-
cerning (1) their personal learning style (e.g., habitual mode of learning
new material), (2) their preferred learning strategies for languages and/or
factual information, and (3) their opinion on whether they believe (1) and (2)
may influence their lecturing or teaching style. I would like to thank you
in advance for your input on this matter.

 Please respond to: Karen Woodman
 kwoodmanuvvm.uvic.ca