LINGUIST List 13.2167

Sat Aug 24 2002

Review: Applied Linguistics: Chun (2002)

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  • Lisa Dewaard Dykstra, Chun (2002) Discourse Intonation in L2

    Message 1: Chun (2002) Discourse Intonation in L2

     Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 17:16:31 -0500
    From: Lisa Dewaard Dykstra <ldewaardblue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
    Subject: Chun (2002) Discourse Intonation in L2


    Chun, Dorothy M. (2002)

    Discourse Intonation in L2: From Theory and Research to Practice. John Benjamins Publishing Company, xii+285 pp, hardback ISBN 1-58811-1687, (US) Language Learning and Language Teaching monograph series.

    Announced in http://linguistlist.org/issues/13/13-1267.html

    Lisa DeWaard Dykstra, University of Iowa

    OVERALL DESCRIPTION

    Chun's monograph aims at presenting the language teacher with research in the field of phonology, specifically with theories of intonation. Chun discusses the development of the field from an initial focus on segmental phonology to the current emphasis on prosody, or intonation that goes beyond word and sentence boundaries to larger pieces of discourse. This work on discourse intonation is organized into three parts. First, Chun presents linguistic theory related to intonation in a detailed review of the literature. The second part outlines applied linguistic research in the field, spanning the past sixty years and details areas for future research. One of the main focuses in this section is what technology can bring to both the research and teaching of discourse intonation. The third part takes the ideas developed in parts one and two and presents practical solutions for the implementation of theory. The book comes with a CD-ROM, also created by Chun, which includes the sound bits as well as their graphical representations as presented in part three of the book.

    Part I: Linguistic Theory: Intonation in L1

    Chapter 1: Intonation, Suprasegmentals, Prosody In this chapter, Chun provides a definition of basic terms -- intonation, segmentals, suprasegmentals and prosody -- associated with phonology and intonation research. At the end she includes a discussion of perception, an essential, yet often neglected, part of intonation. Perception of fundamental frequency and pitch, she concludes, should be systematically studied in order to find out "which properties of the acoustic signal are relevant for our perception of speech melody." Chun goes on to provide exercises for the development of intonation perception in part three of the book.

    Chapter 2: Phonological Organization of Prosody: Theories of Intonation This chapter provides a detailed review of the literature on intonation theory. Included are discussions of contours, Bolinger's theory of pitch accent, phonemic and levels approaches, generative approaches and discourse intonation. She concludes the chapter with a synthesis of the theories that will form the framework for the discussions to follow in the rest of the monograph.

    Chapter 3: Meaning and Function of Intonation After presenting the various theories of intonation, Chun turns to the various functions of intonation. Introduced in this chapter and revisited throughout the book as the fundamental functions of intonation are the grammatical, attitudinal/emotional, discourse and sociolinguistic functions. Each is detailed according to its structure and according to the way in which it is perceived by the learner.

    Part II: Applied Linguistic Research: Intonation in L2

    Chapter 4: Research Agenda of the Past: Structuralism and the First Attempts to Teach Intonation Chapter four focuses on the history of pronunciation teaching, on both how it was taught and what the goals for such teaching were. Included is a discussion of the factors involved in L2 phonological acquisition, such as transfer from L1, critical age, and issues of perception and feedback. Aids designed to help students acquire correct intonation, such as language laboratories equipped with tape recorders that allow a student to compare their output with utterances taped by a native speaker, are addressed. Chun concurs with Leather (1983), who contends that exercises of that type require students to self-monitor, which is, ironically, the skill that the exercise is designed to develop, which can leave students feeling frustrated.

    Chapter 5: Research Agenda for the Present and Future: Communicative Proficiency and Discourse Intonation This chapter begins with a thorough review of current research in second language acquisition and applied linguistics. The fields of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) have been leading the way in the revival of pronunciation teaching, due in part to the more immediate needs of their learners as compared to learners of foreign languages. Chun then turns to a discussion of the various proficiency models and national proficiency guidelines, and examines the emphasis in the models on pronunciation and intonation. Such an emphasis is found to be quite lacking overall, but it is hoped that this important feature of second language acquisition will soon be better represented in the literature surrounding each model and in the guidelines. Finally, in this chapter, Chun outlines the potential uses of technology as an aid in the acquisition of intonation, citing studies that have found positive results from the use of software that includes graphic waveforms and frequency curves. Certain technological advances have the potential to gather data as they are used by the student, which is another advantage of their implementation.

    Part III: From Theory to Practice: Teaching Discourse Intonation

    Part III begins with a discussion of the teaching of intonation, including a look at the representation of intonation in teaching materials, the challenges inherent in teaching intonation and ideas about how to structure intonation teaching in the classroom. The focus of the book then turns from one of theory to one of practice.

    Chapter 6: Teaching Stress and Rhythm In chapters six and seven, Chun takes the theory presented in the first five chapters and applies it to classroom teaching, providing ideas for practical and concrete activities that the language teacher can implement directly into her syllabus. Chapter six begins with a definition of terms and ideas of how to incorporate listening and speaking practice. A progression of stress and rhythm exercises are provided that take the learner from intonation practice at the word level to the sentence level and on to the discourse level. The accompanying CD-ROM provides acoustic and graphic representations of the examples given in the chapter.

    Chapter 7: Teaching Discourse Intonation Chapter seven, like chapter six, has a pragmatic focus. Examples of exercises that focus the learner's attention on the four functions of discourse intonation -- grammatical, attitudinal/emotional, discourse, and sociolinguistic -- are provided, again with acoustic and graphical representations of the examples on the CD-ROM. In addition to the wealth of activities that is provided is a section on the adaptation of existing materials. Suggestions for adaptation are given for each of the four intonation functions. The chapter ends with ideas for the development of software to aid the teaching of intonation as well as calls for additional research.

    CRITICAL COMMENTARY

    This is a very impressive monograph for several reasons. First, it is a highly readable text. The challenging material is presented in a manner that is easy to digest, and concepts are clarified with good examples. The readability of this text has both pros and cons; the excellent transitions from section to section and from chapter to chapter may seem to the reader who is reading straight through to be redundant. However, for the researcher who chooses to use the book in chunks, it can be seen as an advantage. By repeating important concepts in the various chapters, Chun leaves the monograph open to be used either in its entirety or sectioned off in somewhat independent chapters.

    The book is very thorough, covering the topic of intonation from a variety of disciplines. Chun synthesizes the literature well, and the reader is left with a comprehensive idea of the state of the field.

    The monograph follows a logical progression from theory to practice. Ideas presented in the first two parts of the book are not forgotten, but woven into the practical application section of the text. It is clear not only that theory is the basis for the proposed exercises, but also how that theory is used as the driving force for each exercise.

    The book is well written for its intended audience. While some prior knowledge of the basics of language learning and teaching is assumed, no detailed knowledge of phonology or intonation studies is necessary to begin this book. The practical application of theory and the clear transition from theory to practice is appropriate. The CD-ROM is a nice bonus, as it provides examples of how the software that Chun advocates looks and sounds.

    The only thing that I feel would improve this monograph is a more detailed description of what is represented by each of the computer images, i.e., what properties are contained in the waveforms as opposed to the fundamental frequency curves, and what information can be gleaned from each.

    BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

    Lisa DeWaard Dykstra is a Ph.D. student in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Iowa. Her research interests are the acquisition of spoken and written pragmatic competence in advanced learners of Russian, and Spanish and Russian language pedagogy at the post- secondary level.