CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS IN TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

Abstract

The objective of the work is the application of contrastive approach in teaching English to analyse the pros and cons of the contrastive method in teaching foreign language pronunciation to young learners compared to non-contrastive (monolingual) method used at our Slovak primary schools. This article determines the dominant influence of the learner’s mother tongue/native language (L1) in the process of learning/teaching pronunciation foreign/second language (L2) and by using contrastive approach tries to enhance positive transfer from the L1 and the reduction of possible negative transfer from L1 to L2 using appropriate teaching techniques and effective tools. The study will be carried out on English language non-native teachers working at a public and private Slovak primary school to find out their needs in the field of teaching pronunciation (questionnaires) and will be focused on quasi-experimental pupils’ group trained separately with and without contrastive approach before recording them and analysing the results. The experimental group will be trained in cognitive contrastive approach concerning segmental, suprasegmental and prosodic phonetics systems comparing Slovak and English languages sound systems. The control group will be trained by using imitative-intuitive ways with the same texts in reading and free speaking topics as the first group. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques will be used in the study and the triangulation of research methods will be finished by contend analyses of mainly used English textbooks which are mail regular sources for learning/teaching pronunciation.
 The most important will be the practical output for teachers and pupils in creating specially designed pronunciation concerned materials for meeting specific needs of our Slovak primary school level determining the influence and interference of Slovak mother tongue in learning/teaching pronunciation.