Friday, April 14, 2000

A Professor Goes Online to Teach English Pronunciation By SARAH CARR Steven Donahue says it's possible to teach pronunciation online in English as a Second Language programs. In fact, he says, it's better to teach pronunciation online than face-to-face. Mr. Donahue, a professor at Broward Community College in Florida, reached his conclusion after conducting an experiment: He taught half the sessions of his E.S.L. course online this semester, and the other half in person. He also uses the Internet to tutor E.S.L. students who are living in Uruguay. While online, Mr. Donahue asks his students to record themselves pronouncing a series of words and to send him the audio files as e-mail attachments. He then uses a special piece of equipment to graph the frequencies and pitches of the students' speech, which helps him analyze their pronunciation. He says it's possible, for instance, to detect whether or not a student is mispronouncing the "s" sound by studying the graphs. "Just looking at someone's mouth doesn't give you enough information about their pronunciation," says Mr. Donahue. "Only by being online and using sophisticated software is it possible to really analyze it." Moreover, Mr. Donahue says he can use his time and his students' time more efficiently when he incorporates the Internet into his teaching. "If I am in a classroom working with one student individually, then 29 students have to sit there waiting," he says. Eventually Mr. Donahue plans to put his entire course online: Currently the students still meet for some in-person sessions to take part in group activities designed to improve their pronunciation. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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