Essay On Segmental Features

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Segmental features are the individual sound units such as vowels and consonants which also correspond to phonemes or allophones (Celce-Murcia et al., 1996). Learners of a language may have difficulties with learning these features due to the difference between their mother language and the one they are trying to learn. In some cases, specific segmental features may be completely absent in the mother tongue of the learners. In either situation, acquisition of these segmental features may be challenging for learners. There is a considerable amount of research conducted on this issue in reference to Turkish (Bekleyen, 2011; Demirezen, 2005). Much of this
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14 research is based upon behaviorist language learning theory. For example, as a solution for such pronunciation learning-teaching problems, Demirezen (2003) suggests the audioarticulation method that he developed in parallel with the theories of imitation and reinforcement – two concepts deeply embedded in the behavioristic approach. A main maxim of the behavioristic approach is habit formation through imitation and reinforcement (Lightbown & Spada, 2006). Additionally, according to the rehearsal theory developed by Craik and Larkhard (1972), memorized-like repetitions are not exactly the same thing as memorization. Therefore, Demirezen (2003) claims that the learned sounds are not temporary since they are not memorized information but formed habits. Another suggestion made by Scarcella and Oxford (1994) is to compare the sounds that are targeted to be learned with the ones which exist in the …show more content…

One important question is whether pronunciation instruction in a formal setting is effective at improving language learners’ pronunciation skills. Studies that addressed this question have suggested that there is a strong positive correlation between instruction and pronunciation skill (Couper, 2011; Derwing & Munro 1997; Elliot 1995b; Fraser, 2000; Lord 2008;

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