Interaction in action: The perception of English phonetic segments

Authors

  • Marden Oliveira Silva Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte
  • Vicente Aguimar Parreiras Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte
  • Adriana Silvia Marusso Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Mariana

Keywords:

input, interaction, pronunciation, new technologies.

Abstract

This paper aims at verifying the influence of different types of interaction (student/video, student/text, student/teacher and student/student) on the perception of the English vowel contrasts [æ, ɛ] and [i, ɪ] by beginner Brazilian English learners. Those types are adapted from Ellis’s (1999) assumptions concerning interpersonal, intrapersonal and subject/content types of interaction. Pre and post tests are used in order to verify the effects of the four types of interaction, which indicate that student/video interaction seems to influence more positively the perception tests. Other results concerning the role of teachers and the relevance of new technologies integrated with pronunciation teaching and learning are also discussed.

Author Biographies

Marden Oliveira Silva, Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte

Marden Oliveira SILVA holds an undergraduate degree in Languages (English) from Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP) and a Master’s Language Studies degree from Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica (CEFET-MG). His studies have focused on English teaching and learning mediated by new technologies and the interactions involved. At present he has been teaching secondary technical students at CEFET-MG.

Vicente Aguimar Parreiras, Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte

Vicente Aguimar PARREIRAS holds an undergraduate degree in Languages (Portuguese/English) from FAFI/UNI-BH, a graduate specialization in English from PUC-MG, a Master’s degree in Linguistic Studies and a Doctoral degree in Applied Linguistics, both from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). At present he has been teaching secondary technical students as well as undergraduate and Master’s students at CEFET-MG.

Adriana Silvia Marusso, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Mariana

Adriana Silvia MARUSSO holds a Master’s and a Doctoral degree in Linguistic Studies, both from UFMG. At present, she has started her post-doctoral studies at UFMG and is an associate professor at Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP). She has experience in the area of linguistics, with emphasis on phonetics and phonology, and she is interested in the following research topics: sound aspects of the Brazilian Portuguese, English and Spanish languages, acoustic analysis and foreign language teaching, as well as teaching pronunciation aspects.

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Issue

Vol. 35 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Papers

License

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