Abstract:
Purpose of the Study:
The purpose of this exploratory study is to find an accepted
methodology for teaching second-language suprasegrnentals by investigating
the question of whether or not the use of contrastive analysis
is superior to another method that does not use contrastive analysis.
Specifically, the comparison of methods is made by teaching and then
evaluating English-speaking students performance in the use of
Spanish suprasegmentals: rhythm, stress, patterns and terminal
juncture.
Procedures:
A pre/post-test based on perceptual analysis was designed and
administered to two groups of subjects, all second-year Spanish
students at the university level. Between the pre- and post-tests,
the students received four twenty-minute periods of instruction in
the use of Spanish suprasegmentals. Both groups were taught similarly
but one group was taught with a contrastive analysis approach while
the other was not. Tapes of student performance were evaluated by a
perceptual analysis on the part of the instructor-researcher.
Results of the pre/post-tests in the two groups were analyzed
for significant differences in performance by means of analysis of
covariance. The F-value decision as to significance was made at the
.05 level.
Findings of the Study:
No significant differences in suprasegmental performance were
found between the two groups.
Implication:
These findings, as revealed by the test designed for this study,
suggest that the use of a contrastive analysis methodology in suprasegmental
teaching was not superior to a methodology that did not use
contrastive analysis.
Recommendations:
Further research could be done in the areas of the value of
contrastive analysis between English and an Indo-European language
other than Spanish, of the value of such analysis compared to another
methodology and the reasons for the variations between the scores of
rhythm and terminal juncture. The study could be replicated in
classes where the instructor was the principal teacher. This would
allow less condensed instruction in a more natural setting, more
application to the context of the lessons and less emphasis on perfect
attendance. Consideration should be given to the possibility of more
than one test evaluator.
