Corrective Feedback on Segmental Sounds

Women's Conversation Circle

I am currently running a conversation circle with Syrian women only, and I have noticed that all the participants have difficulties with aspiring the letter "P." Every time they intend to say "P," they say "B." Apparently, the "P" sound does not exist in their language, and that's the reason for such difficulty.  

To help them improve this sound, I have created the following warm-up activity.

At the beginning of the session, I show all the participants two flashcards. One with the letter "P" and the other one with the letter "B." I ask the participants to put the palm of their hand in front of their mouths. First,  I model and make the sound "B" which it is the sound that they are most familiar with. We all practice and I point out that the air released is soft. Then, I model and make the sound "P." I ask the class to feel and release the puff of air which it should be stronger than "B." 

Another great way to do this activity is by using mirrors. Each participant will put a mirror close to their mouth and say the"B" sound and the "P" sound. As soon as they start making these two sounds, they'll realize that while making the "P" sound,  a puff of air will bounce back from the mirror onto their faces.

After practicing the "B" and "P" sounds, I ask the participants to read the following script.

Please, pass the pepper.

Paula plays ping pong.

Put the paper in the pot.

Final Consonant Articulation: Adult ESL Pronunciation Activities for Pro...

Me

My name is Jenny Carmona and I was born and raised in El Salvador, a tiny country in Central America known by many Hispanics as the “Tom Thump” of the Americas. I come from a family of two brothers and a sister. My mom, a minimum wage secretary, who worked for the Salvadorean government for many years had been and still is, the only parent I have ever known. She managed with tremendous effort to give my brothers and me everything we needed; clothing, food, education, and a roof to live. Regardless of the misfortune of growing up with a single parent, I must say that my childhood and my teenage years were the best years of my life. My mother run between three jobs and her time was very limited at home. Despite this, she managed to raise us by teaching us the virtue of respect and gratitude. As life was getting very difficult for my mom to support us, not only financially, but also by living in a country that was bursting in a civil war, she desperately looked for solutions to keep us safe. That solution came when a friend told her how to migrate to Canada, and so we did. Canada became my new country about 26 years ago. I embraced everything that I could to make it my own. The language, the culture, the traditions, all were brand new to me. I feel very fortunate for the opportunity that my mom and this amazing country gave me. Now, that I have children of my own, I understand that it was the best decision that my mom made. After all, we as parent would do anything for our children to keep them safe and provide them with a better and promising future.