Recent research has shown that “high-achieving, accented, intelligible, comprehensible ESL speakers may prove to be excellent pronunciation models for L2 learners.” (Murphy, 2011). The project described here is an application of this research. An L2 speaker of English (L1 Chinese) used a video on Ted.com by Yang Lan (2011), also known as the “Oprah of China,” a highly intelligible speaker of English, to “mirror” (serve as her model) in order to acquire a more “listener friendly” English pronunciation (Kjellin, 2012) for teaching accounting in a U.S. university setting.

During this presentation, participants were taken through a step-by step process on how to guide their students in

1. identifying major aspects of pronunciation interfering with comprehensibility,
2. choosing and analyzing an appropriate NNS model to mirror, and
3. assessing improvement in performance of the project from their “cold” (initial) version to their “final” version.

During the first step of the process, participants viewed a micro-teaching presentation by “Mary,” an international Teaching Assistant (TA) from China. Participants analyzed her strengths and weaknesses in terms of language, identifying two major areas of weakness: lack of focal stress and pitch patterns to highlight important information and use of static nonverbal communication (e.g., little use of space, gestures, and facial expressions). Mary’s segmentals, or pronunciation of individual sounds, on the other hand, were quite good.

In part two, participants were told that Mary had chosen part of a Ted.com talk by Yang Lan as her pronunciation model. They were asked to analyze why Mary may have selected this speaker. This crucial step is important for two reasons: 1) Students need to search for a role model with whom they feel comfortable; and 2) they need to find a comprehensible and intelligible L2 model who is well-suited to the pronunciation feature(s) that they specifically need (e.g., rhythm or intonation). Participants focused on several areas in which Yang Lan was highly proficient and that made her an excellent model: Even though Ms. Lan still has a bit of an accent, her clear thought groups, stress, and intonation patterns make her message easy to follow. In addition, her nonverbal communication (smile, gestures, use of space) convey confidence and rapport, which are aspects Mary was sorely lacking in as she prepared to teach accounting to undergraduate students at a U.S. university.

There are a few other tips to help students select a suitable role model. First, encourage them to find a segment that is very short (e.g., around 7–10 consecutive sentences). Students often want to mirror larger segments, but because the goal is imitation, this shorter length is not only doable but also long enough to give the segment meaning. Furthermore, a segment from a film, speech, or other YouTube video with strong emotion or an important message works well. Yang Lan, for instance, is humorous, charismatic, and persuasive—all in the span of 1 minute and 18 seconds! Finally, the chosen video should be similar to the speaking environment that the student is preparing for in terms of audience and level of formality. Yang Lan was an excellent choice for Mary because she was doing public speaking in a somewhat interactive style, similar to what Mary would be doing when teaching accounting to U.S. undergraduates.

In the third part, TESOL participants walked through the Mirroring Project from beginning to end, viewing Mary’s “cold version,” as well as the final version of the project to assess her improvement. Most agreed that she had done an excellent job on the project, clearly mirroring the areas that she had identified as being weakest early on in the project. Time was set aside for conference participants to discuss ways in which they could use or adapt the project to their own teaching environments. The materials used during the session, including a list of possible NNS models from a variety of L1 backgrounds, and the videos viewed are available online at the following websites:

Appendix A: Final Project: Mirroring an Intelligible English Speaker

Appendix B: Nonnative English Speaking Models: TV Programs, Movies, and Speeches

Mary Micro-Teaching #1

Mary: “cold” version of Mirroring Project

Mary: “final” version of Mirroring Project

References

Kjellin, O. (2012). Welcome to Olle Kjellin, the Swedish speech doctor's web page! Retrieved from http://olle-kjellin.com/SpeechDoctor/

Lan, Y. (2011). Yang Lan: The generation that’s remaking China. Ted Talks. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/yang_lan.html

Murphy, J. (2011). Models for pronunciation instruction: High-achieving, accented, intelligible comprehensible ESL speakers. 2011 TESOL Annual Convention, SPLIS Academic Session, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Colleen M. Meyers is a coauthor of two of the most widely-used textbooks in the field of ITA education: Communicate: Strategies for International Teaching Assistants, and English Communication for International Teaching Assistants. A frequent presenter at TESOL, Professor Meyers was awarded a Senior Fulbright Scholarship to give pronunciation teacher-training at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey in 2007.