Using Hypertexts / Hypermedia in the Teaching of Phonetics and Phonology

This paper, which aims at introducing some options for the use of hypertexts/hypermedia in the teaching of phonetics and phonology, is based on the authors’ experience in designing and authoring software applications for Italian students of General Linguistics in faculties where foreign languages are the main specialisation area (Faculty of Modern Languages; Faculty of Interpreting and Translation). It illustrates a hypermedia programme which deals with general phonetic theory, mainly in articulatory terms, and presents a description of the sound systems of four European languages (English, French, German, Italian) based on the recognised pronunciation standard for each of them. For each point, also auditory reference and exemplification are offered; in this way, the acquisition of theoretical notions is brought into relation to the students’ experience in language learning. A similar application specifically aimed at the teaching of English phonetics is under development, being still at an experimental stage. 1. Hypertexts, hypermedia and the teaching of phonetics In this paper we shall illustrate the main characteristics of a hypermedia programme on phonetics/phonology that we have designed and authored. Special attention will be devoted to the theoretical assumptions underlying the project. 1.1 Hypertexts/hypermedia: a paedagogic view In consideration of the conceptual complexity of the subject to be dealt with and on the basis of our previous experience, the hypertextual medium seemed to be the most suitable instrument. A hypertext is a kind of software application based on a concept introduced in the 1960s by Theodor Nelson [1] to describe “nonsequential forms of writing”, i.e. mutually connected passages of text that can be read in a non linear way, moving along lines of cross-reference and associations thanks to hyperlinks that connect different parts of the hypertext sections of text or even words, explanatory notes, reference material, images, exercises, all organised in the so-called knots. The knots are nothing but self-contained units (corresponding to the text and images that can be fitted into a monitor screen) into which the cognitive material is broken down; the hyperlinks organise them in a semantic and logic network, reflecting the actual relationships between the facts and concepts that are “packed” in each unit [2]. Many psychocognitive and paedagogical studies suggest that this is an ideal environment to enhance learning: actually the hypertext has been described as “a computer based medium for thinking and communication”[3]. After all, since the heyday of Computer Assisted Instruction, one of the main objectives in the field has been to produce courseware that may follow strictly, or even imitate, the working modes of the human mind [4], being modelled on the processes of cognitive representation. More recent theoretical models have sought inspiration in the ways in which knowledge is constructed socially by means of interaction between individuals [5]. On the other hand, information technology offers options for the recording and reproduction of sounds which are usually exploited in applications specifically produced for foreign language learning, for instance enabling the student to listen to oral texts or watch videos that are used as a basis for a computer-aided language lesson. When designing our phonetics courseware we realised that a combination of these two different uses of the computer medium, which is usually referred to as hypermedia, was an ideal instrument for our purposes, enabling us to provide auditory examples, in the form of sound clips, for each single sound or phonetic fact being introduced and illustrated. Actually, it is a combination that somehow reflects the double relevance that phonetics has in the curriculum of students majoring in modern languages: it is of crucial importance in courses of linguistics or glottology or philology, where a thorough knowledge of its basic theoretical concepts is an essential pre-requisite for the introduction of fundamental categories and notions, while in any Language course, whether concerning the students’ mother tongue or a foreign language, it provides a useful cognitive basis to promote their awareness of the rules governing pronunciation. 2. Phonetics and phonology in secondary education In the light of these considerations, the production of material to help students familiarise with the most important categories and concepts of phonetics seems all the more useful since in most cases in Italian universities one cannot rely on any knowledge acquired by students previously. In our schools linguistic theory is hardly given any attention at all, if not in the form of traditional grammatical description and analysis, and phonetics and ! ” # $ # % &'(&)# &*** ISCA Archive