The use of a blog to foster sound pronunciation skills and reflection upon suprasegmental features

Abstract

The following paper will report on the 2010-2011 implementation of a blog in English Phonetics and Phonology I (P&PI) at Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Section one of the presentation comprises a theoretical discussion about the construction of knowledge and university education, the development of technology and its impact on education, blogging and EFL instruction, and the rationale behind blogging in P&PI. Section two describes the two-year blogging experience, including reference to the major aspects of the blog (both its appearance and contents), presents details about a survey on students´ evaluation of the tool at the end of 2010, and discusses implications, future applications and main conclusions. The primary aim of this course is the teaching of English suprasegmental features. However, unlike other similar courses, P&PI is not exclusively concerned with the acquisition of English pronunciation skills but also with gaining a deep understanding of phonetic and phonological processes in oral communication. As stated in the course´s syllabus, one of the primary aims of P&PI is helping learners develop the theoretical and methodological knowledge necessary for their professional careers as English language specialists. Therefore, a blog, with its inherent dialogical nature in a supportive learning environment, was considered a novel technological resource appropriate not only for developing pronunciation habits but also for reflecting on high-level pronunciation phenomena.