memoire final nkg

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.................................................3

FIRST PART: THE OBJECT OF THE RESEARCH....................4

Chapter 1: Presentation of the subject.........................6

1.1 The origin of the choice of the topic......................6

1.2. Justification of the topic.............................6

Chapter 2: The objectives, the research question of the topic and

the hypothesis..............................................8

2.1. The objective of the topic..............................8

2.2 The research question...................................8

2.3. The hypothesis........................................9

SECOND PART: DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPTS AND THE

METHODOLOGICAL PROCESS................................10

Chapter 1: Definition of the concepts.........................12

1.1. Teaching.............................................12

1.2 Learning..............................................12

1.3 The mother tongue......................................13

1.4 French as a foreign language............................13

1.5 French as second language..............................14

1.6 Phonetics.............................................15

1.7 Pronunciation.........................................16

1.8 Phonology.............................................16

Chapter 2: Methodology process..............................17

2.1. The site of the research...............................17

1

2.1.1 Historical review of the CUEF.......................17

2.1.1.1. The organization of the CUEF.....................17

2.1.1.2 The profile of the CUEF students...................18

2.2. The research techniques...............................19

2.2.1. The document analysis.............................20

2.2.1.1. The contents of the phonetic course at the CUEF.....20

2.2.1.2. The content of the students' text book Alter ego ...25

2.2.1.3. The investigated people.........................33

2.2.2. The direct interviews with the students and teachers. 33

2.2.3. The class observation.............................33

THIRD PART: DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS......35

Chapter1: The description of the program of the CUEF and the

students’ manuals in use....................................37

1. 1. The description of the CUEF program....................37

1.1.1 Description of the schedule.........................37

1.1.2. Description of the content of the students’ manual...38

Chapter 2: The description of the answers of the interviews.....40

2.1. The description of the students’ answers during the

interviews...............................................40

2.2. The description of the teachers’ answers during the

interviews...............................................43

3. The description of the class observation...................45

CONCLUSION..................................................64

2

INTRODUCTION

French as well as many international languages is taught

almost all around the world. The teaching of French is nowadays

being developed. More people are being attracted by it. Some learn

French simply because they want to visit Paris, others because it

is the language of many international institutions. The most

impressive is when people consider it to be a romantic language

whereas another group finds it necessary because of its status of

official language of many countries in the world and some by simple

curiosity. This learning of French can concern native speakers,

those who speak it as first language as well as non native

speakers, those who speak it as a second language and as a foreign

language.

The teaching of a language generally implies the learning

of syntax, vocabulary and semantics in fact all the basic and

fundamental elements of this language. But phonetics that deals

with the pronunciation, through which the knowledge of the

language is proved, is very often neglected for the other parts.

As far as the teaching of

French as a foreign language is concerned, phonetics plays

undoubtedly a very important role because it is not the first

language of the learners. So there are frequent problems of

pronunciation or mispronunciation. This is what we observed with

the Anglophone students at the CUEF, a school specialized in

French teaching as a foreign language. During that observation we

noticed several problems that all the Anglophone students were

facing. These difficulties being phonetic in general, we asked the

3

following questions: What are the nature and the origin of these

phonetic difficulties? What’s the part of phonetics in the

teaching of French as a foreign language? To answer these

questions let us take into account the following facts: The

students are from multilingual African countries before having

English as their official language. This leads to at least two or

more different types of language interferences. Their learning

context takes place in an environment where French is spoken as a

second language with various pronunciation and accents. Most of

the students have no knowledge of phonetics. The first part of our

work will be dealing with the presentation and origin of the study

of the subject. The second will be treating the definition of

concepts and the methodology process. And the third part will be

the description and analysis of the results.

4

FIRST PART: THE OBJECT OF THE RESEARCH

5

In this part we will first give the origin of the subject and then

justify the choice of the subject including the different

hypothesis of the study.

Chapter 1: Presentation of the subject

In this chapter we give the origin of our topic and its

justification.

1.1 The origin of the choice of the topic6

Students at university face diversity because of the universe of

the institution. That institution involves many faculties and

training institutes. Among those institutions, we have the CUEF. The

CUEF is not far from our amphitheatre seven. It is one of the schools

of the UFR Langues Litteratures et Civilisations of the Felix

Houphouet Boigny University located in Abidjan/Cocody. Whenever we

have class, our habit is to speak with foreign students coming to

learn French. Most of the students from the CUEF speak English. It is

an opportunity for us to practice our English and speak French with

them in order to make them practice their French as well. We taught

them French and in return they helped us improve our English. In our

interaction with them we realized that they had many pronunciation

difficulties and language interferences. So we decided to go,

observe and understand the manifestations of these linguistic

facts. During our interaction, those foreign students use different

registers. The speaking of French language is not easy for our

friends, sometimes; they use English words to complete their

communication in order to make themselves understandable.

1.2. Justification of the topic

Since several decades we noticed the arrival of many

foreigners of various nationalities from all around the world in

Côte d’Ivoire, above all, those from the neighboring countries,

the Anglophones to learn French because of the importance of this

language on the continent. Thus the teaching of French as a foreign

language becomes more and more a necessity at the CUEF. Whenever a

language is taught it is taught with all its aspects including

phonetics. The way we speak conveys something about ourselves to

7

the people around us. Learners with a good pronunciation in a

language are more likely to be understood even if they make errors

in other areas, whereas learners whose pronunciation is difficult

to understand will not be understood, even if their grammar is

perfect. The weakness observed in the teaching of languages due to

the choice of limiting the learning to linguistics, the code, the

grammar and the vocabulary has long faded the language acquisition

system. The teacher was focusing on these aspects letting out one

of the core of the system that is phonetics. So learning a foreign

language is not an easy task. It needs efforts, courage, and more

attention. For this language teaching choice, to be able to

communicate in a language you just need to learn it and master the

functioning. This led us to conduct our research on this specific

domain that is the place of phonetics in the teaching of French as a

foreign language.

8

Chapter 2: The objectives, the research question of the topic and

the hypothesis

Here we present the objectives, the research question of the topic

and the hypothesis.

2.1. The objective of the topic

The aim of this research is to show that the place of

phonetics is so important in language teaching that the CUEF

should give it much more attention in its program. We want to prove

that phonetics is the core of language teaching, make of it a

special interest in language teaching for it is a vast domain often

neglected by teachers and language learners. Another attempt is to

show and explain the different aspects of phonetics that makes it

uncompassable in language teaching. We generally speak in order to

9

be heard, in order to be understood by others. If it follows

therefore that the others do not understand what we say, then it is

better for us no to say it at all.

2.2 The research question

The teaching of French as a foreign language leads to several

issues among which we have the role of phonetics. The purpose of

the research is to explain the role of phonetics in language

teaching in general and in the teaching of French as foreign

language to English speaking students in particular. From its

creation till now the CUEF did not stop trying to bring about

concrete solutions for the learners of French as a foreign

language. In fact the learners as well as the teachers are from

different sociolinguistic environments. They live in a context

where a variety of French is spoken with diverse pronunciations.

What can then be the role of phonetics in the teaching of French

as a foreign language? What will be the pragmatic position of

phonetics in French teaching to make foreigners more efficient in

their communication? Which result are we expecting?

Can the learners achieve the level of pronunciation needed for a

fluent and normal communication? Are the different objectives

formulated reached? Why is phonetics important in language

teaching? What does phonetics encompass? How does the teaching of

phonetics facilitate language learning?

10

2.3. The hypothesis

To answer to these questions that will lead our research let

us begin with the following hypothesis:

1. The Phonetics of the French language is different from other

language; especially the English language. Students learning

French as a second language are affected by their local language

factors, such as morphology, syntax, phonetics and the

environment where they spend more time, the place where they live.

2. The pronunciation of the

students depends on how their learning process of French is done.

3.

They do not spend enough time in the practical aspect of the French

language as far as phonetic is concerned.

4. The teaching of phonetics is

limited to two hours a week whereas the need is manifested by the

students.

11

SECOND PART: DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPTS AND THE

METHODOLOGICAL PROCESS

12

In this part we will present our work by first defining the

different concepts related to it then the methodological process

we used to do the research.

14

Chapter 1: Definition of the concepts

We define in this chapter the following concepts: teaching,

learning, the mother tongue, French as a foreign language, French

as a second language, phonetics, pronunciation and phonology.

1.1. Teaching

According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary , 20061 it has two

principle meanings: 1. to impart knowledge to or instruct

someone in how to do something, especially in a school or as part of

a recognized program. 2. To

advocate as a practice or principle.

For the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 19742

it means to give instruction to somebody or cause somebody to know.

Throughout these definitions we

understand that teaching is a transfer of knowledge from a person

to another one. In this process we have the movement of the know-

how towards a precise objective in need: the learner.

1.2 Learning

It is ``a conscious process of accumulating knowledge of the

vocabulary and grammar of a language``. George Yule 19963.

In a like manner The Oxford

Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 19744 states that it is the1 Concise Oxford English Dictionary the eleventh edition revised 2006, P. 14772 The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Of Current English The Third

Edition, 1974, P. 9033 GEORGE YULE The study of language, 1996, P. 1914 The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Of Current English The Third

Edition, 1974, P. 487

15

wide knowledge gained by careful study. In both

definitions we keep in mind that the will and the conscience enter

into play, hence the complete implication of the subject in the

process.

1.3 The mother tongue

There are many thoughts about the definition of the very

ambiguous concept mother tongue. The most common are:

``A person’s native language`` for Catherine Soanes, 20065 . The

mother tongue is ``the language acquired naturally`` Locke

J.16936 Besse H,19877., in a

better way says: the mother tongue is ``the language acquired in

ones early age through a simple interaction with the mother and

deeply speaking with the familial environment, a language

supposed to be better mastered than any other learned before``.

The

diversity of social practices allows calling mother tongue the

language of the mother, the father and the family, Say CUQ and

GRUCA, 20028. Moreover, according to Rafoni, J. C,

2007 9 it is the referential language that is to say the linguistic

5 Catherine Soanes, Angus Stevenson Concised Oxford English Dictionary 11th ed. 2006, P. 931

6 John Locke, some thoughts concerning education, 1693, P. 757 Besse H., Mother tongue, second language and foreign language . 1987, P. 9-15.8

CUQ and GRUCA A course of didactic of French as foreign and second language 2002, P. 92

9 RAFONI, J. C. Learn to read in French as second language, (2007). http://www.google.ci/books?isbn=2296038867.

16

http://www.google.ci/books?isbn=2296038867

system the subject will first refer to when acquiring new

competences in foreign language.

From all these definitions we understand

clearly that the mother tongue is an ambiguous concept on which

definition all the linguists do not agree. It can be defined as the

language of the immediate parental environment. All in all we can

keep in mind Besse and Rafoni’s definitions which seem more

suitable. The calling ``first language`` is most appropriate one.

1.4 French as a foreign language

It is the French that is given to the learner as a language that

is neither his mother tongue nor his second language and that has

no official status in the country. Chartrand and Paret, 19958 . The

French as a foreign language is the language taught in classroom

but is not spoken by the close community and that does not have any

official role in the country. This definition is limited and is

only applied to students who learn French in classroom and in their

country which does not have French for official language. That is

obviously the case with the French learning English in Ghana or the

Ghanaians learning French in Ghana. This is then not the case with

our concerned students. In Côte d’Ivoire for instance the learners

from the English speaking countries learn French in classroom but

are in a French speaking country where the close community speaks

this language as an official one. But French remain a foreign

language for the students who left their country to come and learn

it here. It is not their official language. According to Dabene,

199410 to define the expression we must first clarify the word

10 Dabene L., sociolinguistic mark for language teaching, 1994, P. 28

17

``foreign``. For him`` a language is not intrinsically foreign

language, but it is foreign for the subject that is learning for

there is no special French for foreigners. In that the equivalent

expression ``English for speakers`` of other languages is

probably less ambiguous``. For

Verdelhan, 199711 the adjective ``foreign`` must be interpreted

according to two points of view: according to the subject and

according to the country. For the subject the language is a foreign

language because it is stranger to his parental environment that

distinguishes it from the mother tongue. For the country it is a

foreign language because it has no official status.

Finally we think that the

expression ``foreign language`` shed light on the fact that those

who learn the language don’t have it either for mother tongue nor

for second language and it has no official status in the country

1.5 French as second language

Rafoni, J. C, 200712 defines it in three ways: the first is`` a

language is second when it is chronologically acquired just after

the first``. The second way is that it is the language which use

has a particular status or function``. The interest of this way

according to him is to underline the social function of the second

language that is used after or next to the mother tongue as a second

means of communication. In the third he says the second langue is a

language learned at school (which is not the case of the mother

tongue) and a teaching language (that is not the case of other

11 Verdelhan Michel, the new without borders, 1997, P. 14

12 RafonI, J. C. Learn to read in French as second language, (2007), P. 17

18

foreign languages). This definition corresponds exactly to the

French language in many African countries formerly French

colonies. After the independence of these colonies the French

language continued to play an important role and influence upon

the people despite the presence of African languages said Defays,

200313.

In a like manner Ayewa, 200914 says that according that it has been

colonized by the French, English, and Portuguese or Arabic, every

African people will have as second and official language that is

the teaching language from primary school to university the

language of its old colonizer: French, English, Portuguese or

Arabic. In Côte d’Ivoire French is very often learned after the

mother tongues in the country. It is the official language the

teaching language it is then a second language. It can be defined

as a foreign language with an official status in a country.

1.6 Phonetics

Phonetics is ``the scientific study of speech. Its central

concerns are the discovery of how speech sounds are produced, how

they are used in spoken language, how we can record speech sounds

with written symbols and how we hear and recognize different

sounds``. By the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 200415

It is ``the general study of the

characteristics of speech sounds``. George Yule, 199616 Alan

13 Defays J-M. The French as foreign and second language : teaching and learning . 2003, P. 3114 Ayewa K. N. The linguistic Wright and the development in Africa , 2009, P. 3

15 Peter Roach, James Hartman & Jane Setter Daniel Jones Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 2004, P. 410

16 George Yule The study of language, 1996, P. 41

19

Cruttenden, 200817 says that the phonetics of a language ``concerns

the concrete characteristics (articulatory, acoustics,

auditory) of the sounds used in languages``. It informs

morphology, particularly inflexions, it informs syntax, it

informs pragmatics and it plays a leading part in analyses in

sociolinguistics.

Mike Davenport and S. J. Hannahs, 201018 admit that Phonetics

deals with speech sounds themselves, how they are made

(articulatory phonetics), how they are perceived (auditory

phonetics) and the physics involved (acoustics phonetics)

We can then keep in mind that phonetics is the study of sounds

used to formulate a language. In that we distinguish several kinds

of phonetics namely: articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics

and acoustics phonetics. There is no doubt that phonetics is a

science which study is very important in language leaning.

1.7 Pronunciation

According to the Adult Migrant English Program Research

Centre, 2002 19 ``Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds

that we use to make meaning. It includes attention to the

particular sounds of a language (segments),aspects of speech

beyond the level of the individual sound, such as intonation,

phrasing, stress, timing, rhythm (suprasegmental aspects), how

17 Alan Cruttenden Gimson’s pronunciation of English , 2008, P. 3

18 Mike Davenport and S. J. Hannahs, Introducing phonetics and phonology, third edition. 2010, P. 2

19 Adult Migrant English Program Research Centre, Pronunciation, October 2002 – P.1

20

the voice is projected (voice quality)and, in its broadest

definition, attention to gestures and expressions that are

closely related to the way we speak a language``.

1.8 Phonology

Phonology is ``essentially the description of the systems and

patterns of speech sounds in a language. It is, in effect, based on

a theory of what every speaker of a language unconsciously knows

about the sound patterns of that language. Because of this

theoretical status, phonology is concerned with the abstract or

mental aspect of the sounds in language rather than with the actual

physical articulation of speech sound type, that serves as the

constant basis of all the variations in different physical

articulation of that sound type in different contexts.`` from

George Yule, 199620

It is ``the study of the sound system in languages``. From The

Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 200421

For Alan Cruttenden22 it ``concerns how sounds function in a

systemic way in a particular language``.

20 GEORGE YULE The study of language, 1996, P. 54

21 PETER ROACH, JAMES HARTMAN & JANE SETTER DANIEL JONES Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 2004, P. 410

22 ALAN CRUTTENDEN GIMSON’S pronunciation of English, 2008, P.3

21

Chapter 2: Methodology process

This chapter of our study presents the organization of our

research, the methods of analysis, the site of the research, the

research techniques and the investigated people.

2.1. The site of the research

Our research was led at the CUEF or UCFS; University Center of

French Studies. It is one of the schools of the UFR Langues

Litteratures et Civilisations of the Felix Houphouet Boigny

University located in Abidjan/Cocody. Let us recall that Cocody is

a residential district where you can find many private and public

schools and the people living there are from a high social rank,

with a high living standard, they are the people of the upper

class. We have moreover the presence of most of the embassies

there.

2.1.1 Historical review of the CUEF

The CUEF or UCFS, University Center of French Studies is one

of the schools of the UFR Langues Litteratures et Civilisations of

the Felix Houphouet Boigny University located in Abidjan/Cocody.

It was created in 1972 as CEFEE (Centre D’études Françaises Pour

Etudiants Etrangers) and was renamed CUEF in 1979. This is a school

specialized in the teaching of French as a foreign language.

2.1.1.1. The organization of the CUEF

22

It is composed of 7 programs that are called, P1, P2, P3, P4,

P5, P6, P7, made up with 4 sessions of 6 weeks, but we will be

dealing with the first program which is our concern. It is made up

with 12 teachers. Four among them have their Doctoral

Dissertation and the others have at least their Master Thesis with

other training diplomas. In the P1 program we have 6 classes, but

for this academic year we had 5 classes, D1, D2, M1, M2, and A1

because the level A2 does not exist. The level D1 the beginners, it

is the first level. It is those who have just come with their

university level, having a rough knowledge of French. The level D2

it is the false beginners the second level of the beginners. The

level M1 Intermediate 1, it is those who have acquired an

intermediate level in French. The level M2 it is the second level

of the intermediate students. The level A1 it is the advanced

level. The level A2 it is the second group of the advanced level.

These different classes are grouped into 3 levels :

Level 1 : D1, D2, the taught courses

are : Listening Comprehension and Oral Expression, Audiovisual,

Writing, Grammar, and Phonetics. All these represent 25 hours of

courses per week. The students receive at the end a diploma called

D.U.F.P. (Diplôme Universitaire de Français Parlé), they are then

ready to begin the second level.

Level 2: M1, M2 the taught courses are : Listening

Comprehension and Oral Expression, Audiovisual, Writing,

Grammar, Phonetics, African Civilization and French

civilization. The courses represent here 25 hours per week. And

when they succeed they receive a diploma called D.P.L.F. (Diplôme

Pratique de Langue Française).

23

Level 3: A1, A2 here the students study Writing, Listening

Comprehension and Oral Expression, Phonetics, Grammar, French

Literature, African Literature, Translation, French

Civilization, African Civilization. The courses represent here

23 hours and 30mn per week, and when they succeed they receive a

diploma called D.E.F (Diplôme D’étude Française).

2.1.1.2 The profile of the CUEF students

The school welcomes several nationalities each year, but for

this academic year there are 14 nationalities, Nigerians,

Ghanaians, Liberians, Indians, Americans, Russians, Ivoirians,

Mauritanian, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, Bissau Guineans, and

Italians. For this 4th session we count 71 enrolled students, but 33

were regular among these we had 20 Anglophones. By this figure we

notice that the English speaking students are numerous than the

other nationalities that is why we focused our subject on them. The

CUEF used several teaching methods, but the presently used method

since the academic year 2012 – 2013 is Alter Ego 1 and 2. The

academic year divided into 4 sessions of six weeks, begins

normally on October to end on June. A student registers at the CUEF

with at least a qualifying for university entrance (BAC) or an

equivalent diploma.

24

Figures of the nationalities during the 4th session

Nationalitie s

Registered Presents Interviewed

Nigerians 16 13 13 Ghanaians 03 02 02 Liberians 02 01 01

Indian 02 01 01 Americans 01 01 01

Russian 01 01 01Anglophones 25 19 19

Chinese 16 03 Koreans 04 02

Japanese 01 00 Italians 04 03

Turkish 10 01 Mauritanians 06 01

Bissau Guineans

03 02

Ivoirians 02 01 Non

Anglophones46 13

Total 71 32

2.1.1.3The profile of the interviewed students

Nationali ties

D1 D2 M1 M2 A1 Total

Nigerians 01 03 06 02 01 13Ghanaians 00 01 01 00 01 02Liberians 00 01 00 00 01

Indian 00 00 01 00 00 01Americans 00 00 01 00 00 01

Russian 00 00 00 01 01 Total 01 04 09 02 03 19

2.2. The research techniques

25

The constitution of our corpus was made through a participative

and integrative way on the one hand and on the other hand an

analysis of several thesis, memoires and books on the topic. It was

mainly made of audio recordings performed during all the 16 days of

observation, the interviews with students and teachers, the class

observation itself and finally the study of documents. This

practically consisted in:

1. The document analysis : Analyzing the CUEF program and the

students’ manuals. Reading several thesis, memoires, and

books related to the subject. Analyzing the recent opinions on

line related to the subject.

2. The interviews : Interviewing individually the maximum of

English speaking students, asking them questions about the

difficulties they personally face, their student life and all

the area of their life. The interview of the teachers during all

the courses in direct connection with phonetics. And this by

the means of a dictaphone or a recorder.

3. The class observation : Observing the whole class, material,

students and teachers included in all their schooling aspects.

Recording the students and teachers’ speaking ways,

pronunciations, readings and any utterance they give, the

class overall in a teaching situation and this by the means of a

dictaphone or a recorder. Recording their pronunciation or

reading of a list of letters, words and sentences.

2.2.1. The document analysis

During that research we examined the content of several

written documents that are the programs of the taught courses at

26

the CUEF. These programs present the different themes to be

studied in a given discipline. It also shows the different

sections discussed in the course. We likewise studied the content

of the students’ manuals in use at the CUEF. These treat of the

subjects in which the teaching of the French language is

discussed. In it we also have all kinds of written texts. In the

different programs we have the following subjects: grammar,

French literature, African literature, French civilization,

African civilization, comprehension and oral expression,

writing, translation and phonetics correction. But through our

research we found that none of them was in direct connection with

phonetics except the course of phonetics correction that is why we

based our analysis on it.

2.2.1.1. The contents of the phonetic course at the CUEF

The major objective of this phonetics course is to bring the

students to a correct pronunciation of French.

Level D1

SESSION 1

-The presentation of the Latin alphabet and the different capital

letters

-The general presentation of the IPA (International Phonetic

Alphabet) used in French: the vowel sounds, the nasal sounds, the

semivowels and the consonants.

27

SESSION 2

The vowel sounds [ ], [ ], []

Articulation

The relation between the sound and its representation

Discrimination

SESSION 3

The vowel sounds [ ], [ ], []

Articulation


Discrimination

SESSION 4

The vowel sounds [ ], [ ], [ ], []

Articulation


Discrimination

SESSION 5

The nasal sounds [ ], [ ], [ ], []

Articulation


Discrimination

28

SESSION 6

The semivowel or semi consonant sounds [ ], [ ], []

Articulation


Discrimination

Level D2

SESSION 1 and 2: revision of all the vowel sounds

Articulation


Discrimination

SESSION 3, 4, 5 and 6: the consonants

A study in opposition of the difficult sounds

Articulation


Discrimination

29

[ ] / [ ], [ ] / [ ], [ ] / [],

[ ] / [ ]

[ ] / [ ] /[ ], [ ]/ [ ], [ ] /

[],[ ] / [ ]

The study of consonantal clusters:

Cr, gr, pr, tr, kr, cl, gl, fl, fr, sp, st, sc…

Articulation

Discrimination

Level M1

SESSION 1, 2, 3, and 4: Revision of all the vowel sounds and

consonants with those which are difficult for the learners.

Articulation


Discrimination

SESSION 5 and 6: phonetic transcriptions

Phonetic transcriptions: words, sentences and short texts.

Reading of texts (insisting on punctuations, intonations…)

Reading of poems containing repetitions of vowel and consonant

sounds

Level M2

SESSION 1: Revision of the vowel sounds and consonants with those

that are difficult for the learners.

Articulation


30

SESSION 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6: linking in the French language

The consonantal liaisons

The list of consonants of liaison

The realization of the consonants of liaison

The principal cases of the obligatory consonantal liaisons

The principal cases of the free consonantal liaisons

The principal cases of the forbidden consonantal liaisons

The elision

The consonantal linking up

The vocalic linking up

NB: All the given examples in this course must be transcribed

phonetically. The learners must receive greater texts and be asked

progressively to identify the studied point of the course.

Level A1

SESSION1: Revision of the vowel sounds and consonants with those

that are difficult for the learners.

Articulation


SESSION 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6: the characteristics of the French phonic

system

The characteristics of the vowels

The aperture

31

The position

The rounding

The French vocalic system

Notrounded

Rounded

Front Central

Back

High

Closed

Halfhigh

Halfclosed

Halflow

Halfopen

Low Open

Oral

Nasal

Oral

Nasal

Oral Oral

Nasal

Dominique Abry et Marie-Laure Chalaron, 1994, Phonétique, exerçons-nous ed. Hachette.

The characteristics of the consonants

Bili

Labd

Dent

Al

Prep

Pa

Ve

Uvul

32

b. . . v.

. lt.

l.

.

Occ. Voicel.

Or al

Voic.

Or al

Nasa

l

Fric.

Voicel.

Oral

Voic.

Oral

semivow

Voic.

Oral

Later.

Voic.

Oral

Vibr.

Voic.

Oral

Level A2

Identify the pronunciation problems of each learner and give

him or her long text to read. Define precisely the problems of the

A2 learners. The content of this course will depend on the

pronunciation problems identified with the learner.

2.2.1.2. The contents of the students textbook Alter Ego

Alter Ego 1

This book is used by the students of the level D1 and D2.

Level D1, D2

33

The program is divided into 9 files of 3 Lessons each one with a

prier file called file 0:

FILE 0

The stress on the last syllable

Sound and written form: the alphabet, signs and accents

FILE 1

Lesson 1

[ ] / []

The going up and falling down intonation

The liaison and the numbers succession

Sound and written form: the written form of [ ] / []

Lesson 2

The numbers pronunciation

The liaison and the numbers

Lesson 3

[ ] / [ ] the liaison with []

Sound and written form: the silent or mute letters

The simple present of the verbs ended by –er

FILE 2

Lessons 1

The pronunciation of un / une + noun

Sound and written form: the grave and the acute accent

Lesson 2

34

The intonation of the question (1)

Sound and written form: the written form ``ent``

The verbs to take and to get down

Lesson 3

The elision (de / d’) with the country names

The syllabication and the stress on the last syllable (2)

Sound and written form: the homophones and the elision

35

FILE 3

Lesson 1

The masculine and feminine distinction of jobs

Sound and written form: the endings –eur, -ère, -er

The written form eu and oeu

Lesson 2

The mark of the genre with the adjectives in oral

Lesson 3

The liaison and the link up with the possessive adjective

Sound and written form: the distinction of the feminine and the

masculine

FILE 4

Lesson 1

The time pronunciation

The odd ``e`` in the pronominal verbs in present

Lesson 2

The sound [ ] [ ] / []

Sound and written form: the verbs ended by –ener, -eler, -eter

Lesson 3

[ ] / []

The distinction between the present and the past perfect

36

Sound and written form: the past participle of the verbs ended by –

er

FILE 5

Lesson 1

The intonation of the question (2)

Sound and written form:

[ ] and [ ] with the letter ``c`` [ ] and [ ] with the letter

``g``

Lesson 2

The distinction between [ ] / []

Sound and written form: the written form of [ ] and []

Lesson 3

The odd ``e`` in the pronominal forms in past perfect

FILE 6

Lesson 1

The tense and relax consonants

Sound and written form: [ ] and [ ] with the letter ``s``

Lesson 2

[ ] / []


Lesson 3

Distinction [ ] / []

Sound and written form: the future of the verbs ended by –er

37

FILE 7

Lesson 1

The odd ``e`` in the expression of quantity

Sound and written form:`` de/des – le/les – ce/ces – te/tes``

Lesson 2

Intonation: the negative and positive appreciation (1), doubt and

persuasion

Sound and written form: the two pronunciation of ``e``

Lesson 3

[ ] / []

Sound and written form: the DOC pronoun`` l’``

FILE 8

Lesson 1

The nasal sound []

Sound and written form: the written form of []

Lesson 2

The distinction of the three principle nasal sounds

Intonation: the negative and positive appreciation (2)

Sound and written form: the written form of the nasal sounds [],

[ ], []

Lesson 3

[ ] / []

The pronunciation of ``plus``

38

Sound and written form: the written form of []

FILE 9

Lesson 1

The distinction between the past perfect and the past simple

Lesson 2

[ ], [ ] and []


Lesson 3

Rhythm and intonation

ALTER EGO 2

This book is used by the students of the level M1 and M2.

Level M1, M2

The program is divided into 9 files of 3 lessons each one:

FILE 1

Lesson 1

The discrimination with ``qu’elle``, ``qui elle``, ``qui``,

``qui il`` or ``qu’il``

Sound and written form: the sound [ ] and its written forms, the

distinction of the sounds [- ] and [- ], [ ] and [ ], the

homophones of [ ]

Lesson 2

Rhythm and intonation in the direct speech

Lesson 339

The distinction between the past simple and the past perfect

Sound and written form: the written forms of []

FILE 2

Lesson 1

The pronunciation of the adverbs ended by -ment

Sound and written form: the written forms `èn`` pronounced [ ] or

without pronunciation

Lesson 2

The pronunciation of abbreviations and acronyms

Sound and written form: homophony: the alphabet / words in SMS

Lesson 3

The register of language

The intonation: advice and order

The subjunctive pronunciation

Sound and written form: the pronounced `ì`` and ``y`àccording to

the written form context

FILE 3

Lesson 1

The pronunciation of the percentages

Sound and written form: the written forms `àu``, `èau``, `èu``,

`òeu`` and `òu`` (`òù, ou``)

Lesson 2

The indefinites: rhythm and stress

40

Sound and written form: -t- or the liaison verb / subject pronoun

in the inverted question

Lesson 3

The pronunciation of ``plus`` in the superlative

Sound and written form: the pronounced or non pronounced ``e``

FILE 4

Lesson 1

The intonation: astonishment or simple question

Sound and written form: [ ] or [ ]

Lesson 2

The sentence rhythm and the set apart intonation

Sound and written form: [ ] or []

Lesson 3

The vocalic linking up in passive form

Sound and written form: the agreement of the past participle with

to have

FILE 5

Lesson 1

The intonation: enthusiasm or deception

Sound and written form: ``vieil / vieille``, ``bel / belle``,

``nouvel / nouvelle``

Lesson 2

The intonation: direction and encouragement

Lesson 341

The distinction [ ] / []

Sound and written form: the written forms of [ ], distinction

between [ ], [ ] and [ ], the sounds [ ], [ ] and the gerundive,

the nasal vowels / the oral vowels

FILE 6

Lesson 1

The pronunciation of ``r``

Sound and written form: revision of the written forms of []

Lesson 2

The virelanguages and the consonantal groups

The distinction between the future and the present conditional

Sound and written form: the present conditional

Lesson 3

The insistence intonation

Sound and written form: the verbs ended by –ger and –cer with

written form changing

FILE 7

Lesson 1

The liaison and the link up

Sound and written form: The liaison and the link up + voiceless and

voiced ``h``

Lesson 2

The intonation discouragement or determination

Sound and written form: the written forms of [ ]: ``er, ez, é, ée``

42

Lesson 3

The intonation: regret or satisfaction

Sound and written form: revision of the written forms of [ ] and [ ]

FILE 8

Lesson 1

The subjunctive pronunciation

Sound and written form: The distinction of some verbal forms

Lesson 2

The odd ``e`` and the double pronouns

Sound and written form: the distinction of [ ] and [ ] in the first

syllable of the words and verbs

Lesson 3

The intonation: reproach or indignation

2.2.1.3. The investigated people

For this study the subject of our investigation was the

English speaking students of the CUEF. They were 19 in all from all

the existing levels that is D1, D2, M1, M2 and A1.

National ities

D1 D2 M1 M2 A1 Total

Nigerian s

01 03 06 02 01 13

Ghanaian s

00 01 01 00 01 02

Liberian s

00 01 00 00 01

43

Indian 00 00 01 00 00 01American

s00 00 01 00 00 01

Russian 00 00 00 01 01Anglophones

01 04 09 02 03 19

2.2.2. The direct interviews with the students and teachers

We had a direct interview with each one of the nineteen

English speaking students. The students’ open-mindedness and

availability to cooperate and expose their learning difficulties

helped us in this process. We asked them all any question about

their backgrounds, their specific difficulties in learning

French, their living place, their motivations and all the areas of

their life that can influence their learning process. The teachers

also agreed to be interviewed. They were asked to react on the

place and importance of phonetics in their teaching, to explain

their teaching methods, the levels and also about the results on

the students.

2.2.3. The class observation

By class observation we mean the class environment, the

teaching materials, the students and teachers’ behavior or

attitude, their punctuality, their moral and physical aspects

overall. It consisted in observing and taking note of the course of

all the teachings related to phonetics that is to say: phonetics

correction, audiovisual and comprehension and oral expression.

This allowed us to see and understand practically the way the

phonetics course is taught at the CUEF.

44

THIRD PART: DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSIS OF THERESULTS

46

In this part of the research we present the results of the study we

have done. That is we describe and analyze all the findings.

47

Chapter1: The description of the progam of the CUEF and the

students’ manuals in use

In the program the theme in connection with phonetics are

only stated in the course of phonetics correction, although the

courses such as comprehension and oral expression and audiovisual

could have contained some of them.

1. 1. The description of the CUEF program

After the analysis of the official program of the CUEF and the

students manual Alter ego 1 and 2 we obtained the following

results:

1.1.1 Description of the schedule

Schedule

SUBJECTS D1 D2 M1 M2 A1 A2 Total per

session

Phonetics

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

72 h of

Phon.

Audiovis ual

08 h /w

48 h /s

08 h /w

48 h /s

08 h /w

48 h /s

08 h /w

48 h /s

192 h of

Aud.

OralExpression

06 h /w

36 h /s

06 h /w

36 h /s

04h30/w

27 h /s

04h30/w

27 h /s

04h30/w

27 h /s

04h30/w

27 h / s

180 h of Or.

Ex.

Grammar 04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

144 h of

Gram.

48

Writing 04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

04 h /w

24 h /s

04h30/w

27 h /s

04h30/w

27 h /s

150 h of

Writ.

FrenchCivilization

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

48 h of Fr.

Civ.

AfricanCivilization

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

48 h of

Afr.Civ.

FrenchLiterature

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

24 h of Fr.

Lit.

AfricanLiterature

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

24 h of

Afr.Lit.

Translat ion

02 h /w

12 h /s

02 h /w

12 h /s

24 h of

Trans.

Total per

session

132h/s

132h/s

156h/s

156h/s

196h/s

196h/s

Total per year

528h/year

528h/year

624h/year

624h/year

784h/year

784h/year

This chart shows that the phonetics course represent 72 h out of

912 h per session, this gives in percentage 07.89%. We then

understand that the place given to phonetics is relatively small

and can’t satisfy the demand manifested by the learners.

1.1.2 Description of the content of the students’ manual

49

A comparative study of the CUEF and the program of the students’

manuals

In a general overview both programs are different. The Alter ego 1

is for the level D1 and D2 and the Alter ego 2 is for the level M1 and

M2. This is not the case with the CUEF program. There is a special

program for each level.

Level D1

First of all the CUEF program is divided into 6 sessions

whereas the Alter ego 1 is divided into 9 files of 3 lessons each.

According to the CUEF program of the phonetic course begins with

the presentation of the Latin alphabet, the different capital

letters and then a general presentation of the IPA (the

International Phonetic Association). But the program in the Alter

ego 1 begins with the stress on the last syllable. We notice

through this fact that the students cannot continue the program at

home when they wish.

50

Level D2

The manual does not precise neither the beginning of that level nor

where to start the phonetics course for that level. We can only see

through the CUEF program the precise program for D2.

Level M1

The Alter ego 2 is divided into 8 files of 3 lessons each whereas

the CUEF program is divided into 6 sessions. The four first

sessions are consecrated to the revision of all the vowel and

consonant sounds with insistence on those with particular

difficulties for the learners. The Alter Ego 2 on the contrary

begins with the discrimination with ``qu’elle``, ``qui elle``,

``qui``, ``qui il`` or ``qu’il``.

Sound and written form: the sound [ ] and its written forms, the

distinction of the sounds [- ] and [- ], [ ] and [ ], the

homophones of [ ]

Level M2

Here again the manual does not precise the beginning of that

level nor where to start the phonetic course for that level. We can

only see through the CUEF program the precise program for M2. So it

admits no doubt that the program in the manuals is not followed by

the teachers.

51

Chapter 2: The description of the answers of the interviews

This chapter describes the answers of all the interviewed students

on the one hand and the answers of the interviewed teachers on the

other hand.

2.1. The description of the students’ answers during the

interviews

In the interview with the students we obtained the following

results:

We made investigations on 19 English speaking students

composed of 13 Nigerians, 02 Ghanaians, 01 Liberian, 01 Indian, 01

American and 01 Russian. The presence of this Russian is justified

by the fact that she spent the great part of her student life in

London and speaks English fluently. Moreover most of her

mispronunciations come from an interference with the English

language. Among these investigated people we have 12 girls. In our

analysis we see that out of 22 present students19 are Anglophones.

This can be regarded as one of the justifications of our choice for

the English speaking students. We also notice that at registration

we have 25 Anglophone students and 46 non Anglophone students, but

52

for the course we observe 19 Anglophones and 13 non Anglophones

present. This figure demonstrates a will from the English speaking

students to learn and master French.

In our questioning we found that all have the university

level before entering CUEF. They are either scientific or art

students. This explains why most of them have never done phonetics

before. All these must urge us to have a thought on the phonetic

teaching way. They studied the following subjects: English =

01/19, History =01/19, Economy =03/19, Science Technology

=02/19, IT =03/19, Human Resources =02/19, Philosophy =01/19,

Medicine =01/19, Physics =02/19, Executive Secretary =01/19 and

Mathematics =02/19. They are young, between 19 and 43 years old.

They mostly chose to live in the compounds of the university to

avoid transportation problems. That is the district where the

campus is established, a residential district where you can find

many private and public schools and the people living there are

people of a high rank, a high living standard, and they are the

people of the upper class. We have moreover the presence of most of

the embassies there. In another way the fact of living there can

facilitate their learning because of the speaking way of the

people. Again, they have been living in the country for less than a

year for the great majority. This shows that they are yet to be

accustomed to French pronunciation and the Ivorian speaking way.

They are all to their very first time of studying French.

Statistic chart for the students

No QUESTIONS STATISTICS01

Did you study phonetics before attending the CUEF?

Yes = 04/19 No = 15/19

0 Do you appreciate all the courses at Yes = 14/19

53

2 the CUEF? No = 05/1903

Is phonetics important for your learning process?

Yes = 19/19 No = 00/19

04

Is the amount of time consecrated to phonetics enough for your learning?

Yes = 00/19 No = 19/19

05

Do you appreciate the teachingmethods?

Yes = 07/19 No = 12/19

06

Does the time table fit you? Yes = 12/19 No = 07/19

07

Do you do your homework at home? Yes = 07/19 Often = 02/19

No = 10/1908

Do you have a personal study at home? Yes = 12/19 No = 07/19

09

Do you use the IT’s to learn French? Yes = 03/19 No = 16/19

10

Do you have a grammar problem? Yes = 19/19 No = 00/19

11

Do you have a vocabulary problem? Yes = 19/19 No = 00/19

12

Do you have a listening problem? Yes = 17/19 No = 02/19

13

Do you have a comprehension problem? Yes = 17/19 No = 02/19

14

Do you have a pronunciation problem? Yes = 19/19 No = 00/19

15

Do you speak French at home? Yes = 03/19 No = 16/19

16

Do you know how to perform accents inFrench?

Yes = 04/19 No = 15/19

According to the question (01) 15/19 students have never

studied phonetics before entering the CUEF. It is just like a

discovery for them, for most of them come from a scientific field

where phonetics is said to be unnecessary. That is why most of them

want the teachers to take more time in teaching it.

To the question (02) 15 out 19 students answered yes. This

demonstrates that most of them have no problem with the courses.

54

The 4 others justified their position by different views. A

student said she hates comprehension and oral expression for she

finds it boring. Another one said the courses last too long. And

the two others did not give any reason.

According the question (03) all the students find the phonetic

course important for their learning process. According the

question (04) all the students find that the time given to the

phonetic course is not enough. For the question (5) 12 appreciate

the teaching methods while 07 students do not. The 7 others do not

like the courses because they find the teachers too fast.

According to the question (06) 12 students find the time table

unsuitable. They consider that the courses begin too early and

last too long. Some say they are weary after 2 hours and then they

are not able to follow properly. Others say they are parents so

they need to get their children ready for the school before coming.

The seven others find it suitable but they did not give any reason.

According to the question (07) 10 students do not do their

homework, 02 claim to do it at times and the seven others say they

do. Those who do not do their homework say they do not understand or

they do not have anybody to help or explain it to them. According to

the question (08) 12 out 19 students do not have any personal

study. The reasons they give is that they do not have time or they

are helping some parents at home or in a business. According to the

question (09) just 3 of them use the IT’s to learn French whereas we

can find several sites on line to help them learn at home.

According to the question (10) all of them have a grammar problem.

This raises the issue of grammar teaching methods. According to

the question (11) they all have a serious vocabulary problem.

55

Finding suitable expressions to talk to others is a problem.

According to the question (12) 17 of them have a listening problem.

They need that people should speak very slowly before they catch

anything. The two others said they do not have that problem. In

fact they have been learning French before. According to the

question (13) 17 of them understand difficultly when people speak

and when they read a text. The two others escape thanks to their

little former French learning experience.

According to the question (14) they all have a serious

pronunciation problem. This has been remarked through our class

observation. Most of them say they do not have enough time to

practice and the phonetics course should be done regularly instead

of once a week to permit them to correct their phonetic problems.

According to the question (14) just 5 of them often go out to

communicate with others. This shows that they are locked in their

little English cell located in the middle of a French environment.

This cannot ease their learning. According to the question (15) 3

students out of 19 try to speak French at home. According to the

question (16) 15 students out 19 do not know how to accent words in

French. This means that they need more practice in their learning

and above all in phonetics.

2.2. The description of the teachers’ answers during the

interviews

In the interviews with the teachers we obtained the following

results:

56

Among the interviewed teachers 3 have their Master 2 thesis

with other teaching trainings made abroad. The fourth one that is

the Headmaster has her Doctoral Dissertation. For them the lack of

materials such as language labs, internet and financial means is a

serious gap. But this does not forbid them to perform their

teaching. They all admitted that they no more go out with the

students for an out driving because the CUEF is not sponsored

anymore. But in the past they used to go and visit the county and

other cities of the country such as Yamoussoukro, Bingerville, and

Bouake. It must be admitted that this help the students very much

in their learning process, for they are put in a concrete situation

of communication. They compare their pronunciation of French

directly with the people around them and see how it is practically

spoken in the different part of the country. One of the teachers

states that she often speaks English to make herself

understandable. But the others find it not educational because it

makes them be lazy. Moreover they all claim that the students’

level this year is too low and they are less motivated.

57

Statistic chart for the teachers

No QUESTIONS STATISTICS

1

Do you think that for a

better acquisition it

will be more advantageous to

group the students per

language?

Mrs. B. = yes, but we’ve got few students Mrs. Y. = yes, but the class is too

heterogeneous, so what we can do is to group them according to their

difficulties, because they sometimes have the same problems. Mrs. O. = yes Mrs. Y. = yes

2

Are you obliged to stay in the

program?

Mrs. B. = we follow the CUEF program, but we can add or retire some themes we find

necessary or not. Mrs. Y. = No, not at all, presently I stay

in the program because of their level, they have so many difficulties. I just

adapt according to the students in front of me.

Mrs. O. = no, not at all. Mrs. Y. = yes

3

Are the students

influenced by the Ivorian

pronunciation and speaking

way?

Mrs. B. = yes indeed, and we everyday try to correct them.

Mrs. Y. = yes of course, the problem is that they spent too much time in the

country when they arrive before coming here to register. Mrs. O. = yes Mrs. Y. = yes

4 What does audiovisual

stand for?

Mrs. B. = it is the course that deals with all the subjects.

Mrs. Y. = by audiovisual we mean all, grammar, vocabulary, spelling,

phonetics….performed with materials such as projectors, videos, tape

recorders, language lab, computers… Mrs. O. = it’s the reports and listening

comprehensions Mrs. Y. = it’s the reports and listening

58

comprehensions

5

What place do you give to

phonetics in your teaching?

Mrs. B. = I place it in the first priority Mrs. Y. = to me it is important to teach that subject because it help them get

closer to the standard French. Mrs. O. = I always give a little place to

phonetics in every course I teach for it is very important for the students above

all those who speak English. Mrs. Y= it is as important as all the

other subjects.

8

Does a student learn faster

because of the language he

speaks?

Mrs. B. = no it depends on theirmotivation.

Mrs. Y. = no, but I will rather say they have difficulties to learn, but when they have been through higher education in

their country before coming it is easier. Mrs. O. = I don’t think so; it just

depends on their will. Mrs. Y= to me a student can learn faster

as soon as he will

3. The description of the class observation

Level D1

On Tuesday the 9th July from 10h 00 to 12h00 we observed the class

D1and made the following remarks:

The Materials

It was during the course called ``Phonetics Correction``

conducted by Mrs. B.D. She bought with her, her personal computer,

a CD of pronunciation that shows the phonatory apparatus and two

speakers. Besides these materials we have the students’ manuals

called Alter ego 1 inside which there is a CD, their exercise and

copy books. There is no language lab for the CUEF. So the fact that

59

the teacher brings these materials by herself shows a real

determination and motivation of the teacher to help the students

learn. The class is composed of two students: a Nigerian and a

Chinese. Whereas according to the administration we are supposed

to have 11 students. This can be explained by three main facts

according to both the teachers and the administration. First there

are some students who get registered and go roaming after that to

come at the exam. We did not have a clear reason for that. Secondly

there are those who register and stay at home to study and come back

at the exam. We do not know why, because we did not come across

them. And finally the students who register and do not come any

more to the course because they left the country or simply

abandoned the courses.

The Lesson: The Nasal Vowels

The teacher first, made the students listen carefully to the

CD containing the nasal sounds to study several times. Then she

made them pronounce the sounds, that is to say [ ], [ ], [ ] and

[ ]. She made them pronounced progressively one after the other.

She also explains the position of the different organs in action,

the tongue, the lips, the teeth and the mouth. At the end of this

listening we noticed that the Nigerian had serious difficulties in

pronouncing the sounds [ ], [ ], [ ], [ ] and [ ] he could even

hardly reproduce the sounds. We could see it when the teacher gave

him a list of words containing the sounds to read:

[provins] instead of [ ] for the word `` Province``, [imbu]

instead of [ ] for the word ``imbu``, [ ] instead of [t ] for

the word `` thym``, [] instead of [ ] for the word nymphe,

[ ] instead of [ ] for the word `` symbiose``, [ ] insted

60

of [ ] for the word ``humain``, [ ] instead of [ ] for

the word `` européen``, [ ] instead of [ ] for the word

``agenda``, [ ] instead of [ ] for the word `` brun``, []

instead of [ ] for the word `` emprunt``, [ ] instead of

[ ] for the word`` lumbago``, [ ] instead of [ ] for the word

``sang``, [plantεr] instead of [ ] for the word ``planter``,

[ ] instead of [ ] for the word `` ambulance``, []

instead of [ ] for the word`` embrun``, [ ] instead of []

for the word `` paon``, [ ] instead of [ ] for the word ``

taon`` , [ ] instead of [ ] for the word `` monter``

EXERCISE: the reading of a leaflet which objective is to recognize

the sound [ ] in the given texts and list of words:

1) Proverbes

``Tous pour un, un pour tous.

Un tien vaux mieux que deux tu l’auras.

Avec un si, on mettrait Paris en bouteille``.

2) Texte

``J’en ai vu un qui tirait un enfant par la main et qui criait. J’en

ai vu un avec un chien.

J’en ai vu un avec une canne à épée. J’en ai vu un qui entrait dans

l’église.

J’en ai vu un autre qui en sortait.

J. Prévert, « J’en ai vu plusieurs ». In Paroles, Gallimard``.

[] []Une un

61

dune D’unaucune aucunchacune chacun

Quelqu’unparfume parfumlune L’unbrune brun

The reading of the Nigerian:

``Tous pour un, un pour tous``

[ ]

``Tu auras``

[ ]

[ ] ``J’en ai eu``

[ ] `Ùne église``

[ ] ``J’en ai vu plusieurs``

[ ] ``Gallimard``

[ ] `Àucune``

[ ] `Àucun``

[ ] ``Parfum``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` brun``

Obviously we can see that the Nigerian is striving to find the true

pronunciations and accents, especially for the [y] `ù `` sound.

Level D2

On Wednesday the 10th July from 08h 00 to 10h00 we observed the

class D2 and made the following remarks:

62

The materials

During that course the teacher used no particular material; she

had to use a tape, a CD and the student’s manuals.

The taught course

The taught course on that day was Comprehension and Oral

Expression. It was taught by Mrs.O, and there were just 3 students

out of 12. That course according to the teacher is to allow the

student to understand and express himself in French correctly. She

began the course by the correction of a homework given the previous

week. Then she made the students listen to the tape to read and then

answer to the questions in the students’ book. The result of this

exercise was this:

The student I-D2 misses the intonation of the sentence ``ce sont

des photos``

The teacher corrects the students frequently. I-D2: ``son

travailler domestique`` instead of ``son travaille domestique``,

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``personne``, [ ] instead of

[ ] for ``délicieux``, [ ] instead of [ ] for ``cheveux

rouges``, the student confounds the english pronunciation with

the french one. This is the same with D-D2: [ ] instead of

[ ] for `èmbrasse``, and a building sentence error `` elle est

heureuse du garçon `` instead of `èlle est contente du garçon``,

`èlle le embrasse`` instead of `èlle l’embrasse``,

I-D2 [ ] instead of [ ] for ``nourriture``, [ ] instead

of [ ] for ``pleure``, `ùn petit garçon qui est fatigue``

instead of `ùn petit garcon qui est fatigué`` , `` il a souhait

avoir un robot `` instead of `ìl a souhaité avoir un robot, [ ]

63

instead of [ ] for `` pour l’aider``, `` tous les travail ``

instead of`` tous les travaux``, [ ] instead of [ ]

for``le robot``, ``pour l’expulse`` instead of``pour

l’expulser``, [ ] instead of [ ] for ``cela nous

enseigne``

EXERCISE: listen then read and answer the questions

The students were allowed to use their dictionaries for this

exercise.

When the French and English words are alike they confound them

automatically in the pronunciation or intonation.

[ ] instead of [ ] for `èntreprise``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` quel type de

vacances``

`` j’ai écouté un fois ``, instead of ``j’ai écouté une fois`` [

] instead of [ ] for `` c’est pourquoi``, [ ]instead

of [ ] for`` une enquête``. [ ] instead of [ ] for

`èn vacances``

They don’t respect the punctuations. [ ?] instead of [

?]

They often pronounce all the letters as in English [ ] instead of

[ ] for `` Août``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``c’est important``,

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` quitter``, [ ] instead of [ ] for

`èn tout``, [ ] instead of [ ] for `èn France``

They read without the liaisons [ ] instead of [ ]

for ``ces dernières années``

64

[ ] instead of [ ] for `ìl ne se connaissent

pas``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``la femme``

They often answer to the questions without making any sentences

`Òù habite-t-elle ? En France``

``Quel pays ? Italie et au Portugal``

``Que propose l’animateur radio ? Une solution``

On Friday the 19th July 2013 from 08h 00 to 12h00 a second

observation the class D2 made us notice the followings:

The materials

During both courses the teacher had to use a tape, a CD and the

student’s manuals.

The Course

The taught courses on that day were Phonetic Correction and

Comprehension and Oral Expression. They were taught by Mrs. O. and

there were just 4 students out of 12 that are supposed to be in this

classroom, among them there were 2 Anglophones (Nigerians). The

first course (Phonetic Correction) began at 08h 00 to end at 10h 00

and the second one began at10h00 to end at 12h00. At the end of the

first course there remained 2 students, the Nigerians the other

left.

D-D2: [ ] instead of [ ] for `ìl salut``, []

instead of [ ] for `èlle est franciaise``

Level M1

65

On Tuesday the 9th July from 10h 00 to 12h00 we observed the class

M1 and made the following remarks:

The materials

The used materials were a tape, a CD, and the students’ book Alter

ego 2.

The taught course

The taught courses on that day was Phonetic Correction and. It was

taught by Mrs. O, and there were just 6 students out of 21 that are

supposed to be in this classroom, among them there were 4

Anglophones (Nigerians). The course began at 08h 00 to end at 10h

00.

The course began by the reading of a text from the students’

manual. The first Nigerian A-M1 started the reading. His level of

reading is insufficient with these mistakes:

[ɛ tu:t lɛ asiɛt] instead of [e tut lɛ zasiɛt] for`` et toutes les

assiettes``V-M1

[korɛspond] instead of [korɛspon] for ``correspond`` I-D2,

confusion of the English ``three`` with the French one ``trios``.

Her level of reading is too low. It is the same with the fourth

Nigerian CH-M1.


class M1 for a second time and made the following remarks:

The materials



The taught course

66

The taught course on that day was Audiovisual. It was taught by

Mrs. Y, and there were just 8 students out of 21. She began the

course by the correction of a homework given the previous week.

Then she gave another one:

Level M2


class M2 and made the following remarks:

The materials



The taught course

The taught course on that day was Phonetic Correction. It was

taught by Mrs. D, and there were just 5 students out of 12. She

began the course by the reading of a text titled `` le Premier

Ministre ira-t-il à Beaulieu? ``

After the reading of 3 Italians, it is the turn of A-M2, a Nigerian

Ivorian who performs a good reading but makes the following

errors:

[ b] instead of [ ] for ``bêtement``, [ ] instead of []

for ``baisser``, [] ] instead of [ ] for ``Beaulieu``, []

instead of [ ] for ``risquent``, [ ] instead of [ ] for

``nouvel``, [ ] instead of [ ] for ``auraient``, [ ] instead of

[ ] for ``vouer``.

EXERCISE 2: this exercise consisted in finding the possible, the

impossible and the obliged liaison.

Level A1

67

On Monday the 08h July from 10h 00 to 12h00 we observed the class A1

and made the following remarks:

The materials



The taught course


Mrs. Y., and there were 3 students out of 3. She began the course by

the reading of a text.

AB-A1: an insufficient level of reading with some mistakes such

as: [ ] instead of [ ] for`` insuffisant``. Accent :

anglophone de type ghanéen ou africain. Structure non correcte des

phrases employées. ``Je n’ai pas comprend `` instead of ``je n’ai

pas compris``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `àuteur``, [ ] instead of [ ] for

`ùsage``, [ ] instead of [ ] for`` sur``

Understanding level: low

K-A1: her reading level is low with a serious problem of

pronunciation. Her accent is half English and half Russian. Many

mistakes occurred in her reading:

[ ] instead of [ ] for `èxtrême``, [du] instead of [d ] for

de

Understanding level: low

On Thursday the 11h July 2013from 10h 00 to 12h00 we had a second

observation of the class A1 and made the following remarks:

The materials68



The taught course


Mrs. Y., and there were 3 students out of 3. The student called K-A1

had to make a presentation on the clothing fashion.

She had good information on the subject but made many mistakes such

as:[ ] instead of [ ] for`` le parfum``, []

isntead of [ ] for ``l’important``, [ ] instead of [ ] for

``deux``, [ ] instead of [ ] for ``milieu ``, [ ] instead

of [ ] for ``société``, [ ] instead of [ ] for ``

lecture``.[ ] instead of [ ] for `` emploi``[ ] instead

of [ ] for `èuropéen``[ ] instead of [ ] for``

exagérer``

``sa habit`` instead of ``son habit``, `ìl est parti au public``

instead of `ìl est allé en public``, ``tous les habillements de

les femmes`` instead of ``tous les habillements des femmes``, ``

je suive un documentétion`` instead of `` j’ai suivi un

documentaire``, ``les femmes laime ça comme ça`` instead of ``les

femmes l’aime ainsi``, ``pour couturier`` instead of ``pour

coudre``

H-A1 : ``ce n’est pas belle`` instead of ``ce n’est pas beau``, [

] instead of [ ] for ``si tu veux``. [ ] instead of

[ ] for ``décision``

`Àujourd ‘hui ya pas moral, ya dégradation dé moral`` instead of

la morale n’existe plus de no jours, c’est la dégradation de la

69

morale que nous constatona``, ``l’enceinte femme s’habille

bien``, instead of la femme enceinte s’habille bien``

JO-A1 : [ ] instead of [ ] ``le but des habits c’est pour

nous couvrer``, c’est pour couvrer le corps`` instead of ``le but

des habits c’est pour couvrir ou cacher le corps. ``

H-A1 : [ ] instead of [ ] for``il s’évade``, [ ]

instead of [ ] for``les tours jumelles``, [ ]

instead of [ ] for ``il prend sa décission``

Throughout the documentations, the interviews and the

observations we will keep in mind one great aspect of this

research: the phonetic interferences of the learners in oral.

The phonetic interferences in oral

The phonetic interferences are more serious in oral when you

hear the students expressing themselves. They confuse all the

English sounds and phonemes with the French ones. To understand it

deeply let’s first compare the two different vocalic systems of

both languages and then their consonantal systems.

The English vocalic system

70

Cambridge English pronouncing Dictionary, 2003.

The French vocalic system

Notrounded

Rounded

Front Central

Back

High

Closed

Halfhigh

Halfclosed

Halflow

Halfopen

Low Open

Oral

Nasal

Oral

Nasal

Oral Oral

Nasal

Dominique Abry et Marie-Laure Chalaron, 1994, Phonétique, exerçons-nous ed. Hachette.

By comparing the English and French vocalic system we notice that

these different phonemes do not exist in English:

The rounded vowels

[ ] as in ``bute`` [ ] as in ``jeu`` [ ] as in ``côte`` [ ] as in

``boeuf``

The nasal vowels

[ ] as in ``lin`` [ ] as in ``un`` [ ] as in ``bon`` [ ] as in

``dans``

The semivowels

71

[ ] as in ``depuis``

We also notice that these following vowel sounds do not exist in

English either:

The English tense vowels

[ ] as in ``fees`` [ ] as in ``blue`` [ ] as in ``shirt`` [ ]

as in ``bought`` [ ] as in ``bark``

The English diphthongs

[ ] as in ``shear`` [ ] as in ``vote`` [ ] as in ``poor``

[ ] as in ``bate``

[ ] as in ``bear`` [ ] as in ``toy`` [ ] as in ``light``

[ ] as in ``mouse``

The difference between the English and French consonantal systems

E F E F E F E F E F E F E F

E: English F: French Cambridge English pronouncing Dictionary, 2003.

72

The comparison of the English and French consonantal systems shows

that these following phenomenon do not exist in French

The English dental phenomenon [ ] as in thing and [ ] as in that

The affricate [ ] as in research and [ ] as in jungle

The glottal fricative [ ] as in hand

The nasal velar [ ] as in ring

But we can find them among the English words introduced in French

such as shopping, marketing

The nasal palatal does not exist in English [ ] as in ``pagne``

There are three different ways of realizing the [ ] sound in French

[ ] uvular

[ ] alveolar and vibrant

[ ] voiced and glottal fricative

The fact that the English [ ] is unique and a voiced semivowel

that is a post alveolar approximant, makes its realization all

more difficult for the English student who learns French as well as

the French student who learns English.

These French vowels and consonant sounds unknown to the

English will be a source of difficulty for the students. The

solution is to bring this phenomenon to the learners’ articulation

habits as it is done for all foreign language learners. At times

the difference of pronunciation of the same word in French and

English can be a source of problem. For example when we take the

word ``table``, in English it is [ ] but in French it is []

this leads to the undoubtedly fact that there exist a relation

between hearing and writing that is to say there is no perfect

concordance between writing and pronunciation.

73

Confusion of [ ] with []

[ ] instead of [ ] for tradition

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``devenu``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``je suis venu``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``minute``

The phoneme [] does not exist in English and not in most of the

African languages spoken by the students either. So in oral they

replace it by the existing sounds from the language they practice

or are accustomed to. This gives the different realizations above.

74


[ ] instead of [ ] for `ùsage``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``rémunération ``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``bute``

This problem occurs just because this letter `ù`` is pronounced

[ ] in English most of the time when a consonant comes just after it

and follows another vowel. And the sound [ ] does not exist in

English either.


[ ] instead of [ ] for “sur”

[ ] instead of [ ] for`` imbu``

[ ] instead of [ ] for la lune

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` humain``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `àmbulance``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `Ùne église``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``nourriture``

The letter `ù`` is pronounced this way for this another

possibility of pronouncing it when it does not obey the rule given

above.


[ ] instead of [ ] for auteur

[ ] instead of [ ] for `ùn voleur``

This confusion is mostly due to the fact that it does not exist in

English too. They say the words the way they pronounce them in

75

English.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` cheveux``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``pleurer``

Sometimes English as a second language speakers mix up sounds.

Oftentimes, English

as a second language speakers will substitute a sound from their

own language for a more

difficult English sound.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `èuropéen``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `èuro``


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` illustrateur``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` un projecteur``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `ùn animateur


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``deux``


[ ] instead of [ ] for`` neuf```

The rounded vowel [ ] does not exist in English so the learners

replace it by the different sounds above that can be found in

English and which pronunciations are close to it.


[ ] instead of [ ] B-M176

[ ] instead of [ ] for employer

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``competence``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``décision`` H-A1

As the letter `è`` is pronounced [ ] in English all the learners

used to confound them with the following phonemes above.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``je peux``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `ìl pleut``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``jeudi`` JO-A1

This confusion maybe explained by the fact that the phoneme [ ] is

stranger to English so the learners try to find another English

sound close to replace it.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``je peux``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` le monsieur``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``samedi``

This can be explained by the fact that Ivoirians do make the same

mistake very often by replacing the [ ] by the [ ]. They will say for

instance [ ] instead of [ ]. Whereas the English [ ] has exactly

the same realization with the French one. So as the [ ] does not

exist in English the students will obviously try to palliate it

with the likely close sound which is [].


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``création``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `ìl a réussi``77

[ ] instead of [ ] for`` que``

[ ] instead of [ ] for`` je suis secrétaire``

The first assumption we can make here is that there is no accent in

English. So the student being accustomed to such a simple language

that they transpose this simplicity into the French they are

learning. For them there is no difference between `è``[ ] and

``é``[ ]. Another hypothesis is that in Ivory Coast here the same

mistake is often made, for instance``dévenir`ìnstead of

``devenir,`` révenir instead of revenir `` vénez ici`` instead of

venez ici. The linguistic environment is then greatly responsible

for that, instead of favoring a good acquisition rather influences

negatively the learner.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `èxtrême``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` j’aimais``

This can be explained by the fact that the student ignored the

accent upon the letter `è`` in `èxtrême`` to pronounce it

exactly as in English. The pronunciation of `` j’aimais`` can

probably be justified by the influence of the student’s mother

tongue. She is an Indian and she speaks several Indian languages in

which the sound [ ] is very frequent. Or maybe she just ignored its

association with the letter `à``.


[du] instead of [d ] for ``de``

This one is probably due to the student’s mother tongue too. He is a

Nigerian speaking Ibo, Hausa, Edo.

78


[ɛ tu:t lɛ asiɛt] instead of [e tut lɛ zasiɛt] for `èt toutes les

assiettes ``

This confusion is often done by English people, the long English

[ ] is replaced by the short English [ ] or vice versa.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` un job``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` parfum`` M-D1

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``chacun``

Both sounds are not English, but for them / / is more easy to make

than [ ]. So when they are taught how to perform them they directly

confound them.


[d ɛ] instead of [d e] for ``durée``

[ɛ tu:t lɛ asiɛt] instead of [e tut lɛ zasiɛt] for `èt toutes les

assiettes ``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``c’est super``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``planter``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` monter``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` alphabet``

[ ] instead of [ ] for `àuraient`` B-M1

This is probably due to a problem between the sounds heard and how

they are represented.


79

[ ] instead of [ ] for `ùne enquête`` H-A1


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``restaurant`` B-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for`` symbiose`` HA-M1

This one is probably due to the influence of the student’s mother

tongue too.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` agenda`` H-A1

This is probably due to a problem between the sounds heard and how

they are represented.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``bêtement`` BL-M2

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``baisser`` BL-M2

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` saisonnier`` CH-M1

This one is probably due to the influence of the student’s mother

tongue too.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `èmbrasse`` D-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``candidature`` A-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` immediat`` B-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for `ànnonce`` HA-M1

This confusion is due to the fact that most of the time the letter

`à`` is pronounced [ ] in English when a vowel comes after the

80

consonant that follows it, whereas in French it is pronounced []

in all positions.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` en vacances`` D-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``enterprise`` CH-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``en tout`` A-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` en France`` D-A2

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` emploi`` JO-M1

This is the result of the pronunciation of all letters in English.

81


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``type`` P-M2

For the learner the letter ``y`` is generally pronounced [ ]. So

it’s a kind of transposition.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``quitter`` CO-M1

This is another consequence of the influence of the learner’s

mother tongue, given that they are not native speakers of English.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` tu as reçu`` V-M1

For the learner the letter ``c`` is never pronounced [ ] before the

letter ``u`` this is what justifies this kind of pronunciation.


[ ] instead of [ ] for la terminaison CH-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` enterprise``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``chose``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``arobase``

For the learner the letter ``s`` is not frequently pronounced []

in English


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``brun`` M-D1

[ ] instead of [ ] for`` emprunt``

[ ] instead of [ ]for ``lumbago``

82

The sound / / does not exist in English so rather finds a close

sound to palliate it.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``paon`` PR-M1

[ ] instead of [ ] for `` taon``

The sound [ ] is a strange sound to English so the students have no

other alternative than pronouncing this way to stay in the French

pronunciation.


[ ] or [ ] instead of [ ] for ``Aucune`` M-D1. This confusion

is probably due to the beginning of the word, and the student is

unaware that ``au`` is pronounced ``


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` Parfum``[ ] in French. D-D2


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``pour l’aider`` B-M1

This is a case of the relation between the sound and the

representation.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``chez moi``

This is probably interference between the student’s mother tongue

and French.


[l ] instead of [ ] for `` la femme``

83

This is a case of the relation between the sound and the

representation.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``bureautique `` B-M1


and French.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` à l’étranger`` B-M1


and French.


[ ] instead of [ ] for billingue

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``trilingue``

This a case of transposition for these words originated from

English so they obviously pronounce it in English.

84


[ ] instead of [ ] for bonus (B-M1)

This another case of transposition for this word originated from

English so they obviously pronounce it in English.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` lieu``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``milieu``

As we said far above when sound is stranger to English the learners

try to find a closer one to replace it.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``depuis``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``et puis``

[ ] instead of [ ] for ``conduit``

The phoneme [ ] does not exist in English so the students choose

another English sound they find closer to replace it.


[ ] instead of [ ] for`` exagérer`` K-A1

This is a transposition of the English pronunciation into French.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``une documentation``

This is a transposition of the English pronunciation into French.


[ ] instead of [ ] for `` un adolescent`` JO-A1

85


and French.


[ ] instead of [ ] for ``souvent`` D-D2

This is probably an interference between the student’s mother

tongue and French.

CONCLUSION

The subject we have been dealing with, that is ``the place of

phonetics in the teaching of French as a foreign language to

English speaking students at the CUEF`` is the result of an

observation. Our objective in this work was to show the place of

phonetics in the teaching of French as a foreign language.

To achieve it we first presented and gave the object of the

research study to demonstrate the importance of the subject.

Secondly we defined the different key concepts related to the

topic for a better organization of our work.

Finally we made a full description and analysis of the results.

This study allowed us to understand that phonetics is at the core

of any language study. it leads the acquisition process of the

language. In fact, the teaching of phonetics requires a deeper

approach of the notion. In that we have the articulatory phonetics

that deals with how sounds are made, the auditory phonetics that

deals with how sounds are perceived and the acoustic phonetics

that deals with the physical properties of speech sounds. But at

the CUEF Phonetics is not really taught in its true sense. It is a

phonetics correction, that is to say a how to get nearer or achieve

86

the true pronunciation of words in order to understand people and

be understood by them. So it will be important to give a larger

scale to the teaching of phonetics for as said in the report of the

2011 seminary at Charleroi, 201123 ``a mispronunciation can

entangle communication or stop the learning process``.

Let us not forget too that the lack of suitable materials such as

language lab and headsets can be real handicap for the learner. For

all the interviewed students were claiming the absence of these

materials during the course. So a better organization of the CUEF

taking into account the different aspects quoted above will create

a true learning environment that can ease the learning of the

students.

23 Plateforme fle Charleroi- sud Hainaut 2011- 1012p2 the corrective phonetics and its role in the teaching of a foreign

language

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memoire final nkg

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