Mayukaが言いたい放題！

May, 2006 Vol.55 No.2

Mayuka:　Do you remember the incident we had with Mami (one of our daughters) and her English class?

Robert:　You mean Mami saying that she could not understand “phonics” as it was being taught at her junior high school?

M:　Yes, that. And I went to see the class and discovered the reason why. As you remember, basically, her teacher could not make a pronunciation distinction between minimal pairs and was confusing and frustrating all of the students. Phonics is a set of useful rules as long as it is introduced with correct pronunciation.

R:　Yeah true.

M:　In the classroom the students should learn correct and accurate pronunciation and listen to that, otherwise - as we are learning English in an EFL environment - it is very confusing for them to realize that “liddle” is “little” nor will they be able to spell correctly because of incorrect phonemic assignment;

R:　OK …

M:　You know? I think Japanese teachers of English can be a better model for the students than native speakers.

R:　Say, what?!!

M:　Because, Japanese Teachers of English should know the problems that their students are having because their native language is Japanese, too. So the teachers should train themselves or pay for professional help and not only improve their pronunciation but learn how to properly correct the pronunciation of their students. It actually takes training to learn how to effectively correct others. Most teachers don’t realize this.

R:　But how can the teachers improve their pronunciation? For many adult learners, trying to retain the newly taught sounds of English is very difficult.

M:　Of course it is difficult for them to retain the new sounds. It is because the approach is wrong.

R:　What do you mean?

M:　I mean, if you ask adult learners to listen to the sound and mimic it, it is almost impossible for them to produce it if they can not do it already.

R:　So how should they study, change, and improve themselves?

M:　They need to be instructed - and I want to emphasize instructed by a human who is a trained teacher for pronunciation - where to put their tongue and how tightly or loosely to hold their lips. By getting it right they can pronounce the sounds correctly without even thinking about it.

R:　I know what you are saying and have seen some of your classes. Ok, for our dear readers how about an example of something both my students and I find hard to correct, that good old sound of the letter “R”. How about that one?

M:　Usually, the way to teach the sound of “R” is to curl your tongue and some of the students happen to make the sound of “R”. So people think that that is the right and perhaps best way to teach. And as for the students who can’t do it, well, they are thought to not be trying hard enough or to not understand.

R:　So, what you are saying is that some get lucky and the rest don’t?

M:　Exactly.
You know? The biggest secret of the sound ‘R’ is not the shape of the tongue but the shape of the space in your mouth. The tongue’s function is to block the air that is being exhaled from your throat. Vowels are made without being blocked and consonants are made by blocking the air. There are different ways of blocking air to make consonant sounds and sounds are grouped in stop, plosive, fricative, affricate, nasal, lateral, tap, and semivowel. To pronounce “R”, you don’t curl your tongue but shrink it towards the back of your throat. As you are doing this, you curl your upper lip to make a square shape with your lips. That movement gives you a rectangular or cube-like shape of space inside your mouth.
Just try it.

R:　I can do it, but I had never thought of teaching pronunciation from the point of view of the shape of the mouth vs. the tongue position. So, what you are saying is, Japanese teachers can learn correct pronunciation to the point where they can be a model for their students.

M:　Yes. Therefore, I believe that Japanese Teachers of English can be the model of pronunciation for their students provided they get proper training. Japanese teachers should take the lead in teaching English pronunciation to their students.

R:　But, I think that Japan as a whole is against anyone but a “native speaker” being a pronunciation model. What do you think about that?

M:　Don’t take this wrong, but, what is a “native speaker”?

R:　That’s a good question. I am talking about the inner-circle in the World Englishes model. Do you know about World Englishes?

M:　A little bit.

R:　Well, I see we have found the topic for next time.

解説

* phonics
　フォニックスとは、英語のアルファベットの文字それぞれや、その組み合わせによってどんな音を表すかのルールのことですが、場合によっては、読みの指導をする上でそのルールを教える教授法のことをさします。読みの指導には、大きく分けると、このフォニックスを教える方法と指導者による読み聞かせによって読みを推測させていく方法があります。また、ストーリー性のある読み聞かせからではなく、単語単位での塊として読めるようにする指導法もあります。では、どの指導法が英語学習に適しているかということについては、これまで長く議論の種となっています。個人的には、外国語としての英語学習においては、まず、ある一定量のフォニックスを知ることが有効だと思います。また、近年では、英語を母国語とするイギリスにおいて、読みの指導法としてフォニックスを重視する決定がなされました。

* EFL
　いわずと知れたEnglish as a Foreign Languageのabbreviation（略語）ですね。EFL環境の学習者は、教室から一歩外に出たら、生活の中で英語を使う必要性がまったくないので、無意識のインプットは望むべくもありません。日本で英語を学習する環境は、まさにこのEFLなわけです。一方、たとえば、親の転勤でアメリカに引っ越した日本人の子どもは、その当日から英語を使う切羽詰った必要性にとり囲まれます。空港でコーラ一つ買うにも、相手は英語で対応してくるからです。このような、生活の中で英語を必要とする状況での英語学習環境をEnglish as a Second Language（ESL）といいます。ESLでは、否が応でも英語に囲まれての生活となるのです。この環境の違いは、おのずから教授法や学習法の違いとなって現れます。が、残念ながら、現況の日本の英語教育では、往々にしてEFLとＥＳＬが混同された状態で学習が進められている感が否めません。

* sound ‘R’
　この’R’の音の指導においては、よく「舌を巻く」という表現が使われます。ところが、舌を巻くと口の中の空間が縦に広がり、なんとなくこもった音になってしまったり、または、巻いた舌を戻してくるときに、知らず知らず舌の先が上あごに触れて‘Ｌ’に近い音を作ってしまったりすることがよくあります。そもそも、’R’と‘Ｌ’はまったく種類の違う音なのですが、‘Ｒ’の音が日本語音声の中には存在しないことと、‘Ｌ’に比較的近い子音の音を持つ日本語の「らりるれろ」をローマ字で書くときに‘Ｒ’を使うことによって、Ｒの文字を見たときに頭の中で‘Ｌ’の音を浮かべてしまうことで、’Ｒ’と‘Ｌ’の音の区別が難しくなってしまっていると思います。音そのものを音素として聞き分ける練習を重ねることによって、この違いは必ず身につけることができます。

* pronunciation training classes
　なんだか宣伝になって恐縮ですが、実は、英語を教える先生方を対象に10回で１コースの発音講習を行っています。また、定期的に通っていただくことが難しい遠方地域では、ご希望により丸一日講習もさせていただいています。まずは英語の音を作り出すために、英語の発音に必要な呼吸法や舌の位置や唇の形などの観点からの指導を行い、さらに音を聞き分ける訓練によってご自身が発音指導をされるときのヒントを身につけていただく体験型の講習です。ご興味がおありの場合はウエブサイト（www.MayukaHabbick.com）の私書箱へご連絡ください。

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