Minimizing transfer : including Spanish phonetics and phonology in curricula for beginner and intermediate university students of Spanish.

Abstract

This thesis explores the ways in which certain types of linguistic transfer, specifically phonetic and phonological, impact the second language acquisition process of university students whose target language is Spanish. Included are pedagogical implications for future curricula that include the fundamental phonetic and phonological aspects of Spanish that should be taught to foster proper pronunciation starting at the beginning level. Four prominent Spanish textbooks are analyzed on their approach to teaching phonetics and phonology, including segmentals and suprasegmentals, intonation and dialectal variation, as well as their overall methodology concerning the instruction of skills to develop a native-like pronunciation in the target language.